Merry Xmas y'all! Sorry, sometimes I like to pretend I am Paula Dean. Anyways I just wanted to say that now that Xmas is upon us, I am much less of a grinch now. See my last post for details. . I do still think that everything I said previously about xmas is true. Today is still a very sad day for many.

Last night I watched Jim Carey play the Grinch and I really did enjoy it when I intended on hating it. My little cousin Gary was over and he said that he is scary. I really love when movies or books are made that further develop the characters.

My Mom got me my sister and brother a row of three stuffed chipmunks that dance and sing Up On the House Top by the original Chipmunks. I love it and wish that I could take it home but it is staying here in Florida since it is for all three of us.

On Friday morning Mike and I were coming out of my house and these two young men came up to us and were like "are you driving?" I hesitated a bit and said we were. He was like we will give you $40 to get to Kenmore. Then I said we are not going that way and here comes the really scary part about it, he said "which way are you going?" and I said the opposite direction which wasn't true because Mike was on his way to Kenmore after he dropped me off at work. He says to us, "that is fine, we can go that way. Why the hell would he want to go the opposite direction with us? Then I just flatly said "NO". Then they continue on in the direction of the West side not North which is their intended direction. The whole time they are mumbling stuff about getting to a hospital and their computer getting wet from all the snow.

So I tell my roommate what had happened and he said that he was down in the basement when we left doing laundry and he saw them in the alley way from the windows and he was immediately concerned that they were going to bother us but then thought oh no that is crazy. They looked well dress and respectable too but there was this feeling that something wasn't right. I immediately place suspicion on any stranger that is approaching me. When he said "OH that is OK, we will go that way with you." I knew that something really bad would have happened if we had said Yeah get in. Most scary thing is that Mike probably would have let them in the car if I were not there.

You can take a bus for $1.50 to get to Kenmore or a cab for maybe $20 so why wouldn't they just do that? Why did they walk West when they should have gone north? We so were going to be robbed/car jacked/ snatched away and killed or all of the above.

These news stories are alarming. See (e:paul)'s journal for background. People in the burbs can take these stories however they want and I don't concern myself with whether they want to come to the city or not based on their perceptions of them. The Buffalo News reports the facts and we will all interpret them differently based on our own experiences and how our views have been shaped by them. I think that most often I feel safe but it really depends on where I am. Out of the three instances of attacks (2 from (e:paul)'s journal and 1 from (e:gardenmama)'s) I have found myself in those same locations at similar times on foot. Sometimes I have large amounts of cash like $200 and people of lower income levels typically do more with cash than plastic for many different reasons. Many people even pay their rent with cash they turn into money orders.

(e:janelle), I get your concern, and I would assume your statistics correct, but to just assume that these attacks are somehow based on a criminal background of the victim and that you should just assume that bad things only happen to bad people based on statistics is sort of dangerous. I have seen numerous cases of gangs of threatening youth who have little respect for themselves or others do quite horrible things to innocent victims. These crimes can happen anywhere. You are also probably aware that most of these crimes are not reported for a huge number of reasons but mainly out of fear, both fear of reprisal and fear of a failed judicious system. If you know the judicial system is unable to protect you and that by going to the police you can be identified and later can be found it is an extremely hard thing to do. The violence we read about in the police blotter is only a fraction of what is really occurring out there on the streets.

There should be some amount of fear in us that we could one day be victimized for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I do not think it should consume us but it is reasonable to take some precautions. For me, the most appropriate precaution I take is to trust my instincts as they are most often correct.

One other thing is that Buffalo, in my opinion, does have racial tensions. They are a source of violence within themselves. Race riots occurred here not so long ago. There is anger and distrust still and it takes a very long time for it to heal. Because Buffalo is so divided still racially, you can draw attention to yourself by your race alone and become a target because of it. I suppose that can be true anywhere but again because Buffalo is very segregated, I think it makes it even more likely for this type of violence to occur here. People do not know where to place their anger and anger is often responded to in violence. This type of anger results in hate crimes including crimes against a person's sexuality.

When I heard that Bush was doing a farewell tour to Iraq, I was infuriated. Farewell tours are for Cher not for somebody that has seriously damaged our country. How dare he do a farewell tour? It is absolutely INSANE and insensitive. This is a man that has no remorse or comprehension of what he has done. He has no regard for human life or human rights. I am not going to cry over the fact that somebody threw a shoe at his head. While I do not condone violence, I can't imagine what the man who threw the shoe at him must be feeling to have done so. I seriously could not imagine what it must be like to be an Iraqi. To actually have to live what they must endure which only comes to us in fleeting news bites or casualty numbers that scroll across news tickers on 24 hr "news" networks.

George Bush is going to have to deal with his actions. He is going to have to deal with the hate he has created. I hope he lives long enough to come to the realization of what he has done, not only in Iraq but all over the world. He needs to be put into jail for the rest of his existence so that he can sit and think about all the pain and suffering he has caused and will cause. People are angry and they have every right to be angry.

That is Tina Turner not crystal meth (e:tinypliny)!

(E:hodown)'s post made me happy . That is no easy thing in recent days. Tina's experiential film "Whats love got to do with it?" was what sparked my interest in Buddhism. When I first saw the movie, it was years before I actually encountered Buddhism. Her practice is very much like mine as demonstrated on this Larry King interview.




Tina and I have the same mentor and we chant the same thing everyday. That is the awesome thing about our prayers is that I can never have met her before and be immediately connected with her and we could do the prayers and chant together in unison without even a prayer book to guide us because we already know it. It would be so awesome if some day we could do that together.

Now I can't stop watching Tina videos!

We Don't Need Another Hero!



Better Be Good to Me



Private Dancer

I love this one.



Proud Mary




Yeah, Ike was a part of her life here. In Buddhism you change poison into medicine and that is exactly what she did with Ike. My favorite part of her movie is when she starts chanting and finally beats the shit out of him in the limo on their way to the hotel.

This bootleg version was the only one I could find on youtube!



I always think she's saying "You must understand, on the touch of your hand, makes my balls react!"



I also feel connected to Tina because we both have experienced domestic violence as well as come from a Christian background. I love the scene in her movie when she is a little girl in the church and sings "This Little Light of Mine". I still sing that song sometimes! I also love Angela Basset because she played Tina so well.