hermionesviolin: black and white photo of Emma Watson as Hermione, with text "hermionesviolin" (hermione by oatmilk)
After the Inauguration, I started poking at blogs, but I was busy that week, so I only read a smattering, and then I never really got back to it, so I'm dumping it for my own reference.

---

reiteration of link list:
* Rick Warren's invocation: transcript + video (boston.com)
* Elizabeth Alexander's inaugural poem (NYT)
* Obama's Inaugural Address (AP)
* Rev. Joseph E. Lowery's invocation (blog.suntimes.com).

***

ExpandRick Warren's invocation )

ExpandElizabeth Alexander's poem )

ExpandObama's inaugural address )

ExpandRev. Joseph E. Lowery's benediction )

"Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen."

Amen.
hermionesviolin: (hipster me)
I dislike:
- feeling like I'm doing other people's jobs for them
- feeling like I'm not doing a good enough job at my own job
- feeling like I need other people to do my job for me (this one is really mixed because having someone so proactive is awesome and I am so so grateful, but I hate feeling like I'm dumping my work on someone whose job it isn't)

I do enjoy things like Greg joking that he doesn't need everyone in the department's cell phone he just needs mine.

Further commentary on Inaugural words is going to have to wait, but thanks to various people + the internet, have transcript links:
* Rick Warren's invocation: transcript + video (boston.com)
* Elizabeth Alexander's inaugural poem (NYT)
* Obama's Inaugural Address (AP)
* Rev. Joseph E. Lowery's invocation (blog.suntimes.com).

Walking home from work, there was snow falling intermittently.

"Joy Sadhana is a daily practice in the observation of joy."
-[livejournal.com profile] mylittleredgirl [more info]


Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine
     -"You Are Mine" (David Haas)


Five good things about today:
1. Surprise bonus Allie at the T this morning.
2. Ian brought me a chocolate chip cookie from the FacCommons.
3. Terry called me -- while I was at work, which was somewhat awkward, especially as someone sits behind me, but points for promptly returning my call (I left a voicemail last night).
4. Apparently I am getting overtime for my work in SF.
5. "Free Hugs" girls outside Harvard T when I was going home.

Three things I did well today:
1. [gym] 45min treadmill (4.3mph, 1.5incline)
2. I remembered to pick up milk on my way home.
3. I paid bills.

Two things I am looking forward to (doing [better]) tomorrow:
["anything that you're looking forward to, that means you're facing tomorrow with joy, not trepidation," as Ari says]
1. Rest and Bread.
2. Getting to go home after service (because class is over).
hermionesviolin: black and white photo of Emma Watson as Hermione, with text "hermionesviolin" (hermione by oatmilk)
At group last Thursday, Sean said he was surprised that I wasn't all excited about the Inauguration, 'cause I do so much church and this is ritual, is community meaning-making. I laughed, and said that I'm really not into ritual though I've been developing a respect for it. I'm glad I watched it, though.

I came in partway through Rick Warren's invocation. I'll have commentary later when I get a transcript. I liked the bits about civility in disagreement and suchlike.

I am a devout, practicing, Christian and it's weird to me that we have these explicitly God-invoking speeches at national events. (It has been pointed out that all three major religious speakers this Inauguration are Christian -- Bishop Gene Robinson, Episcopalian; Rick Warren, evangelical Protestant; Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, Methodist -- which apparently is not necessarily usual.) He ended with the (Protestant, "trespasses") Lord's Prayer, and I mouthed along (I'll ignore the call to stand for the national anthem, but start saying "Our Father," and instinctively I start mouthing along, and bowing my head), but it felt really weird to me that this very specifically Christian (and one flavor of Christian) thing was being said at a national event. (I appreciated Obama's attempts at inclusion in his speech, though "Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus ... and nonbelievers" was definitely imperfect, especially since the "nonbelievers" sounded almost tacked on to me, even though I knew of course the speech had been written well in advance -- I know that trying to list everyone doesn't work, and coming up with inclusive language that doesn't sound so vague as to be meaningless is a challenge, but hey, I can crit.)

Yo-Yo Ma looked so joyful. (And the morning shows had been talking about how cold it was out on the Mall -- though Jean behind me just said that it was in the 30s, which as far as I'm concerned is just normal winter weather. Carl on CNBC SquawkBox this morning said the Post had crunched some data and if the expected 2 million people were all on the Mall, each person would get 2 1/2 square feet of space.) In contrast, I wasn't all that taken with Aretha Franklin's performance later, I think largely because I so prize being able to hear and understand all the words in a song, and with the backup singers and whatever I often couldn't.

