5/9/10
5/8/10
Obama's Cheap Shot Joke At The Expense Of A State
No One In Arizona Is Laughing...
Obama Shows Lack of Class and Couth
The President of the United States is the head of the Executive Branch of the Federal government and holds the interests of all 50 states and represents them all. He should respect each state equally if he in turn expects the states and it's citizens to respect him. President Obama showed his true colors on May 1st when he made a tasteless joke about Arizona at the White House Correspondents' Association Annual Dinner:
"...And we all know what happens when you visit Arizona without ID, ADIOS, AMIGOS!"
Whatever you think of Arizona's Immigration Enforcement Bill (SB1070), no matter your party affiliation or political leaning, everyone should be appalled that a President would make a joke at the expense of a state on a subject that is at best, touchy. The correspondents all laughed but they would, they cover the President and are integral to the Beltway culture...actually they're not far from being members of the Political Class themselves, in spite of proclaiming to being "journalists."
My upbringing taught me that no matter who the President was, whether you had voted for him or not, he was to be respected because of the office he held. How does he think children and young leaders in Arizona will learn that respect if he doesn't respect the state they live in and have no control over what adults do?
This has given Governor Jan Brewer ammunition for her campaign for governor and she has seized the opportunity. This is the political ad she has running on media outlets and the internet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLgZ1LWLlko&playnext_from=TL&videos=JvMY8z-jMLw
Obama Shows Lack of Class and Couth
The President of the United States is the head of the Executive Branch of the Federal government and holds the interests of all 50 states and represents them all. He should respect each state equally if he in turn expects the states and it's citizens to respect him. President Obama showed his true colors on May 1st when he made a tasteless joke about Arizona at the White House Correspondents' Association Annual Dinner:
"...And we all know what happens when you visit Arizona without ID, ADIOS, AMIGOS!"
Whatever you think of Arizona's Immigration Enforcement Bill (SB1070), no matter your party affiliation or political leaning, everyone should be appalled that a President would make a joke at the expense of a state on a subject that is at best, touchy. The correspondents all laughed but they would, they cover the President and are integral to the Beltway culture...actually they're not far from being members of the Political Class themselves, in spite of proclaiming to being "journalists."
My upbringing taught me that no matter who the President was, whether you had voted for him or not, he was to be respected because of the office he held. How does he think children and young leaders in Arizona will learn that respect if he doesn't respect the state they live in and have no control over what adults do?
This has given Governor Jan Brewer ammunition for her campaign for governor and she has seized the opportunity. This is the political ad she has running on media outlets and the internet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLgZ1LWLlko&playnext_from=TL&videos=JvMY8z-jMLw
5/7/10
Visionaries of Arizona
Hall of Fame: Influential Arizonans...
1. Barry Goldwater: The original modern day libertarian conservative recognized as sparking the resurgence of the conservative movement in the US. He differed from many of today's conservatives because he stuck to core principles of liberty and personal freedom. He believed it was not the government's business to inject itself into abortion, homosexuality, religion and was outspoken on government intrusion on individual rights.
2. Bruce Babbitt: Unexpectedly became Governor of Arizona in 1978 when he was Attorney General, third in succession and not second, due to an odd set of circumstances. At the time Arizona was growing rapidly and state government was a part-time affair, the Federal government was pressuring the state for resisting federal mandates. Babbitt was surprised to become governor but exceptionally capable, firmly took the reins and organized state government with streamlining, fiscal restraint and respect for civil rights and social justice. He later went on became Secretary of the Interior.
3. Sandra Day O'Connor: Epitomizes the Arizona independent mind that makes decisions based on reason and careful study, largely due to growing up on an Arizona ranch and a father not limiting her because of gender. One of the few women lawyers in 1952, she was unable to find work as a lawyer in private practice and turned to public service. She started as a deputy county attorney in California, making her way to the Arizona Attorney General's office. She then served in the Arizona State Senate, becoming the first woman majority leader. Her next move was to be elected as a Maricopa County trial judge and was appointed to the State Court of Appeals by Gov. Bruce Babbitt. In 1981 she became the first female US Supreme Court Justice.
4. Lincoln J. Ragsdale, Sr: A successful businessman with a Ph.D who became a member of the Tuskegee Airman and led the way in Arizona for the civil rights movement. He worked on the Phoenix Council for Civic Unity, the organization that filed a lawsuit forcing school desegregation in Arizona and won in 1953. He and his wife Eleanor Ragsdale were activists to desegregate Phoenix and successfully built political partnerships to achieve goals. He was the most visible and influential black leader in Arizona, succeeding in business and breaking color barriers.
5. Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia: An American Impressionist, his work is immediately recognizable since he is one of the most reproduced artists. He was famous for the southwestern influence in his art and his Gallery In The Sun drew many artist friends who stayed with him to share his vision. In 1976 he protested inheritance taxes, battled the IRS and engaged in a famous act trekking on horseback to the Superstition Mountains with 100 of his paintings and set them ablaze.
1. Barry Goldwater: The original modern day libertarian conservative recognized as sparking the resurgence of the conservative movement in the US. He differed from many of today's conservatives because he stuck to core principles of liberty and personal freedom. He believed it was not the government's business to inject itself into abortion, homosexuality, religion and was outspoken on government intrusion on individual rights.
2. Bruce Babbitt: Unexpectedly became Governor of Arizona in 1978 when he was Attorney General, third in succession and not second, due to an odd set of circumstances. At the time Arizona was growing rapidly and state government was a part-time affair, the Federal government was pressuring the state for resisting federal mandates. Babbitt was surprised to become governor but exceptionally capable, firmly took the reins and organized state government with streamlining, fiscal restraint and respect for civil rights and social justice. He later went on became Secretary of the Interior.
3. Sandra Day O'Connor: Epitomizes the Arizona independent mind that makes decisions based on reason and careful study, largely due to growing up on an Arizona ranch and a father not limiting her because of gender. One of the few women lawyers in 1952, she was unable to find work as a lawyer in private practice and turned to public service. She started as a deputy county attorney in California, making her way to the Arizona Attorney General's office. She then served in the Arizona State Senate, becoming the first woman majority leader. Her next move was to be elected as a Maricopa County trial judge and was appointed to the State Court of Appeals by Gov. Bruce Babbitt. In 1981 she became the first female US Supreme Court Justice.
4. Lincoln J. Ragsdale, Sr: A successful businessman with a Ph.D who became a member of the Tuskegee Airman and led the way in Arizona for the civil rights movement. He worked on the Phoenix Council for Civic Unity, the organization that filed a lawsuit forcing school desegregation in Arizona and won in 1953. He and his wife Eleanor Ragsdale were activists to desegregate Phoenix and successfully built political partnerships to achieve goals. He was the most visible and influential black leader in Arizona, succeeding in business and breaking color barriers.
5. Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia: An American Impressionist, his work is immediately recognizable since he is one of the most reproduced artists. He was famous for the southwestern influence in his art and his Gallery In The Sun drew many artist friends who stayed with him to share his vision. In 1976 he protested inheritance taxes, battled the IRS and engaged in a famous act trekking on horseback to the Superstition Mountains with 100 of his paintings and set them ablaze.
5/6/10
Political Junkie Yard Dogs
Curs of Arizona: Politicians...
Dogs always bark louder behind a chain link fence.
The Political Class in Arizona has not served the citizens of the state well in recent years and there are several stand outs at not serving citizens but rather doing great disservice. The election in 2008, due to a combination of term limits, "Clean Elections" along with voters desire for change (they got it) created a bad brew, with the hangover of a Governor who inherited the job and not elected to the position.
The result was during an economic crisis of epic proportions, that created the worst state budget crisis in the US, our Governor and state Legislature did not even come close to rising above but instead lived down to the lowest expectations. Compounded with a US Congressional Delegation that displayed nothing less than contempt for the voters that elected them, a bad storm started brewing. It began with the budget crisis, extending on to Health Care Reform and Town Hall debacles, a disastrous Presidential run by one of our Senators ending ignominiously with the electioneering season and a contentious piece de resistance legislation.
The 49th Arizona State Legislature in the second sesssion decided to cap everything off by passing SB1070 to address a critical, long-standing problem in the state, illegal immigration and border crossing, a reactionary law signed by the Governor who wants to be elected. The Arizona Immigration Bill does little to realistically address the complicated issue and has done a lot of damage to the State and will for a long time. The intent of the bill, to stop criminal activity coming through the gaping hole Arizona border (that the federal government has left the state to it's own devices) contains US Constitutional and liberty dilemmas. It is the States' Right to address the situation but it shouldn't have been done creating a can of worms to be dealt with.
These characters proved to be the epitome of bad, the meaning of "bad" in it's original context of awful and not in anyway cool.
