A Fish Out of Water Gets Her Groove Back

In recent years we've been to lots of concerts including James Taylor, Earth, Wind & Fire and Carlos Santana. I felt right at home at all of them...people who looked a lot like me -- baby boomers -- were everywhere. I sang along with all the tunes and danced in my seat. On Friday night we went to see Michael Franti and Spearhead perform. According to my husband, Franti is the reincarnation of Bob Marley. He's a conscious reggae artist/poet/rock star who views music "as a way to stir the soul and as a vehicle for social change."
For the first time ever, I felt like a fish out of water. The audience was REALLY young... since they were serving alcohol I am assuming most were over 21 but just barely. It's likely we were among the oldest people in the crowd.
Once the music began I quickly forgot about the age thing and had a fantastic time. The reggae/ska/funk beat took over and before I knew it I was grooving to the music. Franti's lyrics are powerful and memorable including:
"You can bomb the world into pieces but we can't bomb it into peace."
and
"God is too big for one religion."
He sings of love, social justice, peace and togetherness. I was thrilled to discover that the younger set has a powerful messenger in Michael Franti.

He had me at "hello."

Dear Barack Obama Fans,
We finally got to meet the Senator yesterday at a
fundraiser here in La Jolla. Although he was 90
minutes late (he flys commercial and his flight was
delayed) the 700 people waiting for him were patient.
The excitement was palpable as we ate wine &cheese at
the Birch Aquarium.
When he finally arrived I found myself shaking hands
with the Senator. He looked right into my eyes and
asked me my name. I said "Arielle" and he said "Hello
Arielle" with a great big smile. Ok - -I'm smitten.
He shook many hands and then jumped on stage and
talked to us like he was with a group of good friends.
He asked that everyone in the room support him with
their time, energy and money and gave us a homework
assignment which I will pass along to you:
1) sign up at barackobama.com
2) send out 5, 10 or more emails to friends and family
encouraging them to register to vote AND to sign up at
barackobama.com
He answered several in-depth questions about his plans
for Iraq, healthcare, medicare, and more.
He was clear, committed and in my opinion is ready to
win.
More to come....
Arielle

WHY I LOVE BARACK OBAMA

This morning Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States.
As he walked onto the platform in Springfield, Illinois (to a Bono tune) I knew I was watching history being made. He is the candidate I’ve been waiting for.
I was committed to supporting him before his speech this morning and now there will be no stopping my support. His words today are still running through my mind:
“Let’s be the generation that ends poverty in America.” Check – I’m all for that.
“We will have Universal healthcare by the end of the next President’s term.”
Check again.
“Plans to bring the troops home by March 2008.” Amen to that.
He believes we can do this. I believe he can lead us. I have no idea what role I will play in this but if you want to be on my email list, send an email to obamayes@yahoo.com with “yes” in the subject line and I will put you on my newsletter list.
Check out the video by his wife Michelle at www.barackobama.com/tv/

Paris/Posh/Britney Whatever

A few days ago I was sitting in the office of Steve Stargardtner, President of JFK University and saw this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt on the wall:
"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”
I found this to be a pretty insightful bit of wisdom and I began to think about how much of my own time I spend discussing ideas vs. events vs. people.
Then, last night, I found a few minutes to watch TV and began to channel surf....it seemed like every show was some kind of entertainment tabloid extravaganza on the latest sightings of celebutantes....truly boring stuff and I began too wonder who ARE the people that REALLY CARE about the lives of Paris, Posh, Britney or Anna Nicole Smith? It's not that I am completely uninterested in celebrities -- I am fascinated by Bono, Angelina Jolie, and other stars who use their notoriety to make a difference in the world. I applaud their efforts. But this other group the media seems so enchanted with just seem so undeserving of so much press. If I am missing something, someone please inform me.