Distracted Mind

Looking for something to read? Can’t keep your mind off the current headlines? Thinking that the news is merely a harbinger of worse things to come? Have I got a web comic for you!

[Shooting War](http://smithmag.us/shootingwar/) is the story of a video blogger who was in the wrong place at the right time, inadvertently shot footage of a terrorist hit in Brooklyn, NY, and got sucked in by the media. The year is 2011, John McCain is President (God I hope not), and Iraq is still a clusterf*ck. The protagonist, Jimmy Burns, finds himself working for a news network that makes Fox look like it’s on bedrest. On assignment in Iraq, Jimmy’s knee deep in blood, violence, Jesus-freak soldiers and conspiracy.

Go. Read. Try not to feel like the creators are channeling the future.

If you want some work-day bewilderment, visit [No Moo Lies](http://www.family.org/cforum/sherman/). This website is Focus on the Family’s argument against domestic partnership rights in Colorado. It features Sherman the Bassett
Hound, a lovable mascot who, try as he might, cannot turn his bark into a moo.

If this were satire it would be hilarious but, because the website was launched by people who take its message seriously, it’s just plain sad. Actually, it’s more than sad: visiting this site made my soul hurt for all the people that actually agree with these people.

As someone with a gay family member, Focus on the Family, so-called “reparitive-therapy” pushers and all other bigots of their ilk really make me angry. Not just mad, but truly angry. I’d call them idiots, but they’re crafty enough to have a following. Then again, so did the whole “science” of genetic racism in its time, so did “scientific” misogyny.

If you’d like to see what Focus on the Family’s newest and cutest campaign of hate and misinformation is all about, feel free to [visit the site](http://www.family.org/cforum/sherman/). I’m aware that my linking to it not once, but twice, is probably going to boost its ratings, but it’s always better to turn a light on the cockroaches.

All I can say is that if these people are the definition of Christian, I must be a heathen.

It’s hard to watch or read the news right now — there’s violence in the Middle East, unrest in Asia, and our witless leader is more concerned about [what's for dinner](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060713/od_nm/germany_pig_dc) than the condition of our world. It’s difficult to take it all in, overwhelming to process. It makes me think about property prices in Canada, Ireland, or New Zealand, for sure, but it also overwhelms me with fear.

I’ve got questions: are we seeing the birth of World War III? How long will this last? How will we get through this? Will we get through this unscathed?

It doesn’t help that the Sci Fi channel is airing reruns of [Dark Angel](http://www.scifi.com/darkangel/), which get me to pondering how to survive an electomagnetic pulse (EMP). I know, I know, it’s science _fiction_, but it’s also got a prescient ring to it.

The escapist part of me wants to turn the news off, pay attention to only local events and the occasional celebrity fluff piece (is Tom Cruise’s and Katie Holmes’ baby actually _real_? IS IT??), but I’m drawn to current events around the world. It’s like touching a sore tooth with your tongue — it’s painful, but unavoidable.

Question is, what the hell am I as Jane Q. Public, everyday citizen, supposed to do? How do any of us, as ordinary people, change the present? I go about my day as anyone else would, working and living my ordinary life, and pray for a change. I’ve come to the point where I’m thinking that prayer just isn’t enough. What comes after prayer and faith that the world will right itself?

Waiting for November 2008 is passive — change needs to come before 2008. I’m tired of being ashamed by my nation’s leadership. I’ve had enough of divisive wedge issues like the condemnation of stem cell research and gay marriage. Denying rights and hobbling scientific advances aren’t things that the general public are interested in doing, yet these issues have been shoved down our throats as the rest of the world explodes around us. Nero fiddles while the _world_ burns.

Fatalities stack upon casualties. You can almost smell the death, and yet we’re all still here, still watching American Idol, still eating twinkies and making trips to WalMart to save on chips and detergent. What else can we do? How can we make ourselves heard above the screaming? I don’t have the answer, but I can safely say that I’m tired of feeling helpless and ineffectual.

I’m still alive, coming up for some air. Been away from blogging for a few weeks, getting things done in the wake of family illnesses, overloads of work and many other life issues. It’s been a little hectic, but I’ve been getting things done.
So what’s been going on? Lots. I’ve been working on my [artist portfolio](http://www.bellvanceart.com), which is updated with some fancy new artwork. I’ve been working on a CDROM version as well, to send out to prospective jobs and galleries. That one has been slow going, but it’s coming together.

I’ve also been working on freelance work, which has been a blessing and a time-curse. In a month of busy days, freelance is one of those things that keeps me going but also takes a ton of time. I’m one of those people that immerses myself in projects: I go at a project with something like a manic compulsion until I just can’t “go” anymore. This is how I get things done. It’s also how I burn out (which really hasn’t happened yet).
The [ordeal of the tree](http://distractedmind.com/2006/the-ordeal-of-the-tree/) still isn’t over, though the tree is long gone, the stump is a six-inch-tall reminder of the behemoth that used to dwell in our yard. Cable wires are still looped over street signs, there’s still a broken-off electric-pole across the street. We’ll have firewood for many, many s’mores this summer as well, just from the parts that were salvaged before the tree-removal company absconded with all the wood.

It’s been a busy month, but it’s promising to relax a bit. I can only hope that this means more artwork, more writing, and more times with my friends and family. For now, I’m just coming up for air.