Brian Blackwell Word Cafe

Beautiful

2012-02-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

I would walk a thousand miles, just to see your beautiful smile.
Your love so pure and clear, always strong.
Your voice like a soft, inviting song.
Your skillful love, artful ways... so beautiful.
Everyday's a new day in love with you.
With each day, comes a new way of loving you.
Joined as one, our life, our love forever; sure to see me through any endeavor.
Forever end, our heart and soul will always blend.
Your sparkling eyes, your presence... like a sweet, summer breeze.
My heart you seized.
Your laughter ripples with energy that caresses my soul.
Kisses so soft and sweet, everyday your love's a treat.
You've made my heart whole.
My dream became reality the day we met.
My attention you commanded from the onset.
My masterpiece, my darling, who could only be but beautiful, I love you.
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2006 Brian Blackwell

Love Bites

2012-02-04T15:00:00.002-07:00

Loving someone can be such a painful thing.
You put your life on hold; it makes your heart sing.
You pour your heart out and it gets broken; love lies spoken.
Love excites, love bites.
Your heart seems as though it won't mend.
You toss and turn in bed; thinking about every word he said.
Love excites, love bites.
You cry, it makes you so sad.
Your heart keeps sinking in your chest thinking of the love you had.
You feel so much sorrow; hoping it will be better tomorrow.
Love excites, love bites.
You pray that you will be able to love again,
but it's hard to lower the wall you've built around yourself.
Then love presents itself.
You say to yourself, I hope it will be; that they are the one for me.
But you know... that love excites and love bites.
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2010 Brian Blackwell

Bloom

2012-01-30T02:24:00.000-07:00

You may live or work around a bunch of weeds,
but don’t let that stop you from blooming.
Realize that your environment does not prevent you from being happy and fulfilling your life's dreams, even when life becomes consuming.
Some spend all their time trying to pull up weeds.
Meanwhile, they miss much of their life.
Don’t worry about things you can’t change.
Stay focused and work through life's strife.
You can’t change the traffic in the morning.
You can’t fix everyone at work.
But you shouldn’t let that keep you from blooming.
Bloom anyway and focus on the things that you can change.
You can change your attitude.
Ignore others rude; stay strong through life's derange.
You can choose to bloom right where you are.
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2010 Brian Blackwell

Love's Heat

2012-01-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

A teasing kiss from her intoxicating lips,

I look deep into her eyes as they hypnotize.
She gives herself to me.
Caressing oh so daring, I undress her inhibitions.
With my caring lips, I explore her while listening to her mesmerizing moans.
My fingers follow her avid contours, exploiting her body's love zones.
Savoring every moment, I satify the need in her as my mouth pleases all her senses.
She softly whispers in my ear that no other man has ever pleased her as I.
Breaking down all her defenses, I command her attention.
Her desire to comply as I enter her beauty.
True love and affection I've been searching for now at my feet.
A love we both desire. Our hearts on fire.
The world stands still as we bask in our love's heat.
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2011 Brian Blackwell

Public Unions: Fiscal Destruction Of The U.S.

2012-01-18T15:37:00.001-07:00

There are a myriad of issues that need to be addressed in the United States: jobs, economy, taxes, illegal immigration. But the most important issue that needs to be addressed is public pension, salary and benefits reform.

Although the aforementioned issues are important, they won't have the collective fiscal improvement to the country that reining in the bloated pensions, salaries and benefits being received by government retirees and employees -- gained through strong-arming of politicians by public unions over the years -- across the country would garner.

Brian Blackwell

U.S. Public Pensions At Nearly $210 Billion In 2011

2012-01-13T11:12:00.022-07:00

Did you know that in 2011 the U.S. government spent nearly $210 billion dollars on federal pensions? That's $210 billion dollars of taxpayer money for pensions to those who have worked in some level of the federal government. Isn't it time for them to start paying and contributing to their own pensions like the rest of us hard working Americans?

What's at stake is the collapse of our system of government. Federal employees were never supposed to live 'high on the hog.' Many federal employees receive a monthly payment of $5k or more (public record) when they retire. Many states across the country are suffering from the same fiscal problems (caused greatly by out of control state pensions) as the federal government.

