Looking out my window...

Mother's Day Video for 2012

 

I just received an email from a dear friend.  Attached, is what I think wins the 2012 Award for Birder Videos. It seems, to me, to be the best video a mother could watch on Mother's Day.

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers I know and love. Even the feathered ones.

One day a Robin made a nest in a hanging plant. The owner of the plant moved it to a tree and taped it for all to enjoy."

 

 

"Robins: 4 Eggs, 4 Weeks"   

 

 

 

 

Egypt Looked To Us and We In Turn Looked Back: Occupy Wall Street

I actually saw this on Bill Maher's show on Friday. I was very impressed and fell in love with Alan Grayson immediately. A friend of mine on facebook ("facebook friend" does not do justice to our connection even tho we virtually met on facebook) sent the following to me and I learned to share a long time ago:

 

While on Real Time with Bill Maher former congressman, and future 2012 House candidate, Alan Grayson explained to the panel the 1% what Occupy Wall Street is all about.

Here is the video:

 

 

The latest edition of Real Time featured one of Bill Maher’s patented balance things out with three Republicans and a Democrat panels, but the Democrat was Alan Grayson. While P.J. fellow panelist P.J. O’Rourke broke out his bathing and hippie jokes, former Rep. Grayson schooled him on Occupy Wall Street.

O’Rourke claimed that the Occupy Wall Street people flunked econ, and Grayson said, “No, listen Bill, I have no trouble understanding what they are talking about.” O’Rourke asked Grayson, “You passed econ?” Grayson answered, “I was an economist for more than three years, so I think so…Now let me tell you about what they’re talking about. They’re complaining that Wall Street wrecked the economy three years ago and nobody’s held responsible for that. Not a single person’s been indicted or convicted for destroying twenty percent of our national net worth accumulated over two centuries. They’re upset about the fact that Wall Street has iron control over the economic policies of this country, and that one party is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wall Street, and the other party caters to them as well.”

O’Rourke joked that Occupy Wall Street has found their spokesman, then Grayson continued, “Listen, if I am spokesman for all the people who think that we should not have 24 million people in this country who can’t find a full time job, that we should not have 50 million people in this country who can’t see a doctor when they’re sick, that we should’t have 47 million people in this country who need government help to feed themselves, and we should’t have 15 million families who owe more on their mortgage than the value of their home, okay, I’ll be that spokesman.”

Alan Grayson demonstrated why all the media complaint’s about the unclear message behind Occupy Wall Street is nonsense. It took former Rep. Grayson 37 seconds to explain what Occupy Wall Street is about. He almost delivered the perfect 30 second sound bite, but he ran a tiny bit over. It isn’t that the one percent and the Republicans who support them can’t understand Occupy Wall Street. It’s that they don’t want to. The message isn’t complicated.

The right has been trying to play on the fears of some who support Occupy Wall Street by claiming that the left is hijacking the movement, but the support and media sophistication of people like Alan Grayson and Bernie Sanders can only help these protests grow. Grayson demonstrated the value of having someone speak on the movement’s behalf that understands and is comfortable with television.

The right and many in the media will continue to make jokes and play dumb, but while they are laughing it up, a movement is growing. They may intentionally not understand the message of Occupy Wall Street, but millions of Americans do, and these people want their democracy back.

 

I've noticed lately that many progressive pundits have been ranting and raving the old movie line "I'm mad as hell, and I won't take it anymore!" And, they each have their own soap box topic: Republicans ridding the American workforce of Labor Unions, laying off tons of government workers, the rich not paying any taxes... all worthy of their ire.

But, the "Occupy Wall Street" (OWLS?) people have hit the whole problem on the head. If you are unable to support them with your presence, please support them with your voice or any other way you can.

We are mad as hell but, we know why and we know who the recipients of our wrath are.

Conversations Between Man and Dog Part 1

In between all the political stuff (my vocabulary is vast), I came upon a great video today. This is something I could play many times. I don't see any editing on the dog. Good job! Wanna treat?

  

Hope you enjoyed. Even if you aren't a dog or pet fan.

 

 

Understanding Unions in America

 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 I am not an historian. In fact, when in college and taking History I decided I’d rather learn how to play pool at the Student Union. So most of my classes were spent learning the finer techniques of handling a pool cue stick.

