CNN had a special on Barack Obama last night. They showed pictures of him from childhood on. Talked about growing up in Hawaii. How he met his wife. It was nice getting to know a bit more about the man.

Thus far, I'm impressed with him. He doesn't come across as a professional manipulator like some politicians do. One of the reasons I feel this way is in listening to him talk. The subjects he speaks about are things that the American people want to hear about, want to know more about. And there is not the beating-around-the-bush that is often expected in public speaking. He gets to the point, then elaborates his point. His speeches are knowledgable and inspirational. He has something to say, and he says it well. But most important to me, he has something to say, and I really do want to hear it.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid900881681/bclid900480414/bctid1646739168

 

Well. I think I may have this going. Setting up a blog has been all consuming over a couple of months now. Truely, it's been a year since I tried my first blog. So, in trial and error I've found that Yahoo 360 doesn't work, hasn't worked in a long time, and may never work. I think a lot of people have given up and figured out something elsewhere like I have. Same goes for Google's Blogger (whatever.blogspot.com). I had a discontinued email service provider and evidently did the wrong thing when I was trying to update my email address. Lost the blog for what appears to be ...ever. Actually, both blogs are still there. You can pull them up, but you can't make new entries. Can't delete them either. Feels uncomfortable, like wasted space or unfinished business.

Okay. So, I've gone a different route with my own domain. I'm using GoDaddy's Quickblog interface. It's been a little tricky getting things going. But, what I love is that they actually post a PHONE NUMBER for technical support. You actually get to talk to someone. They spend all of the time you need to resolve your problem! Love it. Love it. That feature alone (live tech support) is the reason I've been with GoDaddy for years and will probably never leave. They would have to mess-up big time.

I watched the fireworks display from the backyard with the doggies. I didn't stay out long. It rained and the mosquitos were having me and the dogs for dinner. But, it's cool that I can actually see fireworks from my backyard. I was in New York at this time last year with a high school friend. We would have been sifting our way through the crowds heading back to their Manhattan hotels to rest very weary bodies. I know mine was. But, big disappointment, after hours of getting there, standing in lines, standing and waiting, drizzle, rain, and heat, we could not actually see the fireworks because of the humidity in the air and smoke from the fireworks. But, if I could be back there tonight, I would be. It was a blast.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July. Talk to you later.


authentication

Well it's Saturday night. I'm thinking about my day. My kids are over friends houses. I want to paint but don't want to prepare.

I taped American Idol Wednesday and am just getting around to watching it. Wednesday's show was moving. I actually watched it twice. It was about GIVING BACK.

Giving back to whom. People in need. Everyday People. People in Africa and YES... the United States of America.

The recording started with Earth Wind and Fire singing Boogie Wonderland. It was upbeat. It took me back to the day. Shining Star followed. I got up from the couch and danced and sang to that one. "Shining star for you to see, what your life can truely be". I was in the mood to be entertained. I was, but not in the way that I thought I would be.

There were actors and activists, musicians and singers, speakers, people speaking, about realities of everyday life for some very real life people. of illness and starvation, orphaned children and the impoverished.

I was happy seeing Ben Stiller and Jack Black perform comedy. I really enjoyed Jack Black's performance of "Kiss From A Rose" by Seal. He is a comedic genius.

Let me pause a minute and say this. Please keep reading because I think it's important.

I am a forty-two year old single parent from Texas. Who cares, YOU MAY THINK. But, I've come to realize that a lot of people do care. They care that I am a real person with real happiness and sadness on this earth. Isn't that what those performers are? Isn't that what all of us really are? Real flesh and bone people?

Now, I am a firm believer that the words happy and sad are very general; very vague. You can look them up in a dictionary, but will that dictionary give you a definition of what you, a flesh and bone person really feel? What the words "happy" and "sad" do is define the closest thing to a societal abbreviation of an emotion that we can get in order to complete some explanation, thus in an often black and white existence. There is no measure of the terms. The singular version of the words require further explanation in order to appeal to all of the gray divisions of a personal experience. I am happy. How happy are you, one could ask.

So, as the performances on American Idol continued and I continued to be entertained, the message began to penetrate my conscience self. As the many faces of sick and impoverished children flashed upon my big-screen TV, I thought about my own children out playing with their friends while I was ordering my dinner to be delivered. I thought about all of the energy I have spent thinking about my problems and giving thanks for my blessings. I thought about the experiences in life that I have learned from and the fact that so much of what I have learned had to come from an actual experience, both good and bad. You see, some of us can be told what to do and not to do and we will act upon this advice. Then, there are those of us that can be told what to do and not to do and we will have to experience the advice before we truely understand the impact of it.

Well, the advice I got tonight, to give, is not an advice that I wish to experience in order to hear and understand. And quite honestly, whether I actually understand it, experience it, feel it, or not, I gave. I did not think about all of the overheard and particiipated in conversations of how the money that is given to charity is squandered. That is too negative an energy for me right now.

Ellen Degeneres then said that she was personally donating $100, 000.00 (one-hundred thousand dollars). I donated $20.00 (twenty dollars). This is what I can afford. I have no misgivings about donating. I am happy that I did. That's it.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not asking for anything. I'm just having a conversation with you. I'm just sharing my feelings of this evening with you. I think a lot more sharing of feelings would be a good thing. We may find out that all of those imaginary "Idols" out there have some of the same feelings that we, flesh and bone people have. And, it's a good thing.

Until next time. Take it easy. Smell some roses if you haven't in a while. And, oh by the way, I'm not painting tonight. I'm going to bed now. Good night.