QuoterGal

There’s also a good (and short) documentary about this...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:13:30 -0800

There’s also a good (and short) documentary about this from AmazonWatch, narrated by Sigourney Weaver: http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/7472

unicornsandbondage:

thearmedgentleman:

chasingtailfeathers:

crazygabyland:

sassy-kenway:

WTF

Subject: THIS IMAGE SHOULD BE SEEN IN THE WHOLE WORLD

While magazines and TV chains report about the lives and love affairs of movie actors and actresses, football players and other celebrities, the Chief of the Kayapo tribe heard the worst news of his entire life:

Mrs. Dilma, the president of Brazil, has given her approval for the construction of an enormous hydroelectric central (the world’s third largest one).

This means the death sentence for ALL the tribes living at the shores of the river because the barrage will flood more or less 400 000 hectares of the forest.

More than 40 000 natives will have to find other living surroundings where they will be able to survive.

The destruction of the natural habitat, the deforestation and the disappearance of several species of plants and animals will be a fait accompli.

We know that a simple image is the equivalent of a thousand words, it shows the price to be paid for the “quality of life” of our so-called “modern comforts.”
There is no space in the world anymore for those who live differently. Everything has to be smoothed away, that everyone, in the name of globalization must lose his and her identity and way of living.

If this enrages you, I urge and implore you to forward this message to all your friends, relatives and acquaintances.

Thank you in the name of life, nature and biodiversity.

©Hans van Raam

the lack of notes is disturbing

Life under compulsion sucks.

Ladies and gentlemen, the state.

I strongly urge people to google search the Belo Monte dam project and familiarize themselves with the economics and environmental costs associated with it.

richkidsofinstagram: Happy Birthday from Minister #mp #commons...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:18:08 -0800

richkidsofinstagram:

Happy Birthday from Minister #mp #commons by marianoamoedo

Do we think this House of Commons MP McIntosh crawls up the ass of the poor & unconnected like *this here*?!! Hells, we do not. #SuchAVeryBrownNose

JAVISTA: Open!?! You bet yer mocha we are.

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:02:05 -0800

JAVISTA: Open!?! You bet yer mocha we are.:

javistacoffeebar:

Heavens, lawds, mercy, it’s been a while since we last blogged. Last time we did, we weren’t even open - I don’t think our sign was up yet:

…and now we’ve been VERY BISY SELLING DELICIOUS STUFF for over 5 weeks. (We did what is known as a “soft open”, with an Official Opening to be…

Our new café place: purring along.

MEDITATION - Because you can't really empty your mind...

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 23:58:00 -0800

… unless it’s pretty empty to begin with, which is possible but not likely. Written by one whose only Claims to Esoteric Knowledge are that she once worked for a while in an occult/spiritual bookstore - and that she has been meditating on and off for 34 years. I post it here, because it’s been passed on a few times to other friends, and I thought maybe it might be helpful here, where a link will find it easily.

This is pretty much word-for-word something I wrote for my friend Eric, whose busy mind would not empty. It’s pretty long, but read it all, and if you *can* sit for all of it, you can prolly sit to meditate, too.

——————

This will be So Long You’ll Wish You’d Never Asked, but this is the only way I know how to do it.

—-

Okay, how I learned to meditate was through Transcendental Meditation (TM) in the mid-70’s, but it doesn’t much matter the school of thought or technique, as long as the basics work for you. I’ll tell you what I was taught, but you can - as I have - adapt it to whatever works for you.

The TM people were VERY CERTAIN that following their methods TO THE LETTER was pretty much THE ONLY WAY, but I didn’t buy it then, and I don’t buy it now. That said, the heart of what I learned was very useful.

First off: something general. You really can’t empty your mind. That’s kinda like trying NOT to think about, say, a red balloon. You will, of course, be able to think of nothing but a red balloon. So that’s right out to begin with. You’re just going to release some crap thoughts - like gas - from your brain, and it will consequently feel lighter, less encumbered, and therefore happier and more effective.

So, most good meditation techniques - and there are tons of ‘em - present a much more *oblique* approach to releasing from your mind - on a regular basis - a lot of the yakkety-yak blah-blah noise that fills our heads most of the time - or what TM (and others) call “roof brain chatter”. You become calmer, and over time, are able to access the more creative & integrated levels of “thought” or energy or what-have-you that run through your being all the time, but are often covered up by the roof brain chatter of: “Oh I suck so bad” and “I wonder why she said that to me?” and “If I can’t get that thingamabob to thingy, I’ll die/scream/throw a fit/be behind on my rent/deadline/whatever.”