1. Arizona State Senator Russell K. Pierce (Republican, District 18): The Mesa legislator sponsored SB1070 and managed to get it passed by appealing to the basest of people's fear. 'nuff said.
2. Mayor Phil Gordon: (Democrat, Mayor of Phoenix): Obliviously didn't deal with the cities budget catastrophe, then called for a sales tax increase and has now paraded with opportunist Al Sharpton protesting SB1070.
3. US Senator John McCain (Republican, US Senator): Well...let's just say McCain has never met a side of any issue that he couldn't like depending on who he is talking to. He flip flopped so quickly on SB1070 it was awesome (also in the original and not cool context). Then there's that 2008 Presidential campaign...
4. US Representative Raul Grijalva: (Democrat, 7th District): Advocates "punishing Arizona," the very state that elected him and he supposedly represents, by calling for a national boycott. The insanity of an elected official calling for economic damage, cutting your nose off to spite your face, is absurd.
5. US Representative Ann Kirkpatrick (Democrat, 1st District): Walked out of her own Town Hall meetings on Health Care Reform because she was being asked questions by her constituency, who largely was (and is) against it. She has remained silent on SB1070.
Dogs always bark louder behind a chain link fence.
The Political Class in Arizona has not served the citizens of the state well in recent years and there are several stand outs at not serving citizens but rather doing great disservice. The election in 2008, due to a combination of term limits, "Clean Elections" along with voters desire for change (they got it) created a bad brew, with the hangover of a Governor who inherited the job and not elected to the position.
The result was during an economic crisis of epic proportions, that created the worst state budget crisis in the US, our Governor and state Legislature did not even come close to rising above but instead lived down to the lowest expectations. Compounded with a US Congressional Delegation that displayed nothing less than contempt for the voters that elected them, a bad storm started brewing. It began with the budget crisis, extending on to Health Care Reform and Town Hall debacles, a disastrous Presidential run by one of our Senators ending ignominiously with the electioneering season and a contentious piece de resistance legislation.
The 49th Arizona State Legislature in the second sesssion decided to cap everything off by passing SB1070 to address a critical, long-standing problem in the state, illegal immigration and border crossing, a reactionary law signed by the Governor who wants to be elected. The Arizona Immigration Bill does little to realistically address the complicated issue and has done a lot of damage to the State and will for a long time. The intent of the bill, to stop criminal activity coming through the gaping hole Arizona border (that the federal government has left the state to it's own devices) contains US Constitutional and liberty dilemmas. It is the States' Right to address the situation but it shouldn't have been done creating a can of worms to be dealt with.
These characters proved to be the epitome of bad, the meaning of "bad" in it's original context of awful and not in anyway cool.
1. Arizona State Senator Russell K. Pierce (Republican, District 18): The Mesa legislator sponsored SB1070 and managed to get it passed by appealing to the basest of people's fear. 'nuff said.
2. Mayor Phil Gordon: (Democrat, Mayor of Phoenix): Obliviously didn't deal with the cities budget catastrophe, then called for a sales tax increase and has now paraded with opportunist Al Sharpton protesting SB1070.
3. US Senator John McCain (Republican, US Senator): Well...let's just say McCain has never met a side of any issue that he couldn't like depending on who he is talking to. He flip flopped so quickly on SB1070 it was awesome (also in the original and not cool context). Then there's that 2008 Presidential campaign...
4. US Representative Raul Grijalva: (Democrat, 7th District): Advocates "punishing Arizona," the very state that elected him and he supposedly represents, by calling for a national boycott. The insanity of an elected official calling for economic damage, cutting your nose off to spite your face, is absurd.
5. US Representative Ann Kirkpatrick (Democrat, 1st District): Walked out of her own Town Hall meetings on Health Care Reform because she was being asked questions by her constituency, who largely was (and is) against it. She has remained silent on SB1070.
5/5/10
Arizona Trail Bike Riding
National Trail at South Mountain...
"Arizona" video by Owen Zaragoza
Arizona from Orven Zaragoza on Vimeo.
Easter 2009
http://www.vimeo.com/4131314
"Arizona" video by Owen Zaragoza
Arizona from Orven Zaragoza on Vimeo.
Easter 2009
http://www.vimeo.com/4131314
5/4/10
Out of Arizona
Poetry by JG Starr from the Borderland...
