Tales of an Acid-Washed Indigo Warrior

May is Masturbation Month!

2009-05-01T13:37:17Z

I just found out (from a former co-worker) that May is Masturbation Month... However, I can't find any HallMark cards for it (not even an animated e-card). Since it's all about self-love, I'm wondering if I should send myself flowers or chocolate? (I'm voting chocolate.)

To get things rolling, Saturday, May 2nd is the Good Vibes/Center for Sex & Culture Masturbate-a-thon at The Center for Sex & Culture in (where else?) San Francisco. You can go to http://masturbate-a-thon.com for more details than I care to share.

Personally, I can't think of a better team-building exercise...

There are even categories for you competitive masturbators:
- Longest Squirt Distance
- Longest Time Spent Masturbating
- Most Orgasms

And the best part? You can play along from home! There will even be a live feed for those who want to feel a part of it all.

Have fun everyone. This is one way we can all get lucky!

For the record, this is not how Swine Flu started

2009-04-29T23:10:25Z

44 Years to the 44th President

2009-01-19T16:51:19Z

Today is the day Americans celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday (it was actually on January 15th). He would have been 80 years old. Tomorrow, Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th president.

Two professors where I teach organized an amazing trip for some of the journalism students, including one student from my class last semester.

Here's the link to their story and their blogs.

The Latest Obama Controversy

2009-01-02T15:57:29Z

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy:
Stunning Break with Last Eight Years

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS' "Sixty Minutes" on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota , some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a President who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate - we get it, stop showing off."

The President-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska .

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.

(I didn't write this, just sharing it)

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T15:48:59Z

I hope your day is full of laughter and love!

Here's a virtual Christmas card for those who want one.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-24T17:57:34Z

It's been a mad rush to get here for me. I had 140 final projects, plus 35 final exams to grade. That's in addition to generating two newsletters, handling countless marketing "emergencies", and trying to spend time with my kids and friends.

Oh, and I started a weekly paid blog on human rights... what was I thinking???

Still, I'm grateful to have arrived here healthy, reasonably wealthy (compared to most of the world), and somewhat wiser than before.

I'm grateful that my kids want to spend some time with me today.

I'm grateful that one of my clients is going to let my daughter observe a surgery on Friday, then she and I are going to spend the day in SF, shopping (my present to her).

I'm grateful that Kiva lets you give loans to friends, so they can personally choose who they want to support. I think that's an awesome gift that just keeps giving.

I'm grateful for good friends who seem to thing that I'd be better off with some pretty woman around.

I'm grateful for good music that makes me smile, remember what's important, or feel inspired.

I'm grateful for a couple days off.

And I wish all of you Hippy Hula Days!

My New Human Rights Blog

2008-12-14T02:10:50Z

The website Care2.com offered me a blog spot on human rights. I convinced them that writing about people who are providing hope to those who need it most was the best thing I could do, and they agreed.

So today, my first paid blog up and running here. Please stop by and check it out, then let me know what you think.

Seems like a good day to remember this

2008-12-08T16:04:18Z

This sounds about right

2008-11-20T17:52:49Z

Happy Belated Here

2008-11-17T16:27:39Z

Happy birthday red_silk_robe! I know I gave you birthday wishes via other media and in person, and here they are in print. Hope you had fun.

Quote of the Day

2008-11-11T16:50:37Z

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of being a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

"I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
— George Bernard Shaw, Irish Writer and Playwright

Happy Birthday Voddiegirl!

2008-11-11T16:45:52Z

You've always entertained me, and I'll never again look at a map of Norway without stifling a giggle. Hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Just in case you were considering...

2008-11-05T19:17:56Z

Christmas is rapidly approaching... and I look good in black...

You can buy it here!

Life is short. Eat dessert first.

2008-11-04T14:57:09Z

Last night I was back at the hospital. My friend's son is not doing well. The cancer is so aggressive it has taken over most of one lung. He has no feeling in his legs. They're giving him a month or so.

Yet he smiled when I walked in. I called him "Bro" -- something his dad and I call each other. He smiled again, happy to be included. The kid's a trooper. He just turned 18. He just got his driver's license over the summer. He wants to go to the same college as my son.

Somehow, it's not right.

I know, I know, there are things that I can't understand. There are purposes. There are life lessons. There are agreements. There is letting go and trusting the Universe.

But this isn't fair.

So today, I'm picking up my daughter and taking her to the doctor. She likes it better when I take her for sports injuries, because I've been there and done that. Her mom still doesn't understand that stuff.

And I'll hug her. I'll cherish every minute with her. I'll hang on her every word.

Saturday I see my son. I'm picking him up from the train. And I'll do the same thing with him.

Because I'm so very blessed to have them in my life. And right now, I want to relish every single second with them.

One of My All-Time Favorites

2008-10-27T17:18:29Z

Hope you take this opportunity to shower the people you love with love.

I am That, I am...

2008-10-08T15:31:04Z

The challenge with catching the 6:22 train is that I often forget to include enough time in my preparations to imbibe the necessary amount of caffeine for the day. Today was one such day.

So I got off the Jitney bus across from the Mission Street Peet's Coffee. Mind you, I've been struggling with the lessons that come from watching people close to you struggle. From a 17-year-old man's struggles with cancer, pneumonia, and back surgery, to my friend's heart attack, to another friend's concern for his son, to my son's desire to be with his girlfriend (instead of in college).

