Steal away
a thread in time
for those who wait
reveal their soul
Bizarre it is
when people open
an awakening
and no more mopin’
Ego at fault
for more and more
needing more things
and money galore
War, we have
within our minds
anger unabated
and hate that binds
We are all one
connected by love
and positive thinking
that comes from above.
I love you!!
Happy St Patrick’s Day!!
Lots of catching up to do; we were without phone, internet and tv for around 12 hours. Someone discoed the wrong apartment!!
Had to bring my daughter into Urgent Care yesterday morning–she broke out
and had a severe allergic reaction to an antibiotic she was taking. She had a red rash over most
of her body, and it itched. She now has Prednisone and Benadryl to take. She’s ok.
Our cats keep scrapping and fighting-hope the little one mellows out as she grows older(?!)
Nothing substantial to say here, maybe I will write a poem later!
I love you!!
Spring is being stubborn
here in the ‘north woods’
snow coming down non-stop
heart aches for green
Mood is let down
aching for sunny days
the warmth, the barefootedness
the smell of things a-bloom
Starkness so pale
white and brown so failing
to rivet my attention
to spear my lonely heart
Choice of mood
I forget at times
my will to be happy
my light to heal
The trees have buds
and hope at last
my heart beats faster
as the ducks’ wings!
Stretch yourself
“People are defeated by easy, victorious and cheap successes
more than by adversity.”
Today’s social standard is one of mediocrity. The status
quo rarely challenges our individual creative power.
Create a brand new world for yourself, one that meets your
deepest needs. By doing so, you will help raise the quality of consciousness of
the entire world. Use your imagination! Sing your own song!
“Success means fulfilling your own dreams, singing your own
song, dancing your own dance, creating from your heart and enjoying the journey,
trusting that whatever happens, it will be OK. Creating your own adventure!”
| Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 14 |
 |
| “The concept that we are all related is one of the basic philosophies of D/Lakota religion.” |
|
| –Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA | |
| The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of the races, Red people, Yellow people, Black people and White people. These four directions are symbolic of all races. Everything in the circle is connected and related. All races are brothers and sisters. If we are related to each other, then it is important to love one another as brother and sister, aunt and uncle, Fathers and Mothers, Grandfathers and Grandmothers. We need to care for each other and especially respect each other. We need to honor one another’s differences whether that difference is the color of our skin or our opinions. We should respect differences. |
My Creator, let me feel the connectedness to all things. Let
me know the lessons I need to learn today. Above all, let me feel my
connectedness to You.
City to City
Gerry
Rafferty
1978
If you were a kid in 1978 and hooked on FM radio, you remember
Gerry Rafferty’s sudden arrival with his hit single “Baker Street.” The
Scottish-Irish singer-songwriter had a hit with his previous band, Stealers
Wheel (“Stuck in the Middle With You”), but nothing could compare to the rush of
his solo work, which grabbed everyone for a hot minute. The late 1970s was good
for reclusive singer-songwriters who labored intensively on hook-filled tracks
as opposed to touring. These songs were meant for blazing down highways while
they cranked from 8-tracks. Formats come and go, but City to City endures
as a classic in the same high shelf as the classic rock gems from acts like
Boston, Steely Dan, and ELO. While nothing else quite matches Raphael
Ravenscroft’s saxophone blazing over the guitar solo in “Baker Street,” there’s
still quite a lot of miles in the rest of City to City.
“You
believed in me / In my darkest night / Put something better inside of me / You
brought me into the light,” Rafferty sings in “Right Down the Line,” the second
hit off the album. The song features a tasty electric-slide solo and mildly
funky midtempo boogie-shuffle rhythm. Elsewhere on the record, Rafferty’s
Scottish soul-boogie roots come out. The title track is a “get-on-board, the
funky ‘good night train is gonna carry me home’” shuffle, with harmonica wailing
and hoe-down guitar.
The 1970s were a different time: less channels,
more rock, more making out. Listen to “Whatever’s Written in Your Heart” and you
can imagine the song playing through time at a million make-out sessions across
America, becoming “their song” if the couple stayed together. “You’ll find a way
to say it all / Someday / Whatever’s written in your heart / That’s all that
matters,” sings Rafferty, over some low-simmer female gospel backup and a flute
sounding half like a dimly remembered bird and half-drunk on the moon
slide-guitar solo. There’s a lot of Rafferty in there too: a pounding,
unabashedly yearning piano; attention to aching emotion and perfect recording.