JG Starr and I have known each other since the first semester of high school, longer than we've known anyone except our families. He is originally a Texan but like me, has lived the majority of his life in Arizona. We are two unlikely souls that have traversed through southern and western culture as outsiders and insiders simultaneously. That is, we are of the culture yet apart from it or more often, beyond it. We have at times been exiled to the hinterlands of the borderland state we live in for thinking out loud.
We have forty two years of mutual experiences behind us, many of which we would only recount to each other these days. We are different, yet the same. He is solitary, somewhat of a recluse, highly intelligent, well read with well thought out ideas and opinions on American history, culture, economics and much more...a poet. I am a loner who is not alone, smart but intellectually lazy, well informed with thoughts and opinions on American history, culture, economics and...a non-fiction writer. He now protests any idea of his work being read by anyone other than him. On the other hand, nothing pleases me more than to write for show. His objections are overruled in this case, since this poem of his was published in Borderlands, the Texas Poetry Review, in 1996 and already published for anyone to read. Reprinting his poem here is my tribute to his gift, as much as he demurs it's value.
So Much Like Me
How would it be to be the hated snake,
To have to push my way face-first through life
And taste it all: the verdure and ordure raked
In on a tongue that almost lives outside
A lipless mouth, like some french-hissing-kiss
Of the wind, the dirt, the trail of fleeing food?
Small waving hand-to show my friendliness
And always slithering naked on my snakehood,
Could I help but stop and coil, and hug
Myself sometime, and squeeze, delicately
That part of me (so much like me) I've tugged
Across each novel texture crawling brought me?
How would it be to be the hated snake
In spring and, Heaven blessed, a mated snake?
JG Starr and I have known each other since the first semester of high school, longer than we've known anyone except our families. He is originally a Texan but like me, has lived the majority of his life in Arizona. We are two unlikely souls that have traversed through southern and western culture as outsiders and insiders simultaneously. That is, we are of the culture yet apart from it or more often, beyond it. We have at times been exiled to the hinterlands of the borderland state we live in for thinking out loud.
We have forty two years of mutual experiences behind us, many of which we would only recount to each other these days. We are different, yet the same. He is solitary, somewhat of a recluse, highly intelligent, well read with well thought out ideas and opinions on American history, culture, economics and much more...a poet. I am a loner who is not alone, smart but intellectually lazy, well informed with thoughts and opinions on American history, culture, economics and...a non-fiction writer. He now protests any idea of his work being read by anyone other than him. On the other hand, nothing pleases me more than to write for show. His objections are overruled in this case, since this poem of his was published in Borderlands, the Texas Poetry Review, in 1996 and already published for anyone to read. Reprinting his poem here is my tribute to his gift, as much as he demurs it's value.
So Much Like Me
How would it be to be the hated snake,
To have to push my way face-first through life
And taste it all: the verdure and ordure raked
In on a tongue that almost lives outside
A lipless mouth, like some french-hissing-kiss
Of the wind, the dirt, the trail of fleeing food?
Small waving hand-to show my friendliness
And always slithering naked on my snakehood,
Could I help but stop and coil, and hug
Myself sometime, and squeeze, delicately
That part of me (so much like me) I've tugged
Across each novel texture crawling brought me?
How would it be to be the hated snake
In spring and, Heaven blessed, a mated snake?
Poetry by JG Starr copyright 1996
Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review Number Eight
photograph by JR Snyder Jr copyright 2010
5/3/10
It's The End Of The United States As We Know It
This is a total revaluation of everything...
The Great Disruption isn't the worst thing that could happen and probably long overdue.
1. The internet has disrupted everything ranging from communications to commerce.
2. This total revaluation is due to the failure of the government regulated financial system.
3. Across the board insolvency is creating a tidal wave of bankruptcies that can't be stopped.
4. We've been living on borrowed time: ideas, money, consumerism, ethics.
5. There will be a profound reorder of personal values due to people's relationship with money.
6. We will see an acrimonious social and political atmosphere of conflicting and competing interest groups.
Personally I don't think it can be called off no matter how many fingers in the dike try to postpone it. There are too many circumstances already in play that portend an overturning of the way we live, sooner rather than later.
1. Technology has sped the exchange of everything spanning from ideas to currency and spinning out of control.
2. There is a war in Afghanistan that is a no win situation for the US.
3. The paper shifting of debt among governments in Europe is contagious to the UK, Asia and US.
4. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is one example of environmental problems that are vexing.
