This is Arlington West. The crosses represent the Americans killed in Iraq since the beginning of our occupation in that country.



Arlington West was started by an American veteran when our brave men and women in Iraq began to die in the undeclared "occupation". The mother of an American killed in Iraq made it quite clear that she did not approve of Arlington West and demanded that her son's name not be associated with it. Many former military servicemen and servicewomen visit the memorial on holidays such as Memorial Day or Independence Day. Santa Barbara residents and tourists gather at the beginning of the wharf to view the crosses. There are 3,000 crosses and no more will be added because there was not enough room on the beach for any more.



Each Sunday at 7:00 a.m. the crosses are put up by volunteers and they are taken down at the end of the day. Names of the dead are on cards which can be displayed on any cross and then removed. Some family members bring dog tags to use on the crosses. The memorial was set up this past Saturday morning and stayed up overnight because there was a candlelight vigil that evening at sundown. That is why you see little red plastic cups next to each cross - to hold the candles.


I turned to take a photo of the cars along the busy street at the beginning of the wharf. I find this ironic when I think of the reason this administration wanted to go into Iraq in the first place - to get a firm hold on one of the largest oil fields in the world, under the sands of Iraq. Cheney, Bush, and the neocons had planned to do this since at least 1997, according to written proof, but more likely since Reagan was president. I suppose this is to be expected when you put oil men in a place of this kind of power with the resources at their disposal - the resources you and I paid for with our taxes.



Our military is now broken, our economy is in the gutter, thousands upon thousands have died, our rights have been taken away, our e-mails are read and we have no privacy, we have no right to face our accusers in a court of law, prisoners are tortured (a sin according to the Bible), Americans have become some of the most hated people on the globe when we had an enormous amount of sympathy after 9/11, and all we can do is stand looking at crosses in the sand of a resort town's beach.

Lulublue

Yesterday there was word that gangs were planning more mayhem. I saw 4 different black and white police cars patrolling within 6 blocks after I left my place, so I went to the wharf.

This woman definitely gets the best dressed award. I wouldn't wear these myself, but they looked great on her - and I thought of Bella!



Later today, I'll post about Arlington West - those photos are in my gallery, too.

Have a good one! Lulublu

"The only reason for time, is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - Albert Einstein





Something very curious happened January 21, 2007, while I was working on '100 Interesting Things' for my profile and listening to Little Steven's Underground Garage on the radio. If you like garage punk and rock, old or new, check it out! A phenomenal song called "Talk Talk" by the Music Machine started to play, bringing some very fond memories to mind.



In the springtime of 1967 a friend, Nina, and I were "working" as go-go dancers at Longshoreman's Hall in San Francisco. Nina went to Stanley Junior High and I was in Fairview Junior High. Each of us had the "title" of best girl dancer in her school. Someone told me that 2 dancers were wanted for Saturday nights at Longshoreman's and suggested I go with Nina to try out. We did and we were chosen over a couple of older dancers who were very good but looked to be more Motown-style than hippie-style. They wanted some young hippie types.

At about that time, groups like Music Machine, ? and the Mysterians, and the Seeds were hot with an edge-y garage band sound. Remember Psychotic Reaction by Count 5? The Doors "Light My Fire" and Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heartsclub Band" had come out recently. Talk Talk by Music Machine had been released in late '66 and went up high in the charts - it is one awesome song.

Exciting things were happening in 1967. Hippies and flower children started to descend on the Haight-Ashbury District. Golden Gate Park was the place for Love-Ins. The Fillmore, Avalon, and Winterland were beginning to put on rock concerts with light shows (psychedelic times), and the Monterey Pop Festival was a huge event. Life was one big party for me and it was a blast! Count 5 and Music Machine were two of the bands that appeared at Longshoreman's Hall around that time and though I don't remember exact details, Nina and I were there dancing.



Back to 2007: After Talk Talk ended on the radio, a voice said something like "this is Sean Bonniwell of Music Machine and you're listening to Underground Garage". It was nice to know that someone was still around from the '60s who made a great contribution to those times and rock music in general! Far too many legends are not around any longer, as you know. I was curious and brought up Google to help me out. There were tons of links!

It seems that Sean B. is well and living in California. He's been through some very dramatic things in the past 40 years and has written about much of it in his autobiography, "Beyond The Garage". I bought the book and some CD's from him so I can hear Talk Talk again, as well as a small portion of the large collection of timeless music he has written. The book is very honest, sometimes gut-wrenching, but he has that ability to see the humor in unlikely places. The reader learns of childhood, his years with the folk quartet 'The Wayfarers', marriage failing because of the pursuit of fame, and an engaged, willing participant can gain quite a bit of insight by the details of his journey through metaphysics to his conversion to Christiany.



