Take off yer blinders

An excellent explanation of White Privilege in America. Just read this, "Imagine if the Tea Party was Black" by Tim Wise.

And this is what you'll learn when you swap team colors:

White Privilege is "The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis."

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Of course, this representation of the Tea Party engaging in the normal patriotic behavior of American citizens is due in large part to mainstream Media coverage. If you flip to the Daily Show on the TV or any other source of news that actually attempts unbiased analysis that challenges the status quo, you'll already know this.

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Second comment, far less political but just as important.

Getting your shoes re-soled is wonderful. It's an experience of born-again proportions. An epic feeling to wear the shoes of your past well into your future without the skin of your heel scraping along the sidewalk leaving an unfortunate trail of tears and scabby foot-flesh.

I think this needs a haiku (5-7-5?) in the comments section cuz I ain't go one in me head now.

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Soon a terrible sadness will fall on these parts as I make my way across a sky void of volcanic ash towards a land where manifest destiny is embodied physically.

Tenderlings

Today I had several missions. To most people my missions are merely the daily duties of ingrained hygiene. But most people do not know the deliciousness that is cheese.

I bought a lot of cheese.

Then I had to take the bus. I was feeling good with my bus pass in one hand, swinging a bag full of cheese in the other, but just as I settled into my dairy fueled stupor, I saw them. Uniformed children.

Like a flood gate had opened and children dressed in plaid skirts and over-sized, over-dyed blazers were vomited out and no one had the decency to put up a !cuidado! piso mojado!

There is nothing novel, nothing reassuring about the future when this scene rushes into your life. Mostly, you want shelter and warmth but you are ambushed from all angles. You are othered. Read this in all the faces of adults, suddenly shuddering at the mere thought of sexual reproduction.

It upsets the power-balance. It is temporary. Maybe it is all just a moment that is fleeting faster than you can fight it and in the end it will remain as a vague memory, smelling fondly of cheese.

---End Thought---

---New Thought---

I am not excited about calling people anymore. It's lost all appeal. I'd prefer to spend my last days in Liverpool doing what I do well: Conducting Rambunctious Dinner Conversations.

This Volcano spewing ash upset my application. Should never have trusted fedex. The only truly reliable messengers are pigeons not airplanes.

HELP

Quick! What's the answer to the question?

WAIT, what's the question?

I will tell you but first you must agree to tell me the answer and just for the sake of rubbing your egos I'll even award you with a virtual ribbon of sorts.

So I have to answer this question in order to advance to the new level ( level employed) in this new game I'm playing down on planet Earth and I just don't know what to say.

Please describe an experience for which you played a leadership role.

At ease soldier.

Quick Ramblings

I think this sums up the Catholic Church quite well actually.

But more importantly check out the possible new name for gRod and myself.

Shaningans

This is shaningans!

It's colder inside than outside prompting me to drink and recount my Tuesday pretending to be a Monday.

7am wake up alarm goes off. Allysin wonders what time it really is and where Grod is. There has been no kiss goodbye. Maybe she slept thru it.

70?am enter Grod, Bisous and a bonne journee to you too.

730am alarm cries again interrupts a dream where people telling me about my nice facial hair. The coldness is already starting to settle beneath my skin.

8am Drinking coffee. black. Eating yoghurt with muesli with prunes with a spoon out of a nutella cup to the sound of taping fingers. The world appears to have made mostly unscathed through the night, thanks news reporters. (in case jenny reads this, thanks be to god)

834am wanderlust + internet= blasting through the past with photo albums.

answering emails. deleting spam emails from spam employers.

9am back to the kitchen, hi pile of dishes I see you see me, but we'll talk later. OR now. Dishes meet hands plus soapy water.

time unaccounted for exploring job sites and search engines for new postings, reading browsing clicking, repeat, slight flutters of excitement serious pangs of under-qualified allysins.

10am. the clean sheets are nice draped across the furniture turning my dining room into a blanket fortress, but this cold is killing me. New laundry to dominate. Start, spin cycle GO!

1004am. Machine does my laundry, I turn to my machine to teach me. Teach me about Fostering Change in the Health Services. GO!

1117am. hunger begins. Sandwich is for lunch but not yet, must hold out. Decide to boil eggs (2).

1118am. This change is taking time, but I am knowing more and more by the second....ask me anything.

1204am. Hunger dominates and we are back in the kitchen staring at an oven grilling bread. A toaster would have been a good investment.

1225am. Sandwich done, cheese melted, puzzle selected and we eat. Munching away and solving clues left and right. Delicious.

1pm Oh yes, the laundry, the new one clean cycle. Make it come out of the machine and onto the racks. Easy peasy pie.

After 1pm. Wanderbug part 2 comes in. Technology, erm software you say. How about Access? I feel the need to make a database. Here I go!

2pm. Feeling productive, making documents, saving things, editing, general typing extravaganza

3pm. Can no longer put off emailing profs about refs so this must be done. My attitude is jolly. This'll have to do for the shoe shinning emails about to be made. Tell the world I am wonderful, puhleaze and, uh, oh yes you are wonderful too...just in case you forgot. wink. wank.

330pm. Email complete. one out of office reply. I guess that's last minute justice for you. It's ok. I have the outside world to visit. I'm hesitant because the cold is all over. I'll put on another sweater and then be strong enough to defeat the winds.

331pm. Outside is warm. I am a fool for only staying inside my frozen igloo of an apartment, but maybe it was just my frozen brain. Must not dwell on temperatures unless appendages go blue.

337pm Arrival at the library. Deposit 3 books. 2 books on Scotland 1 on motorcycle maintenance. It was not my favorite. Get a big book in exchange about hitch-hiking..its weight is helping me out today in case of a slight failure in gravitational forces. It's ok I'm not gonna float away, not today.

344pm. Somerfields grocery store. Green Grocer? Grocery shoppey? Food seller? IT's all so complicated when yer a prick. (that's fer poule). Pick up some bread, salsa, mustard and pistachios. The pistachios are going to go in the experimental sushi to arrive later this week.

359pm. Back in my home. Less cold. I guess I needed that outside warmth, but I still need this cup of coffee now. Make it hot, eat an oatcake triangle to appease my stomach and energy levels. Decide that today is an occasion for 2 triangle oatcakes and put another into digestion. Coffee hot and spiked with bailey's.

411pm. Office again, neck sore from giant scarf. mood generally optimistic will all the possibilities of being the devils advocate should the opportunity arise.

434pm blogged