Government pension plans are much more burdensome than public assistance programs. If federal and state pensions aren't reined in soon, the federal government and state governments won't be able to sustain themselves -- there won't be enough tax revenues to keep the lavish (as compared to most private pensions) public employee pensions going.

Brian Blackwell

2012-01-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

"For last year's words belong to last year's language, and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning."
~ T.S. Eliot

Happy New Year 2012!

2011-12-30T16:21:00.001-07:00

Here's to the bright New Year,
and a fond farewell to the old.
Here's to the things that are yet to come,
and to the memories that we hold.

~ Brian Blackwell

Christmas Love Always

2011-12-23T14:08:00.003-07:00

Christmas is a time of forgiving, a charitable time, a time for those with a closed heart to open it up freely, and a time for people to think of others as fellow passengers to the grave and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.

Christmas is a time of love; a time to give love, to receive love. The greatest gift of life is love... and should be given joyfully and received gratefully at Christmas time and throughout the year.

Life is meant to be filled with love. The true happiness of life is love.. loving your significant other, loving your children, loving family, loving those around you.

Do you love?

~ Brian Blackwell

Fewer Getting Married, Health Affects Of Marriage

2011-12-18T02:26:00.002-07:00

Fewer people are tying the knot, and when they do they tend to be older, says a report from the Pew Research Center.

Analyzing U.S. census data, the study finds that today 51% of all adults age 18 and older are married, compared with 72% in 1960. The average age for first-time brides and grooms is the highest it's ever been: 26.5 years old for brides and 28.7 for grooms.

The changing numbers could have to do with the fact that more people are living together, staying single or becoming single parents, all factors that are changing the landscape.

Several studies have found that marriage can have a substantial influence on various aspects of health and well-being, but no one is...

Read more at LATimes.com

1 In 5 Women Have Been Raped

2011-12-18T00:40:00.006-07:00

Nearly 1 in 5 Women in U.S. Survey Say They Have Been Raped

An exhaustive government survey of rape and domestic violence released on Wednesday affirmed that sexual violence against women remains endemic in the United States and in some instances may be far more common than previously thought.

Nearly one in five women surveyed said they had been raped or had experienced an attempted rape at some point, and one in four reported having been beaten by an intimate partner. One in six women have been stalked, according to the report.

"That almost one in five women have been raped in their lifetime is very striking and, I think, will be surprising to a lot of people," said Linda C. Degutis, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the survey...

Read more at NYTimes.com

Faith In You

2011-12-15T13:35:00.001-07:00

Know in your heart that you have the power and inner strength to overcome
any of life's daily strife that comes your way.
Know in your heart that better days are on the way.
Love your life.
Have faith in you, in your own potential,
in your own innate goodness.
Reach within yourself to find your own unique specialness.
Wake every morning with the awe of just being alive.
Discover the magnificent beauty the world has to offer each day.
Your success you contrive.
Explore and embrace life in you as you make your way.
Live life in a positive light and keep the negatives away.
Amaze yourself and rouse those around you to the potential of each new day.
Look with hope to the horizon of today, for today is all we truly have.
Live this day well.
Let a little sun out as well as in.
Your life's greatness will tell.
Create your own rainbows.
Be open to all your possibilities.
Make your life's striking pose.
Show the world your abilities and always have faith in you.
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2009 Brian Blackwell

The Real Herman Cain Scandal

2011-12-09T17:27:00.017-07:00

Ginger White and the other woman who recently made charges against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain have histories of making similar complaints against others that were proven to be false.

The same mainstream media that persecuted Herman Cain said in response to proven charges against Bill Clinton, as a candidate and president, "It's his private life. What he does in private is none of the public's business. Let's move on." Yet they couldn't move on from unproven charges against Herman Cain.

Some people think that because the National Restaurant Association reportedly paid $45,000 to one of its employees against Cain is incriminating.

Most people wouldn't part with $45,000 without serious reason. But that is completely different of an organization in the present litigious environment of the United States. An organization is glad to pay $45,000 instead of possible ruinous costs a jury could impose.

Ginger White

The real scandal of the case against Cain is that the law allows people to bring forth frivolous lawsuits and impose heavy costs on others at little or no cost to themselves. In other words, legal extortion.

