There is the The Free Hug Campaign
It has spread to Korea.
And for those who are not so touchy-feely...
More will be added. But as you can see, Matt is here and has just taught me how to imbed a video. Yeah Matt!
So I am finally going though the mounds of paper clutter which I took out of my office. This afternoon I brought a bunch into the bedroom determined to make some headway, and while doing so, catch up on some of the programs that have been filling up the memory of the Tivo machine.
I watched three episodes of Six Feet Under and then started watching the latest episode of Heroes.
Heroes is a TV drama about several people who have developed supernatural abilities which evidentially may be the precursors of evolutionary change in human beings. The characters are being drawn together to prevent a some future terrible disaster in order "save the world". I think the drama is scary, but I am compelled to watch it nevertheless because it is about super-heroes and evolutionary change.
At the end of one 15 minute segment, when commercials normally begin, I let them play through. The first several ads were about the upcoming November election. All the stuff meant to confuse the voter so that they will vote against any real change in the status quo.
Then something else comes up. I think that what I am seeing is part of the show, but its not. I run the piece through again and again just to make sure. It is a recruitment advertisement for National Clandestine Service of the CIA and it is real. Now that's scary.
Want to sign up?
Store this under the file:
Things Mom needs help with because she's clueless!
After Mike left last night, when he so kindly tried to fix the camera on the Mac, I started thinking about Dieter. I hadn't heard from him in a while and was wondering what he was doing. Dieter, or Orangeguru, whose website is still being mourned by his many fans, was the person who first introduced me to YouTube. Which, by the way, may not have been a good thing, since I'm now addicted.
Before finally giving up for the night, I checked for new e-mail to this address. Lo and behold ... there was an e-mail from Dieter titled Beauty with a link to this.
I was working on the PC ... because on the Mac, the prompt buttons which should allow one link to another site, make the words bold, italic or underlined are non-existant. I tried to link to the video, I could hear the sound, but could see no picture. I gave up for the night.
Tonight, I tried again and the same thing happened. It must be because I didn't download some sort of update since I never know what should or shouldn't be downloaded and I am afraid that something will break.
I went over to the Mac to see if I could see it there. But first I had to send myself an e-mail with the link. On the Mac, I could see the video but could hear no sound. That is when I realized I did not know how to turn up the sound on the Mac.
OK. There has got to be a simple help instruction as to what to do. While the average person would be able to figure this out in less that 30 seconds, it took me considerably longer. Eventually i figured it out and realized that for some reason, the sound on the Mac had been muted. That fixed, I was finally able to see (and hear) the very cool video that I hope was linked here under Beauty.
Watch it here:
But of course, since I don't know how to actually do that on the Mac because the prompt buttons are non-existant on the version of Movable Type that appears there, I had to get up and switch to the PC to do that. That done, I went back to the Mac and clicked on my edit button and sent the post to "preview" to see if the link worked. Eureka!
So. I am now back on the PC to finish it up But of course, I will have to go back to the Mac to see if it worked. Wish me luck.
No wonder I can't get anything much done these days. And why this mom needs a full time resident computer expert.
Look at Dove Evolution and consider.
I think the memory on the Tivo is just about full, because I am spending too much time watching YouTube. But if you took a minute to read this, spend a few more checking out spricket24, you would thank me.
Watch Coffee Gravy.
HERE'S THE NEWS...
Though a lot of the island of Oahu is still dark, power is being restored to the island. Lights are coming on around the Waikiki area and flights are now taking off from the airport.
Friends have brought food (bar-b-que), water, batteries. Don't try to call till power is restored, as there is no way to charge cell phones. They forgot to bring phone chargers for the car.
Didn't realize I was holding my breath until now. Mom is smiling. :-)
So I am trying to find a TV station that is giving updates on the situation in Hawaii. Very little luck with that!
No Tsunami Warning.
A 6.5 Earthquake hit Hawaii this morning, knocking out all the power to the Island of Oahu. The power is still off. Pete is conserving cell phone power.
See below:
October 15, 2006
Earthquake of Magnitude 6.5 Hits Hawaii
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HONOLULU (AP) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 struck Hawaii early Sunday morning, causing a landslide that blocked a major highway on Hawaii Island, the Pacific Tsunami Center said.
Power was out power across the state and there were unconfirmed reports of injuries, according to the State Civil Defense. Problems with communication prevented more definite reports.
