You Gotta Talk

So I was on a trip recently after a hectic start to term. It was very relaxing, and I wrote a few poems. The following is the one that really Spoke to me most. There are a couple of rough bits but I think you will get the Idea:

Here is the audio

Speak Out

If you see something wrong

do you try to fix it?

If you see something wrong

and are asked your opinion

do you give it?

Do you give your opinion

knowing that it may,

just may,

do more harm than good?

Knowing that you,

you alone,

are all that stands between two lovers.

Knowing that you

could split them apart like an ax splits wood

or keep them together like pi and circles

Knowing all this,

do you give your opinion?

Do you let your voice be heard?

Do you speak out

and make the hills echo with the voice of righteousness?

Your Voice!

Do you speak out

even when you are speaking alone?

Do you speak out

even when you're talking to people who don't care?

Have you ever tried simply saying what you think?

If you did would it be good?

Or bad?

Would it help people?

Or hurt people?

Would it keep people together?

Or split them apart?

And do you really need to say anything at all?

Or is just being there enough?

The answers to these questions and many more...

I don't know.

I simply do not know.

But what I do know

is that you have to try

to speak out

to say what you believe

to give your opinion

and whatever happens....

Hope that it is

GOOD.

LibriVox Hits *1000*

Today was the day. We've done it. With courage, daring, greatness, a microphone, and a will! We are LibriVox and So Can You. This is the official press release written by the organizations founder: Hugh McGuire:

LibriVox, the free audio book project has just cataloged it's 1,000th book: "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," by Edgar Allan Poe (read by Reynard T. Fox).

LibriVox.org started in August 2005 with a simple objective: "to make all public domain books available as free audio books." Thirteen people collaborated to make the first recording, Joseph Conrad's "Secret Agent."

Two years later, LibriVox has become the most prolific audiobook publisher in the world - we are now putting out 60-70 books a month, we have a catalog of 1,000 works, which represents a little over 6 months of *continuous* audio; we have some 1,500 volunteers who have contributed audio to the project; and a catalog that includes Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," "Moby Dick," Darwin's "Origin of the Species," "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," Einstein's "Relativity: The Special and General Theory," Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason," and other less well-known gems such as "Romance of Rubber" edited by John Martin. We have recordings in 21 languages, and about half of our recordings are solo efforts by one reader, while the other half are collaborations among many readers.

We are always looking for new volunteers! Come join us.

Please visit us!! We love you all and happy kilo!

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SFP #3 Continued

Recent research demands that I reopen the books on this song. I was getting ready to record this for LibriVox and was unable to find a single original source file, meaning a scan of the original printings. The best I could do was to get something that might be a PD text from civilwarpoetry.org. ¹
I did, however, find original scans of a song entitled "Two Little Sailor Boys". This was published in 1906 with lyrics by Edward Madden (the same fellow who wrote the lyrics for "Two Little Boys") and music by Dolly Jordon. Surprisingly, or maybe you'd already guessed, "Two Little Sailor Boys" has the same tune as "Two Little Boys". An odd coincidence or something else?<sup>2

1</sup>http://www.civilwarpoetry.org/FAQ/twoboys.html
²http://levy-test.dkc.jhu.edu/levy-cgi/display.cgi?id=150.085.000;pages=4;range=0-3

One Tin Soldier

I learned the song One Tin Soldier at camp from a friend of mine. A really great person. It was originally written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. They wrote it in the 1960's as a protest against the Vietnam War, but like most songs of that era it is as applicable now as ever. So here it is:

One Tin Soldier
By Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.

On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.

Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there."

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

I really love this song and hope that it reaches you well!

Child 'X'

So the other day I was Stumble!^tming around the web a couple of days ago when I found this:

X: A Fabulous Child's Story
By Lois Gould ^© 1972

Written in 1972 this is an amazing short story!! By following the life cycle of a gender ambiguous human child Mr. Gould shows us very clearly how much better life would be without - what I like to call - gender casting. Many of the specific items that are addressed in the story are not as much of an issue a quarter century later, but the story as a whole holds just as much weight now as it did then.

SFP #3

Two Little Boys
by Theodore Morse and Edward Madden (1902)

Two little boys
Had two little toys,
Each had a wooden horse;
Gaily they played
Each summer's day -
Warriors both of course.
One little chap
Then had a mishap,
Broke off his horse's head;
Cried for his toy,
Then cried for joy
As his young playmate said:

"Did you think I would leave you crying
When there's room on my horse for two?
Climb up here, Jack. we'll soon be flying;
I can go just as fast with two.
When we grow up we'll both be soldiers,
And our horses will not be toys;
And I wonder if we'll remember
When we were two little boys."

Long years passed,
War came so fast;
Bravely they marched away.
Cannons roared loud
And in the mad crowd
Wounded and dying lay.
Up went a shout -
A horse dashes out,
Out from the ranks so blue,
Galloped away
To where Joe lay
And then came a voice he knew:

"Did you think I would leave you dying
When there's room on my horse for two?
Climb up here, Joe, we'll soon be flying
Back to the ranks so blue.
Do you know, Joe, I'm all a-tremble,
Perhaps it's the battle's noise;
But I think it's that I remember
When we were two little boys."

Again I learned this song at Namanu (the first summer it was really popular there) but upon further investigation I know that it has been around much longer.

The song would appear to have its origins in the fiction of the Victorian children's writer E.H. Ewing, whose book 'Jackanapes' was a story about the eponymous hero and his friend Tom, who having ridden wooden horses as two little boys end up together on a Napoleonic battlefield. There Jackanapes rides to the rescue of the wounded and dismounted Tom. Jackanapes nobly replies to Tom's entreaties to save himself, 'Leave you? To save my skin? No, Tom, Not to save my soul.'. And unfortunately takes a fatal bullet in the process. (-Wikipedia)

Oh, So You Want a Introduction

Hey everyone,

As you might be able to tell I'll be using this blog (primarily) as a collecting point for written and spoken things in support of peace and other positive social change. This means songs, poems, short stories, speech and interview transcripts, etc., etc. I will attempt to included a spoken version of all of them for your convenience.

Also from time to time I'll include notifications and opinions about other aspects of life, the universe, and everything.¹ Thanks, and welcome all to Pax Orbis.

¹42!!!^2
2No that is not a factorial sign, it means I'm a Douglas Adams (Rest in Peace) fan.

Songs For Peace #2

Plea

(1)A plea for one world
(2)A plea for one world
Is heard in many different lands
This is a plea of a world
That is hungry for peace
Let all men come together
Let us live well together
Happily, In any weather
Pledging our lives to peace
Pledging our lives to peace

This is another song that I learned from Namanu. It is usually sung as a round divided at the end of the first line. Over here is a audio version, the timing is off but you will get the idea.

Songs For Peace #1

Peace of the River

Peace I ask of the Oh River
Peace, Peace, Peace
When I learn to live serenely
Cares will cease
From the hills I gather courage
Visions of the Days to be
Strength to lead and faith to follow
All of these are given unto me
Peace I ask of the Oh River
Peace, Peace, Peace

This is a song I learned from my Mom and later at Camp Namanu. When it is sung you will need to start low because the "From the hills..." bit is sung very high. Here you can find a file of me singing this song.