INSPIRATION OR IDIOT BOX??- YOU DECIDE

ELECTION 2008
It's kind of ironic that the Vice Presidential debates followed the reality series Survivor since in essence that is what both candidates are trying to do as they approach November 4th and attempt to sway the hearts and minds of the American people.

I think Biden did the best job, but Sarah Palin held her own as far as poise goes and she went a long way in building up some morale for the Republican party simply by not falling flatly on her face. While I was enamored with her nomination speech, I have been disappointed in her inability to fire off answers to inpromtu questions in subsequent interviews. She was way too folksy for me in this debate. I haven't seen the actual transcript analysis but I noticed that she used the words maverick and corruption a whole lot filled quite a bit with the adverb "also". She threw in some phrases which I guarantee will become ad nauseum sound bites like: "Joe Six-Pack, Hockey Moms and Predator Lenders- Darn right!" She spent way too much time talking about energy alternatives and kind of dodging foreign policy issues. I did like her black suit, however!! She looked great.

And by the way, here is an article from Time Magazine by Massimo Calabresi on a Palin Poll.

Poll: Palin Less Popular with Women Voters Than with Men
By Massimo Calabresi Thursday, Oct. 02, 2008

As Sarah Palin braces for her vice-presidential debate tonight with Joe Biden, a new TIME poll shows the Alaska Governor is surprisingly unpopular among likely women voters.

Overall, Palin is viewed favorably by 47% of likely voters and unfavorably by 40%. But her numbers are worse among women than men: 45% of all women surveyed have a negative opinion of Palin, compared to 42% who view her positively. Fifty-two percent of men have a favorable opinion, while 35% are in the unfavorable camp.

We shall see what happens.

A Life

26-106-742

A combination that holds the key to my present

Yet also encompasses my past-

A past so incredibly unbelievable

That it could surely be mistaken for a work of fiction

The characters play out in my mind and in my life

Sometimes the fabric enveloping both comes together

In a solitary seam weaving each part collectively and

In that single moment, reality and fantasy become entwined

On that day long ago when different worlds collided,

Two people were blind to the idea that they were setting the stage

For a story to be written; yet the basic elements of any good fairy-tale

Had already been put in motion

A backdrop of fantasy with dragons and knights and medieval villages

Two people meeting with false identities known only to the audience

A classic tale of misunderstanding and hopelessness

A tale of redemption via goodness and truth

To save another’s life is an awesome experience

To see the person rescued from the clutches of a damaged identity

And restored to a higher plane of existence and belief in self

And to continue to guide them toward the path of self-esteem

Is a privilege to be a part of

The clouds of doubt have been wiped away

And the one to be rescued realizes that he no longer walks alone

Yet the haze of fantasy still veils their lives

They step intermittently in and out of the realm of reality

But there is a cost to giving the blood of life

And the giver must take care not to lose their own

A fine balance needs to be struck so that

Both parties stand intact

To achieve this balance is the ultimate in friendship

A friendship forged through reaching bottom

And being pulled back up out of the darkness

Both in the imaginary and the real worlds

What future tales does the blank page hold

And for whom does the bell really toll?

All Material CopyWrite Michelle Beckham-Corbin

MOCK TRIAL ROCKS!!!!!!

QUIDNUNC
PRONUNCIATION:
(KWID-nungk)

MEANING:
noun: A nosy or gossipy person.

Here's a word I've never heard of, but whose meaning is a part of everyone's life in some way or another. Have any Mrs. Kravitzs in your neighborhood?

TRUE LOVE

True Love. We hear this term all the time, but what actually is it? As my pre-teen daughter relays all of the school crush news and who is "dating" whom (can it really be dating if they don't even talk to each other on the playground, but instead lurk through very vague text messages????), it makes me recall all of my past relationships. I think we can all remember that special high school significant other whom we thought at some point we would marry, perhaps penciling his name entwined with ours in a series of hearts all over our Algebra II book cover. There have been many loves in my life in high school and college and of course some major infatuations (which must have been so high on the infatuation scale, that I knew even back then that it was not love). Don't worry you will remain nameless to the world!

But have you ever experienced a time when you let your true love go, knowing that it was the right thing for them while maybe not for yourself? Cameron and I went to see Will Smith's Hancock movie today- yes I know it came out last summer, but we found it at the $1 movies- hmmmn, well now its the $3 movie, but anyway , I digress. In the movie, we see an immortal love, in which in order to live, the two lovers must sacrifice self in order for the other to exist.

How excruciating it is to let the love of your life (up to that point any way) go because that is what is best for him or for the situation. What courage it takes to do what John Hancock did at the end of the movie: to leap off the top of a building hoping that he would be destroyed or at the very least be carried away so that Angel (Mary) could live. She lay dying on the hospital gurney, her heart flat-lining, the electric paddles slapping her lifeless body off the table until.......... Until his ultimate sacrifice.

