Fragile

"If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the colour of the evening sun
Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay

Perhaps this final act was meant
To clinch a lifetime's argument
That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are

On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are

On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are
How fragile we are how fragile we are."

--- Sting


For all of the fragile children of the world, please support unicefusa.org

Always and Forever

Always and forever
Each moment with you
Is just like a dream to me
That somehow came true

And I know tomorrow
Will still be the same
'Cause we got a life of love
That won't ever change and

Everyday love me your own special way
Melt all my heart away with a smile
Take time to tell me you really care
And we'll share tomorrow together
Baby, I'll always love you forever

There'll always be sunshine
When I look at you
It's something I can't explain
Just the things that you do
If you get lonely
Call me and take
A second to give to me
That magic you make and

Everyday love me your own special way
Melt all my heart away with a smile


"Take time to tell me you really care
And we'll share tomorrow together
Baby, I'll always love you forever..."


It was just three lines.

It took twenty seconds.

Today, it has been six years.

Five albums.

Six million sales.

Eight tours.

One foundation to include kids with disabilities into the life experiences of their typical peers.

One UNICEF ambassadorship, with five trips to Indonesia, Uganda, Afghanistan, Mexico and Somalia.

One book on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

One atypical Broadway musical.

One extraordinary song, Lover All Alone, with lyrics written by you.

One son.

One coming out.

One singular voice.

Congratulations, Clay. Thanks for the fun, the love and the laughter.

Baby, I'll always love you, forever...

A Change is Gonna Come

There's been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh, yes it will

---Sam Cooke

Martin Luther King Day is not a recognized paid holiday in the film industry, and on several occasions I’ve had to work. I like to think Dr. King would be pleased to see an African-American woman working in a position of responsibility on multimillion dollar films.

Access to all opportunity for qualified people was part of the dream, after all. During his lifetime, the number of African-American members of the Directors Guild of America --- or members of Hispanic, Asian or First Nations descent, for that matter --- could be counted on two hands. Though women and minority numbers are still low, we are there, working major projects of all kinds. That's progress.

A change is gonna come.

I think he'd also be pleased that this year, the day after the holiday honoring his life, his work and his ideals, this country's first African-American president will be sworn in.

On Tuesday, January 20, Barack Obama will become the 44th president of the United States. I needn't go into the remarkable life history, and the even more remarkable set of circumstances, that led to his election. That information is now well known, and can be read in detail at the official site of the Obama - Biden transition team, Change.gov .

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

--- The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Obama campaign showed much about how this man will handle challenge and controversy, but the months and years after his inauguration will show far more. How will we take his measure, as time goes by?

Despite the obstacles that still remain in extending equality to women and to racial, religious and sexual minorities, there has undoubtedly been progress towards that goal in the forty-five years since Dr. King delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Something amazing happened on November 4, 2008. America voted across lines of age, class, color, and gender and elected Barack Obama on his own merits --- the content of his character.

And now the real work begins, for a nation and a world that cannot afford to be mired in past animosities, tied to policies built on lazy thinking or weighed down by the foolish habit of excluding alternative American voices.

A change is gonna come.

And, just perhaps, one of those changes will be to restore the constitutional freedoms that have been eroded during the past eight years. American freedoms that were hard won -- but far too easily set aside --- are the essence of "We the People of the United States."

The more perfect union is at hand, but it will not come easily. Perhaps Obama will begin by reminding us that we are one nation, one people, and we cannot prosper as us vs. them.

A change is gonna come.

That’s a wonderful thought to end this with, as we approach these days of dreams turned into action.


Happy Martin Luther King Day, everyone.

Congratulations, President Obama.



Read King’s Nobel lecture and hear an excerpt HERE at the Nobel Prize site.

Read King’s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance speech HERE.


Find writings by and about Barack Obama at Amazon.com's Obama page.

New Year's Day

It's true, it's true
We can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one
I will begin again...

From 'New Years Day' by U2

Since I don't care to frontload my failures, I don't make resolutions.

I am a contemplative sort, though, so I took a bit of time to consider the year gone by.

Hmm. I'd better keep looking forward.

There are good things ahead. The Obama inaugural is just 19 days away, and though he has so much he needs to accomplish (and even more he needs to undo) on this quest for the more perfect union, I'm just thrilled by the thought of soon having a man with an excellent command of language and a detail-oriented, complex and inquiring mind.

I look forward to seeing what he has to say when I come across him on television, rather than changing the channel as quickly as my fingers are able.

After eight years, I think my remote control could use the rest.

Have something to say to the President-Elect and his team? Check out Change.gov, the official site of the Obama-Biden Transition Team.

Though torn in two, we can be one.

Looks like a good day to begin again.