a webzine
beings are numberless, I vow to enlighten them
obstacles are countless, I vow to knock them down
Dharma-gates are infinite, I vow to master them
the Buddha-way is endless, I vow to follow through

the dagger
1400 milliliters
rain of flowers
the jewel in the lotus
sitemap
Links


Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Relief Organizations

The Hunger Site

John Burroughs Junior High, Class of '62

“The calamities to individuals which were inflicted by the late war are for the most part irreparable. The government cannot recall to life the million of our youth who went to untimely graves, nor compensate the sufferings or sorrow of their relatives or friends. It has no safe general rule but to let bygones be bygones; to turn from the dead past to a new and better future; and on that basis to assure peace, reconciliation, and fraternity between all sections, classes and races of our people.”

Samuel Tilden, quoted by Roy Morris, Jr., FRAUD OF THE CENTURY – Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876.

Clemency for Troy Davis!

"On Monday August 17th the Supreme Court issued an order mandating a new evidentiary hearing for death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis. With its ruling, the nation's highest court decided that Davis should have another chance to prove his innocence before the state of Georgia puts him to death." - AI

January 20, 2009

A New Era of Peace

"And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace." — Barack Obama Inaugural Address

Complete text

January 11, 2009

I had the strangest dream...


Just a few words to wish you all a happy, prosperous and peaceful new year.
..more

November 11, 2008

Exciting times, huh?

I was in New York on election day. My parents took Jay and Linda (my brother and sister-in-law) and me to see Lion King on Broadway, and the show happened to be Tuesday night. My sibs and I were kind of sad because we couldn't vote in our own communities, had to vote absentee, but the day had surprising rewards.

First we marched our parents over to our old elementary school so they could vote. It was kind of a long hike for my dad, but he did all right. We were walking very slowly, of course, so on the way, Linda invented an Obama dance... more

October 29, 2008

Last night after work, I went to Phillip's barbeque located at Crenshaw and Adams, in Los Angeles. It is near the 10, Santa Monica freeway. I was standing in line waiting for my order.

A Black woman in her fifties was standing behind me. She tapped me on my shoulder. I turned to her and she was "beaming". She said "I just voted." I looked to her left shoulder and there was a red white and blue stick-on that said "I voted". She said she wanted to vote in advance but found that she could not, because she was not... ... more

From the archives:
Featured Section

ROMANIA JOURNAL
1999 visit to Oltania and Maramarush (Romania) to see total eclipse of the sun.

Featuring video of the eclipse, a visit to a country cemetery, chess and barbecue with our hosts in a Southern Carpathian Mountain village, a peasant livestock market, the Jewish Cemetery in Sighetu Marmaţiei, an interview with the leader of the Jewish community in this northern city, a Jewish center before the Holocaust, and Transhumansa (a visit with nomadic hersmen in the mountains.)

New book by Robert Rashkin
The Edge of the Ice

He says I'm not objective, and that's true, but I think this is just great. Bob lives on a ranch in Colorado with a bunch of dogs; they're always walking around together, and he started taking notes. He ended up with three beautiful speculations on how humans and wolves learned to hunt together, and how wolves came to be domesticated dogs. Good stories, especially for people who live with dogs.

Tentative Description of a Dinner Given To Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 1958
This poem is out of print and unavailable anywhere. We wrote to Ferlinghetti to get his permission to reproduce it here. He never answered. This is much too good a poem to be lost, so here it is anyway.

Some words about immigration

Playwrite Harold Pintar Nobel Lecture - 12/7/05

Art, Truth & Politics
Video and text

12/25/08: Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter dies at 78
My New Orleans - Memoir by Peter Rashkin

Estampas de la Revolución Española

The Offices of Propaganda...in their fervent desire to show the world the epic moments of their Revolution, have undertaken the publication of these scenes from the Spanish Revolution, a happening which has opened the doorway to a future of a greatness both spiritual and material.

Portia's Muse-Sings - Poetry by Chae Sung-Sook

PHOTOBLOGS 2004-2007

Baskets, rope, Fish Canyon Falls, Mojave Desert, Colombia Gorge, American River, and much more.

My Reagan Years Tree Huggers Photo Gallery
Voices of Israel and Palestine Conquest of Mexico
Romania Journal War in El Salvador
The Dagger Complete (sort of) Site Map
Why Not War? Hiking in Southern California
and featuring: Bob Brault, American poet
TONALKALLI - Edited by Elissa Rashkin      
  • Buy SWEATSHOP-FREE CLOTHING online
  •  

    Produced by Pyramid Press - Contact: Peter Rashkin

     


    Trail of a Hundred Giants, November 2008 - Photo by Peter Rashkin


    The Christian World - Photo by Kent Kanouse

     

    World's Strangest Show - July 2009

    Korean Friendship Bell, San Pedro tide pools, Santa Monica bike ride, Hammer Museum.

    Youre Homeless Tonight - July 2009

    Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum (http://dominguezrancho.org/), rocky beach in San Pedro, walk in Manhattan Beach, going-off-to-gradschool party for Penina, cactus flowers.

    Photos on Picasa
    These photos are posted on Picasa Web Albums, Google's free photo-sharing site. It works great in Windows. A little iffy on the Mac. I think a newer Mac will see them fine, but my older Mac won't display them. Give it a try. If you can't see them, sorry!

