brooklyn state of mind

Sermon @ Abbey

2012-01-31T03:27:00.000-08:00

Practice what You preach. Preach to those who won't.

Back Support

2012-01-30T03:41:00.001-08:00

Feed the Hungry.

2012-01-28T19:35:00.000-08:00

Power 2 the Presbyterians

2012-01-23T18:42:00.000-08:00

Snow White

2012-01-20T18:54:00.001-08:00

Being a Tool.

2012-01-19T15:54:00.001-08:00

Y [the question on the street] ???

2012-01-19T15:49:00.000-08:00

Black & White [profile]

2012-01-13T20:11:00.001-08:00

Black & White

2012-01-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

Emily Rising

2012-01-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

In this short Life

That only lasts an hour

How much-how little-is

Within our power

[Emily Dickinson, c. 1873]

2012-01-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

When Wishes Become Word

2012-01-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

No Standing Zone

2011-12-31T02:32:00.000-08:00

Images do not necessarily reflect a religious endorsement; identity or affiliation.

Use caution when evaluating prayer.

2012

2011-12-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

On the verge of a New Year; here in the Western Hemisphere; 1 lays bare:

Life is a dance, where balance is not tangential, but a skill of requisite consequence.

We are led to choice; again and again.

Will we ride in style?

or sing praises

or seek escape?

Obeythoven

2011-12-29T01:40:00.001-08:00

Monkey Business

2011-12-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

There are [of course] a range of psychological "tests." Recently, I was asked: "When you are feeling good/happy which animal do you most feel like/relate to?"

In April of 2011, I was filmed; being myself, along the Hudson River in Saugerties, NY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bDrgFUSUbg&feature=g-upl&context=G2cf5ac1AUAAAAAAAAAA

Proof positive re: my answer to the question above: A chimpanzee.

Political Heights

2011-12-18T01:49:00.000-08:00

On a clear day, the Party apparatus is not an escape route

but a place to suspend my dis-belief;

high enough to see through Democracy's maze.

On the right;

I bow to the Left's attempts

stacking the noose

for Lady Liberty's neck.

Mahatma Gandhi: Stay with me; help me be the Change.

Transparency

2011-12-06T04:08:00.001-08:00

Fruits of Whose Labor?

2011-12-05T18:19:00.001-08:00

Before the frost

Joseph hired two persimmon-pickers

While they climbed,

Joseph supervised

and counted his persimmon-profits.

Taking Aim

2011-11-30T13:22:00.001-08:00

Spray-painted : Greed

Breakfast

2011-11-24T18:15:00.001-08:00

Breakfast of BKLYN champions.

Construction Crew

2011-11-22T10:34:00.001-08:00

there was enough space to leave room for my curiosity.

a gust of wind has angled the gates; while Our flag does not wave; our Brooklyn soil shifts.

a boy steps toward his world: Construction Ahead. Where is his hard-hat? The future is a risk.

Graffiti Gravitas

2011-11-12T05:16:00.001-08:00

Somerville, Massachusetts. Ride Safely.
Helmets aren't optional.

Bike Occupation

2011-11-11T05:05:00.001-08:00

Q line en route to Manhattan. Weekend.

Occupying Brooklyn

2011-11-08T06:57:00.000-08:00

Shot dead

Pistol to the head

Etched

sketched

Saw it first

in a book.

Remember them?

Battlehymn of the Republic

marching

patriots

patriotism

parading

‘round

Some, cloaked in Christianity

others cling to Talmudic takes

Allah is one mentality.

Beyond the heroine’s grave

The hero’s heart

Our true majesty

Returning, I remembered

that

wanting

wasn’t necessarily

a measure of greed

And helped myself

to humankind’s

infinite knowing

and peaceful

Truth

Strength and courage

my sister

brother

Be brave.

Godspeed.

Freedom saves.

A bird's life.

2011-11-01T01:28:00.000-07:00

Life changes fast.

Life changes in theinstant. [Joan Didion: The Year of Magical Thinking]

So too, a bird’s trajectory; its intended destination—what we humans know and define as ETA [estimated time of arrival].

We are quite accustomed; reconciled to knowing when—except when we are pulled away from the predictable gamesmanship of ourmornings — Bright and clear; translucent as toast.

In that moment of “change” I maneuvered the melting butteron a piece of 12-grain with a New West knife; poured a calorie consciousconcoction of Florida’s Natural and Simply Grapefruit; bowed my head to givethanks for all that was before me when the storm door’s THUD interrupted my flow.

Without hesitation’s perilous possibility, I rushed to thesource of the sound and found the bird — sideways —clawed feet exposed;breathing —in what appeared to be a panicked rhythm.

My heartbeat quickened; remembering a lesson from summeringlakeside in Pennsylvania: “Never pick upa bird without a barrier between your skin and its feathers.”

With a cocktail napkin I turned the bird upright. Motionless, save for the evidence it suppliedof still being alive —chest pounding.

“C’mon now — you’re alright. Get your bearings; then fly,” I said, hopefully; prayerfully.

