Especially since many on the east coast will have difficulty getting to a polling place...



25 reasons from 25 people who are voting Obama:

1. "The Affordable Care Act is saving my daughter's life."
Stacey, Arizona

2. "Obama is for the vets. He helped us wind down in Iraq, he's improved mental health policy with VA benefits."
Joel, Minnesota

3. "Obama stuck his neck out for us, the auto industry. He wasn't going to let it just die, and I'm driving in this morning because of that, because of him."
Brian, Ohio

4. "Osama bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive."
Joe Biden, Delaware

5. "Supreme Court Supreme Court Supreme Court."
Andrew, California

6. "Arithmetic."
Bill Clinton, New York

7. "He cares for the 100 percent."
Shana, Texas

8. "When Obama came into office, he successfully renewed our country's place in the community of nations, making cooperation in tackling the world's challenges possible."
Willis, North Carolina

9. "The actions he has taken with respect to protecting us from terrorism have been very, very solid."
Colin Powell, Virginia

10. "I was really very grateful to him for standing up for those kids who are having a really rough time out there because of their orientation."
Jane Lynch, California

11. "For me, President Obama is our best choice because he has a vision of the United States as a place where we are all in this together."
Bruce Springsteen, New Jersey

12. "He has a real plan for rescuing the economy that passes the 'math' test."
Teresa, Virginia

13. "Having someone in office who understands how powerful our voice can be is very important."
Jay Z, New York

14. "I am voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden because I can trust them to care for the middle class and restore the American dream."
Steven, Florida

15. "The first measure he signed into law after becoming president was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act -- so a female high school counselor or physical education teacher can fight for equal pay for equal work."
Connie Britton, California

16. "I believe in the America he wants for my grandchildren."
Nancy, Michigan

17. "We need four more years of repair, of helping the middle class achieve a sustainable economy."
James Taylor, North Carolina

18. "I've watched him fight for our country, stand by the middle class, the working class, the military, the education of our children, universal health care, women, the environment, and matters of national and domestic security."
Susan, Virginia

19. "The gifted 12-year-old I taught, whose parents were deported and left her here with her grandmother, will be allowed to stay and finish her education. She's been in the U.S. since age one."
Jamie, North Carolina

20. "I want our president to place scientific evidence and risk management above electoral politics."
Michael Bloomberg, New York

21. "I have four children who are under 26 and able to stay on my health care plan. That's been huge."
Amy, Pennsylvania

22. "He's fighting to defend and better Social Security and Medicare -- because millions of Latino seniors rely on them."
Cristina Saralegui, Florida

23. "Thanks to the President's efforts to keep student loan rates low, I can expect to save nearly $1000 as I work to repay my student loans. And I don't have too many of those, thanks to the Federal Pell Grant program."
Sam, Minnesota

24. "It's been wonderful to have President Obama as a champion for access to health care for all women in this country."
Cecile Richards, New York

25. "Re-electing Barack Obama would lead to a stronger economic recovery than would be the case were Mitt Romney to win on November 6th."
Jared Bernstein, Washington, D.C.

This report is from The Church Report, a conservative Christian online publication. I have the dubious honour of being on their mailing list because of my one-time project of making rosaries and membership in several rosary-crafting groups.

The report is from a recording by a minister at a rally who exhorts his parishioners to punch their sons who are exhibiting effeminate behaviour and to "crack" any "limp wrists" that they see. It's a very sad thing to be sharing and the fact that while the Report says this senior minister is on "the hotseat", it does NOT criticize his behaviour or decry the use of physical violence against a child.

Let's consider for a moment the dictionary definition of "punch." The Macmillan Dictionary says: "to hit someone or something with your fist (=closed hand), usually as hard as you can."

The minister supposedly said later on that he may have gone too far. My concern; however, is how many children were physically abused that afternoon and since because of his urgings? Should he not be charged with advocating violence or exposing children to injury or danger?

