Direction

Francis
Originally uploaded by vajra.

grey and overcast
sky hovers pregnant with rain
the lily points to hope

Subdued

Subdued
Originally uploaded by vajra.

we are uncertain
knowing
or not knowing
if Spring will come this year

the seasons find confusion
first fire then flower
then
snow

tentative robins
shivering
in the rain feathers
hoping not hoping
for sun

Cat Friday

Just Lookin'
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Fragrance

I
Caroline
Originally uploaded by vajra.

I saw a pink
bottle of perfume
yesterday
called
"Camellia"

though
camellias have
no
scent

Still Not Spring

Still Not Spring
Originally uploaded by vajra.

chairs on the sidewalk
waiting for someone to sit
and enjoy cold moist air

Watching

A Careful Watch, #2
Originally uploaded by vajra.

with open eyes and
heart I gaze into you and
now you into me

Noble

Noble
Originally uploaded by vajra.

gentle calm the cat
sits at my feet with no thought
of tomorrow's mouse

“Let us not then speak ill of our generation, it is not any unhappier than its predecessors. Let us not speak well of it eitheri

Let us not speak of it at all.



















but








wait

Aloha Haiku

Sunrise Honolulu
Originally uploaded by vajra.

aloha hello
aloha I truly love you
aloha farewell

aloha
aloha
aloha

Mahalo

photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by vajra.

step into the outrigger
a gourd of water
a line for fish
follow the star
follow the star
follow
the
star

Reunion

photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by vajra.

sometimes the only way
to find yourself
is to go back
to look at who
you once were

Pele

photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Divine Goddess rising
brushing clouds from your shoulders
light follows your dance
birds delight in your beauty
but tonight your flames will embrace
the wine dark sea

Mahalo

photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Hawaiians believe
every stone is
sacred
every blade of grass is
sacred
every stream is
sacred
every tree is
sacred
every wave is
sacred
every cloud is
sacred
every flower Is
sacred
every bird is
sacred
every drop of water is
sacred

sacred
sacred
everything is

sacred

Honolulu Afternoon

Honolulu Afternoon
Originally uploaded by vajra.

the sky grey eve as
the sun sets
just a faint hint of orange
just a perfect pale blue
glimmering
behind the
cloud

Lucky 13

Lucky 13
Originally uploaded by vajra.

some days no matter what happens
are lucky
lucky because you are there
beside
me

Cat Friday

Lookin' At You Lookin' At Me
Originally uploaded by vajra.

President Obama Is Driving Republicans Insane

The historical record of far-right ridiculousness has been well-documented here and throughout the blogosphere.

Who can forget Michelle Malkin's inspired cheerleader skit? Or when Rush Limbaugh mocked a guy's Parkinson's Disease tremors. What about John Boehner's public sobbing jags? Pat Robertson insisting he could leg-press 2,000 pounds. Sarah Palin's turkey geeker photo op. George W. Bush telling us that Iraq is a "peeance freeance." Remember when Bill O'Reilly shouted down the son of a 9/11 victim? Already, we're talking about a mélange of weirdness and upside-down logic suitable for the ages, and that's all prior to January 20, 2009.

But I don't think we ever anticipated that the presidency of Barack Obama would, among other things, send the far-right into a freakazoid display of shockingly deranged conniptions and outright crazy talk -- their manic hyperdrive engines, fueled by Rush Limbaugh's gesticulating arm flab, blasting them out of their political Mos Eisley cantina scene and expelling them a thousand parsecs beyond the zero barrier of insanity.

Too much?

Just to be clear, I'm not talking about the lies or distortions or their utter lack of credibility (zero cred) on broad-ranging issues like, you know, foreign policy and the economy. What we have here is the equivalent level of chaos as, say, the first group therapy scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In other words: a total berserker meltdown.