At the very least, it will help you feel less crazy & overwhelmed & scared or blocked. At the most, you will achieve Godhood. ; ]

I’ll go through kinda how it works for me - and this is how I was taught it was pretty much s’posed to work. So that’s good.

—————-

You sit down in a comfortable but not sleep-inducing kind of spot where you won’t be interrupted ‘til you’re done.

You can have a word to “focus” on - some use “Om”, some use something else; TM gave me my own Special Word that I was NEVER SUPPOSED to tell anyone else ever. ; ] I of course, have (oh, I’m a rebel) - the word sounds roughly like “Hime” or “H’aim”. Some practices just tell you to focus on your breathing, and don’t have you use a word. That works, too. I’ve done both, with word & without & I prefer with word. It should just be a syllable that doesn’t cause you to think of something physical or concrete. “Desk” or “coffeecake” would not be good. “Om” is nice, but “heeee” or “eeeee” or “ohhhhh” or “laaaa” - something soft and not intrusive.

You have a watch or clock next to you that you’ll be able to check to see that you’ve meditated the amount of time you’d like to.

Anyway, you’re sitting there, and you start to repeat your word slowly in your mind in connection/rhythm with your breathing - either saying it on the “in” breath, or the “out” - I use the “out”. You don’t “say” it really hard or concretely - you pronounce it in your head, but not so much sound it out fully. (If that makes sense. It bears the same relationship to pronouncing it fully inside that looking sideways at something does to staring at it directly.) Just: lightly as you breathe. Or: just breathe.

You’ll be focusing on that for a while, breathing and stuff, and thinking about how this is no great shakes, and what’s the big deal about anyway, and your mind will start to drift. You’ll start thinking about dinner, or that task you have to do, or about how this is a waste of time, and you’ll want stop, skip meditating, and get up and go do something.

Don’t. This is ALWAYS the temptation. But: don’t. Stay doing it.

Okay, so you notice that you wanted to stop doing it, or that you started thinking about dinner, or your latest chapter, or some programming problem, and that your mind has drifted away from your word or your breathing, and drifted away from being in the moment with your word/breathing. You catch yourself, you don’t judge yourself for drifting away, you just focus on your breathing/word again. You breathe calmly. You say your word. You are in a rhythm now. Man, you really have the hang of this thing now. You are TOTALLY in the moment.

You start to think about how that is maybe not the point - how awesomely you meditate - and you start to think about your ego. That might bring up some thoughts about your work, and how you’re expressing yourself, and what “is* the theme of that thing anyway, and what did that editor mean when they said that it was unfinished or whatever, and maybe the cover could have been purple instead of green, and: Uh, oh. You catch yourself.

You drifted again. You forgot to say your word, you stopped noticing your breathing, and you started thinking about a problem, or started feeling some emotion, or got into something troubling: and then you caught yourself.

That’s okay. (More than okay. In fact, that’s kinda the point.)

So: this is when you get to let it go. You may have to solve it later, when you’re NOT meditating, but in here, when you ARE, you get to let it go. Whatever you were thinking about, it doesn’t matter. Thinking about that problem is not your job now. Your ONLY job in this meditation session is: saying your word, and noticing your breathing. Staying in the moment with those. You return to that, without judging yourself for drifting. Yes, you got distracted, but you caught yourself, so you return your attention to your word and your breathing. Because that’s your job now - your only job right now. Breathing, paying attention to your breathing, and saying your word.

You do those two major things: focusing on your word/breathing… … … … … … … … … … and then forgetting to do that and thinking about something */*/*/*/* !!! - for the entire meditation session. The interplay of those two activities - staying in the moment with the word/breathing, and then getting lost in thought & feeling and then catching yourself - *IS* the activity of meditating.

At the end of the session, you will probably feel a little calmer, and if you do it over time, calmer still. That calm allows you to reach inside yourself to better quality stuff.

; ]

Without even trying.

—————————-

Anyhoo, every session is different. The days you feel the most fucked up, may be the best, most calming & freeing meditations. Then again, you may feel AWESOME, but get really cranky after meditating ‘cos it brought something up. You may feel nothing at all.