Gov. Linda Lingle said in a radio interview with KSSK from Hawaii Island that she had no report of any fatalities.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.3, along with several aftershocks, including one measuring a magnitude of 5.8. No damage reports were immediately available.
The quake occurred at 7:07 a.m. local time, 10 miles north-northwest of Kailua Kona, a town on the west coast of the Big Island, said Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center, part of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Blakeman said there was no risk of a Pacific-wide tsunami, but a possibility of significant wave activity in Hawaii.
The quake occurred about 155 miles to the southeast of Honolulu, the state capital, in Oahu.
On Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island, there was some damage in Kailua-Kona and landslide along a major highway, said Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Center.
Betsy Garties, who lives in North Kohala, on the northern tip of Hawaii Island said she was lying in bed with one of her two young children when the quake struck.
"First I heard a rumbling. Then the house started to shake. Then broken glass," Garties said. She first stood under a door frame as safety experts advise, then found that too wobbly for comfort and ran into the yard.
"It was strong enough that it was wobbling, so you almost lost your balance running out into the yard," Garties said. "The house was visibly rocking."
Power at least partially knocked out on every island, said Civil Defense spokesman Lani Goldman. On Oahu, 95 percent of customers were without power, he said.
Authorities said some of the power outages may have been due to heavy rainfall.
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So here's is the scoop just in case you haven't been keeping up.
Bree seems OK after "the ceremony".
But it looks as though Daniel is in deep trouble.
Lucy had a very wierd but funny audition and her post made me laugh.
Do you know what I am talking about??? :-)
The comment feature on this blog is not working. I have confirmed that it is not working because I have tried to comment on it from 3 different e-mail addresses. So if anyone but you spammers out there are trying to contact me, try a plain old e-mail to Judi@momonthealert.com.
While I am not even recieving spam comments (which is a blessing) I am still recieving lots of spam e-mail to this address.
Through the open window, I can hear the drumbeats of the nearby high school's marching band practicing. It is football season. No doubt the band is being called into service to build up spirit for the team�s boosters.
I remember when I was in high school. I always went out to cheer on my high school's teams for football, basketball and track meets. I felt it was my duty as a student ... and since I knew many of the players, I showed my loyalty by always be there to cheer on the teams from the stands. School spirit was big in the 50's.
So this morning, as I was making my bed, the sounds of the band's practice temporarily put me back nearly 50 years to a night when North Hollywood High School's football team was doing mighty battle to defeat our cross town rivals, Van Nuys, at the homecoming game.
I don't remember the year, but the game was held on a Friday night and it was my birthday. I was a good fan and had a lot of emotion invested in the game. Rah Rah for the home team and all that stuff.
As I remember it was a close game, and was being fought hard, the lead switching sides with regularity. We cheered and we cheered, hoping that our cheers would give our players just enough extra energy that they would pull off a win in the last moments as the clock ran down. We gave it all we had. So did the team.
But that night North Hollywood High lost the homecoming game to Van Nuys and I cried. What is it about birthdays?
"We are all wounded. We carry our wounds around with us throughout our life and eventually they kill us. Things happen that leave a mark in space … in time … in us.”
Matt kept telling me that if I took the time to watch the episodes of Six Feet Under, I would like it. I do.
The quote above is from the second episode of the show, titled The Will. I have started watching it from the beginning on Bravo. You're probably not wondering, but Brenda says this to Nate.
Yesterday, I tried to upload a video to YouTube for you, but the camera on my iMac broke.
I tried to tell the camera that I was not going to show my face, but was only going to take pictures of the signs I had hastily made, but that didn't help. The green light has disappeared completely.
This is what the signs said:
OCTOBER 9th 2006
(silly looking picture of flower)
YVETTE,
IT'S YOUR
BIRTHDAY!
(row of silly looking flowers on the top and heart at the bottom)
I am attempting my very first YouTube Upload.
(smilely face at bottom.)
And because it is your birthday...
(cutout of cute clown holding banner)
Let's hope this works!
(more cut outs of clowns, one pulling rabbit out of hat)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
(graphic squares of penguins in party hats blowing birthday horns)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
(graphic squares of penguins in party hats blowing birthday horns)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR YVETTE
(graphic of birthday hats.)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
................................................
Well you get the idea. Sorry it didn't work.
So, had you driven by Pacific Coast Highway and Western Avernue this afternoon you would have seen me amongst about a hundred others holding signs promoting universal health care.
My sign said Universal Health Care for All on one side, and Honk For HealthCare on the other. My arms are tired and my voice is horse from thanking all the honkers, but it feels good to have stepped back into the fray.
