It’s surprisingly grey and foggy this morning as NH enters the 3rd day of July. I have come to believe that we are all being given the opportunity to experience what it feels like to live in England … or Seattle. It’s an adjustment … but once made, I’m sure it will be fine.
Meanwhile, I haven’t got much to say. I read a post on The Time Finder earlier, about keeping your routine fresh … liked it. Maybe being mindful will add some color to the greyness.
Phillies lost – actually were swept by the Braves. Good of them to get the losses out of the way now, rather than later in the year (that’s how I’m framing this for myself).
What else? I’m thinking about getting in a run up at the track today … wouldn’t that be a feat? You go girl!
PS Sorry to be late, Alice!
Today would have been my mother’s 84th birthday – a milestone that would be unimaginable to you, had you known her. It certainly is to me. Ann Evans Murphy – born July 2, 1925 … Ann Murphy Cornog – died January 19, 1975. For anyone Googling that name … she was not what she appeared. I learned from her to hate hypocrisy – both because she hated it and because she was one of its more adept and crazy-making practitioners. Mark Sanford’s got nothin’ on Ann Cornog!
She died at age 49, a woman of beauty, creativity, intelligence, wit, and gargantuan destructiveness. The effects of her life are like glass shards after an explosion. Embedded in the skin … you want to get them out so that they don’t work their way into your bloodstream and eventually, lethally, to your heart.
She had her pain, and her story, too – we were pretty much indoctrinated in their intricacies from birth. Big, noisy victim, though. That’s pretty much what it boiled down to. Had she lived to be 84 … well … let’s just say JordanCornblog would be a significantly less coherent blog than it is.
So, while the rains continue to fall here, I remember … celebrating the places where I have learned to be different from her … and working to see clearly what I have assimilated and still carry. It’s a journey, that’s for sure!
Oh … and did you see that the Red Stars beat the Freedom last night? Good work Stars – nice to see you turn things back in a winning direction. It was the first ever come-from-behind WPS victory, with the Stars scoring twice in the second half to negate an Abby Wambach tally in the first.
Who’d a thunk? I woke up at about 4:30 this morning to the sound of teeming rain -- and wondered how our young plants are keeping themselves from sliding down the hill. Really. As the light returns, I see that everything looks pretty much intact out there -- albeit waterlogged.
Not so intact are the egos of the Red Sox this morning, I’m thinking, as they blew a 10-1 lead and lost to the Orioles. A nightmarish ending appropriate for Poe’s old stomping grounds. The Phillies also lost -- in a see-saw battle with the Braves that went to 10 innings. This is worrisome -- as these are the sorts of games that they were winning last year. Lots of time left, though.
Saw a great movie last night at Red River -- “Away We Go.” Review to follow this evening … but Alice … it’s Alexi Murdoch … remember?
On the political front, Al Franken can finally be seated … and the Dems are out of excuses. Ready to Cowboy up, folks?
Oh, and Mark Sanford? Turns out there were other “lines crossed.” Interesting, how daintily he talks about his “indiscretions” and such -- how different the landscape of adultery and sin and all seems to look to him now.
“If you’re a married guy at the end of the day you shouldn’t be dancing with somebody else. So anyway, without wandering into that field we’ll just say that I let my guard down in all senses of the word without ever crossing the line that I crossed with this situation.”
He let his guard down? Oh right … because evil (as in women?) is out there stalking the righteous (as in people like the guv) at every turn. Let your guard down and they’ll get ya. Poor guy. He let his guard down a lot, I’m thinking. And now he doesn’t think he should resign or anything … nah … he should have a chance to repent, rectify things … you know … all the stuff he’d never allow a Democrat to do. That would be wrong -- immoral. What a self-righteous prick. Perhaps if he changes parties, I will actually believe that he has repented. Anything less is just self-serving hypocrisy IMHO. ;>)
Chris Kelly has a nice take on the whole Sanford mess … what it really means when God is in the driver’s seat in your life.
On to soccer -- a far more uplifting subject this morning. The Red Stars host the Freedom tonight … and try to stop their tailspin. The match will be available via webcast.
Meanwhile the Sol have clinched the first playoff berth in this inaugural WPS season. Looks pretty likely it’ll be the top spot, at that.