Every session is different. Every session has no goal. Every session is what it is.

Once you’ve done it for a while, in some sort of regular fashion - regular enough that it starts to feel somewhat ingrained in you, or becomes a technique you can call on at will - you can do it for short periods as needed, or in a non-meditative kindof place (I do it in the dentist chair, for instance).

But to start, you need to do it with *some* sort of regularity, so that it gets absorbed into your system, if that makes sense. You need to be in a calm, solitary place, and you need to have uninterrupted time. That’s usually best, but you can also do it under many, many different kinds of circumstances. I’ve done it in peril, I’ve done it in pain, I’ve done it in the ER, and I’ve done it while having sex. ; ]

When I started TM, I was: given my word, told that *I* needed to meditate 20 mins a session, two times a day, sitting down, by myself. One time would be shortly after I got up & before breakfast, one would be at the end of my work (or school) day & before dinner. (It *is* prolly best not to have a full stomach, as you tend to fall asleep, and it slows your digestion, which is not great.)

However, at different times in my life I’ve: done it once a day, done it twice a day, done it a few times a week, done it once a week, forgotten about it for months, done it for 10 minutes a session, done it for 30 minutes a session, done it irregularly, done it precisely the same times every day, fallen asleep every time I’ve done it for a year, done it every time I wanted a drink or drugs. Whatever.

————————

I credit meditation with helping me be: less crazy, more creative, more loving, less judgmental, and for keeping myself in touch with a vague kind of spirituality that is outside of religion or gods or isms or movements of any kind. The spirituality of me.

Okay? Any questions? Did it make sense?

JAVISTA: One inspection away from: heaven!!

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:18:24 -0800

JAVISTA: One inspection away from: heaven!!:

State of our café. We can almost taste it.

javistacoffeebar:

Possibly I exaggerate. Our version of heaven, anyway…

Heaven for us will be: all inspections passed, everything all finished & shiny & cleaned up, our lovely & talented baristas & sammich-makers fully-trained (we have a great bunch of folks - we’re so happy with ‘em) and the doors OPEN!! Open…

JAVISTA: Mostly Almost Really Really Built. Srsly.

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:45:13 -0800

JAVISTA: Mostly Almost Really Really Built. Srsly.:

Our coffee-and-pastry flavored update. With lashings of construction. ; ]

javistacoffeebar:

Insert smiley-face of your choice here. ‘Cos it’s TRUE.

While maybe not as dramatic as some other historic constructions:

…we did have some exciting moments. This is our AC unit getting crane-lowered onto our roof.

But really - our transformation just below is equally…

"Second, it is truly remarkable what ends people’s careers in Washington - and what does not end..."

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:49:16 -0800

“

Second, it is truly remarkable what ends people’s careers in Washington - and what does not end them. As Hastings detailed in that interview, Petraeus has left a string of failures and even scandals behind him: a disastrous Iraqi training program, a worsening of the war in Afghanistan since he ran it, the attempt to convert the CIA into principally a para-military force, the series of misleading statements about the Benghazi attack and the revealed large CIA presence in Libya. To that one could add the constant killing of innocent people in the Muslim world without a whiff of due process, transparency or oversight.

Yet none of those issues provokes the slightest concern from our intrepid press corps. His career and reputation could never be damaged, let alone ended, by any of that. Instead, it takes a sex scandal - a revelation that he had carried on a perfectly legal extramarital affair - to force him from power. That is the warped world of Washington. Of all the heinous things the CIA does, the only one that seems to attract the notice or concern of our media is a banal sex scandal. Listening to media coverage, one would think an extramarital affair is the worst thing the CIA ever did, maybe even the only bad thing it ever did (Andrea Mitchell: “an agency that has many things to be proud about: many things to be proud about”).

”

- Petraeus scandal is reported with compelled veneration of all things military | Glenn Greenwald (via wilwheaton)

A haiku about working in retail

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 12:31:39 -0800

Why’d you put that there

That’s not where you got that from

You lazy asshole

Yes squared.

VOTING: "Half of the American people have never...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 08:40:00 -0800

… read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.”

- Gore Vidal

VOTE Today. Or: shut up about it all.