More than ten minutes but fewer than fifteen is how long the bird needed to regain its composure. I went to the refrigerator thinking it required some bread [forstrength]. When I returned to serve itsome breakfast; it was gone.

The Ambition Bird [excerpts][Anne Sexton]

The bird wants to bedropped

From a high place likeTallahatchie Bridge.

He wants to fly intothe hand of Michelangelo

And come out paintedon a ceiling.

He wants to take breadand wine

And bring forth a manhappily floating in the Carribean.

He wants to take leaveamong strangers

Passing out bits ofhis heart like hors d’oeuvres.

Blue Paint Special

2011-10-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

Lady Liberty doin' some overtime in Brooklyn Heights. What would the French think? [hint: she [Lady Liberty] was a gift]. Yes, of course I'm a Liberty fan. Basketball; inalienable rights --- the whole she-bang.

Drifter

2011-10-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hook, caressing a starfish [discovered @ Fort Tilden, NY]
[squared driftwood serves as display platform [origin:Unknown].

anne sexton can help us;

so can emily dickinson;

sylvia plath; nikki giovanni; audre lorde; joan didion.

some were consumed.
others
remain
in the belly of my hunger
for meaning.

Sister outsider

here is my hand

the Other

lost @ sea

Taxonomies

tell us where to go when our sense of direction numbs

Anesthetized

My voice

aided by a mouthful

media access
" free " wifi

Observer; shore-line shadows
What say you?

Head of the Charles

2011-09-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

The boiler room

Is where I sat

That day we

Kept steady; pulling full pressure

With you @ stroke

Our bow soon took

Wellesley

MIT

Smith

And we’ll move on

Lives away from these

Awesome as we are;

For we have wagered much

to claim our simple struggle.

Liberty shall come to the unassuming oar.

Signaling her fatigue

@ our refusal to open up

Before us bore life

With her flow

the Connecticut.

Disruption.

2011-09-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

For: CM

on my way --- it's a Go.

i won't stop
time
to
Disrupt.

LinkedIn;
We are
Saint Petersburg
Moscow
Montreal
Boston
Bangalore
Tel Aviv

Can U C Me?

red lights
mean
pause;
stop;
slow-down

Oh say
can u c

Isn't it True?
don't we need
another Star?

9.11.01

2011-09-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Merely a door.

Go Upright

through it.

Now

remembering

never

forgetting.

[a 10 word poem recognizing the 10th Anniversary of New York City's resilience and resoluteness]

Linked.

2011-09-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

because u r.

Spiff [ed] Up

2011-09-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

The Nat Sherman family has been providing fans of tobacco [in all its forms] a place to dwell and indulge amidst mid-town Manhattan's steady-stream of coniousseurs and the merely curious since 1930.

Some, prefer a bowl of tobacco in a lit pipe @ Nat's members-only Johnson Room [see gentleman on right]. Others, sit confidently; reliant on the tried-and-true [see gentleman on left]:

Others, prefer a smoke of 'solitude.'

Standing watch; vigilant of tobacco's value --- its medicinal; sociological; anthropological dimensions @ Nat Sherman's flaghip retail location, a member of the Tribe invites and welcomes --- offering; summoning [especially on Wednesdays @ 4:00 PM]:

When
do you plan on getting Spiff[ed] Up?

Stateside Pioneer

2011-09-02T01:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.pioneerwomanmuseum.com/thestatue.htm

Chorus :

You’ve got to take this freedom train

yes

Lenin was grand

But this way

And that

You’ve got to move your mind

Move your fire-brand;

Raise your hand

Say : I Am.

Dah-N-Dah-Dah-N- Dah-Dah-N-N-Dah

Verse 1

When the Tsar wore his crown

Pogroms came; pogroms followed

The Deniers clutched

to fictions

to their bottles

Filled with

Vodka

Chorus

You’ve got to take this freedom train

Yes; Lenin was grand

But this way

And that

You’ve got to move your mind

Move your fire-brand ;

Raise your hand

Say : I Am.

Dah-N-Dah-Dah-N- Dah-Dah-N-N-Dah

Verse 2

Time’s a plenty at this Dacha;

This Phoenician station

Where the station Chief

Blows his whistle

To prove his thistle

Interlude:

Our Old ways

Become

Our New yearnings;

Pioneering pathways;

Sojourn’s Truth :

rails rally Our

reasons

Have you found any Freedom?

Mother Russia yearns

wants to know.

Chorus

You’ve got to take this freedom train

Yes.

Lenin was grand

But this way

And that

You’ve got to move your mind

Move your fire-brand;

Raise your hand

Say : I Am.

Dah-N-Dah-Dah-N- Dah-Dah-N-N-Dah

Verse 3

You can’t afford

To place all your bets

On doubt —

Ain’t no lender; credit union or bank

Will paper a trail

For that Soviet-style

Doubt.

Believe.

Say : I Am

[Spoken]One moretime : Hinenni.

