As a person who very often shares news on her Facebook page with snarky commentary, I shared the news about Dylan Roof being found guilty of massacring nine church goers in North Carolina without any caption. It’s not that I disagree with the verdict on this self-proclaimed white supremacist, who probably will never see the error of his ways, I just hate that this will now turn into a death penalty debate, and then when it’s all said in done, for the most part, it’s over.
Sure, there will be memorials on the anniversary of their deaths, but mass shootings don’t really get remembered save for Sandy Hook for obvious reasons.
It doesn’t solve the heightened racial tension we find ourselves in at this point in time in a post-Obama era (I mean, just today: Motorist told schoolchildren ‘f–k black lives, they don’t matter’). It certainly doesn’t put an end to mass shootings (and neither will him getting executed by lethal injection for that matter). Roof’s eventual execution (I mean, it’s the South) won’t even convince folks on the fence about racism that it’s one of the main reason he chose his targets. They’ll just pony it up to mental illness and then not discuss any further. And that’s wrong!
We obviously need to drill down as to why we find ourselves in a super polarized state that obviously played a pretty big factor in the last election.
The Charleston massacre was a clear case of nine people who were killed because of the color of their skin. It’s almost as if this many years after slavery, we need to define what racism is again.
One of the leadings scholars of theological ethics, Father Bryan Massingale of Fordham University, describes racism as a “profound warping of the human spirit.” He’s also referred to it as a “soul sickness.”
Maybe if looked at white supremacy as a mental illness and had deeper discussions about it, we can do more honor to the Charleston victims than the death penalty and forgetting about the case ever would.
I have always been the type to remember dreams, but I’ve never dreamt with a dead person before. I dreamt of my father last night.
It was pretty weird. There he was, gone in his bed at the nursing home (a sight I’ll never forget), and then he was in one of those drawers they have at the morgue, but awake. They called us three weeks after, saying it was a mistake, so there I was to pick him up. He was awake. And so I drove him back to the nursing home.
I hung out in his room and talked to him, catching him up on all the madness, namely the election and the raging dumpster fire that is our President-to-be, and the ‘bad dream’ (pun intended, I guess) that was the relationship I recently got out of (both stories complete with protagonists who are fond of to gas lighting! Yay!)
So what does this dream mean? Well, I’m not expert in how to interpret dreams except I’ve heard when you dream of the dead they’re thinking of you. But here’s the best I could get from Dreammoods.com (I’ve bolded and italicized the parts that may be relevant to me):
Dead
To see or talk to the dead in your dream forewarns that you are being influenced by negative people and are hanging around the wrong crowd. This dream may also be a way for you to resolve your feelings with those who have passed on. Alternatively, the dream symbolizes material loss. If you dream of a person who has died a long time ago, then it suggests that a current situation or relationship in your life resembles the quality of that deceased person. The dream may depict how you need to let this situation or relationship die and end it. If you dream of someone who has recently passed away, then it means that their death is still freshly in your mind. You are still trying to grasp the notion that he or she is really gone. If the dead is trying to get you to go somewhere with her or him, then it signifies that you are trying to understand their death. You also don’t want to be alone.
To see and talk with your dead parents in your dream is a way of keeping them alive. It is also a way of coping with the loss. You are using your dream as a last opportunity to say your final good-byes to them.
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You didn’t think I only had one dream, did you? I had a very frustrating dream in which my older brother, Richard, was arrested for shooting at his cell phone. That’s all I remember. I don’t remember where he was, but I arrived at a police precinct to bail him out and I was very frustrated, yelling at him for hanging out with the wrong people. LOL. I wish I knew what that was about! I can tell you my brother is not fond of guns and he’d never destroy his cell phone!
Dreammoods.com isn’t really helpful on this one, since all the gun interpretation seems to involve the dreamer, and I wasn’t holding a gun in the dream. The same goes for their interpretation of bail:
Gun To see a gun in your dream represents aggression, anger, and potential danger. You could be on the defensive about something. Or you may be dealing with issues of passiveness/aggressiveness and authority/dependence. Alternatively, a gun is a symbol of power and pride. Perhaps you are looking for shelter or protection in your dream. From a Freudian perspective, a gun represents the penis and male sexual drive. Thus, the gun may mean power or impotence, depending on whether the gun went off or misfired.
To dream that you are loading a gun forewarns that you should be careful in not letting your temper get out of control. It may also signify your ability to defend yourself in a situation.
