1/10/2010 – Sacramento, CA

or: Brown smartly appeals to younger voters, GOP entrenches for further in-fighting

The gloves have come off for the holidays; the season of pomp and cheer being replaced with an air of accusation and jeering. It seems that the three major candidates are already dealing with crises, the GOP candidates especially seem to still be trying to separate themselves from one another and, by smearing the next guy, trying to make it a vote that consists of just ‘not voting’ for the greater of the evils. Brown has had few PR issues and is now making some smart moves appearing at a fundraiser recently to get out and damage control the ‘recording scandal’ while Whitman and Poizner and both dealing with yet another round of unflattering facts coming out under scrutiny of the platforms and merit badges they point at to show their qualifications. So early in the campaign these candidates are already doing more repairs than improvements to their campaigns as this shapes up to be less of a ‘race to the Governor’s office’ and more of a pushing and shoving match to grab the last slice of pizza at a frat party.

Steve Poizner, third place GOP candidate with essentially no chance of winning even a ‘participant’ trophy at this point, has been cut down in some of his claims that, under his leadership as Insurance Commissioner, the state has seen a reduction to insurance costs to the tune of nearly $2 billion. Analysts at Consumer Watchdog seem to conclude that this figure really is inflated by $800 million since these cuts were set forth by Garamendi, Poizner’s predecessor. The Mercury News goes further to explain that Poizner, in fact, made some changes in May of 2008 to actually make it easier for insurance companies to hike up rates in certain sectors totaling $282 million in price increases. Poizner’s people, of course, defend his actions by saying that necessary changes were made and cite that the decreases of overall cost are factual, and no matter who initiated the changes, Poizner approved them and set them in motion.

Here is where you need to question the facts. There are facts that contradict one another under Poizner’s actual effect in his position. You could argue that he has simply been a custodian of the Garamendi legacy as insurance commissioner while doing little of his own work. It seems that Poizner’s people, as with all other candidates, cite facts, and they are facts, that paint him in a good light. They aren’t all out lies, what is more closely related to the reality of the situation is that the facts have been shaped and are stated as vague enough that you can’t call him a liar or a lame fish because he gets to tote the accomplishments of the office he hold and does not have to state what he has actually done. This creative manipulation of stats and facts shows up again when he beats the drum of cutting department cost by 15% overall and cutting staff by some 200 or so. Those numbers are a bit inflated and it seems that he should not be claiming this as his accomplishment being that the mandate for those cuts came down from legislature and the Governor due to the state deficit. So Poizner really should be claiming that he was able to operate within the constraints of a failing economy in California; he’s a good ‘Yes Man’.

Jerry Brown has faced a similar issue in the ‘recording scandal’ that was never really a scandal per say. Like Poizner’s claims being ambiguously inaccurate but not entirely a lie Brown has faced the same scrutiny in his poorly handled internal investigation of the incident that saw one of his senior aides resign. But Brown has chosen a very clever strategy of finally taking the offensive in fundraising and doing something that is entirely necessary in his campaign, he is reaching out to those that don’t remember ‘Brown’s California’…the young people. In a stroke of genius, in my opinion, the 71 year old Brown spoke at a club on the Sunset Strip to a group of 20, 30, and 40-somethings, called the Generation for Change. This is who he needed to reach out to, those that either were not alive or have no real recollection of what he did as Governor so long ago. This is a group of progressive professionals that may only be able to recall Brown in his ’92 bid for President, which failed, so it is vital that he reach out to this voting base and either change the impression they have of him, or give them an impression at all.

Brown, in ’92, ran on a campaign finance reform idea that he would accept a maximum of only $100 dollars from individuals and organizations; smartly he has abandoned this platform commenting that it is impossible to do this today in a state race and that if Whitman was willing to return the contributions to her campaign and take back the nearly $20 million of her own dollars she has spent then he would agree to a $100 maximum contribution rule for this election…unlikely though. Brown was able to get the group to laugh, he very creatively explained away claims that he changes all the time, “Well, if you are alive and if you are listening and you are growing, you will change, because the world is changing, and if you still were where you were before, you are dead.” He was able to outline the problems we face in California with a deficit, but he spoke to the fact we all seem to forget, that California has a state wealth of $1.6 trillion…it’s not all bad since our deficit is only about 1% of our overall wealth, this can be fixed.

I have to say here that I have a growing respect for the ‘campaigning Brown’. He is making a lot of good decisions thus far in so many different areas. The fact that he let Newsom burn himself out was a savvy decision on his part, to say the least. Brown has also now started to reach out to the younger voters with an air of charisma and has handled the recording scandal very well hushing it down to mere whispers. He is positioning himself with his record as a man of age, a career politician, that has changed with the times and is human in his maturing and changing over the years. It has to be said that he has also done a great job in highlighting issues of the election in a light of optimism and speaking in more constructive and positive terms, also avoiding name calling and negative ads, which can’t be said for his opponents. Brown is on a roll with great poll numbers and alliances with powerful players to get through the primaries unopposed and unscathed. When the debates start is when he may be tested, but by then there will be so much negative press for his opponents that it seems he will have no problem cutting them down as inexperienced opportunists with very negative, short histories in his beloved state.

