Cool Links

http://redruth.greenbean.org/~ben/4CR/smb_super_synth.swf
That's Super Mario Brothers... its great!

here is something for you Brokeback Mountain. Its as good as the movie. Just like Back to the Future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfODSPIYwpQ

Friday Pilli Blogging

Rant

this poem embodies what I've been feeling as of late. would have loved to heard her recite it. Plus does she remind you of anyone?

Diane Di Prima


Rant

You cannot write a single line w/out a cosmology
a cosmogony
laid out, before all eyes

there is no part of yourself you can separate out
saying, this is memory, this is sensation
this is the work I care about, this is how I
make a living

it is whole, it is a whole, it always was whole
you do not "make" it so
there is nothing to integrate, you are a presence
you are an appendage of the work, the work stems from
hangs from the heaven you create

every man / every woman carries a firmament inside
& the stars in it are not the stars in the sky

w/out imagination there is no memory
w/out imagination there is no sensation
w/out imagination there is no will, desire

history is a living weapon in yr hand
& you have imagined it, it is thus that you
"find out for yourself"
history is the dream of what can be, it is
the relation between things in a continuum

of imagination
what you find out for yourself is what you select
out of an infinite sea of possibility
no one can inhabit yr world

yet it is not lonely,
the ground of imagination is fearlessness
discourse is video tape of a movie of a shadow play
but the puppets are in yr hand
your counters in a multidimensional chess
which is divination
& strategy

the war that matters is the war against the imagination
all other wars are subsumed in it.

the ultimate famine is the starvation
of the imagination

it is death to be sure, but the undead
seek to inhabit someone else's world

the ultimate claustrophobia is the syllogism
the ultimate claustrophobia is "it all adds up"
nothing adds up & nothing stands in for
anything else

THE ONLY WAR THAT MATTERS IS THE WAR AGAINST
THE IMAGINATION

THE ONLY WAR THAT MATTERS IS THE WAR AGAINST
THE IMAGINATION
THE ONLY WAR THAT MATTERS IS THE WAR AGAINST
THE IMAGINATION
ALL OTHER WARS ARE SUBSUMED IN IT

There is no way out of a spiritual battle
There is no way you can avoid taking sides
There is no way you can not have a poetics
no matter what you do: plumber, baker, teacher

you do it in the consciousness of making
or not making yr world
you have a poetics: you step into the world
like a suit of readymade clothes

or you etch in light
your firmament spills into the shape of your room
the shape of the poem, of yr body, of yr loves

A woman's life / a man's life is an allegory

Dig it

There is no way out of the spiritual battle
the war is the war against the imagination
you can't sign up as a conscientious objector

the war of the worlds hangs here, right now, in the balance
it is a war for this world, to keep it
a vale of soul-making

the taste in all our mouths is the taste of power
and it is bitter as death

bring yr self home to yrself, enter the garden
the guy at the gate w/ the flaming sword is yrself

the war is the war for the human imagination
and no one can fight it but you/ & no one can fight it for you

The imagination is not only holy, it is precise
it is not only fierce, it is practical
men die everyday for the lack of it,
it is vast & elegant

intellectus means "light of the mind"
it is not discourse it is not even language
the inner sun

the polis is constellated around the sun
the fire is central

REVOLUTIONARY LETTER #34

Diane Di Prima is a poet of Italian American heritage, and a wonderful beautiful beat poet from the 60's going to write and post some stuff from the 60's. Getting into a very 60's ish vibe... change, fight the power. I"m on the lookout for some Mexician stuff, please help if you know of any. She wrote a book that was entitled Revolutionary Letters. Enjoy.

H ey man let’s make a revolution, let’s give
every man a thunderbird
color TV, a refrigerator, free
antibiotics, let’s build
apartments with a separate bedroom for every child
inflatable plastic sofas, vitamin pills
with all our daily requirements
that come in the mail
free gas & electric & telephone &
no rent, why not?

hey man, let’s make a revolution, let’s
turn off the power, turn on the
stars at night, put metal
back in the earth, or at least not take it out
anymore, make lots of guitars and flutes, teach the chicks
how to heal with herbs, let’s learn
to live with each other in a smaller space, and build
hogans, and domes and teepees all over the place
BLOW UP THE PETROLEUM LINES, make the cars
into flower pots or sculptures or live
in the bigger ones, why not?


Here's another one i like. 

My Lover's Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun  

for Sheppard

These eyes are amber, they
have no pupils, they are filled
w/a blue light (fire).
They are the eyes of gods
the eyes of insects, straying
godmen of the galaxy, metallic
wings.
Those eyes were green
are still, sea green, or grey
their light
less defined. These sea-green
eyes spin dreams on the
palpable air. They are not yrs
or mine. It is as if the dead
saw thru our eyes, other for a moment
borrowed these windows, gazing.
We keep still. It is as if these windows
filled for a minute w/a different
light.

