Nobel Peace Price

Our most sincere and delighted congratulations to

Liu Xiaobo for winning the Nobel Peace Prize this year!

Our most sincere and heartsick sorrow to Liu Xiaobo that the Chinese government has charged him with 'inciting subversion' and imprisoned him for 11 years. This stems from his work to change China's communist ideals.

The price of freedom is high, but there is nothing that those who want it won't sacrifice to get it; history has shown us this time and time again.

The Chinese government has called Xiaobo's Nobel win "an attack on its political and legal system" and a "political farce", as they view the (massive world wide) support of Xiaobo in an extremely negative light. His wife, Liu Xia has been under house arrest since the Nobel committee announced Xiaobo's win.  No one will be allowed to accept his prize for him, unfortunately. 

The Nobel committee will honor this imprisoned hero by representing him with an empty chair at the presentation of the awards.  He may not be there to accept it physically, but his absence will make him more powerfully present than anyone else who is there.  It will speak volumes to the world, and hopefully, to the leaders of China.    

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said,

"The Nobel committee has to admit they are in the minority, the Chinese people and the overwhelming majority of people in the world are against this.  The decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee does not represent the wish of the majority of the people in the world, particularly that of the developing countries... This is not an issue of human rights; it is an issue of interference of internal affairs...  Liu Xiaobo broke Article 105, a crime of instigating the subversion of state power. He went beyond general criticism of the state..."

I believe that she is wrong, and I am not alone in that opinion.
Almost 100 protesters marched on the Chinese Embassy in Oslo with a petition containing more than 100,000 signatures demanding Liu Xiaobo be released from prison, crying "Freedom to Liu! Freedom for China!". 

Leaders from many nations all over the world including President Barack Obama and his wife have called for his release as well, and China's leaders in Beijing have only grown more furious over the requests and demands for Xiaobo's freedom.  The Chinese Foreign Ministry has blocked all media and internet coverage and all information about the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Liu Xiaobo. 

President Obama stated,

"Mr. Liu reminds us that human dignity also depends upon the advance of democracy, open society, and the rule of law. The values he espouses are universal, his struggle is peaceful, and he should be released as soon as possible."

The chair is only empty of a physical body... it is filled beyond measure with faith, with ideals, with dreams, with the support of those who have freedom and of those who believe in it and dream of it every day.

These are the struggles that bring us to freedom in the days to come. Liu Xiaobo, we believe in you, and in what you stand for. Keep the faith. Peace be with you.



Chris Andrews Photography http://www.cja-images.org.uk/index.html

~Fair Warning~

If you lurk without commenting, I shall send my Pirate friends after you, and I've got lots of them.  If you are a Pirate, I shall send my secret Ninja. 

Shyness isn't paid, tipped or tolerated and opinions are like belly buttons; everybody's got one, so leave yours before you wander off.

Thank you.

HRH

When Will We Ever Learn

California isn't in a golden state, when it comes to hitting the books.  TIME did a story on several teachers in several towns who are paying for their own supplies and going to every creative and extreme measure they can imagine, in order to come up with not only the tools they need to teach, but even basics like pencils and paper to run the classroom and their own vacuums to keep it clean. 

Almost $17 billion was cut from California's education system in the last 2 years.  $17 BILLION. 

That is an appalling number.

It is estimated that an additional $2.4 billion will be taken in the coming year. 

When teachers resort to cleaning their own classrooms after a day of teaching because the janitorial staff has been let go or had hours cut back, when they have paper curtains held together with duct tape, when they have to have car washes or bake sales to raise money for supplies and go to garage sales to come up with tools to teach children, things have gone severely wrong.  This state of affairs isn't isolated to California; it's happening all over our country.

Where is this train wreck headed?

What happens to the most powerful nation in the world when the bulk of the children who will run it in varying positions and degrees in 3 decades have almost no education? Even now, the national rate of high school dropouts is stunning - Diplomas Count showed statistics at 68.8% graduation rate in 2007.  There is no indication that it has improved since then.

This is not an issue.

This is a crisis that needs immediate attention and change. It is not only crucial on an individual level for each student that loses the opportunity to reach their full potential through better education, but that domino effect winds it's way up through the community into a national level and then it affects the world. If the U.S. does not have citizens with the knowledge to further this nation in every capacity then it falls behind other nations and a sociological revolution becomes probable, if history is any indication at all.

