A woman without her man is nothing

An English professor wrote the words:

A woman without her man is nothing

Then he asked the class to add the correct punctuation.

The men wrote:

“A woman, without her man, is nothing.”

The women wrote:

“A woman: without her, man is nothing.”

Quote of the Day:

For a writer, anything less than three revisions, is extemporaneous.

-Kelley Bell 2006

Lady in the Water

Hubbie and I took the munchkins to see Lady in the Water last night. The girl at the popcorn counter said she was dissapointed by the film, and that she spotted a microphone hanging from the top of the frame in several scenes.

I looked, but never saw it, but then again, I was so absored in the story, I could have missed it. It was scary and suspensful, but not grip the edge of your seat terror. It was more what I might call "light-hearted horror." It was a fun family film. A great way to share a little nightmare with the ones you love. My 8 and 11 year olds both dug it deep, and both ended up in our bed last night.

My son also announced that he does not want us to get a pool. LOL

What more of a compliment could M. Night Shymalan want?

LOOKIE HERE!!!!!

I got My Blame Pet!

A few months ago I wrote THIS POST about a fun little creature called "The Blame."

I wrote a little jingle, to the tune of "if you're happy and you know it," and much to my amazment, the inventor of The Blame Pet,
Saw it,
Liked it,
and asked for the rights to use the song!

So today, two months later, on the exact day, and at the exact moment of my life when I could actually USE a Blame Pet, a box arrives on my doorstep from a wonderful fellow named Sergei in Berlin Germany.

This is so COOL!

Thanks Sergei!!!!! Danka Dude!!!!

Sing with me now:
If you're Guilty and ya know it...Pass The Blame (Clap Clap...)

Book Excerpt: We are all ONE

Excerpt from my book, Reach for the Stars:

(Also known as; The 9437 pages of vomit which sits on my computer without a publisher!)

We peruse one ideal, that of bringing people together in peace, irrespective of race, religion and political convictions, for the benefit of mankind.
-Juan Antonio Samaranch

We are all One.
Once you realize this, and connect to it, you can see that the past, present, and future are all connected, just as we are all connected to each other. There is nothing separating us from each other, or from the past, or from the future. It is all part of the great eternal pulse. If you want your life to be extraordinary, all you need to do is follow this pulse. Use the gift of your consciousness to feel the Oneness of it all. Relax in knowing that you are here because you are supposed to be, and that the universe is operating exactly as it should.

Imagine holding a newborn baby in your arms, and feeling the joy of the miracle of life. Feel the wonderment and awe of the future, then you will know, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is no babe any more divine than another. Be it a Hindu Girl, or an Islamic boy, or a Christian child, or a pagan babe. They are all divine and pure and beautiful.

For that matter, I tell you that you can touch the face of God anywhere, anytime, any place. All is part of the One: The rocks, the trees, and the petal of a simple flower. It is not the task of human kind to debate and fight over what or who or how God exists, but rather the task is to seek it and touch it and allow it to touch you, at all times, everywhere, within everything.

Reject the debate. Reject the fighting.

We are all One.

Please Sponsor My Worthy Quest for the Animals

I have just signed on for the 2006 24 hour blogathon to benifit The Ohio Wildlife Center.




On July 29, hundreds of bloggers from around the world will put their endurance to the test for charity, blogging every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight. This is the Sixth Annual International Blogathon, an event that creates a worldwide community for a day, serves up fascinating content, and most importantly, raises tens of thousands of dollars for dozens of charities. Bloggers choose the charity and collect sponsorships. At the end of the event, those sponsors fulfill their pledges directly with the charity.

So click the link and pony up a penny or two. Why not? You'll feel better at the end of the day, knowing that the spare change you found in the dryer is going to a worthy cause. I know, it's such a hassle. It's SOOO complicated to click that link, and fill out the form. Uggh, you might even need to get up out of that chair and walk into the other room to get your credit card, if you don't already have it on Paypal. Oh, and what's that darned Paypal password anyhow...
augh, screw it. Just click off to a porn site and forget about it.

NO! NO!, Don't! I was just kidding!
Click the link. Take the time. Show you care!

You can do it!

And I promise that I wont let you down. I will stay up all night, and post every half hour...and they will be Good Posts too.

Sponsor Me! I'll make ya proud!

Time Flies

My husband and I were chit chatting about our house while doing the weekend chores.

"Can you believe we have lived here for ten years?"

"Wow. Has it really been that long?"

"Yup."

"Time flies when you're growing old."

"Well said Dear." He replied with a kiss and a smile.

I need a favor:

We are going out of town for the weekend and need a friend to water the plants while we are gone.

Please water them twice a day.
The ladder is in the garage.

