RevoAlone

Lots of changes

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 19:03:30 -0400

Much has changed lately. Most significantly, after a year of enjoying each other’s company, Jaime and I have moved in together. We have a nice apartment near the Half Price Books and Goodwill shopping center. It’s in a complex of several buildings, crisscrossed by sidewalks. The downstairs part is a combined living room and dining room, with sliding glass doors to our tiny yard off the dining room, and a nice kitchen. Upstairs, there’s a bedroom with four big closets and a bathroom right off the bedroom. This is the first time I’ve lived with a girlfriend (and hopefully the last!), and it’s great. We have one large plant and two smaller plants, and we hope to get more.

Also, I got a new job! A full-time, permanent, regular job. For about a year now, I’ve been working part-time, seasonal, temp, or contract jobs. That was stressful for me, as I could never know for certain when a job would end, or where I’d work next. But now I’m the assistant project manager at a company called eBook Architects, and I’m relieved to have a little more stability. It’s a small company, with just eleven employees, but we have a lot of clients, and we’re known for doing excellent work. Our founder and CEO, Joshua Tallent, is kind of a big name in the eBook industry. It’s been great working there; everybody has been welcoming and patient and helpful.

Since I am working for an eBook company, and since I wanted one anyway, I bought a Kindle Fire. It’s a pretty snappy little machine, for sure. Right now, I am reading a free version of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, which is really wonderful, and You are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier. Reading Les Miserables on a Kindle is great, because there are so many references to historical figures and events and if I don’t know what Hugo is referencing, I can highlight the word/name/place and look it up quite easily.

I thought I’d have more to write, but I guess I don’t! Good luck out there…

This is called a “charabanc.”

Mon, 28 May 2012 12:14:10 -0400

This is called a “charabanc.”

"[My father] got in, ashen-faced, and quietly said, ‘Everyone stay in the car. They don’t like..."

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:35:33 -0400

“[My father] got in, ashen-faced, and quietly said, ‘Everyone stay in the car. They don’t like Negroes here.’ That was a rude awakening.”

- David Alan Grier, on what his father taught him about being African-American in the U.S. (via nprfreshair)

Painting bought at flea market. $10 (from @revoalone on...

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:55:13 -0400

Painting bought at flea market. $10 (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Jaime and I like having a TV, esp. for Netflix, but we keep it...

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:42:30 -0400

Jaime and I like having a TV, esp. for Netflix, but we keep it covered when not in use. (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Saw this on Guadalupe today (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:56:23 -0400

Saw this on Guadalupe today (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Got this piece of pottery for $5 at a junk store. What is it?...

Tue, 08 May 2012 19:46:45 -0400

Got this piece of pottery for $5 at a junk store. What is it? It’s solid all the way through. (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Found this feather. Hawk, perhaps?#nature(from @revoalone on...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:14:18 -0400

Found this feather. Hawk, perhaps?
#nature
(from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

“Don’t talk to tha police,” at tha bus stop. #police (from...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:23:06 -0400

“Don’t talk to tha police,” at tha bus stop.
#police
(from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Moon, venusMessing around with streamzoo #moon(from @revoalone...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:54:11 -0400

Moon, venus
Messing around with streamzoo #moon
(from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

“Ishi in Two Worlds: A biography of the last wild Indian...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:20:21 -0400

“Ishi in Two Worlds: A biography of the last wild Indian in North America,” by Theodora Kroeber, p61
#books #indian #native
(from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Bouncer & Bethany#dog(from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:59:11 -0400

Bouncer & Bethany
#dog
(from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Larissa and Toby (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:32:11 -0400

Larissa and Toby (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Jaime got a new haircut. Cool, huh? (from @revoalone on...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:01:58 -0400

Jaime got a new haircut. Cool, huh? (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

... we live in a war...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:21:48 -0400

“I want to live among people who are conscious that we live in a war. A war against life, against the spirit. I want to live among people who don’t look down at their feet, or won’t look you in the eyes when you speak of struggle or insurrection, because In their heart they know they have surrendered, and because maybe, just maybe they never really hated the system. Among people who have not been bought, who did not take the pills they were offered, because they preferred to struggle with their feeling of pathologized anxiety than to live in the dead zone. People who don’t pretend to be struggling when it is obvious that what they are doing is turning a battlefield into a garden. I want to be in a place where the war is admissible,” (Anonymous Spanish poet).

Reflections on the killing of Ahmeed Bradley & Cisco the dog

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:24:00 -0400

My thousands of followers will remember a post from April 6 where I shared the story of that awful full moon night, when an APD cop was killed, and when another APD cop killed a suspect, Ahmeed Bradley. A few days ago, another bullet flew from an APD cops’ gun, but this time it killed a dog, Cisco.