Now we come to Meg Whitman…wow, this woman is running an insane campaign right now that seems to keep springing leaks that money can’t plug. Most recently she has had to contend with tax returns that only further highlight her inabilities as a recent conservative convert and business woman. Recent tax returns show that a foundation she is a director of contributed $200,000 dollars to the Environmental Defense Agency in the struggling delta of California. This is the same group that, since running for Governor, she has criticized and come out against as an opponent of development and farming jobs. She gave the group she is campaigning against money to support them, odd to say the least. Being that she only recently started voting, and the fact the only more recently she registered republican, in addition to he funding of projects she now opposes shows she is trying to pander to the conservative right to get in to office without regard for what she really believes.

If this weren’t enough two other facts have come out to destroy her claim of being a savvy business woman. I have written before of her poor record of running Ebay in the last few years at the company, nearly ruining Skype, and now there is more facts to support this claim. As with many different foundations in 2008 it took a bit of a hit with the failing markets, but her foundation took it particularly hard, at the rate of nearly 50% loss of equity. This might have something to do, though, with the fact that about 79% of the company’s value was represented in Ebay stock at the start of 2008, by the end the number was closer to 15%. This coincides oddly with her sitting on the board of directors at Ebay until late 2008. at the start of the year stock value was at about $33 a share, when she left they sat at under $15, since she left Ebay entirely they have seen an increase of stock value to nearly $24 a share under the direction of new acting CEO Donahue. A weird coincidence to say the least; though some losses were inevitable in 2008, under her direction in the last few years, during a national crisis, she has not performed well to stop financial blood letting in ventures she participates in. Anyone can succeed in a good times, but we need someone who can succeed during crisis, her record speaks for itself on this front.

Where we find ourselves is at a point when the three big names in the campaign are at very different points of decision. I feel that Meg’s projected $150-million dollar campaign will get her to the general election, but that is simply because her GOP rivals just cannot compete with her name recognition and propaganda team. Brown will skate to the general election with ease and he has yet to officially be in the race. Poizner has some serious soul searching to do as he is not closing the lead Whitman has and has no chance against Brown if he made it to the general election. Poizner should try to save face, dropping out soon, and reload for a position in the state people give a crap about before he jumps in to the Governor’s race. The primaries will embarrass Poizner as Campbell and Whitman enjoy very large leads over him now, and Campbell has done less than anyone!

I think that the opportunistic, flawed politics of the GOP candidates is going to fail, it is not genuine and they will not be able to contend with Brown’s views and record as things like immigration, reform, and a history of service in California come in to play. Poizner and Whitman will lose some of the conservative base with their history and their position on abortion that pandering and flip flopping on other views won’t make up for. The hubris of the rich elitists will not sway the people of California when matched against the life of service Brown has tucked up his sleeve; this is the Achilles Heel that will become apparent as middle american California hits the voting booths.

Well! Midday Veil is back from our tour with Oakland-based chanteuse Janina Angel Bath and in spite of a few very minor setbacks, the trip went better than we could have possibly expected.

Midday Veil at the Black Lodge, Seattle, 11/13/09. Photo by Chrissy Atkins.

Our journey began with a tour kickoff show at the excellent Seattle DIY venue the Black Lodge, hosted by psych collective Portable Shrines and featuring Diminished Men and Night Beats, two of our favorite local bands.  It was also our first time to hear Janina perform.  Traveling as a solo artist, Janina’s sets featured a rotating cast of supporting musicians, some of whom she had never met before the day of the performance.  In Seattle, Janina was accompanied by David “Skip” Milford (The Melbatones, Frigging Pillocks, Quietus) on electric fiddle and David Golightly and Chris Pollina of Midday Veil on synths and drums.

Known to many PNW music fans as the girl who used to sing with Eternal Tapestry, Janina is a serious vocalist who studies in the North Indian classical tradition brought to the U.S. by Raga Master Pandit Pran Nath.  Janina was touring in support of her gorgeous new album Gypsy Woman, masterfully performing her strikingly original folk songs rooted in the structures of Indian classical music.

Janina Angel Bath performs “Every Day is Different” at the HUB, Sacramento.

Our second stop was at Ella St. Social Club in Portland, formerly the Towne Lounge, and even more formerly a mausoleum, where we were fortunate enough to share the stage with Holy Children and Datura Blues, who absolutely floored us with their performance.  The turnout for our first-ever PDX show was excellent, thanks in part to the promotional efforts of Ella St. booker Showdeer, and also to the great press we received in Willamette Week:

Seattle’s Midday Veil stops off in Portland for the first date of a West Coast tour, a jaunt that will likely squeegee clean a number of third eyes along the way. Its brand of mind-expanding psychedelia rarely gets above a snail’s pace, allowing you to experience every spiraling guitar run and droning bleat of the band’s vintage synthesizers, as well as the fluttering arc of Emily Pothast’s space-mother vocals. It’s a sound custom designed to coax you down the rabbit hole, leaving you blissfully lost in wonderland. —Robert Ham.

After taking full advantage of Portland’s late-night dining options (Dear Seattle: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CARTS!) and soaking up some hospitality from my kick-ass relatives in Gresham, we were on our way to Sacramento.

Chris Pollina drives the tour van, Mt. Shasta in the distance. Photo by David.

Our gig in Sacto was at an informal underground venue called the HUB, and our host was a local DJ and musician named Larry Rodriguez, whose overwhelming charm and generosity was enough to make this stop one of our favorites.  At the HUB, we shared the bill with two incredible female singer-songwriters, Lida Husik and Christine Shields, who was accompanied on drums by Phil Franklin of Sunburned Hand of the Man.