Because our courts do not currently stick to the letter of the law, people who have zero basis for a lawsuit can create enough uncertainty and fear to extort money from people who cannot afford the risk of going to trial.

If judges threw frivolous lawsuits out of court instead of letting them go to trial, legal extortion would be nearly nonexistent. And if those who bring charges that do not stand up in court had to pay the other party to the lawsuit for their legal fees and time, these games could not go on.

ABC News reported that Ginger White, 46, has civil judgments and liens in Georgia and Kentucky against her that go back almost two decades – with 11 filed in 2009 and nine in 2011.

According to news reports, White is an unemployed single mother who's been divorced at least two times, who filed a sexual harassment claim against an employer 10 years ago. That case was settled, according to reports.

White is currently being sued by her former business partner Kimberly Vay, according to news reports, who claims she was stalked and harassed by White and was forced to seek a protective order against her. A court date has been set for January in the matter.

The female bodybuilder, who once ran a bicycle business with Ginger White and won a libel suit against her, says the Atlanta woman never mentioned the Republican presidential candidate, who White says was her lover for 13 years.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in June 2011, Ginger White and Kimberly Vay were partners in a fitness coaching business called No Limit Cycling, and held classes inside the Martin Luther King Recreation Center, which is owned by the City of Atlanta. In November 2010, claimed Vay, White asked to end their partnership, with White continuing to operate No Limit Cycling, and Vay agreed.

On December 9, according to the complaint, White sent a “defamatory” note to a master email list of the company’s clients and to city officials. The email said that White’s business had “come tumbling down [on] the day I invited Kim Vay into my life and my business” and that Vay had turned her “dream” into a “nightmare.”

According to the complaint, the email alleged that Vay, a competitive bodybuilder, injected veterinary drugs into her system prior to contests,” and also said that Vay preferred to date black men but had made derogatory comments about black women’s hair.

Vay’s complaint termed the allegation about drug use “false, malicious, defamatory” and “reckless,” and therefore libelous.

Both women retained attorneys, according to Vay’s account, and reached an out-of-court settlement in April 2011. In June, Vay filed suit, claiming that White had failed to live up to the settlement and that she was entitled to sue for libel. Vay’s attorney Kurt Martin told ABC News that White had failed to honor the financial agreement that had settled the case.

White has two children and was evicted from her Atlanta home in November. She had several eviction notices in DeKalb County, Ga., over the past six years.

Race played a role in the case against Herman Cain -- a combination of the stereotype that black men can't control their sexual urges and the racist fears of some people of black men having sex with white women -- referring to the allegations by Sharon Bialek -- but Cain's hopes of becoming the 2012 GOP candidate were mainly destroyed by politics.

Sharon Bialek

Bialek has made similar charges of inappropriate behavior, which were proven to be false, against other men as she did with Cain.

Bialek alleges that Cain, while president of the National Restaurant Association, sexually harassed her when she was employed with the organization. The National Restaurant Association settled out of court with Bialek for $45,000.

The persecution of Herman Cain has been mostly driven by the Democratic Party's fear over prominent black conservatives. A prominent black conservative such as Herman Cain is far more dangerous to the Democrats than an equally prominent white conservative.

The 90 percent black vote for Democrats is like money in the bank on Election Day. A self-made man such as Herman Cain , who offers an alternative view of the world is a serious threat politically to liberals and Democrats, because if that alternative view has the effect of reducing the black vote for Democrats, the Democrats would be in big trouble at election time.

To the mainstream media, which is predominantly liberal Democrat, a black conservative must be destroyed -- and character assassination is the fastest way to do it.

Brian Blackwell

---
Do women ever make false claims about sexual matters? It's more common than you might think. Studies show that false allegations are made about 20-40% of the time, depending on the study. These sorts of false accusations are usually made in order to get attention or money by appearing as an innocent victim, in order to get an alibi for something the woman has done wrong, or to get revenge on someone who has mistreated the woman.

2011-11-18T12:32:00.005-07:00

Our life’s a stage, a comedy: either learn to play and take it lightly, or bear its
troubles patiently. ~ Palladas

Whatever you give to life, it gives you back.

Do not hate anybody.

The hatred which comes out from you will someday comeback to you.

Love others. And Love will comeback to you.

2011-11-14T10:52:00.006-07:00

"The most beautiful people I have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These people have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen."

