MLK Memorial
Posted by Michelle Moquin on October 16th, 2011
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Good morning!
A long time coming has finally arrived.
Obama: ‘Keep climbing toward the promised land’
Tens of thousands of people have gathered on a beautiful fall day in Washington to witness the formal dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial that opened in August.
“As tough as times will be, I know we will overcome. I know there are better days ahead. I know this because of the man who towers over us,” President Obama says.
On Deadline will be live blogging the event.
Update at 12:16 p.m. ET: President Obama appears to choke up for a moment as he delivers the final words of his speech: “With our eyes on the horizon and our faith squarely placed in one another, let us keep striving, let us keep struggling, let us keep climbing toward the promised land of a nation and a world that is more just and more equal for every child of God.”
Update at 12:09 p.m.ET: Obama calls for more work to address poverty and unemployment and rundown schools. “Change has never been simple or without controversy, change depends on persistence, changed required determination,” he says.
Update at 12:07 p.m. ET: Obama tells the crowd to call on King for inspiration as they struggle with today’s challenges in education, health care and the economy. “Dr. King refused to accept what he called the “isness” of today. He kept pushing for the “oughtness” of tomorrow,” Obama says. “Let us not be trapped by what is. We can’t be discouraged by what is. We have to keep pushing for what ought to be. … If we maintain our faith in ourselves and the possibilities of this nation, there is no challenge that we can’t surmount.”
Update at 11:58 a.m.ET: The president recalled King’s “I Have a Dream” speech during the 1963 March on Washington, saying it spurred the process of civil rights change.”Without those glorious words, we might not have had the courage to come as far as we have,” he says. “Yes, laws changed, but hearts and mind changed as well.”
“Look at the faces here around you, you see an America that is more fair, and more free and more just than the one Dr. King addressed that day. We are right to savor that slow but certain progress.”
Update at 11:54 a.m. ET: He says King would be the first to say that the monument is for the many who fought for civil rights, including many in the crowd today. He calls it “a monument to your collective achievement.”
Update at 11:53 a.m. ET: Obama addresses the crowd at the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. “An earthquake and a hurricane may have delayed this day, but this is a day that will not be denied,” he says.
Update at 11:51 a.m. ET: President Obama addresses the crowd.
Update at 11:43 a.m. ET: Aretha Franklin sings a song that she says was often requested by King: Take My Hand, Precious Lord.
Update at 11:37 a.m. ET: Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are seated on the platform, as is Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. The president is being preceded by Ken Salazar, the secretary of the department of the Interior, which has overseen the construction of the King monument. He calls Obama “the personofication of that American dream.”
Update at 11:30 a.m. ET: Rev Bernice King, Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, accompanies President Obama as he views the memorial only minutes before he addresses the crowd. The president holds hands with his eldest daugher Malia, as they view the moment. First lady Michelle Obama is walking with their other daughter, Sasha.
Update at 11:14 a.m. ET: Rev. Al Sharpton says the marker is not a monument of old times past. “This is a marker for the fight for justice today and a projection for the fight for justice in the future because we will not stop until we get the equal justice justice (that) Dr. King fought for.” He also called for “economic justice” and the protection of programs like Medicare. “This is not about Obama, this is about our Mama, and we’re going to vote like we never voted before,” Sharpton says.
Update at 10:55 a.m. ET: Controversy about the memorial is being set aside. USA TODAY’s Melanie Eversley asked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, whose agency helped oversee the construction of the memorial, about the dust-up over the drum major quote, one of 14 inscribed on the memorial.
It says, “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.” Some, including poet Maya Angelou, say the paraphrase does not accurately reflect what King said and makes him look arrogant.
The actual quote, delivered in a sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church: “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”
Salazar has said he would revisit the inscription after the dedication. But Sunday, he declined to comment. Calling this “an inspirational day,” he said, “I’m not going to speak about that today.”
Update at 10:46 a.m. ET: USA TODAY’s New Jersey correspondent Alesha Williams Boyd was at the Martin Luther King Presbyterian Church in Neptune before 4 a.m. Sunday with more than 50 people waiting in the morning chill for a charter bus that would take them to the dedication ceremony. It was important for them to make the four-hour trek today, they said.
“I remember everybody stopping in the streets, people crying,” Elizabeth Jordan, 57, of Neptune, said of King’s assassination in 1968. “It was like a family member had died. I think that was when I first knew who he was.”
