Total Zen--The Example of the Yogic/Daoist Path: Cliff Lee

What He Is

What He Did

Cliff Lee lived solely in the moment, allowing no sensory or mental disturbances to detract him from his mission--to shut down the high scoring Yankees in their home stadium.

Practice Yoga. Practice Daoism. Watch the Phillies.

Man, I Need to Write Another Blog

I will.

America Shows Her Ass

President Obama gave a speech before Congress--no surprise there--that's what presidents do. Since the recent death of Senator Kennedy, I've been reading about the rules of conduct within Congress. Apparently, Kennedy. who was known for his womanizing, overconsumption of alcohol and unapologetic liberal views, understood that nothing gets done in the Senate without great patience and decorum. What would Kennedy have thought of this?

I have not always agreed with President Obama. I wish he would do more for gay rights; I didn't think much of his stimulus package, and there are times he leaves his spine home with Michelle. By the same token, he walked into this job, inheriting the mess of Bush and Clinton, along with elitist cronyism between the banks, the insurance companies and the so-called regulators of public office. We, the American people, have been repeated fucked over--nothing new in that, except that more of us are growing aware of the Dog Day Afternoon dilemma--it stinks to get fucked without getting a kiss first.

The moron who yelled at Obama during his speech didn't shock me. He is a representative of the idiots who follow the quitter, Palin, with her "death camps" soundbite. He symbolizes the lowlifes who compare Obama to Hitler--I would bet my paycheck that these cretins don't even know what Hitler did or what country he came from. He also is indicative of the term no one wants to mention: race. If Obama were white, would he be receiving such massive disrespect? Would controversy originate because a president encourages students to stay in school and work hard? Would endless blather over the internet occur because he allegedly checked out a woman's behind--oh, it turned out he didn't. And what if he did? Men have been checking out my behind since puberty. They do that. I also check out men's butts. Sue me. At least he isn't getting blow jobs from interns (Clinton) or having daily sex with women who were only required to have a pulse? (JFK)

I do not like everything in the health plan Obama proposes, but I like it a whole lot more than the war in Iraq, the laws against bankruptcy, electing Roberts to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, NAFTA, Don't Ask--Don't Tell, DOMA,the bailout--we've had some barking fools in the White House and they have yet to be heckled publicly by Congress. Sorry for pulling the race card--everyone hates that, but Obama is getting more grief than other presidents because he is Black. Some whites have always feared Black men: in their minds, they commit all urban crime, they are sexually threatening, they end up in prison, they are ignorant and they should stick to playing basketball. Instead, we have a President with Ivy League credentials that he actually earned (Obama's father didn't send any generous endowments to Harvard or Columbia to ensure that all his descendants would make it into the hallowed halls). Lucky Obama: he gets to preside over an America that is showing her stupid, ugly ass for the world to laugh at.


We may have a Black president in office, but the KKK mentality is alive and well. I have heard Obama called names like Anti-Christ, but I've been spared the n word. My husband gets to hear that one in his line of work. Folks, this is getting absurd. I am aware that some people can't get past their prejudices. So if this post describes you, could you do the rest of us a favor and shut the fuck up? I plan on judging President Obama by his work, not his race. I am not afraid of Black men. You keep praying to your white Jesus, while the rest of us try to crawl out of this dying economy that WHITE PEOPLE screwed up for their greed. God, I am tired of this.

I Don't Think So!

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This just sucks, pardon the pun. I took this quiz and got Boring Ass Bill. Well, I wasn't happy,(if you've read the books, you know that Bill isn't so nice) so I retook it and lied a bit. This is who I got:



Sam is cool, but I still remain dissatisfied. So I took it again and lied a bit more:




WTF? No way, even if Jason has become a lot of fun this season. One more time:



Noooooooo! That's another one I can't stand! Okay, I will be Bill, but only if he acts like the character in the books, where he was slightly badass and kinda sexy.

Why can't I be Eric?


To Team Bill fans: Alan Ball has ruined Bill on the TV show. Bill started out well, but after the seventh episode, I got really bored with his moralism. I began liking Pam a whole lot more. I get the feeling that Stephen Moyer is screaming: "Help! I've been locked up into this prison of good deeds! I'm a vampire, for God's sake! Let me wallop some hurt on those human backsides!"
Save me from this script!


To Team Eric fans: Eric is a blast in the books, and he is mighty menacing on the show. The book Eric is as funny as the Heil Hitler Obama protesters and he knows it. I think Alan Ball gave Lafayette all the good jokes and some of Eric's pizazz. Actually, Eric should make Lafayette a vampire and hire him as a bartender. Those two are the BOMB!
I may work for you, but I take care of myself!


To Sookie fans: She is a interesting person in the books, even though I would prefer the author dumping the first person narration. Is it me or is Anna Paquin just annoying? Golden Globe award or not, she is woefully miscast. Why would Eric even bother with her? Why has Bill become her seeing-eye dog? She should marry Sam and have lots of shapeshifter babies.

Jason does have some redeeming facets.

But there may be hope for Bill. He is about to talk business with the Louisiana Vampire Queen. He's going to do some real bad things down there--something that will piss Sookie off. I predict sex and blood--not necessarily in that order. Eric will save the town. Even Sam, Jason and Andy will be impressed. Hopefully, we'll see some more of Pam. And if I'm wrong, who really gives a shit? It's just a TV show.
Just you wait and I know I'm not the queen. Deal with it.

Now You Know Who You Are Dealing With

I'm too sexy for my shirt...so sexy it hurrrrts.