Pizzeria Protagonist[s]

2011-08-30T02:07:00.000-07:00

Drilling Down: Protagonist

48 Hours in Harlem

2011-08-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

it is important; now and then; to venture out. to go beyond one's comfort zone. . . . so off to 48 Hours in Harlem i went ---- with a driving rain assist.

rubber boots; umbrella; my Black soul. that was my trinity.

in a sense [but not officially], i was a VIP. Erin Cherry, one of the producers invited me. Ms. Cherry is an actress, yes. but there was nothing theatrical about her invitation. she invited me the new-age way --- through Facebook.

Prior to Facebook, she and i had a drink together; accidentally @ a Yale mixer.

why did i bother to go from Southern Brooklyn to Harlem? Ms. Cherry is a serious thespian. and i am serious about seeing Black people strut their stuff on stage :

i know a famous; Pulitzer-prize-winning black play-write [right]. her name is Suzan-Lori Parks. a graduate of my alma mater Mount Holyoke; Ms. Parks still writes with a typewriter escort.

SNAP. let it roll Sister.

@ 48 Hours in Harlem; Ms . Parks was on my mind. . . . because of the honesty there --- the straight-up; no nonsense Sense of Being on stage.

Harlem : worth the trip.

Top Dog Under Dog

2011-08-19T03:35:00.000-07:00

Careful, that stuff is pure ---

maximally efficient; like my efficiency apartment ----

padlocked

from within --- sustained by a common core --- this

common read : Top Dog Under Dog.

What chu got?

Are you locked out; locked up or secure?

Is your hope erect?

Or,

does the crumbling

reside

somewhere soon?

Civil Disobedience

2011-08-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

Man loses head over politically aware dog @ Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Political Lo-Down

2011-08-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Right-Wing Duck.

Recently renewed from a week @ my family's lakeside retreat; I returned to Gotham with the discovery of a duck [and its subsequent chase] [S/he was camera-shy] to be uploaded / downloaded.

The New York City Board of Elections sent me notice of the upcoming November primary / election with this reminder : "Vote or Liberty is History."

My duck friend knows how important liberty is. Do you?

Left-Wing Duck.

Augmented Revolution

2011-08-14T01:07:00.000-07:00

Cambridge, Ma park bench. Cigar wrapped in Connecticut leaf. [Images below provide public space context and historical perspective with Harvard University a prescient neighboring Realtor].

For more on this "time period" I recommend
historian / animator / UberNerd Margo Burns.

Mr. Bridge's boss --- Mr. / Rev. Hooker is icing on my prosthetic cake [see this blogger's right_hook].

She was in the sun; I, in the shade.

Harvard film students.

Harvard boys get 'oriented' .

Mr. Bridge stands fast.

Woman reads; bird feeds.

Unleashed Tide

2011-08-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Specimen [not 4 consumption]

2011-07-18T05:20:00.000-07:00

Safety in Guards

2011-07-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

"Better Be Safe Than Sorry." [from rusted 'assembly-line' fabrication machine; Holyoke, Massachusetts]

Meditation @ Lake Hill

2011-07-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

"Pray" [relief : MTA][click image for HYPERM]

             Sit down; stand up; kneel; run in place; be still

                                    "Pray."

                                         Instead; nailed by the x,y,z
                                                 the Eastern vector
                                    go forth; multiply magnanimosity.
                                            Metro - North goes there.
                                          All Aboard.
                                                                 STEAM : 1837

Holyoke, Massachusetts

Might we greet

the stranger

close @ hand :

Steadied by

Our Demand

What we wager 4 Peace

her[s]

His

Their

mighty

muscled

muse.

Tell us;

C'est Cheese [Woodstock, NY]

assume we want to know
about the Fear
Roosevelt took
right and swift
recompense
@ Branscomb's Garden
perhaps?

Swing Out Sister.

Shoulder : Shoulder,
bark
of a dog
smile

the calming glance of a neighbor
"Something's gotta give," says the lonely cripple.

                      I remember learning : when one door closes; another opens.
                                                        Proof of Concept.
                                                   Lake Hill --- Lake Hill.

                                           Bless you --- Henrietta Mantooth.

Ingenuity's Kin

2011-07-09T16:57:00.000-07:00


"Go forth from your land, your place of birth, your dwelling, your place of bliss." NOTE : Ascend/Descend @ your own risk.	[Zohar : Abram, the Soul-Breath]

Waiting to Listen

2011-07-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

On a Soho street; a hood known to the consumer elite ---
buy, buy buy
Won't you ??? Currency exchanges; conversation too.

Finally, something is said which justifies a partial smile --- though there is some doubt; trepidation in light of a dark hoodie ---

Street cred factor : He who has the good sense to listen; is tuned into the clutter of the Other's mind; assertions; lies.


A camera's pace; perched between a shopper whose Levis bag draws attention to more than a conversation recorded.

Was i villainous to have spied?

Tribeca Triangulum [via Williamsburg on the 4th]

2011-07-05T08:52:00.000-07:00


Karen / Andre

Before inter-racial mattered less; the Williamsburg painter Karen met Andre in Detroit;
theirs
is an an urban situation ---- now requiring a man like Andre to keep his grip on the cool; the eco-nomics of brews both Miles apart from severe facts and delicious dimensions.


