Hasta La Gadget!

You force fed me your forbidden fruit.
I choked on that red offering.
I could not swallow anymore.
You smiled with sadistic scorn.
You didn’t wait for my coughs to stop.
You thrust more apple down my mouth
Without reason, punishing me
Stuffing shards shouting, eat, eat, eat!

Tyranny compelled me to run
From paradise to the unknown.
I said goodbye to the garden.
I left you to find my freedom
Where I, not you, do the choosing,
Understanding what I’m losing:
The comfort of the familiar,
Eden, benign spirit killer!

I look at my reflection.
My fingers trace worn wrinkled skin,
Unseen tattoos my body bears,
Magic inked invisible scars;
Icons of your displaced self love.
Serving you was never enough.
You were hunger and lust and greed,
An insatiable trinity!

Am I the only one who sees this?

Following the grand jury’s decision not to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown, thousands took to the streets in Ferguson, Missouri, and around the country to protest. As alternating scenes of peaceful demonstrations and those of violence, fire and looting were broadcast, Ferguson faith leaders repeatedly urged that the only way to move forward was to amplify the voices of peace.

Many local clergy, who had called for non-violent resistance before the decision, called for justice afterward.

Rev. Ronald L. Bobo Sr., senior pastor of West Side Missionary Baptist Church who has been involved in the local clergy coalition, warned that people should not let bitterness overcome them even at a time when many are asking, “Where is God?”

“If we feel there is injustice, we have to say that, but we have to be sure we respond to it without violence that we might make our voices heard in places where we can get some sort of healing,” he said in an interview.

Brown’s family had released a statement following the announcement urging protesters to remain peaceful. The family said, “Answering violence with violence is not the appropriate reaction.”

Renita Lamkin, an African Methodist Episcopal church pastor who was shot with a rubber bullet during a demonstration in August shortly after Brown’s death and has been at the forefront of many protests in Ferguson since, told HuffPost by email that she was “deeply saddened” by the grand jury’s decision.

“Failing to take Darren Wilson to trial sends the message that the lives of our young, black sons and daughters has little value in the eyes of our IN-justice system,” Lamkin wrote.

According to Rabbi Susan Talve of Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis, she and other members of the clergy had anticipated the grand jury would make its announcement by 5 p.m. on Monday, and many houses of worship had 7 p.m. services planned. When the announcement came after 8 p.m. local time, people had already been waiting outside the Ferguson Police Department for three hours and the situation quickly escalated.

“The streets had been shut down,” Talve told HuffPost. “When we got there, they were already teargassing people. When I got there, we were teargassed right away, but we stayed.”

Clergy wore orange vests Monday night so that protesters could identify them and seek support, said Brittini Gray, a seminarian at Eden Theological Seminary. Many houses of worship in the area were open all night to provide sanctuary.

Talve said she was caught off guard by how quickly the protests escalated, but she emphasized that there were few injuries. “No one wanted violence, but if we’re more upset about the destruction of property than we are about the loss of life, it’s idolatry,” Talve said.

Rev. Mike Kinman, dean of Christ Church Cathedral, told HuffPost that he attributed much of the unrest to trauma on the part of protesters, police officers and residents generally. After the grand jury’s announcement, his congregation held a four-and-a-half-minute silence to honor Brown’s family, which had requested such moments of silence to remember the four-and-a-half hours Brown’s body was reportedly left on the ground.

“It has been deeply painful, troubling, and has also been, in the context of the prayer vigil, incredibly holy because people have come in to pray from places of great vulnerability,” Kinman said.

By 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, Talve, Gray and other clergy members were back out in the street, this time in neighboring Clayton for a sunrise action. “We prayed a new day in after the violence of last night,” Talve said. (See video above.)

Gray said this continued show of solidarity was essential to her not only as an activist but as a person of faith.

“If we truly call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ,” Gray said, “then the action has to be beyond prayer and holding services in a sanctuary. It has to be fighting for justice on the streets, in the courts and through legislation as a way to be the feet and mouth of Jesus.”

