It's that time of the year that I relish. November into December into January always seems to symbolize a sort of quiet contemplative slow pace. I think it comes from growing up in a college town, everyone who calls Bloomington their year round home tends to roll their shoulders back and stretch out a little when 30,000 of us up and leave.

This morning was frosty. Little sparkles of snow dust all the holes in the yard that Rosa has managed to dig between supervisions. I'll worry about this in the spring.

I've been running. A lot. I'll run 26.2 miles in one day come December 6th.

Dustin thinks that "President-Elect Barack Obama" should be shortened to "PEBO" on the radio and TV and in conversation. I like the ring of it.

happy birthday l. peltier

September 12, 2008

Greetings,

First of all I want to thank everyone here, it means a lot to me to be remembered on my birthday. But you know one thing that comes to my mind is my mother, she has died since I have been in prison, along with my father and many of my other relatives. But aside from that, I want to get back to talking about my mother.

In my time of thinking in here, it just comes to my mind, that we should all on our birthdays remember our mothers. In fact in my thinking, we should all consider our birthday a mother’s day.

Because she is the one who went through a lot of pain and suffering on that day, she’s the one that needs to be remembered most. And if my life has ever meant anything to anyone in a good way it is owed to her.

She birthed me and because of her, today my words can be heard.

I have spent more than half of my life imprisoned, for something I am not guilty of, as of today the shooter wants everyone to know his identity. And I want you to know that I’m not being held for the deaths of those agents, I’m being held as an example to anyone that would stand up to them. In the coming months there is going to be legal efforts to bring this case into full view of the entire public so that possibly justice can prevail.

I guess I’m getting away from the essence of birthdays. I am 64 years old today and when you get to be my age the only good thing about birthdays is the more you have the longer you live.

Again I want to thank all of you so very very much. You can’t imagine how much it means to a prisoner to be remembered. If I ever get out of here in an upright position I will owe it to people like you who remembered me and remembered the reasons I was put here and accepted the challenge to seek justice for our people.

May the Great Spirit bless you with everything you need. Again I want to thank you

Your Relative in the Struggle

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,

Leonard Peltier

line of the day

"The apocalypse seems inevitable when you're stuck in summer traffic."

from http://www.salon.com/mwt/good_life/2008/07/24/sports_utility_bicycle/

funnies

George Bush is President of Africa

Photo essay of Bush's recent travels in Africa. (With commentary).

some hope for biodiversity?

Arctic ‘Doomsday Vault’ Filled With World’s Seeds Comes to Life

old pup/new pup

Remembering The One And Only Evan Farrell

Lakota nation secedes from US

Dustin told me about this early this morning, but I see Democracy Now did not include it in its headlines today, so I felt compelled to post a few links...

Russell Means, an American Indian activist and member of the Lakota Sioux has led an effort to secede from the US. In a radical move, they have disbanded all treaties with the US signed in the past 150 years claiming that the US has not made good on them anyhow. They have renounced their American citizenship and declared full control over their government and lives. Seems both radical and unprecedented, but the state department has yet to make a formal reply.

• Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse break away from US (Yahoo News)
• Freedom! Lakota Sioux Indians Declare Sovereign Nation Status (Common Dreams)
• Lakota Indian tribe declares secession from US (afriquenligne)

The weather makes me feel like being socially celibate. I spend my weeks working and working and reading and listening and reading and feeling mild pangs of regret for neglecting my friends and family... Here are the recommendations I have to show for it:

I'm currently reading Naomi Klein's new epic The Shock Doctrine, an exploration of the imposition of pure and unregulated free market capitalism and the history of Friedman, the Chicago School, and other such economic programmes on developing democracies and countries facing political shocks--regime changes, military coups, "structural adjustment," etc. She begins with case studies of Chile and Latin America's Southern Cone and then comes Poland and Russia and Asia and now the Middle East. Her writing style is deeply engaging and feels urgently important. I highly suggest this book as a framework for understanding the motivations behind the current wars in the Middle East. Makes my hatred of capitalism even more tangible and real.

Before this, I read a couple of memoirs that were very moving. Edwidge Danticat's newest Brother, I'm Dying sees Haiti's political turmoil and the plight of immigrants in the US through a personal story of brothers (Danticat's father and uncle). Does the Land Remember Me? A Memoir of Palestine is a short and heartfelt memoir of a Palestinian American who returns home to Palestine to visit his dying mother after more than forty years away. His observations are searing and honest, providing a human counterpoint to more doctrinaire books on Palestinian issues. Sparking a major Book-on-CD binge, I listened to A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, a young Sierra Leonean turned boy soldier during their Civil War. This book has been a major hit in the local jail. Again, you see the human side of political catastrophe. His pacing and storytelling voice are excellent and exhibit wisdom beyond his years, but I do wish there had been more in the narrative about the history of the conflict.