Knowledge is indeed power.  Without it, we are crippling our future, the future of our nation, and the delicate balance of relations with the nations we share this world with.

I saw a bumper sticker once that said, "The world will be a better place when our schools have all the money they need and the military has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber." 

If only.

I've said before that George Bush's education strategy was 'no child left behind... the platoon.' Uneducated people who have no idea how to think critically are easily controlled, and give far too much power to those few who would use it for their own gain and purpose.  This is not the ideal of our nation, nor of our forefathers who fought and died to make it what it could be.  Masses of ignorant citizens become sheep, are expendable, and the integrity of our future is lost because we cannot contribute to furthering the progress of mankind or even ourselves.


It is not with power in might that we could reach unimaginable realities, but with minds fueled by knowledge that have the capability of attaining limitless possibility.
 

A Nickel's Worth Of Free Advice

From a recent discussion on Ethics... a good reminder.

~Take responsibility for your actions
~Do not make excuses
~Develop a personal discipline
~Balance time, energy and goals
~Know your weaknesses
~Align your priorities with your values
~Admit your mistakes and ask for forgiveness
~Take extra care with your finances
~Put your family ahead of your work
~Place a high value on people; and trust them
~Do periodic self-evaluations

~Live with integrity
~Know what you stand for, and what you won't stand for
~Live with a culture of honesty
~Live with a culture of humility
~Listen to the ideas of others
~Have the courage to tackle tough issues
~Encourage ethical behavior
~Live your values

...what would the world be like if we all did these simple ethical things?

Of Murderers and Journalism

Obituary:
On Friday, February 27th, 2009, the Rocky Mountain News closed down. 55 days shy of 150 years of publishing, connecting citizens throughout Colorado and the world. 200 jobs were lost; all of those people listed on the last page of the final printing of this legacy in journalism. A very black Friday indeed. I was lucky enough to have a brief bit of my own personal work published in that paper before its demise.


A Prominent and Proud Murderer Boasts:

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis.


"I have to say, that when we say, 'Who killed the Rocky Mountain News,' we're all part of it, for better or worse, and I argue it's mostly for the better," Polis said, "The media is dead, and long live the new media, which is all of us,". "Since we killed the newspapers" and "own the media," bloggers and citizen journalists have a responsibility.
"We can't just kill it and walk away," he said. "It's important for all of us to reach out to some of those . . . on the other side and present the progressive point of view," he said.
~reported by the Denver Post.

With an ironic twist and a back handed blow, Jared Polis denigrates the very form of media that defended his stance on education for minorities as recently as July 24th, 2008. I wonder what former "opinion columns and blogs" editor & author of that passionate defense for Polis, Vincent Carroll, thinks of Mr. Polis' limited perspective, now.


It's true that convergent journalism and media is the wave of the future in that field. I will be part of that, but I will not sell my soul to it as the solitary means of publishing news and maintaining communications between citizens of the world.

There is still a place for the format of media that is a foundation of the correspondence world we have now; newspapers. To state that it is "mostly for the better" that this printed legacy has met its dissolution is to wave away with indifference more than 150 years of hard work, sacrifice, truth, connection between people and the chronicles of humanity that lived every one of those days. How dare you callously disregard that rich endowment.
Your words are filled with shallow indifference, and are tossed out with irresponsible, mindless disdain.

You've qualified yourself (and the entire populace of humanity) as 'citizen journalists of the world'... and that is a slap in the face of the professionals who hold together the entire media industry. How dare you disrespect and dishonor every single one of those individuals.

Perhaps you think you have the education, tact, talent and time to produce the quality work that currently educates and informs the rest of the world. Judging by your ever-so-eloquent dismissal of the Rocky Mountain News, I'd say absolutely not. Your over-inflated confidence in the rest of the populace to produce responsible, unbiased, intelligible, accurate, timely, current news is not only entirely without base, it is unquestionably impossible. Best of luck with that whole notion.


Mr. Polis:

Do NOT make the careless libertine assumption that all bloggers and online media are responsible for the cessation of the Rocky Mountain News and all of its ilk. You have no right whatsoever to include anyone but yourself in your ridiculously stated position. I am a blogger. I am an online media journalist. I am an 'in print' media journalist. I am a citizen. I fit nicely into each and every single category that your verbal incompetence has encompassed.

