Who has stood by you and who do you stand together with?

The plane! The plane!

“New York Paper Airplane Flight”

Flying from Sam Fuller on Vimeo.

Sam Fuller had a straightforward idea: Toss a paper airplane from the 31st floor of a New York City office building just to see what would happen. The outcome, however, was sublime.

Fuller’s two-minute clip never lets the plane get out of our sight: At first it appears on course for the Brooklyn Bridge and the East River. Then it veers left and begins a slow, graceful descent. Somehow the trip manages to be nerve-racking and soothing at the same time.

Feeling a Bit Quaker/Folk Tonight

One of my favorite songs by Hoosier &  Quaker, Singer/Songwriter Carrie Newcomer is Bare To the Bone. I couldn't find an embedable version,
but here are the lyrics. Enjoy!

Lyrics for:  Bare To The Bone
From the album:  Betty's Diner: The Best Of Carrie Newcomer
Songwriter:  Carrie Newcomer

Here I am without a message
Here I stand with empty hands
Just a spirit tired of wandering
Like a stranger in this land

Walking wide eyed through this world
Is the only way I've known
Wrapped in hope and good intentions
Bare to the bone

There is nothing I won't show you
Nothing I can hide
Risked it all and dreamt it all
And seldom questioned why

You took me in when I was hungry
When my spirit ached and groaned
Laid wide open and defenseless
And bear to the bone

So, when I rise, I rise in glory
If I do, I do by grace
Time will wash away these footprints
And we'll leave without a trace

Between here and now and forever
Is such precious little time?
What we do in love and kindness
Is all that we leave behind

When my lights are slowly fading
And my eyes is softly waning
And the evening sun is setting
And the world is barely breathing

Then your voice will call me
And your hands can lead me home
Like a newborn awed and naked
And bare to the bone

So, when I rise, I rise in glory
If I do, I do by grace
Time will wash away these footprints
And we'll leave without a trace

Between here and now and forever
Is such precious little time
What we do in love and kindness
Is all we ever leave behind

Here I am without a message
Here I stand with empty hands
Just a spirit tired of wandering
Like a stranger in this land

Walking wide eyed through this world
Is the only way I've known
Wrapped in hope and good intentions
Bare to the bone

Wrapped in hope and good intentions
Bare to the bone

© CARRIE NEWCOMER MUSIC

Completely unrelated except that it's also by Carrie is The Gathering of Spirits. Another of my favorites by her.

Happy Presidents Day

*NSFW* Drunk History V. 4: William Henry Harrison, our ninth president, was sixty eight years old when he was elected. He died thirty days later. PG: Drunken Idiot

This isn't the funniest Drunk History, but I appreciated it. Yeah, it's silly, gross, stupid and fairly irresponsible to purposely get so drunk and talk history on camera, it just sort of reminded me of College ... like ... a lot.

Become a Fan of Country/Folk Singer and Songwriter Rhett McDaniel

Listen and become a fan of my very talented friend, singer/song writer Rhett McDaniel. His songs are mostly Country, Adult Contemporary and Folk. Though Hoosier born and reared, Rhett now lives, performs, writes and works
out of Nashville, TN.

Kittens and David Mashups

Kittens, Inspired by Kittens: Best Internet Video Evar? OK, it’s cute, and funny, and already has inspired a remix. Best Mashup Evar? Probably!

Time Traveling Presidents Are The Worst Kind

Representative Steve Austria (R-OH) has the skinny on FDR: the man apparently was a time-traveler. The Columbus Post Dispatch at least called Rep. Austria on his "minor" revisionist history when he said this:

"When (President Franklin) Roosevelt did this, he put our country into a Great Depression," Austria said. "He tried to borrow and spend, he tried to use the Keynesian approach, and our country ended up in a Great Depression. That's just history."

"That's just history." Ohh...Kay!! Most historians, myself included, date the beginning of the Great Depression at or shortly after the stock-market crash of 1929; Roosevelt took office in 1933, which was the worst point in the depression, more than 15 million Americans—one-quarter of the nation’s workforce—were unemployed. Keynes didn't publish his book until 1936, as a reaction to and solution for the Great Depression. The New Deal (as it was to be re-named) began under President Hoover, NOT Roosevelt. Roosevelt was governor of New York at the time. To stem the tide of the Depression and save money, the Republicans in the House came within one vote of all but disbanding the US Army in 1940, even with a War raging in Europe?

Is he serious? Was he just repeating or testing talking points (read: lies) told as part of the Neo-Conservatives recent attempts to undermine President Obama? Repeat a lie, even a stupid one enough times and he hopes his constituents in Ohio will believe him? Is he so dismissive of the people he serves? I know BeaverCreek. I spent a lot of time around the Brookville area and these people are solidly republican, hard working and smart! I would be so completely insulted if I were his constituent, Republican or Democrat. Are Americans really so ignorant of such recent US History that they wouldn't, en mass, call him on this?? Am I out of step? Would this pass the smell test?

This Bit of Bizarre History Blew My Mind

So I wish to blow yours as well.

I was listening to the Diane Rehm Show on NPR this morning. Sometimes I do, mostly I don't. I'm glad I caught this show.

She had Martha Sandweiss, professor of history at Princeton  University on talking about her new book "Passing Strange" (Penguin). Here's the blurb about it.

Clarence King was a famed explorer, scientist, and hero of late nineteenth century history. But the blue-eyed and fair-skinned King also led a secret double life passing as a black man. A historian examines the secret King only revealed on his deathbed to his black wife of thirteen years.

You can listen to the hour long interview, here. There was a great story and interview in the Book of the Times section of The New York Times, here.

My Favorite Coffee House - The Lazy Daze in Historic Irvington

Via: The Irvingtonian

The New York Yearly Meeting of Quakers Read Their Minute on Torture.

The New York Yearly Meeting of Quakers put a minute together on torture and then made a video of people reading it.

Evil Doers, Beware My Wrath

Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Our new favorite show! Cartoon Network @ 8 e Friday's. I thought this portrayal of Aquaman as an headstrong doofus was going to going to cheese off this guy. Turns out, he liked it. So do my 7 and 12 year olds. We all really love this show. Our new rallying cry around here has been ... "PLATE ... LET!!!"

All characters are property of DC comics. Be the first to know when Season One comes out on DVD and BlueRay.

Check Out Some of My Wonderful Twitter Friends

Click on any icon for a link that that person's page.

Avatars in mosaic were chosen and randomized by the Twitter Mosiac application.

Twitter is an addictive micro-blogging site where you can send messages of up to 140 characters about what your doing 'right now' to your followers via phone, web and 3rd party apps. It claims a world-wide membership of over 6 million users.