have you considered suicide?

In your desperate hours, have you ever typed into your google search bar, “I am so lonely” or “I want to die“? I know, not all the time! But have you done it once? twice? It must have been during one of those times that I stumbled across this next link, samaritans.org

When you are at the end of that tattered and frayed rope, they are there. Anonymous, non-judgmental, and accepting. You are not too old or too young, too far gone or not far gone enough. No gimmicks, no requirements, no commitments or promises, just friendly interest. Put it in your pocket for a rainy day.

do you wanna dance?

Right now I am listening to a personal radio station with songs inspired by Tracy Chapman’s Give Me One Reason, and every track is dance-able for my big, graceful body with rolling waves of ocean hips. Where did I find this station? I made it at pandora.com – a site/program created by the music genome project. The idea is you plug in an artist or song you like, and the program looks for songs that have similar qualities. You can give the selection a thumbs up or down, so the program “learns” your taste as you go. My first try, Laura Nyro, just didn’t get it quite right, but the Chapman song came up perfect for dancing tunes : ). The program’s also great for exploring new genres. Take a look, you might get hooked! And dance, dance, dance…

For you Laura Nyro fans, here is a video tribute. The audio quality isn’t top-notch, but there are many nice photos.

i am manatee!

This manatee video is quite peaceful, if you can get over the running time stamp. I would like this as my screen saver :)

If you like watching manatees, there are lots and lots of videos to choose from. Just do a google video search (click on the small down arrow at the yop of your google page, and select video) and watch to your heart’s content.

happy too!

Look close- we get included in this one. The video is a full ten minutes of smiles. Enjoy!

freedom

storm waves

rain an open air intruder

violating the streets

allows her to go out in public

she orders pancakes

and dances down the beach

her hips in wild waves

an ocean few can see.

-Sharon Bas Hannah

for the perpetually fat…

Well, it’s official! I am a 300 pounder. Confirmed by the scale at the Y. If I hadn’t been walking along the Columbia River for the past few months, I would be really bummed. I can walk up to 3 miles in the sand, so it could be worse.

Wanna talk back? Just click in the title bar of any post.

love your mother

This is a little video that my daughter made for me, using my favorite star and avatar, the Venus of Willendorf.

are you a tuba girl?

Instrument of Choice

She was a girl
no one ever chose
for teams or clubs,
dances or dates,

so she chose the instrument
no one else wanted:
the tuba. Big as herself,
heavy as her heart,

its golden tubes
and coils encircled her
like a lover’s embrace.
Its body pressed on hers.

Into its mouthpiece she blew
life, its deep-throated
oompahs, oompahs sounding,
almost, like mating cries.

-Robert Phillips, Spinach Days

Photo by Joel Lawson