I demand of you that you never assume that you may include me in your self-deprecating drivel. I give you neither license nor permission to name me or my work when you make thoughtless unsubstantiated statements about a subject that you very obviously know too little about. Next time you open your mouth, try to refer to only those people who actually stand with you in your transparent and flimsy ideals.

**Update**

Before I had the chance to publish this diatribe for you, Mr. Polis, I see that you've already come to the press that you so shamelessly flouted, to offer regrets for your mindless remarks and ideas... you must have a very good public relations agent. That's good, Mr. Polis, it's painfully obvious that you desperately need one.

Streets Paved In Poverty

Join Blog Action Day and be the difference that makes it change.




This is a special story about one man. Meet Jason.

Jason, like thousands of people across our country, is homeless. The day I visited with him, he was homeless in Santa Fe, sitting on the sidewalk on San Francisco street, just outside of a Starbucks coffee shop.

I was hurrying past him to go from one appointment to the next and I saw him out of the the corner of my eye, sitting there with his hand on the dogs leash, holding his guitar, staring at the sidewalk from under the low brim of his weathered hat.

I was compelled to stop. "What songs do you know?" I asked with a smile.

His voice was very quiet. "I just play my own stuff."

"Could I please buy a song from you, sir?" I knelt down before him.

He picked up his chin and his guitar, and played a tune for me. We visited for a while. He said he's been all over the country, from Florida to LA and the toughest part of being homeless is finding a dry place to stay.

The rain that has curled his hat has also washed the words off of his guitar, and his hopes and dreams right away with them.



How do you get up out of that hole? Where do you go from there?
On to the next town.
The road does not stop.

The problem of homelessness in this country does not stop.

There are efforts made here and there, by local churches, by independent groups and by individuals who want to make a difference, but it's like painting a house with an artists fine tipped paintbrush.

Our leaders have not yet found a solution to this issue, but some are trying. There must be more effort, more decision, more action to make it happen. If you live in the states, contact your leaders; your mayor, your city counsel people, your senator and your governor and tell them that this must change now. There are solutions for every situation that people are willing to change.

Someday your road will lead you home, Jason.

Blog Action Day ~ 2008

Blog Action Day is on October 15th. The topic this year is POVERTY.

This is a very serious world wide issue and it should not be overlooked.

It knows no borders
It knows no time
It knows no ethnicity
It knows no religion
It knows no age
It knows no gender

Poverty knows pain
Poverty knows suffering
Poverty knows sickness
Poverty knows desperation
Poverty knows hopelessness
Poverty knows death

Poverty knows humanity
WE ARE HUMANITY

We can make the difference, if we choose to do it.
Join Blog Action Day and be the difference that makes it change.

Ladies Choice ~ A Womans Right To Vote In America

Eighty-eight years ago, after long angry battles that raged, arrests, tortured incarcerations, marches, picket lines and a war for equality that drew blood and the attention of the nation, women finally won the right to vote.


HBO created a movie about the women who fought so tirelessly so that all the generations of women after them could have a voice... could live in a society of equality... it's a tough movie to watch, to realize what was sacrificed so that women could step behind the curtain and exercise their choice... their right to vote, to change the nation and the future of our country. I absolutely recommend this Hilary Swank gem: Iron Jawed Angels

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Both of these ladies worked incessantly to get the vote, and both passed away before their dreams were realized.


~Alice Paul~


Lucretia Mott



~Lucy Burns~




“Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the Negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?

Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or Negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?

Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it. The men better let them.

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.”

--Sojourner Truth


Whether you vote Democrat, Republican or Independent...
GET OUT AND VOTE
The right to do so was not given freely, it was hard fought and hard won by the blood and tears of our foremothers.
Make their sacrifices and dreams count.

Watching Whale Rights

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has filed an environmental impact statement in an attempt to facilitate the reduction of occurrences of ships striking the endangered species of right whales in the North Atlantic Ocean.



Let's start with the most significant piece of information: there are about 300 right whales left in the world.

The major east coast shipping lanes cross the migration route of the whales (a slow moving species) and a few times a year, ships collide with the whales, killing them.

NOAA is requesting the implementation of a law that would require ships traveling within 20 nautical miles of the coast, in the specific areas of natural habitat for the right whales, to reduce their speed to 10 knots.

