I was gonna tell you to go to the..

Nineteenth Annual Peacemaker Awards Dinner, sponsored by the Dallas Peace Center, in Dallas tomorrow night. BUT the event, folks, is OFFICIALLY SOLD OUT. Guess that's because they were not only going to honor the tireless peace & justice activists Johnny Wolf and Hadi Jawad (i've met them both, and these men are true warriors for change), but the activist-celeb CINDY SHEEHAN herself is confirmed to make an appearance and, probably, a speech. Photo oppportunity, folks. But, alas, since there are no tickets left for this, I guess you'll have to settle for visiting the DPC website and eating on your own, you little Peacemaker, you!

Hey, we're on the Michael Moore website!

The "Calls to Serve Met with Anger" article that ran in the Dallas Morning News last week got posted on Michael Moore's website as well. kewl. The more folks that read about this issue--no matter the forum--the better off they'll be. Says me.

Go directly here to see the article.

On a related note, my friend Ramsey and I visited two classes at Trimble Tech HS on November 17th. The students were cool and responsive, but the teacher absolutely floored me. She was so supportive and was 100% in agreement with our emphasis, which was to give the students info in order to better decide their future fates vis a vis military recruitment. One kid had been approached by a recruiter during lunchtime and was given a business card. The teacher, during our session, told the student to give me the business card because, as she put it, "You don't need that..." How 'bout that? Hopefully, I--along with other Peaceful Vocations members--can make more regular visits to h.s. campuses in the 817 after the xmas holidays.

For more information on PEACEFUL VOCATIONS, email peacefulvocations@yahoo.com.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR HEALTHY HEART STUDY in Fort Worth

[from the Internal Medicine Clinical Research Office at UNT Health Sciences Center]

The Department of Internal Medicine is looking for healthy people to participate in a research program.

Men and women, age 50 years or more and no history of heart disease, with normal body weight and normal cholesterol. All ethnic groups are needed to participate.

Qualified volunteers will receive laboratory studies and state-of-the-art CT scan of the heart at no charge.

If interested, please contact one of the following persons:

Enisa - 817-735-5159
Della - 817-735-0304
Mabyn - 817-735-2493
Joice - 817-735-2324

C.W.Spellman, PhD, D.O., FACOI
Associate Professor of Medicine
Head, Endocrinology
Director, Diabetes Center

You might want to try this link to information on CT heart scans.

38 shopping days before irony

Coach Baby---style for mile-high prices. Why compromise good taste in times of starvation, homelessness, disaster-imposed migration, and war?

Feel conflicted NOW!

Judge NOT Lest Ye Be.

I am trying not to be so goddamn judgemental. Judgmental of the way i spell JUDGEMENTAL. Judgemental about the potato soup which has burned onions; judgmental about the herbal combination capsules which are not vegan; judgemental about the turkey sandwich which isn't vegetarian; judgemental about the cow which ain't a vegetable; judgemental about the cute guy who has no clue about politics; judgemental about the politically-astute activist who has some slight physical flaws; judgmental about the visual artist who is mal-appropriating Chicano/a culture and making it kitschy-cute; judgemental about the fat neighbor not cuz he's fat but because he is unself-conscious about barenakedness as he waters the lawn shirtless for all to see; judgemental about the wind blowing northward instead of southward; judgemental about the stranger who coughs as they pass me and i wonder if this is some subtle psychological affront to my personhood; judgemental about the unassuming stacks of paper which clutter my room and collect dust as if it could ever be its fault; judgemental about my lack of decorum and faith in my own ability to just be loving and not be qualming so much so friggin everydayin' much.

!Ken Saro-Wiwa! !Presente!

10th ANNIVERSARY OF THE EXECUTION OF NIGERIAN
WRITER KEN SARO-WIWA TO BE MARKED AT FW EVENT---

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH, 2005, marks the 10th anniversary of the hanging of Nigerian poet/playwright KEN SARO-WIWA, and poets in Fort Worth will gather to offer a memorial that evening--one of many taking place internationally to commemorate Saro-Wiwa and the ongoing struggle of the Ogoni people.

Join us for a free performance/reading/memorial at:

Beto's Caribbean Cafe
3000 South Freeway (1 block north of W. Berry St.)
Thursday, November 10th
7pm-8pm
free admisssion
817.923.1177

Ken Saro-Wiwa, a successful television producer, playwright, and poet, became deeply involved in the campaign against Shell Oil Co. in the 1990s because of the deplorable human rights violations and environmental devastation--of the Niger Delta--wrought by the company. The Ogoni people, one of many ethnic minorities who live in the Delta, joined in a nonviolent campaign led by Saro-Wiwa against Shell.

It was the international outcry against Saro-Wiwa's execution that led to Shell's hiring of high-priced p.r. consultants to recast its image as a company that put "principles before profits"....

History:

Since Shell began drilling oil in Ogoniland in 1958, the people of Ogoniland have had pipelines built across their farmlands and in front of their homes, suffered endemic oil leaks from these very pipelines, been forced to live with the constant flaring of gas. This environmental assault has smothered land with oil, killed masses of fish and other aquatic life, and introduced devastating acid rain to the land of the Ogoni.

