Sunday, March 31, 2013

Sunday Salute LIII

There was an article about Miriam Makeba in the Christian Science Monitor the
other day.   When I first discovered "Mama Africa" I  sort of, kind of fell in love with her and her music. I listened to her whenever I could and I even got to see her in concert.

From Wikipedia

In the 1960s she was the first artist from Africa to popularize African music around the world. She is best known for the song "Pata Pata", first recorded in 1957 and released in the U.S. in 1967. She recorded and toured with many popular artists, such as Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, and her former husband Hugh Masekela.
Makeba campaigned against the South African system of apartheid. The South African government responded by revoking her passport in 1960 and her citizenship and right of return in 1963. 
...Makeba then travelled to London where she met Harry Belafonte, who assisted her in gaining entry to the United States and achieving fame there. When she tried to return to South Africa in 1960 for her mother's funeral, she discovered that her South African passport had been cancelled.  She signed with RCA Victor and released Miriam Makeba, her first U.S. studio album, in 1960.  In 1962, Makeba and Belafonte sang at John F. Kennedy's birthday party at Madison Square Garden, but Makeba did not go to the aftershow party because she was ill. President Kennedy insisted on meeting her, so Belafonte sent a car to pick her up and she met the President of the United States
As the apartheid system crumbled she returned home for the first time in 1990.
Quotes:
I always wanted to leave home. I never knew they were going to stop me from coming back. Maybe, if I knew, I never would have left. It is kind of painful to be away from everything that you've ever know. Nobody will know the pain of exile until you are in exile. No matter where you go, there are times when people show you kindness and love, and there are times when they make you know that you are with them but not of them. That's when it hurts.

When I was young, I never bought records because my brother Joseph played saxophone and had a record player. I loved listening to his records: The Dorsey Brothers, Duke Ellington, all the big American jazz bands, and vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Ernestine Anderson, and Kitty White, a singer from the US who was a friend of Nina Simone. Nobody in America seems to know about her, but she was quite popular in South Africa

My concerts were canceled left and right. Speaking about South African Apartheid was fine, but they were suddenly afraid I might speak about American Apartheid, although I never did. Bookers told me that my shows would finance radical activities and [Reprise Records] told me they were not going to honor my recording contract. I didn’t say anything, but if I was married to a troublemaker, I must be a troublemaker. I’d already lived in exile for 10 years, and the world is free, even if some of the countries in it aren’t, so I packed my bags and left

I didn’t have much, but I was always happy to share what I did have. It seemed like every African that came to New York City would show up at my apartment door at dinnertime, and I couldn’t turn them away. I wasn’t much older than any of them, but they started calling me ‘Mama Africa’ and the name stuck

The man at the desk took my passport. He did not speak to me. He took a rubber stamp and slammed it down. Then he walked away. I picked up my passport. It was stamped 'Invalid'. 'They have done it,' I told myself. 'They have exiled me. I am not permitted to go home — not now, maybe not ever. My family, my home. Everything that has gone into the making of myself, gone

I look at an ant and see myself: a native South African, endowed with a strength much greater than my size, so I might cope with the weight of racism that crushes my spirit

Her Website is here,
And below is the Pata Pata song that lifts my spirit







Bishop Desmond Tutu             
Betty White       


Happy Easter

"A true friend is someone who thinks
you are a good egg
even though they know
you are slightly cracked." :)
 

H
appEaster!

Sunday



There are over 10,000 different religions in the world, 150 of which have at least 1 millions followers. Which one is the truth? "Christianity!" someone says, but even Christianity alone has over 38,000 different denominations. So which interpretation is the TRUE one?


They are all correct and different paths up the same mountain of self-discovery that lead to the same peak destination - Love and Unity. This is what Chirst, Buddha, and every other spiritual master told us; to love, accept, and forgive one another. If you want to know if you are in line with the Path of God (or Source Energy), ask yourself if your belief system brings you nothing by peace, love, and grace and encourages it being expressed towards all living beings.

Spirituality is not a belief. It is a state of consciousness, a mental framework with which you approach the world.

Truth existed prior to religion, and prior to man. Religion is sometimes a great way of organizing your understanding of the Creator, but let it not disrupt our natural unity that existed before man-made constructions:) This is not an attack on any religion by any means, and religion has brought many people happiness, but don't let it cause segregation away from our inherent unity. Love your neighbour as yourself.