”The first vote” by A.R. Waud, 1867 at the U.S. LOC

I vote today in West Hollywood, California, in the U.S. Here are my picks for people and propositions, just for your information. Happy to tell you why if you ask. And yes, I think both the two-party system & the electoral college are heinous. Not voting does not register as a protest against anything - it just means you don’t have to be considered. Fact.

Prez.: Barack baby (Dem)

U.S. Senator: Feinstein (Dem)

U.S. Rep.: Schiff (Dem)

State Assembly: Butler (Dem)

County D.A.: Lacey (anti-death penalty)

Prop 30: Yes (or our state will fall apart even moreso)

Prop 31: No (don’t amend our constitution for budget)

Prop 32: No (fake campaign reform bought for by the rich)

Prop 33: No (insurance “reform” paid for by ins. cos. Not.)

Prop 34: Yes (repeals death penalty)

Prop 35: Yes (greater penalties for human traffickers)

Prop 36: Yes (means your 3rd strike must be violent or serious)

Prop 37: Yes (label our foods. Duh.)

Prop 38: No (attempt to derail Prop 30)

Prop 39: Yes (multistate biz doing biz in CA gotta pay some CA tax)

Prop 40: Yes (prefer the Citizens Redistricting Board adjusting districts, rather than officials)

County Measure A: No (LA County Assessor should be elected, not appointed)

County Measure B: Yes (Porn industry should use condoms)

LA County MTA Measure J: Yes (More light rail. Sadly, they might do what they did last time - reduce number of buses - but this should be voted for on its own merits, and we need more mass transit. If they reduce buses, we need to fight that.)

Hee. This is us… one step closer to Physical...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:33:46 -0700

Hee. This is *us*… one step closer to Physical Manifestation. #Excitement

javistacoffeebar:

One step nearer to being Really Real! We’re coming at you, soon! #GetDownWithOurBadSelves

dead.letter: Do complain about your colds.

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:09:13 -0700

dead.letter: Do complain about your colds.:

sporkening:

There’s several reasons I talk about pain [mostly on Twitter]. it’s cathartic; it’s a big part of my life. And I hope, in a small way, that perhaps reading about my pain gives you some insight into what it’s like, and some sympathy towards those who experience it.

I don’t talk about pain in to…

JAVISTA’s State of the Café: Everything all at once

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:43:24 -0700

JAVISTA’s State of the Café: Everything all at once:

This is *us* at Javista - and this is where we are. Moving *so* fast. #gulp

javistacoffeebar:

Everything moves slowly at the beginning, speeds up just a little in the middle, and then really becomes a HUGE ROLLING WHEEL OF ACTIVITY as it nears the end. That’s where we are today - we’re a buzzing hive of activity as Javista’s construction nears its completion.

Just a short while ago, we…

Loving this. So simple &...

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:04:43 -0700

Loving this. So simple & effective.

ianbrooks:

Typographical Sleepy Time by Jane Gardner

Get up wake up hair and makeup!

Artist: Flickr / Website / Behance / Tumblr

SlutWalk Seattle: This is how psychiatry works.

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 16:57:07 -0700

SlutWalk Seattle: This is how psychiatry works.:

fuckyeahgenderstudies:

I had to share this with you all. (Forgive typos please)

When the DSM-III was being revised in the mid-80s (in the preparation of DSM-III-R), Robert Spitzer, the effective God of Prescriptive Psychiatric Policing and Supreme Arbiter of Crazy (Bitches), got dead…

Deceptively-simple advice. #brill

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 18:37:17 -0700

Deceptively-simple advice. #brill

You can explore most of the old official Firefly site...

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:57:15 -0700

You can explore most of the old official Firefly site here: http://blu.fireflyfans.net/firefly/index.htm #CoolStuff #Firefly10th

firefly10th:

Nathan Fillion’s anecdote from the set of today’s rewatch episode, “The Train Job”. (Originally seen in 2002 on the official Firefly website.)

Jon Stewart and his the Daily Show staff = my heroes....

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:41:56 -0700

Jon Stewart and his the Daily Show staff = my heroes. They’ll pick apart Romney’s bullshit even if it means they have to get in it up to their elbows.

wilwheaton:

Chaos on Bullshit Mountain is, to borrow a phrase from my friend Kyla, maybe the best thing the Daily Show has done this year.