Next up was the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco, where we were looking forward to playing with Elm (the solo project of Barn Owl’s Jon Porras).  Unfortunately Jon came down with the flu and had to cancel at the last minute.  (We hope he had a speedy recovery!)  The show went on despite losing the local headliner, with us playing to a cozy assembly of our own friends and acquaintances.

Midday Veil at the Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco.  Projections by David Golightly.

On Thursday, we played a live set on KDVS Radio in Davis.  The show can be streamed from KDVS’s website.  On Friday we headed back down to the Bay Area to play at another exceptional DIY space, the Church of the True Living God in Oakland.  We were very warmly received in Oakland, thanks to organizer Christopher Musgrave (of the Lumerians) and the other bands.

Midday Veil performing “Divide by Zero” at the Church of the True Living God, Oakland.

“Asymptote,” Church of the True Living God.  Killer guitar solo in this one!

All in all, we had a good time, played some fun shows, saw some wonderful music and made some great contacts along the coast.  We also learned lots things we can take with us next time. I can’t wait!

Up next:  Midday Veil is playing a Solstice show at the Comet Tavern on December 20 (my birthday!) and has plans to go into the studio in January 2010 to work on our first studio LP.

Janina Angel Bath and Midday Veil. From left to right: Janina, David Golightly, Timm Mason, Chris Pollina and Emily Pothast. Photo by Christopher Musgrave.

A little bit late, but here nonetheless… From a shoot with Mark last week, great guy = great shoot.

So I often read the fashion mags, I am frequently dissappointed with the prices in even the “bargain” or “value” issues. Wow a shirt for under a $100, big wooop. Well many designers who frequent fashion week have been collaborating with big box stores for “capsule” collections. Fashion to the massed thru Target, Walmart, etc.. I was brousing through Walmart or Wallyworld as I call it and my attention was grasped by a small Norma Kamali display. One in particular with a bold graphic butterfly print and edgy, yet clean lines. I came home and sought it out online. Wow $10 that is doable. Shipping is $.97 and tax was like $.85. Shipped to my door for under $12, I will take it. Don’t forget to surf when a store has limited availability in stock. Another fun grouping Walmart is featuring is the Miley/ Max Azria one, cute, affordable, and youthful (too young for even me). The Norma pieces are composed with great lines and smart color palette!

I’m on my way home. I left Sacramento before 6 o’clock this morning and now I’m in Denver for a three hour layover. Sid and Adam will meet me at the airport in Kansas City and take me home. At 10 minutes till 9, that seems like a really long time away.

So, as I sit here waiting to hug Adam, start classes again and sleep for an extended period of time, I will take a minute to reflect on what made my day, even though it’s been very short.

This Thanksgiving gave me a lot to more to think about my family. I saw my extended family in California- uncles, cousins, aunts- six years ago. I think that might be a long time for family. Yet, I must confess that it’s never bothered me too much because my immediate family is pretty close.

However, this Thanksgiving I sat down with almost all the family I know. I hung out with my cousins. I talked with my uncles and aunts. It was nice. And weird. I’m not going to lie, I have never made too much effort to get to know my extended family. I loved them like you love the people you share blood with. Now I want to love them like family. The kind when you love them for the good and bad because that’s who they are.

Mostly, though, I started a new relationship with my brother and a friendship with my cousins.

Now I have a few more hours to sit and mull over the importance of family, creating family, support networks, unconditional love, all that. Day made. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Yesterday, Thanksgiving morning 2009, near Sacramento State University five of us from Voyage Home Loans ran the Sacramento Food Bank’s Run to Feed the Hungry with 29,000 others in an effort to raise money for the food bank.  Josh Harmatz, CEO, my brother Nicholas Lucia, Voyage’s Director of Client Service, Paul Thomas and Joe Bria, Voyage loan officer and I started the 5K run at 9:05 am.  It was brisk, but there was a ton of energy despite the cold in the enormous crowd as Mayor Kevin Johnson started us on our way.

It was a very cool experience to be out there with all those people running in something that should make a difference in many peoples’ lives.  I’ve always been involved in charity and have always enjoyed volunteering more than just throwing money at something, but with Voyage it has been fantastic to see the leadership of the company so committed to making a difference.  The philosophy behind what we’re doing is inspiring.

Many people place the blame (or at least part of the blame) of this financial meltdown on the mortgage industry.  While I could go on and on about all the things that contributed to it, those things aren’t important.  What is important is that Voyage and the leadership believe that by working in our community and inspiring others to work within their community we can make differences in peoples’ lives locally.  Further, if we’re all working locally to help others and to improve the environment, together we’ll make a much larger impact on the nation and maybe even the world.

By helping our community and encouraging others to do so, we’re creating another, larger community, and our hope is that when people are ready to buy a home or refinance they will look within the community for help to do so.  It makes sense.  Our business will grow over time and through that growth our community and communities around the country will improve (along with the environment) because of the efforts we’re putting forth as individuals and as an organization.

2010 is going to be great year for Voyage and our efforts will be ratcheting up.  We have some very exciting things planned and I’m looking forward to our continued efforts and what those efforts can yield!  I hope you will come along and join with us.  Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday:

Post Race Voyage Team Goodness cools down (From L to R): Me, Nicholas Lucia, Director of Client Relations, Joe Bria, loan officer, Paul Thomas, loan officer, Josh Harmatz, CEO.  Josh finished with the best time of the group.  Nice work boss!

