25 April 2005
25 April 2005
THESE ARE CHRISTIANS…
0548 by Jeff Hess[Update No. 2: Sherry Chandler offers additional insights from Louisville. A thinking, feeling, healing community of faith vs Exalting, Equipping, Evangelizing: Together we are growing strong. Which motto do you think best represents your point-of-view?]
[Update No. 1: Read Pastor Phelps’ Tale Of Two Churches.]
Forgive me as an outsider to their faith for commenting, but after reading the statements of Pastor Joe Phelps and Reba Cobb posted on the Highland Baptist Church website, I must say they, and their supporters, represent how, I’ve always understood, Christians are supposed to be.
I’m not sure how appropriate this may be, but I think the Christians who stood up this weekend to the actions of the Theocons deserve our support and thanks. I’m sending a modest check to Pastor Phelps’ congregation with a thank you note for doing the right thing.
To his words I can only add: amein and amein.
My Soundtrack: Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
25 April 2005
HEADSPACE…
0509 by Jeff Hess
In My Backpack… Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir In Books by Azar Nafisi; In My Car… Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison; On My Nightstand… This Is Centerville by John Buchan; On My Computer… Atavistic by Irene McKinney; On My Screen… Statement (*) directed by Norman Jewison, written by Ronald Harwood and Brian Moore.
My Soundtrack: Legend Of A Band by The Moody Blues.
24 April 2005
ANOTHER MILESTONE…!
1907 by Jeff Hess
At 2056 last evening Have Coffee Will Write welcomed its 20,000 visitor since going online back on 9 November 04. (Hit No. 10,000 came on 25 January.) The reader came in via 66-190-91-65.cpe.ga.charter.com using a Macintosh Power PC. The really cool part of the visit is that it was from someone who has bookmarked HCWW and so has found something worth paying a second visit for. That makes my day. Now, if I can just figure out what that is, and keep doing it, I’ll be OK.
A special thanks to No. 20,000, but also a warm and heartfelt thanks to each and everyone of you who agree to give up a valuable part of your day to see what I’ve written.
Shalom and shalom.
My Soundtrack: Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane by Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane
24 April 2005
SUBVERSIVE BUMPER STICKER OF THE DAY…
0828 by Jeff Hess
24 April 2005
JUST US SUNDAY…
0808 by Jeff Hess
Thanks to our Bluegrass Poet Sherry Chandler for reminding us that just because the Theocons have decided to hold their theocracy-boosting media event at the Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky today, that doesn’t mean that they represent a majority view of Christians in general and Baptists in particular, in Sherry’s homestate.
I’ve been waiting a long time for Christians to stand up and let people know that the religious wrong is not representative of the majority view among people of that faith. I hope we see a lot more of this now.
According to Associated Press writer Brett Barrouquere, nearly two dozen ministers joined Louisville’s Pastor Joe Phelps of the Highland Baptist Church in a media conference yesterday to remind the world that the Reverend Keven Ezell and the Highview Baptist Church do not speak for Christianity. Said Phelps:
This is deceptive, manipulative and false. Stop. Please stop.
The Rev. Robert W. Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said:
The event splits people of faith into those who agree with the Family Research Council and those who don’t, resulting in a polarization of Christian voters. “This ad campaign should be called Just Us Sunday instead of Justice Sunday.”
My Soundtrack: Blues And Roots by Charles Mingus.
24 April 2005
HEADSPACE…
0743 by Jeff HessIn My Backpack… Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir In Books by Azar Nafisi; In My Car… Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison; On My Nightstand… This Is Centerville by John Buchan; On My Computer… The Angel by Michael McFee; On My Screen… Statement (*) directed by Norman Jewison, written by Ronald Harwood and Brian Moore.
My Soundtrack: This Is Jazz No. 6 by Charles Mingus.