We were watching it on ABC, and shortly after noon one of the commentators mentioned that the official White House website had changed, as noon had passed in the East, Barack Obama was now the President (which given that he hadn't taken the Oath of Office yet seemed a bit strange to me).

President "to" the United States? Really, Mr. Chief Justice? (redeem147 said of Obama, "He didn't stumble. He was being fed the wrong words, and he knew it." [Addendum: More from Ann Althouse.])

sarah_p said [locked, link for my reference], "Hee, Obama just said that forty-four Americans have taken the oath of office....I mean, yes, the oath has been given forty-four TIMES, but Cleveland served non-consecutive terms! HE IS ONLY ONE AMERICAN. Didn't anyone proof this speech? :D"

I was not particularly impressed by Lowery's benediction, but I did love that he ended with Micah. I'd actually been singing that to myself this morning (CWM version -- "What does Love require of you? But to seek [do? I keep forgetting -- and I didn't look it up before posting the other night] justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with your God..."). [Addendum: After it was over, MaryAlice said something pleased and approving about the benediction, and I almost said that he's Methodist, of "my" denomination -- except that for all that CWM is "home," and thus I've been hearing lots about Lowery not just because we like his politics/theology but because he's a Methodist, I'm not actually a Methodist. Heh.]
hermionesviolin: image of snow covered hill and trees with text "the snow with its whiteness" (snow)
Also bizarre: Having facebook recommend someone to you because you share an alma mater and going, "That's not her surname.  Did she marry [shared alma mater person with moderately distinctive last name whom I didn't even know she was ever dating]?" and clicking a couple links and finding out that, yes, she did.  (Also, I keep finding out various people are in the SF area -- not that they are people it would have made sense to try to hook up with when I was there.  And another mutual alma mater person is on staff at Tufts.)

"Joy Sadhana is a daily practice in the observation of joy."
-[livejournal.com profile] mylittleredgirl [more info]


Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine
     -"You Are Mine" (David Haas)


Five good things about today:
1. I got to sleep in!  (I got up at like quarter of ten.)
2. I went back to Cambridgeside Galleria and found pants I don't hate.
2a. Also, the purple and black theme of fall/winter this year pleases me.  (I first noted it when my brother and I were in Italy in mid-August, and I was pleased then and I am still pleased now.)
3. Bishop Gene Robinson's invocation at the Lincoln Memorial Concert (link via Adelheid).
Moi's post includes a YouTube embed, and listening to it, what struck me was the "your child" bit ("God, we give you thanks for your child Barack") which I had apparently glossed over when I read the text the first time.  My favorite bit when reading it was "even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods" (which reminded me of that bit in Obama's "Letter to My Daughters").
Moi picked up on the "Bless us with discomfort" bit particularly.
4. Lizzy emailed me back with Andy's email address (and I then emailed him about grabbing coffee sometime and also about getting Matt's email address from him).
5. Katie emailed some Flight of the Conchords clips on YouTube like ten days ago, and I finally got to watching them today.  OMG, "If You're Into It" (her favorite) is made of lots of win.
5a. Best line from "Most Beautiful Girl": "like a dream, or a high class prostitute"

Three things I did well today:
1. I washed dishes and did laundry ('cause of the successful clothes shopping) and returned a library book.
2. I went clothes shopping.  Totally the biggest accomplishment of the day/weekend (I am not a fan of shopping).
3. I sent messages to a whole bunch of people (including responding to MikeN's from Dec. 10 -- so yeah, I know that if people don't write me back immediately that doesn't mean they don't love me).
4. I don't know how good a job I did talking L. out of wallowing in self-loathing, but I did the best I could.
5. I read more of the cultural appropriation debate.  (I read the first few major posts not all that long after this began but hadn't really returned to it.)

Two things I am looking forward to (doing [better]) tomorrow:
["anything that you're looking forward to, that means you're facing tomorrow with joy, not trepidation," as Ari says]
1. Comfy and pretty outfit.
2. Tomorrow's a cardio day, so I'm actually looking forward to going to the gym.

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hermionesviolin: an image of Alyson Hannigan (who plays Willow Rosenberg) with animated text "you think you know / what you are / what's to come / you haven't even / BEGUN" (Default)
Elizabeth (the delinquent, ecumenical)

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