Their [Karen_Andre's] garden has grown impressively; green; since our first Tribeca Triangulum --- back in the day; when Queens met Brooklyn @ a post - era sort-of Speakaeazy.

Speak

This 'ain't no Tennessee Waltz or Glengarrie jig.

Joy in the rhythm; beat down;
but not blown apart
just
Miles away
Ray
u got
Soul.

Andre looks up; the sound of Swing; his programmed vibe.

Sweetly worthy; Russian chocolate[s].
My love; I taste the hope of Lenin.


Climbing to heights of Hope ---- Obama?


Lava lamps take me back to my 70[s] childhood. Transparency; the new clarion call --- What if your thoughts, words, actions, deeds were Green? And you opened the door to your soul_ mind?

Yonkers, NY [ past Harlem Children's Zone] Visual Guy: Michael Cuomo

Swing out sisters --- listen; chew on the things worth chewin' on.
Daddy's near; no worries.

Lakeesha [with corn] / Sakira [listening]

Baby girl[s] grow; grow --- DADDY Kevin has more than juice to make the pretty; the beautiful; the inquisitive; the skeptical ---- hurry, take your swing.
Links await
Sojourner Truth
Frederick D.
Marcus G.
Charlayne Hunter Gault.


Golf anyone?


Jack Nicholson's older brother [not]. http://michaelcuomoart.com/MIXED%20MEDIA/mixedmedia.html


Urban Bush woman.

"My husband will kill me, if I . . . " she asserted; in the middle of Other assertions.


Liberty's Lights @ 9 : 11 PM 2011 @ 4. 7. 2011 [Williamsburg, Brooklyn]

Neighbors get a rise. It is hard.

Paul Revere / William Dawes Access-A- Ride.
Straddle it. Get On ---- Proclaim:
Independence.
Liberty.

Freedom.
Justice.
Equal Opportinity.

Blinded by the Beauty

2011-07-04T05:37:00.000-07:00

Ray Charles [click here for Audio/Visual]
moves in patriot's time;
with a full-tilt orchestral assist.

Sub-titles in Hebrew?

Franklin [left], Adams, Jefferson [standing].

Were any of the "Founders" Jewish?
Well, there was Benedict Spinoza. [we *must* admit / confess / affirm the philosophical influences of Jefferson, Franklin, Adams!]

Geometric Citizens
were Spinoza's hunch;
back in the day ----
like a tree ----
rooted in the soil of Liberty.

Please Curb your appetite for immigrant intolerance.

Recommended : Spinoza's most important work:
[Ethics Demonstrated According to the Geometrical Order (Ethica ordine geometrico demonstrata)]; written during his residence near Leyden.

But all are not thoughtful, astute, slave-owning, white men sporting wigs. There was Eleanor Roosevelt ---- who pondered much about the promise[s] of America.

So much did she ponder; so much did she *do* she is immortalized; pensively shielded by the branches of an Upper West Side tree.
@ her park :

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/vt_riverside_park/vt_rs_07_r_roosevelt.html


While appearances are often deceiving and fraught with rapid dangerous presumptions; she appears to be left-handed. [She and I are in the minority!] Light up in honor of Native Americans and lasso the cowards whose hand is out for tax breaks but shirks her/his/their responsibility where democracy's infrastructure [e.g. education, global security, senior - state status] is @ stake.. May Peace prevail on Earth.

Bearded Brew

2011-06-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn Brewery is a bit akin to a cat : 9 lives / 9 "branded" flavors [not including their "Summer" brew].

Lager
Winter Ale
Pilsner
Brown Ale
Oktoberfest
Pennant Ale '55
Weisse Beer
East India Pale Ale
Black Chocolate Stout

What's in your bottle?

Drilling Down :
http://www.brooklynbrewery.com/beer/

Dexter Gaze[Days] of Summer

2011-06-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

Semper Fi Classroom Appearance

2011-05-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

With a voice as sure as the sea; I speak ---- still; Today ---- with our remembrances of
things past
@ the battlefront
of brave language
we are called to Listen.
For some, there is no forgetting ----
that IED
thundered ----
surprised our formation.
There was no recovery; no defensive maneuver
to save our hands,
arms,
legs.
Basic training does not presume
to do anything more
than elevate tourniquet consciousness.
It becomes our task
to ask :
Has the mission *really* been accomplished when bodies have been reduced,
re-sized
without Congress
assuring a guarantee; a bond of surety
for the wounded to return
without reliving the explosive truth of pre-mature

Presidential declarations :
Rehab doesn't make anyone more ready
for democracy.

Hitching a Ride

2011-05-10T10:11:00.000-07:00


From the shadow-ed force of neighboring geometries; a carpenter's son puts it to the pedal[s] with a girl's weight on his shoulders. Human beings should only be caged when fear or crime drives them under. But children? Well; we know appearances can be deceiving. Still want to hitch a ride?

BKLYN @ the Times' Center [4 Real?]