Not blue, not amber. But the curtain drawn
over our daily gaze is drawn aside.
Who are you, really. I have seen it
often enough, the naked
gaze of power. We "charge"
the other with it / the leap
into non-betrayal, a wind
w/ out sound we live in. Where
are we, really, climbing
the sides of buildings to peer in
like spiderman, at windows
not our own

A website with some more of her writing.
http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/anarchistpoetry/Diprimadir/Diprima.html

Mis Queridas de Avenal

Will People whom read or look at the great Ciuapilli pictures please Comment. I know I put the verification but I would love to see people's comments and thoughts.

Brokeback Ricky?

I expected to write a full length post on Brokeback Mountains cuz I thought is as great but I found a quote from Ricky Martin that sums it up all so much better. PS- I'm not infering Ricky is gay although if he is that's cool, but I do like his music. UPDATE - don't know about the golden shower thing though...

Ricky Martin is not taking criticism about a sexy interview he had with Blender magazine lightly, reports Yahoo! Music. The Latin singing sensation has stood up to backlash he's receieved following an interview with the sexy music mag where he said, "I love giving the 'golden shower.' I've done it before in the shower. It's like, so sexy, you know, the temperature of your body and the shower water is very different." Ricky went on to say, "I'm open to everything. There are moments for soft, gentle sex. And there are moments for a good spank in the butt."

Philly Buster!!

Everyone call and support your Dem Senator I don't have one so please call for me. We need to filiabuster Alito, it maybe to little to late but miracles do happen and at least the public will know Dems mean what they say

This is, as Senator Kennedy reminded us, a generational battle. Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court could turn back a generation's worth of progress in civil rights, in worker protections, in equality for women, in environmental protection, in the fight of the little guy against the corporation. And Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court will affect the generations to come. We cannot afford to refight the battles of the past 40 years during the next 40 years.

This is an uphill battle, but one in which we can at the very least achieve a moral victory. Approached with principle, with passion, and with vigor, a moral victory is not a hollow victory. As Senator Kennedy told us, "You don't ever lose fighting for principle, for what is decent and right. You don't ever lose when you have the power, the force of being correct."

Just a Thought

I would like to find out how fast and by how much have scholarships numbers risin compared to the rate that tution has risen in the last ten years. I do believe that the high millions that Republicans claim there are for people thur scholarship for college are but a drop in the bucket. Plus compare the supposed rising number in millions of the total scholarships with the inflation/ book prices and tution basicly the cost of going to college.

In an aside my brother in-law is happy he's only going to be 14000 in the hole for his four years of college while between our marriage were at 100,000. I wonder whos going to buy a house first in this debter economy?

Plus... are the rich capitalists truly benovolent, great helpers of society? Are the rich the ones that create the new technology or the guy or gal busting her ass in the middle or bottom rung of the company? thoughts people thoughts... Is democracy formed to protect the rich minority of society?

Ciuapilli y Nayeli

Las Primas.
Ciuapilli Blogging Fridays again... its going to be harder to do with out her here but I will try and place pictures of her ever friday as long as i can. Still California dreaming.

Baby Micheal and Ciuapilli

Chicano political power and Henry Cisneros

Going to drop a line about how Cisneros has impeded the Chicano and Latino rise to national power in a future posting... coming soon.

Reality TV

I was browsing the new and saw rumors that Bobby and Whiteny might break up. Now I know thats not worrysome but they've dealt with each other for many years now and it wasn't till the cameras came that they cracked. Crack... that's funny. Anywho, I use to think damn if they pay me to be on TV I'd do it wifey and I could stand the strain and make some cash in the process. But after so many celeberties cracking up I don't know. Nick and Jessica the most known. Liza Minelli and the husband whom she beat up. Maybe its the stress of being fake in front of cameras as it is to be in front of people all the time. But my conclusion is that if you care about your relationship don't go on reality TV unless your the Hulk and already have kids whom can take away the limelight or get high like the Osborne kids. Either way I hope Reality TV dies a quick death.. i can't stand watching people degrade themselve for so many stupid things.

