3/16/2009...moon in Sagittarius...

apply myself in detail to those things that matter to me
pay attention to
those things that i love
settle into
what brings me peace of mind and contentment

of late
my attention diffused and wandering
in depression/it
has given me a sense of time flying away
a feeling of fatality and pointlessness
of self

dream segment...

i am on my lunch break from work, and i am in a grocery store buying something to eat...i look across to one of the other registers, and there is Tracey (Ray's ex- wife) buying some stuff also...i have not seen her in a long while, so i try to get her attention, finally somebody else gets her to look over at me, and we walk over and talk...soon we are taking our lunch together, then drinking a few beers...we never go back to work, we walk and talk, then drive to my house...i apologize for the mess, i tell her that i have not vacuumed in a week...we hang out some more, i worry about not having returned to work, she doesn't seem to care...she used to work at the place where i do now, she calls a guy who works there on her cellphone and tells him that i have gotten drunk...that kind of makes me angry, i have had only 2 beers, i am not drunk! so we sit on the couch/bed talking more, i say we should go get some more beer...she stands up and stretches and says that she needs to leave...this also angers me, as i have not gone back to work mostly at her suggestion, and now she is leaving? what am i to do? i have been upset the entire time by the nagging fact that i do not know the phone number to my place of work, so i could not call them and tell them of my plight, and Tracey was no help with that at all...

amalgam of workplaces dream...

i am at work...i am doing something around the back of the store, which is like Crown Books, but i am also working with groceries...i move to the front of the store and notice some customers who look like they need some help...i assist them in making their ice cream selection (oh no! Coldstone Creamery!), actually it is sorbet that i am going to pack for them and they will pick it up on their return...they are quite happy as they leave the store...then i begin putting the sorbet blend together for them, but the flavors keep changing, and the containers keep morphing, so it is rather difficult...the flavor containers are on shelves on the wall, the wall that was the fiction paperback wall at Crown...

dreaming of breakfast...

i ask Melian what she wants for breakfast, and she tells me, "Pancakes. Today and forever."

I am in the kitchen doing dishes when i remember this dream piece. The memory is so strong that i am not at all sure whether it was a dream or not. So when i am doing my shopping after work, i make sure to buy some all-natural pancake mix just in case!!

dream segment...

my partner (male) and i are going to start a resturant, we have bought a fabulous space in which to do this...it's an old farm-type building, just beautiful...as we are making plans for opening, we are garnering the assistance of a friend (female) of ours in the food preparation...next thing i know, she is bringing dishes in and setting up...it all starts to take off without me, i don't know what to do! i am getting frustrated and worried and confused as each moment brings something else along that has been done without any input from me! we're open, we have customers, we have all sorts of new employees: waitstaff, chefs/cooks, etc. i am walking around trying to get a grip on this, it's crazy...i go to clean tables, put out clean silverware...i find a lot of dirty untensils and ask someone if we have a place for washing the silverware! i find a tray of soapy water for the purpose of soaking the dirty untensils so i drop them in...then i try to get clean stuff out on the tables, put it's all so unorganized that it makes the task very difficult...we even have plastic forks & all to keep up with...i wonder if i will be able to get it all under control...

Beer & a Book

"Hazed & Infused" is a dry-hopped ale from Boulder Beer Company in Colorado. Tasty, with a really good aftertaste. Part of their 'Looking Glass' beer series. I've been on a real hop adventure recently, and this one fits right in quite well. Unfiltered also, yeah!

'Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers' by Daniel Ellsberg is truly riveting due to the in-depth detail of his research, clearances, education and emotional perspectives on the Vietnam war situation. I am learning ever more about this historical period during which I grew up. Recommended quite highly. Visit Ellsberg's website here...

@ the 9:30 Club, April 7, 2009...

Oh, yes, yes, yes! I hope to go to this show. I am a big fan of Digable Planets.

Look What I Found! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Hie thee quickly to The Beer Mapping Project. It's stinking amazing.

"Court Rules Cleanup Tab For Mines and Other Hazardous Sites Should Not Fall to Public"

Here is an article that is just fantastic news:

"WASHINGTON - February 26 - A federal court has ruled [2] that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must close a loophole that -- for more than 25 years -- has made it easy for mining companies, coal ash dumps, and a host of other polluting industries to skip out on costly cleanups by declaring bankruptcy. The case concerned EPA's failure to issue "financial assurances" standards that ensure that polluting industries will always remain financially able to clean up dangerous spills and other contaminated sites.

Attorneys Lisa Evans and Jan Hasselman with the public interest law firm Earthjustice represented the Sierra Club and environmental groups in New Mexico, Nevada, and Idaho in the case, decided late yesterday by U.S. District Judge William Alsup, based in San Francisco.

Environmental advocates hailed the decision as a victory that paves the way for new federal rules that would require hardrock and phosphate mine operators, metal finishers, wood treatment facilities, and other industries to post bonds covering the cost of potential future cleanups.