2011-05-10T03:11:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you've stumbled upon the television advertising campaign; or have encountered it @ some cinematic juncture on cable [no matter your 'provider'] but the New York Times has been pushing its 'brand'; arguable "quality" and "accuracy" since 2010. A black turtle-necked -- be-spectacled "intellectual" looks into the camera and asserts : "The best journalists" work @ and write for the Times. So convinced is he, the terms are tempting --- "free" for the the first four weeks. Too pressed for time? Then get the Weekender --- perfect for cafes receptive to long stretches of caffeinated [con]infusion. As if The[ir] previous pretentiousness wasn't enough; now they assert [see above adhesive] : "[We] put Brooklyn in the center of the conversation." Question : What conversation?

Drilling Down : http://www.nyguild.org/ny-times-news-details/items/the-best-journalists-in-the-world-deserve-a-fair-contract.html

Getting Serious

2011-05-09T18:27:00.000-07:00


NYC Department of Parks and Recreation quite thoroughly provides a historical / topographical framework for the Brooklyn park [pictured; in part; above]. Should you require a primer on Basketball --- try Springfield, Massachusetts.		http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/FortGreenePark

Exodus Economics

2011-04-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

just for fun; i Googled "Exodus Economics."

this is an excerpt extracted from the top 10 search results:

"The original exodus was the departure of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. While in slavery, the Israelites, God's covenant people, were oppressed with more than work; they were not allowed to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Although we are not slaves in the same sense they were, America has gone the way of Egypt. Our slavery is subtler, yet still obvious, especially in the forms of high taxes, fascist property laws and state-run education."

there is the bread of our affliction.

and the people afflicted by historical amnesia; tax evasion and standards-phobic disordered thinking.

it is natural, for a civil society; to want to open history books

to read the testimonies of families whose homes were occupied by neighbors; while doctors, architects, lawyers, children faced transport;

after the fascists emerged as Berlin's brokers

of Aryan Standards and Propaganda.

sojourner truth

drilling down :

http://www.jstor.org/pss/1602219

http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/14/K632/default.htm

still object to standards?

then

get ready.

because i am.

7 cities _4_ 7 sisters. Fall 2011.

queens girl says : goodbye gerry

2011-04-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

Geraldine Ferraro [may her memory be for blessing]

passed,

from this life to the next

@ March's end.

So in time; her time had come;

as surely as it will come for all who emerge from birth;

rooted in their humanness.

A servant for the public good --- known to her friends, supporters, family, voters as: Gerry.

Her funeral, an event which made demands upon the logistical preparedness and capacities of Saint Vincent Ferrer; was an occasion I refrained from attending.

I determined it was not the best way to recognize New York's loss.

My loss.

Ferraro was a Fordham Law graduate; former Queens taxpayer; mother; and the first Democratic woman to run alongside a Presidential candidate [Walter Mondale].

The Westinghouse Social Science Research Competition brought me to Ferraro's Maspeth District Office.

Meeting her was electric.

I thought about law school as a conduit to public service; because she had.

The campaign photo I consumed as a Queen's kid.

President Obama had this to say about Ferraro's life : “[She] will forever be remembered as a trailblazer who broke down barriers for women and Americans of all backgrounds and walks of life.”

“. . . Sasha and Malia will grow up in a more equal America because of the life Geraldine Ferraro chose to live.”


Ronald Reagan was the victor; but women won the election.

It's true.

"More equal."

So, thank you Gerry.

Thank You.

How blessed I have been by your life's service; your example; leadership; courage.

So very blessed.

Tyson's Revenge?

2011-04-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

Click image to see message; to get the point.

Boxing has long been one of my visual stimuli; one of my television addictions; beginning with the Greatest; Muhammad Ali

while savoring the flavor of George Foreman

So, Mike Tyson too; has stood out. Tyson's right _ hook is, i will admit, better; more powerful; more measured than mine. yet :

Mike Tyson

Liberty's Expression

2011-04-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

Cause

Consequence

3_2_C

2011-04-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

beat boy

2011-04-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

Green energy

2011-03-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

[

Jameson [http://globalparty.jamesonwhiskey.com/] with_rocks.


Man from Cork be-deviled @ Grand Central.


Man/Woman : Hat_no Hat.

New Orleans [center] meets New York City @ Michael Jordan's

Before hat.

After hat.

Under-stated Irish businessman [identity of long-neck : ???].

may the roads rise
to greet you.
may the winds
be forever;
@ your back.

front_rear feline suspension

2011-03-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Go-Go Rex

2011-03-29T03:28:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you like the option of diverting sharp-toothed; menacing monsters via the archway[s] of day skies?

Bikes & other mosaics

2011-03-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

@ eileen fisher 10% 4 [row ny]

2011-03-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

@ Eileen Fisher's flagship Soho store; Laura Rice [Assistant Manager] conveys a graceful countenance demanded by the socially-conscious-driven event [Saturday, March 26, 2011].

Row NY http://www.rownewyork.org/eileen-fisher-supports-row-new-york was in the house --- Glasses were raised along the axes of athletic accomplishment, confidence and poise while a sampling of rowers [one is 'considering' Bryn Mawr] from Row NY worked the vibe; the spirit of Eileen herself --- Irvington's corporate; founding mother :

Be Strong. Be Bold. Be Smart. . . . . . . . . .

