No, this isn't in reference to the Thai police officer's serenade to murder suspect John Mark Karr.........It's a quote and a question.




"If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skull, why then do we read it? Good God, we would also be happy if we had no books, and such books as make us happy we could, if need be, write ourselves. But what we must have are those books which come upon us like ill-fortune, and distress us deeply, like the death of one we love better than ourselves, like suicide. A book must be an ice-axe to break the sea frozen inside us."

Franz Kafka
Author of "The Metamorphosis" and others

That was the quote (just in case it needed some 'splainin') - - and here's the question:

What book struck you as "...an ice-axe to break the sea frozen inside..." YOU? Do you re-read those books that move you profoundly?


This here is Kafka Street - - Cockroaches Welcome!

To my liberal, progressive brothers and sisters: I'm so sorry.

I have lusted in my heart for.......a Republican.



This is me, a penitent Magdalene.

How could this happen? Typically, conservative views on social and criminal justice issues are so repulsive to me that nothing else has a chance to register - - but there's something about this particular Republican that has wormed its way through the minefield.

Ya oughtta know that he's very happily married to a woman he describes as his best friend and he's such a devoted dad. Okay, those two virtues could be part of his inexplicable appeal - - yes, they definitely are.

But....there's something else at work. There's this undeniable CHEMISTRY that makes me wanna grab that brawny, mischievous man, even when he's blathering on about "idiot" juvenile offenders or "evil" sex offenders or the need for more restrictive status offense laws. My mind wanders as he's speaking, and I find myself thinking about multiple uses for duct tape.....

You must be awfully disappointed in me. Me, too. I vow not to act on this unnatural lust, both out of integrity and out of faithfulness to the progressive movement. But my confidence is shaken to the core - - if I'm turned on by one Republican, isn't it possible that I could find others attractive? What if......




NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

“Do all you can with what you have, in the time you have, in the place you are.”
Nkosi Johnson

Nkosi was a South African boy who was born with HIV and died of AIDS at age 12, after creating “Nkosi’s Haven” sites to comfort fellow AIDS sufferers (exerpted from an interview with ABC’s Jim Wooten in 2001).



In the United States, this is how it tends to work for those who can afford to go to college:

Johnny completes thirteen years of primary and secondary education. He might have a part-time job during high school, but he's pretty much just going to classes and participating in extracurricular activities. During this time, Johnny's brain is still developing the capacity to control impulses and think through decisions fully, and developmentally he prioritizes the opinions of his peers. Johnny graduates from high school, works during the summer, then goes straight to college.........

At college, Johnny is on his own, really, for the first time in his eighteen year existence - - now he's responsible for deciding whether or not he should party until 4 a.m. on a Tuesday night and, after he does, whether or not he should go to his morning classes on Wednesday. It's up to Johnny to decide how much alcohol is enough, or whether or not he should snort coke for the first time.

Johnny is also responsible for deciding, at 18, what career he's going to commit to for the rest of his life, as he chooses expensive higher ed classes that will determine his eligibility for jobs in the future. That doesn't sound as dangerous as all the drinkin' and druggin', but this decision will have lifelong consequences for Johnny and society.

So, what if Johnny didn't go to college? At least not right away.....



What if, immediately after high school, Johnny signed up with AmeriCorps and did at least one year of service in the United States before going to college? AmeriCorps is the domestic Peace Corps; participants are paid a living allowance (often at poverty level) as they develop and implement self-sustaining community improvement projects in the poorest areas of the country. Most AmeriCorps programs also give participants an education stipend after service is completed.

This is what would happen to AmeriCorps Member Johnny:

* Johnny would have a critical year of neurological and social development, during which he was serving others and not just seeking to entertain his risk-seeking, impulsive brain.

* Johnny would have the privilege of interacting with people in circumstances quite different from his own - - he would learn from them cognitively and emotionally.

* Johnny would see a bigger picture when it comes to social ills.

* Johnny would get to test out his skills, abilities, and interests before spending lots and lots of higher ed money on a degree that might not work out for him later on in life.

What kind of college student do you think Johnny would be after an experience like that? Do you think there would be a greater likelihood that Johnny would appreciate the opportunity to go to college, would be more dedicated to pursuing a field of study that would eventually serve humankind, would be a more mature and focused contributor in class? Do you think that the university, Johnny's parents, and ultimately the US would save $$$$$$ educating students who are using college for an education as opposed to an excuse for a party?

Yeah, me too.