As if discussing the rock radio of the future in the form of a woman, he sings
“I heard her speak but all the words were dead / Talked all night and left it
all unsaid / So we agree to disagree / At least we got our memory.” With
Rafferty, the memory still sounds open, true, and exciting.
 |
Listen to all sound clips from this CD |
|
|
|
 |
Buy this CD |
Helped a friend move back to her apartment,
it was glorious! No furniture, just clothes and stuff.
Greeting us as we came in the door, was a waft of a scent called ‘Euphoria’,
as my other friend had lit a diffuser–I was in heaven!
The 4 of us lounged around some, and did some deep talking-
we are all friends–such a good connection!
I will be ready to graduate my DBT class very soon, as I
know all the skills, and have been integrating them in my life.
What a change from how I was when I started group, a year ago today.
So much less fear and angst, so much more confidence and acceptance.
I have grown and changed a lot. My daughter and I get along so much better,
and I am able to distinguish between what matters, and what doesn’t!
It has been so refreshing, but somewhat painful in learning so much.
Growth always involves some kind of pain, but I am able to discern what
is truly pain, and what is fear, or unwillingness? I wish everyone had
the ability to go through this class, but one requirement is to have some
mental illness and/or PTSD. I am grateful to my teachers.
Enjoy your day-you have choices!!
I love you!!
Yeah, we get the jokes!
We do still have a lot of snow
cover here, Going to take a lot of warm days
to melt it all! Rain is in the forecast, so we can hope!
We usually can safely plant our annual flowers around May 15th
here, so our growing season is short, but boy, do we ever enjoy it!
A classical string quartet paying tribute to John Coltrane, one
of the towering innovators of jazz? It’s a strange prospect, even if the group
in question is the Turtle Island Quartet, one of the more forward-thinking
chamber ensembles of our time. Yet A Love Supreme: The Legacy Of John
Coltrane succeeds marvelously. The Turtle Island Quartet adapts Coltrane
compositions, solos, and various other pieces that affirm his legacy for the
double violin, viola, and cello lineup that is standard for a string quartet.
But the album does more than just translate Coltrane’s music into a classical
idiom—it brims with the same transformative spirit that filled Coltrane himself.
The Turtle Island Quartet swings through the Coltrane original “Moment’s
Notice” like it was a full-time jazz group. There’s none of the stuffiness you
might expect from a classical ensemble. The cello plunks out a walking bass
line, the arrangement moves through complex, syncopated chord changes with ease,
and each musician spins out joyous improvisations. “La Danse du Bonheur,”
written by John McLaughlin and L. Shankar to honor Coltrane’s deep respect for
Indian spirituality, grooves over a light funk backbeat, its violin solo
whirling out peals of fat vibrato in the style of Indian devotional music. A
Love Supreme doesn’t abandon classical arrangement entirely, though. Rapturous
ensemble writing abounds, and if it weren’t for its recognizable melody, we
could easily be fooled into believing that the surging, gorgeous arrangement of
“Naima” was the slow movement of a late Romantic period string quartet.
The most inspired moments on the album come when the Turtle Island
Quartet integrates arrangements and improvisations into an inseparable whole, as
on the group’s creative take on Coltrane’s four-part “A Love Supreme” suite.
“Acknowledgement” weaves fragments of Coltrane’s famous saxophone solos into a
dynamic matrix of energy and rhythm; “Pursuance” chases its theme through
locomotive hard-bop improv and thick, dissonant orchestration; “Psalm” caps the
suite with blistering free-form sawing and droning textures, then ties the whole
thing together with the undulating four-note melody that began the suite. The
four expert musicians of the Turtle Island Quartet don’t just cover the great
saxophonist on A Love Supreme: The Legacy Of John Coltrane. They
transform his music, and in turn let it transform them.
|
Listen to all sound clips from this CD |
|
|
|
|
Buy this CD |
p.s. Sober for 18 years today!!
Time for some funny pictures, I say!!
That’s it for now-hope you enjoyed these!
Will have more as time goes on!!
Have a super Monday!
I love you!!
Coven
With the flow
of each dawning day
I grow some more
and want to say (hurray!)
I stretch, I yearn
Spirit guide me
in turn
Blessed be, Blessed be
Moon rises slowly
the aura of light
the orb transcends
throughout the night
The magic tree
waves out its arms
and hugs me close
so no one harms
The Goddess and God
are with me now
praising them fully
giving them a bow
Draw up a circle
and enter within
dance and sing
and fellowship begin!
