BUM BUM...and a very Happy New Year to you, too!

I was just thinking of this priceless video from the early 80's by Trio  -- remember those artsy German guys?? Anna was always a great fave, but BUM BUM was a close second. For some reason this vid always made me think of New Year's Eve.  Nothing says Happy New Year like chopped wood and balloons flyin' around.  I swear I knew a skinhead from New York who looked just like Stephan and chewed gum like that while trying to look uber cool.  Ah, good times.  Have a safe, fab New Year's Eve and here's to a brilliant, healthy, creative new year for us all x0x0x0x

Rest well, dear Helen x0x0x

"Every canvas is a journey all its own..." ~ Helen Frankenthaler
  

Thank you for reminding us that it's never too late to follow our artistic passions and bliss.

  

Helen Frankenthaler -- Magic Carpet, 1964
(96 X 68 inches
Acrylic on Canvas)

As we watch the winter slumber around us....

Such a sweet song and a gorgeous reminder x0x0x0x

A Tom Waits Xmas carol.....

Such a classic.  Hope all is well with you and yours x0x0x0x

My absolute favorite version of Ave Maria...EVER.

Does anyone else remember a 1960's/70's era Christmas compilation album that had a batch of rad Xmas songs and carols with this supreme version of Ave Maria by Leontyne Price and the Men and Boys Choir of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in NYC???  I swear it was by RCA -- I can just see the yellow/gold mid section of the album spinning around my old, small portable hard plastic "suitcase" record player.  I'm really confused about the cover -- I remember there was a close-up of either a little kid reaching for a shiny glass ornament on a lit Xmas tree...or maybe it was a big stylized sort of mod ornament on the cover?? Or an illustration of people ice skating on a pond while festooned Xmas decor was everywhere??  I wish I could remember.  Sadly, my mom's cool Xmas albums are long, long gone, but it warms my heart to see this on YouTube.  I used to play this song over....and over....and over.  My mom totally understood because she adored Leontyne's other operatic works.  My dad....not so much.  Her voice hits such an emotional cord.  The sound of her voice projecting and filling the hall...and then the graceful moment when the Men and Boys Choir finally join in.  It's like a magical breath and such graceful pacing. So simple and so powerful.  Truly a classic.

Here's hoping everyone is having drama-free holidaze ahead.  If you need a little pick-me-up...look and listen...or close your eyes and put the world on hold for the next several minutes.

PS......... I still wish she had been cast in DIVA.  Goddess help us if someone suddenly gets the idea to remake that wonderful film, too.  

Cesária Évora...Sodade

 Ciao, bella.  Rest well x0x0x0x0x

     

 **Here is another one of my favorite songs -- it was such a sweet love letter to her homeland:

http://youtu.be/TJKF21vy6lY

                                                                                                                    

 

Christmas Ghosts

Can't quite believe we're watching the year end. I'm not really feeling any joyous, holiday vibes right now. So much happening...and so much has happened. Happy solstice or whatever holidaze you feel close to. Be safe, be well and be happy. Let's raise a toast to the ghosts of the friends we lost last year....

Here's to you dear Poly. Miss you dearly, chica 0x0x0x0

Remember.....It's Just A Ride

Happy Birthday, Bill. We need you now more than ever. See you on the next ride x0x0x

God's Away On Business...BUSINESS.

Here's to a mighty special man who entered this world today in 1949. I've loved him ever since I watched him on The Mike Douglas Show way back when. Those curls. That hat. Those fingers. That voice. For as much as I was falling deeper and deeper in love with punk rock, I was totally fascinated by the music he was creating and the depth of his character. What do people say about wine getting better with age?? Not a lot of musicians and singers fall in-line with that analogy...but Tom is definitely one of them. We are so blessed to have him here.

This is seriously one of my favorite Tom Waits songs...and one of the coolest, creative music videos I love.

*And here's another fave from an old Letterman show -- perfect slice of what his live shows have been like all these years: http://youtu.be/1wfamPW3Eaw

I'm in the mood for some Lumpy Gravy...

I still remember that day in 1993. It was so sad to see him go, but his wisdom burns as bright today as it ever did when he was here. This segment on the record industry and Mtv was and still IS so right on. Rest well, Frank. We'll see you again down the road -- thanks for the warning about the yellow snow x0x0x

*Remember the time he and Mike            
  Nesmith goofed around on The   
  Monkees??  So classic:   
  http://youtu.be/RgNxuNaYHsk

*And here's some insanity for insanity's sake thanks to Ahmet (I don't think I will EVER be able to get the image of his hips wiggling in his classic Tom Jones imitation out of my head) and Dweezil Zappa...and the mighty John Tesh: http://youtu.be/8k8yL1AXhsI

What are you doing on December 1st??

Reach out...

Connect...

• Stay educated and mindful of what's happening with new rates of infection (particularly among young queer African-American and Latino men and straight African-American women), drugs therapies and alternative/integrative health options.