Seriously, have you ever seen the Republicans more twisted and kerfuffled than they are today? Movie metaphors aside, I've been hard pressed to find greater examples of insanity from the far-right than have been exhibited in the past week alone. Here we have a Republican Party that's been discredited and bloodied, and yet in the face of an enormously popular president who is confounding conventional wisdom while building a working consensus among American voters, the Republicans appear to be reflexively coughing up the most intellectually violent chunks of hooey on record.

They're screaming about fear-mongering, even though we had eight years of this.

They're screaming about fiscal responsibility, even though we had eight years of this.

They're screaming about free speech, even though we had eight years of this and this and this.

They're honest to God screaming about fascism, even though we had eight years of this and this and this.

Yes, the Republicans have claimed to have "found their voice." If this is true, then their "voice" sounds exactly like Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge and Michelle Malkin, depending on the day.

So what are these voices saying exactly?

For starters, Rush Limbaugh -- the de facto leader of the Republican Party -- said on his show Tuesday that the entire economic meltdown was actually precipitated by a conspiracy between George Soros and a cabal of billionaire liberals who deliberately sought to sabotage the world economy in order to get Barack Obama elected.

He, of course, has no real evidence for this, other than what the shadow people told him while he was tweaking his TV remotes.

Okay, so I made up the part about the shadow people, but the rest is seriously what Limbaugh was telling his audience of dittoheads yesterday. What Limbaugh doesn't know, however, is that Soros is actually a hobbit who's conspiring with Elvis to fake another Moon landing. (Shh!)

Confined to its own phantom zone of crazy, there's only so much harm this can do. After all, Limbaugh's puffy melon has been bombarded with a mountain of hillbilly heroin large enough to crush God. But I wish I could report that this was wholly the product of Limbaugh's condition. It's also a theory that was repeated by Donald Luskin: a seriously wrongheaded economist and, go figure, former economic adviser to Senator John McCain.

Speaking of John McCain, he was pilfering extra helpings of rich, creamery crazy from Michelle Malkin this week. Senator Coburn and Congressman Boehner were doing it, too. Last month, Malkin nicknamed the president's recovery bill the "generational theft" bill, arguing that the debt it would create will serve to rob future generations. This, naturally, disregards the nearly doubled national debt and record-breaking deficits created by George W. Bush with programs that, when taken individually, were enthusiastically endorsed by Malkin (Iraq, tax cuts and so on). But there was Senator McCain on Face the Nation on Sunday talking about "generational theft." Whatever, senator, the fundamentals are strong so what's does it matter, right?

Meanwhile, Michael Steele, the newly elected head of the RNC and preemptive excuse for the next time a Republican talk radio host blurts out a racist remark, tried to tell a national television viewing audience that the government has never in the history of the United States created a job -- only "work." Yep. Do I really need to outline why this is crazy?

Former White House chief of staff Andy Card, meanwhile, attacked President Obama for violating a totally nonexistent Oval Office dress code. Republican columnist Fred Barnes cited a former Limbaugh producer named Marc Morano as his "scientific" source on global warming. FOX News is reading Republican talking points verbatim and passing them off as news copy -- typos and all. And after eight years of the smirking frat boy named George W. Bush, Malkin went so far as to accuse President Obama of being "snippy" during his prime time press conference.

Elsewhere, another far-right blogger is vowing to never again fist-bump with her friends at her tennis club. And when she's at the grocery store and is confronted by magazines with the president's face in the checkout line, she turns the magazines backwards. All of them. I'm not making this up.

They have indeed totally lost their shpadoinkle and despite purely involuntary spikes in my blood pressure, it's so much fun to watch. By successfully debunking their lies, rising above their bait and merely presenting a contrast of character, President Obama is making the Republican A-listers appear small, petty and absolutely befuddled. They're frantically struggling to figure out how to counterpunch, so they're grabbing, borrowing or downright plagiarizing ideas from anywhere, irrespective of the general quality of the idea. And if the Republicans are at all interested in continued survival, someone they respect should probably smack their hands and scold: Drop that filthy Limbaugh quote! You don't know where it's been!

