The Pageless Book

So for the past two weeks or so, I haven’t had a new post. Truth is, I have one post half finished up on my computer screen right now, but I’m just too worn out from work to complete it… I’ve been working quite a bit of over-time; this is the start of the busy season for my company. Despite having sworn off coffee and other caffeinated beverages a few weeks ago, I’m now gargling with the stuff to stay on top of my game. I doubt this is going to change much over the next few months - it won’t be until mid-January that everything settles down at work.

I’ve been thinking a lot about politics recently, and nothing would please me more than to find the time to write a political article. After witnessing Obama’s official nomination as the Democratic Nominee for President, I felt genuine hope and excitement for the future of this country. Since seeing the disgrace of the RNC - both the speeches within and the protests outside - I’ve also never been more fearful. I don’t want to know what four more years like the last eight will do to this country. All the polls show the race as being too close for comfort - it seriously shakes my faith in humanity that so many people think that they would be better off under McCain.

I’ve also been thinking quite a bit about sex, and it’s place within the folds of spirituality. I haven’t written about sexuality on this website, and I think I may never… I personally have too many hang-ups and issues regarding sex to be comfortable discussing it in an honest manner. At the same time, my personal struggles with that particular subject have brought me to new spiritual insights about myself. This is a potential place of growth for me, but it is also too close for me to discuss in detail.

Finally, I’ve been crazy-obsessed with the idea of getting a new tattoo. Next year, I’ll be thirty - and while it is still over nine months away, I would like to celebrate it with a new ink. The only problem is that I have so many ideas of what to get, that I cannot decide… Should I get the image of a pregnant goddess tattooed on the outside of my thigh? Perhaps I should get a half-sleeve done of the Tree of Life, in Celtic-knot style… I’ve also been thinking of getting some Hebrew lettering. I keep changing my mind! I have nine months to decide, anyway.

So, anyway, that is what has been happening with me. I hope to find more time to write over the next few weeks, but if I don’t, at least now you know why. As always, Namaste…

Image by William Murphy.

I recently found this video clip of a guy explaining why he supports Barrak Obama over Hillary Clinton. The cameraman’s intention was to show that Obama supporters chose Obama for emotional reasons rather than logical reasons. The guy he was interviewing, Derrick Ashong, soundly disproved the cameraman’s theory in about five minutes. This made me curious so I dug further and found this video:

In case you don’t have time to watch it, apparently the original video went viral and Derrick had been getting a torrent of e-mails about the views he had expressed and wanted to explain what happened that day and his personal motives. Derrick, a.k.a. DNA, is a naturalized immigrant from West Africa, where people have few rights and almost no say over who governs. As he explains it, voting in this country for a candidate who actually stands for something is so empowering in his view that no one should let their chance slip away. If I was not voting Obama before I saw this video, I certainly would be voting for Obi afterwards.

This video sank its hooks into me, and wouldn’t let go - I had to know more about this Derrick Ashong guy! So I dug even deeper. Turns out that he’s a member of a seven-man band named Soulfege out of Boston. Turns out that the three individuals who founded the band met in Harvard. They’re listed as Hip-Hop/Reggae, which really isn’t my style, but I won’t hold that against them for a second. The band’s stated purpose is to change how the media views African Americans, and how Africans on both sides of the Atlantic view each other. They have just relocated to Los Angeles and are, in my opinion, well on their way to stardom.

Derrick and his band are heading up an initiative to “take back the mic” from the media and put it back into the hands of the youth of America. In fact he’s challenged those who’ve come across these videos to engage the band members and himself in discussion through the following video:

If I had the power, I’d nominate this man for political activist of the year - and it’s only February! I’m not only inspired by Derrick’s message, but hope to make others inspired by spreading his message. To know more about Soulfege, you can visit their website, and to know more about Derrick Ashong, you can visit his blog. Please help me in spreading this man’s message and give this post a thumbs up on StumbleUpon.

Namaste.

This week in our corner of the blogosphere, politics seems to be on everyone’s mind. The big question is whether you support Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama; the Republican candidates just are not getting much press.

So, Hillary cried. Rev. PeaceBang asked on her blog whether it was even that big of a deal. 83% of her readers responded that either that they didn’t care, or that they were voting for Barack regardless of how much she cried. Ouch… UU Momma also weighted in on the tearful moment and even posted a link to the video. I have to agree with UU Momma - Hillary Clinton seemed genuinely choked up. The injection of emotion into the campaign is inspiring in my opinion; I have a much better understanding of her as a person than what I did last week.

My buddy, Shelby, from Looking for Faith, is feeling positive about Clinton’s win in New Hampshire, while Rev. Sean points out a number of hopes raised by the recent turn of events. I have to admit in sharing this encouraging feeling that this time will be different. Perhaps that’s because I’m an eternal optimist, which is true even when things seem back sliding in this country.

Cathy Crovis, from Ripples of Improvement, wrote an article this week about her anger with the present state of the United States. It’s important for me to point this out, because we need to be reminded of why we are building up this hope for our candidate. There are a lot of problems in the U.S., and if we are to have the strength to solve these problems, we cannot lose sight of what is at stake.

How do you weigh in? Which candidate are you looking forward to supporting? What issues matter the most to you? I could continue to observe my fellow bloggers and write about their opinions or even tell you my opinion, but neither are as important as your own.

Photo of Flag by Existentist. Photos of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama by Seiu International.