A Byte Of Tehachapi - Sparks's Blog - Tehachapi News

Dreadful Story About A Cat

A local singer/songwriter has been singing this song for over 50 years and yet today was the first time I heard her sing it. It's a funny song I want to share with some of you cat lovers.

Click this link to hear the song:

http://grungehobbit.com/content/music-pat-strong-trio-casy-papac-terri-steinberg-lisa-cosgrove

I'm now scared of yellow cats... lololol

Don't Cry

I'm going to make all you animal lovers cry with this new song created by one of our local musicians. He just sent it to me this morning and has offered it freely to any rescue orgs that would like to have it on their website. I will put it on STOP and THS sites. Susie, I will send it to you if you like as well.

Not only was I in tears because one of our locals cares enough to write a song like this...but the words in the song... ugh, I'm still in tears.

I can't upload music to this site so you will have to go here: http://grungehobbit.com/content/music-dog-song-tony-vice

Is it just me?

I don't know, it could just be me, but a couple weeks ago I was feeling good about Tehachapi. I know of a lot of non-profit orgs trying to help others and not asking for anything in return, in fact giving of themselves and donated their own money.

Then... last weekend I go to the Mountain Festival looking for local artists and there were NONE... when I asked why, I was told the city permits are too high. Bummed I went home early.

Then I find out they are doing a fund raiser to rebuild our much loved Train Depot this weekend. At first I was excited about it, after pondering a bit, I wondered...wasn't that building insured, insured correctly??? Why the need for a fund raiser and where does the money go???

Again, It could just be me....

Can someone please, please, please reassure me that our town is not getting greedy and doing fund raisers that aren't needed ,or charging our local artists too much to show off their art at our own local festival.

Talent In Tehachapi

There is a new artist website in Tehachapi that encourages all people, who have talent to post their creative works online. How do I know? I created it.

So, you have only written one poem, and it was a long time ago. Or, you have painted or drew something, but you don't think it's very good. That's what I want to see. The artist in us all.

Grunge Hobbit is an Online Community Site for Tehachapi Artists. The goal of the Grunge Hobbit is to get all Tehachapi Artists up on the Internet absolutely free. This way, all of the residents in our town can show their art work online, whether the artist is rich or poor, amateur or profession, young or old. this isn't a business site dabnabbit. This is an artist’s site. A place where all the talented people of our town gather together in one place and inspire each other. Tehachapi has all kinds of wonderful Artists, both Fine and Grungy. We are as diverse as is the World:

Performing Artists: Actors, Producers, Directors, Theater, and Dance

Writers: Who write Poetry, Short Stories, Articles, Essays, Novels and Published Books.

Artists: Who use Oil, acrylic, pencil, pen, charcoal, photography, digital, sculpture, glass, clay, crafts, tattoos, and mixed media.

Musicians: Singers, musicians, digital sound creators/editors.

Come and display your talent online! Go to the http://grungehobbit.com and sign up for a free Blog. Once registered, you can upload your music, artwork and photos, or type in your literature and poetry for the world to see.

If you are not a computer person, or you would rather not make your own blog and you still want to show your talent to the world via the Tehachapi Artists Community Blog, email The Grunge Hobbit and send me the information and pictures you want on your blog. I will glady make a a place for you here.

All are welcome….so come join the community of creativity!

Ed Begley, Jr comes to Tehachapi to save the sequoias and our forests.

Hey folks, come to Mama Hilly Beans on Monday, July 21 at 6 pm and enjoy some great music by Archie Logsdon(Lost Hills) and mountain dulcimer by Jon Hammond; dinner made from organic, locally grown fare; and a presentation of Sequoia Forest keeper's programs of victories. ED BEGLEY, JR. will also speak about the need to protect the mightiest of the trees and the forest that surrounds them, and SKF President and nationally known activist Martin Litton plans to make an appearance.
Also meet the SFK interns and learn what they have been up to this summer.
Check out Ed's Show on HGTV about living green in Hollywood.

Suggested Donation: $25.00 each.

I have a great passion for sequoias and our beautiful forests. I will certainly be there!

Tehachapi News Bloggers

I was at Mama Hilly Beans last night and I met yet another TN blogger. Yaso, what a sweet guy you are, I really enjoyed talking to you. I hope to see you again sometime.

Reffup was there with his family. Reffup's daughter did a comedy act about cows.. it was hilarious! She had the whole place cracking up. Good job!

Madkow showed up but left before the cow comedy because her adorable little boy was ready to go. lol

Awsmom was there with a friend of hers...I sat with them and had my cup of Earl Grey tea.

