Ne Me Quitte Pas: Song for a Melancholy Day
If you’re wanting to really enjoy some melancholia, and you’re a hopeless romantic like myself, it’s hard to beat “Ne Me Quitte Pas” by the Flemish/Belgian/French Jacques Brel. It’s the number one song on my self-pity list. My friend Hayley reminded me of the song recently on Facebook. I hadn’t realized how awful the English translations and revisionings have been until my other friend Dot pointed it out. My French isn’t that great. The first time I heard the song was as a child. My mom had a Rod McKuen album, and I loved that son

Sleepy Sunday
I’m having a nice lazy sleepy day today. I worked really hard yesterday, and so the house is all straightened up and very pleasant. Yesterday, I had the extra bonus of having our rugs professionally cleaned and disinfected (if you live in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend them). Spent a little time under the full moon last night – so serene and comforting. After my morning coffee, I played with the kitten, and c

Gettin’ into the Mood
For Hallowe’en, that is. I had a heck of a time changing the theme and updating some plugins, but all is well now. We’ve got a scary creature set up at the door. The kid’s costume is set. For those that don’t celebrate Hallowe’en, I have my own plans (muah-haahahahaha). It’s been kind of strange and upsetting period with me lately, but things are getting better all the time. I get a kind of wanderlust in the fall, but I used up all my vacation time. Once my mom gets home from the hospital, I might be taking a couple of weekend road trips to help her out, but I’d

Too Much Lately
Sorry that I’ve not written anything in a while. I’m concentrating on sailing through choppy waters in most of the aspects of my daily existence. I’ve lost a dear mentor and friend from University of Massachusetts, and I’m not ready to write about it yet. I’m also still thinking about other deaths… My mom has just moved from intensive care to a rehab hospital after breaking ribs and puncturing her lung. I’m grieved about the escalation of hatred from some people on the right who are far too easily manipulated – and/or used. The involvement of smart people – that I care about – in t

Michael Jackson, Child Abuse, and JW Apologist Firpo Carr
“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” – William James Recently, I participated in an online discussion in the comments of an article written by a prominent friend/adviser to the late Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson & Jehovah’s Witnesses, by Firpo Carr The Michael Jackson case and the issue of child abuse are both important to me, but I didn’t really who Firpo Carr was when I made my first comment. I was a little under-prepared for his particular style of debate. I fel