    If you can see the photos, I hope you will try the slide show feature. Note that you can control the speed of the slide show. Just move your mouse on the screen and you'll see the controls.

    All Albums

    Cartea Lui Mormon - June 2009

    Llama trek with friends on the Escalante River in Utah. http://www.redrocknllamas.com.

    Sugestion Mortal Colectiva - June 2009

    Flowers and birds in the garden, Hollywood Park Race Track, Grand Performances, concert at El Sereno Community Garden, bee swarm in an apple tree, about town.

    Go Baby Go - June 2009

    A day at the races at Hollywood Park, one of the classic SoCal tracks that will probably close forever after this season, to be replaced by yet another mall-condo complex.

    Reptiles Enter Here - May 2009

    Fish Canyon, Cactus Flowers, Long Beach Museum of Art, Feeding the Birds

    Flower Theft Is a Crime - May 2009

    Cactus flowers, Fish Canyon, UCLA Sculpture Garden

    Get Hammered and Sickled - April 2009

    Family visit, Long Beach candy store, Alameda Corridor, Passover Seder, La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum, downtown, MOCA, Little Ethiopia

    Hello, My Name Is Trouble - April 2009

    Millard Canyon hike, beach bike rides, pink bicycle, incredible sand castle at the new Annenberg Community Beach House, retired racing greyhounds out for a walk

    The Shoe Wants You - April 2009

    Arroyo Seco, LA County Arboretum, Biddy Mason Born a Slave, DAC Gallery opening, Santa Anita Race Track

    I Need a Beer - March 2009

    LA Marina, Patricia Yossen at DAC Gallery, cats and cacti in the garden, Gary Gach at Beyond Baroque, Bolona Creek, LA County Library volunteer of the year (that's me!).

    Palm Canyon - February 2009

    Palm Canyon. Possible largest grove of California Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera. Wild cacti.

    Caution Rattlesnakes - February 2009

    Chinatown, Griffith Park, garden with cat, squirrel, cacti.

    You Had To Have Been There - January 2009
    Colby Canyon Hike, Manhattan Beach Bike Ride, Blacklist Memorial at USC

    Vamos Por Mas Victorias - January 2009

    New Year's gathering at Franklin Park, environmental art, Linda Vallejo at L2kontemporary, orange trees and mountains, party at Iris and Eddie's, Manhattan Beach

    La Mejor Comida China - December 2008

    Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, Belmont Pier (Long Beach), garden, cats, squirrels, Self Realization Fellowship Lakeside Shrine, New Year's eve.

    Avocado Xing - December 2008

    Around town. Point Dume. LA River bike ride. Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.

    Still Delivering the Goods - November 2008
    Central California, Salinas River, Monterey County Agriculture and Rural Life Museum, Mission San Miguel Archangel, San Luis Obispo Mission and Historical Museum, Gaviota Beach, bold pelicans.

    Fire Is a Natural Adventure - November 2008
    Carson Carwash, Mojave National Conservation Area, Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon, Colorado River (Laughlin to Parker), Southbay skies darkened by fire, Sunday afternoon in Santa Monica.

    Law West of the Pecos
    - November 2008

    Flash flood at Red Rock Canyon, joshua tree forest, Johnsondale, Trail of 100 Giants, granite dome overlooking Kern River Valley, election night, Chinatown, opera recital, cactus flower.

    Let's Make a Comet - October 2008
    Mt. Hollywood, Griffith Park Observatory, Memorial Branch Library, Vermont Square Library, miniature golf course ruins, Mt. Waterman hike, lunches, dinners, cats, squirrels, cacti in the garden.

    Where Valor Proudly Sleeps - October 2008
    In the garden, I watched cats and squirrels. Then I went to the Veterans Cemetery in LA. Then I went to the Getty with Geri. Then I saw a church on King that used to be a synagog. Then I went to the Farmers Market for lunch. More cats and squirrels. Barbecue at Arnold's to celebrate his birthday. Pet Adoption Festival at Hancock Park.

    Laughing Samoans - September 2008
    Two Cathedrals walk in downtown LA, Cats and squirrels in the garden, hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in the back range San Gabriels, Bruce Lohmann's garden photos, LACMA.

    'Twill Soon Be Past - September 2008

    Nicholas Flats, Ventura, Goats in downtown LA, Dance concert, Tropical dragon fruit, Possum in the garden, Uncle Sammy's cacti.

    All Power to the People!- August 2008

    Mt. Waterman hike, Don White memorial, MacArthur Park, Black Panther mural in Southcentral LA, Dinosaurs along I-215

    Baltimore - July 2008

    Druid Hill Park, American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore Harbor, Federal Hill, Holocaust Memorial, Baltimore Museum of Art

    Brooklyn - July 2008

    Brooklyn Bridge, Promenade, Botanical Gardens, Grand Army Plaza

    Manhattan - July 2008

    Central Park, The Cloisters, American Museum of Natural History, harbor cruise

    Music Is My Boyfriend - July 2008

    Least Tern chick, rockets red glare, Obama replaces David Alvaro Siqueros on LA mural

    Fix Your Accent - June 2008

    First Day of Summer at Getty Center, Hammer Museum

    High Voltage - June 2008

    Miles from India at Grand Performances season opener, around LA and Carson, my garden with birds, teachers demonstrate against state budget cuts, dinosaurs roam the halls at LA County Museum of Natural History, Fish Canyon hike, cactus flowers.

    Rome Fell - March 2008