Give Me Strength To Climb and Hills for Climbing

For L.C.,

Eighty-two years old; still climbing.

Never loved your plains, your gentle valleys
Your drowzy country lanes or pleached alleys
I want my hills, the trail that scorns the hollow
Up, up the ragged trail where few will follow

Up over wooded crest and mossy boulder
Strong thigh and heaving chest and swinging shoulder
So let me hold my way, by nothing daunted
Until at close of day, I stand exalted

High on my hills of dreams, dear hills that know me
And then how fair will seem, the lands below me
How pure at twilight time, the far bells chiming
Gods give me strength to climb and hills for climbing.

Thank you for that wonderful feast with friends, for all the great stories, and for the pleasure of your company.

Love,

Sia

words, Arthur Guiterman, music: Pete Sutherland
CD "Nightingale Three" by Nightingale)

Art: Green Woman East (Wisdom) by Joanna Uribes

This American Life: Music

This one goes out to those among us who were in their high school band, orchestra or choral group. You know who you are....

Last Sunday, This American Life put on one of the best programs I've ever heard them give. Called Music, it featured three radio essays by authors David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell and Anne Lamott. Sarah's essay - where she tells us all the things she learned that had nothing to do with music - was my favorite.

Listen.....

Sia

Endnotes:

(1) A music critic who writes both comedy and history, Sarah is also the author of Assissination Vacation and The Wordy Shipmates. She is also well known as the voice of Violet Parr in the brilliant animated film, The Incredibles.

Here is video of Sarah on The Daily Show, talking about her new book on what she calls "those elitist Puritan Jesus Freaks". It's very funny - enjoy.

More Links:

Just cause - Elizabethan & Tudor Music

Image: from Strange Guitars

Investing Like a Girl

Hah! ... thought so: successful businessman Warren Buffet invests like a girl.

The article, written for The Motley Fool by LouAnn DiCosmo, notes that

Women tend to look at more than just numbers when deciding whether to invest in a company. They invest in companies they feel good about ethically and personally. And companies with good products, good services, and ethics tend to have better long-term prospects -- and face fewer lawsuits.

It's a good article on prosperity-minded people and their path to abundance - enjoy.

The time to be fearful is when others are being greedy.

The time to be greedy is when others are being fearful
- Warren Buffet

Doing Well by Doing Good OR
Making The Green From Green:

What is Buffett doing now? When he's not investing billions into Goldman Sachs, he's putting millions into as yet, unproven green technologies....in China.

But what about investments this country? A study commissioned by the nation's mayors states that 4.2 million new green jobs will be created in this country within the next three decades.

... it assumes by 2038 alternative energy will account for 40 percent of electricity production with half of that coming from wind and solar; widespread retrofitting of buildings to achieve a 35 percent reduction in electricity use; and 30 percent of motor fuels coming from ethanol or biodiesel.

Alternative energy such as wind, geothermal, biomass and solar, currently accounts for less than 3 percent of electricity generation and nonfossil sources such as ethanol and biodiesel about 5 percent of all motor fuels, the report notes.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, the conference's president, said the report makes "a very compelling economic argument for investing in the green economy and that we're going to get a huge return for it."

Looking ahead, planning for the future, taking people and the planet into account. Now that's investing like a girl; something to keep in mind when happy times are here again.

Here's to better times ahead.

Sia

Image: Crystal Ball Girl found at Gastro Girl
Does anyone know the artist? I've been seeing this image around the net and have yet to trace it - Sia

Otter Reaches the Farne Islands: Researchers Thrilled, Puffins Appalled

The BBC reports that:

T

An otter has survived a "perilous" three-mile sea crossing to the Farne Islands for the first time, the National Trust has said.

The animal, more commonly found in rivers, has swum from the coast of Northumberland despite rough seas.

Head warden David Steel said he was stunned to find 60 yards of otter tracks on Brownsman Island, which is famed for its bird colonies.

The mammal has not yet been sighted, but it is thought to be still there.

Agitated behaviour by the island's gulls and puffins suggest the new predator has settled in.

Otters and Earthwise Shopping:

Looking for a unique gift this season? Then check out the shop at the International Otter fund website.

