What happened to John Mellencamp's America?

Did it ever really exist? Are we fed too much in the media? Are any of the "facts" we hear really true?

TRUTHOUT




Oh but ain’t that america for you and me
Ain’t that america we’re someting to see baby
Ain’t that america, home of the free
Little pink houses for you and me

Booty-licious

I've been a bit weird as of late - really crabby, kind of desperate to do something meaningful, and hoping for some world change.

Instead of finding these things, I've made some time to party.

Any ideas for pirate related games, please feel free to comment:



Arrrrrr, me maties! Prepare to be boarded!

It's time to surrender your booty and drink some rum! Yo ho, wear your pirate (wench, swashbuckler) best and join us for the Pirate Booty Birthday Bash to celebrate Pirate Queen Roxy's day of aging. Don't bring her any booty though - her first mate already pilages enough loot for her.

Avast! Get on the boat, you scallywags! Partake of our icy bevys and bring some to share with yer hearties. We'll have victuals for some grubbin' and loot for the takin'.

Shiver me timbers!

(Brush up on yer pirate speak here: http://www.talklikeapirate.com/translator.html)

(Get yer pirate name here: http://www.talklikeapirate.com/links.html#piratename)

(Impress the bilge rats with yer pirate pick up lines: http://talklikeapirate.com/howto.html#pickup)

It would be great if...

I was currently drinking an Adios M-F'er on the shores of Bali.

I won the lotto 'cuz I wouldn't be one of those damn fools who loses it all and I'd invest it so that I could do something meaningful with my life like actually help people who need it.

If I could find enough time to write and not worry about working at a job that isn't truly my cup of java.

More people know who Thembi Ngubane is instead of insert favorite American idol dweeb here is. (though Kelly Clarkson does rock)

More people cared about the babies in Darfur than the babies that celebrities are spawning.

If Matthew McConaughey & I really had had a big adventure yesterday where we escaped this freaky tall guy named Robert who was trying to get us to turn all Mormon and not in a Big Love kind of way because he was attempting to drag us shoeless and screaming into a church with Jesus smiling down on us so we fled to a soccer picnic hosted by my best friend's father and right before we got there in view of everyone including my husband Mr. McCona-hottie kissed me and told me to stay beautiful just like in my dream last night. Goddamn he is hot.

Roxy is posting pics

Because she is too scatterbrained to write, Roxy wants you to contemplate this picture.

She thinks it says much about the framework of life - looking forward with a view of what has happened in the past.

However, she also thinks Hootie & The Blowfish may have been bordering on brilliant with their album title "Cracked Rear View."



On that note, happy Friday.

gnawing at the ties that bind...

When I get the overwhelming urge to pack up my crap and move directly back to Virginia, I force myself to look at pictures like this and remember the Arizona sunsets I've seen first hand...




Then, I still want to move.

Grand affinity

The branches, once imbued with the rich brown hues of life, are now ashen and stark. Shadows shift and snake around the smooth contours. The tree, in its last stages of dying, is a beautiful and sad sight to behold.





Alasdair & I were lucky enough to see snow at the Grand Canyon a few weeks ago. Of course, after it snowed, it became exceedingly warm before falling into wintry mix. I love the unpredictable climate at a place that is so steadfast.

Touch of Gray

This weekend has been awesome.

Friday night, I reveled as my Boston-loving hubby was bashed and heckled by Yankees fans. Then, after the game as we were driving home, we watched as one of America's finest puked out the window down the side of his Air Force buddy's hatchback. The kid was in full dress regalia. He then exited the car in a McDonald's parking lot, reached for a tree to stabilize himself, and nearly fell over when he missed the branch.

Where was my cameraphone?

Today, we had to go to the place I hate the most. The mall. What a pit of gluttonous despair. We stayed long enough to laugh at a teenage girl who had brown hair with the top layers dyed a shocking platinum white. Who knew skunk was in this year? If I spent more time in malls, perhaps I'd know this.

And, to cap it off, we just left the Arizona Sting game where our boys got skunked. Just like the girl with the platinum hair, it was disgusting to behold.

However, I finally bought me some Sufjan Stevens and I've been rocking out Roxy style to "Chicago" which I must say is a fine piece of music genius. Actually, my stellar day has been made possible by awesome music everywhere we went. When we stopped for lunch, Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" was on. I sang "Mercedes Benz" on my way out of the DMV. And, while I peed in the ladies room at the game tonight, I ruled my stall by singing and toilet-swaying to the Grateful Dead. I stayed for the whole song, and then had to stay even longer because "Pink Houses" came on.