And here’s a nice video from the Breakers … no commentary needed …
Oh … and congrats, Maren (belated) -- we love you here in NH, too!
Tags: al franken, alexi murdoch, Alice, braves, Breakers, Democrat, freedom, indiscretions, maren, mark sanford, orioles, Phillies, red river, Red Sox, red stars, Sol, WPS
So it’s still raining here, as US Troops draw down in Iraq and the citizens celebrate.
We learn that Mark Sanford was gripped by the power of darkness … too bad he didn’t have the charity to see that when he was self-righteously blasting Clinton and calling on him to resign back in the ’90’s. Hopefully, if he continues his political career, he’ll learn a little humility … and not just the spray on kind. right, Mark?
Meanwhile, while commemorating Stonewall at the White House, Obama is counseling patience. I actually have no problem with that. Whenever the changes come (and I think they will) the culture-at-large will only have evolved further and be more ready for ‘em. I don’t think he’s just placating … but then, I am naive.
Did I mention that it’s grey/damp/raining here? Why is God punishing NH for Mark Sanford’s trysting with the darkness? That’s what I want to know!
Oh, and speaking of darkness … Cheney is talking again … shouldn’t he be working on his memoirs or something? Dick, Dick, Dick … get a life.
That’s all – just ugh!
(Will it never stop raining?)
This piece by Mike Ragogna, picked up from Huffington Post, gives a good overview of MJ’s trajectory and our complicity in his demise, IMHO. Soon I’ll let this go, I promise. But first -- here’s one of the more poignant videos I’ve come upon -- a young Michael on Sesame Street, singing with Roberta Flack on the Free to Be series …
You were just fine the way you were, Michael, all those years ago. I am just fine the way I am.
Thoughts for a Sunday morning, as the June clouds envelop the treetops and raindrops gather, ready to pour, at the grey horizon.
The VCCA Fellows Visit the Holiness Baptist Church, Amherst, Virginia
We are the only light faces in a sea of mahogany,
tobacco, almond, and this is not the only way
we are different. We’ve come in late, the choir
already singing, swaying to the music, moving
in the spirit. When I was down, Lord, when
I was down, Jesus lifted me. And, for a few minutes,
we are raised up, out of our own skepticism
and doubts, rising on the swell of their voices.
The singers sit, and we pass the peace, wrapped
in thick arms, ample bosoms, and I start to think
maybe God is a woman of color, and that She loves
us, in spite of our pale selves, so far away
from who we should really be. Parishioners
give testimonials, a deacon speaks of his sister,
who’s “gone home,” and I realize he doesn’t mean
back to Georgia, but that she’s passed over. I float
on this sweet certainty, of a return not to the bland
confection of wispy clouds and angels in nightshirts,
but to childhood’s kitchen, a dew-drenched June
morning, roses tumbling by the back porch.
The preacher mounts the lectern, tells us he’s been
up since four working at his other job, the one
that pays the bills, and he delivers a sermon
that lightens the heart, unencumbered by dogma
and theology. For the benediction, we all join hands,
visitors and strangers enfolded in the whole,
like raisins in sweet batter. We step through the door
into the stunning sunshine, and our hearts
lift out of our chests, tiny birds flying off to light
in the redbuds, to sing and sing and sing.
The VCCA Fellows Visit the Holiness Baptist Church, Amherst, Virginia
We are the only light faces in a sea of mahogany,
tobacco, almond, and this is not the only way
we are different. We’ve come in late, the choir
already singing, swaying to the music, moving
in the spirit. When I was down, Lord, when
I was down, Jesus lifted me. And, for a few minutes,
we are raised up, out of our own skepticism
and doubts, rising on the swell of their voices.
The singers sit, and we pass the peace, wrapped
in thick arms, ample bosoms, and I start to think
maybe God is a woman of color, and that She loves
us, in spite of our pale selves, so far away
from who we should really be. Parishioners
give testimonials, a deacon speaks of his sister,
who’s “gone home,” and I realize he doesn’t mean
back to Georgia, but that she’s passed over. I float
on this sweet certainty, of a return not to the bland
confection of wispy clouds and angels in nightshirts,
but to childhood’s kitchen, a dew-drenched June
morning, roses tumbling by the back porch.