Thanks!




(Todays laugh courtesy of my friend Sheri.)

Living within the Truth

While leading a seminar at a local Women’s Career Center, the topic of stress reduction came up. I suggested several types of meditation and breathing techniques. A debate then erupted over “the right way” to do such practices, and the women expected me to judge, and proclaim the winner.
“Learn em all!” I ruled with enthusiasm. “Some are designed for calming the mind, others are for generating energy and fueling the metabolism. Some aid in extending deep muscle stretches, and some shift the mind into an alpha-theta brainwave pattern. If you only learn one, you are missing the boat!”

A woman in the group began laughing. “I LIKE this Lady! Anything goes with her.”

She pegged me. That is my philosophy. Do what ever you like. Explore it all! Try everything! Do not be constrained, or controlled, or limited by anyone or anything.
However, those who adopt this philosophy know from experience that the life of an explorer is wrought with potential danger.


All things in Balance


My life flows so peacefully, that I often look around at all the trauma and drama and wonder how I got so lucky. The answer to that is balance. I balance my “Go For It!” gumption with a little mantra I recite to myself every morning: “I choose to live a life of service and compassion, while living within the truth.” That’s my motto, and it has served me well.

Living a life of service offers the highest of all rewards. I measure my wealth by this standard, and I am one obscenely rich woman! I give to my family, my friends, my community, my earth, and myself, each and every day, and it fills my cup with abundance!

I discipline myself to greet each of life’s encounters with an attitude of compassion. The practice is often difficult, but it eliminates 90% of potential stress and strife.

Last, and perhaps most important, is that I live within the truth. Like superman, I never lie. I don’t lie to myself, and I don’t lie to others. This serves me well, in so many ways. Not only do I hold the trust of others, I have also learned to trust myself, and this is key.

You can not live a freewheeling “Go for It!” life if you don’t trust yourself. You must be able to listen to your feelings and trust your instincts. This is what keeps you out of harms way. It’s simple, it’s honest, and it Makes Life Grand!

© Kelley Bell 2006

25 Peeps

Hey Gang,
This looks fun!

25 Peeps is a site where you post a photo of yourself. The photo must be of you and only you. Only 25 photos are shown at a time. The ones that get the most clicks rise to the top. The others fall to the wayside.

Each time someone clicks your pic, it sends them to your blog.

Liz Straus is on there right now, so go click her peep, and expose yours to the world too!

Is That So?

I had a great day and a half conversation with a dear friend who came to town for a visit. We talked politics and religion. It was the best conversation ever. (Ha! Who says you shouldn't bring those topics into polite conversation?)

Anyway, I filled her in on all my "world shakin", and she replied:

"You know Kel, you are just like my sister Diane. She has her causes, and bless her heart, she gets out there and fights for em. But I just don't have that fire in my heart. I never have.

I have always just felt the best I can do for the world, is to be the best I can be.

She then reminded me of this story:

The Zen Master and the Baby.

In the Shoin-ji temple of Hara, there stands a great Zen Temple. Zen practice is the way of harmony, of no problems, of living fully in each moment, accepting what comes without judgment, not looking backwards or forward, of just being.
In order to do this it is necessary to release ourselves and others from expectations that have little to do with who we truly are. All experiences are welcomed as part of the great journey.

Master Hakuin (1686-1769) was greatly revered in his village, and known as a wise and saintly man. Hakuin was praised by the people as a teacher living an exemplary life, in harmony with Zen. Master Hakuin always accepted all that life brought him without judgment or lament, no matter how difficult the test.


Across from the temple was a store, run by a prominent man, along with his wife and beautiful daughter. One day to the shock and dismay of her parents, the young girl revealed she was pregnant. Her parents were terribly angry, and demanded to know who the father was. The girl would not confess, but after much harassment, she pointed shyly at the honorable monk Hakuin, as he happened by.

In a fit of rage the parents went to the temple and scolded him in front of all the people of the village.

“You have made my daughter pregnant!” they cried.
“You are a terrible, terrible man!”
“You have taken advantage of an innocent young girl!”

Hakuin calmly replied “Is that so?”


All the townspeople were in shock. They stopped coming to the temple for his teachings. They stopped bringing food and offerings. They vilified Hakuin, and steered away from him on the streets, leering and calling him names.

"You are the worst of all beings," they said.
“You should be ashamed, old man!”

To which Hakuin would gently say "Is that so?"

When the baby was born, the family brought the child to Hakuin’s temple.

"This baby is yours, YOU take care of it." exclaimed the girls father, as he thrust the child into the arms of the old monk.

"Is that so?" Hakuin said, while smiling warmly at the innocent babe.