The Farn Islands Of Scotland:

The National Trust website offers a lot of information on the Farn Islands. Here is a taste:

• Once a place of pilgrimage for medieval monks, the Farne Islands are now a cherished destination for nature lovers from across the globe.
• The cliffs, stacks and grassy tops of this rocky group of islands come alive with sea birds between April and early August. Around 20 different species, as many as 100,000 birds in total, make their home here during the breeding season every year.

It has long been a dream of mine to explore the Farn Islands during birding season. I may not get there soon, but someday I'll see those Puffins for myself.

River Otter or Sea Otter?

The Whale and Dolphin Trust tells us that:

Although otters can often be seen feeding and playing in the sea around the British Isles these are not sea otters but are river otters which have become adapted to a much more marine life. These river otters, which live mostly in the sea are found mainly around the Hebrides and the north west coast of Scotland and are often mistaken for true sea otters (Enhydra lutris). However there are no sea otters in European waters. The otters found in the Hebrides still need to return to fresh water every day to wash the salt out of their fur. Their ears are projecting and cupped unlike the sea otters’ and they have sleeker fur. Their feet have obvious footpads and their back paws are only slightly webbed. The tail is long and pointed and they are very agile both in and out of the water.

Otters are extremely playful and can be seen feeding and playing in the kelp along the shore or in streams running out to sea especially in the morning and evening. They pair up and remain together in territories occupying about 3 kilometres of shoreline. Their young are born in holts near the shore or along river banks. Most litters comprise 2 or 3 cubs and although they are weaned after about 14 weeks they stay with their mother for 13 to 15 months.

Otters have a double coat of hair which they shed throughout the year rather than moulting in a short moulting period. They have very acute senses of sight, smell and hearing and usually detect the presence of any humans long before you get to see them. In order to observe otters it is important to remain at a distance and be quiet and still.

Flickr Photos: Click on their links to see more work by these photographers:

Sea Otter by Annelstre2 at Flickr

Gull and Farn Islands and by Magicker at Flickr

Farn Island Puffin by Ankehuber at Flickr

Can't get enough Puffins? Neither can I. Here is more info on the Famous Farn Island Puffins

Links:

International Otter Survival Fund

Otters in Scotland

Otters at the Various Sea Sanctuaries

The Goddess in the Iron Age

It is not that the divine is everywhere: it is that the divine is everything.

Joseph Campbell

Today I would like to share this article: Sacred Repositories and Goddess Figurines by Johanna Stuckey. It appears at the Matri-Focus. Please note: The is a speculative, not a scholarly magazine, and should be enjoyed as such. (1)

I would also recommend her article titled Ancient Grain Goddess of the Eastern Mediterranean

Enjoy,

Sia

(1) A scholarly or professional journal (as opposed to a magazine) contains articles that fit strict standards and are peer reviewed by other experts in the field prior to publication. The writers cite primary sources (essential when writing history), list extensive bibliographies and list their theories as such.

Photo: Iron Age Cult Stand courtesy of WitsEnd
A cult stands like this holds bowls of incense - Click on photo to see larger image.
This was part of an exhibit I attended with friends at the Legion of Honor Art Museum in San Francisco last summer. Photo used with permission of one of those friends.

Related Articles:

Bull Leaping in Bronze Age Crete by Marie Brennan

Using scholarly vs popular sources when writing.

Pets and People In Disasters: Notes on the California Wildfires

For those who are following this story, the BBC has some video updates about the California wildfires. Here is a list of Fire information, road closures, evacuation centers and animal shelters that are available for people being forced from their homes due to the wildfires.

Here are some tips from "When pets must evacuate" at latimes.com.

The LA Times reports:

In fire disasters, the issue of how to safeguard family pets, horses and other animals invariably arises. Below, Patrick Franks, 11, hugs his dog, Scamp, while taking a break from digging for salvageable items in the ruins of his family’s Yorba Linda home. “He’s the first thing I rescued,” said Patrick, recounting how his family evacuated as flames shot up the back side of their house.

Pet Connection states that:

Many times positive changes come out of the most trying of times. That is certainly true when it comes to animals in the post-Katrina era of disaster response. Authorities now know that helping people evacuate with their animals is a life-saver not only for animals but also for people. That’s because many people will not leave their animals behind.

