WaterWorld

By GeorgeLouis at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org

Like a lot of urban myths, the idea that New York (once "New Amsterdam") is a horrible cesspool of evil people takes a lot of work, through popular t.v. shows that are eager to sell this gritty vision of our fair Gotham as a grim reality to viewers too scared to see the truth for themselves. Of course, we also rank #14 in the U.S. for churches per capita, but that doesn't sell as many tickets to the show, does it? Not that our lives are dull, it's just that (like other areas around the globe), popular culture about us can be intentionally misleading.

I lived in one of the most prosperous neighborhoods in the world, and I felt lucky to be there when I did. Prospect Park is Frederick Law Olmsted's vision for a less manicured space outside of Manhattan that would give the grounds an air of discovery upon certain vistas, lending it an experience more similar to hiking in nature, rather than being in the middle of one of the world's largest cities (Brooklyn), now a borough of New York City, which was once a city of its own.

The same can be said about any of the outdoor spaces we have in the surrounding area. Brooklyn and Queens (boroughs both) are part of the land mass that becomes Long Island. The ocean is so important to us, that our SUNY Maritime College (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_University_of_New_York_Maritime_College) is in the Bronx, another borough. Water is everywhere around us, strange as that picture may seem to someone whose best ideas about us are formed through fictionalized t.v. shows, so much so, that Long Islanders define towns as either being on the North Shore or the South Shore.

As I've written before, we also have an old, active, thriving beach culture that's as separate from California Dreamin' as their beaches are to their t.v. shows, too. In the midst of all this natural beauty, it makes alternate versions a hard sell, but careers are built on such quibbling points, and lost on them, too. Because we are an island nation in New York, our lives are almost totally defined by water. There are 2,000 bridges and tunnels in the city of New York (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bridges_and_tunnels_in_New_York_City), which is utterly incomprehensible to feel through the flat screen of a t.v set. You have to smell the ocean breeze as it blows inland, watching the water rise to a gushing flood that flushes out the sewers within a half an hour, to realize the power that is this great driving force of nature.

It's made us respect the water we need everyday, because we come from it. We're made of it, after all (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_water). It's essential to who we are, because it is the stuff of life itself. We cannot live without. It is in this spirit (inclusive to all life on Planet Earth), that I'm asking you today to participate in its preservation through your careful consumption, and the designation of our precious waterways to national parkland status or designated UNESCO heritage sites, because you have to ask yourself this: when was the last time you beat a tidal wave? I already know the answer, and so do you. Honor water as you honor life itself.

https://events.attend.com/f/1383773128\
http://en.unesco.org/ 
http://water.org/ 

I Come From the Water

Toadies

I come from the water
I crawled upon the shore
I left my brothers there
I got what I came for

I sucked that hot air in
And rolled upon the sand
Emerged beneath the sun
To be a man.

I come from the water
I come from the water
That weren't no easy thing
It's more than nature
It's like my destiny

I stood upon these legs
And held my head up high
Emerged beneath the sun
To start a new life

I Come From the water

Life in the desert
Just to be together
The sand forever
The same forever
It moves beneath me
It pulls my body
My pulse beats hotter
So far from the water

I love to see the sun
In spite of all it's done
I pray for shade and rain
I pray to live again
I come from the water

Google Play

Skeleteon in the Closet

Pour vous, Isabelle.

Summertime is a big deal for a lot of women, and not just because school is out, and the kids are home ALL DAY LONG. I never really thought adversely about going to the beach or the pool, because I've been a swimmer for as long as I can remember. What's not to like? But, like any other social situation filled with strangers and new people comes the attitude that many women and girls have about their bodies. I don't have any issues about mine, because I do the right things: I eat clean, good food that I enjoy cooking and eating, I walk every day, I do yoga or swim or practice martial arts...something happens in my life to keep me on track, because I am motivated to have the best life ever. 
I want to have fun and enjoy myself.

Don't get me wrong; I smoked and drank my way through the SUNY school system like any other college kid on a strict budget, but I never got it twisted. I actually wanted to show off my bikini body every year, and why wouldn't I? I work hard at it, and I want to stay beautiful for as long as I can for my partner, because I care about how he feels. I know he thinks the same way about himself towards me, too. Not that MMA is the sport for "working out", because it is extremely intense training (like my childhood ballet lessons that could have been a really serious career), but I have had points in my life when I gained unwanted weight from neglect, typically because I was working a job so stressful, most people take some sort of drug (or cocktail) to get through it. 

And so, try as I might, I no longer feel any pressures to conform to any standard other than the one I set for myself, because childhood was my time for insecurities. I survived my time in grade school, with mean bullies and schoolyard taunts. That doesn't mean today's "PSA" is a joke; far from it. Every day in my happy little home here in the Hudson Valley I see my beautiful people out in public, mixing it up in our common community spaces with people far less fortunate than us. They say the Irish are blessed with luck, charm, and good looks, and that's true, though I think it's more than a fair trade off for centuries of brutal oppression, military occupation, and countrywide starvation. 
We earned it proper. 

Yet, many cultures still demonize their women for their looks (or lack thereof), which leaves one to wonder why a woman with a serious brain disorder would dare hope to have a happy, healthy, attractive child. From what?! Thin air? It takes a lot more than running around a track like a lunatic because your mom committed suicide, and 30 years later you still can't talk about it until you are gaunt and winded. The work that I do (physical stuff included) is a lot more demanding than me running away from my problems and the world, just as starvation and hunger will not bring you the peace you seek. You need help, and I'll be here for you, girl, but first ya gotta eat something. I mean it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/world/europe/31caro.html?_r=0