The preacher mounts the lectern, tells us he’s been
up since four working at his other job, the one
that pays the bills, and he delivers a sermon
that lightens the heart, unencumbered by dogma
and theology. For the benediction, we all join hands,
visitors and strangers enfolded in the whole,
like raisins in sweet batter. We step through the door
into the stunning sunshine, and our hearts
lift out of our chests, tiny birds flying off to light
in the redbuds, to sing and sing and sing.
As Saturday morning blooms in the east, looking hot and summerish in a way that we haven’t seen yet, I find myself listening to the birdsong, appreciating Willie’s continuing good energy and the deepening greens in our gardens and woods as things dry out just a little bit (hopefully) and we have a chance to catch up on outdoor work.
HollyCornblog and others commented yesterday on the hateful things being said about Michael Jackson … and what it says about us.
And HollyCornblog got me to thinking about how I can feel license to say nasty and sarcastic things about folks whom I have in a particular slot in my head. I’m thinking of Rush and Bush and Dick and Rummy and Palin and such … I could go on and on … a rather extensive list, as I start enumerating.
The license I feel is pretty much in the same ballpark as the license that I imagine the far right Rush types feel (with the small difference that I am right and they are wrong, of course). Nah -- it’s the same flip and tawdry hatred -- I can see it. Hate to see it, to be honest, but I do.
So where’s the fun? I don’t know. I guess it’s kind of cheap humor -- satisfying as it may feel in the moment -- calling Dick a Dick and such. I don’t know that I’ll be able to stop -- but perhaps I can at least sharpen the rapier when possible -- and not indulge in the obvious and blunt-edged stuff.
As for Michael Jackson -- one wonders what his life might have been, had he been allowed to have a childhood … had his talent and genius not been exploited by the avaricious adults around him. I still feel that, looking at him is like looking at ourselves and our culture’s values in a mirror -- a “funhouse” mirror.
The changes in his face are what I keep coming back to … as he moved from a face that reflected a connection to self … and the true beauty that accompanies that … to some learned and assimilated idea of beauty that is, in the end, a tragic mask.
Deepak Chopra writes of the man behind that mask. I hope that what he says is true and there were layers of real warmth and love in MJ’s truncated life.
Yesterday wasn’t a good day to be a celebrity.
Thinking about Michael Jackson, I feel so sad, seeing his transformation, through the years, from a beautiful child/young man, to the grotesquerie that he became. What better metaphor for the excesses, prejudices, and superficial values of our culture? In the end, I almost felt relieved to hear of his passing …
Now the spectacle of his ongoing self-destruction can no longer be fodder for gawkers … and can no longer harm him or anyone else.
Sad to see such talent twisted beyond recognition.
Sad to see his face change into an empty mask over time.
Sad and scary to see some of the human costs of American pop culture so graphically spelled out across the decades.
We ate him up and spat him out.
Sad.
Tags: America, american pop culture, beautiful child, celebrity, grotesquerie, JordanCornblog, michael jackson, self destruction, transformation
Yikes — by 5:30 AM I was on total overload this morning! How can you feel behind the eight ball and overwhelmed so early in the day? Not good. Not good at all. I’m gonna need to check in with myself tonight, that’s for sure!
It’s interesting — when I’m feeling overwhelmed like this my mind turns into my enemy. I find myself generating additional things for my to do list, and thinking up all sorts of little tasks that I “should do” but haven’t even thought about for weeks or months. Pile it on, JordanCornblog!
News of the world, I’m happy to report that the Breakers actually did beat the Freedom! We ended up not going, which was too bad but definitely felt like a wise decision at the time. Christine Latham’s goal gave them the victory – and sole possession of second place!
Here’s a cool site that I want to add to my blog roll — introduced to me by a friend and Beagle aficionado. Hudson is a rescue dog who now blogs about his travels — very cool stuff!
Finally, no matter how overwhelmed I feel, there is great relief in knowing that I haven’t recently been to Argentina and am unlikely to go any time soon!
Yesterday was the 37th anniversary of Title IX … 37 years. I like that the milestone coincides with the 10th anniversary of the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Alice (thanks!) sent me a link to “License to Thrive” – a documentary chronicling the passage and impact of Title IX. We’re hoping it’ll come to Red River … or be available via the Ironweed DVD Club. It’s for sale at the “License to Thrive” site, too … in case anyone wants to send JordanCornblog a copy. ;>)
What else? The Phillies appear to have emerged from their funk .. defeating the Rays handily. (Sorry, Mo!)
