Buddha statue at DIVINE CONNECTION, Black Mountain, NC. ~*~
I totally forgot about my own Bloggiversary--Dead Air is now officially two years old! Here is what I wrote last year, which really hasn't changed too much.
I am still amazed an old broad like me is doing this, and actually keeping it up. Two years? You gotta be kidding! :P
~*~
Required reading for your Thursday--
Kikipotamus the Hobo writes about her Buddhist retreat:
Every thing in the universe is transient. Each of us rises, stands for a while, then passes away. Ajahn Chuen rose, stood in this life for a time, then passed away. The same with thoughts. When you are meditating, a thought will come. Maybe a thought from the past, a memory. Maybe a good memory or a bad memory. Know that you are thinking. Thinking, thinking, thinking. Then back to the breath. Let the thought go. Some thought might come about the future. Know that you are thinking. Thinking, thinking, thinking. And let the thought go. Everything in life is like this. You let it arise, stand, and pass away.
Politico tattles on Senators' pricey airfare, paid for by guess who?:[...]
Sens. John Cornyn and Chuck Schumer each spent more than $140,000 in taxpayer money on travel in the first half of the fiscal year — roughly 10 times as much as some of their thriftier colleagues.
Cornyn, a Republican, racked up the highest travel bill in the Senate by spending more than $38,000 on a St. Michaels, Md., retreat for 59 staffers and by taking expensive, multicity charter flights throughout his home state of Texas.
Schumer, a Democrat, ran up the second-highest bill by routinely flying private charters to cities in New York served by commercial airlines.
Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said his boss’s Texas-size airfare tab stems from the size of Texas itself.
“It has to do with travel around Texas ... the realistic ability to use commercial flights to get him where he needs to be, when he needs to be there,” said McLaughlin. “I’ve driven from Austin to El Paso, which is easily an eight-hour drive. It’s unbelievable how far it is.”
But other big-state senators manage to get around much more cheaply. Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison spent about $88,000 on travel in the first half of the fiscal year; Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski spent about $65,000 on transportation — less than half of what Cornyn spent.
I am happy to report that Dead Air's highest number of hits this year on any one image is my Aum/Om tattoo, which I assume means other people are copying it. I am flattered and very pleased! The color has held up remarkably well. My advice to anyone getting tattoos is: choose very vivid, bright colors, because the sun washes them out and they fade over time. (They won't always be technicolor!) Mine have faded but remain bright; this is also because I am neon-white and unable to tan, so I guess there is a bright side to pallor, haha.
I love the black-and-white photographs of kitties featured today at Magic Lantern Show, especially the kitties asleep on cars! I briefly considered introducing Wordle as a fancy new feature here at Dead Air for my Bloggiversary, but I like my tried-and-true tag cloud better. Still, Wordle is cool, so you might want one of your own! I watched the breaking news-coverage of the Holocaust Museum shooting whilst sitting in the doctor's office yesterday, if you can believe it. (The entire waiting room was stunned.)Media Matters reports that Fox News is still divided on whether the shooting validates the recent Department of Homeland Security report about an increase in rightwing extremism:
Fox News commentators disagreed about whether the shooting validates a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report alerting law enforcement to an increased threat from "rightwing extremists," including "white supremacists." Fox News strategic analyst Ralph Peters rejected the notion "this tragic incident at the Holocaust museum somehow validates the disgraceful report from the Department of Homeland Security," saying: "It had nothing to do with the Department of Homeland Security report. What it did have to do with is this: We're seeing a very dangerous convergence between the extreme haters on the right and the extreme haters on the left -- those on the extreme right who have always been anti-Semites, and now the anti-Zionism sentiment on the left." Additionally, after referring to the DHS report, Fox News host Glenn Beck said: "This is not the work of right-wing conservatives. This is the work of somebody today who is racist, crazy, or most likely both. Common sense tells you there are very hateful people on the right and the left."
By contrast, after reading a message from a viewer saying, "Shame on you and [Fox News correspondent] Catherine Herridge for perpetrating the obscene Department of Homeland Security report on military extremists," anchor Shepard Smith stated: "[T]his is a former military guy and he's gone extremist. They were warning us for a reason -- not about something political or social or anything else -- except they see signs that this sort of thing is bubbling up. They saw the signs, and now it has begun." Smith later said of the DHS report: "It was a warning to us all. And it appears now that they were right." Later that evening, Herridge said of the DHS report: "[Y]ou have to see those reports or assessments in a somewhat different light. I know from having interviewed every person who's been the secretary of Homeland Security since 2001 and also the FBI director that it's this type of lone wolf attack, which frightens the most, because of course it's a conspiracy of just one."
And speaking of rightwing extremism, Renee reports that a preacher prayed for Obama's death on Fox News.No wonder they don't notice it, they ARE it.
And even more extremism: What do you think of publishing private information (on a blog) about scientists doing research on animals? (A little too similar to publishing the name of Dr Tiller's church?)The brawl continues at Feministe, as the person publishing the information defends her rights to do so. The thread is aptly titled Dear animal rights activists, please stop taking your cues from the anti-choice movement. (170 comments as of this writing!)
I recently complained that women delete their blogs, but men don't. (This piece was linked in several places, so I am not the only one who noticed!) And Kim musta heard me, because she's BAAACK! I am so happy to see one of our best bloggers has returned to Blogdonia. Kimsies, how about you stay here this time, pleeeeease?
PS: The Bitten Apple, a Christian feminist blog I particularly enjoyed, is also gone now. (((frownie))) (While the guy-bloggers just keep nattering on!)
For this reason (sheer stubbornness), I will stick around a bit longer. Certainly it ain't due to my astounding popularity as of late.
And simple addiction of course. I love yall!
*Here's hoping I can manage a whole nother year.*