5. There is only one way for the US Stock Market to go now and it isn't up or sideways.
6. Unemployment and underemployment are not going to be solved for quite a long time.
We can hope that the situation doesn't become so charged that we see people do things so ugly that we never thought that we'd see in our lifetime. Immigration conflict is only a symptom of long simmering racial and ethnic issues Political divisiveness is a result of class warfare. Terrorism has been glossed over and is internal on several fronts. There's more...Anything is possible.
THERE IS A PERSONAL RESPONSE FOR INDIVIDUALS
Therefore also for the individual: Anything is possible. Personally and it doesn't have to be a negative reaction. If we choose to accept that there will be very little money in circulation, even among those who once had it, that consumer goods will not be as available as they once were, we can choose to take this as an opportunity for personal and spiritual growth, a chance to innovate new ways of doing things.
No matter where you are in life, you can always find someone better off and someone worse off than you are.
Really what choice is there? We can accept reality and adjust to it in the best possible way or we can be angry and bitter. Many of us have worked hard all our lives and achieved quite a bit and expected to be at least comfortable by this time. I know people who have complained bitterly to me about this and I can no longer be around them because it triggers the worst fears in me. Other people I know are well aware of how things look and what direction the country likely will head. What kind of future we face and are transcending to understanding it is out of our control. What we do have control over is how we reorient our internal compass to acceptance.
My grandfather used to tell me stories of the Depression. One of them was many men his age (in their thirties and forties) never accepted the conditions of the Depression and stayed inside their houses for the rest of their lives. Only their wives went out to do the shopping, etc. He said they "wasted their lives away when they could have done something, anything, even if it wasn't earning money." My grandfather was a barber but his business was slow, so he started beekeeping. He had men helping him who also had slow business or no jobs, this gave them something to do, they also had lots of honey.
Everyone has to find their own path to acceptance, a positive and hopeful outlook, their own personal revaluation of what is important and coping with the difficult fact that like a hurricane blowing through...a lot of what we thought, believed in, as well as the physical aspects of life we had, has been blown away.
In no way do I believe this is an easy task. If there was ever a time to build a solid support system around you it is now. Do I have fear about the future in five years that I didn't have five years ago? YES. I cannot let that rule me and it is important that I get the message out to as many people as possible to alleviate my own fears, doubts and anxieties, share the burden.
I have an avocation that is a labor of love people help me with and it keeps us occupied, plus we get benefit from doing something together . My mother wants me to start beekeeping with one of my nephews, who is in the similar employment predicament that I've been in for the same amount of time. Through these activities we discover new gems inside ourselves and from them, anything can happen.
I believe we are capable of more than surviving but winning in new ways, in this historical reordering of society, by recognizing that it is about people valuing each other in ways other than in financial and material terms. That is the bottom line revaluation. We may even get the real America back.
Manifest your own Destiny: "I feel fine"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Great Disruption isn't the worst thing that could happen and probably long overdue.
1. The internet has disrupted everything ranging from communications to commerce.2. This total revaluation is due to the failure of the government regulated financial system.
3. Across the board insolvency is creating a tidal wave of bankruptcies that can't be stopped.
4. We've been living on borrowed time: ideas, money, consumerism, ethics.
5. There will be a profound reorder of personal values due to people's relationship with money.
6. We will see an acrimonious social and political atmosphere of conflicting and competing interest groups.
Personally I don't think it can be called off no matter how many fingers in the dike try to postpone it. There are too many circumstances already in play that portend an overturning of the way we live, sooner rather than later.
2. There is a war in Afghanistan that is a no win situation for the US.
3. The paper shifting of debt among governments in Europe is contagious to the UK, Asia and US.
4. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is one example of environmental problems that are vexing.
5. There is only one way for the US Stock Market to go now and it isn't up or sideways.
6. Unemployment and underemployment are not going to be solved for quite a long time.
We can hope that the situation doesn't become so charged that we see people do things so ugly that we never thought that we'd see in our lifetime. Immigration conflict is only a symptom of long simmering racial and ethnic issues Political divisiveness is a result of class warfare. Terrorism has been glossed over and is internal on several fronts. There's more...Anything is possible.
THERE IS A PERSONAL RESPONSE FOR INDIVIDUALS
Therefore also for the individual: Anything is possible. Personally and it doesn't have to be a negative reaction. If we choose to accept that there will be very little money in circulation, even among those who once had it, that consumer goods will not be as available as they once were, we can choose to take this as an opportunity for personal and spiritual growth, a chance to innovate new ways of doing things.