Rowing brought me places. [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~nkhamilt/CareCenterCrew/] Yes, there was the clipboard; with the cut and dry; stats, by the second.
but there was also, the within; discoverable by relying upon my determined fortune and rower's righteousness --- perched above Weeks [http://www.hocr.org/pdf/10HOCR-RacecourseMap.pdf] while a shell slides beneath. paced hemispheres within; power, grace, boundless by the bonds all oarswomen seek; each stroke.

Take a stand. Buy local or online. http://eileenfisher.com

Pursuit of Happiness

2011-03-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

Freedom Manifests

2011-03-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

Gendered Palette

2011-03-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

Turn-around Time

2011-03-06T03:03:00.000-08:00

Revenue Generator

2011-03-01T10:08:00.000-08:00

Held in the balance; trumpeter's hat sways @ point of deposit.

Firm Impression

2011-02-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

Seoul Man

2011-02-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

Blow job

2011-02-27T10:32:00.000-08:00

tax-free school reform : partnered study

2011-02-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

Attentive Confection : Bundled

2011-02-26T06:11:00.000-08:00

Early Adopter [Bootstrapping]

2011-02-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

No doubt, some will question the "appropriateness" of this post as it contains a strong undercurrent of statistics/mathematics [thereby appearing more "suitable" for http://thetechview.com] but as my friends in real estate sometimes assert : Location, location, location. In this case, hoisted upon the fence of Coney Island Hospital this boot is very much about a chance encounter with pink polka-dots. Drilling down: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping_%28statistics%29

seasonal prohibitions

2011-02-03T03:14:00.000-08:00

Swim @ your own risk.

Flagged Flamboyance : Patriots Encouraged

2011-02-01T03:12:00.000-08:00

Vulnerable to wind patterns; sometimes used as cover for those low on integrity, honor, respect. Semper Fi.

Seasonal Effective Order

2011-01-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn Hospitality

2011-01-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

I understand a rosary hanging from the rear-view
mirror much more readily than I understand a pair
of fuzzy dice.

But the revved-up, black/white/red automotive/vehicular adhesive; I get without even trying. Could be a family thing.

The signage beyond the truck's perimeter?
Very Brooklyn. But it could also work

in Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island.

Don't drive drunk.

Being drunk behind the wheel
is a universal way of asserting:

I am an idiot.

Giving Peace A Chance

2011-01-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

The Decemberists

2010-12-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

Brotherly Love : B Line [Manhattan-bound]

2010-12-27T02:42:00.000-08:00

sound with-held [Wesley Snipes ]

2010-12-08T06:07:00.001-08:00

Jury duty, brought with it a multiple duty : to listen; to inquire; to sound the trumpet of justice.

Wesley Snipes' appearance on Larry King last night, no doubt, depressed a sector of his fan base.

Certainly, an instrument muted is no way to impress upon a civil society the non-negotiable of justice --- fairness.

Snipes' attorney laid out the facts. Snipes laid it @our feet.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/07/AR2010120707425.html

If the claims and merits of Mr. Snipes' justice league [defense team] are legit [or, as we say in New York City : kosher] then the bars which are meant to punish and imprison him tomorrow [Thursday] will be incontrovertible evidence of our renewed will to imprison a man [father, husband, actor, global brand] undeserved of maximum sentencing @ the expense of fairness and empathy. http://www.ocala.com/article/20080124/BREAKING_NEWS/790471096/1053/BREAKING_NEWS
http://www.federalcriminaldefenseblog.com/2010/07/articles/tax-crimes/wesley-snipes-actor-foreign-diplomat-and-fiduciary-of-god-has-tax-convictions-and-sentence-affirmed-by-eleventh-circuit/

Snipes is scheduled to begin serving time for what amounts to a misdemeanor.

Snipes is only real through HDTV. I hope for a 5th dimension --- where the axes of his life freely emerge; rotating around freedom --- Hollywood star; strikingly handsome reality-enhancer ; seemingly kind, good, Bronx kid.

Let's look for that North Star.

Here, Mr. Snipes, look through my telescope --- can you see the Light? Believe.
Merry Hanukkah.
Happy XBOX. http://blog.besttraveldeals.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/holidayphoto.jpg

Canines Tend Toward Cold Heroism

2010-12-07T09:47:00.001-08:00

Book-ish Businessman Submits : Sees Writing on Wall

2010-12-06T01:10:00.001-08:00

Spiderman Visitation

2010-10-31T16:33:00.001-07:00

Trick or Treat?

2010-10-31T16:15:00.001-07:00

Who is the scariest of them all?

Summer protocol @ the deep end

2010-08-31T17:32:00.000-07:00

Dogged Anticipation

2010-08-31T17:27:00.000-07:00

Can she?