Their website also offers a Pet Emergency Plan

Good luck,

Sia

Below, you will see some photos on animal rescue efforts by Humane Society. To see their videos from the scene go to the Humane Society Video website, and type in "wildfires + California"

Fire Season: The California Fire Season Is Now 12 Months Long

My thoughts today are with friends in California, those who have evacuated from the fires and those who might still have to do so. (1)

What's Been Lost:

It's funny how different people think about these things. I've been wondering how many horses got out, and another concern has been for the many cats and dogs that roam trailer parks like the ones that recently burned down. These animals that live in trailer parks are sometimes pets, sometimes feral and sometimes held, as t'wer, in common, and they are thought of last in such situations, if at all. (As far as we know, there has not yet been a loss of human life - fingers crossed). Meanwhile, a dear friend and art lover is mourning all of the art, antiques and old furniture that has been lost in the lovely homes that burned in Montecito. These, too, are irreplaceable.

As the famous Northern Exposure episode once asked, "What do you save, the cat or the Rembrandt?"

Why Are These Fires So Bad?

Some of the issues here involve building materials and defensible space. This "perfect firestorm" was also created by climate change, specifically, the famous Santa Anna winds which came in this year at hurricane force (something rarely seen during the 32 years I lived in that region but which are becoming more and more common) coupled with an on-going drought and insanely stupid housing developments that sit far too close to wild lands. All this means that worse fires could yet be on the way: Jeremy Jacquot writes:

Parched grasses, when combined with warmer temperatures and strong winds, make for ideal combustion material. Indeed, according to a study published in Science in 2006, the number of wildfires since 1986 has quadrupled, and the area of forest burned has sextupled (when compared to the period between 1970 and 1986) -- the direct result, the authors say, of a spate of longer, warmer summers. Using a data set of past wildfire occurrences in the western United States, they calculated that the length of the active fire season has lengthened by 78 days and that the average burn duration of major fires increased from about 7.5 to 37.1 days.

......Though the future risk of wildfires may fluctuate as a function of a region's moisture, terrain and fuel supply -- indeed, a recent study published in Climatic Change predicted that wildfires could become more frequent in Northern California and less frequent in Southern California because of their differing topography and hydrology -- the larger problem, many experts warn, is that more and more cities are abutting wildland areas. This makes it harder for fire departments to commit sufficient resources toward both protecting homes and combating fires, something that became immediately apparent this weekend. (Of course, it wouldn't hurt if the Governator actually implemented all those fire reforms from the 2003 fires he has touted.)

A UC Berkeley report released this past week estimated the combined effects of climate change -- sea level rise, wildfires and other extreme weather patterns -- could cost the state $300 million to $3.9 billion a year (a figure that seems fairly reasonable in the wake of last week's destruction); the authors believe $2.5 trillion in real estate assets could be at risk. Even if the costs of mitigation prove equally high, it is difficult to argue with the authors' argument that the worst thing we could do now is to not do anything about climate change.

Concerns About Chemicals

Right now there are concerns about the chemicals we use to fight fires and their effect on the environment. The NYT writes:

Retardant, whether released by small planes that sweep low through smoky canyons or by DC-10s in 12,000-gallon bursts, has become an increasingly common tool for fighting wildfires. Yet while many residents praise — and even demand — the use of retardant to protect their homes and neighborhoods, the potent mix of chemicals in the most common type can leave scars of its own, hurting watersheds and the fish and other animals that live in them.

Increasing concerns over retardant are prompting opposition to its use in certain situations and further stirring the debate in the West over how much is too much when it comes to fighting wildfires.

“It’s fairly well known that it’s toxic to aquatic organisms, to fish,” said Sue Husari, the fire management officer for the Pacific West region of the National Park Service. “In a lot of cases, we prefer to limit its use, but it’s definitely one of the tools we use.”

Getting the News:

The LA Times has some of the best coverage, while Mashable lists 10 Different Ways to follow this news, including updates from FEMA and local maps, while blogging English Don Mary Beard offers a personal account.

Sia

Further Information: Keeping Your Pet Safe: This comes from Portland Pets:

The AKC's tips for protecting you and your dog in case of fire:

• Be sure that your dog and other pets are part of an organized evacuation plan. Rehearse the plan with your family, including your dog.

• Have a dog disaster kit with: your dog's kibble and treats, water, vaccination records and medications, emergency contact information including your vet's number, a favorite toy and an extra leash and collar with your dog's identification.

• Listen to your dog! Canines have the ability to smell smoke before humans. If your dog is acting strangely, look into it and be prepared to gather your family and follow your evacuation plan.

• Being confined their pens is the #1 reason dogs perish in fires. Be sure your fire safety plan accounts for crated dogs.

