JAX's Birthday Celebration
at
Sofrito
on
February 16th
Jax and her boyfriend Chris
Saturday, February 01, 2014
PERSONAL NEWS
#228
Jan 3rd, I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva
Jan 4th, I attended the BFP Brooklyn Museum
meeting and rehearsal for our upcoming event on the 10th at Matt’s
home. Afterwards I headed into the city
for a much needed appt with my acupuncturist.
Jan 5th, my friend Gail came over with her
doggie Sage for afternoon tea and we exchanged Xmas gifties. During the evening I watched the 2-hour season
four premiere of Downton Abbey.
Jan 6th, I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva
Jan 8th, I attended a BFP meeting and
rehearsal for our upcoming Brooklyn Museum event on the 10th at Tom’s church.
Jan 9th, I attended the monthly BFP board
members meeting.
Jan 10th, I worked from home in the morning,
and took half a personal day in the afternoon to participate in a successful
BFP presentation at Brooklyn Museum.
This was followed by appts with my acupuncturist and lung specialist. In the evening I had a private yoga class
with Fabrice and Shiva.
Jan 11th, Dana came by to give my apt a good
cleaning, and I took down my holiday decorations. Then a much needed manicure followed by a
marathon viewing of episodes 1 through 8 of the TV series “Sleepy Hollow” on
DVD. The latter I continued into Sunday
morning.
Jan 13th, I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva. Afterwards, I watched
a new episode of “Sleepy Hollow” on the telly, plus caught up with episodes 9
and 10.
Jan 14th, I attended an intense and productive
monthly BFP fund/peace fair meeting at Ken’s apt.
Jan 15th, was up at 4am with bronchial tube
issues, and had to take a sick day from work. I had to see my lung specialist
regarding the situation.
Jan 17th, I had a much needed chiropractor
appt after work, and started to help in feeling better. Learned my chiropractor was in the hospital
week of Jan 6th with a bad bout of pneumonia.
Jan 18th, I had a much needed acupuncture appt
with Dr Tan. The road to recovery is
continuing J
Jan 19th, I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva. Afterwards, I watched
new episodes of Downton Abbey and Sherlock.
Jan 20th, after a much needed pedicure, I
watched the season finale of “Sleepy Hollow”.
Jan 21st, due to the inclement weather, our monthly
BFP A&C committee meeting was turned into a productive conference call.
Jan 22nd, I volunteered at the WCW office and
assisted with computer work.
Jan 24th, I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva.
Jan 25th, I hosted a small gathering at my
humble abode and invited some friends [ie: Chelle, Laura and Mary] over for
good food, wine, and fun conversations on diverse topics.
Jan 26th, I joined others from the NYC Friends
of Tolkien group for several hours at Stone Creek lounge to celebrate the
Professors 121st birthday. We
all had a good time with fun conversations, food and drink.
Jan 27th, I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva.
Jan 31st, I attended a Brooklyn for Peace event
at WORD bookstore, which is being hosted by the A&C committee I belong to. The event is about the book “The Invention of
the White Race” with Jeffrey Perry on Theodore Allen’s classic book about the
creation of a “white race” in America.
Refreshments for the event were donated by The Garden and attendance was
50+.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
LATEST
IN THE NEWS
The
10 Obama Policies and Failures that Make Us Angriest
AlterNet
Editorial Staff
Obama's sweet talk has
begun to turn sour—he has a long pattern of soaring rhetoric and empty promises
followed by some fundamental failures to deliver. It is the lack of
action, the hypocrisy, the talking the talk without walking the walk, that have
made many progressives and liberals frustrated and angry.
America’s
Biggest Crises are Rooted in the Fact That the Economy is Rigged for the
Wealthiest
Kevin
Zeese and Margaret Flowers, AlterNet
Matthew Rothschild: Rest in Peace Pete Seeger, A True
Progressive Hero
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/01/28-12
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/01/28-12
Tim Koechlin: Our 'Winner Take All'
Economy Is Destroying Us
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/01/28-0
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/01/28-0
Bill
Moyers on the Dark Money Assault on Democracy and How Racism Still Drives Our
Politics
Democracy
Now
Harvey Wasserman: So Long, Pete & Toshi Seeger, It’s
Been Amazingly Great to Know You
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/01/28-2
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/01/28-2
Pete Seeger (1919-2014): Peace Activist and Folk Legend Has
Died
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/01/28
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/01/28
Pipeline Protesters Urge Obama: 'Be A
Climate Champion'
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/01/28-7
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/01/28-7
State
of the Union: Obama’s Underwhelming Plan to Tackle Inequality
Lynn
Stuart Parramore, AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/economy/state-union-america-land-small-opportunity?akid=11454.9992.9QZ4rJ&rd=1&src=newsletter952411&t=3
Monday, January 27, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
The
Brooklyn Museum invited Brooklyn For Peace [BFP] to present a perspective --- a
discussion on our organization's view of war, relating it to the museum's
current exhibition, War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and its
Aftermath.