Garsh, Imma Need Your Help - Dental/Smoking Thingy

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:39:00 -0700

The Power of the Hive is great, and so I will be turning to all y’all, my friends, to help me get through this Friday, September 21 ——-> up until about September 25th without smoking.

I’m posting this on tumblr so that our Kindly Asylum Leader @EvilGalProds can more easily avoid This Post About Dental Stuff Which Will Understandably Make Her Nauseous.

So: on Friday morning I’m most likely getting my front dental implant installed. Or: inserted. Or: implanted. Hell, I dunno exactly what the verb is, but it’s probably happening. I say “most likely” because until the periodontist opens the gum up (again) and sees how the Plethora of Grafts have taken hold, she won’t know if she can put in the implant finally, or if I just get more bone grafts and we wait for months: yet again.

The thing is: whichever it is, I cannot smoke while it’s initially healing - the first few days, it’s essential that I don’t, and it’s best for 3-5 days after the surgery. I. Must. Not. Smoke.

Here’s where you come in. I don’t need naggers (seriously) or drill sergeants, ‘cos trust me: that never ends well. I just need your help, distraction, and good wishes. (“You can do it, gal! Here’s a kitty video!! Or a great book/perfume/movie/OTR/Victorian/whatever website!! You go, gal!! Woot!)

I will get a bit cranky - although you probably won’t see that. My powers of self-censorship are usually adequate to the task of not being a Huge Bitch. And I will be grateful, which means I won’t attack you for helping me. ; ]

Here’s the thing - well, several things, really. I’ve had this front implant done before, and it failed - in part because I started smoking the first day of the surgery. Just a few, and there were other issues, but the cigs didn’t help the sensitive initial healing. At all.

Here’s the other thing: I will be in pain. I’ve had grafts and implants before, and it hurts like a mother - it starts as soon as the anesthetic wears off, but usually it doesn’t get bad until the third or so day afterwards, because that’s when the Mega-swelling reaches its height. I will be in pain, which will make me crave a cigarette, and I will be on painkillers, which will further make me crave a cigarette, and I will mostly be home recovering, which will make me crave: a cigarette.

But please, I ask you - if I come on twitter and write: “OhMyGods, please help me, I want a cigarette” - can you help distract me, or say, “You can do it?”

That would be so kind of you. I will bless you forever for your help.

(One more thing - this would NOT be a good time to suggest that I stop smoking altogether. Please, please don’t tell me if I’m having a nic-fit, “You should really take this opportunity to stop smoking. It’ll be easy, once you’ve gone 2-3 days without a cigarette to stop for good.” That’s as may be, but that will just FREAK me out - thinking about NO CIGARETTES EVER AGAIN, when I’m just trying to make it through a few hours at a time. Please, seriously, and thanks - you rock.)

I want to name something “Horrible Sanity” -...

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:17:10 -0700

I want to name something “Horrible Sanity” - immediately.

Full disclosure? Doesn't get any fuller than this: The entire Romney donor video. #RomneyEncore

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:14:59 -0700

Full disclosure? Doesn't get any fuller than this: The entire Romney donor video. #RomneyEncore

QuoterGal

There’s also a good (and short) documentary about this...

richkidsofinstagram: Happy Birthday from Minister #mp #commons...

JAVISTA: Open!?! You bet yer mocha we are.

MEDITATION - Because you can't *really* empty your mind...

JAVISTA: One inspection away from: heaven!!

JAVISTA: Mostly Almost Really Really Built. Srsly.

"Second, it is truly remarkable what ends people’s careers in Washington - and what does not end..."

A haiku about working in retail

VOTING: "Half of the American people have never...

Hee. This is *us*… one step closer to Physical...

dead.letter: Do complain about your colds.

JAVISTA’s State of the Café: Everything all at once

Loving this. So simple &...

SlutWalk Seattle: This is how psychiatry works.

Deceptively-simple advice. #brill

You can explore most of the old official Firefly site...

Jon Stewart and his the Daily Show staff = my heroes....

Garsh, Imma Need Your Help - Dental/Smoking Thingy

I want to name something “Horrible Sanity” -...

Full disclosure? Doesn't get any fuller than this: The entire Romney donor video. #RomneyEncore

MEDITATION - Because you can't really empty your mind...

Hee. This is us… one step closer to Physical...