To dream that a gun jams or fails to fire indicates that you are feeling powerless in some waking situation. Perhaps you need to attack your problems from a different approach. Alternatively, a malfunctioning gun represents sexual impotence or fear of impotence.
To dream that you are hiding a gun implies that you are repressing your angry feelings.
To dream that you shoot someone with a gun denotes your aggressive feeling and hidden anger toward that particular person. You may be trying to blame them for something.
To dream that someone is shooting you with a gun suggests that you are experiencing some confrontation in your waking life. You feel victimized in a situation or that you are being targeted.
Bail To dream that you are making bail symbolizes your need to accept help in your business dealings. This dream is trying to make you acknowledge that it is perfectly all right to accept a helping hand.
Just days after the release of the Hamilton Mixtape—an album of songs from the Broadway smash as performed by today’s pop artists—composer Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted about two tracks planned for the forthcoming sequel, Hamilton Mixtape—Volume 2.
A fan asked Miranda on Twitter the morning of December 5, “Can you tell us any secrets about the second mixtape?”
And Miranda responded, “Right Hand Man. Reynolds Pamphlet. They were already underway but couldn’t get ’em done in time.”
He was referring to the show’s songs “Right Hand Man,” a duet for George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, and “The Reynolds Pamphlet,” a song in which the public reacts to Hamilton’s published admission that he has been unfaithful to his wife.
Miranda did not specify which pop artists would be performing the songs.
When it comes to smoking, a new study says even one cigarette a day can greatly increase your chances of an early death. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute compared the life expectancy of those who consistently smoked an average of less than one cigarette per day to those who never smoked in their lives.…
Sometimes I come across stories on CNN en Español that I must share for those who don’t understand in Spanish. Such as this wonderful video about Isabella Springmuhl, a fashion designer who has down syndrome.
You can watch the Spanish-language interview on CNNe (it aired on Sept. 1, 2016).
Here’s another interview by Ruptly TV, conducted as she became the first designer with down syndrome to show at London Fashion Week. It is also in Spanish. In the interview, she says she wants others to know dreams can be achieved.
This photo was taken by my friend Nina Valenti, who is of Sicilian descent. She’s also a fashion designer with her eco-conscious label, Nature vs. Future.
Bronx, NY – August 19, 2016 – The WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Bronx Zoo welcomes the addition of two California sea lion pups born in June.
The pup born to mother, Indy, has been identified as a male. Keepers have not yet been able to determine the gender of the pup born to Margaretta. Both have yet to receive their names.
Clyde is the sire of both pups. He is one of two adult bulls that came to WCS’s Queens Zoo in 2013 from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of a local wildlife management project in Bonneville, Ore. These are his first offspring since arriving in New York.
California sea lions are not endangered and live in healthy populations along the west coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico. All marine mammals, including sea lions, are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.
California sea lions are exhibited at all five WCS facilities: the Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and Queens Zoo.
The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, 5:30 p.m. weekends from April to October; 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.mNovember to March. Adult admission is $19.95, children (3-12 years old) $12.95, children under 3 are free, seniors (65+) are $17.95. Parking is $16 for cars and $20 for buses. TheBronx Zoo is conveniently located off the Bronx River Parkway at Exit 6; by train via the #2 or #5 or by bus via the #9, #12, #19, #22, MetroNorth, or BxM11 Express Bus service (from Manhattan that stops just outside the gate.) To plan your trip, visit bronxzoo.com or call 718-367-1010.
Desde que tengo uso de razón, a mi padre siempre le gustó hacer sonreír a los demás. Siempre armado con chistes, letras de canciones y bailes de moda, imitaciones de personajes, o saludos jocosos, le gustaba hacer reír a amigos y desconocidos por igual. Me gusta pensar que todavía está haciendo eso. Y, así es con el corazón encogido y una gran sonrisa en su honor que anuncio su muerte:
Virgilio Vergel always wore a smile.
Virgilio Vergel murió el lunes 8 de agosto, 2016, en Fair Lawn, Nueva Jersey. Tenía 73 años de edad.
Nacido en Ocaña, Colombia , Virgilio, o “Gillo” como era conocido, era el sexto de los nueve hijos de la familia Vergel Cabrales. Se trasladaron a la ciudad portuaria de Barranquilla cuando tenía tres años. Mi papa consideraba “la Arenosa,” como se le conoce, su tierra natal
Cuando era un niño, Virgilio era enérgico con una amplia sonrisa que hoy se puede ver en su nieto, RJ , que tiene un parecido sorprendente. Le encantaba jugar al fútbol con sus hermanos. Cuando era un adolescente mi papa se distinguía por sus chistes, su pasión por el fútbol, y su amor por el baile y la música colombiana.