Using
poetry, spoken word, music, video and slides, the presentation was attended by
a room full of museum goers, many of whom were new to the BFP organization. Touching on War At Home, War Abroad and War
on the Planet, the conversation touched on questions of lopsided spending
priorities in Washington that overwhelmingly favor the Pentagon over human
needs. A fact-filled discussion on the new face of robotized warfare through
the use of drones was presented as well as a section on the effects of war in
the destruction of the planet's environment. The audience was invited to
participate in all the discussions. It
was an impressive production and the BFP "performers" pledged to
carry the show to other venues in the months ahead.
The museum's War Photography exhibit runs through February 2, 2014. It's highly
recommended.
Thursday, January 02, 2014
PERSONAL NEWS #227
Dec 2nd I had an appt with Dr Tan at 4pm and
in the evening attended private yoga class with Fabrice and Shiva.
Dec 3rd, after work I volunteered to assist
with the yearly BFP fundraising phone-a-thon.
Dec 5th, I attended the monthly TGTSNBN meetup
at Simple Studios. It was great seeing
friends and acquaintances who love HP.
This meetup was geared towards decorating holiday cookies with an HP
theme. It was a lot of fun J
Dec 6th, I along with other EA’s had to take
the first 3 of 5 exams today at work.
What a nerve racking nightmare that was and my health suffered due to
it. Despite that, I think I passed 1 of
the 3 exams, which means I’ll have to take two of the exams again in March
2014. UGH! I thoroughly loath testing! That evening I attended my private yoga class
with Fabrice and Shiva.
Dec 7th, I finished decorating my apartment
for the holiday season and my tree looks lovely. I then participated in the BFP fundraising
phone-a-thon and afterwards I did some holiday gift shopping at B&N, as
well as Trader Joe’s.
Dec 8th, I attended an enjoyable friends
annual holiday party at a delightful Cuban restaurant in LIC. It was like a mini-NYDoP reunion … we had
many laughs, caught up on news, eat good food, etc.
Evening of Monday, Dec 9th,
the “NYC Area Friends of JRR Tolkien and Fantasy” Meetup group was at the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd
Street for a special exclusive screening of "The
Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug". This is part two of Peter
Jackson's new "Hobbit" trilogy.
[We saw the film at IMAX in 3D, so that explains the special glasses we
wore.] What a roller coaster ride of a film! Excellent! My only real
gripe was too many Orcs. I sat with Wendy,
Margaret and Pauline. It
was great chillin with everyone and seeing others from our meetup group.
Dec 10th, I attended the monthly BFP
Fundraising / PF committee meeting, which was very productive.
Dec 11th, I facilitated a conference call with
several members [ie: Matt, Charlotte, Tom, Melissa and Gary] of BFP. We are creating a 1.5 hour presentation for Brooklyn
Museum in early January dealing with war, photography and the aftermath. It was an informative and productive
call J
Dec 12th, I participated in the BFP annual
fundraising phone-a-thon after work.
Dec 13th, I attended private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva.
Dec 14th, I joined my friend Jackie for movies and
dinner while it snowed throughout the day.
We saw the film “The Desolation of Smaug”, then dined at Cosi and
exchanged gifties.
Dec 16th, I attended private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva.
Dec 17th, I took the last two of the five
exams in the afternoon, and I think I did pretty well. After work I briefly attended the company
holiday party at the Marriott before heading home.
Dec 18th, I facilitated a conference call with
several members [ie: Matt, Charlotte, Tom, Melissa and Gary] of BFP regarding a
Brooklyn Museum event we are participating in.
Dec 19th, I participated in the monthly BFP
A&C committee conference call, and we got quite abit accomplished.
Dec 20th, I attended the annual BFP holiday
gathering at Martha and Gary’s home in Park Slope … a great time was had by
everyone. We enjoyed lots of good food,
drink and interesting, diverse conversations. Earlier in the day I learned I passed 4 of the 5 exams at work. I was quite relieved about that and will have to retake the 5th one in March 2014, so as to obtain my certificate.
Dec 21st, I had a much needed chiropractor
appt for my neck/back. Later on I headed
into Manhattan to meet up with Wendy and Deborah to see “Desolation of Smaug”
in the cinema. Afterwards we took a taxi
down to Chelsea for a delicious meal at an Italian place on 9th
Avenue.