• Research canine organizations in your area ahead of time, so you know where to board your dog in case of emergency.

• Consider installing a dog door leading outside so that an endangered dog has a chance to escape on its own.

• Increase your dog's chances of rescue by putting a sticker on your front door and windows on your fire escape reading, "DOG INSIDE. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, PLEASE RESCUE."

• When not at home, keep your dog on the ground floor (if you can) so it will be easier to rescue.

• Give a key to a trusted neighbor, and make sure they know where the dog might be located within the house, so they can inform firefighters.
  
• If your dog was in a smoke-filled building, or you smell smoke on its fur, take it to your veterinarian. Toxic fumes can be deadly.

• Microchip your dog and enroll in the AKC Companion Animal Recovery database (AKC-CAR). If your dog gets lost during a fire, a microchip will increase your chances of being reunited. For more information, visit www.akccar.org.

• Be sure to have working smoke detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms, and keep hallways and home exits free of clutter.

Alert firefighters about your dog.

A well-trained dog is also more likely to respond to commands, so that may be another good reason to keep working with your dog on his or her training.

Endnotes:

(1) I am also holding the firefighters in my heart, including the husband of one dear friend who was called out from his fire station in Northern California to help fight the fires in Southern California. She is home, taking care of children and waiting for news. Love you, L. & M Hang in there.

Additional Articles:

What Turns Fires Into Disasters?

Photo: from Treehugger.com

Green Tips for Thanksgiving & Presidential Puppy Watch

Today I would like to share some Green Tips for Thanksgiving from our friends at TreeHugger. These include directions on cooking a sustainable Thanksgiving dinner.





Presidential Puppy Watch:

Meanwhile, the Presidential Puppy Watch continues. Kudos to Michelle Obama and her family for deciding to choose a shelter dog. A lovely story in the LA Times notes that animal shelters around the country are grateful for the spotlight this has put on their work.

Can't Adopt? Why Not Foster?

Shelters around the country are full as more and more people loose their homes. If you can't adopt a pet, perhaps you could be a temporary foster parent to some needy cats and dogs? Share the love - it's a very rewarding thing to do.

Got Blankets?

Shelters also need: dog, cat and kitten food, toys, paper towels, old blankets, cloth towels, and old pet medications that you may have that are still viable.

Cats Like Turkey, Too, and These Cats are 50% Off Through November:

On a local note: The Cat Adoption Team's No Kill Cat Shelter in Sherwood, Oregon is full, and they are offering 50% off of all adoptions for both cats and kittens through November 30th.

Does Fluffy need fixing? They are also offering a low cost spay and neuter clinic through November 30th - Check it out.

Sia

Photo: As part of a campaign to stop puppy mills, then-Senator Barack Obama posed at the Lincoln Memorial with Baby, a poodle who survived a puppy mill but lost one of her legs from the ordeal. The image will appear in the upcoming book, "A Rare Breed of Love" by Jana Kohl.

The Big One: The Coming Quake OR How Good Is Your Infrastructure?

Today 5 million people in California will practice for The Big One.

No, not that one. Bigger. Much, much bigger....Are you ready? (1)

Sia

P.S. Here's a fun read: 5 Disasters Coming Soon

(1) This means you folks in the Pacific Northwest need to be ready, as well. A big one is due in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Can your bridges handle this?

Related Articles:

How to survive a disaster

That Old Time Pagan Passion (for money, that is)

A while back, the Pope condemned the "unbridled "pagan" passion for power, possessions and money" as a modern-day plague.

I had no idea. So this is our fault.

You bad, bad Pagans. How dare you make such a mess of things? No 401K for you. Seriously, Did I miss something? Were we in charge of the money these last 2,000 years?

What about the last 8?

Austin Cline writes:

Christianity has always had a schizophrenic relationship with wealth and power....Christianity's survival is due in large part to its union with the Roman Empire, a union which necessarily led to a close relationship with power, money, and wealth. Defense of the status quo was inevitable and became part of Christianity's very nature.

...This means that there is a strong impression of contradiction and hypocrisy when such a powerful, well-off organization presumes to not only tell others that they should stop loving wealth and power so much, but actually dares to describe such attitudes as "pagan." Love of wealth and power is human, not pagan, which means that it can be found in every religious, political, and economic system. Benedict's denunciation might as well have been of "Jewish" idols, but how would that have gone over?