Oh Eek, I ran into Romantic Poet, I found him interesting and we bonded rather quickly last night. What you say about him is very true. He's a wonderful man. BTW, He couldn't help it but use the F word. lol

I also ran into Jon Hammond.. OMG, he is a true historian when it comes to Tehachapi, I'm going to go see him talk about the elderly in Tehachapi this evening, should be interesting. He's such a sweet and talented man. I so miss his columns here on the TN site. I asked him why TN wasn't posting his articles anymore. He said he didn't know, that I would have to ask TN. SO, I'm asking... Tehachapi News.. WHY? Why is Jon's column not being ran on this site anymore?

All in all it was a fun night and as usual Holly Hart was funny and well...just being herself.

Another Night Out For Us Bloggers?

I'm wondering who all is going to be at Mama Hilly Beans on Open Mic Night this Wednesday. It's was exciting meeting new faces of bloggers. I hope to see even more new faces on Wednesday. I hope Holly Hart will be there again, watching her try and get people off stage who want to LIVE up there and her fantastic personality alone is worth going for.

Who will be there? Who's going to read something?

I read a poem a few days ago to the poetry group at Hilly Beans and I couldn't help but stutter, my voice wouldn't work, the words got blurry, and I thought I was going to cry. Good thing I don't do public speaking for a living. lol

Sushi, Countygirl, Ragmop, Gube....will there be any new faces there?

Live & Let Live

There has been many debates and battles over religion in the world, and on this very blog. I'm an Atheist, although I embrace all religions and respect the beliefs of others, some find me a bit hard to comprehend. I wrote a article a couple years ago when I was looking for a religion I could embrace fully... I couldn't find one, but there are some religions that taught me a lot and still do. Here is what I wrote about religion, I hope it helps those who don't understand atheism to at least understand me a little better.

A Spiritual Path

A spiritual connection with your higher power can be the most profound relationship you will ever experience. No human being knows what path is best for you, not priests, not ministers, not psychics, not your family, not your friends, and certainly not me. All religions contain constituents of truth and all contain inaccuracies. The Divine being you choose to guide you must honor and welcome your values, ethics, beliefs and who you are as an individual. Only YOU can determine which divine entity will guide you through life in a way that will help you prosper and enjoy life to the fullest.

There are many different religions whether you choose Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Paganism, Hinduism, Shinto, Taoism, Native American beliefs, the Goddess, or another spiritual path is not nearly as important as the act of freely choosing. You may very well choose to be an Atheist. My beliefs may be different than yours; to this I say” Diversity is a beautiful thing; life would be lethargic and dreary if we all had the exact same concepts and beliefs. Take pride in your individuality and respect others who do the same.

Some believe there is only one God, some believe there are many Gods and Goddesses, and some believe in the Mother-Goddess. Cave paintings and rock carvings of Goddesses have been found that date back to 35,000 years B.C.E. or earlier. Many of these statues and painted images are often called "Venus". The best known of these, is the Venus of Willendorf. The Venus is carved from limestone and was found in Willendorf, Austria. Ironically my family is from Austria, and the very first piece of art they gave me was a statue of Venus! Very Cool!

Does there have to be only one God?

I believe that a majority of men feared women because of our intelligence and since they were physically stronger then women, they then forced women to decline mentally, prohibiting us from reading or being educated in schools, and soon after, declaring that there were not many Gods and Goddesses nor was there a Mother-Goddess, but ONE God, a male God. Men are wonderful human beings, but they certainly have no right to carve Sanctity in stone! Altering the heart and mind can be grueling for those of us who have been taught to worship traditional religion, or we who did not want a jealous or fearing male God and consequently chose to be atheists instead. I don't want to limit myself to one religion or faith. I want to learn of different religions and spiritual paths, and then grab what knowledge I want from each one. When reading a book about religion or spirituality, I take what I want and leave the rest. If I find something a mere mortal or a prophet wrote as her or his own truth and do not find it to be my truth… I will simply disregard it and absorb only the teachings in which I do agree with, or believe in. I think to take any written book whether it is The Women’s Spirituality Book, the Bible, or Dr. Ruth’s Encyclopedia of Sex as truth and nothing but the truth, is pure silliness. We are all complex and distinct people, not every written word in one book could possibly convey who we are as an individual in my opinion. All books were written by human beings such as us, all have some truth and all have some error.

Having faith is a wonderful thing, having someone else’s faith is like borrowing, it never really belongs to you. If I had to make a choice to worship a God to please society as a whole, I would choose to worship a sacred woman for I believe women to be the most loving and powerful of all divine beings. Therefore, my spirituality would flow through the honoring of a God similar to the Great Goddess. We depend on the earth for all things, food, shelter, and life itself. All bodies are created within the bodies of females and so it is natural for me to see an all-powerful creator as female. In fact, understanding and reading about the Mother Goddess has helped me to embrace my own power, proficiency, splendor and heritage. What I have learned is to enjoy all the phases of life. Spirituality lives in me and strengthens my knowledge about life, love, nature and creativity. Also, in reading about the Goddess I have learned to revere and share my existence with our planet, all creatures, and all plants.

