ode to political buffoonery: third time the charm for satire afire?

September 18, 2012 by rachel

For a change of pace, rhyming political satire. Originally posted here (twice!) in 2011. This, too, my friends, is the journey of human evolution. When speaking in verse of the human condition Must one always rely on high-toned erudition? For truly, are we not mere clowns playing life In rapture phonetic laced with angst, grief and strife? Wherein lies the humor, the repartee comic? She pines to stand tall midst the ethos ironic A pratfall, fair guffaws, a pie in […]

Categories: humor, inspiration, planetary shifts, poetry, writing & creativity • Tags: political humor, political satire

satire afire: ode to political buffoonery (redux)

July 14, 2011 by rachel

Hey, it’s summer, the traditional season for reruns. Given the shenanigans now unfolding in the hallowed halls of American government and around the world, I couldn’t resist bringing out this piece of mine from January 2011. Lest you believe this is off-topic for this blog, remember that all forms of human evolution require that the old ways prove themselves irrelevant so that the new can be born. Be sure to hover over the art for a full description of the […]

Categories: humor, inspiration, planetary shifts, poetry, writing & creativity • Tags: poetic satire, political satire, satire, US politics

the words “credit” and “worthy” should never be spoken in the same breath

January 6, 2011 by rachel

Here’s the next bit of poetic satire on the state of the world. I feel like taking requests: Any topic you would like to see addressed in rhyming verse? The dispossessed, the rich, the poor Line up to be anointed by their credit scores! The living water, giver of life Drips off your forehead, spills onto your wife, What number is this, what sacred geometry Creeps into your being, bringing instant ignominy – Is this how we define that we’re […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, humor, inspiration, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: credit scores, empowerment, humor, satire

poetic satire on the state of the world

January 4, 2011 by rachel

Well, this is an interesting one — and a bit of a tongue-twister, to boot. Perhaps I am reconnecting with my troubadour self, and socio-political commentary is my next area of exploration. It is a new year, after all; anything is possible. If this tickles your fancy, you might also enjoy Apostrophe Catastrophe. When speaking in verse of the human condition Must one always rely on high-toned erudition? For truly, are we not mere clowns playing life In rapture phonetic […]

Categories: humor, inspiration, poetry, writing & creativity • Tags: satire, social satire

yes, human evolution can be funny: norwegian medieval “helpdesk” skit is proof (video 2:46)

October 4, 2010 by rachel

Given what I feel and what I read and what I know (you know?), this week’s energy carries with it some hard edges and potential for heaviness. I’ve already felt the flames licking up the past few days, so I’m lying low and nurturing myself in all the ways that help me remain focused, centered, and balanced. Since my current labors of love include creating a small public library in my tiny rural town and, as a spinoff, wading into […]

Categories: eclectica, humor, video • Tags: change, comedy, Norweigan humor

the oft-elusive art of maintaining emotional honesty with kindness and compassion toward others

July 22, 2010 by rachel

Confession: I now have zero tolerance for emotional dishonesty. Zip. Nada. None. Because I work so tirelessly on my own personal evolution, I can scarcely be in the presence of others who slog on with disingenuous maneuvering, insincere manipulation, indiscriminate projection, plain old denial, or other garden-variety dysfunction. This much I know: people-pleasing is passé. Saying one thing and doing another is not a hallmark of the shifting of the ages. Sugar-coating with nice words and smiley faces while you […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, humor, inspiration, personal growth, spirituality, transformation • Tags: honesty, truth

vehicle for change: what your car is telling you about your life

June 17, 2010 by rachel

I will not deny it: I’m one of those people who never “met a phor” I didn’t like. (And yes, I know someone wrote a book with that title, but fact is, I’ve toyed with the phrase since nearly forever.) I see symbolism and meaning in everything. When people say to me, “You know, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar,” I figure that, surely, they jest. I size up every situation, every person, every occurrence, on multiple levels – […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, humor, personal growth • Tags: car trouble, change, Dort Automobile, oracles

thegreenbeautiful, parts 1 & 2 (video)

November 22, 2009 by rachel

Thank you, Alaya, for sending me this extraordinary youtube series! Just this morning, I was pining for the wonderful videos and music I used to post here, but some rural technological challenges have gotten in the way. If the entire series is as thought-provoking, funny, authentic and richly inspiring as these, we can surely ride this wave into The New.  French original, English subtitles, 10 minutes long. Vive the hearts and minds who brought this forth to share with the planet! Here […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, humor, inspiration, planetary shifts, spirituality, transformation, video • Tags: aboriginals, awakening, Coline Cerreau, consciousness, galactic contact, new earth, new society, starseeds

fearing clearing? get your move on & deal with your stuff!

June 15, 2009 by rachel

I am an inveterate nomad who carries the DNA of a migratory desert dweller. When I feel called to relocate, I prepare with little or no hesitation. Oftentimes I pack and stand ready for months while the energy lines up for actual physical movement. For me, moving is a sacred ritual and a potent symbol of an engaged life journey,  and I bring to bear as much presence as I can muster. Suddenly, it seems everyone is on the move. […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, humor, personal growth, stretch break, transformation, video • Tags: "Material World", Annie Leonard, awakening, body mind & spirit, clutter-clearing, consciousness, inspiration, personal growth, The Story of Stuff, transformation, video

apostrophe catastrophe – and it’s getting possessively(sic) worse!

