For over two hundred years, the President of the United States has taken the time once per year to deliver an address to Congress about the state of the nation. Sometimes, this was simply a written message that was read to Congress by a messenger. Other times, it has been a speech delivered personally by the President himself. Ever since the term of Franklin D. Roosevelt, this address has become widely known as the “State of the Union” address.

So… this entry is half book review and half call to action. The book is “Standing Up To the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times” by Amy Goodman and David Goodman. And the action… well, that’s for you to decide. But you’d better make it good if you want to end up in Amy’s next book!

Now that another year of my life has come and gone, I find myself thinking deep thoughts about life, death, the meaning of it all, and the direction that I”m headed in. The lessons that I’ve learned lately and the thoughts that I’m having lately will lead to some definite changes in the way that I approach social and ecological projects. I’ll have more news on that soon, once I’ve sorted out more of the details. In the meantime, I have a bit to say on the importance of health and wellness in any quest for personal empowerment and/or social transformation.

I’m thinking of publishing short stories individually: $1 for PDF with a print/PDF compilation for $10-ish, What do you think? Vote in the Poll