Happy Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, my daughter gave me a most beautiful gift: a plane ticket and an invitation to visit her and my beautiful grandson for four days. Instead of coming up for the calendar Mother's Day (today), she suggested I visit last weekend, so that we might attend Sakura Matsuri--the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

We did, and it was glorious (if a bit of a trek by subway and foot from Queens). I am always struck by the beauty of sudden contrasts that defines the northeast in the Spring. The dark blue, almost black green of conifers, the saturated reds and shimmering pinks of azaleas, the plethora of purples of wisteria and lilac. So different from the soft, lingering palette of the South.

And then to see my grandson, Max, in all his exuberant vivacity--the memory of his bliss is an eternal gift. Thank you and happy mother's day to my daughter, the best mother I know.
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this pic was taken at a prayer garden.

wolves being slaughtered

from Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund:



The government-sanctioned massacre of wolves is now under way.

A mere 30 days after the Bush Administration stripped Yellowstone's wolves of their Endangered Species protection, the Northern Rockies have been turned into a killing field.

Thirty-seven wolves are already dead. Hundreds more are being targeted by Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, which have waited years for this chance to put their plans for extermination into action.

But today there is reason for hope: America's best wildlife legal team is riding to the rescue.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) -- and 11 other groups -- filed suit this week in federal court to stop the killing and restore the wolf's desperately needed Endangered Species protection.

The court action comes not a moment too soon. Eyewitness reports of the latest wolf-killing rampage have been heartbreaking to people all over the world who care about wildlife.

On the very day that these wolves lost their Endangered Species protection, a crippled wolf named "Limpy," one of the most photographed wolves in Yellowstone's famous Druid Peak pack, was shot to death when he ventured outside the park.

Another wolf was stalked for over 35 miles by snowmobile before being overtaken and shot. Another was found dead on the side of the highway, his still-warm body torn apart by bullets.

And, tragically, at least four female wolves have been killed just prior to the denning season, which could doom some of the region's wolf pups.

Wolves simply cannot outrun these relentless attacks. Their last, best hope now rests with the life-saving reprieve that NRDC is seeking in federal court.

As NRDC presses the legal fight, broadcast the wolf's plight and mobilize America against the Bush Administration's heartless, wolf-killing policy. You can help by telling Congress to ban the poisoning of gray wolves and other wildlife.

who'll let the dogs in?

April 23, 2008
EDITORIAL
The Low Road to Victory

The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.

Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election.

If nothing else, self interest should push her in that direction. Mrs. Clinton did not get the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the calculus of the Democratic race. It is true that Senator Barack Obama outspent her 2-to-1. But Mrs. Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame themselves, because, as the political operatives say, they went heavily negative and ended up squandering a good part of what was once a 20-point lead.

On the eve of this crucial primary, Mrs. Clinton became the first Democratic candidate to wave the bloody shirt of 9/11. A Clinton television ad — torn right from Karl Rove’s playbook — evoked the 1929 stock market crash, Pearl Harbor, the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war and the 9/11 attacks, complete with video of Osama bin Laden. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” the narrator intoned.

If that was supposed to bolster Mrs. Clinton’s argument that she is the better prepared to be president in a dangerous world, she sent the opposite message on Tuesday morning by declaring in an interview on ABC News that if Iran attacked Israel while she were president: “We would be able to totally obliterate them.”

By staying on the attack and not engaging Mr. Obama on the substance of issues like terrorism, the economy and how to organize an orderly exit from Iraq, Mrs. Clinton does more than just turn off voters who don’t like negative campaigning. She undercuts the rationale for her candidacy that led this page and others to support her: that she is more qualified, right now, to be president than Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama is not blameless when it comes to the negative and vapid nature of this campaign. He is increasingly rising to Mrs. Clinton’s bait, undercutting his own claims that he is offering a higher more inclusive form of politics. When she criticized his comments about “bitter” voters, Mr. Obama mocked her as an Annie Oakley wannabe. All that does is remind Americans who are on the fence about his relative youth and inexperience.

