Will Pollock's Posts - world of wiffledust2024-03-28T18:34:06ZWill Pollockhttp://worldofwiffledust.com/profile/willpollockhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/365315731?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://worldofwiffledust.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=34z4e45c8eom8&xn_auth=no"A Return to the People: Relfections on 9/11"tag:worldofwiffledust.com,2011-09-12:2870411:BlogPost:759672011-09-12T15:35:10.000ZWill Pollockhttp://worldofwiffledust.com/profile/willpollock
<p><span>(ATLANTA - 11 September 2011) Taking stock of ourselves is dirty work. But on a day like today, the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, it’s the best job we can undertake.<br></br></span><span><br></br>The attacks were ghastly and altering, changing our country’s composition down to its DNA. But what we did in response trumps even those dastardly deeds: we gave ourselves over to the very “evil” that attacked us in the first place.</span><br></br><span><br></br><img class="floatright" src="http://willpollock.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Travel/Opening-Doors/i-gffRMvm/0/S/DSC0291-S.jpg"></img> <br></br></span></p>
<p><span>“Pride”…</span></p>
<p><span>(ATLANTA - 11 September 2011) Taking stock of ourselves is dirty work. But on a day like today, the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, it’s the best job we can undertake.<br/></span><span><br/>The attacks were ghastly and altering, changing our country’s composition down to its DNA. But what we did in response trumps even those dastardly deeds: we gave ourselves over to the very “evil” that attacked us in the first place.</span><br/><span><br/><img src="http://willpollock.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Travel/Opening-Doors/i-gffRMvm/0/S/DSC0291-S.jpg" class="floatright"/><br/></span></p>
<p><span>“Pride” (Provincetown, Mass.), by Will Pollock</span></p>
<span><br/></span><span> </span><span>Please allow a bit of a parallel: If electing Kennedy allowed us to successfully </span><span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis" rel="external" target="_blank">avert nuclear war during the Cuban Missing Crisis</a></span><span>, then how would a President Gore have handled the country </span><span><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2007/05/would_president/" rel="external" target="_blank">before, during and after this assault</a></span><span>? How would we have been led as a country in response to 9/11? Would we have sunk trillions of dollars in nation-building in Iraq, or perhaps used it as a rally cry to show attackers that we can survive and thrive, even in the aftermath of death and misery? “</span><span><a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/the-years-of-shame/?smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto" rel="external" target="_blank">A lot of other people behaved badly</a></span><span>” after that day, as Paul Krugman put it today. “The memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it.”<br/><br/></span><span></span><span><br/></span><span><br/>Recent events show that we have been on a sad, downward spiral ever since the attacks. Our financial system has collapsed and is still limping; profiteers have bounced back with an assault on commonsense regulation; our previous administration is so demonized elsewhere that they </span><span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/05/us-bush-torture-idUSTRE7141CU20110205" rel="external" target="_blank">risk arrest if they travel abroad</a></span><span>; </span><span><a href="http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2011/08/torture-trial-rumsfeld-abused-us-contractors-file-suit" rel="external" target="_blank">we tortured people in custody and are still protecting those responsible today</a></span><span>; and, most recently, we’ve seen a </span><span><a href="http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/how_history_will_remember_gov._scott_walker/" rel="external" target="_blank">culture emerge</a></span><span> where </span><span><a href="http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2010/11/tea_partiers_political_views_a.html" rel="external" target="_blank">folks who hate government are the very ones making policy</a></span><span>. What’s our response?<br/></span><span><br/><img src="http://willpollock.smugmug.com/Events/911-Tweets/i-m27gCWm/0/S/davey2-S.jpg" class="floatright"/><br/></span><p><span>Tweet from <span><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/GStuedler/" rel="external" target="_blank">@GStuedler</a></span><span> </span></span></p>
<br/><span>I say, enough. </span><span><a href="http://www.archive.org/details/911" rel="external" target="_blank">Let’s remember today in a factual way</a></span><span>, without</span><span><a href="http://www.alternet.org/movies/41427/" rel="external" target="_blank">embellishment or agendas</a></span><span>. Let’s return our country to the very compassionate, understanding, engaged folks who make this country great: the people. Let’s elect representatives who reflect that value system, not those who want, need and manipulate for profitability or glory. When a politician fails us, as Bush and his team did - and still do, thumbing their noses at truth and fact - we only have ourselves to blame. And that includes the voters who didn’t punch the ballot for the offending party. We are all complicit if we are all Americans.<br/></span><span><br/>But if it’s about all of us, it’s still cannot be “us vs. them.” Peace and ambassadorship have been reframed, inexplicably, as weak and useless when juxtaposed against our lionized, “boot in the ass” politicians. I say, loudly, no more. No matter whom you vote for, make sure it doesn’t reflect the mistakes we made when slammed with the calamity on this day 10 years ago.<br/></span><span><br/><img src="http://willpollock.smugmug.com/Events/911-Tweets/i-4W6BCSt/0/S/davey-S.jpg" class="floatright"/><br/>
</span><p><span>Tweet from <span><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/daveywavey/" rel="external" target="_blank">DaveyWavey</a></span><span> </span></span></p>
<br/><span>Today, I take pride in my country, and want to go forward with a people-first agenda. Where </span><span>we</span><span> come first, and yet all the while knowing that we are still the global leader that can think outside ourselves, and never take the world around us for granted. Superior actions, not superiority.<br/></span><span><br/>After this day of remembrance, returning this country to the people is the best step forward over the next decade.<br/><br/>
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<p> </p>ARTvision's Fifth Anniversary - Coming Soon! Please repost...tag:worldofwiffledust.com,2010-08-09:2870411:BlogPost:163392010-08-09T12:01:18.000ZWill Pollockhttp://worldofwiffledust.com/profile/willpollock
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qb1kH5aRFCE&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qb1kH5aRFCE&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="never" width="560" height="340"></embed> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"></param></object>
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qb1kH5aRFCE&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qb1kH5aRFCE&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="never" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>The Power of Pillow Talktag:worldofwiffledust.com,2010-07-12:2870411:BlogPost:142342010-07-12T19:50:22.000ZWill Pollockhttp://worldofwiffledust.com/profile/willpollock
