Back in the U.S.A.

i have felt...on a few occasions...an extreme relief...a overwhelming peace...a mind-blowing simplicity...i have realized in nights of thought and self reflection...that every particle...every moment...every act...and every life...that has ever existed throughout the dawning of all and everything has worked to bring you...me...and us...to this exact moment in time...and who are we to waste that...who are we to throw away such an opportunity...to see the other side...to feel one another’s pain...to work for a better tomorrow...to make good on bad decisions...

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Happy landings, friend.

Fascinating New Thing

Not everyone in the household is so impressed, though.

Posted by Me at 20:55 link

Quiz Fever!

I've caught Quiz Fever from Gael and Sya! And there is no cure. And there is no cure.

What fiction genre are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I don't like to read that stuff, but somehow being it seems incredibly cool! I must totally rock!

Music in my head:

• The La's — "Son of a Gun" (actually, their whole self-titled album. That this album didn't become absolutely huge is one of the great pop music crimes of all-time. It's just one good song after another. If you don't own it, and you do like pop music, you owe it to yourself to buy a copy of this today!).
• The Beatles — "Happiness is a Warm Gun" (whenever I'm pressed to name my "favorite song," this is the answer I usually give).
• The Breeders — "Cannonball" (also "Divine Hammer," "I Just Wanna Get Along," and "S.O.S.").
• Weezer — H**h Pipe (reminds me of Alaska. No, not because of anything like that! Really, people! I just saw the video there for the first time. The video, which features the band playing while sumo wrestlers wrestle, includes the inevitable gag in which the sumo wrestlers "become the band" for an instant — the coolest thing is that they had the self control to do that gag only once in the video).
• Electric Light Orchestra — "Don't Bring Me Down"

On this date...

Remembrance

I felt the looming presence of the towers on our way home to New Jersey from La Guardia airport. I mentioned to my friend that I'd always thought the towers were ugly and unimaginative. She reminded me she'd once worked in the south tower, and asked me to keep my negative opinions to myself! I conceded I'd probably feel different if I had more of a personal connection to them. My only experiences involved having gotten off/on the PATH train from/to New Jersey underneath them, and having once visited the observation tower on top of the south tower, both experiences back in the 80s, neither experience giving me much of a warm fuzzy for the twin monoliths.

9/11/2001

During the actual attacks, I was taking a monster test in my DC/AC Circuit Analysis class (I was still studying electronics engineering then). At the beginning of the test (about 8:15 am), one of my classmates asked me for the date; I replied "September 11, 2001... a date which will live in infamy," the sort of stupid joke I frequently make. I'm very glad no one seems to have remembered my lame little joke.

While we agonized over our tests, our instructor heard the news (she told us later), but didn't say anything to us about it. Since her normal expression of pinch-faced anxiety seemed the same as ever, I had no clue anything was amiss. I turned in the test (having studied until quite late, I made a 96) and bicycled home for a nap. Still no clue.

At 11, I cycled the couple of miles over to the YMCA for a strength training session; it was a beautiful day, warm (but not hot), dry, absolutely cloudless.

A perfect day.

At the Y, a small crowd stood staring at the TV in the lobby; on the screen, the second plane flew into the north tower, as the south tower oozed black smoke. The big graphic read "America Under Attack." At first I thought it was a promo for a bad TV movie, but by the time I got to freeweights room, I'd heard enough to know it was for real.

Figuring there wasn't much I could do about the situation, and that my primary mission-of-the-hour (to become stronger and fitter) hadn't changed, I went ahead and lifted, then swam.

As soon as I got home, I e-mailed and started trying to call the people I know and love in the NYC area. I did my homework. I walked the dogs. I listened to a lot of NPR.

9/12/2001

Classes were cancelled. I'd done all my homework, I was sick of the news already, and I'd grown weary of the non-stop busy signals I encountered trying to call New York. I called Mom instead, and we went shopping for fragrances.

The streets were almost empty. The stores were next to deserted. I couldn't believe how desolate a shopping mall could seem, and how much attention, kindness and generosity the sales clerks shared with us. I have no idea why fragrance shopping appealed so much to me that day, but it really did the trick! We bought several things and were given an embarrassingly-large collection of samples. That night, surrounded by bags full of Good Smells, I got through to my NYC friends. Everyone was all right.

I was shocked to some degree by the attacks, but more by how surprised everyone seemed to be that such things had happened, that such things could happen. Maybe my imagination's just too vivid, but since the first Trade Center attacks and Oklahoma City, I'd long figured such an attack was just a matter of time.