No matter where you are in life, you can always find someone better off and someone worse off than you are.
Really what choice is there? We can accept reality and adjust to it in the best possible way or we can be angry and bitter. Many of us have worked hard all our lives and achieved quite a bit and expected to be at least comfortable by this time. I know people who have complained bitterly to me about this and I can no longer be around them because it triggers the worst fears in me. Other people I know are well aware of how things look and what direction the country likely will head. What kind of future we face and are transcending to understanding it is out of our control. What we do have control over is how we reorient our internal compass to acceptance.
Everyone has to find their own path to acceptance, a positive and hopeful outlook, their own personal revaluation of what is important and coping with the difficult fact that like a hurricane blowing through...a lot of what we thought, believed in, as well as the physical aspects of life we had, has been blown away.
In no way do I believe this is an easy task. If there was ever a time to build a solid support system around you it is now. Do I have fear about the future in five years that I didn't have five years ago? YES. I cannot let that rule me and it is important that I get the message out to as many people as possible to alleviate my own fears, doubts and anxieties, share the burden.
I have an avocation that is a labor of love people help me with and it keeps us occupied, plus we get benefit from doing something together . My mother wants me to start beekeeping with one of my nephews, who is in the similar employment predicament that I've been in for the same amount of time. Through these activities we discover new gems inside ourselves and from them, anything can happen.
I believe we are capable of more than surviving but winning in new ways, in this historical reordering of society, by recognizing that it is about people valuing each other in ways other than in financial and material terms. That is the bottom line revaluation. We may even get the real America back.
Manifest your own Destiny: "I feel fine"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
5/2/10
Chimes of Freedom
LIVE: Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour...
Chimes of Freedom
Bob Dylan
Well far between sundown's finish and midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashin'
As majestic bells of boats struck shadows in the sun;
Sayin', it might be the chimes of freedom flashin'
Flashin' for the warriors who strength is not to fight
Flashin' for the refugees on their unarmed road of flight.
And for each and every underdog soldier in the night
We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
Well, in the city's melted furnace unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden here while the walls where tightenin'
As the echo of wedding bells before the blowing rain;
Dissolved into the white bales of lightnin'
Yeah, tollin' for the rebel, yeah, tollin for the raked
Tollin' for the luckless, the abandoned and the forsaked.
Yeah, tollin' for the outcasts burnin' constantly at
stakes
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
And then through a cloud-like curtain in a far off corner flashed
There's a hypnotic, splattered mist was slowly liftin'
Well, electric light still struck like arrows
Fired but for the ones condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting'
For the lonesome hearted lovers with too personal a tale.
And for each young heart for each channeled soul misplaced inside a jail
Yeah, we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
Well,, starry eyed and laughin' I recall when we were caught,
Trapped by an old track of vows for the hands suspended
And we listened one last time, and we watched with one last look
Spellbound and swallowed "Has the tollin' ended?"
Yeah, tollin' for the achin' ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless, confused, accused, misused, strung out ones at worst.
And for every hung up person in the whole wide universe
We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
Chimes of Freedom
Bob Dylan
Well far between sundown's finish and midnight's broken tollWe ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashin'
As majestic bells of boats struck shadows in the sun;
Sayin', it might be the chimes of freedom flashin'
Flashin' for the warriors who strength is not to fight
Flashin' for the refugees on their unarmed road of flight.
And for each and every underdog soldier in the night
We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
With faces hidden here while the walls where tightenin'
As the echo of wedding bells before the blowing rain;
Dissolved into the white bales of lightnin'
Yeah, tollin' for the rebel, yeah, tollin for the raked
Tollin' for the luckless, the abandoned and the forsaked.
Yeah, tollin' for the outcasts burnin' constantly at
stakes
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
And then through a cloud-like curtain in a far off corner flashed
There's a hypnotic, splattered mist was slowly liftin'
Well, electric light still struck like arrows
Fired but for the ones condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting'
Paul Ewing
Well, tollin' for the searchin' ones on this speechless, secret trailFor the lonesome hearted lovers with too personal a tale.
And for each young heart for each channeled soul misplaced inside a jail
Yeah, we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
Well,, starry eyed and laughin' I recall when we were caught,Trapped by an old track of vows for the hands suspended
And we listened one last time, and we watched with one last look
Spellbound and swallowed "Has the tollin' ended?"