The Breakers are gearing up for a trouncing of the Freedom tonight … in which they will also secure a spot in second place in the WPS standings. That will be nice to see! (Sorry, Beulah!)
The Athletica play LA tonight, too – in a match-up that could mightily challenge the Sol. (Let’s hope so[lo]!)
And what’s up with Mark Sanford? Hiking the Appalachian Trail? Boarding a plan? Apparently he’s supposed to be back today … but you have to admit it’s kind of odd behavior. I did some Googling and found his Wikipedia profile. He’s a GOPer with a penchant for evading his handlers and disappearing. Touted as a possible GOP candidate for 2012, I’m thinking he’s gotta get himself under better control.
There’s an odd, bright light in the sky this morning, and a strange bluish tint between the clouds. What could it be? Something to worry about? It seems benign enough — but so at odds with our recent weather but it does give pause.
The deer must be on the move around here, as Willie and Ruby have both been very restless — constantly wanting to go out and sniff the air. Last night when I got home from a meeting Willie asked to go out, and I let him. (We know better than to let Ruby out like that at night.) For the first time in MANY weeks, he took off. At first my calling elicited no response — but then I was quite relieved to hear his jingling collar racing up the hill — my feelings a mixture of annoyance that he had disappeared, and happiness, that he had the energy and interest to take off and then come running back. He also slept on my bed for the second time in as many nights — something he hasn’t done for a while.
So it’s up and down on the Willie front. The meds seem to be staving off the inevitable and, for now, definitely giving him some good quality of life. That’s all to the good!
And speaking of “all to the good” I see that A-Rod has been named the WPS player of the week — kudos to her! I hope her scoring ways continue against the Freedom tomorrow. I don’t know what it is about Abby and the Freedom, but they just make me mad — always have — going back to the WUSA. I do like Sonia Bompastor, however – and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing her play tomorrow night!
Actually, my heart goes out to DC right now (the Freedom notwithstanding) after yesterday’s terrible train wreck. It’s so horrifying to think of what can happen in a split second — how fragile we are — and how fragile are the constructs that we create to keep ourselves feeling safe. That scene looks like an old HO train set that someone just picked up and crushed. Scary.
Sox win on a clutch homer by Green …
Phillies lose … again … six now, or seven?
Baseball
by John Updike
It looks easy from a distance,
easy and lazy, even,
until you stand up to the plate
and see the fastball sailing inside,
an inch from your chin,
or circle in the outfield
straining to get a bead
on a small black dot
a city block or more high,
a dark star that could fall
on your head like a leaden meteor.
The grass, the dirt, the deadly hops
between your feet and overeager glove:
football can be learned,
and basketball finessed, but
there is no hiding from baseball
the fact that some are chosen
and some are not—those whose mitts
feel too left-handed,
who are scared at third base
of the pulled line drive,
and at first base are scared
of the shortstop’s wild throw
that stretches you out like a gutted deer.
There is nowhere to hide when the ball’s
spotlight swivels your way,
and the chatter around you falls still,
and the mothers on the sidelines,
your own among them, hold their breaths,
and you whiff on a terrible pitch
or in the infield achieve
something with the ball so
ridiculous you blush for years.
It’s easy to do. Baseball was
invented in America, where beneath
the good cheer and sly jazz the chance
of failure is everybody’s right,
beginning with baseball.
I’m experimenting with a new look … just because … this morning. Need to figure out how to tweak the rotating photos … and maybe the background color … but I think I like it so far. Feedback welcome!
It’s cloudy here in Canterbury, as the rains get ready to pour down again. Red Sox won … Phillies lost (yet again) and the Breakers play the Red Stars today in Chicago. A-Rod … this is YOUR game!
Boring stuff, eh?
Well, HAPPY SOLSTICE and HAPPY FATHER’S DAY then, how’s that?
Oh yeah – last night I saw Easy Virtue at Red River … and didn’t like it. Had I known that it was a Noel Coward play I might have felt differently – certainly would have affected my expectations. In searching around on-line, I was interested to see that Easy Virtue was first performed in 1925 – and first made into a movie (silent) in 1927 … with Alfred Hitchcock directing.