<p style="line-height: 200%"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Fluff up your communication and intimacy with this critical end-of-day practice</span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">.…</span></span></p>
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<p style="line-height: 200%"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Fluff up your communication and intimacy with this critical end-of-day practice</span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In a painfully unscientific study on how my previous significant others have behaved before bed, let’s just say the setting has been far from communication-friendly: I’ve survived</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoclonus"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">instant body twitching</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">, waiting for hour-long primping, involuntary flatulence, immediate freight-train snoring or the pungent whiff of heavy intoxication.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 200%"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My current squeeze and I, though, have made a promise to toast the mystery-laden universe of sleepyland with pillow talk – known as</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillow_talk"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">quiet talking before bed, after sex, or both</span></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">– a practice, say experts, that can bring lovebirds together and make a difference in how a day’s debriefing shapes your shut-eye.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Among those experts is</span> <a href="http://www.atlantatherapy.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Dr. Scott Conkright</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">, who has been providing psychotherapy services for more than 15 years and has served as president of</span> <a href="http://www.atlantagps.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Atlanta Group Psychotherapy Society</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">. He says couples that have trouble dedicating time to communication at any time, let alone just before bed, should focus their communication on each other.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“How do you find time for each other that’s dedicated to the task of intimacy? Pillow talk is a great way to do that.” He says. “It’s about saying to each other, ‘The time now is not about watching TV; not about whether we should get the roof redone; or any of those sorts of things. I want to know what’s going on with you, what you’re feeling, what your week’s been like.’ You want to know let each other know what you’ve been thinking about.”</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Conkright says men in particular – of all persuasions, gay or straight – tend to shy away from naming their feelings.</span></p>
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<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That very well may be changing, though, particularly if you look at where we’ve come in the past few generations. If we are in a shift in the way we discuss and dissect feelings and relationships (with the launch of same-sex wedding magazine</span> <a href="http://www.EquallyWed.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">EquallyWed</span></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">evidence of evolving attitudes) just look at the way “</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillow_Talk_(film)"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pillow Talk</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">,” the feature film starring</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001369/bio"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Rock Hudson</span></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">and</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000013/bio"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Doris Day</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">, was promoted as “</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGLVwnhktrc"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">the most sparkling sexcapade that ever winked at convention</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">,” and, “it’s what goes on when the lights go off.”</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></span></p>
<div><div><span style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">By today’s standards – where Lindsay falls out of limos and</span> <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=2688382&page=1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Britney flashes her hoo-hoo to the tabloids</span></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">– it looks and sounds positively puritanical. The film was made in an era when a frank, literal interpretation of the concept of “Pillow Talk,” wasn’t fully viable; most of it takes place with both lead characters talking coyly, spinning the twisted cords of rotary-dial telephones. The movie also has become an odd precursor to Hudson’s revelation that he is gay, complete with</span> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giS4d78APx4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">him pretending to be gay while playing a skirt-chasing straight man</span></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">while secretly leading a gay personal life.</span></span></div>
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<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You'll need a scorecard for that one. If our society has moved leaps and bounds beyond “winking at convention” – which seems so “Little House on the Prairie” – our interpersonal customs, including pillow talk, should catch up. Conkright says all couples of all stripes should make best efforts to exclude distractions.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“Turn the damn Blackberry and TV off,” he says. “From say 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., there needs to be no electronic gear on – no iPhones or getting online.”</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That’s certainly a tall order in my household, but one to which we can all aspire. A casual kiss, a TV shut-off, a pull of the shades, a sleeping-position adjustment, and… a debriefing from the day. Try out some of these practices and discover the softer side of communication.</span></p>
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<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For more:</span> <a href="/www.equallywed.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">www.equallywed.com</span></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">or</span> <span style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="/www.willpollock.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">www.willpollock.com</span></a></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Follow me on Twitter!</span> <a href="/www.twitter.com/wildcatatl"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">wildcatatl</span></a></p>
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