~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Good Friends

2011-11-01T05:21:00.002-06:00

It's nice to have good friends... friends you can truly rely on.
Knowing you have unconditional friendship, like unconditional love,
is one of those uniquely wonderful and powerful feelings one can
experience that makes life complete, and often bearable.

Brian Blackwell

My Lady

2011-10-28T18:09:00.002-06:00

My lady is like the sun that warms me when I'm cold,
like the cool water of a flowing river that refreshes me.
My lady's love for me so bold and such a treasure,
making me feel so free.

My lady delights in fulfilling my secret pleasures.
My life filled with joy from her very presence.
My lady fills the heart of my soul with such warmth and
beauty that I will always treasure.
I am driven wild by her sweet essence.
My lady is the reason for every beat of my heart.
My lady's clutch, I felt like no other before.
I pray we stay together till death do us part.
Each moment feels like an eternity waiting for my lady's touch.
My lady's love and passion, I long for.
Inside my lady's flower, always satisifying each other.
Each never wanting another, our love never sour.
A true connection often never felt by two.
My lady... I love you.
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2004 Brian Blackwell

Melody

2011-10-27T20:46:00.005-06:00

Melody come to me from distant place, and fill my heart's desire.

Sweet music flowing from her lips as Melody speaks I admire.
A symphony of words and thought she brings.
Excitement builds upon crescendo's sound,
brought forth in tones to make my heart sing for all the
beauty and love that is named Melody.
A life is changed in just an instant's time, all darkness fled
before that brillaint sun that shines from spoken words
of softest rhyme and treasures of Melody.
Her beauty and love outshone that only few have seen and she lets known.
My heart glows because of all the beauty and love that is named Melody.
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2011 Brian Blackwell

Real Grievances Fuel 'Occupy' Protests

2011-10-24T02:06:00.029-06:00

The Occupy Wall Street movement in New York that has sparked protests in Boston, Washington, Chicago, Denver and other cities across America has confounded Republicans, Democrats and analysts alike.

Those on the right say the Occupy Wall Street protesters are the same old riff-raff of leftist anarchists, unlike the grassroots conservative Tea Party movement. The left sees it as an authentic uprising against the huge income disparity in America.

The 'Occupy' protests occurring across the nation are actually part of a combustible global protest that goes beyond the professional rabble rousers. And the protesters are diverse, including middle-class and professionals.

Income and wealth inequality have been growing at an alarming rate in America for decades with little public outcry. The catalyst for the Occupy Wall Street movement is that during the worst financial crisis since the Depression, Wall Street and the wealthy were taken care of while average folks suffer.

Wall Street has flourished since the government rescue of 2008 and the big banks have posted record profits and booming bonuses since they were bailed out with taxpayer money.

Although Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reported a rare quarterly loss last week, Lloyd Blankfein, its chairman and chief executive officer, was paid $19 million last year, up 50 percent from the year before. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon received $23 million. A prime target of the protesters in New York is John Paulson, the hedge fund billionaire who made a fortune betting on the mortgage debacle, assisted by a sweetheart deal from his banker.

American politicians are dancing around the issue. Two Republican presidential candidates, Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman, said the anti-Wall Street protests have struck a responsive chord. The frontrunner, Mitt Romney, initially blasted the Wall Street protests as "dangerous" and "class warfare." Within a week, he said he understood "how these people feel."

Contributions to Democrats

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently urged its supporters to back the Occupy Wall Street protests. This gave heartburn to the committee’s fundraisers who rely disproportionately on the financial community for campaign contributions.

President Barack Obama, who has received millions in campaign contributions from Wall Street, has sought to embrace the protesters, saying they are "giving voice to a more broad-based frustration with how our finance sector works. The American people understand that not everybody’s been following the rules."

The fear in Washington is that the Occupy Wall Street protests could get out of hand, turn violent, thus creating a political backlash like during the anti-Vietnam War protests a couple of generations ago.

Three Out of 10 Americans Drop Out of Middle Class

Three out of 10 Americans, 28 percent, born in the middle class drop out of it as adults, according to a recent study on economic mobility from The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The study defines middle class as those families making between $32,900 and $64,000 in 2010 dollars, which ranks between the 30th and 70th percentiles of income.