Dec 22nd, I had a much needed acupuncture
appt, and then in the evening a private yoga class with Fabrice. I gave his six month old kitten Shiva some
catnip toys for Xmas. Shiva went bonkers
over them J
Dec 23rd to 25th, I headed upstate
NY to spend time with the parents, my brother and sister-in-law for the
holidays. While up there I came down
with a lung infection and had to take the 26th off from work.
Dec 27th, I facilitated a conference call with
several members [ie: Matt, Charlotte, Tom, Connie and Gary] of BFP regarding a
Brooklyn Museum event we are participating in.
Dec 27th to 30th, my friend Cindy
came in from Ohio for a brief visit before heading off Ireland, Wales, Scotland
and England. We had a very nice time
together despite us both being abit under the weather with health issues.
Dec 30th, I attended private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva in the evening after work.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Evening of Monday, Dec 9th, the “NYC Area Friends of JRR
Tolkien and Fantasy” Meetup group was at the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street for a
special exclusive screening of "The Hobbit: the Desolation of
Smaug". This is part two of Peter
Jackson's new "Hobbit" trilogy. [We saw the film at IMAX in 3D, so that explains the special glasses we wore.] What a roller coaster ride of a film!
Excellent! My only real gripe was too many Orcs. I sat with Wendy, Margaret and Pauline.
[Pauline took this photo of Margaret, me
and Wendy] It was great chillin with
everyone and seeing others from our meetup group.
Monday, December 02, 2013
PERSONAL NEWS #226
Nov 1st I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva.
Nov 3rd, I watched the NYC marathon in my hood
on Manhattan Avenue, while listening to the live Reggae tunes performed by Nando
Griffiths.
Nov 4th, I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva.
Nov 6th, I attended a talk given by Rashid
Khalidi on the Middle East situation. Mr.
Khalidi is the author of the book … “Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has
Undermined Peace in the Middle East”.
This deceit, by the US towards the Middle East, and its continued
support of Israel, has been ongoing since 1975.
Nov 7th, I attended a talk given by author Ann
Jones at the Brecht Forum in Brooklyn.
She was speaking about her latest book … “They Were Soldiers: How the
Wounded Return from America’s Wars – The Untold Story”. The event was hosted and co-sponsored by
Haymarket Books, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, IVAW and BFP.
Nov 8th – 10th, I had health issues
over the weekend due to lung condition and on anti-biotic.
Nov 11th, I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva.
Nov 12th, I attended “The Future of Stop & Frisk! Can We End it?” community
forum in Fort Greene area of Brooklyn after work. The forum was an amazing event with speakers
who are passionate about seeing to it that real change happens. Even with the temporary setback that happened
when 3 current judges over rule the decision of the initial judge on the case. Over
a 100 people were in attendance at the forum.
Also, discussion shifted to potential actions that people could take,
starting from a grass roots level. With most things it requires social media as
well as on the ground face to face contact to motivate and keep people
involved.
Nov 15th, I had a private
yoga class with Fabrice and Shiva.
On morning of Nov 16th, my cleaning lady stopped by
to tend to my apartment. Afterwards, I had
a much need appt for acupuncture therapy with Dr Tan, and following that with an
equally needed pedicure.
Sunday, Nov 17th, I joined other members of
“NYC Friends of Tolkien” for a delightful “Brunch with Bilbo” at Stone Creek
lounge. We socialized, enjoyed good food
and watched the extended edition of The Hobbit.
Nov 18th, I had a private yoga class with
Fabrice and Shiva.
Nov 19th, I participated in the monthly BFP Arts &
Culture committee meeting, which was productive, and we had two guests attend.
Nov 20th, I volunteered at the WCW national office
to assist with computer work.
Nov 21st, I had an urgent dental appt in the
morning to fix a chipped tooth. Ouch!
Nov 22nd, I had a private yoga class with Fabrice
and Shiva.
Nov 23rd, I joined my friend Debbie S at Stone
Creek lounge for an enjoyable Doctor Who event in the afternoon. Afterwards we headed over to a friend’s
apartment for a social visit. We drank
tea, played with Dobby [cat], nibble on tasty pastries made by Deanna and talked
about all sorts of topics.
Nov 25th, I had a private yoga class with Fabrice
and Shiva.
Nov 26th, I had a consultation with my dental
specialist about implants. My office
dental plan covers half and I would have to pay the other half, which amounts
to $1,900. Ouch!!
Nov 28th, since 2006, I volunteer with Project
Find in Manhattan to assist with bringing hot meals and goodie bags to home
bound seniors. This year I helped with
getting the goodies into those bags; then working with Gloria [driver] and
Diane [another escort] in delivering meals and bags to 16 people along West 24th
Street. Weather was cold, windy, but
sunny.