23 April 2005
SUBVERSIVE BUMPER STICKER OF THE DAY…
1955 by Jeff Hess
23 April 2005
RADIO ACTIVE…
1937 by Jeff Hess
When I listen to local radio it’s usually one of the college stations: WBWC, 88.3; WJCU, 88.7; WCSB, 89.3; WKSU, 89.7; WRUW, 91.1. I also listen to WCPN, 90.3 and WCLV 104.9. But I find myself listening more and more to Internet radio like Air America and, of course, our own Jawbone Radio. Yesterday, while posting the My Soundtrack section of Foets And Foetry… I came across Medwyn Goodall’s broadcast.
Warning. This is not a happening station. You’re not likely to find good dance tunes (unless you do your dancing under full moons in faerie circles) but the music is soothing and at times uplifting. I’ve been working all day with it playing and I had a pretty productive day.
So, what’s your favorite Internet (out-of-town broadcast stations available via webcast count too) radio station?
My Soundtrack: Greatest Hits: 1974-76 by The Steve Miller Band.
23 April 2005
HEADSPACE…
0447 by Jeff HessIn My Backpack… Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir In Books by Azar Nafisi; In My Car… Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison; On My Nightstand… This Is Centerville by John Buchan; On My Computer… Sonnet 144 (Two loves I have, of comfort and despair) by William Shakespeare; On My Screen… Statement (*) directed by Norman Jewison, written by Ronald Harwood and Brian Moore.
My Soundtrack: Tigerlily by Natalie Merchant.
22 April 2005
FOETS AND FOETRY…
0918 by Jeff Hess
When I was a magazine editor, I was alway reluctant to submit articles or issues to the annual American Society of Business Publication Editors competition because I felt that any contest I had to pay to enter just felt wrong. But the company culture demanded it (and the publisher picked up the tab), so I would send in a handful of entries.
I’ve never entered any contests as an independent writer, however, and I read this morning via Sherry Chandler that poets over the past year have been all atwitter over a snarkwar between foetry.com and a number of poetry contest judges accused of sucking in fees so that they could publish their friends.
The New York Times appears to have jumped the gun yesterday with its Surrender in the Battle of Poetry Web Sites. Replies outed foetry foe Alan Cordle:
It’s the biased and poorly researched article in the New York Times declaring a surrender. Reminds me of the Wicked Witch of the West flying through the sky, “Surrender Foetry.” You can thank Foets, Janet Holmes who has threatened me with legal action, and Jorie Graham, who said that I lied. Well, Foets, the site’s back up and I stand behind the information here.
And, of course, there’s an anti-blog blog and a whole bunch of ancillary blogs wrapped up in this.
Gives a whole meaning to slam poetry, doesn’t it?
My Soundtrack: Clan – A Celtic Journey collected by Medwyn Goodall.
22 April 2005
SUBVERSIVE BUMPER STICKER OF THE DAY…
0842 by Jeff Hess
22 April 2005
ON THE ROAD AGAIN, FINALLY…
0754 by Jeff Hess
Claire and Chuck are on the road. In the initial post of their 9th cross-country trek, Claire writes: This year we will begin by retracing the Santa Fe Trail. At times we’ll take alternate alignments of the trail. We also will search out sites along the trail that we missed last year. The trail begins east of Independence, MO (a suburb of Kansas City), and ends in Taos, NM.
If you want to follow their exploits in the Kram-A-Lot Inn, send an email request to:
mckr3441 at earthlink dot net.
As I said in my first post, A Chance Meeting In A Coffee House, Claire is a little security skittish, so she uses Earthlink’s anti-spam system and has passworded the site itself, but has told me that she’d love to have people reading about the trip.
Once she sends you the password, you’ll be able to find the login here.
My Soundtrack: Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf
22 April 2005
HEADSPACE…
0454 by Jeff HessIn My Backpack… Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir In Books by Azar Nafisi; On My Nightstand… This Is Centerville by John Buchan; On My Computer… Nostos by Louise Glück; On My Screen… Statement (*) directed by Norman Jewison, written by Ronald Harwood and Brian Moore.
My Soundtrack: Right Now by Lisa McCormick.
21 April 2005
MAZEL TOV…!
1014 by Jeff Hess
Will Kessel’s Collision Bend is one today. Last night at the Cleveland Blogger Meet-Up we raised our glasses in a toast to Will. But we all need to encourage each other’s successes so please make a point of stopping by and wishing him well on having reached this milestone.