Now I'm not saying we wouldn't screw it up if we had the chance. Greed is a human thing and Pagans - as a group - are just as greedy, feckless, gullible and short sighted as anyone else I know. But I also know the other kind of Pagan, the kind that, if they had Oprah money, wouldn't bother trying to become the great and powerful Oz but would give most (if not all) of it away to animal shelters, food banks and groups that help kids. (Silly, charity minded Pagans. No fancy robes or golden thrones for you!) If this monetary crisis teaches us anything, it is that handling money badly isn't limited to any one political party, religion, country or culture. We got here globally, as a group, and that's how we have to fix it.

On the fantasy side of things, wouldn't it be fun to see how Pagans would actually do if we had as much cash as some other groups we could name? As a lady once said:

All I want is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.

Sia

Related Articles:

Pagans and Money

Image: Vintage photo: Exotic dancer

Justice Done and Justice Denied: A Dance To Mother Kali

This video shows a lady named Pali Chandra, an exponent in the field of Kathak, one of the seven major classical dance forms from India. She is dancing a piece in praise of Goddess Kali. Kali is well-known throughout the Hindu community as the Mother of the universe and the destroyer of evil. I've been thinking about her a lot as I read both the national news and the news coming out of California.

This video shows a lady named Sister Charity telling us why Proposition 8 - the ban against gay marriage in California - cannot and will not stand:

The Arc of the moral universe is long,
but it bends towards justice.
Martin Luther King

My sorrow goes out to my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters who saw their rights take a step backwards even while our country, joyfully and gratefully, took a giant step forwards.

What part of "separate is not equal" do we as a nation not understand?

The chickens in California just got more consideration then gay couples. Sad. (1)

Keith Olbermann summed it up for a lot of straights-who-don't-hate last night. Watch that special comment - it's worth your time.




For the record, my husband and I both feel that our own marriage (performed and approved in California) is now less valid because our gay and lesbian friends can't marry. If you don't want certain people to marry in your temple, mission or church, then don't perform the ceremony. But don't expect a democratic nation to follow your example.

How dare we treat love - anyone's love - as unimportant.

Sia

Related Articles

Mormons face flak for backing Prop 8

Prop 8: gay marriage divides LDS faithful

Karma, Love and Cage Free Eggs

Endnotes:

(1) I'm trying to explain this to my friends who wonder how my progressive, beloved and former home state could have voted in this way. It helps to remember that California, for all of it's tolerance, freedom and vision, is the state that gave us both Richard Nixon and Ronald Regan. Yet even Gov. Schwarzenegger is now standing up and reminding us that the fight isn't over. People can evolve; well done, Arnold.

The many spontaneous demonstrations, the split in the LDS church (which heavily financed Prop 8) and the support for gay marriage among people who care about justice - not to mention the actions of the ACLU - shows us that, as well.

Obama Rising: Bruce Springsteen On the American Promise

Listen.....

Bruce Springsteen said this at an Obama rally in Philadelphia:

I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.

"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no health care, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities. The distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.

"I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years, we need someone to lead us in an American reclamation project.

You can read the rest at Springsteen's website. (1)

Bruuuoooooooooce!

Today, Obama rises, and so do we. (2)

Sia Vogel

Related Articles:

Rising Up With The Boss: Bruce Springs and the Politics of Meaning

Endnotes:

(1) I first saw and heard and was blown away by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on November 1st, 1975. I haven't liked every song he has ever written but I can say that he has never disappointed me, either as an artist, a personal hero, a contemporary or fellow citizen. If you want a rich example of an ethical, poetic, striving, searching, compassionate, hard working, visionary, American life, I recommend this gentleman.

(2) Our sympathies go out to Senator Obama and his family on the passing of his grandmother.

VOTE: The Suffragettes Speak

A friend sent this photo to me today. I call it The Suffragettes Speak, and it does indeed speak the thousands of words I'd like to say right now, so I'll limit myself to saying "Vote". (1)

Are you seeing voter fraud in your area? You can use Twitter to report this immediately.

Not worried? Think it's in the bag? Then you might wish to read Block the Vote by Robert Kennedy.

Goddess Bless America

Sia

Photo: The Suffragettes Speak - Creatrix unknown.

Endnotes:

(1) Click on the photo to snake the larger version. You are very welcome to take this and share it as you see fit.