Best get moving here – LOTS of computer work on tap for today. (And I hope to not get too distracted by tweaking my new blog theme … we shall see!)
Catching up on the news of the week, and feeling kinda naive (or something). Why the hell is Tom Daschle stepping into the Health Care debate, getting all mushy and placating about the publilc option, and offering up a plan of his own? Wasn’t he kinda kicked out of the game? Is he mad at Obama … or missing the limelight … or what? I see that he’s been backing away from his earlier statements … but hell – we sure don’t need this now.
Here’s contact info for Daschle (and others) from the Daily Kos – in a post featuring lots of info about healthcare reform. You’ll be reaching Tom at his law firm office where he lobbies for health insurance companies, among other clients whom I imagine to be equally trust-inspiring relative to this debate!
Hold your ground, Barack!
Speaking of holding your ground … I like the way that Judge Emmett Sullivan is handling the question of whether or not to release those Cheney interview transcripts in CREW v. Cheney … even while Obama is morphing into Bush on the subject of transparency.
What’s up with that, Barack?
Power corrupts … is that the story? Shit – I hope it’s not that simple, boring and depressing. Better turn to the simpler world of soccer, eh?
The USWNT is heading to Germany for a friendly this fall – and Pia is apparently worried about the players’ fitness levels. Check out the BigSoccer discussion thread here for more detail (and debate) … Sounds like Carli … among others … needs to get on the stick. (I kinda hope Carli waits ’til after the Breakers and Red Stars play today, to come out of her funk.)
Here’s Goal.com’s WPS preview for the weekend … which finds the Freedom facing off against the Athletica … while the Breakers meet the Red Stars in Chicago today. Sunday’s 6PM TV match-up has the Sol vs. the Pride. Who do you like? I’m going with the Athletica, the Breakers, and FC Gold Pride … out on a (shaky) limb with my heart in my hand, of course.
Meanwhile, the Phillies are slumping (getting pummeled by the AL is what’s happening). Hopefully they’ll get back on track soon … and that’s about it for now. Gotta get out in the garden before the sun gives way to rain again!
ChristopherCornblog is heading to the lake today, for what looks like it could be a rainy visit there with HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew. I do hope it’s relaxing and fun, nonetheless — and maybe the sun will peek through a few times. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
I’m back at work for day two — and still catching up with e-mails and such.
Scanning the news, I see that the white supremacist shooter who snuffed out the life of a guard at the Holocaust Museum, appears to have indulged in child pornography. While the news venues are careful to indicate that this is all “alleged” and “suspected” at this time, I’m not inclined to give the bastard the benefit of the doubt — any more than he did (or would) to anyone else.
Isn’t it ironic how these vicious right-wingers are always the ones with the hidden fetishes and weird, repressed, proclivities?
Twisted minds bearing the fruit of twisted deeds.
I think of my grandfather on my mother’s side — then think better of it — why start the day on that note!?
Shifting gears (but only a little) I see that Dubya is beginning to criticize Obama. I guess we should be thankful for the silence that we got. It’s nice to see that Dubya’s contribution to the discussion is a substantive as we’d expect from that incisive and curious mind. I say go back to scooping poop — and invite Dick to join you, please!
On the soccer front, here’s an article about the Breakers’ recent game with some mention, at the end of the newest WPS expansion team — down in Atlanta.
The Beat goes on!
Yup – the clouds are rolling in this Thursday morning and it looks like we’re in for a string of rainy days (again). I’m grateful for the sun we had – and looking forward to more as we head toward the Summer Solstice!
On the socer front, the Breakers and FC Gold Pride played to a 1-1 draw in Cambridge … in a game that sounded like a tale of two halves. I’ll look forward to hearing details from those who were there. The Red Stars lost to FC Sky Blue (1-0) … and I am still hopeful that both the Breakers and the Red Stars will get back on track and realize their early promise. (Caveat – as someone born and bred in Philly, my hopeful phannishness should probably be seen for what it is … mostly reaction formation verging on delusion.)
Interesting piece here from Salon – about where we’d be now if McCain were POTUS. How ever I feel about what Obama has and has not done … this makes me count my blessings!
Anyway … onward! I’m back to work today … with a soccer game to root at this evening at NHTI-Concord … unless wet weather sends me straight home!