Think school zone.

Slow down to protect those who are naive to the possibility of danger.

This will have a financial impact on the ships; it will increase their cost due to time constraints. This is what we call an opportunity cost, in economics. There are sacrifices to be made, and this is one that absolutely should be made. It is the noble endeavor to save and protect a species that has no knowledge of the threat of it's demise.





We are duty bound and morally obligated to do it.

NOAA is accepting comments about this possible change until September 29th, 2008.
If you feel at all compelled to make your voice heard, I urge you to contribute your opinion. Make your thoughts and concerns known to those who can make a difference.

NOAA's environmental impact statement

NOAA's website

To email your comments: shipstrike.EIS@noaa.gov Tell them what you think!

CNN's coverage of this story

Thanks to NOAA for the whale images, except the first image which is AP.

Settling Matters Of The Heart ~ The Cardinal Rules Of Love

One of my very dearest fellow lion owners from the Shameless Lions Writing Circle; Rel of Under The Microscope (and his lion Zaccharias), recently posted a question regarding couples who settle for each other, when they are perhaps not well suited for one another.

Is it okay to settle? Rel asked.

My heart and mind were stirred into a tempest with this query... as I have a very strong belief about it. It is one that is well known to my friends, and usually shared emphatically with those who ask me about it. My response to Rel was this:

I am sure that it is a matter of opinion; and for some, yes... settling is fine, they'd rather have someone than be alone.

For me... absolutely not.

I'd never, ever settle. If it's not absolute, true, real love then I don't want it. I am worth that. I am worth being loved for who I am, all of my days, by one who could not imagine waking up without me by his side every day of his life, and one who wouldn't want to.

And he is worth being loved like that in return, for as I expect it, so would I give it, to the nth degree.

What is real love, but living your life with a partner whose existence is the air that you breathe, one who fills your heart with fiery passion, strong love and peaceful contentment, and who, by their love and devotion, is the inspiration that lifts the wings of your soul to reach ever higher, to be the best that you can be... and then, to give all of that back to your mate with every fiber of your being out of the necessity of love, because your heart would burst if you did not; you could know no other way to exist than to give all of yourself to him, as he does to you.

What is settling for mediocrity in the face of that? It is nothing, and I would walk away from nothing, every time. I would rather be alone than in a lie. If I settle, then what do I believe I am worth? No better than sufficient? Acceptable? What do I believe that my partner is worth then, if I am settling for mediocrity with him... then that makes him less than he should be worth in the eyes of one who should love him without limits.


I have seen too many cold and loveless relationships die, or exist like a hollow and empty shell for no beneficial reason. Life is far too short to live like that; without love, within a lie. If it's not the real thing, it isn't worth the endeavor.

Thank you, Rel. This was a very good question.

One Nation Under...

The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, CO. has alerted the media that the sea ice at the North Pole may be melted by the end of the summer (September) of this year.

While there are a myriad of effects (mostly negative) of this phenomenon, there is one in particular that strikes me as an incomparable loss.

The loss of an entire nation. Maldives is a nation made up of 1192 small islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, just southwest of Sri Lanka. It is the flattest country in the world, and at present, sits about 7 feet above sea level.

On April 22, 2008, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom appealed to the Business for the Environment conference, pleading for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a global level. His country is in danger of being lost at sea... if sea levels continue to rise. He has written and circulated a book about it, titled "Paradise Drowning".

Never mind that this is unquestionably one of the most beautiful places on our planet, but for the 350,000 people who live there, it is home. It has been since before 3rd century BC.

Maldives produces less than .01% of the greenhouse gases that may be their undoing.

We must do our part. We must all cut back in every way we can, every time we can.
It is imperative.

Mark Serreze, the senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center made a painfully ironic point when he stated, "There's also, of course, oil at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. Now, the irony of that is kind of clear, but the fact that we are opening up the Arctic Ocean does make it more accessible."

More accessible to exploitation... the effects of which destroy our planet, a bit at a time, until it is uninhabitable.

All photos are from TrekEarth.com

Reflection

Turn your sound up...

and REFLECT.

The ABC's of Making a Difference For Our Planet

The ABC's of Making a difference for our planet!