Josh, Nick and Joe are really excited to get under way!

You can also find some more photos of Voyage Team Goodness and many others here and here in two compilations by  sacramentopress.com’s Casey Kirk.

Have a great weekend!

Ryan Lucia
recruitment@voyagemtg.com

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We normally head up to my parent’s house for the holiday, but since I’m on call my family ended up coming down here and we spent the day at my uncle’s house near Sacramento.

I decided to try something different for my dessert contribution this year, and took the pumpkin we got from Winterport Farm and roasted it up to make a bourbon pumpkin cheesecake.

Since I also love cranberry sauce an ungodly amount, I put myself in charge of making that too.  My version this year involved cranberries, a couple of whole satsuma mandarins (juice, pulp, and rind chopped up), and fresh grated ginger.  I am already planning on heading back to the store to buy several bags of cranberries so I can make this later in the year (or maybe make a bit to can up now).

And, because I loved our dinner so dang much, here’s a list of what was else was made:
-Pumpkin/ginger/cranberry bread (I made for breakfast)
-Sausage and herb stuffed mushrooms
-Turkey – my dad does this with lots of herbs under the skin and I’m not sure what else
-Stuffing with bacon, walnuts, and other yummy things
-Arugula salad with persimmons, pomegranate seeds, and blue cheese
-Green beans with onions and irish cheddar cheesy sauce
-Mashed potatoes
-Gravy
-Brussel sprouts with bacon (we love some bacon)

We had pie for breakfast so I’m holding out until later today to eat up the rest of our leftovers from last night. Mmmmm.

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I did very well on my picks yesterday.  The problem was I relied too much on parlays again.

I went 2-1 on the NFL games and 2-0 on the NHL games.  The problem was I lost all 3 NFL parlays because of the Giants. I still managed to break even but you shouldn’t just be breaking even if your record is 4-1 (80%).

I could blame the lackluster Giants for blowing my parlays but the truth of the matter is I got too greedy and overconfident. I parlayed my picks, then I did a 6pt teaser in case they didn’t quite cover the spread, then I parlayed the games straight up. I was conifident the Giants would win, I just wasn’t confident in Dallas winning by 14.

Here is the lesson: Never play a parlay unless you can make up for the loss by winning about 65% of your picks.

In otherwords, I should have been able to at least break even as long as 2 teams won.  Instead, I had to rely on my NHL games to bring me back up. With a winning percentage currently at 75-80%, covering losses with a 65% winning rate is reasonable.

Anyway, we got some good games coming up today in NHL and NBA. I’ll give you all my picks later this afternoon but here are some games to start your day. I’ll have some NCAA football picks for you later today as well.

NBA: Phoenix vs Minnesota: PHO -9.5

This game is strong enough to play straight. No buying points needed today.

Straight up parlay: PHO, POR, BOS, SAC

These games are strong enough to play straight up but I give no guarantees on spreads (other than the Suns, which I still don’t “guarantee,” obviously). I’d especially stay clear of Boston’s spread as they are in an 0-6 ATS rut and 2-10 in their last 12 games ATS.

NHL:

Atlanta vs Carolina SU (-115)

This is one of the strongest games in my NHL GF System, but one of the lowest moneylines. 

Parlay: ATL (vs CAR), CHI (vs ANA), PHI (vs BUF), FLOR (vs TOR)

I usually just do parlays with NHL because it’s too hard to play the spreads and the lines are often too much to make it worth while.  I like these picks though as the Thrashers (ATL) are 7-2-1 on the road (Carolina is 3-0 at home in it’s last 3 games but all were to losing teams), Chicago’s Hossa had a strong debut with 2 goals and should continue his dominance, the Flyers are getting Briere back and looked strong even without him, and Florida is 5-0-3 since Nov 12th and 4-0 against Toronto in their last 4 meetings(The Panthers have lost 3 straight at home but all were in OT, and all were to winning teams).

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"

I love Charlie Brown holiday specials. They take me to the happy places in my past.

There, I’ve huddled in my Sacramento family room flanked by my mother, sister and a bowl of popcorn sprinkled with raisins. I’ve  planted myself at my Philly grandfather’s knee and munched Pepperidge Farm goldfish, his favorite snack.

I’ve also snuggled with my little ones on our Virginia couch, raisin-studded popcorn warming our laps, as Linus awaited the Great Pumpkin and Snoopy prepared the craziest Thanksgiving meal ever. Now that I fix my own Turkey Day dinners, I wonder who would eat a pretzel, popcorn, toast and jellybean feast. As a kid, however, the combination seemed a natural choice for a beagle chef and his yellow-feathered assistant.

Mary

Time-warping for those 20-some minutes puts a spit shine on the daily grind as well as the challenges scuffing my life. This year, especially, I’ve needed an escape from my grandmother’s losing battle with Alzheimer’s. Where brown-eyes sparkled or blazed, glassy impressions remain. Where wit and racy humor sparred, confusion overpowers.

She still knows me, yes, and she has many good days. But the lucid, cheeky woman who taught me the Jive in her kitchen is transformed and I hate that. No, I’m petrified. She is more than my grandmother, she’s a second mother and friend. Who else but those two would stay up until 2 a.m. to help type one of my high school papers when it became clear I wouldn’t get it done in time?