For my birthday, I bought myself bunny-ear antennas, so I once again have the comfort and company of PBS. A recent Frontline special on the genocide in Darfur called On Our Watch does a very good job of giving a synopsis of events leading up to the genocide, political motivations for ignoring the events, and all kinds of gnarly images. Disturbing, but necessary viewing.

On the lighter side, American Hardcore got me incredibly stoked on the 80's punk scene. Sure, it was totally hetero and white, but you gotta give it to them that they had the energy and the passion down. Highlights include mad Bad Brains clips and brilliant interviews with Keith Morris and local hero Paul Mahern.

I open the library on Sundays now, so it is my time to peruse the internet for good articles (and listen to mad books on CD!). The New York Times has been featuring a lot of articles recently on prisoners exonerated due to DNA evidence. The most interesting was last week's Vindicated by DNA, but a Lost Man on the Outside about a guy who served sixteen years for a rape and murder he didn't commit. Since he went to prison when he was a teenager, he really knows no other way of survival than the way he survived in prison. It is really striking, how unprepared he was for life on the outside, he even had to have help making a grocery list... New article in Rolling Stone about the "lost" War on Drugs--brilliant.

twenty four ... at last?

Spent my birthday canoing the White Water River. The rapids left something to be desired, but what wild the river itself lacked was made up for by rollicking whiskey drunk old folks... in canoes!! Swam in my underwear in freezing cold river water, inhaled "Hollywood-style" and paddled with the best of them.

The cutest thing I've seen in ages.

Polar Bear Vs. Dog

There's some really beautiful images and animation of what the world will look like without humans at the website for Alan Weisman's new book, The world without us. Images and animation are here.

eat out

I know what I think this means, but what does it mean to B&K Root Beer in Logansport, IN?

everything but the burden

Interesting article about Elvis' legacy in NYTimes--

How Did Elvis Get Turned Into a Racist?

I never really thought Elvis was a racist, but more found fault in the way that he made his fame from the style and songs of the black music scene. Kind of reminds me of John Waters' Hairspray where white girl Tracy Turnblad turns the Corny Collins Show upside down with her "negro moves"--but this ultimately leads to a fight for integration on-screen and off-. So, when is it theft and appropriation, rising to fame off the backs of those who cannot achieve the same level of recognition, and when is it a nod or prelude to social justice and activism?...

If you're ever in doubt...

* wait for a clear starry night
* put a crunchy mattress from an old pull-out couch in the back of a rusty truck bed
* cover it with blankets and pillows
* lay supine and look up
* get one friend to drive and one to lay beside you

There is a book at the library that someone thinks is funny.

It is called An Insect's Life. They said isn't it funny, an insect probably has such a boring life.

But then I was drinking coffee out of a jar on a ledge outside of this same library and an ant crawled into the creamy brown liquid.

At first I thought it was a leaf and I just drank around it.

But then I noticed that its legs were moving and I got freaked out and rescued it with my coffee stirrer (I had stolen it from the cafe).

The ant ran away, drenched in coffee.

I didn't know that Ball State in Muncie Indiana was founded on money from the Ball mason jar company.

But then someone was saying trivial facts about Indiana and I found out.

My friend is researching Ball Lightning, I have no idea what it is, but it sounds exciting.

Swimming in the north pole?!

Interesting tactic to highlight global warming, frightening that it is possible:

Swimmer rises to Arctic challenge

Jena 6

Just heard about a case in Jena, Louisiana where six black high school students are being charged (and one now convicted) for attempted murder for a school yard fight involving a white student. The facts and background are staggering... Democracy Now did a special on the case yesterday, featuring the voices of some of the accused, their families, and a feature of a forthcoming Big Noise documentary about the case.

Synopsis of the events on Pursuing Holiness
This blog is very good on keeping up-to-date on the case, a good one to watch.

Photo essay on While Seated
Opens with a photo of the infamous tree at the high school which was "traditionally" used by white students, symbolic of the racial tensions in Jena that allegedly set the stage for these events. Includes some videos and the promise of upcoming multimedia projects.

Democracy Now on Tuesday devoted entire show to the case

Its not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that its not easy,
To be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you've got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

Finally feels like summer. Swimming, trespassing, cold beer, long walks, sticky jogs, moving heavy furniture. Dustin bought a construction site worthy boom-box that screams summer and cut his shorts so short that you can see his underwear.

Toby pants the day through and sheds fur like a flustered old man. He chases cats in the new neighborhood and finds chicken bones to eat, licks my knees when I get home from work with sweat and dirt on my legs. I'm starting to feel settled in the new neighborhood, being with Toby helps, he instantly warms the neighbors to me. The kids down the street have tiny dogs that look like toys and they giggle when they learn Toby has the same name as their stepdad. Later I walk by their house and they're strapped onto ATV's and motorbikes screaming "Toby! Toby! Who will be the leader?" and Toby cocks his head, but they're yelling at their stepdad. The neighbors two houses down drink Miller Lite from coozies and listen to "There's a tear in my beer" on their truck stereo while admiring Toby for being a "fluff-ball" and a "big ole baby"...

Really, who could resist?