Nov 29th to Dec 1st, I visited the
parents, brother and sister-in-law in upstate NY for the remainder of the
holiday weekend. Weekend did not run
smoothly for my father, and we had to have the ambulance take him to hospital
around midnight on Friday. [Mom and I
followed in the car to hospital.]
Learned he has Strep Pneumonia and has to stay in hospital through
Wednesday. Visited him on Saturday
afternoon … the shakes and fever have dissipated. He is on the slow road to recovery. Amen! Rest
of weekend Mom and I did some shopping, dining out, decorate house for Xmas,
hair salon and watching HP on cable TV.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
IN THE NEWS
How Wall Street
Turned America into Incarceration Nation
Les Leopold,
AlterNet
Transforming
poorer neighborhoods into desirable real estate for the new elites often
requires getting rid of the poor: jail becomes the new home for many.
The NY Times
Uncovers Conservative Attacks and Then Prints One of its Own; Both Are on the
Front Page
George Lakoff, AlterNet
As Experts Weigh in, Warmongers Emerge as Sole Opponents of
Iran Nuke Deal
The Climate Disaster Bubbling in the
Arctic
Americans for Safe
Access: Report: Medical Marijuana States Already in Compliance with Federal
Enforcement Guidelines
Sierra
Club: 12 Michigan Counties Show Unhealthy, Poorly Controlled Levels of Ozone
Pollution
5 Things You Need
to Know About the Iran-US Deal Over Nuclear Program
Alex Kane, AlterNet
10 Biggest Myths
About Retail Workers
Stephanie Luce,
The Guardian
Over 1 in 10 US
jobs is in the retail trade. Here’s what
their lives are really like.
6 Outrageously
Greedy Companies that make Scrooge Look Like a Softie
Lynn Stuart
Parramore, AlterNet
How Wall Street’s
New Empire of Rental Homes Could Blow Up the Economy
Laura
Gottesdiener, Tom Dispatch
Wall Street is at
it again, this Time, they’re turning rentals into the next get-rich-quick
bubble.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Extreme
Whether!
"Extreme
Whether" tells the story of climate change as a family drama. Today, we
launch an Indiegogo funding campaign to bring what we feel may be our most
important play to production in March-April at Theater for the New City.
We have already done four super readings with terrific audience response.
Climate scientists and climate activists have praised "Extreme Whether". Please,
take a few minutes to view the video and, please, if you like what you see, ask
your friends to visit the site. We need your help to spread the word
about what we feel is the most important story we can tell, the struggle to
save the earth. The start of any funding campaign is crucial; we’re asking for
your early support. Thank you for your help!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
IN
THE NEWS
Fact
Check: Social Security Does NOT Increase the Deficit
Lynn
Stuart Parramore, AlterNet
Bought
politicians and pundits continue to spread nonsense about America’s best-loved
program.
You
Might be Surprised Who Collects on the Tips You Leave at Restaurants
Saru
Jayaraman, The Washington Spectator
By
law your tip is supposed to go to restaurant workers -- often they don’t.
It
Was Bad Enough That We Militarized Our Own Borders – Now the U.S. is Doing it
to the Rest of the World
Todd
Miller, TomDispatch.com
Monday, November 18, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
IN THE NEWS
The Shamelessness
of Bankers
RJ Eskow, Blog for
Our Future
Bank executives
have displayed disrespect for both law and regulation, that they are not worthy
of the public’s trust, and that they are culturally impaired at a profound
level.
House Republicans
Prepare the Next Obamacare Repeal Bill, in Disguise
Joan McCarter,
Daily Kos
Republicans want
the status quo health system in which millions are losers in the health care
game because of pure chance.
Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Increase in
Minimum Wage
Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams
New Gallup poll shows 76% of Americans want wage to
increase; trend shows consistent support for increased federal minimum wage.
Candidate or Not, Elizabeth Warren has the Right 2016
Message
John Nichols, Common Dreams
As America Slides toward Dickensian Nightmare, Novelist
of the 99% is Trending Big-Time
Lynn Stuart Parramore, AlterNet
Charles Dickens is a man for our season, an artist who
got people to think about economic injustice.
Top Democratic
Pollster Says Don’t Mess with Social Security – Or Else Face the Wrath of
Voters in 2014
Steven Rosenfeld,
AlterNet
http://admin.alternet.org/economy/fixing-and-expanding-social-security-wildly-popular?akid=11138.9992.F_elLt&rd=1&src=newsletter923131&t=13