She now knows well King’s legacy as an advocate for peace, justice and equality for all, she said. “This is an historic moment,” Jordan said. “It’s something I never thought I’d see — the memorial, a black president. … The dream is finally coming alive.”
Update at 10:44 a.m. ET: ”Forty-five years after King delivered the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech not far from here, we are here doing something nobody ever believed would be possible,” say Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, as he arrived at the memorial site with a contingent of black lawmakers. “This is amazing.”
Update at 10:39 a.m. ET: Rev. Joseph Lowery, the 90-year-old co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, says King gave birth to a “new America.”
“This marvelous present is imperiled today by forces that have come to turn back the clock … But we want to make sure they understand that we have marched too far, prayed too hard, wept too bitterly, bled too profusely, and died too young to let anybody turn back the clock on our journey.”
Update at 10:28 a.m. ET: Rep. John Lewis, Democratic congressman from Georgia, notes that he is only person still living who spoke at the Lincoln Memorial for the “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963.
Had it not been for King’s philosophy of peace, nonviolence and his insistence that nonviolent resistance be based on “brotherly love,” Lewis says, “this would be a different nation; we would be living in a different place today. … But Martin Luther King Jr. must be looked upon as one of the founding fathers of the ‘New America.’
“One man not only freed a people, he liberated a nation,” says Lewis.
Lewis says he is repeatedly ask if the election of Obama as president is the fulfillment of King’s dream. He says he tells them, “it’s just a down payment, we’re not there yet.”
Update at 10:27 a.m. ET: King, Jackson says, would be sad that a “redemptive moment of historic proportions” that came with the election of Obama in 2008 “has been met with unrelenting retribution, retaliation and unprecedented opposition.” “Many seem willing just to sink the ship just to destroy the captain,” Jackson says.”We must do better than that.”
Update at 10:13 a.m.ET: The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was with King at the time of his assassination, is speaking.
Update at 10:12 a.m. ET: Former CBS anchor Dan Rather, speaking to the crowd, says King once spoke to him about news coverage of the civil rights movement, expressing concern that local affiliates in the South would put pressure on the network news organizations to tone down their coverage. Rather said that at the time he didn’t believe that would happen. “In retrospect, I can’t ignore that the CBS affiliate in Atlanta refused to carry some CBS news reports about the movement in 1962,” he says.”They censored them.”
Update at 10:08 a.m. ET: USA TODAY’s Hadley Malcolm, speaking to members of the audience, says Manuel Forsure, 22, just moved to D.C. from Austria two weeks ago to intern at the Austrian embassy. “It’s an exciting day,” he says, adding that he’s looking forward to hearing President Obama speak. “We learned about the civil rights movement in school. It’s not just in the U.S. That’s why it’s important.”
Fellow intern Barbara Posch, 31, says they were encouraged to come to the dedication by their boss. “She said it would be a great opportunity,” Posch says. “The speeches aren’t focused on America. It’s about a global movement about the discontent with the economy.”
Update at 9:55 a.m. ET: Martin Luther King III calls for an end of “conservative policies that exclude people. … We must finally get rid of racism.”
Update at 9:51 a.m. ET: King III praises the “occupy” economic movement that began on Wall Street, saying, “We must stand up for economic justice.”
GALLERY: Photos from the MLK ceremony
Update at 9:48 a.m. ET: Martin Luther King III, King’s son, says it is important “not to place too much emphasis on Martin Luther King the idol, and not enough on the ideals of Martin Luther King.” King, who was joined on the stage by wife, Arndrea, and daughter, Yolanda, said the nation needs a new dream that targets the triple evils — racism, poverty and militarism. “We can’t be free unless we are all free.”
Update at 9:42 a.m. ET: She notes that her father was actively involved in a poor people’s campaign when he died. She says she believes that he would be supportive now of protests by the poor and the unemployed. “I hear my father say: We must have a radical revolution of values and a reordering of our priorities in this nation. I hear my father say, as we dedicate this monument, we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society, to a person-oriented society.”
As we protest we must conduct ourselves on a higher plain of dignity, Bernice King said, invoking her father’s words and melodic delivery, USA TODAY’s Desair Brown reports. “We must pray together children or we will get weary … Free at last, free at last. Thank God we are free at last,” she concluded, to rousing applause and ovations.