Ask others to be part of the change
Buy recycled products
Change the way you use
Dispose waste properly
Ecologically minded, every day!
Find ways to reuse
GO GREEN
Help your community learn and practice ways to save
I may be one person, but I can make a big difference
Just one earth, just one chance
Keep finding new ways to save our planet
Leave nothing but footprints behind
Make the difference
Now is the time
Only what you need and what won't hurt the planet
Purchase earth friendly products
Quit wasting
Responsibility is OURS ~ recycle everything
Start now!
Teach everyone how to live environmentally friendly
Understand the impact we have
Value the planet enough to change how you use it
Waste not want not!
Xperiment with new ways to save
You are the difference
Zzzzzzzz.... sleeping through this is not an option

Make a difference every day, in many ways, with everything you do.

For Love Not Money

It's the first day of school. My friend Rose has just gotten her teaching degree and is starting her career as a teacher. She's teaching English this year. We were talking about her upcoming work the other day and she was telling me about her class room and her ideas for different things throughout the year.

"I have to be creative to make it all work though," she told me, "But I can do it!"

"You're pretty clever... I have no doubts about your ability." I replied.

"Thanks, but that's not what I meant. I don't have a very big budget for the year, so I'll have to think of ways to make it work." she sounded tired.

"How big is your budget?" I asked.

"Forty dollars."

"Forty dollars? A month?"

"No. For the year."

This was the point at which I became incredibly irate and went on a tirade about how the government can spend billions of dollars on war, missiles, guns, bureaucratic nonsense, and all kinds of other WASTE... and our children are getting an education like this! I will spare you the details of my rant, as I am sure you get the picture.

$40 lousy bucks, for the year. In the presidents own home state of Texas. No child left behind... was he talking about no child left behind the platoon? A child who doesn't have the knowledge or understanding to change the direction of war and politics?

The fastest way to control a countries people is to stupefy them. Then the only people who have a good education are the leaders... and they only serve themselves. There are exceptions to the rule, but we've seen so many of those good, strong people be assassinated, they don't usually make it far enough to change what I would call a rapid decline in morality, education and the welfare of the people of this country.

I have suggested to her that she look for support in any form from local businesses and parents. But it leaves one wondering about the future of a country that does not support the education of it's children... the same children who will be running this country and caring for us when we are all old.

The seeds we sow today will determine the harvest we reap tomorrow. I shudder to think of it.


Scarlett & Viaggiatore

OutRAGEous Mortality Check

I am completely astounded.

Bewildered.
Confounded.
Shocked.
Appalled.
Confused.
Stunned.

...but somehow not at a loss for words, just comprehension.

I am very glad to be sitting here typing this away, healthy and happy as you please.
But it is by nothing short of the grace of God that I am doing so.

I was forced off of the highway -off of the LEFT side of the highway (that would be the fast lane)- by another driver who was speeding, weaving in and out of traffic and trying to squeeze his car into the tailpipe of my car. I have no idea why he was angry with me, but there was not a shred of doubt about it when he got into the right lane beside me and pushed me off the paved highway into the dirt on the side of the road... at a brisk 80 miles an hour.

Thankfully I am a good driver. I did not wreck. I was able to get back on the road and continue on my way.

But all the way, I wondered... HOW?!?!
How could someone DO that? At what point does someone sink to a level where human life means nothing? I could have been killed, or seriously injured. I have a family, friends... I have a LIFE! How much does someone have to lose, how hateful does someone have to feel within themselves before they are indifferent to the precious gift of life?

I am dumbfounded.

He sped away as soon as he had gotten me off the road... and disappeared up ahead, he was going so fast. I didn't see him anywhere.

And I am left to wonder at this brush with my mortality... because I lose sight of it in my daily habits and lifestyle. I get caught up in the all the activities I'm doing, and people I keep company with, and goals I have. I forget that this priceless time we have here is so fleeting, that every single second counts. That there are no guarantees.

It is what we make it.

So I am going to take this evil deed, turn it around, and pay it forward positively. And I'm going to ask you... who are reading this, YOU... to please go do something kind and considerate for someone else today. Something unexpected and very good. Make a difference to someone else that will bring a smile to them.

Maybe we can win over those souls who believe that there is nothing worth living for.


