Have Coffee Will Write

19 March 2008

FROM MY CHAPBOOK…

0400 by Jeff Hess

My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.

This is a passage I copied from Midrash and Literature edited by Geoffrey H. Hartman and Sanford Budick.

Efface: To wipe out, destroy or do away with. To make oneself inconspicuous; withdraw modestly or shyly. [xi]

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19 March 2008

DON’T FORGET BURMA NO. 127…

0230 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar | No Comments »

19 March 2008

TIME POWER: TODAY…

0001 by Jeff Hess

Today, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about: What are my most vital priorities? What should I value more than anything else in life? This is not only the first question to ask in time management, it is the most significant question you will ever ask in life. p. 21.

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18 March 2008

GOOD MORNING MYANMAR…

2030 by Jeff Hess

This morning I stumbled upon a wonderful example of the power of the Internet: Untold Stories: Dispatches from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. I found the site because it features a story about a man going to great lengths to get into Myanmar and discover for himself, the story of the monks. This is what Jacob Baynham wrote:

My search for truth in Burma began in a sleepy embassy in Vientiane, Laos, where I sat sweating on a patent leather sofa in a crumpled silk shirt and tie, pulling phony business cards from my wallet and lying through my teeth. It was two months after the monk-led anti-government uprisings of last September, and I had already been rejected a tourist visa twice in Hong Kong and Bangkok. I decided to hit the diplomatic backwaters with a different tack.

So one night in Vientiane I printed a couple dozen business cards, which peddled me as the owner of a Colorado-based jewelry business that has never existed. I designed my own executive stationary and drafted a formal letter of intent. In three days, I had the visa; stamped, sealed and shining like a coin from the pages of my passport.

I wanted to answer one question in Burma: how has a group of xenophobic generals survived 46 years of global condemnation, multiple popular uprisings and the persistent bloodletting of a handful of ethnic armies? Continue Reading »

Posted in Blogging, Free Burma, Myanmar, Non-Fiction, Writing | No Comments »

18 March 2008

MUCKING OUT THE BLOGPILE…

1400 by Jeff Hess

I’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is How Much is Your Time Worth?

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18 March 2008

GOING OFF THE GRID…

1327 by Jeff Hess

[Update — This post will remain at the top until I take off for my retreat at 1 p.m. on Friday. There are new posts below.]

After spending five hours this morning catching up on back posts on Have Coffee Will Write and dealing with the day-to-day business of maintaining The Writing On The Wal I need to step back, think deeply and carefully consider how I want to move forward. To allow myself time to do that, I will be off the grid for 48 hours beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday.

During that time I’ll leave my computer powered down, ~~my cell phone turned off~~ (I decided to leave the phone on for emergency reasons) and my car in the garage. I’ll forgo caffeine and the radio. The only reading I’ll do will be from three books (Earth: The Sequel by Fred Krup, The Moon Is Always Female by Marge Piercy and The Book Of Salt by Monique Truong) and what ever I write in my journal during my retreat.

I’ll spend a great deal of time in meditation, enjoying possibly as many as six or eight sits. I’m not going to play hermit, however. I’ll get out and walk, maybe even to the Coventry Phoenix where I haven’t been for some time.

To clear the mind it is helpful to clear the body as well. To help do that, I’ll stock up on fruits and juices and leave the stove and microwave turned off.

There are two questions I need to consider that you can help me with. What features of Have Coffee Will Write wouldn’t you miss if they went away? I’ve added a lot in the past year without reflecting on how much work is involved day-to-day to keep those features current. If you could give me one piece of advice that would make my blog better for you, what would you say to me?

I’ll read emails up to around noon on Friday and then go back on line Sunday afternoon to make sure I haven’t missed anything important.

I’m really looking forward to this.

Posted in Life, The Universe & Everything | 11 Comments »

18 March 2008

GOOD NIGHT MYANMAR…

1230 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar, Video | No Comments »

18 March 2008

FROM THE SANDBOX…

1200 by Jeff Hess

MSGT Ken Mahoy: The big news in Afghanistan lately has obviously been the reports of Prince Harry being secretly stationed here, and subsequently being removed. The most interesting thing about this story to us here at the ISAF* Headquarters is that many of us didn’t know either. Yes, there were obviously a few who knew, particularly his fellow Brits…,

Posted in The Sandbox | No Comments »

18 March 2008

WHAT THEY SAID… THIS TIME…

1122 by Jeff Hess

We can play Reverend Wright”s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she”s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we”ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, â€œNot this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can”t learn; that those kids who don”t look like us are somebody else”s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don”t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn”t look like you might take your job; it”s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should”ve been authorized and never should”ve been waged, and we want to talk about how we”ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned. Senator Barack Obama

Posted in Election 2008, What They Say... | No Comments »

18 March 2008

FROM MY DAD…

0800 by Jeff Hess

I could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog chuckle I present: From My Dad.

Two Minnesotans, Sven & Ole, walk into a pet shop near Brainerd. They head to the bird section and Sven says to Ole, “Dat’s dem.”

The owner comes over and asks if he can help them.

“Yah sure, ve’ll take four of dem dere little budgies in dat cage up dere,” says Sven.

The owner puts the budgies in a paper bag. Ole and Sven pay for the birds, leave the shop, get into Sven’s pick-up and drive to the top of some big cliffs near Brainerd Lake.