•  Never lose sight of how far things have come....and how much further things need to progress towards a cure (and if you know any loved ones who like to "party -n- play", share needles or prefer to bare-back instead of wearing condoms, feel especially empowered to give them some extra loud extreme wisdom and love). 

• Here's to all of the survivors and loved ones who are still standing tall 20 plus years later in the face of this evil epidemic....

• Never forget those amazing, beloved souls we've lost.....x0x0x0

*Looking for something to do or how to get involved?
Check out these links.....

http://blog.aids.gov/2011/10/ready-to-join-us-in-facing-aids-for-world-aids-day-2011.html

http://aids.gov/awareness-days/

http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/2011/11/unaids-world-aids-day-report-2011/

http://www.worldaidsday.org/

Reflections on Greedy Friday....

Seriously???? 

People shoved?

Trampled?

Punched?

Tasered?

Shot?

Pepper-sprayed?

Over a bunch of plastic, silicon and wires??

Over clothes and shoes sewn by children and women in Asian sweatshops?

Over toys that will be tossed aside by New Year's Day 2012?

Over electronics and other distracting doo-dads that will be obsolete in a year or so and ripe for yet another pricey upgrade? 

[This shit passed the boundaries of capitalist insanity a long, looooooong time ago, but it's times like this when I can almost hear the laughter of the aliens many people believe are monitoring our planet -- I can't help but picture the 2 one-eyed, tentacled guys from The Simpsons...drooling and laughing maniacally....while another silver-haired grandmother tackles a 15 year old for a flashy $500 electronic gadget.  Beam me up, Scotty]

http://news.yahoo.com/much-crazier-black-friday-221456950.html

Happy Unthanksgiving Day

Never stop learning the lessons of the past and how deeply the threads knot into how things are in the present.  Never forget the power that just one person can have to inspire change.  What are you thankful for today?

Creative thought for the week.....

"Everything is so dangerous that nothing is really very frightening." ~ Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein -- by Pablo Picasso, 1905–6

    

 

 

It's November 20th...Do you know what this day is??

For some it may be all about football...others may be starting to enter Xmas shopping madness.  But every year in November, there's a special day of remembrance for transgender murder victims.  In this year alone over 200 transgender women and men were brutally murdered and cast aside like trash.  If you have any loved ones who are transgender, reach out and let them know how much you love and respect their presence in your life.  Take a stand against hateful remarks and jokes people around you may say about transgender women and men.  Never forget that silence equals consent.

*Check out this article in the Advocate and the link to the Transgender Day of Remembrance website honoring the many beautiful souls who are missing from this world:

• http://www.advocate.com/News/News_Features/In_Memoriam_2011s_Transgender_Murder_Victims/

• http://www.transgenderdor.org/?page_id=1663

The west coast Pope of Punk.....

Hilly had the east coast covered with CBGB's....and Dirk Dirksen definitely had things covered out here in San Francisco. He helped give so many punk bands a literal stage to find their legs and define themselves. I'm grateful for the chances I had to travel out here from Chicago in the 80's and check out punk shows at The Mab and On Broadway. There was really something powerful happening.

We miss you  x0x0

Creative thought for the weekend....

" Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace." ~ Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

Harriet Tubman

Annie Mae Pictou Aquash

Oscar Romero

Rigoberta Menchú Tum -- photo by Rino Bianchi

Leymah Gbowee -- photo by Michael Angelo

                                         

                                                                        

Powerful thoughts from Audre Lorde...for today...tomorrow...and eternity....

 "It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." ~ Audre Lorde

Audre in 1980 -- by K. Kendall

"The learning process is something you can incite, literally incite, like a riot."

"There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt."

"If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive."   

Rest well, dear sister x0x0x

Creative thought for the week.....

"Chance is always powerful.  Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it there will be a fish." ~ Ovid

Los Dias de Los Muertos.....

Remember....

Reconnect...

Honor....

Celebrate...

By eddpriest

By SLEfotos

By mrshmllw

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Happy Halloween, kiddies.  Do you remember where you were when you first heard this theme?? I remember going to see John Carpenter's Halloween when it first opened in 1978 with my friend Angie.  We thought we were sooo tough. We held on to each other for dear life as these opening credits rolled.  I still say Carpenter's original films are the best.  Have a safe and happy Halloween weekend x0x0

One year ago today.....

Miss you dearly, chica. Rest well. We'll see you again down the road  x0x0x

1979 -- were we ever that young???

Some loving wisdom for the week.....

"When an attractive but aloof man comes along, there are some of us who offer to shine his shoes with our underpants." ~ Lynda Barry

(and YES, fab ladyboys and beloved guy friends, this wisdom applies to YOU, too, in your search for "Mr. Right" x0x0)
                                                            
 

Lynda Barry -- self-portrait

  

Creative thought for today...tomorrow...and forever....

Everything is impermanent.....

 

                                                 

Theirry Noir's graffiti at the old Berlin Wall

    

                                                                                                      

 

....So get out there and create something.

WRITE something.

SING something.

DRAW something.

PAINT something.

SAY something.
DREAM of something.

FEEL something.

STAND for something. 

[Thanks, Liz.  You made my day :o)]