And Will? In line with our conversation last night:
She-he-chya-nu ve-ki-ya-ma-nu ve-hi-gi-a-nu laz-man-ha-zeh.
My Soundtrack: Liverpool Oratorio by Paul McCartney.
21 April 2005
THEY HAVE A WINNER…!
0929 by Jeff Hess
The folks at Democracy for America held a contest recently to pick a billboard slogan to be posted in House Majority Leader Tom Delay’s (R-Texas) home district around Houston, Texas. DFA announced the winning slogan, above, this morning.
But here’s the thing. If I were a betting man – and I stopped betting after I was discharged from the Navy back in 1980 – I’d bet that a year from this November, Tom Delay will not only still be House Majority leader, but he will have won re-election.
Why? Because I think Delay is a distraction. I think there are other things going on in Washington and the Neo/Theocons are letting Delay take the heat right now so that they can get other ducks lined up.
Consider how many Republican house leaders have gone down in flames in recent history and then consider how much things changed. This is all about we can do exactly what we want and you can’t stop us.
When god is on your side, you don’t have to worry about the other people.
My Soundtrack: Back In The USA by Paul McCartney.
21 April 2005
SUBVERSIVE BUMPER STICKER OF THE DAY…
0908 by Jeff Hess
21 April 2005
OUR FAIR CITY…
0724 by Jeff Hess
Once you get past the Evil-Elf-Posing-As-Catherine-Tramell on the cover of this week’s Time magazine, there’s a good piece about The 5 Best Big-City Mayors, (and the three worst). And guess what? Cleveland doesn’t appear on either list. We can be disappointed by the first and breathe a sigh of relief that we’re not Detroit, San Diego or Philadelphia.
Two paragraphs leapt out at me as I was reading this morning. The first appears in the general introduction:
It is tempting to judge our mayors for the little things that make city life livable, the depth of the potholes, the smell of the streets, whether or not the traffic lights are in synch. But the best mayors have also been those who act on a grand scale, building bridges, saving schools, finding the funds that cities forever lack.
The second is about and from Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago:
Since Daley took over the school system in 1995, he has brought graduation rates up from 51% to 54%, but he’s not stopping there. Last year he launched a reform plan in which old, failing schools are to be replaced with new ones that have more autonomy over their curriculums. So far Daley has $24 million in private commitments to fund the program. The best way to minimize crime and poverty in a city, Daley believes, is to keep the middle class from fleeing to the suburbs. “Education is the complete answer to all these other social issues,” he says. “The key for all cities is whether you turn public schools around.”
$24 million from private commitments. Think about that and then compare it to the $250,000 that came from the Cleveland Indians Charities. That was enough to get front-page coverage in the Plain Dealer, yet, as Roldo Bartimole ever adroitly points out, $250,000 is pocket change compared to the nearly $3,000,000 the Cleveland schools lose every year because the Indians are exempt from paying property taxes. Forever.
Will our next mayor make the list?
My Soundtrack: Heavier Things by John Mayer
21 April 2005
HEADSPACE…
0651 by Jeff HessIn My Backpack… Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir In Books by Azar Nafisi; On My Nightstand… This Is Centerville by John Buchan; On My Computer… Reconciliation by Walt Whitman; On My Screen… Statement (*) directed by Norman Jewison, written by Ronald Harwood and Brian Moore.
My Soundtrack: Legend by Bob Marley.
20 April 2005
TWO MORE WOMEN NEO BLOGGERS…
2107 by Jeff Hess
Thanks to Adam Harvey at Organic Mechanic, here are two more female bloggers in our backyard. The first is Lyndsey at Scrumbling. Be sure to check out this photo. Padding is for sissies. The second is the mysterious M at The Best In Me/The Beast In Me. She’s taking the tattoo plunge. Do we get to see it? Maybe. But the wine-stain birthmark? I’m not holding my breath.
My Soundtrack: Trumpet Concertos by Wynton Marsalis.
