Corsica is gorgeous!

Especially in October!!

Operatic Verse

If you enjoy writing (or reading) limericks, you might have a good time with my latest Limerick-Off.

Political April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day is coming up on April 1st, and you'll want to be prepared. After all, you don't want to fall victim to any political practical jokes. My Political April Fools Day limerick should help.

Addled Threats

Now that health reform has passed, are you all intimidated by Republican threats to do stuff they've been doing all along? (There's a limerick, of course.)

Snow in Austin...really!

Plumpest snow globs I've ever seen this far south. It was rather surreal. A bit like the 3" long rocket-shaped hail last winter. Extreme weather is thrilling. Scary. And it's going to get more extreme. Been through Missouri tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes, desert floods, Austin floods, blizzards, mudslides, El Nino, La Nina, droughts, and forest fires. There's a wild joy in nature busting loose, even when there is real danger. Somehow the primordial elements seem more in the order of things, rather than say, a car wreck.


(Austin, TX, February 2010)

Notice how green it is, even though it's snowing. Reminds me of a March--gee, 17 years ago--when I flew to Austin from NJ to attend Paul B's last party. We had been through 23 separate snow storms since New Year's Eve, with ice still on all but the major highways. As the plane dropped into the old Mueller airport, something felt off-kilter. Once we dropped below the clouds, it was emerald green as far as the eye could see. There wasn't a sprig of green in Jersey. A lush 18 inch thick carpet of grass stunned my snow-accustomed eyes. Bluebonnets hadn't yet bloomed, but it was obviously going to be a bumper year. Much like this spring will be.

After years of relentless sunshine, heat and cold, withered plants and panting trees, Austin is a different animal this winter, metamorphosed by rain. Only in Texas skies can the color gray be described as vibrant. Light lends a different character to colors under the lowering clouds, intensifying and showcasing the metamorphosed earth. Moss covers live oaks like a coat of paint, contrasting with the wet, velvet black bark. Rainbows shimmer in the humid air. Gray glows argent, like burnished silver jewelry. Neighborhood cats, thick coats sprinkled with fairy dust, perfect muddy footprints trailing up and over my white car. A bird flutes a surprised, subdued query to unaccustomed early morning rain.

Grackle flurries restlessly prowl in the twilight, one eye on the dumpsters outside the eateries close to the river, one leg on trees perilously bending under the weight of tens of thousands of the buggers, moving like black schools of fish, pulled apart and collapsing together again like taffy, yet somehow  averting mid-air collisions and managing not to knock a neighbor off a perch.

New buildings loom over downtown like giant, shiny tinker-toys. Or maybe metallic mushrooms. The currently tallest one looks suspiciously like a flash drive standing on end. Folks coming to SX won't believe how the skyline has changed in just one year. There's something vaguely nauseating about how much building is going on, when news from other towns describes a completely different story. Where is all the money coming from? Who will populate the buildings? Will they fill as quickly as they went up? Will it be a repeat of the 80's, when the original "skyscrapers" went up, only to stand empty and forlorn for who knows how long?

Changes abound. Weddings and births, changes in circumstances. Can't control the weather, really can't control anyone but your own self. Wish life came with seatbelts. I'm gonna enjoy the ride anyway.

Obama, Keep Your Progressive Promises, Instead of Making Voltairian Excuses

I’m getting really tired of this line: “America can’t afford to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Obama repeatedly uses this Voltaire quote paraphrase as an excuse for breaking promises he made to progressives.

And that's why I wrote this double limerick: Dear Obama, Enough With The Voltaire!

Women in Tech

As a female owner of a technology company, I have come to see first hand how the perceptions men and women alike hold about the role of women in the technology sphere have yet to evolve. Within the last few years, women have been shown to fill less than 30% of all IT positions here in the US. Not only that, but this percentage has been declining.

Women as well as men hold beliefs about technological skill that is based on gender that make it less likely for women to be chosen as service providers. There is a perception that a male technology consultant is likely to know things one doesn't know in-house, while the expertise of a female is considered to be something one should know in-house. People are less likely to have a perception that a woman has something to teach them about technology. This is particularly true of men, but women also hold such beliefs.

At the same time, fewer girls are deciding to pursue tech related career paths. This makes it less likely that men working in tech fields will be educated on the abilities of women in the field by exposure during their early educational experiences. They are therefore even less likely to view women as competent peers later in their careers.

There are a number of groups that have formed over the years to address these issues. Such groups support members' career success by offering networking opportunities, sharing information, and advocating for public policies that encourage the math and science education of girls and young women around the world. (Check out www.witi.com and www.womentechworld.org for starters).

Personally, consider making a commitment to advocating for the selection of female vendors whenever possible. My company, AspiraTech, which offers SalesForce Training and Implementation services, has benefited from the strong advocacy of both men and women at client companies who have pushed for greater utilization of our services and written positive reviews of the services we've provided on public sites. Consider the various ways you can support the success of women in technology, even if you are not yourself a business owner. If you are a business owner, evaluate how many of your company's vendors are women. Do you believe women have as much to offer the world of business as men and that we can become just as expert in solving business problems using technology? If you do, then align your decision making with your beliefs and put more women to work in the tech sphere.