Some people who practice a Goddess religion perceive the Goddess as the Divine Creatrix of All Life. Others see her as a metaphor for "Mother Nature," (as I do) representing earth’s sacred force. And some simply view her as fascinating pieces of ancient art.

Buddhism is another religion that I enjoy the teachings of. Do I believe in reincarnation or that crystals will balance my chakras? No, yet, I now support a crystal around my neck; For me, it symbolizes the heroic energy of the planet. Buddhism is a wonderful religion that does not require a belief in a God/higher power and yet their teachings seem more loving and spiritual to me than all others.

As you can see if I had to choose a God, I would have chose a higher power that accepts me for who I am and who would encourage me to be more. One who would teach me that, all life is sacred (equivalent to a power and related to each other), and that there is only one race, the human race.

Being an Atheist doesn't mean I don't experience spirituality or believe in transcendental power. On the contrary, a simple walk on the beach or in the mountains will conjure up a very intense spiritual experience for me. These are the times I feel at one with our planet and our vast universe. I'm not a believer in Gods, however I am indeed very spiritual.

To me, true love and spirituality is embracing the world, and taking pride in your individuality and respecting the individuality of all others. It has nothing to do with ego, power and control. I wouldn't think to force my beliefs onto others, I want the same respect from those who believe differently than I do.

You can learn more about me at my site http://wud1.com

I read this article every time there is a religious debate on the TN blog to help center me. I don't like religion forced on me, yes this will upset me. Although I try to remember to respect others, and live and let live as much as possible.

Wow...What a Night!

Holly Hart gave us a very warm welcome at Mama Hilly Beans, and she suggested that maybe we could make a time to meet at Hilly Beans for just us bloggers...which is a wonderful idea. She mentioned how wonderful it was that liberals and conservatives got along so well...and we did. We talk to, laughed and hugged everyone. Holly was a great host....thank you Holly.

Does anyone know if Job made it home last night? He said he was leaving at 8;pm but he was having so much fun he was still there when I left .so I am a bit worried about him. Eek is very quiet...so I just hugged her every chance I got. Madkow is shy so I had to embarrass her by making her stand up to speak to the crowd...what a cute little boy she has and her hubby is a real nice guy. Reffup loves talking politics and is very nice as well. Bigdog is as cuddly as a bear...OMG I bet everyone just loves to hug Bigdog... I know I did a couple of times. Olivia spoke at the mic and told a wonderful and heartfelt story of her childhood and got a big round of applause. Oochild may have a sore arm today because I had a tendency to hit her on the arm to get her attention. Awsmom is just the sweetest person, I really enjoyed talking to her. Joty is just an all around nice person and Storilori is so cute...she had a few of the guys turning their heads...she brought a camera, but I don't think she knows how to upload pictures.. lol Greg had to help me turn my bright lights to my new truck off because I didn't know how...as most already knows from his posts, he is a real sweetheart, it was good to finally get to hug him as well. Lots of fun and lots of hugs... a good night all around.

I had a great time last night it was a blast to meet you all. Yes, I am who I say I am a hyper, short, curly haired gal that just loved you all.. Thanks for the great time everyone....We have to do this again sometime

Gube ...you suck... lol

Countygirl, you should have came... you would have loved it, and I would have bought you your first cup of java. (smile)

If you bloggers notice a new blogger here named Randy, we met him at Hilly Beans...he's a poet and he and I played musical chairs for a while. Welcome to the TN blog Randy.

Star Trek, to boldly go....

Huffingtonpost written by T. Thompson

To boldly go where no man has gone before in California.

"It feels glorious," said Takei, who played Sulu on "Star Trek," holding his marriage license.

"I am the happiest guy in the world," Altman said. "I get to be married to George Takei."

Dressed in suits and ties, the couple plan to be married in September at the Japanese-American Museum in downtown Los Angeles, forgoing what is to be a day of weddings at West Hollywood Park underneath a collection of white tents.

"Now it has meaning," Takei explained to reporters. "We are going to be legitimately married in California."

Altman couldn't resist a sound byte: "I am extremely optimistic that George and my marriage will live on and prosper far beyond November."

They were all smiles and obviously joyous. But they weren't jumping for joy. They were well-prepared for the media glare, ready to become celebrity spokesmen for gay unions, at least for today. Every time Takei talked, I was reminded of Sulu, signaling, in a calm and collected, non-emotive voice, some kind of danger to Captain Kirk.

In that same tone, Takei took note of the protesters, one dressed like a devil, saying that "they need to equally respect the diversity in California."

"If they want respect, they have to be respectful, and they are being disrespectful," he said, although acknowledging they still had a right to be there.

"They cannot put their personal religious beliefs on us and write it into law."

"There is nothing extraordinary," Takei said. "We are just like John and Mary. We are just part of the diversity of America."