The novel that I have been working on deals with a number of issues, but the underlying theme that unites them all, is the notion of true love and sacrifice. Here's something that I included as a journal entry for one of my main characters:

An Invitation to Join the Dance

Take my hand and place it in yours

Intertwine our fingers so that I can hold onto you

Forever

Close your eyes and listen to me very carefully

You are very, very precious to me

You are my heart and my soul and my everything

I want to spend the rest of my life with you

I want to wake up every day and go to sleep every night

Having witnessed your smiling face, your laughing eyes

I want to make you my wife

The queen of my life; the holder of all that is good in the world

I want to be with you forever

I want “yes” to be the sweetest word that I will ever hear

I love you.

Here's to all those courageous people in the world who have walked away from the love of their lives. I hope you found another love, another situation, a new heart.

PEACE

CAMERON MAKES ST. XAVIER MOCK TRIAL TEAM

NEWSFLASH: The kid made the cuts for the St. Xavier Mock Trial Team. He prepared a three minute speech on whether the US was justified in starting the war in Iraq. He spent one of his two power outage off days researching in the downtown public library. Kids from the closed Cincinnati Public school system were hanging out in the teen section playing the Wie on a large screen while others occupied all of the available computers sitting 2 and 3 deep- pages of MySpace, YouTube and computer games evident everywhere. Cameron stood, books spilling out of his arms, as he talked to the male librarian about his upcoming try out for the Trial Team.

When I picked him from the bus stop on the day that the team list was posted, he got in the car with a poker face. I assumed he hadn't made it, because he wasn't smiling and he hadn't texted me while on his bus ride home. I had been praying that he would, because it is so up his alley. He has attorney written all over his personality! He claims that he will have a prosecuteor role on the team and that it was totally based on his answer to who he was supporting in the presidential election. I think he is pulling my leg- another good trait for an attorney.

He is going to have a great year!

Here is a little explanation on Mock Trial:

Mock Trial is a statewide program where students learn about the law through courtroom simulations. Participants play the roles of attorneys and witnesses after doing the appropriate research for the development of their case. Throughout the process, they work closely with real attorneys who act as legal advisors and mentors. Ultimately, teams will compete with those of other schools before real judges who preside over the trials. Moderator: Mr. Tony Nardini

MICHELLE: RE-WRITTEN

My writing friends, Shelly, Sandi and Laurie (ya know, I just noticed that they all have the 'ee' sound at the end of their names-- wow I feel so......different- lol!). Anyway, my three friends noticed yesterday in our writing circle, that I have some type of change THEME going on in my life. Nearly every page that I had created and shared included something about change and transformation. Perhaps you have seen it here within the pages of my BLOG. I just feel some type of huge change is being called forth from within my soul.

I have had some recent significant changes with people and situations in my life, which I am totally fine with. What I am sensing however, is something bigger; something that is life-altering. I think I was trying to capture that whispering voice in my ears in the piece I submitted yesterday: Reclaiming Me While Taking A Stand. Somehow, the words to the song Raise It Up by the IMPACT Repertory Theater from the movie August Rush keep following me wherever I go.

Here are some of the lyrics:

Life falls down on me, cuts into my soul
but I know I got the strength to make it through it all
cause I'm still standin' tall
breaking through this wall I'm gonna give my all

Feelin' like a motherless child, hate cuts into my soul
its bringing me down
can't find my smile on a face of a motherless child
I'm gonna break down these walls gonna give it my all
Sometimes it takes a different kind of love to raise a child
(so don't give up) so don't give up



Lyrics | Jamia Simone Nash and Impact Repertory Theater - Raise It Up lyrics


I think the whole political landscape is also affecting me. Obama and Palin are close enough to my age to be called part of my generation and I feel like this is my time to spark some type of major action in my life. Hold on, because I feel the winds of change blowing down my spine. The next chapter is to be re-written!..................................

RECLAIMING ME WHILE TAKING A STAND

A voice is calling me from afar

A muted voice, muffled by the fog of distance

Calling me home

Calling me back

Calling me to reclaim my soul

Its time to move forward

To take a stand

To take those gifts of nurture, guidance and firm hand

To cast a wider net

Letting those qualities of leadership and organization

Be used for a greater good

In order to touch many more people

People in need of inspiration

The whispers begin in a soft hush

And with each question, the tone and volume increase

Exponentially until by the last, there is a cacophony in my head

Begging for action to stop the pain

These are the questions

That now creep through the shroud of fog,

Entering my brain like tiny carpenter ants

Drilling into my subconscious mind:

What do you stand for?

What do you believe in?

What is of importance outside your immediate family?

What will you fight for?

What will you die for?

What is the ultimate sacrifice?

Until one can answer these questions

They will remain stuck in a sludge of indecision

Letting their minds follow the shallow breath of the wind

Like swiveling heads at a tennis tournament

TIME IN A BOTTLE

Life is finally returning to normal
Old activities have resumed,
Body rhythms are back on track
Memories are beginning to fade

Time truly heals all wounds

(Good-bye forever to the unnamed.)