The 30th percentile was used as a cut-off point because it is where families typically stop relying on government support to get by, said Erin Currier, project manager for Pew's Economic Mobility Project.

The study looked at what participants earned in the years before the recession started versus what their parents made at a similar age in 1979.

What the study shows is that growing up middle class, although it may confer many advantages, doesn't mean a person will remain middle class, Currier said.

Nearly one in five people, 19 percent, made less than their parents did at the same age in inflation-adjusted dollars.

The study's snapshot of incomes was taken before the worst economic slump since the 1930's, a downturn that has left 14 million unemployed and pushed the poverty rate above 15 percent.

Median household incomes in the U.S. last year were at 1996 levels after adjusting for inflation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"It is reasonable to assume with the economic downturn, the percent of people who are struggling and may be downwardly mobile could be much higher than what our study found," Currier said.

Banks Negotiating Short Sale Prices and Driving the Market Down

Short sales and forclosure values are being used to determine the value of homes across America, driving the market down, which in turn is adding fuel to the nation's economic troubles.

In August 2010, William Maxwell, an expert in finance, author, and professor at Southern Methodist University's business school, had his Dallas home appraised. It was appraised at $790,000 as part of a mortgage refinancing. Yet this past spring, when he tried to sell his four-bedroom home for $756,500, the appraisal commissioned by the buyer's lender, Bank of America Corp., came up with a value of $730,000. The appraisal killed the sale.

Protesters Find Allies in Ranks of The Wealthy

The Occupy Wall Street protesters — also known as the “99 percent” — have struck a chord with a few members of an unexpected audience: America’s rich and privileged.

United under the banner “We are the 1 percent: We stand with the 99 percent,” a band of entrepreneurs, trust fund babies, professionals and inheritors has taken to the web to share their abhorrence of corporate greed and support for tax code changes that would see them pay a higher share of their considerable wealth.

When Bureaucracy Kills Leadership

2011-10-17T14:54:00.004-06:00

Harrisburg, PA is bankrupt. Who is at fault?

The following is an insightful and important article by Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D., that was published in Psychology Today on March 18, 2010.

When Bureaucracy Kills Leadership (and Your Organization)
Is bureaucracy killing you and your organization?

I recently encountered an organization where succession planning -- the hiring of a new Chief Operating Officer -- was completely held up because the Human Resources department had not received a signature from the CEO, who was on an extended trip. Inquiries about the position went unanswered and leaders in the organization were unable to get things unstuck because of strict adherence to the "rule" ("No signature, no progress").

It reminded me of when the bureaucracy at my former institution completely shut down my laboratory for a week - all because of a lightbulb. Our single overhead bulb had burned out. We called the Buildings and Grounds department, and of course a form had to be filled out, but were told that completing orders could take 3-5 working days. I brought in a desk lamp from home so that my research assistants could continue their work.

When, days later, the B&G workers showed up, we were told that we needed to have an energy-saving bulb, but those bulbs were on backorder. Later, I noticed the students were standing outside the lab. "Why aren't you working?" I asked. "They took the bulb out of your desklamp" It wasn't up to the new code.

Peter Drucker, the Father of Modern Management, warned that it only takes about twenty minutes for a bureaucracy to take hold. Drucker also said, "bureaucracies are about rules, not results." Now don't get me wrong, bureaucracies have many positive aspects. They provide guidelines and standardized procedures that provide uniformity in goods or services, and when appropriately used they can lead to fair treatment.

However, when small-minded people adhere strictly to the bureaucratic code, without critical analysis, without thinking about the broader implications, and neglecting the overriding mission and goals of the company, it can kill the organization.

Here is when bureaucracies fail:

When the bureaucracy kills the organization's "humanity"

If people in the organization simply communicate respectfully with one another, they can determine if the rules should be applied, or if a reasonable exception can be made. In the HR example above, there simply was no direct communication (and no feedback at all that the process had been stalled).

When the bureaucracy conflicts with the organization's mission or purpose

In my lab, the issue was how can we continue to do our work? Rather than shutting us down, an exception should have been made to allow the work to continue. In a service-oriented environment, the someone in the Buildings and Grounds department should have become involved and tried to keep us in operation.