"By not promulgating financial assurance requirements, EPA has allowed companies that otherwise might not have been able to operate and produce hazardous waste to potentially shift the responsibility for cleaning up hazardous waste to taxpayers," Judge Alsup wrote in the decision. The undisputed evidence before the Court demonstrated that such financial assurance requirements result in better environmental protection and faster and more thorough cleanups.

When the Superfund law was passed in 1980, lawmakers gave EPA three years to start putting financial assurance regulations in place. More than 25 years later, these regulations remain unwritten. Under the terms of the decision, EPA has until May 4 to identify the industries that will be first subject to these financial assurance requirements.

"This victory paves the way for the new administration to correct a longstanding environmental problem while saving taxpayers billions of dollars at the same time," said Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman, who argued the case before Judge Alsup. "New standards will push companies that deal with toxic substances towards more responsible practices."' read the rest of this good news here...thank you Earthjustice and Common Dreams!

Febura's Closing

kreeee-ar skyward hawk
yellow crocus blooming now
iris shoots appear

Another Installment of "Beer & A Book"...

Yes, your favorite series is back with two more heavily-enjoyed selections. Visit the 'Family of Secrets' website for ongoing information about this book and the research involved (and evolving). Visit Victory Brewing for information about this delightful Imperial stout, "Storm King".

Rhiannon Haiku

she is atoms pulling
themselves together into
my beer loving dog

Oh, Joy; cuppie cakes!

On February 8, Melian & i went to the theatre to see "Coraline"...we got there a wee bit early so we browsed "Borders" before the film. We had been having cupcakes on the brain for a while , so i looked at the cookbooks and found THIS fantastic, delightful cuppie cake cookbook. Yay! So far we have made:
Banana Cupcakes
Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
Basil Pesto Cupcakes

We also found 'Screaming Monkey' there...with eyes that burn!!!

"Hop Devil" I.P.A.

This brew from Victory Brewing Company (located in Downingtown, PA) is just fabulous. The hops flavor is multi-layered and perfect. It tastes green. It smells wonderful. Highly recommended.

"A Commodity Called Misery"

"HOPKINS VILLAGE, BELIZE -- Sitting down here in Central America happily abusing my health, occasionally, between the hangovers and the bouts with sand fleas and mosquitoes comes an insight or two, or at least what passes for insight in my lowbrow take on life. One of these is just how damned lucky the Third World is that it cannot afford a sophisticated mental health system. By that I mean the kind in the "developed countries," where murder and suicide rates are quintuple what they are here in this village. Not that we are without own village resources. My Garifuna buddy Eljay, was in what we would call a depressed state a few months ago, and went to a local "spirit doctor."....."read article in its entirety...Joe Bageant @ his blog 'Deer Hunting With Jesus'...

Joe's article seems to me to be in the spirit of evolving happy. Check it out.

dream segment...

i am going to see Prince in concert...Alice (from work) is coming with me...i have gotten a large amount of hardback books from somewhere, and i plan a huge bookcrossing book release! i put together all the books i have under "available" plus these new ones, it takes a lot of planning to get them all transported to the venue...a couple of other people are helping us...while we are in the parking lot picnic area i realize that there is no way that i am going to be able to take any of the set-up stuff into the venue, so i ask if i may keep all of it out here during the show...the 'official' person says "yes", so i do the book release right there, i make a big announcement about the release with as much fanfare as i can muster! then, i realize that i have not registered any of the new books with bookcrossing! they all are without BCID numbers! oh no...with a sinking feeling i tell Alice...we resign ourselves to that error and go to the show...

later, i am at home, talking with Melian & Chuck in the living room...outside we hear a huge grizzly bear who is growling, roaring actually, right at the other side of the wall, Chuck says, "watch him put an arm through the wall", and i say, "don't say that because he will"...so of course no sooner are my words out that here comes the bear's huge paw through the wall, wood splintering...Melian & i run out to the car, she has grabbed an umbrella...when we get in, i realize i don't have my keys, but there they are in the driver's seat! I tell Melian to press the clutch pedal...in our haste & fear i have gotten in the passenger's side and she the driver's...we are going to start the car and swing by to get Chuck as he runs out of the door...the car is my 1966 Bug...

What is Bookcrossing, you may ask? Well if you had not noticed the widget to the left, here is a link for you!!!

Look Who's Gone Organic!

Oh, yes, it's Oxford Raspberry Wheat. Fantastic! I am thrilled that Oxford has taken the organic ingredient path. I've been consuming their Raspberry Wheat for six years , and find myself even more enthusiastic now...visit the website...enjoy the beer...save the world!!!

this one is for you, derek_

Confused? Try this link (see #5).

Oh, I Don't Know, I Think I May Prefer a Nice Velvet

Here is a remake of a graffitti from the early 1990's which used to reside near the post office. Eventually the original was painted over.

I Love Rachel Maddow...

She drinks Guinness.