Central Reform Congregation and many other houses of worship in the area will remain open 24 hours, Talve said, to provide sanctuaries where people can charge their cell phones, eat, receive medical attention and find legal support.

“We’re going to try to do what we can to de-escalate violence but keep the movement going,” Talve said. “We’re not going to be silenced. We’re going to continue protest until we see things change.”

Community members will continue supporting one another, Kinman said, as they have since the protests first erupted in August. He said he has seen people of all races and backgrounds cry in each others’ arms, listen to one another and pray together.

“And for just a moment,” Kinman said, “you get a glimpse of what a city that makes glad God’s heart looks like.”

My recent trip to the Northern Territory of Australia was one of the best I’ve taken – dramatic landscapes, red earth, interesting outposts, luxury trains, and crocodiles – really big crocodiles!

Australia is huge and it was my desire not to fly over it but to experience as much of the land as possible. Maybe that’s because most of my work life with an airline required me to fly, and I always felt as if I was missing the really good parts of a country by only seeing it from the air. Or, maybe it’s because I have “a thing” for flowers, dirt, and critters.

When the chance came to see Australia by train I jumped at it. My final destination was Kakadu National Park (a two-hour drive from Darwin). And the opportunity to see ancient rock art and exotic plants and to experience first-hand the large Australian crocodiles (“salties”), was exciting.

I boarded the Ghan Train in Alice Springs, and traveled in a Gold class cabin, which was spacious and had its own shower and toilet – extremely comfortable. The food was really good, and the staff friendly, and informative. The highlight of the train journey for me was the ability to look out the window at any time and see the beauty of red dirt as far as the horizon, with little dots of green shrubs here and there. Mind you, I had no plans to get off and wander around as the Australian deserts are full of snakes and spiders, and this country has the most deadly of both in the world. The land is hot, desolate and treacherous if on foot, thus the train ride.

We arrived in Darwin after a 24-hour ride and the next day set off for Kakadu National Park (a UNESCO human heritage and natural site). We stopped at one of the local outposts for water, coffee and other local treats, and while there observed a group of local Aborigines purchasing items. Quiet, and focused on what they were doing, they never said hello or appeared to notice us. I’d observed this same behavior in Alice Springs. Some of the people in our group were African Americans and made an effort to converse with them. I believe, that some of the Americans thought that they could communicate with the Aborigines because of similar skin color. It didn’t work, the locals never acknowledged them. I was curious about this and wondered who felt insulted more.

Our guide told us that we would be traveling on boats through the Alligator River branches – the South and the East. There are actually three branches of rivers – North, East and South – named in 1820 by an English explorer, Lieutenant Phillip Parker King, who saw crocodiles and assumed they were alligators. These are really big crocodiles and the name was given to them because they are known to swim and live in the ocean as well as the rivers. This makes them very dangerous because of their size, intelligence, and ferocity – they’re not afraid of anything!!!

Our guide for the trip down the East Alligator River described what we were seeing as we floated along the river. Picture a semi-tropical area with several varieties of trees, a wide river filled with huge flowering water lily pads and other tropical-like plants. Native ducks and many other bird families all swooping and diving and nesting along the river. Much of the land had stands of the native Australian Gum tree and even clumps of tall, green bamboo. We learned that there was an active effort by national park rangers and local people to ensure original flora and fauna remained and thrived. For this reason, animals from the 19th and 20th centuries who were imported to aid in agricultural production and escaped to the wild – water buffalo, feral house cats, camels, pigs, and horses who roam throughout the park, were culled. This also was the case for plants that weren’t native to the area. The park rangers continue to be diligent in working to reduce the affect these interlopers have on the original habitat.

Our first real river adventure with an Aboriginal guide was on the South Alligator River. Meeting us was Nigel, who calmly and carefully explained the do’s and don’ts for the excursion. He was from the local Arnhem Aboriginal clan that had lived in the area for at least 50,000 years. Most importantly he said, this was not a theme park ride, this was real – and the large crocs meant business – they would eat us if they had a chance. So, leaning over to get “that great picture” may not be a good idea. Nigel repeated his instructions so there was no misunderstanding as to what was expected of us.
We had seen many Aboriginal people in the parks and on the streets of Alice Springs, Uluru and Darwin but this was going to be our first up-close-and-personal interaction.