Update at 9:39 a.m. ET: She also praises her mother, Coretta Scott King, for her work with King and, after his death, for continuing his legacy. Her work, says Bernice, helped make the “most hated man in America in 1967 to now be one of the most revered and loved men in the world so that we might be able to build a monument in his honor. Thank you, Mama, for your dedication, thank you for your sacrifice.”
Update at 9:36 a.m. ET: Rev. Bernice King” says the day “is not just a celebration for African-Americans, but Americans and citizens around the world. No doubt today the world celebrates with us.”
Update at 9:34 a.m. ET: Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., says, “It is a great time of celebration and the entire King family is proud to witness this day.”
Update at 9:32 a.m. ET: USA TODAY’s Carly Mallenbaum reports that spectators are looking for any sort of shade on the open lawn. Families sit in chairs with built-in canopies. Women sit beneath open umbrellas. One woman fans herself with an innovative device: A hand fan that turns into a straw hat.
Update at 9:29 a.m. ET: King’s sister, Christine King Farris, refers to Obama, the first African-American president, and says, “All dreams can come true and America is a place where you can make it happen.”
Update at 9:20 a.m. ET: Gray spends much of his speech noting that residents of Washington, D.C., do not, under the Constitution, have full voting rights. He calls on President Obama and Congress to end this “yoke of injustice” and “remove the shackles of oppression.” The voting restrictions were put in place when the District of Columbia was created. The district does not have a voting representative in Congress.
Update 9:17 a.m. ET: Mayor Vincent Gray of Washington, D.C., says the memorial is “long overdue.”
Update at 9:11 a.m. ET: Gwen Ifill, managing editor of PBS’Washington Week, addresses the crowd as master of ceremonies.
Original post: The striking weather is in sharp contast to the stormy weather driven by Hurricane Irene that forced a postponement of the ceremonies in August.
President Obama will be among those honoring the legacy of the civil rights leader during the four-hour program. Others who will appear include singer Aretha Franklin and poet Nikki Giovanni, who will read a poem, In the Spirit of Martin.
Thousands of people began gathering at dawn at the memorial, which is not far from the Lincoln Memorial. Organizers say they expect as many as 50,000 people to attend today, USA TODAY’s Melanie Eversley reports.
King’s sister and two of his children are scheduled to speak. The choir from King’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta will sing.
“Although our plans have been scaled back, I am confident Sunday’s event will be momentous,” said Harry Johnson, head of the foundation raising money for the memorial.
He referred to the dedication as a “long-awaited moment in our nation’s history.”
See photos of: Martin Luther King Jr.
*******
Readers: Were any of you at the memorial? I would love to hear. Blog me.
Zen Lill: Happy Birthday girl! I HOPE that you’re having a wonderful weekend celebrating!
Health Info: A most apropos entry.
AH: And it is delightful to have you back. Me and my readers have missed your entries. As always…wishing you and yours the best.
Wilma: So true and so well said.
Emily: Haha!
Rita: Thanks for saying what I would think is obvious, but evidently not to some, which I understand. But perhaps now my readers will heed your words, so that we can help protect Anonz so that he can continue to help protect others.
Nyika: I too HOPE that it doesn’t hurt Obama. I HOPE this is a warning to us all to be very careful when we post such things that could have huge ramifications. As we all know there are people who read this blog HOPEing to read what is not necessarily publicly known, that they can use to their advantage, that can be very damaging to president Obama, Anonz…
Fairuza: It is possible for you to leave. Just say the word. You too, Zhi.
HOWIE: Thanks for bringing this up. I have been reading and watching much of this over the weekend. And I am cheering them on. I have yet to participate but I want to. This is a global movement that has been a long time coming. I agree…we need to step on the gas and keep it going.
Peace & Love….
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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October 16th, 2011 at 11:45 am
“I Should Have Said…”
Perfect Retorts and Comebacks
Kathleen Reardon, PhD
University of Southern California Marshall School of Business
How many times have you been put on the spot in a conversation? Someone at a party makes an insulting comment or your boss speaks down to you?
In response, you either say the wrong thing, triggering an argument… or you say nothing and dwell on it the rest of the day.
Then suddenly it comes to you — I should have said… But of course, it’s too late to utter the perfect response.
I’ve spent two decades researching and consulting on how to communicate in difficult situations.