But if this is their "voice" and they're satisfied with it, I for one welcome the new Republican "voice" and wish them a hearty and very sincere: Good luck with that.

BobCesca.com

Different Rain

it's warm
where does it come
from
where does it go
in the cold
it falls
it's warm
falling
down from
the gray
sky
so cold
in gray clouds
it's warm
it
differs

Love Will Prevail

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Against A Cloud Of Sky

Against A Cloud Of Sky, #2
Originally uploaded by vajra.

a cloud of blossoms
pink as clear as windowpanes
promising sweet plum

The Meaning of Love

White Petals

fade against the wall
to avoid the rain's bluster
while I drink you in

Yesterday Rain

the day was cool and crisp
as only a Winter day
imitating Spring can be
the air so blue your
heart
aches
to see the plum branch
against
the
sky

Sun Kissed

this rose glowing in the wet afternoon
gentle warmth flowing
toward me as I catch
a faint scent
like soft
personified

Farewells

Leopard iPhotos 58 - Version 2
Originally uploaded by vajra.

gray heads we were happy once
and young
we nod and clap for the past
but we cannot reach it
we cannot touch it
gone beyond going
gone beyond knowing
gone
gone

25 Random Things About Myself

This meme has being buzzing around facebook. A few bloggers I admire have posted their answers to their blogs, so I thought I would, too.

1. I have loved my sweetheart for 47 years.

2. I cried when I saw St. Francis' tattered robe in Assisi, though it's not the sweetness of Francis but his toughness that I love.

3. I despise sentimentality.

4. I have two daughters, Maria and Rachel.

5. I'm a gearhead.

6. I have two graduate degrees.

7. I like Twitter better than Facebook.

8. Photography is one of my passions.

9. "Pan's Labyrinth," "Casablanca," "All About Eve," "Manhattan," "Some Like It Hot," "Milk" and "Wall-E" are my current favorite movies.

10. I saw four of Santa Fe's five operas in one week last summer.

11. I read "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy almost every year.

12. I never liked the Mouseketeers.

13. I've recently become interested in Yoruba beadwork as well as colonial figures from Cote d'Ivoire.

14. I have quite an impressive collection of First Peoples art, including North Coast masks, Pueblo pottery, and some rather fine Kachinas.

15. Interior design is my pornography.

16. When I'm in Santa Fe, I try to eat at the Shed at least once a day.

17. I had the lead in the school Christmas pageant when I was a child and I've never gotten over it.

18. I covet letterpress printed objects.

19. I worked for the Farmworkers Union while I was in law school.

20. In addition to opera, I'm crazy about bluegrass.

21. "Dead Man Walking," "Adriana Mater," "St. François d'Assise" and the "Ring" cycle are my peak opera experiences.

22. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors.

23. I spent three weeks in Umbria, Italy in 2008. Bliss.

24. I can knit but I can't follow a pattern so if you want wall-to-wall carpeting look me up.

25. I give my computers names.

Light Rain

Light Rain, #6
Originally uploaded by vajra.

beads of rain like white
buffalo turquoise floating
against the broad leaf
thirsty for water
confused by sun shining
despite a shower

Cat Friday

Just a Blur
Originally uploaded by vajra.

White Rose Alley

White Rose Alley
Originally uploaded by vajra.

under the awning
roses fill a black bucket
polka dot bouquet

Oakland Sakura

February Surprise, #1
Originally uploaded by vajra.

fresh as umbrellas
against gray sky I wear your
petals in my hair

Variation

Agave Variation, #2
Originally uploaded by vajra.

you can look at leaves
looking at leaves and flowers
you can look at leaves and flowers
looking at leaves and flowers and the cat on the porch
you can look at leaves and flowers
and the cat on the porch
looking

looking

Waves

Wave Series, #1
Originally uploaded by vajra.

water rush in
water rush out

sand stands
still
but beneath my feet
movement

water rush in
water rush out

Haiga

Coming Out To Play Series, #8
Originally uploaded by vajra.

how can a blossom
so filled with pink beauty
deny me fragrance?