I am sooo far ahead of the curve on this....

Inverted Christmas Trees.

They're apparently all the rage. Afficionados even point to old European tradition of hanging the holiday tree from the ceiling. It saves floor space and shows off the ornaments to better advantage. OK, it's trendy as hell.

I did it back in, oh...around 1982. Christmas tree, spray painted black, and hung from the ceiling of my apartment, festooned with, as I recall....lingerie. It was legendary among my friends and acquaintances. And now the rest of the world has caught up. Well, almost...close but no garter belt.

By the way...new musical recommendation!! One of the most amazingly versatile roots country musicians I've ever heard. Behold...Eliza Gilkyson. Paradise Hotel is, with the possible exception of Ms. Bush's, the best new album I've heard this year.

America's Top Model

Why can't I seem to care about the women on that show? Everyone I know at work seems to be completely riveted to this thing, and I've watched it twice, under extreme duress, trying to capture the essence. The essence seems to be viciousness, ego, cattiness, shallowness and being naked. Now the naked thing I can dig I guess, but I would rather see some healthy people naked than a pack of photogenic skeletons.

But I digress. My point is that everyone but me gets it. I'm told it's rather like watching a train wreck. And I did have kind of that feeling about it, like when Cops accidentally comes on the TV and you don't change the channel because damn. But I don't tune in again the next week. This kind of TV viewing doesn't happen on purpose.

So what am I not getting? What's wrong with me? Do I just not have the competitive gene? Maybe that's it. Or maybe I just can't comprehend that one or the other of these creatures could possibly be any better or worse than the other. Their fate does not interest me.

I do understand that one of them peed in an adult diaper on camera recently, as a lark, to liven things up a bit. And I missed it.

I was thinking about joining this cult...

So I was alphabetically arranging my spice shelf yesterday, and I had to wonder, am I taking this Flylady thing a little to seriously??? I honestly don't want to go anywhere anymore. I just want to stay home and clean my house. It's crazy. But I can honestly say that I love it.

I do need to get out more though, and yesterday I did go to a Falun Gong demonstration at the Library. I am ashamed to say that yesterday was the first time I have ever stepped foot in our new breathtakingly beautiful, state of the art library which has been there for at least 3 years now. It is indeed fabulous. Kyle (reference librarian extraordinaire and my oldest friend) gave me the quick tour.

And I enjoyed the Falon Gong exercises a lot. It's very similar to some of the Ki Gong (qigong) work that I do regularly, but there was one exercise that I particularly liked. It did a wonderful job of completing an energy circuit. I also appreciated the teachings, which center on three principles; Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.

However, after I got home and did some more reading about the Falun Dafa (practitioners of Falun Gong), I was appalled at some of the teachings of Master Li, the founder of the practice. He is a racist and a homophobe, teaching that children of mixed unions have no place in heaven, and that homosexuality is morally degenerate. So although I had thought that I might continue a Falon Gong practice (there's a local group every Sat. at 3), I can't do that now. I hadn't thought much of the fact that their symbology prominently includes the ancient srivatsa, which was utilized by the Nazis as the swastika...but now that I know Master Li's thoughts on racial mixing, I have to wonder if there is a deliberate correlation to Hitler's philosophies. The symbol:



The Falun Dafa in China are undergoing serious persecution. Thousands have been rounded up and incarcerated for their beliefs, and almost 3,000 have been tortured to death. China is very, very nervous about a group which now has many more members than the Communist party in China. And although I don't agree with China's brutal tactics and disregard for the most basic of human rights, I'm a little nervous about them too. I got a really weird vibe from the folks I met yesterday. It was practically evangelical. :::shudder::::

12 long years of waiting...and it's HERE!

Kate Bush has released the album that all of us manic fans have been salivating over for years. It's been in the works for so long that most of us had almost given up hope. I spent last night in my car, listening. I am in agony right now because I left my iPod dock at home and can't listen right now at work.

It's amazing. It rips my heart out. It's beautiful, and silly, and inspirational. I don't have time to discuss specifics right now, but I had to say SOMETHING because well, that's what's going on in my life right now. :)

Kate Bush has been the most inspirational artist of my life. I hope and pray that it isn't another 12 years before she graces us with that woman's work.

Dolly!

OK, here's my musical recommendation of the day. Dolly Parton's new album of 60's covers, "Those Were the Days" is transcendent. Her version of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" rocked my world on the way to work this morning. I haven't heard the last few tracks yet, but I can already tell you, this is a keeper! That woman is a goddess on earth.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who has offered such wonderful insights and words of comfort. I can't believe the whining I've done on this blog...but hey...it keeps me from whining too much in real life. LOL

I have some wonderful stories to share about this week too, but I'll have to get more than a half a minute's worth of time to sit down and write them.

Love to all!!

Memorial

Melanie's memorial was great. Everyone had a chance to get up and say a few words, and it seemed to be really cathartic for her family in particular. Her husband read a piece that her late mother had written about her years ago that absolutely took my breath away.

The preacher did hurt me really badly though. I had spend all week, staying up late every night finding just the right songs for her memorial. I had spoken with her husband about it, and he had told me Mel's favorite hymns, and put me in touch with Renee, the lady organizing the memorial. She and I discussed song selection and she told me that anything I did would be fine. I found every song Mike wanted, and the song that Renee told me that she and Melanie had found so inspirational during the last few months of her life. I bought all these songs on line and made the perfect CD, if I do say so myself. It was finely tuned and obsessed over meticulously.

Well, the preacher refused to play it. He had put together something himself, and that's what he was going to use. I begged him. I told him how hard I had worked to make it perfect. He said his decision was "final". I was devastated!

God, this hurts. I know most people don't obsess over music like I do, and I don't know if anyone else can understand just how much this hurts, to know that I could have given her this last thing, but just didn't have the "pull". I feel so weak. I know what Melanie would have done, if it had been her standing there dealing with some preacher at my funeral. Suffice to say, that CD would have been played. Melanie, I'm so sorry.

Mel

My best girlfriend died yesterday. She's been battling the effects of her diabetes for years, and the disease won. I've blogged about her before, her talent for dance, for gardening, her expansive heart... now my heart goes out to her husband, one of my oldest friends.