Another Pilli picture 

Pilli blogging Fridays 

King George

I do believe that our president has overstepped his boundries. I said on Sept. 11 while watching the replay in the evening that this president would turn himself into a quasi dicator because we are at war. Never did I believe I would be completely correct in my assessment. The only thing that is keeping the contreversy from really blowing up is fear. This fear is a slippery slope that the White House has ridden all the way to this point. Remember he has a mandate 51% of people in this country trusted him with the command of this country and yet he still is failing the Union's people. His war presidency was barely renewed as a magizine subscription you find too bothersome to cancel so you just let it renew itself automaticly. Plus with a Congress completely controled by the Right for the last 6 years and the house for more than a decade we should be happy and in the mist of the most optimistic time in the country. Well it maybe for the rich and famous but the majority is not. Somehow people continue to get laidoff and Katrina did a number to an entire region but the unemployment keeps going down. Someway I beleive before Bush leave the white house (if he leaves) the Unemployment rate will reach 0% yes everyone will be working. How I don't know but that the way the number are going so just be happy. But as I was arguing with someone this weekend, dictatorships are bad. Sure they mitigate regional differences sometime such as Yugoslavia or Iraq, they nonetheless cause pain and represhion for sector of society that are not favored. I don't favor Fidel Castro being a leftist dictator, the dictator is wrong. I am reading a biography of Linclon our 13th president, he repeatedly speaks of the United States as a grand experiment in self-governance, he knew and fought for that experiment to continue and estimated that the experiment would be exported around the world. Well it has been but much as the United States continually deals with its present realities so do the countries that attempt or are forced to adopt democracy. Nevertheless, in fully fledged or even controled sections, self-governance is the only legitimet governing in this world. A government and nation that is respondent to its population and not to the business world or the WTO or foriegn intrest. This is why globalization is scary for many and why it should also be a source of hope. Democracy will help this world realize its potencial but the fasist/dictatorship and Kleptocracy severly dimishes that potencial people in this world have. Therefore a dictatorship no matter what ideological side is evil and wrong and must be actively fought for the shear reason that people are entitled by god to self-governance.

Thanks to Elderd for making me write this hope he or someone comments.

Osama drama

from the liberal oasis.. Pilli pictures come out later.
The Osama Tape
Another Reminder Of the GOP's Failing Terror War
(posted Jan. 20 1:30 AM ET)

1590 days since 9/11 and Osama still has not been brought to justice, nor (as Dubya used to say) has justice been brought to him.

Friendly leaders have been undemocratically installed in Iraq and Afghanistan under the guise of democracy.

The Bush Administration has unconstitutionally asserted that Dubya is at the “zenith” of his executive power.

He has used that unchecked, unbalanced, unconstitutional power to allow torture, secret detentions, and warrantless wiretaps.

Unsurprisingly, these undemocratic, unconstitutional acts have not helped defeat the terrorist threat, but have exacerbated it.

Killing or capturing bin Laden immediately after 9/11 might have sent a strong message and severely disrupted the terrorist network.

Now, if we ever do get bin Laden, it will be four or more years too late.

It will be mere symbolism, as the terrorist ideology has already spread thanks to Bush’s neocon program.

Bush and the neocons deserve our deep disdain for putting their dangerous ideological desires ahead of taking care of immediate threats.

But let us not argue that bin Laden should be the be all and end all of a liberal counterterror strategy, simply because Bush has shamefully let him run free for so long.

Getting bin Laden, taking care of unfinished business, may be Step 1 in getting our counterterror strategy back on track, but it is far from steps 2-10.

Steps 2-10 involve junking the failing neocon game plan of phony democracy imposed by unilateral force, and replacing it with credible democracy and the eradication of poverty, fostered multilaterally.

That’s what will sap the Al Qaeda ideology of any rationale, depriving it of sympathy and support from the Arab/Muslim world.

Getting bin Laden’s symbolic scalp, without a substantive shift in foreign policy will be meaningless.

Of course, instead of delving into why the GOP strategy has failed us so, elements of the media are reinforcing the GOP-fed notion that liberals and Democrats are akin to Osama.

Chris Matthews sunk to a new low, saying Osama sounds like Michael Moore. (Calls for a public apology are mounting.)

And the GOP flaks in Scarborough Country are saying Dems are taking cues from Al Qaeda.

Perpetuating the perception that Dems and liberals are weak is what has kept Republicans in power when national security is believed to be on the line.

But it is not Democratic politicians, liberal bloggers, or portly filmmakers that have fed Al Qaeda’s growth.

It is the last five years of essentially unfettered Republican rule, breaking our military, wasting our resources, denying people’s freedom, undermining our moral authority.

Bush is not Osama, and Cheney is not Zarqawi. But they make us weaker by the day.

MLK weekend

I haven't had a more relaxing and chill weekend in a while. As you can ascertain below we took pictures and if you start at the bottom and go up you can kinda trace our weekend. although there was a point when Ciuapilli was in California for a week we drove over and chilled with her and went to the beach. Chill time then we drove back and got a good shot of friendship and friend love. Funny how sometimes just being near people you know and love can alter you mood so. Well here's to a grand new year and changes all around. Taking some classes and they seem exciting. Que dios los bendige. Thanks to all for making it a happy weekend for Mari and I.

Get rid of the fan and this would make for a compelling Romance book cover. 

Meeting up with the O' Duece crew on MLK day. 

Alvaro and Anamaria while we visit LA.