Cisco and his master, Michael Paxton, were playing frisbee in their yard on April 14, when Michael went around the house to get something out of his truck, leaving Cisco in the yard to chew on a toy. Michael ran into a cop, who pulled his gun on him, and demanded that he raise his hands. Michael did so, and asked what was going on. Cisco, hearing the commotion, ran over and barked at the cop, like any good dog would. Michael said told the cop that Cisco wouldn’t bite him. The cop yelled something about the dog, and then the cop shot the dog dead. This all happened over maybe 5 seconds. Even if Michael hadn’t been ordered to keep his hands up, I find it hard to believe that he would have had time to grab his dog. To make the situation even more tragic, the incident the cop was responding to was at Michael’s neighbor’s place, it seems. Michael did not fit the description of the guy the cop was looking for. It’s not clear to me why the cop pulled his gun on Michael, especially since the cop himself wasn’t sure where he was supposed to be exactly; the recording reveals that he had asked the dispatcher what apartment he was supposed to go to. If you ask me, Cisco’s three or four barks do not sound that threatening. Cisco was a 50-pound blue healer dog. You can listen to the recording of the dashboard camera via this YouTube video.

Chief Acevedo apologized to Michael for the incident on the Dudley & Bob radio show, but apparently there is not going to be any further investigation, or any disciplinary action against the officer.

Some folks have set up a Facebook page called “Justice for Cisco”, and it has 47,957 likes. The story was featured on ABC, and on Good Morning America. Last night, I listened to the dashboard camera recording for the first time, and it made me cry.

I just did a Google search for Ahmeed Bradley, and the first link that popped up was the aforementioned Tumblr post. A search for “Justice for Ahmeed Bradley” doesn’t bring up any relevant results. The night I heard about Ahmeed Bradley’s death, I didn’t cry at all, and I haven’t dried about it since. I’ve sat and stewed about it. I’ve felt angry about it. I’ve shaken my head in disgust about it. Haven’t cried about it, though. And I haven’t liked a page for Ahmeed Bradley. And neither have 47,956 other people. There doesn’t seem to be one to like.

What’s that about? Ahmeed Bradley was a person. He was a baby, a child, and then a young man. His mother probably remembers his first haircut and stuff like that. Cisco was, I’m sure, a very good dog. Despite my anti-specieism, however, I have to say that Cisco was “just a dog,” as we often say. Why this huge outpouring of support for this poor guy and best furry friend, and relative silence on Mr. Bradley?

Is it because Mr. Bradley was black? Because he apparently had a criminal record and a history of drug abuse? Because he apparently ran from and fought a cop? Because Mr. Paxton is white?

Perhaps that all has something to do with it. Most people in our society think that cops are here to protect us, and are therefore more or less willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. (Personally, I think that the primary job of police is to protect those in power and maintain this vile, vile system… but that’s another subject.) So, if a cop kills a black fellow with a criminal record… Well, most folks aren’t going to get up in arms about it.

But folks do get up in arms when a cop kills a dog. There’s something about a dogs, it seems. They give us nothing but affection, which is probably why we’re so willing to spend so much time with them, spend so much money on them, organize our lives around making sure they are well cared for. They open our hearts. You know how when you see two puppies playing with each other, and you smile and say, “Aww!” That’s what I mean. It’s easier to be open-hearted to an animal, because they generally give us very little trouble.

I think that’s what our pets do for us. They open our hearts, and when our hearts are open, we are more open to the pain of a mother after her son is killed. That’s a good thing. So, like the Facebook page for Cisco, send some metta to Michael, let yourself be deeply touched by all the tragedy, cruelty, and injustice in the world, and keep walking the path of the ever-opening heart. We’ll all get there eventually, I think.

I feel pretty satisfied with what I’ve just written, but it seems there is something missing. How can I communicate the tragedy of all the violence in this world, though? Words fail.

New #computer (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:35:41 -0400

New #computer (from @revoalone on Streamzoo)

Dream: 40 Year Voyage

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:47:00 -0400

I had a dream a few nights ago that I had signed on as a crew member for a sea voyage that was scheduled to last forty years. The idea was that there was a whole ocean, and a new continent or two, that were unexplored. The dream had a 19th century feel to it, with great sail boats and whaling ships. Other men told me that they had been at sea for up to two years on whaling expeditions, and even longer on explorations of the Arctic, but that forty years was much, much too long. “You’ll be an old man when you return… if you return.” Some of my friends thought I was foolish to make such a commitment. I told my mother and father that I had signed on, and they said, “Well, you have to do something with your life. It might as well be this.” A few friends thought I was just plain stupid to sign on. Others thought that going on an adventure for the rest of my life sounded romantic; after all, they could predict the next forty years of their life with some degree of accuracy - marriage, career of some sort, children, staying in the States, maybe an exciting vacation or two, retirement. Signing on for the voyage, however, opened up my life to unimaginable possibilities. I was a little nervous, but couldn’t think of any reason to stay at home.

Insidebooksproject.org sends free (occasionally #censored)...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:36:02 -0400

Insidebooksproject.org sends free (occasionally #censored) #books to #prisoners in #Texas. I volunteer on Sundays. #Austin (Taken with instagram)

Bench at Space12. #Austin, TX.#Austin(from @revoalone on...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:21:41 -0400

Bench at Space12. #Austin, TX.
#Austin
(from @revoalone on Streamzoo)