Oh, we had our clashes, too. Most involved her not wanting to hear my opinion about the way she saw herself.  For all her bluster and bubble, she never felt good enough. But don’t let my sister or I chime a similar ditty. My grandmother would lay into us but good about doubting our worth; wallowing in regrets.

Wedding day

I have plenty of my own including not taking the time to record some of her trademark stories. She had a clarity of memory I still envy. She could recite poems she learned in elementary school or the names of all the girls in her graduating class. She’d bring her South Philly childhood into whatever room we were in with HD-quality sharpness. And watch out if that focus turned on you.

The day she called a friend she thought was drinking too much a “liquor pig,” I winced and marveled at the richness of the description. Other classics include “Hard heads make sore behinds,” “Oh, you really be-stank your nest,” and “You’re about to tear your behind, but good.”

I miss hearing them from the woman who spends more time in what my sister calls “her happy place.” She shares the goings-on there in what seem like disjointed little bits, but I hope her time travels are as comforting as mine.

Here are Ways #s 4 and 5 from the last post which promised you 5 Ways to Be More Great-full (Boost Your Gratitude Attitude)…

#4: FAMILY (or couple’s) GRATITUDE BOOK
We just spent a very pleasant hour doing this great art & writing interactive project. So simple and yet so meaningful and fun! Quality family time!

We do not watch television, nor do our children. We are dedicated to parenting consciously and strive to support a vibration of love in our household. Yet, given that my husband and I are both entrepreneurs, with seven businesses between the two of us, and given that our children are still quite young, we know how important and sometimes challenging it can be to come up ideas (not to mention time, energy and materials) for positive family experiences.

I myself am about the least craftsy person you will ever meet and can draw a stick figure on a good day! So believe me when I tell you: Yes, you CAN do this project, and probably with what’s already available in your home. It really ranks high on simple, high on fun, high on memorable, and low on expense. (I can NEVER do those Origami things, puuleeeeeazzze, can we talk?)

Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time to do this Family Gratitude Book…but of course so is any day that ends in “y.” Monday, Tuesday…. Enjoy!

Materials:

All you need is:

Some blank paper (we used printer or copy paper, white)

Construction paper

Ribbon or brass brads to secure the book

Markers, pencils, hole punch and/or scissors

Optional: Stickers, stamps, other art supplies, scrapbook, photos

Definitely: A little bit of time and lots of love!

We started by making a brainstormed list of everything we are grateful for. You can do this any way you like; follow your own creative impulses & inspiration. We have four family members, so I decided to color code what we wrote on this collective page or you could just all write and draw without attributing who said/drew what, or make a chart, have sections of the page, etc. The things my 6-year-old called out first were written in yellow, my 10-year-old chose blue, I picked purple and my husband green. We made a color key on the page and wrote and drew various things we are thankful for: Our dog came first, followed by a lovely torrent such as family and friends, food, a good home, music, the Earth, music, health, God, life and so on.

Then I gave each family member a separate page on which to do whatever they like, the only requirement being that whatever is on the page relates to or represents what they are thankful for. We stuck in some more blank pages, so we can add more later as we are inspired.

The kids each got to pick a color for the front and back covers. The older did the words, the younger did the drawings. We punched holes, added brads, all signed the masterpiece and voila! A Family Gratitude Book.

Not only a wonderful way to spend part of our Thanksgiving Day, but a precious keepsake, and, I trust, a new family tradition as well. We will be sharing this book with family all weekend long and inviting them to add to it as well. And of course, it can be done any day! Every day bears its own gifts if we just open the package.

Today we focused mainly on what we are thankful for in our current lives (now), but we could also include wonderful memories (past) and gratitude for all the blessings on the way! (future)

Alternative for Couples: You can also do this as a Couple’s Gratitude Book or Journal, a beautiful way to show appreciation and deepen connection. So few marriages last or are happy, as we all know, and I am blessed to have a deliriously, deLIGHTfully ecstatic marriage, 12 years strong and better every day. One of the reasons is of course, the selection of the right mate; but in order to do so, we had to do the necessary self-healing and inner preparation to bring whole, healthy individuals to the relationship. Much of this work is presented in my book: The Radical Self-Love Workbook. But it is also essential to nurture even the best of relationships, and my husband and I do so daily in many creative ways such as this.

More tips on love and relationships are at

www.LoveandSpirit.org

and at my love blog: loveandspiritblog.wordpress.com.

Whether you do the Gratitude Book as a homemade book like we did today, like a scrapbook or journal, and whether you do it as a family activity or a couple’s relationship-enhancer, it will help you see your life through the eyes of love and gratitude, and bring you even closer with those you love. Enjoy! And I welcome you to send me a comment or email to share your experience.

#5: Honor the 4 Directions and 4 Sacred Elements:

Earth, Air, Fire, Water

You do not have to be Native American to appreciate one of their traditions, which is to honor the Medicine Wheel, facing each of the four directions, thanking each one for their gifts. This is also a tradition in all indigenous cultures including pre-Christian Europe (a.k.a. Wicca, Druidry, paganism, et al.), Africa, Australia, Hawaii and South America.

In fact, if you scratch the surface beneath contemporary religions on any part of the Earth, you will find an ancient shamanic tradition that honors all the directions and all of nature as sacred.