The most invisible creators I know are those artists whose medium is life itself. The ones who express the inexpressible - without brush, hammer, clay or guitar. They neither paint nor sculpt - their medium is their being. Whatever their presence touches has increased life. ... They are the artists of being alive.


-  J. Stone, in M.J. Ryan, Attitudes of Gratitude



“As you dissolve into love, your ego fades. You’re not thinking about loving; you’re just being love, radiating like the sun.”


-Ram Dass


If one wishes to know love, one must live love, in action.

~Leo Buscaglia




We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
~Unitarian principle

It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” 

- James Baldwin

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Something Yummy for Saturday


Mom used to make this "Wacky" Cake.  

We loved it,  It was simple and easy
to make.


Mother always liked the easy-to-make dishes.


This cake uses only one pan.
3  cups   Flour
2  cups   Sugar
1  tsp     Baking soda
2  tsp     Salt
6  T      Cocoa
2   tsp    Vanilla
2   T      Cider vinegar
½  cup    Cooking oil
2   cups  Water
Procedure
1   Sift together dry ingredients in a 9 x 13 baking pan.
2   Make three indentations in the dry ingredients.
3   Put vanilla in one.
4   Put vinegar in another.
5   Put cooking oil in the last one.
6   Pour water in the pan.
7   Mix thoroughly.
8   Bake.
Yield: 9 "x 13"
Oven Temperature: 350°F
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Source: Ruth Cole Jackson

Friday, March 29, 2013

Found For Friday

A SPANISH  teacher was explaining  to her class that in Spanish, unlike  English, nouns are designated as either  masculine or  feminine.
'House' for  instance, is feminine:  'la casa.'

'Pencil,' however, is  masculine: 'el lapiz.'

A  student asked, 'What gender is  'computer'?'    


Instead   of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups,  male and  female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether  computer' should be a  masculine or a feminine noun.  Each  group was asked to give four reasons for  its  recommendation.
The  men's group decided that  'computer' should definitely be of the  feminine gender ('la computadora'),  because:
1. No one  but their creator  understands their internal logic;
2.  The native language they use to  communicate with other computers  is incomprehensible to everyone  else;
3. Even the  smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for  possible  later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment  to  one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on  accessories for  it.  
(Continued below)                  

The  women's group, however,  concluded that computers   should be masculine ('el computador'),   because:  


1.  In order to do anything with  them, you have to  turn  them on;

2. They have a lot of data but  still  can't think for  themselves;

3. They  are supposed to help you solve  problems,  but half  the time they ARE the problem; and

4.  As soon as you commit to one,  you realize that if  you  had waited a little longer, you could have gotten  a  better  model.

The  women won.


A little boy with diarrhea tells his mom he needs Viagra.

The mom asks, "Why on earth do you need that?"
The little boy replies, "isn't that what you give dad when HIS shit won't get hard?!"

IT CAN BE HARD KEEPING A STRAIGHT FACE AS A COURT REPORTER.


These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while the exchanges were taking place:
 
ATTORNEY:    What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS:   He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS:   My name is Susan!

_______________________________

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS:   Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS:   No, I just lie there.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS:   July 18
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS:   Every year.

ATTORNEY:   How old is your son, the one living with you?

WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
ATTORNEY:   How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.

ATTORNEY:   This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?

WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS:   I forget..
ATTORNEY:    You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?

WITNESS:   Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________
         
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS:   He's 20, much like your IQ.

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?

WITNESS:   Are you shitting me?
_________________________________________
ATTORNEY:   So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY:   And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid

ATTORNEY:   She had three children , right?

WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS:   None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS:   Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS:   By death..
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS:   Take a guess.
___________________________________________
 
ATTORNEY:   Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard
ATTORNEY:   Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
_____________________________________
ATTORNEY:   Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
___________________
___________________
ATTORNEY:   Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
_________________________________________
ATTORNEY:   ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK?  What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral...
____________________
_____________________
ATTORNEY:   Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM
ATTORNEY:   And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS:   Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________
________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS:   No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS:   No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS:   No..
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS:   No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS:   Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS:   Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law