After Ken Saro-Wiwa, an outspoken writer and activist, and eight other Ogoni leaders were hanged after trial in a military court, two witnesses against them admitted that Shell and the military bribed them to testify with promises of money and jobs with Shell.

for more information:

www.remembersarowiwa.com
www.priceofoil.org/
www.mosop.org/
www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/07/11/2326226

"When crude oil touches the leaf of a yam or cassava, or whatever economic trees we have, it dries immediately, it's so dangerous and somebody who was coming from, say, Shell was arguing with me so I told him that you're an engineer, you have been trained, you went to the university, I did not go to the university, but I know that what you have been saying in the university sleeps with me here so you cannot be more qualified in crude oil than myself who sleeps with crude oil."
-Chief GNK Gininwa of Korokoro, "The Drilling Fields", Glenn Ellis (Director), 1994

Please share your thoughts & feedback with a comment!

Dear friends, I had been remiss in choosing the optimal settings in order to most conveniently allow you to use the COMMENTS SECTION on my blog. I've now adjusted the settings, so please start sharing your comments. I really want to know if anyone's actually even reading xxcommunicator and if you have any feedback on the news and writing posted therein. Mil gracias!

Getting my first mammogram today!

Yeah, I know, NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH was LAST month. But hey, I made the appointment with the County Public Health Department in October, so does that count? I am excited and not very nervous about this. After all, it's a free service that the Tarrant County Health Department provides to lower-income (yay, that means i qualify!! woo-hoo!) women. And if you want (and who wouldn't?), you can receive a bonus: gyn.exam and pap smear analysis. Now that's a deal, Camille.

As far as I know, breast cancer doesn't run in the family, but hey, I'm constantly exposed to breast-harming environmental poisons--even in this "first world, western nation" I live in---so you never know. I want to suggest that you look into the BREAST CANCER FUND, my favorite non-profit organization working on behalf of our breast health. This org is based in California, so alot of their initiatives focus on pushing for legislation in that state. But their work does have national impact. Back in the summer of 2000, I left scorching Texas for a coupla weeks in Colorado to do a Peak High in Crested Butte. Walking up a beautiful mountain, on a cool summer morning alongside women (some of them breast cancer survivors), men, and children--to raise money for the Breast Cancer Fund--was one of the best experiences of my life so far.

MY FORT WORTH: indie and free events in November

Sound Culture presents :
Indie & Free!
an occasional calendar of FW indie love.

November 6th - Sunday
FWAC (Fort Worth Artists’ Consortium) Artists & Musicians Swap Meet & Sale
2-5pm
Arts Fifth Avenue
1628 Fifth Ave. at W. Allen
fmi: christy@fwac.net

November 6th - Sunday
Fascist Watch Film Series presents
“Wild in the Streets” (d., Roger Corman)
7pm
1919 Hemphill Street
fmi: www.1919hemphill.org
If the voting age was lowered to 15, would a rock star be elected president? The folks from No-Nonsense in November will be there to speak against Proposition 2. Bonus: free organic popcorn!

November 8th - Tuesday
Auditions for the Vagina Monologues
6:30pm-7:00pm
Lancaster Lofts– Warehouse Gallery
1324 E. Lancaster
fmi: www.vdayfortworth.com or
vdayfortworth@hotmail.com

November 10th - Thursday
Commemorate the life of Nigerian activist/poet Ken Saro-Wiwa on the 10th anniversary of his execution on false charges. He dared to rise up against Shell Oil Co., which continues to wreak havoc for the Ogoni people.
6-8pm
Beto’s and the Black Bookworm
Berry St. at I-35
fmi: sound_culture@hotmail.com

November 12th - Saturday
Truth Be Told luncheon 
(a project that offers support and arts therapy to incarcerated women)
11:30am-1pm
Polytechnic United Methodist Church
1310 S. Collard St. (near TWU in FW)
fmi: RSVP to Melodie Minshew at eidolem@wt.net.

November 12th - Saturday
Peaceful Vocations group meeting
2-4pm
Coffee House Gallery
Jennings & Pennsylvania Streets
peacefulvocations@yahoo.com

November 12th - Saturday
Improvised Silence - Experimental music
6 to 10pm
Firehouse Gallery
Meadowbrook at Oakland Streets
fmi: Terry Horn - nothingexists@mac.com

November 12th - Saturday
The Gadabout Film Festival
(this fest tours in a vegetable oil-run ambulance - bring ‘em some veggie oil)
7pm - 10-ish pm
1919 Hemphill Street
$5 donation requested
fmi: www.1919hemphill.org or
http://gadaboutfilmfest.com.

November 25th - Friday
Buy Nothing Day
swap meet & freebie fest
1919 Hemphill
fmi: www.1919hemphill.org
(in the spirit of open source activism)

November 26th - Saturday
Somalian Family Support
at the Black Dog Tavern
downtown Ft. Worth
8pm - late
fmi: sound_culture@hotmail.com or
AfricanRefugeeHelpers-owner@yahoogroups.com


Mark your calendars, lovelies. Let me see your face out at one or more of these cool, community-building events.