Just What Drivers Need — More Distractions!

I’m as big a web addict as the next woman. But do we really need Internet-enabled dashboards in our cars? I answer that hi-tech question in my latest limerick.

An Up Side To Martha Coakley's Senate Loss?

It wasn't easy, but I finally found an up side to the disastrous Senate election in Massachusetts. Hint: It has something to do with Joe Lieberman. And needless to say, I wrote a limerick about it.

All the Love You Could Have Given

I've had that line from a Kate Bush song running through my head the last few days. It just pops up out of nowhere, sometimes when I'm meditating, other times when I'm just going about daily chores. Any time my mind comes to rest, it seems to want to remind me, "Are you giving all you could give? Are you fully using the opportunity of this day of life?"

Generally when I have songs I can't get out of my head I find it really irritating. In this case, I'm grateful for it, because too frequently I find the answer is "no" and realize I need to make an adjustment. I suppose it would be irritating if I found it difficult to make such adjustments, but fortunately I do not. In fact, having set my intention to truly take full advantage of the opportunity daily life presents to give love to others, I find more and more opportunities seem to be presenting themselves. I'm sure it is just that I'm noticing more, but either way, I am finding I am experiencing more beautiful moments in which I am able to touch someone's heart and support them in a loving way.

I've found so much joy in remembering this simple guiding principle, "Give all the love you can give each day," that I thought to share it with you. I hope you find it as useful a reminder as I do. It is so easy to forget the point of life. So easy to get lost in the striving for what we want, the desire to be entertained, or the warding off of what we do not want, that we easily forget that we always have the power to direct love outward to others, as well as savoring the love we feel for ourselves.

I hope you will take this inspiration to pause for a moment and truly sink into a feeling of love for yourself, and that in your next interaction with anyone you decide to direct that love outward with an openness towards them and genuine desire to contribute to their feeling good about themselves.

Everyone is an artist. Our works of art are our lives as we live them. Yet too many people die with their artistry unacknowledged, both by themselves and by others. Each time you help someone to appreciate the artistry of who they are, you help them to love themselves, and make more and more beauty out of the art of you. This is an invitation to become a connoisseur, but not a snobby one. Would you choose a world filled with people who are all loved and appreciated for their unique prism's reflection of the Divine light that shines through all things? If you would, then in each day, be alert and open to perceiving that beauty and artistry in anyone you encounter. Love them. Appreciate them. And someday die knowing you have given all the love you could have given.

Check out this great MSN Video: World's most dangerous volcano reborn

Check out this great MSN Video: World's most dangerous volcano reborn

Krakatoa, it appears, is going public again.

Uplifting Music - Remember Who You Are

I would like to share with you some of the lyrics of Shimshai, a World Fusion musician who weaves together the wisdom and sounds of many world traditions. Ever hear a song with Hebrew, spanish, Sanskrit and reggae flowing as one? It is an experience worth having, and also a message worth hearing.

"You are forever pure.
You are forever true
and the dream of this world
can never touch you.
So give up your attachment
and give up your confusion
and fly to that space that's beyond
all illusion."

~ Shimshai from the song "Suddhosi Buddhosi" off the album "Live on Maui"

"Pure, pure like the water,
let it run forever more,
to be clean, clean as the waves
come crashing to the shore.
It leaves me
smooth, smooth as a pebble,
polished in the depth of love
carried by the winds of grace
on the wings of a dove.
...
Arise and awake from your slumber
Kindle ancient flame
as witness to the waves of what's to change
though the essence remains the same."

~ Shimshai from the song "Pure" off the album "Deliverance"

If you like his message, you can read more about this beautiful music and what its message can mean in your life in the longer article I wrote on my blog today called Singing for your Freedom. Also find links to where you can listen to the songs or purchase downloads of them. Enjoy, and may you see the Truth in yourself, and find it again reflected back to you within every face you see.

VIDEO: Why Did They Cheat?

VIDEO: My Fun Vistoso Bosses Interview!

Alpha-Political Verse 2009

From time to time, I write an alphabetical poem summing up a period’s zany and significant political moments, with links to my related satire.

Although Barack Obama’s administration is still relatively new, there’s already plenty of material for another piece of alpha-political poetry:

"A is for Alaska with its lovely Russian view.

B is for the Birthers who will rant and rave on cue.

C is for conservatives co-opted by the loons.

D is for each Democrat who caves and often swoons. ..."

(Alpha-Political Verse 2009 continues here.)

VIDEO: My Inspirational Convo With Malik Yoba

VIDEO: What If You Suspect Your Man Is Gay?!

VIDEO: You Broke Up! Now What?

VIDEO: Michael Jackson Doctor on YouTube

Music Monday: Ledisi!