When the bureaucracy impedes progress

The rules and regulations of a bureaucracy need to enable the organization to achieve its goals. When a rule impedes progress, the rule needs to be immediately reevaluated.

How Does a Leader (or Anyone) Combat the Bureaucracy?

It takes character. We use a virtue ethics approach to leader character that focuses on the 4 cardinal virtues: Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance, and Justice.

It takes fortitude (aka "courage") to battle the bureaucracy. Prudence is acting wisely. Temperance is needed to keep from getting angry and lashing out. Putting the humanity back into the situation - sitting down with other leaders and department heads to solve the problems is the way to go. And, the issue of justice, or fairness, is important. We need to consider what's fair for all the parties involved, and the broader implications.

In short, bureaucracies are good when they work for us and our organizations, but they can easily become misaligned from the purpose and mission of the company. In other instances, people within the organization can use the bureaucracy for their own selfish purposes (e.g., to avoid work, to "punish" those they don't like). It is our job as leaders, and empowered followers, to make sure the bureaucracy is working positively for the entire organization.

By Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D.

Ramen Noodles Taste Good

2011-10-16T03:40:00.003-06:00

Did as expected.
Chose a goal and played my role.
Protection expected but neglected, thousands affected.
Filled with light, prosperity endless and danger out of sight.
Was doin' well until the economy fell.
Ramen noodles taste good.
Labored many hours a day thankful that the day's work was done.
Seems it didn't matter.
Now seeking shelter from the sun.
Friends and family scatter as my hopes and dreams shatter.
Dark shrouded words so inclined dredge through the darkness of my mind.
Ramen noodles taste good.
Want to turn and run.
Sadness and rage simplifies the sage.
Another day, oh how could I hide from what has been done.
Out of work, foreclosures, no improvement in sight.
Democrat and Republican alike nothing solved worsening the people's plight.
Ramen noodles taste good.
Life's temporal lease perhaps soon to vacate early His release.
Keep the wolves at bay.
Wall Street and Washington continue to fleece.
Praying for a better day.
Ramen noodles taste good.
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2011 Brian Blackwell

The Cain Train

2011-10-13T22:29:00.016-06:00

Pizza CEO from Georgia segregation and dirt farm roots fighting the political quagmire so the people can get hired.
Herman Cain.
More and more people seeking a better way boarding the Cain train evermore
for a better American day.
Herman Cain.
Because of his proven problem solving skills,
the people are supporting the one who began life at the bottom.
Herman Cain.
The one with the skills to create jobs and economic growth
so the country can pay its bills.
Herman Cain.
Hoping to help America with his 9-9-9 tax plan while opponents
with no solutions continue their whine.
Herman Cain.
The people ignoring the news media's attempts to sway and instead supporting
the candidate with the skills to fix the country's economic ills.
Herman Cain.
The one from "main street" not Wall Street wanting to help all.
Herman Cain.
Standing tall against the naysayers and their gall to want to continue with
fallacies and failed policies.
Herman Cain.
9-9-9 tax plan for the people, for entrepreneurs.
The 9-9-9 plan for America, for the doers.
With track record of creating jobs,
Herman Cain.
All aboard to renewed American prosperity,
the Cain Train.
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2011 Brian Blackwell

You May Kiss The Bride

2011-10-12T20:20:00.033-06:00

A sign of affection, a token of bonding.
With that wedding day kiss,
a symbol of faith, respect and love for each other so astonishing;
the swapping of souls that two experience upon marriage.
An end to the wait filled with thoughts of disparage.
One solemn moment to all those witnessing that special day.
Truly alive again from the moment I knew you were here to stay.
We have become partners,
I have become yours, you have become mine.
Two filled with sorrow, now have bright tomorrows.
Life's time no longer filled with sadness,
we two now hand in hand.
Word and meaning united, life's love passion ignited.
Days and nights honey-sweet;
my heart your shelter, my arms your home;
sweet taste of love's wine.
I cannot promise you a complete life of sunshine;
I cannot promise riches and gold.
But I can promise all my heart's love and devotion,
compassion and safe emotion,
love ever knowing;
a smile to chase away tears of sorrow,
a love that is true and ever growing,
a hand to hold in yours through each tomorrow...
On that special day when it is said, "You may kiss the bride."
~Brian Blackwell