Of course it cannot compare with Mike's protest about Pluto, but it's a start!
Isn't about time for the most powerful nation in the world to provide basic health care for all it's citizens? What about bringing down the costs of healthcare by getting rid of the middlemen?
The new show, Jericho, kept me riveted.
I only wish I’d set it up with a Tivo season pass when it first aired. ...Missed the second episode, and am wondering what happened to the people in the mine when it was sealed off to protect them from radiation.
Even if someone out there knows and that same someone actually reads this blog, there would be no way to tell me since my comment section has been broken for a long time.
Everything is breaking around here.
Adell Shay's columns touch me. It is if she can somehow read my mind and then express in words the mood. I guess I like imagine that my thoughts and feelings can simply breathed through the ether to be caught by someone else who might actually know how to articulate them.
I used to believe that thoughts have power and energy. That was when my thoughts were filled with love and joyfulness. I am not as sure of that as I once was. Or maybe I don't want to believe that right now. My thoughts have not been a lot of fun lately.
But sometimes Adell Shay's words make me realize that in our aloneness, there is enough sameness with our fellow travelers that there are kindred souls not far away. And that they are reaching out with thoughts of peace.
I am probably breaking some copywrite laws in doing this, but I have copied a column Adell Shay wrote a couple of weeks ago for the Daily Breeze. I had put it aside to read before I went to sleep one night after watching too much television. It shook me awake from the dream which has held me in its thrall too long. So with no further ado, here is the column I read that night:
If life is just a dream, let's be done with nightmares
-By Adell Shay
"Lately, the remembrance of beefsteak tomatoes ripe and hot from the sun, and soft serve peach ice cream with pieces of peach in every bite that my stepdad and mom and a carload of us kids would drive for miles to get on hot summer nights, have come to mind.
So have those same summer nights hanging damp and endless and still, except for the sound of insects hovering in the yard and that of the shrill noise of the whistle that rang at exactly noon every day in Lexington, Mich., where my grandma lived.
Sometimes, too, in my classroom, the smell of lilacs from our Ohio bush, nowhere to be seen around me, will fill my nostrils.
Everything about them, the purple flowers heavy with moisture and darkening on their ends; the fragrance, unyielding to the smell of chalk; the scattered petals around a vase in which they rest, curling as they dry, will at that instant be more real than my body or the students, or the room itself.
It's as if the room melts away around the memory. And, in fact, it does.
A realization, one entirely clear now -- though I intellectually understood it before, it never held any meaning -- is that nothing I experience resides outside of my perception.
All of you, all of the thoughts and feelings held, do not filter, but actually are created through this wonderment called mind.
Everything experienced is internal to the perceiver. I don't know if there is anything out there, nor do I know whether I am dreaming all of you and will awaken at any instant. Remarkable.
I remember learning that very thing in a class at Ohio State when I was 19 and feeling sorry for the delusional existentialist professor; how things in a life come around.
When the mind becomes focused on any memory, such as the memory of lilacs, it is that which is real to me. Nothing else exists at that instant. You are not there. The room is not there. Now is not there. Only that held in the mind is there.
When the memory, a fragrance for example, is determined as pleasant by the mind, I feel pleasure. When the memory is the smell of my first boyfriend's cologne (Polo, which he horribly overused), I feel displeasure, nausea, in fact.
I smell both from the memory, my body responds to the lilacs with tingling sensations and a dopamine surge and my skin actually crawls from memory trace of cologne.
Now tell me we don't create our world.
At 48, I am keenly aware of the life breathed into me from this Mystery I cannot name. I am equally aware that I have spent most of that creation manifesting a reality out of disturbing thoughts, misperceptions and abusive self-talk.
That realization is both jolting and liberating.
It means that changing my reality is not only possible, but inevitable, for a magic shift always takes place for me in the space where erroneous thinking once resided.
And all errors, or perceived problems, lie within my thinking. No one is doing anything to me. Nothing out there can ever fix me. None of you can hurt me. Only my mind can do those things, or not do them.
That is the Great Fact. What liberation there is in realizing that everything I thought was true, everything I have ever thought, in fact, is as real as the memory of peach ice cream.
If life is a dream, let's enjoy it. As for me, I'm done with the nightmare scenes."
Adell Shay's column appears each Saturday. She can be reached by e-mail at gorilladance@adelphia.net or by mail at the Daily Breeze, 5215 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503-4077.