I know there are many good Christians out there; however this type of language makes me fear that the constant and unprovoked physical abuse many Catholic school children suffered in the 50's, 60's and 70's is still going on and is advocated by ministers who profess to be following in the footsteps of Christ, for is that not what being a Christian is all about -- being Christlike? When you add in the fact that gay marriage is more a wedge political issue than a genuine conviction for many of these conservative leaders, the actions encouraged by this man become even more heinous.

Rant over. Here's the text. Remember the source, I've even provided a link for those doubting Thomases among you:

http://www.thechurchreport.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteContent.default&objectID=153651

Pastor: Parents Should Punch Their Gay Kids
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
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Pastor Sean Harris
A North Carolina Pastor is on the hot seat for taking his support of the proposed ban against same sex marriage too far in recent comments made at a rally.

Sean Harris, senior pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Fayettesville, spoke at length in support of North Carolina's proposed Amendment 1, which would define marriage in the state constitution as between one man and one woman and would outlaw civil unions and domestic partnerships, during an hour-long sermon on Sunday. In this clip, provided by Jeremy Hooper of the blog Good as You, a man identified as Harris is heard urging his congregation to attack their children if they appear to be exhibiting behavior outside of gender norms.

Harris can be heard saying:

"So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, 'Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,' you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed.

Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male. And when your daughter starts acting too butch, you reign [sic] her in. And you say, 'Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going to dress yourself up.'"

After reflecting on his comments, Harris took to his blog to say he had misspoke. In the blog post, he says" "For the record, I want to ensure everyone that I do NOT believe physical force is capable of fixing effeminate behavior or homosexual behavior. Parents should not punch babies or children. (Ultimately only the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to deliver one from sexual immorality and behavior including effeminacy.)"

North Carolina residents will go to the polls on May 8 to vote on both the same-sex marriage measure and to pick a Republican presidential candidate.

Last week, however, Public Policy Polling reportedly released a new poll showing that support among North Carolinians for the proposed anti-gay amendment has dropped to a record low.

just finished watching for the umpteenth time, time bandits.  this's been the week for old favorites with edward scissorhands the other day, though it was strange seeing wynona ryder as a blonde, very strange.

keep fingers crossed, the rain that's plagued us out here for weeks on end is....dare one hope?...finally over.  between thurs and fri of last week, alone, we got 10 plus inches with howling winds.  we were lucky and lost power for all of friday, many still don't have it.  trees are downed all over the place.  life out here has been dank.  and yes, SAD has me in its grip....next few weeks though promise a return to normal temps and lots of sun.  plus the ice rink in the plaza melted away in all the rain and was closed up a week early(yippeee).

lots of reading:  poison by chris wooding:  a faerie tale, very cool and worth reading and...he's got tons more.  city of bones by cassandra clare-wow(shakes head in admiration)  this is such an amazing book only down thing is .... she's not written the next book in the series yet, or at least it's not yet been published....this one has nephilim, vampires, werewolves.  look for it and enjoy.

yes!! the holidays are finally over....under other circumstances i would feel rather differently, i suppose but in my trade, this is a rather brutal time of year.  numbers of artists arrive for the one month, crowding out those who are around all year as spaces are limited.  the plaza where we work has had nearly no sunlight at all for the last month or so and the brick and granite surfaces radiate cold, intensified by the seasonal ice skating rink that resides there each holiday season.  the wind blows from the north straight across the icy expanse into our dark, dank and shivery realm.  yes, i do whinge on about the weather but it is something many of us who work outdoors obsess about come wintertime.

next year we will winter in the desert southwest, as had been planned for this winter but business did not so permit. this year we will be opening a second booth for the photography and watercolours. as well as working more days.

finally saw ootp yesterday after work.  chrys said at the end that he did not want to see the next two, they weren't fun anymore. no they aren't.  also, this one seemed so fundamentally changed.  the book was very dark, in some ways darker than the subsequent ones, ie with the pen and the other s/m aspects- that, as well as the comic relief and defiance of the twins were squashed in an effort, i imagine, to keep a g or a pg rating.  even the trick that led to sirius being killed was not really adequately explained, nor for that matter the removal of umbridge by the centaurs and her breakdown after that..  i think most of us who've read the book filled in the missing parts but when you think of what's missing or unexplained to one who's not read the book....