All things follow this cycle of birth, growth, fruition and quietude, whether we are looking at seasons, a lifespan, a day, or a garden. The beauty of Medicine Wheel ceremony and the paradigm itself is that it can be applied to our lives in so many ways.

So how do you honor the directions and elements, to give thanks for what they give to us so generously? Here are a few ideas:

* Altar: Create an altar to each direction or a Medicine Wheel altar encompassing all the directions/elements. This can be in your home or outside. My husband specializes in creating Medicine Wheels as a sacred practice on the land, and has helped others to do this as well.

* Cherokee Dance of Life – You would need to learn this in person from someone who has learned it, oral tradition. This is an incredible moving meditation to all 4 directions, peoples, and elements which also honors Mother Earth and Father Sky, balances their energies as sacred partners in our hearts, and helps us give away the gifts of Spirit that are our special medicine to share with the world through our right work and service. Occasionally my husband and I share this Dance with our community. If you live near Sacramento, and would like to experience this dance, let us know so we can invite you. Or perhaps Spirit will guide you to another teacher of this beautiful tradition.

* Drum, chant, play flute to each direction

* Give offerings such as cornmeal, tobacco or sage smoke to each direction

* Speak aloud from your heart to each direction and give thanks

* Sweat lodge

* Vision quest

If you do either sweat lodge or vision quest, please do so with the guidance of a Native elder to be sure you do it properly and safely.

* Journal or journey (shamanic meditation) to discover what power animals comprise your personal Medicine Wheel of your own energy field. I love to lead these meditations when I am called to do so. Honoring your own inner Medicine Wheel supports a strong aura and keeps you connected to your spirit guides, if this resonates for you.

Associations with Each Direction

Depending on which culture or even which tribe you consult, there are somewhat different associations with the directions, colors, elements and meanings, the medicine or power that direction helps us receive and embody. The one I am most familiar with follows but this is not dogma, merely a summary of what I have found to be the more universal associations. Follow your own heart and work with any spiritual practice in the way that resonates for your own heart and inner truth.

While I have a small amount of native blood, I was adopted and was not raised in that tradition. I discovered shamanism after my initiation and spiritual awakening 15 years ago. I do not claim to be a tribal elder or teacher of any one tradition. I am an interfaith minister, meditation teacher, hypnotherapist, energy healer and intuitive life coach. I have been on the path of Spirit, studying, practicing and sharing healing and wisdom teachings from many cultures for several decades, so I offer here a simplified summary as a starting point for your discovery journey. You would do well to study more in depth with a local teacher steeped in the particular tradition that calls to your spirit, and of course feel free to research further on the Web, in books, classes, and listen to your own inner guidance. I always say the best way to pray, do ceremony or ritual is the way that feels best to you, with harm to none, of course. But we do need to honor the specific traditions so they are not all diluted through multiculturalism.

From the East we have the yellow people (Asia) and the gift of Air, Brother Wind, clarity of vision, inspiration, the new day, new beginnings, establishment of purpose and intention, and springtime.

From South, we receive the wisdom of the black people (Africa), Fire. The tools, strength, perseverance and energy to follow through and manifest, midday/ noon, summer, also humor and passion, innocence and trust.

The West gives us the culture of the Red people (such as Native Americans), the setting sun, Water, emotions, the fall season, self-evaluation toward completion, looks-within time, peace, rest and healing.

And the North represents the White (European) people and all their cultural gift. The sacred mountain, winter, midnight, time to slow down, go within and be still to receive guidance for what comes next. Completion, what you keep from the past cycle and all that you have accomplished and learned. It is also associated with the Spirit and wisdom.

Note: You can also honor the other 3 directions: Earth (below), Sky (above) and Center (within).

I hope you enjoyed these five creative ways to give thanks and I wish you abundant blessings on your journey!

Finally, in the spirit of Sufi mystic poet Rumi, I invite you to kiss the ground. Blow kisses to the sky. Bow to everything. Everything is sacred.

With Love,

Sage

More resources for your path, including free special reports on abundance, love, transformational classes, soul and energy healing sessions, intuitive readings, matchmaking and more are at:

www.LoveandSpirit.org

Taylor@LoveandSpirit.org

“Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

- Rumi

Here are the top 10 must haves at any bachelor party. They are in no particular order and Im sure there are more things to have at these kind of parties but here are the ones that really matter.

#1 Drinks

#2 Cigars

#3 Gag Gifts

#4 Strippers

#5 Good Friends

#6 No Girls

#7 Food

#8 Money

#9 A Camera

#10 Music or DJ

All that doesn’t sound so bad, pretty simple. In a hectic frenzy to plan these things, sometimes you might forget about something so simple as good music, so check the list twice and have the time of your life!