No matter what the high-priced political operatives (from both camps) may think, it is not a disadvantage that Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton share many of the same essential values and sensible policy prescriptions. It is their strength, and they are doing their best to make voters forget it. And if they think that only Democrats are paying attention to this spectacle, they’re wrong.

After seven years of George W. Bush’s failed with-us-or-against-us presidency, all American voters deserve to hear a nuanced debate — right now and through the general campaign — about how each candidate will combat terrorism, protect civil liberties, address the housing crisis and end the war in Iraq.

It is getting to be time for the superdelegates to do what the Democrats had in mind when they created superdelegates: settle a bloody race that cannot be won at the ballot box. Mrs. Clinton once had a big lead among the party elders, but has been steadily losing it, in large part because of her negative campaign. If she is ever to have a hope of persuading these most loyal of Democrats to come back to her side, let alone win over the larger body of voters, she has to call off the dogs.


Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Earth Day

What will you do for your Mother today?



Easy to Be Green

By Joan Raymond
Newsweek

Jan. 8, 2007 issue - You don't have to ditch leather or sell your car to help the environment. We've gathered 10 simple tips for living greener. Hey, it's a lot easier than losing those 15 pounds.

1. Feed the Bees: Pesticides, pollution and habitat destruction are taking a toll on the birds and insects that pollinate about 80 percent of the world's food supply (or about one out of every three bites of food we eat), says Rose Getch of the National Gardening Association. To lend a helping hand, plant a pollinator garden. Yellow, blue and purple flowers will attract bees, while red and orange will attract humming birds. For more information, go to kidsgardening.com.

2. Clean Up Naturally: Household chemicals (see: Clorox, TSP, paint/painting -related prods., etc.) contribute to both in-door and outdoor pollution. This year, use more natural cleaners like the Greening the Cleaning line at imusranchfoods.com. Or make your own using vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice. For some great tips on green cleaning, go to eartheasy.com.

3. Ditch Your Junk: Not only is junk mail annoying, it kills trees. Do yourself..and the forests..a favor by getting off the mailing lists of companies you don't support. You can contact the firms yourself, or check out subscription services like greendimes.com or 41pounds.org that promise to lighten your junk-mail load. For more information: thegreenguide.com.

4. Air Your Laundry: Make like Grandma and line-dry your clothes once in a while. It not only saves money, but also decreases your yearly carbon- dioxide emissions. Likewise, run your washer on cold whenever possible..and use it only when it's full.

5. Recycle Your Gadgets: Don't clog landfills with old electronics.(Yuck!) If you're dumping a computer, manufacturers like Dell (dell.com), HP (hp.com) and Apple (apple.com) offer recycling options. Or consider donating. The National Cristina Foundation (cristina.org) will hook up your old PC or Mac with a nonprofit organization. Drop off your old cell phone at your local Staples store as part of a Sierra Club recycling effort (sierraclub.org/cellphones/). To find a drop-off center for rechargeable batteries and cell phones, check out the nonprofit Call2Recycle program at rbrc.org. Take advantage of community resources like hazardous-waste pickup or e-waste recycling events.

6. Cut the Lights: Trade your old incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent ones, says Jenny Powers of the Natural Resources Defense Council. They use about 70 percent less energy than regular bulbs and last 10 times longer. For help in picking the best bulb for your needs, go to energystar.gov. Also, plug all your major electronics into a power strip, suggests eco-lifestyle expert Danny Seo, author of "Simply Green Giving" ($19.95; HarperCollins). Appliances and e-gadgets use electricity even when turned off, but flicking the switch on the power strip when you leave the house effectively unplugs them. Finally, check with your local utility company to see if it offers a "green power" option for its customers. Though that might cost slightly more, it's one way of supporting renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power. The U.S. Department of Energy provides comprehensive "green power" info at eere.energy.gov/green power.