This is the pledge that AmeriCorps members make when they sign up:

“I will get things done for America - - to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier. I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities. Faced with apathy, I will take action. Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground. Faced with adversity, I will persevere. I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond. I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.”



Those are powerful words, and they affect you for a lifetime. They change how you look at the world around you, and your place in that world.

AmeriCorps - - serve your country without a gun!

The Valkyrie: VISTA, 1985

This is who I'll be seein' live this weekend:



LOVE THEM! C'mon now, sing along - - you know you want to!

Love Shack
B 52s

If you see a faded sign by the side of the road that says
15 miles to the... Love Shack! Love Shack yeah
I'm headin' down the Atlanta highway, lookin' for the love getaway
Heading for the love getaway, love getaway,
I got me a car, it's as big as a whale and we're headin' on down
To the Love Shack
I got me a Chrysler, it seats about 20
So hurry up and bring your jukebox money

The Love Shack is a little old place where we can get together
Love Shack baby, Love Shack bay-bee.
Love baby, that's where it's at, Ooo love, baby, that's where it's at

Sign says.. Woo... stay away fools, 'cause love rules at the Love Shack!
Well it's set way back in the middle of a field,
Just a funky old shack and I gotta get back

Glitter on the mattress
Glitter on the highway
Glitter on the front porch
Glitter on the hallway

The Love Shack is a little old place where we can get together
Love Shack, baby! Love Shack, that's where it's at!
Huggin' and a kissin', dancin' and a lovin', wearin' next to nothing
Cause it's hot as an oven
The whole shack shimmies! The whole shack shimmies when everybody's
Movin' around and around and around!
Everybody's movin', everybody's groovin', baby!
Folks linin' up outside just to get down
Everybody's movin', everybody's groovin', baby
Funky little shack! Funky little shack!

Hop in my Chrysler, it's as big as a whale and it's about to set sail!
I got me a car, it seats about 20
So hurry up and bring your jukebox money.

Bang bang bang on the door, baby! Knock a little louder, honey!
Bang bang bang on the door, baby! I can't hear you
You're what?... Tin roof, rusted!
Love Shack, baby, Love Shack!
Love, baby, that's where it's at
Huggin' and a kissin', dancin' and a lovin' at the Love Shack.....



Why won't you dance with me? I ain't no limburger!

Rock lobster on, y'all.

The original "Star Trek" - - who doesn't recognize the distinctive "wheeeeeeOOOOOOOOOOOHoooohoooohhoooooohhhooohhhoohhhh..." of the opening music? And who among us hasn't sung along on occasion? And remember that episode where Bones is tending to an extraterrestrial that looks like a rock, and he complains to Kirk:

"I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!"

Good times.



The best "Star Trek" episode, hands down and no arguments allowed, is "The Empath" - - seriously, this episode was formative for me.

Jim, Spock and Bones have been lured to a planet by the Vians, buttheaded extraterrestrials whose outsize brains have given them not only astronomical intelligence but also incredibly high foreheads that defy any toupee.



At first it seems that the Vians have brought Kirk, Spock, and McCoy there in order to hold them hostage - - they're cast into a sterile room with a mute, timid woman named Gem, whose relation to the Vians is murky but who appears to be an accomplished mime. It's only after initial injuries are inflicted on the crew that it becomes apparent that Gem is an empath - - she takes on the injuries and hurts of others, healing them and eventually herself.



Slowly, it's revealed that the Vians are testing Gem for altruistic reasons - - and in order to seriously test her willingness to sacrifice self for others, it's necessary for one of Kirk's men to be tortured nearly to death. Kirk has to choose - - in a very Sidney Cotten / Tale of Two Cities-esque fashion, Bones sedates first Jim and then Spock so that he'll be the one to endure the torture.


This is Bones, after.

When McCoy is brought back to the chamber, hovering on the edge of death, Gem hesitates - - she exhibits classic approach / avoidance symptoms, then she fulfills her calling. She skooches over to Bones and lays hands on him (not in a sexy way) - - his welts and cuts fade from his person and appear on hers in identical sites. As she absorbs his internal injuries, Gem falls to the floor - - the visible injuries gradually fade from her face and arms, and the Vians come in to carry her off, satisfied that she was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.





Sacrifice. Love for another. Empathy. Honor. Slipping mickies to your crewmates. The life lessons were abundant and profound. And now, please allow me to close with

wheeeeeeeeeeOOOOOOOOOOOHoooohoooohhoooooohhhooooohhhooooohhhh...