i do not think they really had to shy away from the darker aspects of the book.  those things would've gone over the small ones'  heads, for the most part.

new and good reads:  magyk by angie sage; greywalker by kat richardson(has vampires and a good strong woman detective as the lead role, lots of fun).  got a bunch more books from the young adult section of the library where vampires, sorcerers and magic abound....also a book written by a rabbi about kaballah, a novel(?)...  much of the numerical aspects of judaism are quite intriguing to me, so much to learn... where to start...

draw, how to master the art arrived this week and now to find my boxes of pens and pencils and get that new clean drawing pad....

today we went to the bay, low tide but still lovely, lots of sun shining on the mudflats, dogs running in the sand...very cool ...now off to bed for work tomorrow, 

.

tomorrow is the solstice!!!!  the sun will be returning, ever so slowly, to the northern climes.  we've passed the long dark nights and the new year is set to begin tomorrow evening.  very cool.  this year we will also be getting daylight saving time several weeks early as well.  for now, we'll be gaining 1-2 minutes every day.

we were out at the bay today, dead-low tide and so no swimming, tons of mud and damp sand but still quite gorgeous.  there was a stiff wind and it's not terribly warm out but sheltered by the cliff, the beach is warm and lovely.  the sun blazing as only dead of winter sun can blaze.  dogs chased balls along the shore, climbed the ice plants, rolled on their backs and kicked up their heels.

weather's been as it usually is during these darkest days, cold, rainy(about 5 inches in 2 days), unsettled.  fortunately most of the force of the never-ending series of storms is north of us.  the next week is crucial for our business and so keep fingers crossed, think warm and sunny thoughts.

recovering from a cold, odd to get one so soon after the flu.  must look into what's weakening the immune system.  still living carb-free, weight is sloooowly dropping but i'm not yet in a gym so can't expect the dramatic results that three hour workouts bring. 

Draw, How to Master the Art is winging its way to me as we speak!  found a used copy at a missouri booksellers online.  will be grand to get back to that book.  each page is a series of challenges, of pictures to recreate,   the copper jewelry is also working well, each new piece works with the others, getting lots of attention even from other artists.  have more ideas in this spinning labyrinth that serves as a brain.  i vainly grab at most of them as they whirl past....;)  next challenge is a series of marine/celtic knots rendered in copper or silver.

our digital camera, which was inadvertently dropped in the bay, is not repairable, and, being insured, will be replaced.  this we just found out after months of waiting.  that model has been replaced with other more powerful ones so....who knows what we'll be offered(grins).  might be worth it to ante up a few bucks to get something grander, larger, faster, etc.... i"ve also decided to find a small digital, one of those card sized canons, with decent optics to keep in my pocket....

no, we've not yet seen order of the phoenix.  we don't do movie theatres, strange as that sounds.  working outdoors though, we don't have the exposure to germs that are part of most people's every day lives.  taking public transportation or sitting in a theatre, esp one with children(shudder) in it, can bring on some nasty colds and flus.  so now we wait for the list at the library, four more days, and yes, i don't expect that much from this last one....  to prepare though, we're in the midst of a harry potter marathon.  this week it's been the first two.  three and four are also to be seen before the fifth.   i've been drawn to rereading the series again as well.  this always puzzles me as i rarely re-read books.  the potters though are different, it's like coming home somehow with the added boost of finding a new nuance or clue buried till that reading.

time to go.  happy solstice everyone.  gods bless.

been too busy to visit here much lately.  work has been more demanding than usual.  sunday's visit to the library was quite productive, found an old art history book for a dollar in the sale section, written by an author i had been trying to remember for years.  my professor had me read his art history books in connection with a doctoral thesis(which never materialized though we had great fun with it for years) on tennyson's idylls of the king.  the other day chrys suggested i email my old prof and ask for the name which i'd not thought of doing but lo and behold it was waiting for me...now to study...