Yesterday afternoon I had an amazing walk in the woods with Willie — one I’ll remember for many years to come.
The day had cleared, after a whole string of rainy days. Willie, Ruby and I headed toward the western entrance to the woods, and Ruby turned back, as she usually does, before we had crossed the field and walked through the opening in the trees onto the woods road. She hangs out at the house and waits for us to return.
Willie seemed eager and energetic, sniffing the air and trotting with his tail up and his ears perked — just like usual. We came to the spot where the snowmobile trail from town intersects with our woods loop, and turned right heading up a slight incline. The path there is a little bit damp, and the vegetation changes over from hemlocks to birches and beeches as we head up the small hill to walk the ridge (”ridge” being a little bit of an over-statement).
Willie was ahead of me and I saw him stopped in the path, intently sniffing at something. As I got closer I could see that the “something” appeared to be some kind of a dead animal. Ugh – I’m thinking, “Don’t roll … don’t roll!” Getting closer still, I was very sad as it looked like that dead animal was actually a very young fawn, curled up in a tight ball in the middle of the rocky path.
I was thinking about how difficult it is to survive in the woods, and wondering what Willie would do next, as I noticed that the fawn’s eye seemed to be open. Then it seemed that its eye was moving.
I was trying to decide whether I was seeing things or not, when the fawn swung its head around suddenly and let out one of the loudest brays I have ever heard come out of a creature that size! Needless to say, Willie was shocked and pulled back as the fawn struggled to standing on its spindly, new legs and wobbled off into the woods.
Thankfully, Willie minded me and didn’t give chase. (Had Ruby been there I’m sure the story would have had some very different details in this part — and not such happy ones!) Willie desperately wanted to follow the fawn, and kept turning back, even as we continued our walk. He minded each time I called, and I thanked him and congratulated him each time he minded. (I talk to Willie a lot – and sometimes wonder whether he finds that annoying.)
Anyway – there we have it – sweet Willie, who is enjoying the twilight of his life, coming nose to nose with a newly arrived, equally sweet creature on a sun-dappled afternoon. What an amazing juxtaposition! I felt touched, honored, moved to have witnessed such a scene. The world holds so many things — how grateful I am to have been privy to this one!
Reading about the Uighurs in Bermuda, I am so struck by the incredibly fear-based lives that we live here in the US of A … juxtaposed with the calm and sanity of those we have abused …
But proposals to resettle them in the United States caused a political furor that the Obama administration did not want to aggravate. On Sunday, these four expressed a surprising lack of bitterness toward the United States, saying — as they had during interrogations years ago in Guantánamo — that they had never been anti-American and just wanted to get on with their lives.
“Before we were asking, ‘Why are the Americans doing this to us?’ ” said Mr. Abdulahat. Now, he said, with others nodding in agreement, “We have ended up in such a beautiful place. We don’t want to look back, and we don’t have any hard feelings toward the United States.”
Fueled by 8 years of fear-mongering – we are a culture of narcissistic victims looking over our shoulders, thinking everyone is out to get us.
And it wouldn’t be surprising if it were true – given the privilege that we seem to feel empowered to flaunt – and the way that we have treated people and cultures around the world. But the world is often a wiser and more mature place than we, in our terror of terrorists, can fathom.
Could it be our consciences that haunt us and have us jumping at shadows? Could it be, Dick, that you know what you have done and fear the retribution that would be swift and merciless … were vengeance yours?
Getting back on track after a great weekend … and I must admit that sleeping in was a big temptation this grey Monday. But the day beckons and time stands still for no one. Yup.
So I see the Phillies avoided a sweep – losing two but coming back on Sunday and chasing my absolute least favorite of the Red Sox … Josh Beckett … right out of the game. Jimmy Rollins (we hope) is back on track. Wouldn’t mind at all of he and Big Papi followed a similar trajectory and both had fabulous summers!
On the soccer pitch, though A-Rod looked better than in previous games, the Breakers lost their first home match … at the hands of The Athletica. Next up – FC Sky Blue on Wednesday night at Harvard Stadium!
In Iran, demonstrations continue and, in a reversal, the supreme leader has ordered an inquiry into the voting. (This link is to a fascinating, live feed of news streaming in from Iran …) If you go to Twitter and search under #iranelection you can see the Twitterfeed …
Social media at its best!