With love,
Scarlett & Viaggiatore

Let me tell you a thing or two! ~ The Moaning Meme

I have been tagged with this most unusual meme by Ally at Crazy dust in my coffee, thanks Ally... a legal and lawful chance to gripe!

I have tagged 5 people who I have not tagged for anything in the past. Enjoy!

5 people who will be annoyed you tagged them.

• Pawlie Kokonuts at The Laughorist
• Cupcake Man at Freedom is a cupcake
• Wilf at Wilfs World
• Cleo at Confessions of Cleopantha
• Caribbean Queen at NYC/Caribbean Ragazza

and, on the off chance that one of these fine folk do not play along, I am using my mulligan on a back up tag:

• Kelly at MyUtopia

4 things that should go into room 101 and be removed from the face of the earth.
• Prejudice - we are humanity, get over yourself already
• Hatred - just imagine
• Disease - all of them
• Hunger - the world over

3 things people do that make you want to shake them violently.
• Interrupting - again with the manners!
• Lying - I detest liars
• Child abusers - straight to hell for you!

2 things you find yourself moaning about.
• Spending twenty years of my life being on HOLD. I can't stand being put on ignore. GRR.
• Gas prices - You want HOW MUCH for a lousy gallon of gas?!!

1 thing the above answers tell you about yourself.
• Hmm. I'm plagued with pie in the sky ideals and pipe dreams?

RULES
• Link to the original meme at freelancecynic.com so people know what it's all about!
• Be as honest as possible. This is about letting people get to know the real you!
• Try not to insult anyone - unless they really deserve it or are very, very ugly!
• Post these rules at the end of every meme!

The silent killer... a battle with cancer

Shelley (at home in Rome) has recently posted a blog that must be seen, and it's message spread. What's the message?

Fatty (fatcyclist.com) (Elden) is a fellow blogger who has begun a battle to save his wife from cancer. One of the readers of his blog went to Shelley for advice and assistance in fulfilling a wish, a dream for Susan (Fatty's incredible wife, and mother of their 4 children). She's starting chemo now, and when she gets a break from it, she wants to go to Italy for a visit. She'll need one by the time that break comes, but it will be difficult for them to accomplish this. There are already several creative ideas and plans under way to help Fatty and Susan reach their destination. We have been asked to do what we can. I have pledged to support their efforts and spread the word about their story.

A couple of options from Shelley's blog are:

Here's how YOU can help:

1) Spread the word about this through emails and links back to this post or to Elden's posts.

2) Do you live in Italy? Have you traveled to Italy before? Even if not, can you think of a creative way you could contribute to making their trip a reality? Expats and non-expats alike are all welcome to pitch in! If you would be willing to share your knowledge, expertise or resources regarding Italy and a trip to Italy, please let me know via email (ahirswap AT gmail DOT com), mentioning what specifically you would be able to contribute. Creativity is best. For example...

If you're a tour guide in Italy, could you offer a free tour?
Know a creative way to help them save money on their trip?
Do you have anything useful you could donate to them that would be helpful during their trip? (A few leftover euros or bus tickets from a prior vacation, maps, guide books, a care package of things you think they could use on their vacation, etc. etc. etc.?)
Have a list of things they should see, with personal tips from your own experience? Personal restaurant recommendations?Let your imagination run wild!

3) You can purchase one of Elden and Twin Six's special-edition pink lemonade jerseys, available in men's and women's sizes. The profits from the jerseys will actually go three ways (as copied below from Elden's blog):

Treatment: Copays, deductibles, and possibly expenses for traveling for clinical trials. It all adds up.

LiveStrong: As I’ve recently mentioned, I’m now a big fan of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. They’ve helped us, and now I want to give back. When you buy a pink Fat Cyclist jersey, a third of the net goes to the LiveStrong foundation.

A Trip to Italy: When Susan’s ready to go, I’m taking her on a vacation to Italy. And if you buy a jersey, in a sense you’re taking her, too. Which is not to say that
you’re invited to come along.

Myself, I am buying some of the pink lemonade jerseys. I am sharing this effort with others, and I am referring back to Shelley's blog and Fatty's blog.

Please be a part of something truly good... pay it forward, and help make a dream come true.

Scarlett

The song has not remained the same....