2010-08-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

Jennifer thinks she can. She thinks she can. She will.
http://www.thelittleenginethatcouldtour.com/about.htm

Situation Shabbat

2010-08-01T13:00:00.001-07:00

Tithing; the practice of giving one tenth of one’s yearly earnings to one’s religious ‘home’ was a Kryptonite-like-principle fastened to my parents’ religious conscience. 

To tithe, of course, requires one to cut a check; arrange for payment; head to the ATM or remove the typically black, rubber stop-gap of one’s piggy bank, releasing one’s pent-up currency, coins — baubles of one’s personal banking system.

Within the topographical and strictly [Orthodox] Catholic framework of 1970[s] Woodside, Queens; Saint Mary’s was my family’s spiritual conclave; where Catechism, Confession and choir practice were the real-time measures of devotion and practice. Back then, Saint Mary’s ethnic mosaic amounted to a tetrahedral of believers: German, Irish, Polish, Italian.

My father’s mid-Western morphology; his sensible sense of right and wrong; his insistence on fair follow-through was aided and abetted by his once Protestant-turned-Catholic tautology and was further layered by my mother’s Pennsylvania-plain-spoken-spin on Jesus [and most any other topic falling under the governance of God’s sky].

Never ‘pressured’ to become a Catholic; my father looked to Rome not for relief [from some other ill-fitting faith] but from a sense of what he believed a family should be — a cohesive unit operating from the same play-book.

My father’s November surrender from this life to the next; framed my third year of college — Saint Mary’s was, of course, where his funeral Mass took place. Congregation Beth Elohim [CBE] in Park Slope, Brooklyn [my first ‘affiliated’ synagogue since emerging as a Reform Jew] is the place I have gone since to observe the anniversary of his passing; where I say Kaddish [the mourner’s prayer] while standing in prayerful remembrance.

The Shabbat which underscored my father’s Yahrzeit [http://judaism.about.com/cs/deathandmourning/f/yahrzeit.htm]this past November [2009] showcased another ‘competing’ element of CBE’s communal prayer experience. A woman [not personally known to me] was called before the congregation by Rabbi Andy Bachman together with an unidentified man [also unknown to me]. Rabbi Bachman revealed that the woman had been to the mikvah several days prior; to claim her place; her chosen identity as a Jew. He went further, elaborating at length, in his standard stream-of-consciousness style about her ‘conversion.’

A ‘strict’ understanding of conversion dictates that full immersion in the mikvah under the supervision and authorization of one’s Beit Din [http://www.myjewishlearning.com/life/Life_Events/Conversion/Conversion_Process/Beit_Din.shtml] combined with the requisite Hebrew-laced; affirmatively-Jewish prayers is the kosher [correct] ‘rite-of-passage’ for an individual seeking to ‘become’ a Jew.

In Othodox circles [communities] once a visit to the mikvah is made [and its associated usage levy is paid] that woman; that man is undeniably, Jewish. So Jewish, in fact, that making public reference to the convert; the conversion, is viewed not only as impolitic but improper.

But CBE is a Reform congregation, where many things [especially as compared to an Orthodox synagogue] are much more relaxed; or, as my father would say — much more “loosey-goosey.”

Jeffrey Toobin’s profile of Senator Charles Schumer in the August 2, 2010 issue of The New Yorker, quotes Rabbi Bachman as bequeathing “spontaneous blessings to the Schumers” during last year’s CBE Yom Kippur services where Senator Schumer and his wife Iris Weinshall have been long-time members.

After thanking Senator Schumer’s wife for her lengthy service to local government, Toobin quotes Rabbi Bachman’s ‘spontaneous’ blessing as follows: “and then what popped out of my mouth when I started talking about Chuck was that I wished him greater strength as he was working on health-care legislation. Suddenly, when I said that, fourteen hundred people got up and started cheering. It was hilarious, a classic Park Slope liberal moment.”

Reflecting on Toobin’s piece begs the following question: Was it also a “classic Park Slope liberal moment” when I began receiving emails [beginning in August 2009] from then Democratic City Council candidate [now Councilman] Brad Lander?

The emails are, unequivocally, electronic evidence illustrative of a violation of the ‘separation of church [synagogue] and state’ [http://www.au.org/about/history.html]. Further, they represent an outright disregard of my privacy rights. I fail to recognize the “hilarity” here; even [especially] as I am neither a resident of Mr. Lander’s Council district or a registered Democrat. Neither, for the record, do I identify as a “Liberal.”

I know that hyperbolic assertions [as can be found in Toobin’s piece] regarding last year’s Yom Kippur experience can [and no doubt will] be perceived as a ‘no-biggie’ type occurrence; especially originating from such a widely respected, influential, personable and popular [1,967 Facebook friends and counting] person such as Rabbi Bachman. But what is quite un-hyperbolic is this: Councilman Lander’s Park Slope campaign headquarters confirmed my suspicions — CBE gave Councilman Lander my email address.

I am, with great regret, at a breaking point. CBE has transformed itself before my very eyes. It has become less like a community of faith and more like a business; a social scene with inter-locking ripples of success, achievement, ambition, ego, patronage, money and privilege; while simultaneously — soulfully anemic.