For the next three years, Hakuin devoted himself to the child. He begged for milk and bread on the streets, and spent every waking moment of his days caring for the baby.

He had lost his reputation. His disciples left him. He and the child were sent away from the temple, and now lived in a nearby cave. But Hakuin was not disturbed. He loved caring for the child, and found it to be one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. He was actually glad to be free of his priestly duties, so that he could fully devote himself to the babe.

In true Zen fashion, he lived within the moment, accepting the joys and sorrows of life, with passive acceptance; like clouds rolling across the sky. Some bring storms, while others bring shade, neither good or bad, right or wrong, all simply part of the whole, with necessary purpose, beyond the ability of the mind to comprehend.

On the occasion of the child’s fourth birthday, Hakuin brought the child into the store to buy a piece of candy. The young girl was now grown, and married. When she saw her child, she broke into tears, and announced to everyone that Hakuin was not the father. Her husband was the real father, but she was afraid that if she revealed this at the time, her parents would never have allowed the marriage.


The father and mother addressed Hakuin at once. Bowing low, they asked his forgiveness and apologized profusely.

“Great Master, we have shamed you wrongly, please forgive us, and release the child to his mother, where he rightly belongs. He is not your child Master Hakuin, he is ours.”

Hakuin expressed no more surprise or concern over the apologies than he had over the accusations. Although He loved the child as his own, he hugged his little wonder one last time, returned the babe into his mothers loving arms, and said,

“Is that so?”

*****************************************

Today, I honored the teaching of my friend, set my feminist political activism aside, and made the world a better place by building a treehouse with my son.

And while I will not give up the fight for right, I will, from now on, temper my frustrations on those issues with the words of Master Hakuin.

"Is That So?"

Give em HILL Baby!

Link


Rodham Clinton Calls For Affordable Access To Contraception, Pledges To Continue Hold On FDA Commissioner Nomination
Article Date: 16 Jun 2006 - 1:00am (PDT)

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday during a speech called for approval of a resolution (S Res 485) she introduced that says Congress should work toward providing affordable access to contraceptives to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, CQ HealthBeat reports. While speaking at a National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association luncheon, Rodham Clinton also said she would continue the hold that she and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have put on acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach's nomination to permanently head the agency until it issues a decision on whether to approve Barr Laboratories' application for nonprescription sales of its emergency contraceptive Plan B to women and girls ages 17 and older. "We're not telling [FDA] how to decide [on Barr's application]. We're telling them to decide it, because it would be indefensible to ignore the recent scientific investigations they've been given," Rodham Clinton said (Crowley, CQ HealthBeat, 6/13). In addition, she called on the country to "unite around a common goal of reducing the amount of abortions, ... not by making them illegal as many are attempting to do or overturning Roe v. Wade and undermining the constitutional protections that decision provided, but by preventing unintended pregnancies in the first place through education, contraception, accessible health care and services, empowering women to make decisions" (Hernandez, New York Times, 6/14). Rodham Clinton is sponsoring a measure (S 20) that would increase funding for family planning programs and a bill (S 2916) that would require state Medicaid programs to cover family planning services and supplies (Rodham Clinton release, 6/13).

Once upon a time

in a land far away,
a beautiful, independent,
self-assured princess
happened upon a frog as she walked
the shores of a sparkling blue lake
in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess' lap
and said: " Elegant Lady,
I was once a handsome prince,
until an evil witch cast a spell upon me.
One kiss from you, however,
and I will turn back
into the dapper, young prince that I am
and then, my sweet, we can marry
and set up housekeeping in your castle
with my mother, where you can prepare my meals,
clean my clothes,
bear my children,
and forever feel grateful and happy doing so. "

That night,
as the princess dined sumptuously
on lightly sauteed frog legs
seasoned in a white wine
and onion cream sauce,
she chuckled and thought to herself:

I don't think so!

Lets Put a Woman in the White House

Andy Rooney wrote a funny piece in which he asks, "Every time I think about it - which isn't very often - I think how wrong it is that we've never had a woman president of the United States. How did that happen? There has never been one American woman smart enough to be president? There isn’t a single woman alive as capable as George W. Bush? "

Andy makes a good point. IS there a woman in The United States as capable as Dubya? At this point, I am so ready for some diversity, I would vote for Edith Bunker!

Edith might be one donut shy of a dozen, but this "dingbat" was always the voice of reason, in the midst of partisan chaos. I can just picture Archie and The Meathead agruing over the war in Iraq:

Mike: We've got to get out of Iraq.

Archie: That's just like you commie liberals! A bunch of Cut and Run Chickens! Don't you realize if we don't fight the war over there, dem towel head terrorists is gonna bring it over here!

