Common Ground & the FBI

Well, one of the main organizers involved with Common Ground at a basic level is an FBI informant. I already figured common ground was way off base and wayward in their approach to rebuilding New Orleans by importing a bunch of young white activists, with enough time and money to just volunteer far away from their homes, to a city where black people are still being displaced more and more by white folks. (They just loved the apocalyptic playground where they felt so useful so much they just moved in!) It just didn't make sense to me that a supposedly radical organization could be so blind sighted by the good they felt like they were doing while grossly overlooking a lot of the displacement they were creating. I'm not saying by far that there was no good to come out of common ground, quite to the contrary, but an organization that Danny Wood could have risen so high in the organizing sector just couldn't be a very radical or good one. Now we know of one more informant existing in the ranks of a supposedly very community oriented peaceful organization. Brandon Darby. I didn't have the pleasure of personally meeting this guy, I steered clear of Common Ground with all the vehemence I could muster.

Well, now i really know that i should always always trust my first judgments and scram before you get yourself fucked. But here is something seemingly positive to leave you with that the Austin Informant Working Group wrote:

"... Even more dangerous to our communities than setting people up, turning them in, or gathering information, informants sow seeds of fear, paranoia, and distrust that fester and grow in paralyzing and destructive ways. We must be forever vigilante against deceptive, malicious and manipulative actors, while we defend the trust and openness that give our communities cohesion and power."

thick as thieves,
jack

Letter to Morgan

The old Woman and Her Snake Charming Friend.

You couldn't disagree with the fact that she was a charmer. Her smile, the way she always moved. Everyone could see it, the way it spun its web around her. Walking into mamacita's one day she said to me "that one over there" as she points at a blond haired boy in the corner. I giggled, looked and turned away quickly. With her magic she has his number at the end of the night, at the end of the week a lover.

She knows that this can be good and bad, a power wielded by a loving and hurting heart. the power lies here. She cant turn it off. The giving and the loving. She can't turn off the jumping and joy that burns like a furnace. She is too hot for some, but for my cold and brittle bones, she is just right. i want to build a life under her, here on this beach. i want to wield snakes like she does, jump up into the air, but i am old. i have let the youth escape and i wonder, if i will return. if with her magic she can bring me back to life, back to the charmer i once was.


picture by jackie: cicadabrood.com

Dress from Clive and "On Writing"

This morning i woke up early and nearly finished "On Writing" by Stephen King, recommended to me by Ciara Xyerra. I have to say that it is not only a very enthralling but also an informative manual on how to write. He steers clear of the bullshit, and says so in the very beginning, while talking about basics. It's the kind of wriring manual i've been looking for, blending writing experiences and helpful tips. Who would have known it would be written by Steven King, but i guess thats the whole point. He is not a literary genius, but he's prolific and his stories sell and he enjoys doing what he does. No matter what anybody says or the letters he receives he is still writing, and the book does a good job of explaining his process in a detailed way. I almost just borrowed it from DBN but ended up buying it and i think its a book good enough to have.

I also worked on the dress that clive gave me last time i was in new orleans. this was a baggy, pink colored dress that i died Egyptian Red using Cushing's Perfection Direct Dye for cotton, rayon, etc. Wow! The color really came out beautifully and then I tailored it a bit, brought the hem line up into the princess pleats and here it is. I'm rather excited about it and can easily see it becoming one of my favorites all too quickly.

A headband for Jackie & Sadye's Style

Today i finished up a letter for jackie and started messing around with my serger to get all the tensions fixed up. I ended up making tons of cool looking strips that i sewed together to make a headband.





I've also been really excited about my roomate's sense of style lately. notely the sweater scarf and the outside/bedtime clothes combination.