What a marvelous week of revelation, and by that I mean a humbling insertion of my needs and values and the exercise of noble ideas and nobilish actions. Hooray for Spring Break the much needed breath catching that sweeps the country for the celebration of spring, sexuality, freshness, and completion and the open adventure that awaits in summer. Though I am pleased to report I handled my much needed mundane tasks I did adventure out to work on larger ideas and though I am dissapointed that no great american novel has emerged with my luxurious amount of time, because it was of course spent worrying about jobs and finances and maintaining my well being. The notion of Helping Hand that I present is the collective of universal desires and needs. Certainly this week the litmus test of equality was pissed on as a country we asked ourselves do we really believe in civil equality in the face of "moral fabric" ? "sanctity"? It seems that this country is philisophically opposed to the idea of a helping hand, at least in practice anyway. There is a massive statue that sits in a "New" York that openly calls out to the minorities that these shores are open and safe to become and thrive as individuals that no matter your origin, your status you are equal here. In fact lets get the exact verbage: The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
Hmmmmmm sounds awesome right? Keep your fancy shit we got other priorities. Anyway back to my sermon, so their are two marriages that happen one is the religious ceremony that is a party and that most girls see as their princess moment a gathering of family and the exchange of vows. This is the one that has sanctity, moral implications and is the one that is referred to when "feminists" or men wanting to avoid the other marriage say that this is a piece of paper and that it does not prove how much our love is. The other marriage is a binding contract where it is exactly a piece of paper that does entitle, and obligate the 2 parties fiscal responsibillity to each other. It is declaring trust and putting your money where your mouth is. Note this is where you go from being a princess to being a wife something that is not mentioned in the happily ever after that most girls are treated to; not to mention the prince charming notion, where this man now has to become a husband. This marriage IS the piece of paper that says yes I do love you and that means 1100 benefits and rights that ensure security. Ladies and Gentleman can we please admitt that security is the base line to which we all find our rhythem? The Helping Hand is an expansive idea whether or not it is your GOD giving blessing and guidance through emotional storms, the government offering protection and enrichment with social services like roads, schools, health care, housing, jobs, food, and regulations and justice to all that are being targeted or abused. In a relationship a partner is the helping hand, that will comfort your body, witness your stuggles, celebrate your success, and share your burdens and with any mindfullness will help to construct your visions and realities of joy. So today I witness my own search for the importance of the helping hand, the lover, the boss, the teacher, friend, the counsel and the collective as we strive towards embracing help the only way to ensure that we are not helpless.
Things that rung my bell this week: Thank You Senator for presenting the real implications of fairness. And may that spill into opening up the chance for family for those children who have been abandoned by "traditional relationships"
Kudos to this story which I found amazing: Hip Hop community reaching out because cash is cheap but networking is priceless. The old give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. BRAVO.
On netflix this week the highlight was Paris was a Woman. An amazing jaunt through that golden age that was featured in midnight in Paris the glorious Woody Allen film. But this is a much more rich and lush picture of a literary movement and cultural awakening of women that was simply thrilling to watch.
On the more traditional side is my favorite uber marriage of the arts and design as living the full documentary of Charles and Rae Eames on PBS is here.
I went to Feminist and CO at the MOCAD and engaged in the idea of why feminism thrives in the blogoshpere. Some of the ladies that were featured Historiann, violetagainstwomen, Rue Johnson hip hop writer for westword and the Denver Post, and My personal take is that women need a safe space to process and the amount of time she spends either shopping online or doing the job or what have you, the knitting circle is no longer realistic and in all her roles she has the one chance to self create a role or a connection to the side of herself she has not made time for in previous cultures that did not have both the allure of appreciation or the relief of ananimity with quite the same instant gratification that internet allows. I am easily a victim of this myself as this project has evolved past being a companion piece to my personal reflection on the times and my own surgical currents as I piece myself together to find my own code. Next week Boobs. For good measure here is a great article about the women of Bauhaus.
Also There is this - my morning status update but I feel worthy of bloging: On an impromptu date night I went to see the host the best worst movie I've seen in a while. Enduring the paper mâché dialogue and the once again awkward love triangle and inexplicably irresistible beloved protagonists that is ms Meyers signature. I still found an actually compelling story that engages a sliver of philosophical reflection. If the only way we are to achieve a utopian state is by surrendering to an alien light being that has been around for a thousand or so years, and has resolved the ego of violence and possessions only to have some sort of human resistance, my question is what would "heaven" look like if not some version of this trusting harmonious world? An interesting exercise in endurance. Anywho as we battle over the meaning of equality and liberty and pursuit of happiness and occasionally the responsibility to ourselves and certainly each other to manifest these "rights" in the framework of nationalism, perhaps we can take a moment to reflect if indeed we were worthy of the will to choose, anyway I give pause to the idea of a slave: unhappy forced worker (wage slave nowadays), a seva: meaning in service by choice, and the example in nature of the bee, the most efficient and essential, certainly productive culture in the animal kingdom (of course we are killing them off mystery my foot). I wonder how many rotations it will take to truly understand what oneness might mean. And a little help from my favorite muse Oscar.
PSS In health news Booooooooo! Obama pulled another massive atrocity in protecting Monsanto over the millions of Americans that is crushes anually way to disappoint and undermine.... good luck getting any rest with Mobama sayin WTF? same page buddy.
and Cancer no more !
Happy Ishtar! or Easter whatevs -