I rocked the whole bathroom.

Oh yeah.

In the 21st Century

In my business class last week, we briefly discussed immigration policy. I asked my students to put aside their personal feelings about immigration, and look at the pros and cons of the core issue from a business perspective.

After debating taxes, guest worker visas, social programs, wage fluctuations, diversity, the service industry, and American expectations, I think everyone was truly thinking about the issue.

Any personal feelings put aside, business in this country was founded by immigrants. It has been sustained by immigrants. It will continue to evolve because of immigrants.

Only one of the reasons why the government should be paying attention to immigration policy - not just a bill that criminalizes the act of illegal entry. What about the big picture?

Here and everywhere after

From today's stellar Arizona Repulsive, an article that hits close to home. Closer when I realize the last quote in the article is from a girl I taught last year.

I agree, Yoshi, but life isn't fair. And you are too smart to not graduate from high school.


Valley teens again cut class to protest immigration bill

Mel Meléndez
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 29, 2006 12:00 AM

For the second straight day, hundreds of Valley teens Tuesday risked school suspensions, joining thousands of students throughout the Southwest in immigration-related protests.

High school walkouts took place in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas with thousands of students ignoring campus lockdowns or risking disciplinary actions to protest House Bill 4437.The bill would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally.

"This bill is unjust because it discriminates against Latinos," said Maryvale High School junior Alex Keller, 17, who's Mexican-American. "You can't help but feel like you're being singled out when it will basically impact your people."

More than 500 Valley demonstrators, most of them from west Phoenix high schools, gathered at Desert West Park off 67th Avenue and Encanto Boulevard in Phoenix. Hundreds more, including teens in Mesa, Glendale and Tolleson, also walked out of school. Protesters also included middle school students.

"We are protesting that law that makes us criminals," said 12-year-old Joel Ñonte, who walked out of Carson Junior High School in Mesa. "The giant has awoken today."

Many Valley demonstrators Tuesday said a student-led protest Monday inspired them to walk out. By midday Tuesday, Phoenix police estimated 2,000 students had gathered at the Capitol.

Meanwhile, Phoenix Union High School District administrators met with city officials Tuesday to discuss how to keep kids in school. The district's 10 schools are all closed campuses, but hundreds of students walked out Tuesday anyway, with some even scaling North High's fence to avoid turning in their student IDs on the way out.

Federal law requires public schools to enroll all students regardless of their legal status, and students can't be asked how they arrived in the country, said Phoenix Union's spokesman Craig Pletenik.

"We need to engage these kids to know that there's a time and a place to protest and school's not one of them," he said. "You're basically walking out of the one institution that promises you an education and a future."

But some students at the Phoenix rallies said high school is a dead end for many undocumented students who can't afford to attend college or secure a job should they earn a four-year degree without legal status. Several carried DREAM Act posters to highlight the federal act that would allow undocumented high school graduates living in the United States for at least five years to apply for legal status.

"Too many kids feel like, 'Why bother graduating from high school if I'm not even going to be able to get a decent job without my papers?' " said 18-year-old Jajaira Cardenas, a senior at Premier Charter High School in Phoenix. "The law needs to change. It's not fair."

Twinkies sustain the masses

Well, not really. But here are some things that are currently the creamy filling in my spongecake of life:

When the rest of the world lives in reality, where does the government spin? "Bushies in Wonderland"

You absolutely must check out my sidebar. With all the new sweet, thrilling tidbits of musical genius, I can't even stop listening long enough to answer my phone at work. Please don't call me - I'm busy.

While I undoubtedly will write a better tribute, following is the obituary I wrote for my beloved, funny, delightful, daring and darling great gram who just passed. I miss her to the point of heartbreak.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ruth Gerity Cook on March 13, 2006. She was 102 years old. Ruth was born in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania on November 21, 1903. She lived most of her life in the Swanton area of Ohio. She also lived in Phoenix, Arizona and more recently in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She is survived by her daughter Mary Swiatek, and her sons Lawrence and Thomas Gerity. Her beloved family including 9 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, 6 great great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, brought her much joy and happiness. No services are currently planned. She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.