Yeah, tollin' for the achin' ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless, confused, accused, misused, strung out ones at worst.
And for every hung up person in the whole wide universe
We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
All Photographs (unless noted otherwise) JR Snyder Jr 2010
5/1/10
There Is An Arizona
The Burning Man for Snowbirds...
"You go follow the Sun"
Every winter in the middle of the desert, 20 miles east of the Colorado River, millions of snowbirds trek to the usually desolate Town of Quartzite. The town becomes a haven of unique older snowbirds living in anything that could be called an RV.
Quartzite hosts multiple activities called "shows," that cover a wide variety of gatherings from November through April, with the real kickoff in early December with the Christmas Light Parade. The Main Event is in January when there are dozens of rock, gem, mineral, arts, crafts, sports, vacation, classic car and RV shows during the month of January. This is followed in February by continued swapmeeting, Pow Wow and an ATV Parade and Bluegrass Festival. These seniors are rock and rollers who are a fun and animated crowd.
Quartzite.com calls it "the ideal place for anyone who drives an RV." As you view it from I-10 if you're just driving through, it appears to be a parched desert but on closer inspection, you would find off the highway it is a unique scenic desert. Palm Canyon, in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, is a unique canyon where naturally occurring California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera) trees, that have survived since the last glacial period, are in the cleft. The Palm Canyon Trail is a great hike to see the only known native palm trees in Arizona.
The winter migration began in 1965 with the Pow Wow Rock, Gem and Mineral show and the rockhounders have been coming annually in the millions since then.
View Larger Map
This video is by Ackerman Gruber Images and depicts the lively activity of the bustling older visitors.
Migrating South: Snowbirds in Quartzsite from Ackerman Gruber Images on Vimeo.
http://www.vimeo.com/9433820
"You go follow the Sun"
Every winter in the middle of the desert, 20 miles east of the Colorado River, millions of snowbirds trek to the usually desolate Town of Quartzite. The town becomes a haven of unique older snowbirds living in anything that could be called an RV.
Quartzite hosts multiple activities called "shows," that cover a wide variety of gatherings from November through April, with the real kickoff in early December with the Christmas Light Parade. The Main Event is in January when there are dozens of rock, gem, mineral, arts, crafts, sports, vacation, classic car and RV shows during the month of January. This is followed in February by continued swapmeeting, Pow Wow and an ATV Parade and Bluegrass Festival. These seniors are rock and rollers who are a fun and animated crowd.
Quartzite.com calls it "the ideal place for anyone who drives an RV." As you view it from I-10 if you're just driving through, it appears to be a parched desert but on closer inspection, you would find off the highway it is a unique scenic desert. Palm Canyon, in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, is a unique canyon where naturally occurring California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera) trees, that have survived since the last glacial period, are in the cleft. The Palm Canyon Trail is a great hike to see the only known native palm trees in Arizona.
The winter migration began in 1965 with the Pow Wow Rock, Gem and Mineral show and the rockhounders have been coming annually in the millions since then.
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This video is by Ackerman Gruber Images and depicts the lively activity of the bustling older visitors.
Migrating South: Snowbirds in Quartzsite from Ackerman Gruber Images on Vimeo.
http://www.vimeo.com/9433820
4/30/10
Wireline's Declining Market
End of the line...
CenturyTel recently announced it's acquisition of Qwest Communications to be rebranded as CenturyLink. CenturyTel is the descendant of an old Independent Telephone Company and Qwest, a Baby Bell, previously US WEST, which in turn was a descendant of Mountain Bell, Pacific Northwestern Bell, Malheur Bell and Northwest Bell. They operate on the Public Service Switched Network (PSTN) providing basic wireline service to residences and businesses based on a network model that dates back to the late 1940s. It is a declining market.
These are photographs of what has become of once was The Phone Company.
CenturyTel recently announced it's acquisition of Qwest Communications to be rebranded as CenturyLink. CenturyTel is the descendant of an old Independent Telephone Company and Qwest, a Baby Bell, previously US WEST, which in turn was a descendant of Mountain Bell, Pacific Northwestern Bell, Malheur Bell and Northwest Bell. They operate on the Public Service Switched Network (PSTN) providing basic wireline service to residences and businesses based on a network model that dates back to the late 1940s. It is a declining market.
These are photographs of what has become of once was The Phone Company.
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