There are those who will say Kaddish this November at CBE and those who like me are no longer capable of doing so [as was the case last November when the full-frontal attention toward a “convert” amounted to my unanticipated, unexpected and complete religious discomfort].

May the mourners of Zion [and Park Slope] be comforted; for truly, to have lost what was once such a profound zone of holiness and peace has pained me — as if a spear has wedged itself between my rib cage and the many treasured friends I have been blessed to know and retain at CBE.

I am grateful to Jeffrey Toobin for snapping into place that missing Park Slope puzzle piece. It is if as I have been to a chiropractor; brought about by a simple turn of a magazine page. Print is not dead after all.

Poolside

2010-07-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn lifeguard anoints boy of Summer.

Ready to Polka

2010-05-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

Back straight

good posture

evident

the camera doesn’t lie.

Tripod: sisters each; all.

Caroline calls out

“Be your best self.”

Backs to the sun,

We know our mother’s teaching,

her gentlest urging

her kindest word

her most honest truth

her pushing hips

receiving seed

The farmer deep

in the fertile grasses

where Jesus walked

12 brothers bound

to the wisdom of their days;

the curled truths

of Jerusalem’s children.

Take off your shoes.

“Watch, the rocks can be slippery”

they caution

I walk

trout-rich stream

close to our harvest

water cress @

the mountain’s base.

Keystone state. [http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/pa_intro.htm]

Secure

In the bosom

Of their embrace

Every sister, woman, broad, floozy.

Among the posers.

the false positives

We do not know

the shame of privilege

power

presumption

We are

Mayfield’s daughters

Know our coal-mined

Truths.

Lincoln's Luck

2010-04-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Find a penny. Pick it up. All the day you'll have good luck.
What happens when you find 2?

Allende’s Voice: Pablo’s Posture

2010-03-06T05:16:00.000-08:00

Santiago’s sun
was just beginning
to reveal itself

I scanned the heavens
surveying a city
first served up
in the context of
Allende http://www.ted.com/talks/isabel_allende_tells_tales_of_passion.html
Neruda http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1971/neruda-bio.html

Chile’s beauty;
her honesty
his delight

Rooted in my mind
as certain as
The Andes

Today, I stand
amongst my kin, friend-folk
The People
of Concepción
God’s wrath
cast upon
the coast
Port Au Prince
Our collective memory.

Secretary Clinton
President Bachelet

Slip
into something comfortable
work out
the details

with a prayerful hope

Of re-Dedicating
The temple

©2010 julie holley/right_hook

in the year 5770

2009-10-02T01:29:00.000-07:00

i was born an imperfect child.

i wonder how they told my mother?

when she first held me, did she see a beautiful baby?

or was she alarmed
instantly
by how much she knew
she failed
to be the sort of person
she would need to be

to navigate
my obvious
flaw

veronica taught me
to be
self-accounting

to make sure
my actions mattered

that what i did
or failed to do

could mean the difference
between winning the girl

and losing the fight

next month,
i will be reminded of
the woman
who bore the struggle
of bringing me

into the reality
of reminders

that on yom kippur

in the year 5770

i look upon all that is holy
and say:

forgive me

if i have torn
any
fibre

of our link.

i see that you are single

disconnected in a sense

from how much
i seek your forgiveness
each and everyday

because when i look @ myself
in the morning
in the mirror
i see it

imperfect me.

Cardmember Agreement

2009-01-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

It’s in the fine print:
the meaning, our intent, your rights, responsibilities.

Black letters, white space backdrop.

Read it for yourself. Have your lawyer check into it.

Are you up for it?

Get this straight: We. Us. Our.

You. Your. Yours.

We hope you aren’t offended by our initiative — letting you know where you stand.

Pay on time or you’ll wind up an unhappy debtor. We promise.

Every November

2008-11-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

Every November, I remember my father.

Most especially, I remember his kindness; that thing he kept in his heart.

My father appreciated simplicity.

He loved his children, his wife.

On summer nights, he liked an ice-cold beer with his dinner.

He liked his eggs scrambled.

He liked his friends to be true.

Every November, the air takes on a chill and I remember my father — In my mind’s eye, he and I are outside; air escapes from my father’s mouth, bent as he is, on a conversation.

Watching him speak

I think about his heart, his lungs.

Breathing in, my father’s chest rises and I think:

“How wonderful God, giver of life.”

It doesn’t last —— the breathing.

Eventually my father’s heart, his lungs gave out; cancer the cause.

We mourned when the angels took him home.

We cried tears of sorrow.

Every November, on the day my father died, I make a point of remembering my father’s life, not his grave.

I remember his commitment to loving well and earnestly.

Every November, I give pause to a man whose life helped form mine. . . . Whose hands held mine when walking was new to me.

So it is in my memory my father lives.

It is in my mind I see him clearly.

Strong.

Calm.

Smiling.

Every November.

Choose

2008-11-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

In the United States, the 2 parties ( as pictured here, employing the fine folk art of http://thecartbeforethehorse.blogspot.com ) go head to head in the voting booth. Be you for the Democrats or the Republicans, what is crucial is this: GET OUT THE VOTE.