Mother’s Day picnickers blow bubbles.
The careful observer will note the reclining figure of the picnicker of honor under the oak tree, propped leg visible. I have made a special request for Baba’s Day (celebrated, by amazing coincidence, on the same day as Father’s Day): same picnic spot, same recreational activities. Â Okay maybe a touch more champagne. But just a touch.
Â
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Son and mother, Berkeley, CA.
And a nod to the mother of Mother’s Day, Julia Ward Howe  (Anna Jarvis’ latecomer’s trademarks notwithstanding):
Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation – 1870
Arise then…women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”
From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe out dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace…
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.
Reprinted from the Code Pink page, one of the many iterations of it online. Amor vincit omnia, sisters and brothers.
Watermelon boy.
Yeah, and you knew it was coming:
I was so eager about removing every speed bump between you and Mr. Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” that I had to embed the YouTube jobbie here, instead of dropping in a modest little link to it. Er, because I haven’t developed the chops to embed a simple .wav music player dealie, and I knew it would make your day. Â
But back to Mr. Hancock: Does it get groovier? No, I will answer for you, it does not. Six minutes and thirty-two seconds you won’t regret. (Which is right about the amount of time it takes my boy to make it through a slice of his favorite fruit.)
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Mama’s old school lunchbox.
After checking the prices of some of the vintage lunchboxes here, and here, I’m thinking in the future we should handcuff her wrist to the handle on the dang thing. Â
For the x-treme lunch box fetishist, a timeline.
Â
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One more piece in the puzzle.
Main beats New Hamphsire to the marriage equality punch bowl!Â
Want to thank Gov. Baldacci? Phone: 207-287-3531 Email: the contact form on this web page.
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Auntie’s lovin’ arms, Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center, Berkeley, CA
Auntie Rache was in town this past weekend, and accompanied her niece and nephew to the Asheba show on Sunday. Â Pretty near the whole time li’ peanut’s sister was dancing on the dance floor (see photo yesterday), he was happily ensconsed in his Auntie’s lovin’ arms. Â
It’s not like he doesn’t love to dance; he’s just still getting his sea legs out in public. Â At home, before and after the dance hall excursion, they danced and danced, her holding him all the while (per his request). Â Clearly that stayed with him. Â This morning, a good 24 hours + after her departure, and with no musical cue to jog his memory, his eyes got that far away look in them and he said, “I like to dance in Auntie Rachel’s arms.” Â Atsa my boy.
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Yeah, okay, pictures all month, except when I get an Action Alert from my close personal friend Kate Kendell at NCLR, and I have to pass it on.
My representative is one of the previous cosponsors of the Safe Schools Improvement Act, and I’m going to enjoy calling to thank her for her support, just like I did the other week thanking her for support of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act. Â With the recent deaths of Jaheem Herrera and Carl Walker-Hoover so fresh on the national conscience, none but the most Foxx-like of representatives needs a reminder about why support for safe schools is of paramount importance. Â
Dear LD, 


We’ve just received word from our colleagues at GLSEN that The Safe Schools Improvement Act, a federal anti-bullying bill, will be introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 by California Rep. Linda Sanchez. We need your help Monday, May 4th to add to the bipartisan list of 34 cosponsors. The more cosponsors, the bigger the message Congress will receive that it needs to act.
Please call your Representative TODAY-Monday, May 4th-ask her or him to cosponsor the Safe Schools Improvement Act to establish a federal anti-bullying policy.
To call your local representative, dial the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121. Ask to be connected to your Representative’s office.
If you are not sure who your Representative is, click here and enter your state and zip code.
When making calls:
-   •  Inform the office that the bill will be introduced on Tuesday.
-   •  Ask if the Representative has signed on. If s/he hasn’t signed, urge the Representative to cosponsor.
-   •   They can contact Celeste Drake of Representative Linda Sanchez’s office if they wish to cosponsor.
IMPORTANT: If your representative is already a co-sponsor, call and thank her or him for supporting efforts to stop bullying. To see a list of current cosponsors, click here.
About the Bill
The Safe Schools Improvement Act will amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, which supports programs that prevent violence and drug use in and around schools in order to foster a safe and drug-free learning environment that supports student academic achievement.
The amendments are to add definitions for bullying and harassment and to include the two definitions in pre-existing requirements on reporting and on the use of funding. The proposed legislation explicitly states that the bill will in no way interfere with Freedom of Speech and Expression Laws.
To learn more about the bill, click here.
To see how the bill will amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, read GLSEN’s SSIA Comparison Chart (pdf).
In solidarity,

 

Â
Kate Kendell, Esq. 
Executive Director
National Center for Lesbian Rights
Dancing to Asheba, Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center, Berkeley, CA.
Many a parent and child knows the infectious joy of Asheba, who has produced several CDs of his own, and is a regular on Putamayo kids’ music compilations. Â Lucky us, though he was born in Trinidad, he now lives in Oakland, so he’s a regular at our local dance hall.
[It's  A month o' photos at LD. Here for just words? Please check back in June 1.]
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