a "what the?" rant

we've all heard the reasons why the economy is where it is today...but i gotta tell ya..i absolutely resent the fact that there is a generalization floating around regarding the "collective failure"...that somehow we all had a part in pulling the rug out from under the greedy mess we're in...I don't live on credit...I pay my mortgage and bills...I've never defaulted on any loan...nor do I have a 50 million dollar private jet...a $1400 garbage pail...a million dollar office..or $250,000 bathroom...I'm not accepting the blame for the unmitigated greed that has poisoned so many...when is enough, enough?...and why aren't people so pissed off to the point of revolution...what the flip has happened to everyone?...we've become a bunch of doormats...they've been saying that the landscape by June will be unrecognizable..with all the stores, and God knows what else going out of business...is anyone else pissed off or at least scared about what this all means??

25 Things

From Facebook:

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

ok...here goes:

1. I'm in search of answers...the whys, the reasons, the how comes,...I need to know.
2. Though not a musician in any sense of the word, I have an affinity with music...absolutely the universal language ( ok...so maybe Math might be).
3. I've been a Graphic Designer, and ran an in-house Graphics Dept for a national bank.
4. I used to paint and draw...now it feels tedious...though sometimes I feel Ive lost my destiny because I haven't followed through...yet.
5. I wish I could be less fearful of learning new computer programs to develop websites...and i'm really hard on myself about my website and its limitations...though I do what I can to make make it aesthetically pleasing and accurate
6. I have a BA in Art, and a a 2 year certificate in Graphic Design...for a grand total of 195 credits.
7. I have a need for organization...a trait...not a disease...lol.
8. As a follow-up to the above...I have no respect for incompetence.
9. As time passes I am becoming increasingly more aware of the injustices in this world.
10.I always put my family first...especially being a parent.
11.I'm an official dog lover.
12.I shop online for everything.
13.Sometimes I would love to live in Manhattan, and at other times I would be happier to live at the shore.
14.During my lifetime I have seen much of Rock's royalty.
15.I have never used drugs and seldom drink alcohol (no need)
16.Favorite food: sushi/sashimi
17.Dislikes: Sunflowers, large domed buildings (they scare the crap out of me...yeah I know...i need therapy...lol)
18.I grew up in the Bronx, NY...and have the 'New Yawk' accent to prove it
19.I love anything to do with space...the universe...and all its awe-inspiring grandeur.
20.I went to Catholic School for 8 years...which definitely left its scars...though I have great penmanship
21.I almost always wear black...with the occassional red accent
22.Diamonds...my birthstone.
23.Don't Think I'll ever get used to 'Hazy, Hot and Humid'
24.I should travel more
25.I'm still learning

Go See

I've blogged about this before (not here)...and today everyone has the opportunity to see this marvelous film, since it opens in wide release. This is no ordinary movie...it's a part historical , eye opening, reality experience. Brilliantly directed, you as spectator, become an eyewitness to what most of us could hardly perceive....but should definitely know about. This film and it's subject matter will remain with you for a long time to come. It is certainly deserving of it's 10 Oscar nominations.

Inaugural Destiny

"And yet what separates Lincoln from the other great men has to do with something else. It's an issue of character that speaks to us, of moral resolve. Lincoln was not a perfect man, nor a perfect president....And yet despite these imperfections, despite his fallibility...indeed, perhaps because of a painful self-awareness of his own failings, etched in every crease of his face and reflected in those haunted eyes...because of this essential humanity of his, when it came time to confront the greatest moral challenge this nation has ever faced, Lincoln did not flinch....It serves us then to reflect on whether that element of Lincoln's character, and the American character - that aspect which makes tough choices, and speaks the truth when least convenient, and acts while still admitting doubt - remains with us today...At a time when image all too often trumps substance, when our politics all too often feeds rather than bridges division, when the prospects of a poor youth rising out of poverty seem of no consequence to the powerful, and when we evoke our common God to condemn those who do not think as we do, rather than to seek God's mercy for our own lack of understanding - at such a time it is helpful to remember this man who was the real thing....And as that man called once upon the better angels of our nature, so is he calling still, across the ages, to summon some measure of that character, his character, in each of us, today." - Barack Obama

This speech was not given yesterday, though yesterday's speech certainly stirred many a soul. This was part of a speech given by now President Barack Obama in April of 2005, at the dedication of the Abraham Lincoln Library....realistically, it could have been his inaugural address...brilliantly and insightfully written...with words that still ring true and impact our world today. With this vision, I hope he carries us with this same dignity through the next 8 years.

can't help myself

Frosty Amsterdam

blogging twice in one day...actually it's not a word blog...but a photo blog...since i've figured out how to hook up flickr with my blog here...loved this so much...i figured i'd put it up for all posterity to see...or ..then again...for maybe just the one or two of you who view this...

another year

Hope Shines

seem i do this yearly...start off a blog...and poof...no more...though i continue to blog religiously on Myspace...at least there's something to look forward to with the Inauguration tomorrow...a sense of hope has filtered back into our lives...think we all need to see the light at the end of the tunnel...we need to make this world a better place...a place to share our lives together as the human race...not separate entities...no matter who we are...we will be the legacy for our children's children's children...

Think you know your sign?...think again

The graphic shows the precession of the equinoxes from 600 BC to 2600 AD. In 600 BC, the intersection of the ecliptic and celestial equator is in western Aries and marked by the Vernal Equinox. In the year 2007, the intersection is in Pisces

consider this: your zodiac sign corresponds to the position of the sun relative to constellations as they appeared over 2200 years ago...

the position of the Sun as it's perceived from the revolving Earth, passes through the constellations that formed the Zodiac - Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Zodiac signs were originally determined by which constellation the Sun was "in" on the day you were born...

the Earth continually wobbles around its axis...this wobble—called precession—is caused by the gravitational attraction of the Moon on Earth's equatorial bulge...and guess what?...over the past two-and-a-half millennia the signs have slipped one-tenth—or almost one whole month—of the way around the sky to the west, relative to the stars beyond...

for instance, those born between March 21 and April 19 consider themselves to be Aries. Today, the Sun is no longer within the constellation of Aries during much of that period. From March 11 to April 18, the Sun is actually in the constellation of Pisces... (see image below)...say it ain't so...i'm a flippin fish!!...makes no sense...from the first sign to the last??...look in the dictionary for Aries...you'll find my photo...that's how accurately the characteristics apply

Your "Real Sign"

the table below lists the dates when the Sun is actually within the astronomical constellations of the Zodiac, according to modern constellation boundaries and corrected for precession (these dates can vary a day from year to year).... you will most likely find that once precession is taken into account, your zodiac sign is different...

and if you were born between November 29 and December 17, your sign is actually one you never saw in the newspaper: you are an Ophiuchus... the eliptic passes through the constellation of Ophiuchus after Scorpius....

Capricorn - Jan 20 to Feb 16

Aquarius - Feb 16 to Mar 11

Pisces - Mar 11 to Apr 18

Aries - Apr 18 to May 13

Taurus - May 13 to Jun 21

Gemini - Jun 21 to Jul 20

Cancer - Jul 20 to Aug 10

Leo - Aug 10 to Sep 16

Virgo - Sep 16 to Oct 30

Libra - Oct 30 to Nov 23

Scorpius - Nov 23 to Nov 29

Ophiuchus - Nov 29 to Dec 17

Sagittarius - Dec 17 to Jan 20

this doesn't just affect the sun sign...everything gets bumped...the rising sign...all of it..too much to take in...it totally screws up my chart... i'm sticking with the ancient's vision...securely back in "ram-hood"...the first sign...ARIES