It's all got me thinking, "There, but for the grace of God go I." And it's got me thinking, all we really have is today. Be in the here and now.

So I'm waiting for one of my favorite loving gifts from God -- a soy mocha -- when I look outside to see a man about my age holding up a sign, asking for 49 cents. And I thought back to something Neal Donald Walsh said in "The Moses Code". "I am that... I am," I thought. Then I remembered that song by EverLast (talk about a group of Indigo Warriors) called "What it's like" and suddenly flashed on the movie "Conversations With God" -- and I pulled a dollar out of my pocket.

I walked up to the man, who had moved to help me open the door. I held out the dollar and smiled at him. He thanked me and blessed me (I'm always grateful when somebody blesses me). I invited him to have a good day, and he said this was a good start. Then he said might have found a job. I congratulated him and smiled again. Once again, he blessed me.

And my heart opened a little wider.

Walking down the street to the office of the nonprofit where I work on Wednesday, I wondered how I could survive without as much work -- I have too much work right now (unfortunately, none of it pays spectacularly, but it's all with good people). I crossed the street, past the Old Mint, and saw three or four people sleeping on cardboard on the sidewalk.

"I am that, I am."

And the tears welled up under my glasses. I looked at the two men I passed on the way to my office. And I saw beauty in their sleeping faces. And I felt grateful for all that I have. All that I am. All that I do.

We are all one. And when you pause to notice it, you find that it really is a beautiful thing.

Namaste.

There, but for the Grace of God...

2008-10-03T17:33:33Z

Here's why I give my change to most who ask.

"What It's Like"

We've all seen the man at the liquor store
Beggin' for your change
The hair on his face is dirty,
Dreadlocked and full of mange
He ask the man for what he could spare
With shame in his eyes
"Get a job, you fuckin' slob"
Is all he replied

God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues
Then you really might know what it's like
Then you really might know what it's like
Then you really might know what it's like
Then you really might know what it's like

Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom
Who said he was in love
He said, "Don't worry about a thing baby doll,
"I'm the man you've been dreamin' of"
But three months later he said he won't date her
Or return her call
And she sweared "God damn if I find that man,
"I'm cuttin' off his balls"
And then she heads for the clinic
And she gets some static
Walkin' through the doors
They call her a killer,
And they call her a sinner,
And they call her a whore

God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to choose
Then you really might know what it's like
Then you really might know what it's like
Then you really might know what it's like
Then you really might know what it's like

I've seen a rich man beg
I've seen a good man sin
I've seen a tough man cry
I've seen a loser win
And a sad man grin
I heard an honest man lie
I've seen the good side of bad
And the down side of up
And everything between
I licked the silver spoon
Drank from the golden cup
Smoked the finest green
I stroked the baddest dimes at least a couple of times
Before I broke their heart
You know where it ends
Yo, it usually depends on where you start

I knew this kid named Max
He used to get fat stacks out on the corner with drugs
He liked to hang out late at night
Liked to get shit-faced
And keep pace with thugs
Until late one night there was a big gun fight
Max lost his head
He pulled out his chrome .45
Talked some shit
And wound up dead

Now his wife and his kids are caught in the midst of all of his pain
You know it crumbles that way
At least that's what they say when you play the game

God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to lose
Then you really might know what it's like
Then you really might know what it's like
Then you really might know what it's like
To have to lose...

It's Political Comic day

2008-10-03T14:22:10Z

If you want to read the whole thread, start here.

Amen

2008-10-03T12:39:21Z

You can find more at www.sinfest.net

An Interesting Analysis of Palin's Experience

2008-09-28T14:21:00Z

One of the nice things about being on the faculty email lists at a university is that you often get some pretty smart links. Here's one discussing Sarah Palin's experience.

Enjoy.

Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?

2008-09-27T15:30:17Z

One of the really, really good guys decided to hang up his spurs last night.

And I think the world is a lot richer for knowing Paul Newman.

I got the chance to work on the branding and website for one of his Hole In The Wall Camps. What a wonderful thing that was. I think it was the start of me buying back my soul. Through those camps, Paul made the world so much richer -- both for the kids attending, and everybody who came in contact with them. I know it touched me in ways I can't express.

"Kid, the next time I say, "Let's go someplace like Bolivia," let's GO someplace like Bolivia."

I'm a little confused...

2008-09-18T16:41:57Z

Let me see if I have this straight...

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 700,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach teach children about sexual predators, you are irresponsible and eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate laywer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that hates America and advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

I'll get this one of these days...

Deepak Chopra on Obama and Palin

2008-09-17T17:37:04Z

I found this article (Obama and the Palin Effect) interesting. Hope you enjoy it too.

Dawn of the Dead???

2008-09-15T15:55:33Z

The only difference between me and a zombie right now is that I'm aware of my state (and not interested in eating the flesh of people, since I'm a vegetarian).

I stood at a traffic light and waited until it turned red for me, before starting to cross. Then I realized it was red. I'm glad I didn't have that dyslexic moment while driving!

It's a full moon, I realize. And it's a Monday.

Things I've Never Been Accused Of...

2008-09-09T13:47:18Z