Strippers before the party

Spacefunk and Parallax – Crucial Turducken (live on dnbradio.com)

Recorded live on 2009-11-25 22:06:20 – (111 MB)

Description: Thanksgiving Eve Special

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Tracklist:
01 – Henree/Hiten – Naked City
02 – SPY – Asbo
03 – Mikal – Distance
04 – Noah D/Einstein – Killing Time (Break remix)
05 – Spectrasoul – 4 Points
06 – Gremlinz/Goldstar – Cutlass
07 – Giocator – You Go First
08 – Nymfo – Magnetic Field
09 – Alix Perez – Playing Tricks
10 – Stereotype- Euphoria
11 – Arp XP – Equation
12 – Bcee – Mr. Brigidan feat. Jo S
13 – The Law – Sophine
14 – Level 2 – Extension
15 – Subwave – Dreamcatcher
16 – Bcee – Heartache feat. Ad-Apt
17 – Data – The Sprawl
18 – ATP – Don’t Stand Still
19 – EZ Rollers – Believe (Marky/XRS Remix)
20 – Break – Old Method
21 – Break & Kyo – Last Chance (remix)
22 – D kay/Lee – Tuning VIP
23 – Bulletproof/No Money – Immortal
24 – Scoop/Rico – Little Green Men
25 – Ruffen/Dissent – 2 Original
26 – Lomax – Avon Calling
27 – Future Forces – Strontium Jazz (Dillinja remix)
28 – Dom/Roland – Mind Feeder
29 – Utopia – Scan Me
30 – Dom/Roland – Peacekeeper (Audio Remix)
31 – Loxy/JDub – Twisted 3rd Mind (Keaton/Hive Remix)
32 – Dub Elements – Green Bottle
33 – Higher Sense – Cold Fresh Air (Cyantific remix)
34 – Spectrasoul – Gaurdian
35 – Calibre – Ringtone
36 – High Feel – Make My Mind (Mage VIP)
37 – High Contrast – Green Screen
38 – DJ Trace – Final Chapta
39 – Stress Level/TC1/Chris Su – Waves (Survival remix)
40 – Zero T/ Mosus – Headspace
41 – Alix Perez – Melanie
42 – Survival – Betrayed

What a day for basketball and hockey! It doesn’t look like there are any NBA games I can play straight but I still have a few teasers to do.

Hockey, on the otherhand, has produced quite a few nice plays, but the moneyline is a little too weak for some of them to actually be playable.  I don’t go less than -150.

By the way, the NHL game you can watch for free tonight is Chicago Blackhawks vs San Jose Sharks. It should be a good game.  Just click on that link once the game starts and you should see a “watch live” button somewhere.

Also, this is going to be a quick pick day again as I am too busy to write out the full details.  And I’m putting my O/U picks on hiatus until I find a good system for that.

First, my NBA picks:

DEN VS MIN; DEN -4.5 (bought 4)

NJ VS POR; POR -11.5 (bought 1)

GS VS SA; GS +17.5 (bought 4)

NY VS SAC; SAC +2.5 (bought 7)

I played Portland as a straight wager with a 1 point buy.  I also included the Blazers in a few teasers, which included the other teams:

4pt teaser: POR -8.5, DEN -4.5, GS -17.5

7pt teaser: POR -5.5, DEN -1.5, GS -20.5

7pt teaser: SAC +2.5, DEN -1.5, GS -20.5

And for the NHL games, I just did a 3-team parlay as that makes the most sense.  Why bet straight on a bunch of  -200 teams when you can combine them to give you a 3-to-1 payout? Normally it’s not quite that good of a payout, I don’t think.  I’m pretty sure sportsbook.com is doing some Thanksgiving promotion on parlays.

Parlay:

MON vs PIT

CAR vs ANA

TOR vs TB

There were others that showed up as strong games but since I’m just getting into the NHL again and this system is so new I didn’t want to get greedy.  I’ll call them on here, but just know I didn’t bet on these.

PHI vs NYI

OTT vs NJ

BUF vs WAS

STL vs DAL

NAS vs COL

PHO vs CAL

I recently was invited to visit the new home of my former clients.  While there, I noticed a really pretty blue and white ceramic jar sitting in the middle of their kitchen table.  Next to the jar was a small pad of paper and a pen.  It was a wedding gift and it was called the thankful jar (Dagnes…correct me if I’m wrong on the name ).  The premise being that any time you think of something that you are thankful for, no matter how big or small, you write it down on a piece of paper and put it in the jar.  On Thanksgiving, you take out all the pieces of paper and read off what you were thankful for during the past year. 

What an incredibly thoughful and amazing gift!  I think as human beings, we do tend to forget all those little blessings that we have in our lives.  These stressful times of high unemployment, war, and violence that is seen so much on our TV’s and in our newspapers (yes, I still get a newspaper) tends to make us believe that there is nothing to be thankful for in our lives.  Yet life provides so many moments for us to be thankful for and we often forget about them when we are bombarded with negativity.  A precious smile from one of my boys, a big hug from my husband, a nuzzle from one of my cats, a heartfelt note from a friend, a big thank you from one of my clients…..these are things that I am very thankful for every day, and sometimes, I think we tend to take for granted.  Imagine if we did take a moment to write those things down, how overflowing that jar would be on Thanksgiving Day!

So to all those who have provided me with life’s many happy moments and blessings this year, I say THANK YOU!  Oh, and I think I will be scouring the stores on Black Friday (yes, I will be out a 4 am…LOL) for a pretty little jar to place in my home.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Karen

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The Bead Fetish is one of my favorite spots in Sacramento. There are three rooms of glass and stone beads, charms and anything you need to make something pretty.

I wasn’t sure what I was looking for because I felt so overwhelmed by all the possibilities. Like always, my shopping tray was filled with pieces that could be a potential project, but I couldn’ settle on one idea.