September 1, 2008 by rachel

Forgive me for turning my attention away from the larger issues of the day, but as a writer, I can no longer avert my gaze! Pity the poor apostrophe, who seems doomed to live an existence of misuse, misalignment, misappropriation, and a torturous life of being utterly misunderstood. It’s as though it’s one minute before midnight — and an egg sac the size of the Milky Way has suddenly burst and spewed countless numbers of these once-sparse punctuation marks in […]

Categories: eclectica, humor, poetry, Rachel Snyder, writing & creativity • Tags: apostrophe, English, grammar, humor, language, poetry, punctuation, Rachel Snyder, writing

what do obama, oracles, polygamy, NASA, and the secret life of words have in common?

August 10, 2008 by rachel

They’re all part of this admittedly eclectic post celebrating the 5-month bloggiversary of be whole now and unashamedly testing a new frontier of search engine optimization. Total Views To Date 5,600 (certified by the firm of Me, Myself & I): This number would have been much, much higher if it weren’t for skabillions of people choosing to do something other than visit my blog! Top Posts To Date: Other than some of the Pages at right that answer the questions, […]

Categories: barack obama, body mind & spirit, eclectica, health/healing, humor, inspiration, ordinary oracles, personal growth, writing & creativity • Tags: barack obama, body mind & spirit, eclectica, Eldorado Texas, Gustav Klimt, inspiration, NASA photo, new paradigm, oracles, ordinary oracles, secret life of words, words

where the hell is matt? everywhere you want to be!

August 2, 2008 by rachel

It’s August, it’s hot, and the solar eclipse has begun to work its powerful magic in all of our lives. In a day or two, I’ll get back to the installments of Making Love To God, my memoir of Divine Union and contemporary spiritual relationships. (See the first four sections in the posts preceding this one.) For now, though, an offering of inexhaustible and uplifting delight. If you haven’t yet met Matt Harding, the phenomenal prince of planetary joy, get […]

Categories: humor, inspiration, love, transformation, video • Tags: dance, dancing, global, global harmony, global peace, inspiration, joy, matt harding, video, where the hell is matt?, world peace, world travel

voice lessons: finding your inner writer

June 6, 2008 by rachel

No word yet from the NYC agent who requested (and received) the complete manuscript for my first work of literary fiction. In honor of my continuing patience (and said agent’s ongoing health, wealth, and happiness!), here is a piece I wrote back in 1999. Other than a few changes aimed at de-genderization, it appeared in the August issue of The Women’s Times, a monthly newspaper based in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and distributed throughout areas of western Massachusetts, northern Connecticut, eastern […]

Categories: humor, inspiration, uncategorized, writing & creativity • Tags: creative expression, creativity, humor, inspiration, journal, morning pages, motivation, newspaper, novel, publishing, voice, writer, writing, writing process

wanna get published? be prepared to grin and bear it!

May 15, 2008 by rachel

RE: the agony, ecstasy, and lunacy of being published If you think finding an agent and getting published is the end-all-be-all for a writer, wait until you get to marketing and promotion! This painfully funny, sad-but-true book trailer tells it like it is — and will probably do more for HEAD CASE: How I Almost Lost My Mind Trying to Understand My Brain, by Dennis Cass, than even his non-review in The NY Times! If you don’t see the video […]

Categories: humor, video, writing & creativity • Tags: book, humor, marketing, promotion, publishing, video, writing

word of the day: struggle

April 18, 2008 by rachel

Does it feel like you’ve been struggling forever? If you haven’t been struggling to make ends meet, you’ve been struggling to balance your family, yourself, and your job. You’ve been struggling to discover your true nature and the work you were put here to do. You’ve been struggling to live joy in a world filled with fear. Right now, feel that the struggle is over. Close your eyes and find an internal peace where struggle no longer exists. Feel your […]

Categories: humor, inspiration, video, word of the day • Tags: humor, inspiration, life, love song parody, personal growth, spanish, struggle, video, word of the day, word of wisdom

defragged, detached, and decocted: the blogger’s journey

March 31, 2008 by rachel

The past three days have been decidedly desolate. My computer, Mackenzie, obviously read with great interest my post of March 26, in which I invited you, beloved reader, to meet Rancher Ed Sly, and also proffered a not-so-subtle invitation to gather up the fragmented pieces of yourself and be whole now (blog title, see above), all the while shaking your bootie to the fractured Three Dog Night lyrics, “Integrate! Integrate! Dance to the music.” Profoundly inspired, Mackenzie immediately signed on […]

Categories: humor, writing & creativity • Tags: defragment, humor, Sylvia Plath, writing

someone at barnes&noble may just be my new best friend

March 24, 2008 by rachel

My world as a writer turned upside down today. I visited one of the last remaining independent bookstores in the English-speaking world, to do what writers do in between digging out tiny slivers of chocolate from beneath the space bar on their computer keyboards and sharpening pencils just in case a young person shows up at the door and politely asks, “Excuse me, could you show me what is a pencil?” That, of course, is to visit the bookstore and […]

Categories: humor, writing & creativity • Tags: bookstores, humor, Rachel Snyder, Words of Wisdom for Women, writing

the tao of automobiles redux: how many nuns does it take to get a dodge charger out of bondage?

March 20, 2008 by rachel

Kudos to the brave souls who stepped up for their personalized automotivology readings! You can drive yourself over here to eavesdrop and also to submit your own request. The oracle remains on duty 7 days a week. It only seems fair at this point to ‘fess up to my current automotive issues. They involve the planet Saturn (twice); Senator Ron Paul; five singing, joking and jiving nuns; innumerable miracles; and a Dodge Charger. Are you with me so far? Good. […]

Categories: humor, ordinary oracles • Tags: humor, oracles, the tao of automobiles, writing