Mike: With what? They don'tt have any WMD's

Archie: Dey flew a plane into the world trade center!

Edith: Ohhhhh No Archie. That was Ol-Sammy-Been-layn. He ain't from Iraq, Archie. Sad-man-Who-Sane is the guy who gots his picture taken in his underwear. He's from a whole different country. You've got em mixed up, on account of they both have funny soundin names. The Sad-Man don't wear a towel Archie.

Archie: Dat don't matter now Edith, we're in there, and we has a duty as Americuns to stick it out until dem Iraquis becomes democrats, just like us.

Mike: I didn't know you were a democrat Archie!

Archie: That aint what I ment at all you Meathead! I'm talkin about Freedom and the Good Ol American Way!

Edith: I don't think you can force people to be free at gunpoint Archie. Maybe we should just let them decide about that for themselves.

(End of episode. Fade out.)


So, why is it that we have never had a woman president? There are more women voters than men in the U.S, so it stands to reason that if the women stood together we would have more women in public office. But in spite of the numbers, and the outstanding efforts of
The League of Women Voters, we have yet to put a Woman in the White House. Women apparently dont vote for women in this country.

Are we just trying to be polite, by not voting for ourselves, or are we so brainwashed by the Cosmo covers and Action Hero - Damsel in distress archtype that we can not find one woman capable of taking on this job? It's only four years folks. It's not like we are risking a lifetime appointment.

As far as that goes, take a look at our supreme court judges.


Outside of the one token female, and African American, we've got us a black robe wearin gang of powerful old white guys. Not that I have anything against old white guys (OWG's), but the fact is, they've been hogging the buffet for way too long.

They are The Hells Angels of The Hill. A rip roarin bunch of rowdy red neck rebs, more powerful and dangerous than any gang on the street. But do we care? Do we pay attention? Do we use our votes to infuse our govenment with pluralistic diversity? No! We vote in OWG's, through the GOP because we are afraid of WMD's, the NAACP, NOW, and the ACLU, not to mention GLB's (Gays, Lesbians and Bi-Sexuals.)

If we the People are the ones doing the voting, why is it that our leaders are not reflective of the cultural diversity in this country? The president of The Great Melting Pot should look more like Tiger W than George W.




Before we go stormin around the globe, waving the flag and forcing democracy on other cultures, I suggest we take some time to practice the art at home. When we get to a point where our elected officials actually reflect our population demographics, we might discover other countries will open up to the idea without the diplomatic incentive of quaking under our big American WID's. (Weapons of Infidelic Destruction.)

Remember the old Coke Commercial?



What happened to that sense of diversity in America? Where have all the Hippies gone? (Long time pa-a-ssing) Is The United States doomed to be run by GOP OWG's who out spend, out shout, and out spin each other for the holy grail of Power? Are we so stupid and apathetic that we buy into this farce? Do candidates really have to suck up to people like Jerry Fallwell in order to get votes?

Enough already. Let's put a woman in The White House, A Native American on The Supreme Court, and fill the House and Senate with Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, Islamic Americans, Jewish Americans, and a few Suburban Pagan housewives too!


I think the country is ready for a girl like Sam to speak for The State, especially since she has a masculine sounding name. The problem of course, is Daren.

We might be ready for a Mrs. President, but can we handle a first husband?

All the other foreign leaders would make fun of him at parties. It would demoralize and demasculinize every OWG in America! It would destroy the sanctity of marriage! The OWG's would all become hopeless viagra addicts who act out in desperate cries for attention!



Then again, they already are. So wadda ya say ladies, shall we put a woman in the White House? And dont wriggle out of it with the party/platform excuse. We all know darned good and well that any candidate who makes it to the show is centerist, and we have a system of checks and balances to keep even the wild ones in line.

Get Progressive! Let's smash the highest level of the great glass ceiling! Do it for your mother, Do it for your daughter, Do it for yourself, or just do it for me.


The White House Project Mission

The White House Project, is a national, nonpartisan, non-for-profit organization, created to advance women’s leadership in government, from local elections to the U.S. presidency.

"By filling the leadership pipeline with a richly diverse, critical mass of women, we make American institutions, businesses and government truly representative. Through multi-platform programs, The White House Project creates a culture where America’s most valuable untapped resource—women—can succeed in all realms.

To advance this mission, The White House Project strives to support women and the issues that allow women to lead in their own lives and in the world. When women leaders bring their voices, vision and leadership to the table alongside men, the debate is more robust and the policy is more inclusive and sustainable. By supporting women and the values that allow women to succeed—the full range of health options, security platforms that utilize all our resources, economic stability for all—we work to create an equitable culture."

To find out more visitThe White House Project and cast a vote for REAL democracy.