But then, I saw the butterfly charm. It was very similar to the butterfly on a necklace I loved so much but lost, a necklace that was given to me by my great friend Viridiana. I decided I’d try to recreate it, though I could only remember it was very earthy with brown braided string and turquoise beads. They didn’t have the same string, and I really don’t even know what it’s called, but I settled on thin brown leather. I bought some beautiful colorful beads, but changed my mind later and used some green ones I found in my bead box.

I couldn’t figure out how I wanted to do it at first (and silly me didn’t think to buy enough leather so I was a little limited). But I just did something so very simple with knots and few green beads. I do like it, but I might reconstruct it one of these days when I get more leather (or find that other string stuff). Any ideas?

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Lakers' Pau Gasol returned to action November 19

Pau Gasol returned to NBA Action in his season debut on Thursday, November 19. This is great news for the Lakers. This is also horrible new for the Bulls, who happened to play at Staples Center on this night.

I’m dumb to admit this, but I have a lot of pride and too much faith in this Bulls team. I told my Dad during PreGame that Chicago, “was going to win this game.” Looking back on it a week later…obviously, I was wrong.

The reason we lost last year, was Pau Gasol. When I was in attendance in 2008 Pau had 34 points in 34 minutes. Needless to say, he killed us. And again last Thursday in 2009, he killed us again. Now, I’ll get back to Pau in a minute. And I’m not trying to overshadow what Pau did in 2 games vs. The Bulls but Kobe Bryant was the man headlining after the game. Kobe scored 21 points and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the Lakers’ All-Time Scoring List. Again, Bad Timing. Kobe’s next target is Jerry West (The guy on the NBA Logo) who is the Lakers’ All-Time Leading Scorer with 25, 192 Points in a Lakers Uniform. It just so happened that tonight was our night, or I guess I should say… wasn’t our night. As for Pau Gasol, I got to say that this guy can flat out shoot the ball, put it on the floor, and post-up better than any guy his size in the League. He is way better than I previously thought. He scored the first 10 of 13 Laker points, and again he played 34 minutes at Home against the Bulls.

On the other side, the Bulls (6-7) who shot well but played sloppy in Sacramento, flew parallel to the Interstate-5 and came to Los Angeles for 3 days only to get their ass kicked by Pau Gasol & Company. Our MVP through 12 games has been Mr. Swag Himself Joakim Noah. Big Jo landed a huge game vs the Lakers with a stat line of 12 points, 15 boards, 4 dimes, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. It obviously wasn’t enough because behind Pau were the likes of 7-footer Andrew Bynum and Heavyweight Ron Artest. Not to mention, the NBA’s best all-around player Kobe.

LEGISLATION WILL PROVIDE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ASPIRING TEACHERS AND CREATE TEACHER ACCOUNTABILITY

SACRAMENTO – Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, today introduced a package of three bills into the Fifth Extraordinary Session on Education which addresses the federal Race to the Top program.  Assembly Bill 5xxxxx, 6xxxxx, and 7xxxxx are common-sense reforms to help more qualified and dedicated individuals enter the teaching profession sooner and require accountability from our teachers to ensure California’s students get the best education possible.

“Many outstanding citizens want to teach in our public schools, but find it hard to do so because of existing work and family responsibilities,” said Nestande.  “AB 5xxxxx will give them an opportunity to earn a teaching credential through alternative programs offered by local governments or community organizations, without having to go through the traditional route that is geared towards young college students.”

Current law allows only postsecondary education institutions to offer teacher education programs with few exemptions.  Assembly Bill 5xxxxx authorizes other institutions, such as a school district, county office of education, or a community-based or nongovernmental organization, to submit a teacher education program to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for approval.  Additionally, it allows the Commission to issue teaching credentials to candidates who have successfully completed an approved teacher education program offered by these institutions.

Assembly Bill 6xxxxx extends local control to our school districts by allowing county offices of education to issue eminence teaching credentials to qualified candidates and encourages more access to the teaching profession through nontraditional routes. “By allowing local school districts to issue this type of credential, we are attempting to ease the complicated process and get highly qualified professionals into the classroom quickly,” said Nestande.

Using student data, Assembly Bill 7xxxxx would allow school administrators to require professional development of an instructor. If the person directed to participate in professional development activities does not successfully complete these activities, such action by the certificated employee can be considered unsatisfactory performance and is grounds for dismissal.

“When it comes to education, success should be encouraged and rewarded, and failure should not go unnoticed.  If students have to prove they are learning, teachers need to prove they can teach,” said Nestande. “The use of student data in evaluating a teacher’s performance is one way to improve teacher accountability in the classroom.”

AB 5xxxxx, 6xxxxx, and 7xxxxx are all designed to make California more competitive in applying for “Race to the Top,” a $4.35 billion federal program announced by President Obama earlier this year.  The program is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to encourage reform and innovation in our public schools.  Since Race to the Top funds are to be given only to states that meet specific criteria and are judged to have a strong commitment to reform, these measures are one of many reforms needed to give California a legitimate shot at earning its fair share of funds.

“With our schools in need of reform, this package of bills will address one of the major challenges facing our state – providing a well-qualified teacher in every classroom,” said Nestande.  “I look forward to working with my legislative colleagues to help pass these bills as soon as possible so we can become more competitive for federal education funds.”

Assemblyman Nestande proudly serves the communities of Canyon Lake, Indian Wells, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Riverside, Temecula, Perris, Wildomar, Winchester, Menifee, Hemet, Anza, Idyllwild, Bermuda Dunes, Mountain Center, and Woodcrest.