Cuando joven, trabajó como un cajero de banco, pero continuó con su amor al baile, las películas, y el ciclismo. En 1969, conoció al amor de su vida, María Socorro Díaz , cuando ella se embarco en un autobús de la ciudad y él le ofreció su asiento. Se casarían un año más tarde y se mudaron a Paterson, N. J., donde tendrían tres hijos – Richard, Gina, y David.
Maria & Virgilio
The early years in Paterson, NJ.
Virgilio le inculcó a todos sus hijos su amor por el trabajo, la música latina y americana (animaría a David en sus pasos para convertirse en un DJ), el futbol, ciclismo, vestirse bien, y el buen sentido de humor. También les hablo mucho sobre la importancia de seguir y terminar sus estudios algo que no pudo completar ya que él y su esposa se dedicaban a varios trabajos para darles a sus hijos una vida mejor.
Family of five.
The American dream: Disney World
The Vergel kids.
Virgilio always made his kid’s friends laugh.
Nunca le importo lo cansado que estaba después de trabajar un día largo. Virgilio hiso todo lo posible para que sus hijos vivieran una juventud “americana,” completa con excursiones en bicicleta a los parques locales, juegos de beisbol y futbol, o excursiones a las playas de Nueva Jersey, entre muchas actividades más. A veces la diversión de fin de semana consistiría en proyectos en la casa seguidos por asados en el patio. Otros fines de semana Virgilio iba a la disco tienda en donde le tarareaba una canción popular a los vendedores y compraba discos para que los niños los tocaran en el tocadiscos. El siempre fue divertido.
At the Wyckoff School district.
If there was a character, Virgilio was going to take a photo with it.
Part-time jobs, like this one at Home Depot, were the norm.
At the Teaneck Police Dept.
Virgilio tuvo una variedad de puestos de trabajo incluyendo como maquinista, personal de mantenimiento, y por último, un conserje en las escuelas y el departamento de policía de Teaneck, NJ, donde se retiró antes de tiempo debido a su diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Parkinson en 1999.
El Parkinson es un trastorno cerebral neurodegenerativo resistente que progresa lentamente en la mayoría de las personas. La mayoría de los síntomas de las personas afectadas tardan años en desarrollarse, y viven mucho tiempo con la enfermedad. Virgilio vivió durante casi 20 años con la enfermedad de Parkinson, y tuvo un hermano, Raúl, que murió debido a complicaciones relacionadas con el mismo mal en el 2011.
Virgilio tenía esperanzas en los avances médicos en el mundo del Parkinson, y se sometió al implante de un estimulador cerebral profundo en la década del 2000, y si bien se llevó los temblores el efecto secundario fue el empeoramiento del habla. Virgilio era un comunicador apasionado y el no poder hablar claramente lo frustró muchísimo.
With son, Richard.
With niece, Lily.
Dancing with daughter, Gina.
¿Cosas que echaba de menos? Montar su bicicleta y visitar a su familia en la Florida, Colombia, y otros dispersos por todo el mundo. Habló de ellos muy a menudo y el vive con cariño en sus memorias.
Hay muchas cosas que no dejó de disfrutar hasta que se fracturo la cadera en enero del 2015: Ver partidos de sus equipos de fútbol colombianos favoritos, hacer ejercicio en su bicicleta reclinada, escuchar música (tocando las maracas) , y ver películas . Por encima de todo, Virgilio fue capaz de vivir muchos años felices en su casa con el amor de su vida , María , y visitas frecuentes de su nieto , RJ , y su nieta, Bella.
Le pedimos que recuerden el amor que Virgilio tenía para la vida cada vez que escuchen música colombiana o historias divertidas. Le pedimos que considere hacer una donación a la Fundación de Micheal J. Fox, que está trabajando para encontrar una cura, o la Fundación Nacional de Parkinson, que se esfuerza por mejorar la vida de las personas que viven con esta enfermedad.
Virgilio le sobreviven su esposa, María, sus hijos Richard y David, hija Gina, así como hermanos, hermanas, sobrinos y demás familiares dispersos en la Florida, Canadá, Colombia, Argentina y España.
Just days after the release of the Hamilton Mixtape—an album of songs from the Broadway smash as performed by today’s pop artists—composer 
periMENTAL 