Rainy Day Wonderings

Friday, September 15, 2006

The End of a Bad Week

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

N Posted by Rain at 9/15/2006 01:51:00 PM

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

A Tenth Anniversary

Tupac Shakur was a multi-talented legend, who was born in New York, New York on June 16, 1971 and died from fatal gun shot wounds in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 13, 1996. Tupac Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks in Brooklyn, NY in 1971. While still a small child, his mother changed his name to Tupac Amaru after an Inca Indian revolutionary, "Tupac Amaru", meaning "Shining Serpent". "Shakur" means "Thankful To God" in Arabic.

By the age of twelve, Tupac had discovered his loves for acting, writing love songs and poetry. As a young teen, his family moved to Baltimore , MD, where he attended The Baltimore School for the Performing Arts studying acting and ballet. At this school, Tupac left a lasting impression on his teachers and was showing tremendous potential. Unfortunately, Tupac was unable to continue his training. He moved to Oakland, California with the rest of his family.Not only famous for his music he was also a well respected actor with several films.

Tupac was a deep, multi-faceted individual. Shakur always went deep into the meaning of many political and social subjects including violence, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and broken families. Shakur's poetry also reflected his many sides, some poems were motivated by love, others seeking to understand himself better and others by the cruel injustices of America's society.

The Rose that Grew from Concrete

By Tupac Shakur

Did you hear about the rose that grewfrom a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature's law is wrong it learned to walk with out having feet.

Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,

it learned to breathe fresh air.

Long live the rose that grew from concrete

when no one else ever cared.

"If you walked by a street and you was walking a concrete and you saw a rose growing from concrete, even if it had messed up petals and it was a little to the side you would marvel at just seeing a rose grow through concrete. So way is it that when you see some ghetto kid grow out of the dirtiest circumstance and he can talk and he can sit across the room and make you cry, make you laugh, all you can talk about is my dirty rose, my dirty stems and how am leaning crooked to the side, u can't even see that I've come up from out of that" ~Tupac Shakur

"I don't advocate senseless violence of any human being. I'm the one who's been beat down. But I will not be a victim again."~Tupac Shakur

I Cry
By Tupac Sakur

Sometimes when I'm alone

I CryCause I am on my own.

The tears I cry are bitter and warm.

They flow with life but take no form,

I Cry because my heart is torn,

I find it difficult to carry on.

If I had an ear to confiding

I would cry among my treasured friend,

but who do you know that stops that long,

to help another carry on.

The world moves fast and it would rather pass by.

Then to stop and see what makes one cry, so painful and sad.

And sometimes...I Cry and no one cares about why.

"Imperfection is inherited, therefore we all sin, but fighting the war of sin is the greatest war of all because we all die in the end no matter how hard we fight."

"Let me say for the record, I am not a gangster and never have been. I'm not the thief who grabs your purse. I'm not the guy who jacks your car. I'm not down with the people who steal and hurt others. I'm just a brother who fights back." -- Tupac Amaru Shakur

In The Depths of Solitude

By Tupac Shakur

i exist in the depths of solitude pondering my true goal

trying 2 find peace of mind and still preserve my soul

constantly yearning 2 be accepted and from all receive respect

never comprising but sometimes risky and that is my only regret

a young heart with an old soul how can there be peace

how can i be in the depths of solitude

when there r 2 inside of me

this duo within me causes the perfect oppurtunity2 learn and live

twice as fast as those who accept simplicity.

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

Today was a much better day! My little toe is still sore from dropping the fan on it however, it is not broken. Yay!

How is your week going?

N Posted by Rain at 9/13/2006 01:24:00 AM

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Cattail Bird

Black Mountain Lion and Black Fox

By Awa Tsireh ca 1923

The artist Awa Tsireh (Cattail Bird), 1895-1955 painted two local animals, a mountain lion on the left, and a fox on the right, under the arching form of a rainbow. This painting was not made to represent a specific event, instead it uses shapes and decorative elements to create an appealing image.

Both animals have designs painted on their sides. The design on the mountain lion represents a storm cloud with lightning bolts shooting out of each side. The design on the fox is called a "heartline" and represents the spirit of the animal by showing the animal's breath moving from its mouth to its heart. At the base of either end of the rainbow, the stepped patterns represent distant mesas or mountains. Along the top of the rainbow are two stepped shapes indicating clouds and dropping from the middle of the rainbow are fine lines of falling rain.

Above the rainbow is the Zia, or sun symbol, with rays pointing in the four directions sacred to Pueblo Indians. The sun symbol has an abstracted face made out of geometric shapes. This symbol indicates that the sun is a living force of the natural world. This sun symbol is now the official symbol of the state of New Mexico.

Eagle Dancers ca 1923
by Awa Tsireh
Water colors and ink

Mounted Warriors

ca. 1925-1930

by Awa Tsireh

Buffalo Dancers ca. 1920-1930
by Awa Tsireh
watercolor and pencil on paperboard

Sources:

Dutton, Bertha P. American Indians of the Southwest. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983.
Klein, Barry T. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. 6th ed. West Nyack, N.Y.: Todd Publications, 1993.

San Diego 27
Oakland 0

The Chargers winning against Oakland was the highlight of my day! I woke up this morning with a headache, which is a rare occurrence for me. I had the worst case of heartburn after lunch and I dropped a fan on my foot! Then as I was unloading groceries from the store, a bag tore open breaking a jar of pickles on my driveway. Combine that with the smell of pickling spices and vinegar with 90 degree temps and you have a very grumpy Rain. =0(

Here's hoping that tomorrow is better! Goodnight everyone.

N Posted by Rain at 9/12/2006 12:39:00 AM

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Being Thankful

Things that I am grateful for today;

Our Armed Forces. Thank you for continuing fighting for our freedom!
Every Fireman, Police Officers and EMT. Can you imagine our lives without them?
Rescue animals. Especially The San Diego Rescue Team!
Life Guards. A special thanks to Tim for saving me from a Rip Tide current.
The Coast Guard, for monitoring the transit of commerical ships through all of the U.S. ports.
The Border Patrol, for keeping drugs out of our country!
Teachers, Principals, and classroom Aids for guiding our youth.
Doctors and Nurses. I would not be here without them.
Volunteers for feeding the homeless, caring for the elderly and getting the job done.

God Bless America!

N Posted by Rain at 9/10/2006 01:21:00 AM