Copyright © 2011 Brian Blackwell

Lost In You

2011-10-11T19:28:00.002-06:00

There were days when time stood still.
Until you came along and showed me how beautiful life can be.
Passion like no other spoken, your love's desire I fill.
Basking in your sea, truth came to be known.
A true love meant to be.
No more alone.
A passion and love so unexpected, our souls connected.
Silence deep within me no more.
Joy now rules the day, laughter all around.
You've unlocked and opened the door; your love I adore.
A love often never found.
She goes by a different name; I call her Love.
Lost in my darling, I call Love.
Sadness consumed my soul.
Because of you, I am now whole.
A love I thought I'd never find in this world often unkind.
Lost in you, my darling, I call Love.

Wall Street Protests Spread Nationwide

2011-10-07T17:07:00.005-06:00

Anti-Wall Street protests that took shape in New York weeks ago, prompting hundreds of arrests, have spread across the nation.

Demonstrations have sprouted from Los Angeles to Boston, and in plenty of cities in between, led by protesters voicing discontent and anger over high unemployment, home foreclosures and bailouts of corporations and banks.

According to Kevin Zeese, organizer of the Washington, D.C. protest held on Thursday, "Economic insecurity was encouraging people to take to the streets. Just like the Vietnam war draft made the war more personal, economic insecurity is making the economic policies of this country more personal."

The New York protests, working under the banner of "We are the 99 percent", have become bolder since they started on September 17 having occasional scuffles with police.

On Saturday, more than 700 people were arrested when demonstrators blocked traffic lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge while attempting an unauthorized march across the bridge.

In Florida, a weekend protest drew a crowd carrying signs reading "End Corporate Welfare" and "It is Time for a Revolution."

Unions have also joined the fray. The New York branch of the Transport Workers Union asked a federal judge on Tuesday to bar police from using city bus drivers to transport protesters who were under arrest. The judge denied the request.

The nation's largest union of nurses, National Nurses United, joined the Wall Street march on Wednesday. And Healthcare-Now, which advocates for a national single-payer system, said it was joining the Washington, D.C. protest to "demand human needs over corporate greed."

"This could have legs to it," says author Michael Lewis, who has written books about Wall Street and more recently the global economy.

TENT CITIES

The New York protesters, camped out in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan, have been dismissed by Wall Street passersby or cast in the mainstream media as naive students and mischief makers without realistic goals. Members of the group have vowed to stay at the park through the winter.

The protesters have been complaining about a heavy-handed police response to the protests. Police say they gave protesters ample warning that their march across the Brooklyn Bridge was illegal before they started making arrests.

Attorneys for a nonprofit advocacy group called the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund filed a federal lawsuit against New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York Police Department and other officials charging that the constitutional rights of the demonstrators arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge had been violated.

The suit said New York had "engaged in a premeditated, planned, scripted, and calculated effort to sweep the streets of protesters and disrupt a growing protest movement".

The protests have been gaining steam across the nation. In Los Angeles, protesters are camping out in front of City Hall. They too have pitched a tent city, and organizers say they will be there for the foreseeable future.

In Boston, protesters have set up a make-shift camp in the city's financial district. A few dozen tents were pitched across from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston building, and protesters have been well behaved, according to Boston police.

"Occupy Wall Street has captured everyone's imagination," said protest organizer Larry Hales in New York. "One criticism of us has been that our demands are not clear, but I think for most people, the message of why Wall Street is the target is very clear," he said. "It's the banking capital of the world."

Protests have also popped up in Chicago, where around 50 protesters have gathered at the heart of the financial district around lunchtime every day, banging drums and holding signs.

In St. Louis, about two dozen people carrying signs protested on Tuesday at a downtown federal building, about four blocks from the city's landmark Arch.

On Wednesday, around 100 protesters were in front of the State Capitol in Denver waving signs and sharing their views.

"People are starting to notice that this movement is not just a flash mob," said Victoria Sobel, 21, an art student who has been with Occupy Wall Street since it began on September 17. "I think labor and community organizations held back at first because they wanted to see our commitment. They wanted to see how serious we were," Sobel said. "We are elated that this is spreading. If nothing else comes from this, at least we started a dialogue."

Brian Blackwell

Copyright © Oct. 7, 2011 Brian Blackwell