One of the most useful tools is a repertoire of comeback techniques that allows you to better handle confrontation, take control of how people treat you and make you feel more in charge of what happens to you in relationships and at work.
When a conversation grows tense or takes a bad turn, we often get overwhelmed by feelings and tend to fall into poor communication habits.
We typically get defensive or lash out. We can do better, but keep in mind that effective comebacks are not just snarky one-liners meant to put someone in his/her place.
They are strategic ways to help you keep your cool… elicit reciprocal civility from the person who went too far… and let you achieve your goals without being derailed by a poorly considered response. My secrets…
COMEBACKS FOR ROUTINE CONFLICTS
I use these to de-escalate tension in everyday conversations with family members, friends and colleagues…
Reframe the meaning of what the other person says.
How we choose to define what goes on in a conversation greatly affects how it goes.
The next time a person describes you or your actions negatively, revise what he said in a way that enables a more positive or favorable view to emerge.
Example: You make a proposal to your boss, and he says, “That’s one of the stupidest ideas I ever heard.”
You could accept his interpretation and rebuke him for his insensitive comment — “It’s smarter than anything you’ve come up with” — but that risks hurting your relationship and your career.
Better: Reinterpret the meaning of what he said. It wasn’t that your idea was so bad — just that you communicated it inadequately.
Say, “A lot of new, very good ideas seem stupid at first, so I’m not surprised at your reaction. Just hear me out, and we’ll see.”
Rephrase the other person’s words to make them more accurate.
Communication happens so fast that people just say what pops into their heads with little consideration. They often make poor word choices that stoke conflict.
Example: You are discussing a problem with your spouse, and she blurts out, “You are so stubborn.”
Instead of getting angry, you could say, “You’re right. I am persistent. That’s one of the reasons you married me. So let’s try to figure out this problem together.” Stubborn and persistent describe similar characteristics, but persistence is a much more admirable quality.
If you received the same criticism in an office environment, you might reply, “You got me there. I’m tenacious when an issue is as important as this”… or “I’d say all of us here are determined and headstrong because we want the best possible outcome.”
Use nonverbal gestures when people make thoughtless remarks. It gives them the opportunity to reflect on their errors or misjudgments.
Example: Your spouse comes home and says, “Why is the kitchen such a pigsty?”
You could reply that you’ve spent all day cooking for his relatives, but that comeback, while momentarily satisfying, will just produce a defensive response on his part (“I didn’t ask you to cook them such a fancy meal”).
Instead, respond to the initial insult with a gesture that suggests confusion or curiosity rather than anger and indignation.
Hold eye contact with him, and shake your head a bit as if hurt and puzzled.
By pausing and not replying verbally to the initial insult, it creates a void in which your spouse has to confront how petty and unreasonable his words just were.
Ask for clarification. Many times we are too quick to infer negative intentions before determining if any were intended, especially if we’ve had tension with a person in the past.
Example: You’re about to go out, and your spouse says, “You’re wearing a short-sleeved shirt?” You could assume that she’s being critical or controlling and respond with irritation.
However, she may be coming from a more loving place. She doesn’t want you to be uncomfortable if everyone else is dressed more formally.
My preferred comeback technique: Mention your tendency to leap to judgments, then ask for more information.
Say, “I get so defensive when I hear comments like that. What did you mean by it?”
COMEBACKS FOR INTENSE SITUATIONS
These are for when an argument is getting out of control or you are dealing with a particularly insensitive clod or a real bully…
Answer sarcastic questions as if they were factual inquiries or observations.
Sometimes people are looking to bicker or egg you on.
If that’s the case, it’s not worth the effort of trying to turn a negative situation into a positive one. Ignore their insults, avoid reacting to their implied criticisms and redirect the conversation toward a quick end.
Example: A person says, “Don’t tell me you’re still here?”… You say, “Okay, I won’t tell you that.”
Smile slightly when you respond so that you let the person know that you caught his sarcastic drift but chose to ignore it.
Tell the other person, “We’ve gotten into an URP.” This unusual comeback works best when you are stuck in an accelerating argument or standoff in which neither of you can see the way out.
Using the word “URP” is so silly and unexpected that it acts like a circuit breaker. The other person becomes too curious about it to keep fighting.
You can then explain to him, “A URP is an unwanted repetitive episode. I was reading about the patterns people tend to fall into when they argue.”