My first impression of Nigel as we pushed away from the pier was of a quiet, dignified man who demanded respect without opening his mouth. As an African-American I was especially intrigued by his physical appearance – very dark brown skin and hair that was thick with very black curls! There’s a theory that the first inhabitants may have come from Timor or Indonesia when the sea between the two landmasses was rather shallow. That may account for the origins of his physical appearance.

Nigel said he was a member of the Yoiungu clan and a caretaker of Arnhem Land – Aboriginal land re-given to them in 1931. He told us the name was given to the land when a captain from the Dutch East Indies Company sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1623, saw the land, and named it after his ship, and that is the name of a city in Holland.

As we glided along the river we started seeing croc heads poking out of the river. With real crocs so close, it was exciting. In a ten-minute period we saw at least 50 crocs. Nigel said most were considered small, but to us they seemed huge. They watched us and we watched them. At times Nigel would turn off the boat’s engine and we would float down the middle of the river or near the river banks. A little scary considering there were so many crocs and the boat didn’t have high sides. If a croc decided we were going to be dinner we would have been easy pickings. I have been on several African safaris and ridden in open safari vehicles. Knowing the drill, I kept still and didn’t make any big moves.

At one point Nigel took us to a small sandy beach and invited us to step on his homeland. This was an honor because we had been told that it was up to the guide to allow us to do this.

As we stood looking over the river, Nigel told us two sad and disturbing stories. First, the place where we were standing had been invaded by a large croc several months ago. He said that crocs are really intelligent and opportunistic hunters, and notice everything. He recalled that on several days when he brought tours to this spot he spied an especially large croc lurking on the other side of the river. It seemed the croc knew the times of the tours – 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and would appear. A few weeks later after he was visiting this very spot, without a tour, and as he was walking towards the river to get on his boat, he saw this same huge croc hiding behind a tree near the path! Nigel jumped up on a large rock, took a picture of the croc and waited until he left. From then on he and the other guides looked out for this croc and told tourists, NOT to wander off from their group.

And finally he shared a very sad story about his 12-year old nephew who was playing by the river with friends about six months ago, and was attacked by a large croc that killed him. Nigel told us it was a very sad time for his community.
Even with training and experience around these large predators, you are never safe and have to be ever vigilant. We were all so sad to hear this and wished him our best.

Our trip to Kakadu National Park and the Alligator Rivers was memorable in spite of the sadness we felt for Nigel. We learned so much about his people, culture and the importance of the land. If you plan a visit to Australia, please make it a point to visit Kakadu and the Northern Territory. Sydney, Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef are all stunning, but the Northern Territory has so much more to offer in terms of understanding the Aboriginal people – the group with the longest continuous history and language of any people on the planet. I thank Nigel for his generosity in sharing his people and dreams. I thank Australia for inviting us to see the Northern Territory; it was well worth the trip.

Granny Regina Fraser
Keeping an eye out for “salties”… I know they’re not in the U.S. but you never know!!

It’s that time, Christmas decorators. It’s time to get your hands on the geekiest of decorations and start putting up your Christmas tree. You could go for plain white or colored lights, but the geek in you wants something cooler.

If you are a fan of Game of Thrones, you need this sigil string lights. The lights have ten on each string with two each of Stark, Baratheon, Lannister, Tyrell, and Targaryen sigils per string. The strand of lights is 11-feet long, so be sure you plan how many strands you need to do your whole tree.

The sigils are made from plastic and should last for years, assuming you don’t invite any wildlings to your house. You can get a string of Game of Thrones lights at ThinkGeek for $19.99(USD).

Lexus has poured cold water on the idea of a sub-$30k car to expand its appeal in the entry-level luxury space, arguing it has no intentions of following Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and others in courting more price-conscious buyers. “What you’ll see is us not heading downstream,” Jeff Bracken, US general manager for Lexus, said this week, “but heading upstream,” arguing that … Continue reading