Sean Bonniwell, guiding force, songwriter, and vocalist of the Music Machine, wrote Double Yellow Line {on above player}, Citizen Fear, Come On In, Masculine Intuition, and many other exceptional songs. Today many rock and punk musicians cite Mr. Bonniwell as their musical inspiration and Sean justifiably claims the title of having launched the genre of punk. There is a link to one of Sean's websites in my list.

Blessings, Lulublue

Eight young people between the ages of 13 and 17 have been arrested and are being held in juvenile hall in connection with this violent episode. The boy who died was 15 years old. The 14 year old boy charged with the murder will be tried as an adult.

Santa Barbara High School sent an e-mail to parents informing us what steps are being taken to curtail further gang activity in the future. The minimum day scheduled for early June (finals) has been cancelled. Each minimum day this year has ended up with gang fights on the main street in town, State Street. The police department and city council are working with the schools and will be scheduling anti-bullying, anti-drug, and anti-violence classes through PE and individual long-term programs. A mentor program will become more active serving young people at-risk.

This is not a new problem. But I sure hope and pray that this helps to calm the threat to all of us.

Lulublue



"This stupid gang crap happens every day. It's setting a bad example for an entire culture. I'm sick of it." - Santa Barbara student



This afternoon Santa Barbara's East side and West side gangs confronted each other downtown at Saks Fifth Avenue on the corner of State Street and Carrillo Street. One 15 year old had been stabbed twice before seeking shelter in the bushes behind Saks Fifth Avenue. The youth later died. Another remains in critical condition in the hospital.

Santa Barbara has gone to the "dawgs". In the past few years, gang fights have gone from hidden back alleys to the highly visible main street. How can society stop this?



These are not kids of immigrants, either. These are kids that have been born around here. Students say that newly immigrated youngsters are usually fairly well-behaved.



How long is this going to go on? The businesses will probably move away from the downtown area. How do we get a culture to stop it's kids from forming gangs?

I went to pick up my car which was in the shop for about 5 days. I was ecstatic! All was cool...

Then I got home to hear my neighbor's little guy screaming and crying. It happens all the time but it affected me. He is in 1st grade. Mom is a bit unstable. Mom's boyfriend moved in a month ago. They sit on the porch smoking dope most of the day. When the little man needs attention, he has learned to do what mom does - scream, cry, slam things, and go crazy. It works for mom; grandma gets hooked everytime. The little guy was being told to go to bed at 7:30 pm, too early. It's so mom and friend can be "alone".

No noise from 8:00 p.m. until the next morning at 7:30. I heard the little guy in the driveway of our apartment complex, sobbing. I asked him what was wrong through my screen door. He said he didn't feel too good. He was slightly surprised that I was asking and the way he answered I could tell he was relieved to have a non-relative who was watching over him. The crying was not angry crying. It was from total resignation and surrender. He didn't know what words to use to ask for mercy. I heard grandma say to let him stay home if he needed to. From another open window I heard the softer but harsh voice of boyfriend say, "f//king s/n of a /it//!" I wanted to jump out the window and choke that bum. Within 20 minutes, I had wet, red eyes, too. I could feel what the little guy was going through too well.

I want to sort of apologize to you guys for what moms can say and do to make you feel awful. I also sort of apologized to a Native American for what my ancestors did - take away their land.

So I am telling you guys here and now that I think you rock. I have 2 sons and I wouldn't have it any other way.



No boy should have to deal with the crap that little guy has to. But I know a lot of boys do. Boyfriends come into the picture, you feel too small and young to have to compete with a grown-up. Not all moms are like that; not all women are like that. If I had energy and room, I'd adopt you and take care of you myself. Maybe I'm just a good guy's mom. I like sports, fishing, cars, loud music, and reptiles.



Thanks to you, I now know the name of every tractor and piece of construction equipment there is. One of my greatest memories was watching you out in center field or running around the bases, sliding across home to win. Life doesn't get any better for me than that!

Hearing your guitar playing gets me choked up. Seeing you walk away with your friend on the way downtown makes me very proud of how independent you are.


So, ladies, if you want to join me in appreciation of the little guys of the world, please do. You grown men, don't make your wife's son have to compete with you for attention. I can imagine that my neighbor's boyfriend probably had his mom ripped away from him when he was young so he thinks it's no problem for him to do the same thing. That's so pathetic.

From me and the other females that silently sigh when you walk by, you rock and make my world! Thanks!