many storms are pounding the pacific northwest and the jet that brings them keeps getting blocked from bringing them down here. yippeeeee!

lots going on.  as business changes there is the pressure to once again reinvent our crafts.  the oil paints stored in the back have been sending out a siren song for a long while and now seems a good time.  will be re-borrowing 'draw, how to master the art' a wonderful book that literally sits you at the foot of the great artists and makes you learn the traditional way, copying their work.  i am an excellent copyist, always have been, and this book is a wonderful teacher for someone who is best self-taught with maybe a book as a guide.  alas,i have never yet though found my own style.  love the fauves and have copied much of their works.  still not quite understanding the abstract.  am also borrowing two volumes of art history to get my brain started.  maybe this time i'll find the style that lurks inside...

the jewelry cannot quite be dispensed with, yet, so it morphs into the bizarre and unusual.  am playing with copper wire, love copper and its healing properties, it's also much easier to invent with than silver as the cost is negligable.  newest creation is a large pendant woven and knotted, somewhat akin to those macrame plant hangers.  our friend james was not terribly impressed, likening it to a monstrous insect but his taste runs to large heavy blocky jewelry...first day out we got an order for matching earrings so....more books to take out on knots, basket weaving techniques, twining, all sorts of stuff to jog my jaded brain and even more jaded public.  problem out there is,,,,globalization and the lack of any sort of integrity on the part of some of the 'craftspeople' out there...buying jewelry from third world countries for pennies and selling it as one's own work for a fraction of the price it should be, is not being a craftsperson.  there is alas no means to control this problem and it's growing way out of control.  so, the art and photography go out again...and the new designs whirling about in the chaos of my imagination.

i actually thrive on this type of challenge, there is very little out there i cannot learn to do.  ever since i was small and would get my school books for the year and sit down on the porch and read them all that afternoon, there's been very little i cannot teach myself.  except...socialization skills, they are forever beyond my reach...and speaking fluently, without stammers, stutters or difficulties with certain letters.  this is something i've for the most part gotten used to as i am by nature solitary but sometimes when subbing for chrys at the stand and reaching desperately for a word as prospective customers stand waiting...

A Beloved Professor Delivers
The Lecture of a Lifetime
September 20, 2007; Page D1

Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-science professor, was about to give a lecture Tuesday afternoon, but before he said a word, he received a standing ovation from 400 students and colleagues.

He motioned to them to sit down. "Make me earn it," he said.

What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? For Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, the question isn't rhetorical -- he's dying of cancer. Jeff Zaslow narrates a video on Prof. Pausch's final lecture.

They had come to see him give what was billed as his "last lecture." This is a common title for talks on college campuses today. Schools such as Stanford and the University of Alabama have mounted "Last Lecture Series," in which top professors are asked to think deeply about what matters to them and to give hypothetical final talks. For the audience, the question to be mulled is this: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance?

It can be an intriguing hour, watching healthy professors consider their demise and ruminate over subjects dear to them. At the University of Northern Iowa, instructor Penny O'Connor recently titled her lecture "Get Over Yourself." At Cornell, Ellis Hanson, who teaches a course titled "Desire," spoke about sex and technology.

At Carnegie Mellon, however, Dr. Pausch's speech was more than just an academic exercise. The 46-year-old father of three has pancreatic cancer and expects to live for just a few months. His lecture, using images on a giant screen, turned out to be a rollicking and riveting journey through the lessons of his life.

He began by showing his CT scans, revealing 10 tumors on his liver. But after that, he talked about living. If anyone expected him to be morose, he said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you." He then dropped to the floor and did one-handed pushups.

Randy Pausch and his three children, ages 5, 2 and 1.

Clicking through photos of himself as a boy, he talked about his childhood dreams: to win giant stuffed animals at carnivals, to walk in zero gravity, to design Disney rides, to write a World Book entry. By adulthood, he had achieved each goal. As proof, he had students carry out all the huge stuffed animals he'd won in his life, which he gave to audience members. After all, he doesn't need them anymore.