I was actually relieved that things were no worse than they were. 40,000 people were in those buildings when the planes hit; over 37,000 of them made it out unscathed (physically). 10,000 planes were in the air at the time of the attacks. Out of all those, 4 were hijacked. Only two cities had been hit, and no weapons of mass destruction had been used. Why was everybody treating this like Judgment Day? Compared to the London Blitz, or Dresden, or Hiroshima, this was a flesh wound.

Perhaps most of all, I was affected by the outpourings of sympathy and support from around the world.

Have You Forgotten?

September 11 was a tragedy. Not because 3,000 Americans died… but because 3,000 humans died. I was reading about the recorded telephone conversations of victims and their families on September 11. I thought it was… awful, and perfectly timed. Just when people are starting to question the results and incentives behind this occupation, they are immediately bombarded with reminders of September 11. Never mind Iraq had nothing to do with it.

I get emails constantly reminding me of the tragedy of September 11 and telling me how the "Arabs" brought all of this upon themselves. Never mind it was originally blamed on Afghanistan (who, for your information, aren’t Arabs).

I am constantly reminded of the 3,000 Americans who died that day… and asked to put behind me the 8,000 worthless Iraqis we lost to missiles, tanks and guns.

People marvel that we’re not out in the streets, decking the monstrous, khaki tanks with roses and jasmine. They wonder why we don’t crown the hard, ugly helmets of the troops with wreaths of laurel. They question why we mourn our dead instead of gratefully offering them as sacrifices to the Gods of Democracy and Liberty. They wonder why we’re bitter.

But, I *haven’t* forgotten…

I remember February 13, 1991. I remember the missiles dropped on Al-Amriyah shelter- a civilian bomb shelter in a populated, residential area in Baghdad. Bombs so sophisticated, that the first one drilled through to the heart of the shelter and the second one exploded inside. The shelter was full of women and children- boys over the age of 15 weren’t allowed. I remember watching images of horrified people clinging to the fence circling the shelter, crying, screaming, begging to know what had happened to a daughter, a mother, a son, a family that had been seeking protection within the shelter’s walls.

I remember watching them drag out bodies so charred, you couldn’t tell they were human. I remember frantic people, running from corpse to corpse, trying to identify a loved-one… I remember seeing Iraqi aid workers, cleaning out the shelter, fainting with the unbearable scenes inside. I remember the whole area reeked with the smell of burnt flesh for weeks and weeks after.

I remember visiting the shelter, years later, to pay my respects to the 400+ people who died a horrible death during the small hours of the morning and seeing the ghostly outlines of humans plastered on the walls and ceilings.

I remember a family friend who lost his wife, his five-year-old daughter, his two-year-old son and his mind on February 13.

I remember the day the Pentagon, after making various excuses, claimed it had been a ‘mistake’.

....

Someone asked me whether it was true that the ‘Iraqi people were dancing in the streets of Baghdad’ when the World Trade Center fell. Of course it’s not true. I was watching the tv screen in disbelief- looking at the reactions of the horrified people. I wasn’t dancing because the terrified faces on the screen, could have been the same faces in front of the Amiriyah shelter on February 13… it’s strange how horror obliterates ethnic differences- all faces look the same when they are witnessing the death of loved ones.

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Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity. We are dependent on each other in so many ways that we can no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happening outside those communities.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
From "The Pocket Dalai Lama," edited by Mary Craig, 2002. Shambhala Publications, Boston, www.shambhala.com.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Crapocalypse

Except of course, tomorrow's not Christmas.

Instead of Santa Claus, Osama bin Laden. He doesn't bring presents; he brings death and destruction. He doesn't care if we've been bad or good. We're not hoping he'll come; we're hoping he won't.

We're (or at least I'm) looking forward to a delicious sense of relief when tomorrow's all over with, after nothing horrible happens.

But it's hard to muster a strong sense of hope when people all around the world are doing so many horrible things (like this, this, this, this, this, and this, among other horrors) when my country's doing some of the horrible things, and when America's bogeyman — the Anti-Santa himself, Osama — releases another message of hate, kind of a Charlie Brown Christmas Special From Hell.

Still, hope we must. That, and we must overcome the hate with the only weapon that works — love. We must reach out to our global neighbors all over this planet, the way they reached out to us after the original 9/11.

Happy Crapocalypse Day, everybody.

Posted by Me at 22:15 link

Bush's Speech: An Iraqi Perspective

I heard/read Bush's speech yesterday. I can't watch him for more than a minute at a time- I hate him that much. He makes me sick. He stands there, squinting his eyes and pursing his lips, going on and on with such blatant lies. And he looks just plain stupid.