I am appalled. I am also disgusted and angered, hence this blog. CNN.com has posted an article regarding overweight or less than glamorous singers. It is titled, "If you're a female singer, you'd better be sexy". It discusses the latest trend in the world of music for an up and coming artist. If you want to be a star... you must look the part or you'll get nowhere.


This is an outrage. I realize that sex sells. Unfortunately. But there is more to a song than the cover girl singing it. I have recently posted a blog about the sexual objectification of women that could only be termed a diatribe on this subject. Music producers are no longer marketing talent. They are no longer unveiling the hidden gifts of unknown wonders whose work often changes the face of music. Rather, they are changing the faces of those who make the music.


Oftentimes it isn't even really music that's made... it's computerized garbage. Put a hot sexy chick on the stage in shocking and revealing attire, hand her a microphone and turn the computers on. This is music now. And you can't play if you don't look like a Bratz doll or a Barbie.


Many of the performers today are hugely lacking in talent, morals and worse than this... common sense. Need I mention (with a disgusted groan) Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson. I also hate that most of 'their' songs are not written by them and are mostly about sex. Get over it already. Sing about something other than how hot you are, or how you could turn his world inside out if he sleeps with you. You're worth more than that. I think. I may be wrong about that with the two names mentioned above.


But I digress. Music means so much to us because it defines those moments in our lives that are significant (quick... song from your first dance, song that was yours/your first loves, song that you played a hundred times and you still aren't sick of it, song that you got married to, song you sing to your kids/mom sang to you... ) and the list goes on. Music is the voice of our souls... of our lives. It reaches into our hearts and clarifies that which we do not understand, or sometimes expresses those sentiments or thoughts that we cannot get across, or that we want to revel in. I love many kinds of music. But none of it is the computer generated trash being sold to me by a tawdry tramp who doesn't have the capability to draw an audience unless she is flaunting all of her goods to them.


No thank you. So Shakira's hips don't lie... I could care less what her hips are doing, and I was sick of the song the first time I heard it. Do I gather from the song or her lackluster video that she's got talent? That she is conveying emotion? (Stay with me here guys, I'm not talking about physical urges... I'm talking about emotion... two feet higher... ) What about respect? How is any of that supposed to play in when music is being mass marketed to hormones instead of hearts and minds?


The promotional fools and music hustlers... excuse me, producers, who try to make us believe that this is what we want, what is hot, and what is good... are all waaaaaaaaaaaaaay off in the dark corner of left field. It's a quick buck. A flash in the pan.


That is not what makes a legend, nor is it what legends are each made of. It takes so much more than that. Want to know what a real legend is? Want to know what real talent is? Check this out...

Real Legends:

Miss Aretha Franklin

photo courtesy of Palacetheatrect.org

Miss Ella Fitzgerald

photo courtesy of msnbcmedia.msn.com


Miss Judy Garland

















photo courtesy of musicals101.com


Miss Patsy Cline















photo courtesy of heavens-gates.com


Miss Barbara Streisand















photo courtesy of facade.com


Miss Bette Midler









photo courtesy of mtv.com
The following site has an important message from Miss Midler about the tragedies going on in Darfur right now, and as I feel very strongly about the horrors happening there, I would ask that you visit the site and support the efforts to stop those waking nightmares.


Back to it...


The women shown are legends. Real, talented, amazing legends who have changed music history with their work... and some of them have gone beyond the music arena to display incredible talents in other works. They did not allow themselves to be portrayed as worthless sex objects only to be forgotten when the next hot chick stepped up to the stage.


The women shown have not cheapened themselves to further their careers... they have not been a poor role model for all the young girls idolizing them and aspiring to be like them someday. Do you want your daughter looking up at the TV with adoring eyes that are focused solely on Ashlee Simpson and sighing reverently... "I want to be just like her when I grow up!"


Don't get me wrong, beauty is great. Most everyone likes beauty. But it does NOT define a person, nor does it determine the greatness of their talent, or the future of their success. Beauty does not equal quality by a long shot. Not by a long Nevada highway mile. Neither does age... one of the most stunning talents of our time is little Holly Stell... you might remember her having sung a duet with Andrea Bocelli.


I say to those producers who believe that normal looking young talent won't make it because they don't fit into your perfect little molds of silicone and botox... get a clue. You want to produce a legend? Look deep. Look further down than skin deep. Make a difference in the history of music. Take the likes of Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones and change the way we look at the world.


Scarlett