Suddenly, instead of being stuck in a frustrating argument, you have turned your attention to how you argue and the topic of effective comebacks.
This allows both of you to get some emotional distance from the immediate fight and see the bigger picture.
Retaliate.
On rare occasions, you want a great comeback that stings the other person.
This usually is reserved for when someone is grilling you relentlessly or demeaning you in public. In this case, you need to set the person straight.
The idea isn’t to issue a counterinsult that is even meaner or more derogatory, which may lead to an argument, but to make a bold, edgy comment that lets the other person know he has crossed a line.
Example: You are at a dinner party, and the person next to you says loud enough for all to hear, “How much money do you make?” Or “Have you had much work done on your face?”
My favorite comebacks…
“Since we’re obviously saying whatever crosses our minds tonight, I’d like to say how much I hate this topic.”
“I’m going to let what you just said season a bit before responding.”
For more general taunts, try these comebacks…
“You’re funny sometimes. Just not this time.”
“Fortunately for you, I’m speechless.”
Personal interviewed Kathleen Reardon, PhD, professor of management and organization at University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, Los Angeles.
She is coauthor, with Christopher Noblet, of Comebacks At Work: Using Conversation to Master Confrontation (HarperBusiness). http://www.ComeBacksAtWork.com
October 16th, 2011 at 11:49 am
The girlz from down under wish you a very Happy Birthday today Zen Lill
Shane, Abbie, Leslie, Maryanne
October 16th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Ditto AL, I wish I could “Fan” you. I couldn’t agree more. We women could use a few more forward thinking gents like you.
Kim
October 16th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
We are in 1887:
Bita and I were in San Francisco when we read this in a San Francisco News Paper Concerning the release of a Dr. J. Milton Bowers.
——————————–
After his conviction for first degree murder in 1886, and his associate John Dimming’s two trials, Dr. J. Milton Bowers has been freed from the San Francisco jail which has been his home since 1885.
In tHat year, his third wife Cecilia died. Cause? Abscess of the liver. Age? Twenty-nine. Previous medical history? Excellent. Related history? The doctor’s other wives both died suddenly and quite unexpectedly.
The insurance company dickered. Mrs. Bowers was exhumed. She died of phosphorus poisoning. The doctor was convicted in March 1886 at a trial in which his brother-in-law, Henry Benhayon, gave hostile evidence.
The following year, Henry Benhayon died of potassium cyanide poisoning. A suicide note left by him confessed that he had killed his sister.
Did the authorities release Dr. Bowers? They did not. The police investigated John Dimmig who had visited Bowers in his cell. A pharmacist identified Dimmig as the purchaser of some potassium cyanide.
Dimmig was tried for the murder of Henry Benhayson, but given the somewhat tangential circumstantial evidence, the jury found that they could not agree. He was acquitted.
So there is now no excuse for keeping Dr. Bowers locked up. Another man has confessed to the crime of which he had been convicted.
The doctor will walk free next year. But the police still believe he poisoned Henry Benhayon and Cecilia Bowers!
———————————
That was the story. Bita was so upset that she insisted that we go back in time and see just what happened. So we did.
===========================
It turned out just as the police suspected. Dinning(Dimmig was a misspelling) visited Dr. Bowers in his cell. The doctor wrote a prescription for the Potassium Cyanide and Dimming set out following Henry Benhayson and we followed him. Long story, short he did poison Henry Benhayson and forge a fake suicide note.
Joseph H. Kirk was the San Francisco Assistant District Attorney assigned to the prosecution of John A. Dinning for the murder of Henry Benhayson.
Bita wanted us to assist him in convicting Dinning but I told her we could turn him on to the pharmacist that would testify against Dinning but anything else would change history.
I told her that we could make sure they wouldn’t get away with it by making Bowers and Dinning’s lives miserable. So that is what we are about to do.
Oh we checked. Dr. Bowers killed the other two wives also. We are going to enjoy bringing them back to haunt him.
AH
October 16th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Happy Birthday Zen Lill. The men here in Chechnya love you too.
Kaz
October 16th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
A note to the criminals from Guam committing crimes in Hawaii or on the mainland.
We are part of the U.S. So if any of you think you can flee here to run away from charges you have been indicted for in the States, you are wrong.