I listened for as long as I could tolerate his inane features and grating voice, then turned off the television. Then turned it back on. Then turned the channel. Then turned it back. Then almost threw a cushion at the screen. Then thought better and decided he wasn’t worth it. Is it possible that someone like that is practically running the world? Is it possible he might see another term in the White House? God forbid…

His whole speech was just an idiotic repetition of what he’s been saying ever since Afghanistan, “Give me more money, give me more power- I’m doing this for you. Bechtel and Halliburton have nothing to do with it.” Doesn’t he ever get tired of saying the same words? Don’t people ever get tired of hearing them?
....

I read Bush’s speech… just like I’ve read/heard what feels like a thousand different speeches these last few months. Empty words, meaningless phrases.

The abridged version of the speech…

"Friends, Americans, Countrymen, lend me your ears… lend me your sons and daughters, lend me your tax dollars… so we can wage war in the name of American national security (people worldwide are willing to die for it)… so I can cover up my incompetence in failing to protect you… so I can add to the Bush and Cheney family coffers at your expense and the expense of the Iraqi people. I don’t know what I’m doing, but if you spend enough money, you’ll want to believe that I do."

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Congratulations, Sean!

Meanwhile...

Unfortunately, some soldiers are less lucky:

With U.S. forces stretched thin in Iraq and the Bush administration still searching for additional international peacekeepers, the Army has ordered thousands of National Guard and Army Reserve forces in Iraq to extend their tours in the country to a year, months longer than many of the troops had anticipated, Army officials said yesterday.

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Playing Favorites

Favorite songs chosen by the Democratic presidential candidates at Tuesday's debate:

Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun -- "You Gotta Be," Des'ree.

Al Sharpton -- "Talking Loud, Saying Nothing," James Brown. He called it "James Brown's song about the Republican Party."

Sen. John Edwards -- "Small Town," John Mellencamp.

Sen. John Kerry -- "No Surrender," Bruce Springsteen.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean -- "Jaspora," Wyclef Jean.

Sen. Joe Lieberman _"Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow," Fleetwood Mac; "My Way," Frank Sinatra.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich -- "Imagine," John Lennon.

Rep. Dick Gephardt -- "Born in the USA," Bruce Springsteen.

Sen. Bob Graham -- "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes," Jimmy Buffett.

But did he just pick Buffett because of the Florida connection?

And don't get me wrong, "Imagine" is one of the best pop songs ever, but for some reason I think all of the songs on Kucinich's mix tapes would Say Something and be full of Deep Meanings, while I feel Dean would just dig good tunes.

Lieberman, as usual, annoys; he picked two songs to everyone else's one, and his picks rub me the wrong way. The Fleetwood Mac song was good, back in the day, but you know Lieberman picked it because it was Bill Clinton's theme song. My guess is that Lieberman would whine about not being able to find anything he liked on the radio.

Again with the exception of Dean, I guess I'm discouraged by the overall conventionality and predictability of their picks.

On the other hand, according to Issues2000, George W. Bush's favorite song is "Wake Up Little Susie" by the Everly Brothers. How old school whitebread can a guy get?

If anyone cares, the following have been stuck in my head today:

• Dead Milkmen — "Beach Party Vietnam"
• Electric Light Orchestra — "Turn to Stone"
• Beach Boys — "Don't Worry Baby"
• Sergio Mendez — "Magalenha"
• Gloria Estefan — "Tres Deseos" (Pablo Flores 12" mix)

Bad News For North Carolina

Edwards wrote to North Carolina Democratic Party leaders Sunday saying he has decided to devote himself exclusively to his presidential campaign rather than simultaneously seek re-election to the seat he won in 1998.

"Not only do I have a plan, but I am actually working right now with the Democratic Party chairman and the Democratic Party leadership in North Carolina to make sure we have strong candidates," he told a voter who questioned the decision at a Town Hall meeting Monday night.

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On the other hand, though, wouldn't he make an excellent VP choice for Howard Dean?

Good News for Iraq

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Torn for weeks over whether to recognize Iraq's U.S.-appointed authority, the Arab League on Tuesday granted the fledgling Governing Council the Iraqi seat on the 22-member pan-Arab body.

The decision is the league's first to officially recognize the council -- appointed July 13 after U.S. forces deposed Saddam Hussein's regime -- as an authority able to represent Iraq on the regional stage.

Following nearly six hours of closed-door talks, Arab League foreign ministers issued a communique saying the Governing Council had been granted Iraq's seat until a legitimate Iraqi government is formed and a new constitution drawn up.

"This decision was agreed upon unanimously," the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told reporters following the meeting.

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R.I.P. Warren Zevon