I love you!!
And harm ye none…
How about some music?!
Music for the Native AmericansFans of 1960s artists like Bob Dylan and Neil Young know Robbie
Robertson as a charismatic singer-guitarist who brought his Canadian–Native
American roots to bear on some of that decade’s best music as leader of the
Band. Originally recorded for a TV special, Robertson’s inspiring and worthy
Music for the Native Americans, brings the warm, flowing good feeling of
that decade to bear on the current world-beat sensibility, and the result is a
perfect hybrid of soulful rock and authentic Native American feel. Robertson is
able to keep both fires blazing, and when they merge into one it’s a glorious
bonfire.
Robertson’s lyrics work to capture the heart of the Native
American tradition, as on the rousing “Ghost Dance”: “You can kill my body / You
can damn my soul / I’m not believing in your god / And some world down below.
You don’t stand a chance against my prayers / You don’t stand a chance/ Against
my love.” The vocals are a mélange of backup echoes, chants, and a beautiful mix
of Native American percussion styles and pop-rock trimmings. You could hide this
song in a mix CD of classic rock and have it never be noticed as a Native
American-themed song. Robertson’s production for each track is
immaculate—perfectly toned but warm and inviting. Take his blissful guitar solo
for “The Vanishing Breed” for example: Close your eyes and you can imagine a
glorious meeting of the tribes between Woodstock and Navajo nations.
Robertson doesn’t really sing, but he supplies some great spoken-word
narration as on the haunting “Twisted Hair,” which features an operatic
female-backup vocal, crickets, flowing water. Guest vocalists like Rita Coolidge
join in for feel-good affairs like “Cherokee Morning Song,” while “Ancestor
Song” features authentic-sounding dance with chants and drums and no electronic
adornment. It’s real and exciting. This is clearly a labor of love for Robertson
and his gathered ensemble. Love and awe pour out of every note: “Come on,
Cherokee / Come on, Sioux / We shall live again.” You’ll believe it, and you’ll
bask in its beauty.
|
Listen to all sound clips from this CD |
|
|
|
|
Buy this CD |
Some more?!!
Karla Bonoff
Karla
Bonoff
1977
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff emerged from
the same clear-eyed, post-psychedelic ’60s musical scene as artists like James
Taylor and Jackson Browne. In fact, prior to the release of her 1977 debut,
Bonoff had seen a number of her compositions cut by Linda Ronstadt, another
member of this Southern California scene. Compared to Ronstadt (a gifted
interpreter), Bonoff was a songwriter through and through, and her self-titled
debut presents a remarkable collection of spare, effective, self-penned
confessionals. Her style remains refreshingly simple: She constructs catchy,
breezy pop-rock melodies and graces them with lyrics of honest emotion.
Listening to Karla Bonoff is a comforting, rewarding, and low-key affair,
as if one were simply sitting down on a warm afternoon and chatting with a
friend.
The album begins with a lonely, dancing piano, which leads into
the song “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me.” With a clear, unadorned vocal style,
Bonoff touchingly describes a woman in the city, searching for companionship:
“Here you are, all alone in the city / Where’s the one that you took to your
side? / Lonely faces will stare through your eyes / In the night.” The song has
a gentle touch with bluesy guitar ringing between the lines, but it builds to a
powerful crunching chorus. In “Home,” which was covered by Bonnie Raitt, Bonoff
sings in rich harmony over sparkling acoustic guitar and warm piano: “Traveling
at night / The headlights were bright / And we’d been up many an hour / And all
through my brain / Came the refrain / Of home and its warming fire.”
One
of the finest songs on the disc—and a highlight of Bonoff’s career—is the deeply
felt “Falling Star.” Here the singer summons all her compositional strength,
constructing a melody that arcs and crests like the star of its title. Again she
beautifully describes the pain and insularity of a lonely night: “And the clock
strikes midnight / And I’m lying here alone / I can’t sleep, I hear my heartbeat
/ Oh, I can’t stand the monotone.” Throughout this wonderful disc, Bonoff
manages to express private experiences with a generous openness of heart. Her
words and melodies are smart, sharp, and inspiring.
|
Listen to all sound clips from this CD |
|
|
|
|
Buy this CD |
Will be busy doing laundry and housework and bill-paying today,
no way beating around the bush will get it all done-besides
it feels good accomplishing something.