Hafa Adai
October 16th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
A fourth grade class was asked to write an essay on the subject “My Pops is Tops because…”
These ones caught my favor.
================
We have such good fun with my daddy that I wisht I had knew him sooner.
He taked me fishin he taked me hunting, once he even taked me to the burlest show. It was wonderful.
He is a farmer. He smells like a cow and when I smell that cow in the house I know Pop is home and I am glad.
My Pop is tops because every time I ast him for a knickel he will start preeching that when he was a boy he had to earn his kenickls and at the same time he is puting his hand in his pocket and pulls out a kinckel sayin this is the last kinkel I have.
My Pop’s tops because he was a brave soldier. He didn’t see me until I was three years old yet he is just as good to me as if he knew me all my life.
October 16th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Michelle, Please take me and my cousin Bali.
October 16th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Maybe if Obama wins a second term he can ask his Attorney General to reopen the MLK murder so that we can all learn who really murdered him.
October 16th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
289
No. 289 of 365
Explode another liberal myth:
Mock the notion that Saladin was any less cruel or more civilized than his Christian opponents. Recall how he treated Crusaders captured at Hattin on July 4, 1187,when Saladin ordered that they should all be beheaded—in accordance with the Koran—and watched, “his face joyful,” while his followers slaughtered the infidels.
October 16th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Better Brain Health
Fergus Craik, PhD
The Rotman Research Institute
New study: When researchers examined clinical records of 211 adults diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease, those who spoke multiple languages over their lifetimes showed initial Alzheimer’s symptoms an average of five years later than those who spoke one language.
Theory: Bilingual people build concentration skills by focusing on the language they are speaking while minimizing interference from a second language. If you are bilingual:
It’s not enough to hear or read a second language — contact libraries, universities and cultural centers to find groups that converse.
If you are not bilingual, learning a second language can help promote brain health.
October 16th, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Hi Mischa, well I’m glad they did it on a day that was beautiful and suited to the occasion, and on my b’day : )!
Al, Howie – blogging bro’s/sistah and proud of it, thank you, I love you two, I do…it’s no matter to me that we haven’t met in person. Larry, I was wondering how you’ve been, thanks for stopping by to wish me a b’day greeting, Norman : ), Brittany, thanks Girlz, Louis, Fairuza (exciting, yes. I’m excited to hear from you) Zhi (I love HK!), Shane, Abbie, Leslie and Maryanne (my bestie from Singapore is now living down under, I will be visiting there someday soon), and Kaz and friends from Chechnya (I forget how far reaching this blog is at times, and thank you) – I’m sending you all my thanks for the birthday greetings, it was a gorgeous weekend and all my closest peeps did their very best to make it a special few days, I’m grateful and proud to know them (if you’re reading here, I love you dearly, and you know it, fa’ shizz : D) – the foodie highlight: my favorite organic restaurant brought out to-die-for vegan cookies with crushed macadamia nuts on top, oh baby…
Catch you all here manana to catch the latest MM bloggin’ topic…Luv, Zen Lill
October 16th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Yo, Yo! Happy B Day to you, ZL! Howie and Al, I haven’t greeted you personally in a while, and I wanted to give you my best.
By the by, Lill, I’ll take one of those cookies, if able.
October 16th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
yoyoyo – Thanks, Boggzy…well, maybe you two should come join me sometime, we’ll do beach yoga in Venice, an outstanding way to start any weekend day and then bike on over and eat great fresh organic and yet inexpensive food and get us more of them thar cookies ; ) – ZL
October 17th, 2011 at 8:09 am
Happy Birthday Zen Lill, I heading to Venice Beach also. Will be there with my daughter, also. I get her this week.
Hope to spot you. Don’t I won’t be the annoying fan.
Bret
October 17th, 2011 at 8:10 am
Michelle, I would love to be a Girlz. Please, please, come and get me.
October 17th, 2011 at 8:14 am
Howie:
We like how you make things easy to understand.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Doug TMD, Thanks for the welcome, you been alright? Hey, what do you think about this “Occupy Wall Street” movement? I think that it’s about time and I believe we all saw it coming. People are pissed and are not going to take this shit anymore. And it not just here in the US. I just hope the finger gets pointed at those responsible, again people know it’s the replugitcants who looted the country.
I heard Keith Olberman say it will soon be called “Occupy the Planet” (love some of his remarks). He just might be right.
Take care,
Al