Is anyone going?
Sounds very interesting!:

"From May 9 to September 26
141 days for experiencing and reflecting
The Forum is a festive journey designed to bring the three main themes to life. For 141 days, this will be the place where visitors experience cultures and entertainment from around the world through exhibitions, markets, performances, games and more.
Forum 2004 will be a space where the citizens of the world can gather, engage in dialogue, and debate the most urgent issues of the 21st century.
A new and creative space for reflection and experimentation in relation to the main cultural and social conflicts that humanity is faced with at the outset of the 21st century."

www.barcelona2004.org

- What is your health goal for the month?
Quit smoking or smoke less!



- Why did you choose this goal?
I don't smoke that much, there are days that I even don't smoke, really. But then, I go out and I smoke like 5 cigarettes in a row and I don't want to do that! Mostly, because it's bad for my health and because I feel like I loose control on me.



- What actions/choices/sacrifices will you make to achieve this goal?
I'll try to stop buying cigarettes... and I'll remind myself that I don't want to depend on cigarettes! I don't know what else I can do...



- Any message to other members who are participating in the Health Challenge?
Good luck!!! You can do it!

Great site:
www.poetsagainstthewar.org

"February 20, 2003 4 At the end of January, First Lady Laura Bush indefinitely postponed her symposium and reception "Poetry and the American Voice" after many of the nation’s finest poets declined her invitation in order to protest the war. Since then, Poets Against the War has made significant progress in rallying opposition to the Bush administration's planned assault on Iraq. "

Check it! You'll find lots of poems from all over the world. Millions of words saying NO to those who want to perpetuate violence as a way of solving conflicts.

(The pic is from www.percevalpress.com -Viggo Mortensen's site-)

This is a great poem by an author I'm discovering: Dylan Thomas. I think it shows what's happening these days.
Enjoy it!

The Hand that Signed the Paper Felled a City
by: Dylan Thomas

The hand that signed the paper felled a city;
Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath,
Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;
These five kings did a king to death.

The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder,
The finger joints are cramped with chalk;
A goose's quill has put an end to murder
That put an end to talk.

The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,
And famine grew, and locusts came;
Great is the hand the holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.

The five kings count the dead but do not soften
The crusted wound nor pat the brow;
A hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven;
Hands have no tears to flow.

******

LA MANO QUE FIRMÓ EL PAPEL DERRIBÓ UNA CIUDAD
La mano que firmó el papel derribó una ciudad;
Cinco dedos soberanos tasaron el aliento,
Duplicaron el globo de los muertos y dividieron un país;
Estos cinco reyes dieron la muerte a un rey.
La mano poderosa lleva a un hombro inclinado,
Los nudillos se crispan en al tiza;
Una pluma de ganso puso final al crimen
Que había puesto fin a la palabra.
La mano que firmó ese pacto engendró fiebre,
Y creció el hambre y vino la langosta;
Grande es la mano que domina al hombre
Tan sólo con un nombre borroneado.
Los cinco reyes cuentan los muertos pero no mitigan
La herida en su costra ni acarician la frente;
Una mano rige la piedad como otra rige el cielo;
Las manos no tienen lágrimas que derramar.
Thomas Dylan.

Some of you may know him... he's a great musician... his music is a mix of cultures. His website is very complete: www.manuchao.net. Check it!

Words...

RESIGNATION IS PERMANENT SUICIDE

Lost in the century...
I don't see myself as being from any place in particular.
I was born and grew up on the outskirts of Paris.
I love Galicia, and I love Euskadi,
(and not just because they're my roots…)
I'm rooted in Mexico, too,
in Río de Janeiro, or in Mali.
I am from where I am at the moment.
I am from where you live by your wits;
In the present.Now.
…today…
…in this minute…
…in this second…
I'm a citizen of the present.
and of all that I lack, in order to see...

DISAPPOINTMENT
My best weapon against disappointment is
Not sitting around.
Moving my body.
Drinking wine,and keeping the illusion alive.
The illusion of everything.
The intuition that you're alive...
...and that there is no other....
Being in love kills all disappointment. `
Perseverance is the key


PERDIDO EN EL SIGLO / No me siento realmente de ningún sitio.
Nací y crecí en los alrededores de París. / Adoro Galicia y Euskadi / (y no sólo porque estén ahí mis raíces…) /también siento que tengo raíces en México, / en Río de Janeiro, en Malí Soy de donde estoy en un momento dado. Soy de donde se sacan fuerzas; En este momento Ahora… hoy… en este mismo minuto, en este mismo segundo…
Soy ciudadano del presente. y de todo lo que necesito para ver...
Es medianoche en Tokio Son las cinco en Malí.
¿Qué hora es en el paraíso?

Mi mejor arma contra la desilusión
consiste en no quedarme quieto,
en moverme. En beber vino
y mantener viva la ilusión. La ilusión para todo.
La intuición de estar vivo…
…y que no hay nada parecido…
Estar enamorado mata toda desilusión
La perseverancia es la palabra clave...