He paid tribute to his techie background. "I've experienced a deathbed conversion," he said, smiling. "I just bought a Macintosh." Flashing his rejection letters on the screen, he talked about setbacks in his career, repeating: "Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things." He encouraged us to be patient with others. "Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you." After showing photos of his childhood bedroom, decorated with mathematical notations he'd drawn on the walls, he said: "If your kids want to paint their bedrooms, as a favor to me, let 'em do it."

While displaying photos of his bosses and students over the years, he said that helping others fulfill their dreams is even more fun than achieving your own. He talked of requiring his students to create videogames without sex and violence. "You'd be surprised how many 19-year-old boys run out of ideas when you take those possibilities away," he said, but they all rose to the challenge.

He also saluted his parents, who let him make his childhood bedroom his domain, even if his wall etchings hurt the home's resale value. He knew his mom was proud of him when he got his Ph.D, he said, despite how she'd introduce him: "This is my son. He's a doctor, but not the kind who helps people."

He then spoke about his legacy. Considered one of the nation's foremost teachers of videogame and virtual-reality technology, he helped develop "Alice," a Carnegie Mellon software project that allows people to easily create 3-D animations. It had one million downloads in the past year, and usage is expected to soar.

"Like Moses, I get to see the Promised Land, but I don't get to step foot in it," Dr. Pausch said. "That's OK. I will live on in Alice."

Many people have given last speeches without realizing it. The day before he was killed, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke prophetically: "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place." He talked of how he had seen the Promised Land, even though "I may not get there with you."

Dr. Pausch's lecture, in the same way, became a call to his colleagues and students to go on without him and do great things. But he was also addressing those closer to his heart.

Near the end of his talk, he had a cake brought out for his wife, whose birthday was the day before. As she cried and they embraced on stage, the audience sang "Happy Birthday," many wiping away their own tears.

Dr. Pausch's speech was taped so his children, ages 5, 2 and 1, can watch it when they're older. His last words in his last lecture were simple: "This was for my kids." Then those of us in the audience rose for one last standing ovation.

Write to Jeffrey Zaslow at jeffrey.zaslow@wsj.com

was playing around with left brain/right brain tests and found this site:similarminds.com.  linlots of interesting tests, an assortment of jungian/enneagram type tests...well worth the visit.

i usually test right brain dominant and always intp.  recently saw the ballerina test where your brain dominance determines which direction she is spinning.  supposedly, if you concentrate, you can get her to switch directions...i couldn't -she just keeps going in the direction that says i'm right brained...


another really detailed and interesting left-right brain test is found on the following site-it freely gives all the info that other sites tease you with tiny bits of so you pay them money:  www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm

Many of these were weekly writing challengs from a now sadly desolate writer's board.  This one has a pictorial prompt:

He hovered in the darkness outside her window, gazing in at the woman who sat at her night table. It had been too long since last he fed and the sight of her alabaster throat, arching as she sat there in a reverie, called to him in a siren's song. He could sense the blue veins pumping underneath that white expanse and his fangs ached with the desire to plunge deep into her throat and feed. He knew the dangers involved in fulfilling that urge and fought to bring his sense of self-survival into play. There were other, safer ways to feed tonight, a drunken worker staggering home from his pub, a seamstress out after a fitting or one of the bargirls after closing hour. All were safer but none had the allure, none of these safer victims could entrance him as she had done. Did he dare try to coax her, to rouse her from her thoughts and tempt her with words of promise and desire? Or try to mesmerize her with his gaze, cold blue eyes that seemed to sap the soul and life-blood of his victims before fangs ever touched flesh? Or would she in fact parry his efforts with a disarming glance, a bell-like tone, or a shrill scream that would bring the hunters down upon him? His mind raced amongst the possibilities and he groaned at the sight of her, still lost in thought, unaware of the turmoil she had created in him. He gathered the force of his mind and will and turned aside, eyes blazing, and walked away into the night.