My Political Views
I am a far-left moderate social libertarian
Left: 7.78, Libertarian: 1.98

Political Spectrum Quiz


My Foreign Policy Views
Score: -5.17

Political Spectrum Quiz

Foreign Policy:
On the left side are pacifists and anti-war activists. On the right side are those who want a strong military that intervenes around the world. You scored: -5.17

My Culture War Stance
Score: -8.11

Political Spectrum Quiz

Where are you in the culture war-on the liberal side, or the conservative side? You scored: -8.11

Thanks to Nick for this quiz. America! Get the pitchforks and torches! I'm a friggin LIB! Oh my God! I never wanted this for myself! Neo-Cons--save me! Aren't there any of those brainwashing bootcamps for lefties out there? Shit.

Amores Perros--Michael Vick as a Philly Eagle

I really blew it when I went to university and specialized in literature and languages. Instead, I should have become an American athlete. Good pay, lots of ass kissing, and when you break the law, you serve your time and get your job back. Murder, rape, extortion, drug possession, dogfighting--it's all good as long as you can work the ball and give that 110 percent. Who said America wasn't a great country?

The city of brotherly love opened up her arms to the poor, huddling mass called Michael Vick. The Eagles now have a backup quarterback who might actually be competent, so when McNabb gets injured again, we may actually win a game. But Mr. Vick brings baggage that we don't need. Let me name some possible problems up the road:

1. Mr. Vick did fulfill his jail time and now is on parole. Therefore, he is legally good to go. However, animal rights activists are calling for a total Eagle boycott. I don't think they live in Philly, and if they do, they may not understand that they are asking Eagle fans to do the equivalent of cold turkey from cocaine. This town is football!

2. Mr. Vick insists that he was wrong in his actions. He feels terrible about his cruelty to those dogs. He wishes he had thought about his responsibilities to his team, to his career and to his family. Instead, he got caught up in the adrenaline rush of shooting dogs up with steroids, throwing family pets to fight along these trained animals, killing under performing canines and making money that he really didn't need. Mr. Vick describes scenes from his life that I believe to be true--he said that he would be present at dogfights as a kid; the police would come by and leave. So as a child, he figured there wasn't anything wrong with it. However, the fact that he lied to his head coach betrays the fact that he must have known it was illegal. Has Mr. Vick truly seen the light of God from his prison cell or are we getting conned like his former coach? Is Mr. Vick remorseful from what appears to be a lifetime of dogfighting or is he just upset that he got caught?


3. If the Eagles get to the Superbowl, Mr. Vick will never have to worry about his dogfighting past. If they lose and it happens to be his mistake, he will wish he were one of the dogs he had killed. Philadelphia got a taste of victory when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008. They liked it. They will like to win the Superbowl as well. Acquiring Mr. Vick from a sports perspective is good business. But will it work? Is the newly repentant quarterback able to rise to his former football skills? For his sake, I hope so. You will miss those pit bulls, Mr.Vick, if you upset our Eagles fans!

4. Mr. Vick has promised the Humane Society that he will do outreach in the Philadelphia community to convince young men that dogfighting is not a way to test one's manhood. I do know he attended one event, but had to depart after 12 minutes. Perhaps he has done more--I don't know--I'm too busy reading about how sorry he is and that the only one he blames is himself. Very few people believe him. But if you read the above paragraph, it may not matter if the Eagles kick ass this season.



5. Even if Mr. Vick is sincere, it won't change the allure of dogfighting. The events are now conducted via webcam, special Internet invitation--even in Mack trucks during long distance drives. Imagine--there you are on the interstate, passing a semi. The driver waves hello, smiles at your kids. But in the back of his truck, dogs are ripping each other's throats out for the sake of some person's money.

In conclusion, I do believe that convicted criminals deserve a second chance, providing they have been rehabilitated. I don't know if Michael Vick has changed because of honest regret or if he just wants his career back. Ultimately, what goes around will come around, so if you are lying, Michael Vick, karma's gonna hunt you down like you once pursued those dogs. But Vick isn't the problem anymore. We live in a world where animals are used to gain illicit profit and cheap thrills. If we lose our humanity around animals, will we have any left for the two legged mammals? I wish the Eagles hadn't signed Vick. But I won't boycott the team. Instead, I just hope that we would stop fulfilling Freud's ideas that we humans are nothing more than narcissistic savages.

When The World Keeps Running Down...

I'm sure this has happened to everyone. Last weekend, starting on Friday, I got hit with some unstablizing news. Saturday, I found out things about a friend that triggered some terrible memories--those unsolved stains that live like bones in the ground. Work wasn't terrible, but I'm having a lot of trouble with absent students. Then another drama hit the airwaves concerning my yoga training in which a lot of bubbling anger from our teachers suddenly manifested, leaving the students confused and hurt. All these matters remain unresolved. It has exhausted me emotionally, and I can even feel it in my body. So now you know why I haven't been around.

When life gets so bad this suddenly, I always figure that there is some reason--there is a lesson that I am supposed to learn. I resent the hell out of it as I just get tired of doing battle with life. It's summer; the weather is great--work is actually congenial--some good projects are coming along and I'm a month away from my 500 hour Yoga/Ayurveda certificate. My son is starting this fall at one of the best schools in the country--a public one to boot. There is good in the world. But this funk hasn't left me alone; exercise isn't chasing it away, friends aren't able to break through this wall, even trashy novels aren't helping, and I just don't know what to do except wait it out. Whatever I need to learn will show itself in due time.

I hate it when life pulls this on me. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. But that isn't any escape as I have these horrible nightmares. It's like a dark presence, almost tangible, that surrounds me. After a while I get too tired to fight it. It's like becoming one of the undead. And despite these photos, that has never been one of my ambitions.