Happy Thanksgiving!

And now, in honor of the gutsy Wall Street protesters, something slightly subversive in tone and mood...a poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

I Am Waiting

By LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI

I am waiting for my case to come up   

and I am waiting

for a rebirth of wonder

and I am waiting for someone

to really discover America

and wail

and I am waiting   

for the discovery

of a new symbolic western frontier   

and I am waiting   

for the American Eagle

to really spread its wings

and straighten up and fly right

and I am waiting

for the Age of Anxiety

to drop dead

and I am waiting

for the war to be fought

which will make the world safe

for anarchy

and I am waiting

for the final withering away

of all governments

and I am perpetually awaiting

a rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for the Second Coming   

and I am waiting

for a religious revival

to sweep thru the state of Arizona   

and I am waiting

for the Grapes of Wrath to be stored   

and I am waiting

for them to prove

that God is really American

and I am waiting

to see God on television

piped onto church altars

if only they can find   

the right channel   

to tune in on

and I am waiting

for the Last Supper to be served again

with a strange new appetizer

and I am perpetually awaiting

a rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for my number to be called

and I am waiting

for the Salvation Army to take over

and I am waiting

for the meek to be blessed

and inherit the earth   

without taxes

and I am waiting

for forests and animals

to reclaim the earth as theirs

and I am waiting

for a way to be devised

to destroy all nationalisms

without killing anybody

and I am waiting

for linnets and planets to fall like rain

and I am waiting for lovers and weepers

to lie down together again

in a new rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for the Great Divide to be crossed   

and I am anxiously waiting

for the secret of eternal life to be discovered   

by an obscure general practitioner

and I am waiting

for the storms of life

to be over

and I am waiting

to set sail for happiness

and I am waiting

for a reconstructed Mayflower

to reach America

with its picture story and tv rights

sold in advance to the natives

and I am waiting

for the lost music to sound again

in the Lost Continent

in a new rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for the day

that maketh all things clear

and I am awaiting retribution

for what America did   

to Tom Sawyer   

and I am waiting

for Alice in Wonderland

to retransmit to me

her total dream of innocence

and I am waiting

for Childe Roland to come

to the final darkest tower

and I am waiting   

for Aphrodite

to grow live arms

at a final disarmament conference

in a new rebirth of wonder

I am waiting

to get some intimations

of immortality

by recollecting my early childhood

and I am waiting

for the green mornings to come again   

youth’s dumb green fields come back again

and I am waiting

for some strains of unpremeditated art

to shake my typewriter

and I am waiting to write

the great indelible poem

and I am waiting

for the last long careless rapture

and I am perpetually waiting

for the fleeing lovers on the Grecian Urn   

to catch each other up at last

and embrace

and I am awaiting   

perpetually and forever

a renaissance of wonder

Soul Pancake #12

Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you...This turning toward what you deeply love saves you. ~Rumi

Soul Pancake #11

I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice cream. ~Heywood Broun

HGI #1: Tortoise General Kitchenware

H.G.I. = Holiday Gift Ideas. I find that at the last minute I have trouble assembling a meaningful gift, so I like to keep my eyes peeled starting in November. Tortoise, a brand started by Taku and Keiko Shinomoto, has both an online store and a shop in Venice, CA. Their minimalist, artisanal products are handmade, handpicked, and imported from Japan. From utilitarian items like a rattan towel hanger or Yumiko Iihoshi ceramic mugs, to sweet little nothings like block-print fabric ducks and a quaint owl paperweight, each item on the website has a quaint little backstory to it.

Hario Buono Drip Kettle $65

  Iron Monkey Bottle Opener $36

Yanagi Birch Handle Cutlery $25-$29

Wappa Sake Cup $29

Mokusei Lamp $290

Welcome Soap $45

organic, exfoliating Silk Mitten $29 

(for babies!)  

The Glory of a Pumpkin Smoothie

Give it a whirl...

1/3 cup fresh pumpkin 

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 frozen banana

a few tablespoons honey or maple syrup

Soul Pancake #10

Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling. ~G.K. Chesterton

Post Hallow Blues

It is a tradition of mine to start contemplating Halloween costumes for the next Halloween the day after Halloween happens. I know, I know. If this puts too much cognitive stress on your hungover, sugar-addled brain, I don't blame you. However, if you are a fan of Scott Pilgrim (like me), there are very few reasons why this shouldn't brighten up even the most dreadful case of post-hallow blues: Adidas Superstars, Snorkel Parka, band shirt, Levis, wristbands (minus the yellow stripes), a Canadian haircut and oh yes, the power of self respect. You're going to need it. Now go eat a tuna melt or something and watch CSPAN.  (via thingsoganizedneatly)