7. Eat Your Veggies: Have a meatless Monday. According to the Cambridge, Mass., environmental-advocacy group the Union of Concerned Scientists, meat production is energy-inefficient, sucking up a lot of natural resources. In fact, it takes about 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef. "You don't have to be a vegetarian..just take a break once or twice a week," says group president Kevin Knobloch. "If everyone tried to do something that simple, it could have a huge environmental effect." And when you're shopping for that food, think local. It's more fuel-efficient (your food didn't have to travel thousands of miles to get to your table), and you're boosting the local economy. Use the search engine at localharvest.org to find farms, markets and other food sources in your area. And, of course, bring a reusable cloth bag to the market so you don't have to take the plastic ones.

8. Save a Tree: According to the folks at stop globalwarming.org, the paper industry is the third largest contributor to global warming. If every U.S. household replaced one toilet-paper roll with a roll made from recycled paper, 424,000 trees would be saved. If every household in the United States bought recycled napkins instead of virgin-fiber napkins, we could save a million trees. If the thought of recycled paper doesn't do it for you, plant a tree. According to the National Arbor Day Foundation, the net cooling effect of one healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. You can go to arborday.org to find out which trees will do well in your ZIP code. If you don't have any room to plant, hundreds of eco-organizations have tree-planting projects. All you have to do is donate money.

9. Turn On the Tap: Instead of spending big bucks on bottled water, drink the stuff that comes from your faucet. The reason? "It takes a lot of oil to make and ship those bottles, and once they're empty, most wind up in landfills or as litter," says Jen Boulden, cofounder of the online environmental community idealbite.com. If you're squeamish (Americans really do have some of the best tap water in the world), buy a water filter. For comparisons, go to waterfiltercomparisons.net.

10. Find an Eco-Date: There was the metrosexual. Then the retrosexual. Now there's the ecosexual. So if one of your goals is to find that special, ecofriendly someone, check out social-networking communities like Vegan Passions (veganpassions.com), Earth Wise Singles (ewsingles.com), Green Singles (greensingles.com) or Green Passions (green-passions.com). Because two recyclers are better than one.

is that a poem in your pocket or are you just happy to read this blog?

Today, April 17, is National Carry a Poem in Your Pocket Day!
So here's one, for J's pocket:

A Love Song
by William Carlos Williams

What have I to say to you
When we shall meet?
Yet—
I lie here thinking of you.

The stain of love
Is upon the world.
Yellow, yellow, yellow,
It eats into the leaves,
Smears with saffron
The horned branches that lean
Heavily
Against a smooth purple sky.

There is no light—
Only a honey-thick stain
That drips from leaf to leaf
And limb to limb
Spoiling the colours
Of the whole world.

I am alone.
The weight of love
Has buoyed me up
Till my head
Knocks against the sky.

See me!
My hair is dripping with nectar—
Starlings carry it
On their black wings.
See, at last
My arms and my hands
Are lying idle.

How can I tell
If I shall ever love you again
As I do now?

beautiful Buddhist dance

Got your taxes done? Spent your refund already? Take your mind off how little money you have with some exotic beauty:

under the desk

that's me in the author spotlight at Insolent Rudder, and there's some great content in the issue as well. I hope you'll check it out.

the timing is propitious, you see, because I have just begun a week's spring break from school. yay! in fact, I'm writing this from bed. ( that's because my back has been bothering me and hunching over a desk hurts; this way. I've got my laptop angled on my thighs and I'm leaning way back.) I have vowed to myself NOT to get sidetracked by housework (though it beckons from EVERY corner) or other chores or distractions. ok, good distractions--reading, painting, gardening, meditating, and a LITTLE bit of Packrat playing are OK. what I really want to do is spend as much time as possible at the beach and/or writing.

because I'm supposed to be a writer, right?