Many of you have asked how I am doing…
I am feeling stronger every day, and have
come to a radical acceptance, as far as
Toto’s death. I feel good and life is good!!
I feel centered and full of hope, that life
is as good as I make it. Before I get
accused of too many cliches, let me say that
it’s tough when you lose someone, but your life continues.
It can continue in pain, or joy, it is
our choice. I choose to not be in a rut,
and to carry my head high, with a new
zest for my own life.
~Oops, brb-got to put clothes in dryer…
That done, I have more to say…
I am so grateful for each and everyone of you,
that comes by and reads me, I have a sense of
great friendship, and true caring here.
When times have been rough, you have been there,
and when times are good, your responses are so
care-filled!
Thanks to all for making me comfortable here,
I wish I could give everyone a big hug,
in thankfulness!!
Resounding with echoes
a life once lived
with nary any self-care
but a devotion to others.
Music blared
and the bass pounded
voices rising
in harmony
Faith was Rasta
with a little of more
the reggae, a devotion
to the divine
Emotions in check
a tip of the hat
save a waif
then on your way
Loving was easy
to this perilous man
he neglected himself
in the temptation of drink
His legacy will live on
in the words of hundreds
his music explodes
and the beat goes on…
What? She’s doing a survey?
1. Crap your internet crashed, what are you going to do next?
Try to fix it….if I can’t, then call my younger brother
2. Have you ever pierced something the old fashion way with a needle?
No
3. It’s Friday night, who are you usually with?
Me, myself and I
4. Ever eaten an entire thing of frosting?
YUP
5. Would you want Spongebob as your friend?
I don’t know…I like Mighty Mouse
6. Last person you slept next to?
Does my cat count? NO? Then Toto
7. Do you own any cassettes?
Yes, a lot
8. Have you read To Kill A Mockingbird?
Long time ago, good book
9. Weirdest dream you’ve ever had?
I don’t remember most of my dreams
10. Have you ever been in a police car?.
Yes…twice
11. What instrument would you like to learn? No, but my daughter does, drives me nuts… 17. Ever order anything from the tv? 18. What was so much fun about Hot Wheels?
Guitar
12. Were you ever a safety patrol in elementary school?
Yes, it was self-affirming
13. Did you used to watch Hey Arnold?
Sometimes
14. Ever have had a water balloon fight?
Yes
15. Do you like dodgeball?
Used to
16. Do you crack your knuckles?
Yes
I put a Porsche in a friend’s garage and told him I bought him a new car
19. Are you supposed to be doing anything?
Housework
20. What are you listening to?
Bird chirping
21. Are you tired?
No, got a great sleep
22. What are you up to next weekend?
No idea, I’m not much for planning ahead
23. Left or Right foot?
Who cares?
24. Can you write with both hands?
Yes
25. Did you ever watch the Kid’s Choice Awards?
No
26. Most random thing in your room?
My light box
27. Do you own a karaoke machine? No way! 28. Ever see the Saw movies?
No way!
29. Do you get cold sores a lot?
No
30. Close your eyes, turn around, count to ten and open your eyes, what do you see?
Bird cage, stereo and some mess
31. Did you actually do #30?
Yes
32. Ever cheat on someone?
Sort of…
33. Ever talk back to a teacher?
I felt like it, but did it, under my breath
34. Chapstick or Lipgloss?
Lipgloss, definitely–hate that waxy stuff
35. Do you buy stuff at Bath and Body Works?
Sometimes, when I can afford it…
36. What time do you get up for work?
I don’t work
37. Last time you got poison ivy?
Umpty-ump years ago
38. Ever go to a tanning bed?
Yes, but not anymore
39. What is below you?
The second floor in apt. bldg.
40. What pet do you wish you had?
I have two cats, and a bird-that’s all I wish for
41. Would you want to live in Alaska?
I don’t think so
42. Your best friend just called from another country, what country is it?
My best friend lives in Denver
43. Rain or Snow?
Ooh, the lesser of two evils–I don’t know-rain is kind of depressing, but I am sick of snow
44. Do you deep condition your hair?
Sometimes
45. Did you go to pre school?
Yes
46. Last movie you watched at home?
Click
47. Where do you want to go to college?
I don’t want to go to college 48. Don’t think about gluesticks.
OK
49. What are you thinking about?
This silly survey
50. Did you just ask yourself, ‘wtf is with the gluestick?’
Nope
I love you!!
Recent Comments