Part of my difficulty with history is the date stuff. I’ve never been good at dates. But, truth be known, even with the few classes I actually attended, in addition to reading the text book, I did come away with a “feel” for what had happened and why. So, with transparency noted, I will continue with the current subject matter: Unions.

Much like women fighting for the right to vote, people fighting for unions had a hard, long journey that included their physical injury and death. What could they have wanted that the “business” owners didn’t want?

They wanted living wages. They wanted to get rid of the “company stores” where they had to spend what little earnings they had. They wanted not to work 16 hours a day or longer. They wanted their children in school and not out in the fields or in locked urban factories. They wanted safe working conditions so they wouldn’t lose a hand or leg, or their life. They wanted health care where there was none. They wanted a day off. Vacations came later. They wanted to be treated fairly and respected for the work they did. They wanted a chance to advance and make more money.

Their struggle resulted in Federal work laws that companies had to follow. Regulations increased after the Civil Rights movement to ensure all people regardless of race would be treated fairly. Even today, women are still fighting for equal pay and promotion.

All this was necessary because the people who owned and operated business (in general, there are always exceptions) wanted to make as much money as possible without regard to the people working for them. And that is still true today. I know from experience.

When I started working for a living I started as an hourly employee. I worked 40 hours a week, 5 days or more a week. No overtime. One half hour for lunch. One week vacation until I had been working for the same company for 10 years. Then it went up to 2 weeks. I believe there were 3 paid holidays. There was a minimum wage in effect and that’s what I got paid - $3.25 per hour.

Over the years the jobs I had went from 40 to 37^1/2  hours per week. Ten paid sick days, but if you took them you could be disciplined. And, then one wonderful day I was made a “middle manager” responsible for a department with 6 to 10 staff for 17 years. Yes, I received a raise. Yes, I got more vacation time. But, I also worked over 40 hours a week at times and did not get paid for it.

And then one year, a Union came to try and get our Nurses to join. It was a difficult time for me, since I “as Management” was not Union eligible and worse yet, was educated by Administration on how to legally discourage staff from voting for the Union. Everything about it made me sick to my stomach.

WISCONSIN UNIONS DEMONSTRATION

What I learned during that time: it was the Unions that had given me at least a minimum wage, vacation days, shorter hours, better working conditions, health insurance, more holidays and sick days. Unions had fought for those benefits and I was the recipient of those benefits – even though I never belonged to a union. Why was that?

To keep Unions from organizing at their companies, businesses bribed employees with benefits similar to the Unions. In many cases the bribes worked.

This is why the pundits analyzing the current situation are wrong when they say non-union workers don’t like union workers.

We know that the salary and benefits we non-union workers have are the direct result of the bargaining Unions have with their companies.

We also know that our future benefits depend on future Union negotiations. And, if those are taken away, leaving the Unions “busted,” companies will start taking benefits away. It is those benefits that created and sustained a new middle class. Without them the middle class will disappear. And, the owners who today get millions in bonuses will get even more millions. All at the expense of the workers.

The Governor of Wisconsin says he has to do this because of the budget deficit. I say bull hockey! Because prior to trying to pass the bill regarding Unions, he passed a bill giving businesses billions of dollars in tax credits.

Sorry Gov, you can’t do both. Not ethically, at any rate.

Solidarity Forever!

Playing For Change: Egypt And The World

 

Please enjoy all the music. And listen with your heart.

Egypt and the other countries trying to find both democratic freedom and religious freedom need to hear this. If you know someone experiencing the changes that are happening world wide, including the USA, please forward this music and its message.

Thank you.
And Peace for All,

Sharon

Time Marches On...@ The Speed of The Internet

This is for everyone who 1) is not a computer nerd or, 2) is one of my grandchildren (the oldest is currently 17):

 I found the above video on Roger Ebert's Twitter. Thank you Roger.

 

"Remember when" has a whole new meaning these days. "Back in the day" use to mean, oh, maybe a generation ago. Okay, the above video is only 17 years old. And, these are not "hill people" but savvy New York journalists.

Guess what? Time is moving even faster now. It's kinda like living in a time machine...only you can't go backward...yet. 