At the cliffs, Sven looks down at the 1,000 foot drop and says, “Dis looks like a grand place.”

He takes two birds out of the bag, puts them on his shoulders and jumps off the& nbsp; cliff. Ole watches as Sven falls all the way to the bottom, killing himself dead.

Looking down at the remains of his best pal, Ole shakes his head and says: “By yumpin’ yiminy, dis budgie yumping is too dangerous for me.”

VAIT! Dere’s MORE! (Coming tomorrow.)

Posted in From My Dad, Humor | No Comments »

18 March 2008

AND YOU THOUGHT YOUR ST. PADDY’S DAY WAS ROUGH…

0729 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Radio, Social Justice & Advocacy | No Comments »

18 March 2008

MY COMMENTS…

0719 by Jeff Hess

Part of being a good citizen of the blogosphere is visiting, reading and, most importantly, taking the time to leave a comment on other’s blogs. It’s all about the conversation. In the interest of setting an example I’ve decided to link to those blog posts that have compelled me to leave a comment.

0716 Wal-Mart Finally Gets it Right

Posted in Comments, Walmart | No Comments »

18 March 2008

GOOD AFTERNOON MYANMAR…

0430 by Jeff Hess

From the moment I first heard of monks dying in Tibet I’ve wondered which way the connection between the monks in Myanmar and their brothers and sisters in Tibet would go. Solidarity is what I’ve hoped for and that has been the response from the All Burmese Monks Alliance. Good for them. Good for all of us.

From Irrawaddy:

Burmese Buddhist monks have strongly condemned the Chinese government for their brutal crackdown on Tibet”s monk-led protests in Lhasa, capital of Tibet, which led to at least 12 deaths and many more injuries.

Speaking with The Irrawaddy on Monday, a leader of the All Burma Monks Alliance, U Pyinya Zawta, said, â€œWe strongly condemn the Chinese government for their crackdown on Tibet”s monks. We appeal to the Chinese government to stop their suppression of monks and initiate peaceful negotiations.”

The All Burma Monks Alliance is an underground monk”s organization inside Burma founded by Buddhist monks in September at the time protests broke out nationwide.

The crackdown on Tibetan monk-led protests by Chinese security forces is similar to the brutal crackdown on September”s peaceful demonstrators in Burma when at least 31 protesters, including monks, were killed, said U Pyinya Zawta.

According to the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency, at least 13 people were killed in Lhasa, while several security guards were injured in the violence on Friday. Some houses and shops were also burnt down, added the report. The exiled Tibetan government in Dharmsala, northern India, put the death toll at up to 80 on Sunday.

The protests started up on March 10, on the annual commemoration of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. Following the Chinese suppression of the 1959 uprising, the Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India.

Meanwhile, a statement released on Sunday by the International Burmese Monks Organization criticized the Chinese government for insulting Tibet”s Buddhist monks and urged dialogue between the Chinese government and the Tibetan leadership.

In their statement, the monks said, â€œWe strongly urge the Chinese authorities to stop the violent crackdown and to initiate as soon as possible a dialogue which can give rise to the fulfillment of the true wishes of the Tibetans.” Continue Reading »

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18 March 2008

FROM MY CHAPBOOK…

0400 by Jeff Hess

This is a passage I copied from Midrash and Literature edited by Geoffrey H. Hartman and Sanford Budick.

Ecumenical: General, universal. [20]

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18 March 2008

DON’T FORGET BURMA NO. 126…

0230 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar | No Comments »

18 March 2008

TIME POWER: TODAY…

0001 by Jeff Hess

Today, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about: The principle of self-unification is simple: when what you do is in congruity with what you believe, and what you believe is the highest of truths, you achieve the most gratifying form of personal productivity and experience the most satisfying form of self-esteem. p. 21.

Posted in Time Power: Today | No Comments »

17 March 2008

GOOD MORNING MYANMAR…

2030 by Jeff Hess

Threats without consequences are meaningless. And that is the position that the United Nations now finds itself. The military dictators of Myanmar have played nice with the United Nations special envoy three times and three times it has ignored all conversations because there is no consequence for ignoring them.

Would UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon make a difference? Burmese journalist Min Zin believes so.

From the Far Eastern Economic Review:

Burma’s military junta is testing the response of the international community. When world leaders say they are â€œconcerned” about the situation in Burma, then â€œincreasingly concerned,” then â€œgravely concerned,” and then-inexplicably-just â€œconcerned” again, the generals in the Naypyidaw jungle smile and push forward with their hard-line stance.

It is hardly surprising that the junta is refusing an immediate return of United Nation’s Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari and defying the U.N.’s calls for an inclusive national reconciliation process, now that the regime feels confident it is bringing the country back under control after its deadly crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations last September.

The generals even rejected the U.N.’s proposal to establish a poverty alleviation commission to address the country’s humanitarian crisis, clearly demonstrating the regime’s criminal disregard for the Burmese people’s welfare.

Indeed, despite U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s repeated warnings that return to the status quo in Burma is not acceptable, that is precisely what is happening. The U.N. and other key international players realize the momentum for international mediation in Burma is fading and are trying to regain it with a swift return visit by Special Envoy Gambari. The Burmese authorities, however, say they will not approve the special envoy’s itinerary until mid-April. Continue Reading »

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar | No Comments »