Motley Moose – Archive

Interrogatories

As the nights warm up (well, for some of us), and windows are cracked open, all the outside sounds of night and morning come in (doing battle with the indoor sounds). What night and early morning sounds, natural or otherwise, keep you awake and cause annoyance? What sounds please you and help you to relax and fall asleep? If you could take your family on a time travel vacation, where and when  would you go (remember, it should be fun for the whole family)?  What kind of empanada would you like to have for National Empanada day?

The Twitter Emitter

Louie Gohmert’s fear that gay marriage will lead to bestiality may explain why he also fears evolution, which means ALL sex is bestiality.

— Top Conservative Cat (@TeaPartyCat) April 6, 2013

The Tea Party: God’s judgment on us for teaching our parents how to use the Internet.

— kara vallow (@teenagesleuth) April 6, 2013

Sarah Palin keynoted the Terri Schiavo gala last night to prove that a persistent vegetative state is no hindrance to a life of grifting.

— TBogg (@tbogg) April 6, 2013

So local sheriffs talk tough about fighting the federal government over guns, but can’t kowtow low enough to the banks?

— David Waldman (@KagroX) April 7, 2013

Some very rich people used their money to violate the law, and Republicans are demanding an investigation. Oh, they’re black.

— David Waldman (@KagroX) April 7, 2013

Majority of Americans now support legalization of pot in the hope it might mellow out all those people who own 3,000 guns

— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) April 8, 2013

Mad Men and Game of Thrones. Two societies unprepared for what’s coming for them from beyond their walls.

— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) April 8, 2013

The criminal’s idea of freedom means no consequences for greed and cruelty. Same as the right wing.

— Chris Dashiell (@cdashiell) April 8, 2013

#YouMightBeARepublican if you ship jobs overseas to slave factories & then condemn Americans who are on on welfare b/c they can’t find jobs.

— RC deWinter (@RCdeWinter) April 8, 2013

Why are conservatives so worried about North Korea’s nuclear weapons? After all, nukes don’t kill people. People kill people.

— Jason Febery (@JasonFebery) April 8, 2013

Good morning Motley Meese! Hope your weekend was lovely. Remember to let your peeps know where you are!

Here’s today’s Motley Monday Shot of the Week, taken at Yellowstone National Park in 2010

Photo credit: Margaret Bourke

Jan F and others and I are bringing you mooselings the news, whether you like it or not!  

I tend to look at newspapers’ web sites around the world and country.  Use links from my twitter feed sometimes.  Lots of twitter tonight.

20 Photos That Change The Holocaust Narrative

PopChassid.com, h/t to Little Green Footballs

Victims. Helpless. Downtrodden.

That’s the narrative that’s been spread about Jews for the last 70 years since the Holocaust. We’ve embraced it to our detriment. We can’t seem to address antisemitism without running to the world and screaming that we’re being persecuted, rather than standing up strongly in defiance, aware of our own inner strength.

The Holocaust has scarred us, a yetzer hara (sneaky bastard of a voice in our heads), that keeps trying to tell us how we are defined by our past, controlled by events that happened to us, instead of using those moments as points of growth.

One of three posters produced by Batchelor Press/Batchelor Institute to commemorate the day Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to the stolen generation (13th February 2008)

On May 26th, each year since 1998, people in Australia come together for National Sorry Day events, and on February 13th to commemorate the National Apology to the Stolen Generations of Indigenous Australians given by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on behalf of the government and the nation.  

(Cross posted from Kosability.)

Most days I can force myself to ignore my arthritis. The problem is that arthritis doesn’t like being ignored. I’ll take aspirin or ibuprofen during the day and before going to bed. Usually I can count on at least a couple hours of sleep before I wake up again. On bad nights I will wake up and the joints feel like they are going to burst into flames. After a bad night I can guarantee that the next day I’ll barely be able to move because of the pain. “Arthur” and I have a definite adversarial relationship.  I refuse to be slowed down completely and it refuses to be ignored. This is the story of our battle.

Two years ago, I was directed by a friend to watch a Ted Talk video about a online choir project. It really impressed me for two reasons. First, it was beautiful to the ear and touching to the heart. Second, it took advantage of the world wide reach of technology connecting people in a very creative way. This was such a cool idea. The linking of people all over the world by a common direct thread was a stroke of genius. People want to be part of something bigger than they are. They want to belong, to connect, to converse, and to feel like they are contributing something worthwhile.

I offer you this video by Eric Whitacre who explains his project and how it grew. It is about 14 min but well worth watching.

After the success of Virtual Choirs 1 and 2, Eric went ahead with Virtual Choir 3 “Water Night”. The project received 3746 videos from 73 countries around the world and launched on April 2, 2012 at a live event at Lincoln Center.

He is now working to organize Virtual Choir 4. Fund raising was completed January 31, 2013. In all, 1938 backers pledged $122,555 toward the project. The debut of VC4 will be at the Coronation Concerts in July at Buckingham Palace.

I think this is an incredible project. It connects people world wide in something of beauty and peace. It gives them the opportunity to share some of their talent. Please consider sharing this story with your friends.

(Cross Posted from Street Prophets.)

Welcome to Sunday All Day Brunch. This is an open topic thread so help yourself to the goodies and sit a spell and let us know what is on your mind. One of the most enduring legends is the one about King Arthur and Merlin the Magician. One of my favorite takes on the story is by Mary Stewart with her series of books starting with The Crystal Cave. I have used her books and other sources in doing artwork.

  Make sure you let your peeps know where to find you!  

Astronomy has always been an important part of my life. Growing up on a farm gave me many nights of fantastically good views of the stars, planets, and the Milky Way. I remember paying attention to the IGY (International Geophysical Year) in 1957-1958 when I was 10. It was especially exciting to see Sputnik go over and pass through the constellations.

Walt Disney teamed up with Werner Von Braun to produce a 3 part series about space flight in the mid-50s. They were Man in Space, Man and the Moon, and Mars and Beyond. I loved those shows. They fueled my imagination. Multi-staged rockets, lunar landscapes, and Martian myths and legends planted the seeds of the possibility that alien life existed on some worlds out there in space.

Imaginations have been fueled for thousands of years. I offer you this famous space pootie, Leo. But, the life I am imagining is real.

There is more to this story.

From the White House – Weekly Address

President Obama used his weekly address to tell the American people about the Budget he is sending to Congress this week, which makes the tough choices required to grow our economy and shrink our deficits.  The President’s Budget calls for a balanced approach to deficit reduction, including reforms that strengthen Medicare for future generations and tax reform that closes wasteful loopholes, so we can afford the investments required to grow grow the economy, create new jobs, and reignite the engine of our economic growth: a rising, thriving middle class.