Wintering Birds At Feeders - Live Action (Sorta)

 

The camera I have is by no means a professional one. But, gee whiz, want more could I ask for? Plenty, if I thought about it. However, the more a camera does, the more complicated it gets. I imagine this is true for all our electronic gadgets. The thing is, I love my camera. It has 10x zoom... my old one was 3x... so it allows me to get fairly close to the birds even though I'm inside my house behind a window. And, as you can see from the above, the same camera does videos, too.

When I was working the last 10 years that was called "multitasking". And, that is how employers expected their staff to perform.

I think if you watch the birds closely, you'll see them multitasking, too. Waiting in line. Looking for food. Eating food. Juggling for status. Looking out for predators. Warming up in the sun. And other bird type things.

Some things are easier than others to multitask. Sitting on the toilet and brushing your teeth at the same time might prove to be awkward, but not risky. Driving and texting, on the other hand, can be fatal. Frankly, I don't recommend either.

Paying attention to the details is great. My Virgo self was an expert at that. But, watch out. You never know. While you're taking care of details, you could be taken down by a hawk, a car, or in my case, a layoff.

Be aware of the "forest" at all times! 

Twas A Time When I...

I started to tweet on twitter when I discovered that my hero Roger Ebert is a tweeter extraordinaire. Well, actually, I "read" twitter. And I still basically "read" twitter as I follow several people that I enjoy. Some people are just so clever, smart, talented, meaningful, snarky, funny, sad, neurotic but lovable...well you get my drift. You can throw me into any of those categories or make up your own category for me. I do tweet, but limited to a comment, mostly, here and there. Unless I'm mad about something!

The video below was tweeted by Roger. He always gives his best. I'd never heard of this group, but I may be culturally deprived. It does that thing I like so much...quietly...very slowly....drawing you...in...until you... say..."Oh!".

I hope you enjoy.

 

I once played the ukulele. Started with the little one and eventually went to the alto (slightly larger and deeper). I also played the guitar. My dad basically taught me how to play folk songs and such. I played and sang almost 200 folk songs by heart. I even took classical guitar lessons for a couple of months. I was branching out from playing classical piano. I really enjoyed my music. I could play and I could sing. Now I try to sing something and my voice goes all wobbly. After eight years of  piano lessons, even a semester in college, I basically just stopped. I couldn't play the guitar now, my hands wouldn't work.

Looking back, there were so many different things I've done in my life. Some intensely done. Some not. But after stopping one thing, something else will take its place. Not on purpose, you understand, but it just happens. I come from a talented family and I probably couldn't live long enough to "let out" all those talents. But, they are there waiting.

Waiting for me to discover them...do them...and move on. 

Happy "Holiday Season" Greetings to My All Friends, Family and Fans!

Whatever your Holiday of choice: I wish you love, warmth, and joy.

I may have taken liberties with the word "fans" in my heading. You, in fact, may not be a fan of my blog. That's okay. Just as long as you are reading it.

There are some things in life that just tickle me. Not my fancy, mind you, just me. Something makes me smile and feel all gooey inside. Some places just naturally have that effect on people. Pet Stores and Flower Shops come to mind. If you watch the people coming out of those places you'll probably see a smile on their face. Check your own face when leaving such hot spots.

For the last few years a phenomenon has been taking place that provides the same type of feelings. It's called by various names but probably the most familiar is "Flash Mobs."

Flash Mobs are productions set up in a large public place (train stations are great for them). The hundred or more participants have trained and rehearsed their performances. The venue is well aware of the upcoming event. The best of them surprise the "real" crowd. Look at their faces: bewildered, smiling, and mouth agape.

I would so love to be somewhere when a  good "Flash Mob" takes place. Not too likely though, since I'm usually home looking out my windows. But, by looking out my computer window I feel drawn into them. As if I were really there. I feel I'm a part of it all. And so, I recommend them to you. Especially those who aren't so much "out" siders as "in" siders (you know who you are).

So, here is my Holiday Gift to you and you and you and...

Enjoy!

 

    

Dance As If No One Is Watching!

If you were to ask me what my favorite thing to do is...I would say DANCING!

Probably very few of you have seen me dance. Matter of fact, I really can't dance anymore. That is to say, I can't dance physically anymore. But, believe you me, I do dance and often. It's just that no one sees me.

I just close my eyes and dance my booty off!

Thanks to my friend Pat for sending this my way.