I'm really feeling this song today...

Dear, brilliant Nina. One of my absolute favorite songs. This is such a beautiful video tribute to her.  The horn section and strings combined with the power of her voice shake me to my soul.

A reality check on tattoo reality shows

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Dear Amy....

So young with so many possibilities. It's beyond a shame. A part of me held a bit of hope for her...to see her grow older and finally find her footing on a straight, sober path. I definitely have my issues about the wave of Brit girls doing their versions of "classic soul" over the past decade -- while African-American singers doing the same style of "classic soul" have been horribly over-looked, particularly Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (there's a sad irony that the Dap-Kings were the band who sat-in with Amy on the Back to Black album and helped her score such a phenomenal record). In my eyes, Amy was lightyears away from Joss, Adele, Duffy and the like. There was a depth and sharp emotional edge to her voice, no doubt because her art was truly imitating her life, but also because the deeply entrenched musical background she had in jazz, blues and soul.

With all of the awful, brutal performance vids that have been circulating about her lately from her most recent difficulties during her last tour several weeks ago, the video below is one of my absolute favorite live performances she did several years ago of a song I really loved from the Back to Black album -- it's the title song. The entire album was very well done, thanks again in huge part to the Dap-Kings, but Amy really seemed to find herself...much more than what she did on Frank. I know so many people really jammed to Rehab and laughed a lot at her for how closely her life shadowed the song, but, for me, the title song, Back to Black, along with You Know I'm No Good, Love is A Losing Game and Tears Dry On Their Own were my favorite songs on the album. They touched real chords for me and made me take notice of her voice. I mean, here was this little Brit girl singing these deeply soulful songs fit for seasoned, mature soul singers twice her age. This kid really had a gift.

Rest well, Amy. I hope you find the peace you deserved in this life and never ever have to struggle again with the demons you battled here xOxOx

Some old wisdom from Studs in the face of all the political and media insanity we're witnessing...

"You've got to remember to question the official truth..." 
~ Studs Terkel

I used to see him riding the bus a lot in Chicago (I think it was both the 147 and the 145).  Just reading his paper or a book like any regular Joe.  Almost always wearing his sweet blue sportscoat and red gingham shirt, and always with a wink and a smile.

 

In that great old red gingham shirt

Firing up the masses at Bughouse Square in Chicago

This world is really missing your incredible wisdom and perspective. Rest well x0x0x

   

Click for a great comprehensive list of his books: http://timeoutchicago.com/things-to-do/59240/studs-by-the-book

If you say a word often enough....

"If you say a word often enough....it becomes you..." (author unknown)

nigger

ghetto

stupid
savage
broken

dumb

ugly
unwanted

ho

slut

bitch
lazy 
damaged
scum

worthless
hopeless 
drunk
crazy
junkie
unwanted
trash  

Here's to us anomalies and noticable nobodies...

The actor and dancer, Thandie Newton, recently gave a powerful TED lecture on the self. This really hits a deep chord for those of us with mixed racial backgrounds. It's a breath of fresh air and opens a dialogue for those who tend to judge others by skin color and physical appearance.

Check it out:

Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself | Video on TED.com

Creative thoughts for the week....

"A musician must make music....An artist must paint...a poet must write, if she/he is to be at peace with herself/himself.  What a woman/man can be, she/he must be..."  ~ Abraham Maslow

 

“Hate and force cannot be in just a part of the world without having an effect on the rest of it.”

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

~Eleanor Roosevelt

More lost history and forgotten truths...

This is a great interview Amy Goodman recently did with John Sayles on the Democracy Now! tv and radio program. He has a new film out about the American war/occupation in the Philippines (Amigo) as well as an epic novel combining hugely neglected portions of US and world history (A Moment in the Sun). Brilliant stuff. Many truths that have been hidden and never taught. So many crucial pieces of the past that help explain why things are the way they are in our troubled present.  It's time they see the light of day.

Click for the entire interview on Democracy Now!:

"A Moment in the Sun": An Extended Interview with Independent Filmmaker, Author John Sayles

Um...Social Security...and Medicare....???????????

Hmmmm....what is the mark of a civil, strong, incredible society to you??

Priorities concerned with spending trillions on weapons of war, fighting multiple wars and being more concerned for the affairs of corporations and satisfying the wealthy???

Or is it insane to think a civil, strong, incredible society would actually dare to be concerned for its most vulnerable citizens????????  What THE FUCK is this insane tug-of-war over Social Security and Medicare???  Oh....wait....did I miss the memo or some official tweet??  Now I remember....I'm among the insane ones who think that it makes more sense to tax the wealthy citizenry of this country and make the corporate vultures and greedy banks pay up rather than pound the hell out of the poor, disabled, elderly, homeless and disadvantaged citizens of this country (and you'd better believe I'm including military vets in that esteemed company, as well).   Yup....we're the dippy hippies and crazy, liberal anarcho/punk radicals for thinking such things.  Who are these people living SSI/SSDI paycheck-to-paycheck with Medicare as their only insurance??  Living on foodstamps and facing frequent decisions to choose whether to pay for their meds versus buying food versus which utility/etc. bill to pay for the month??  Suuuuure...go ahead and skip sending their August check (and fuck the rest of the year while you're at it!) -- they'll rebound!  Hell, it might just force your lazy 75 year old upstairs neighbor and the bipolar schizoid woman next door to go back to work a job or two -- who was it who once called that "uniquely American??"  What the hell was I thinking??? 

Click if you haven't already seen the latest installment of this absolute political clusterfuck:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-cannot-guarantee-benefits-checks-paid-debt-deal-183025203.html

I can't separate Audrey Hepburn from Mickey Rooney's "Mr. Yunioshi"

I'm reposting this link from a great old post on Gather.com about the horrifically racist Mr. Yunioshi character in Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was posted a few years ago by a very insightful writer (Gil Asakawa) and, in light of the much-ballyhooed 50th anniversary of the Breakfast at Tiffany's film now being released on Blu-ray in a few months, it definitely still hits the mark. I remember going to see this film with a friend (who happened to be Chinese) when we were in our late teens/early college years. We were so curious to see it after hearing all of the fawning and chatter about Hepburn's character and the New York setting. And when we were finally there, amidst the illuminated pale faces gazing up at the screen, we looked at each other in horror as people all around us began to laugh at the antics of Rooney's portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi. It was just as bad as watching Gone With the Wind and Butterfly McQueen's stereotyped maid role...or the slew of other buffoonish minstrel roles played by blacks in old and present day Hollywood. My friend wanted to disappear and crawl from the theatre. It was a very painful night. And it worsened when a number of asshole guys we knew mimicked Yunioshi at her -- bad teeth, glasses and all -- and did stereotypical "ching-chongy" routines day after day after day. 

I was in a conversation with several people recently and this film came up. All of them, several white women and one white male, cooed and glowed about the movie sharing their favorite scenes, dialogue and especially snickering about Rooney's Yunioshi. When I looked at them utterly baffled and asked the question of whether or not they'd consider the fact that his portrayal was a glaring racist stereotype, can you guess the phrase they tossed back at me?? It wasn't racist, it was a comedy -- you're being too politically correct. Seriously??? Since when is having cultural sensitivity and compassion a BAD thing???? Why is it lately whenever I run into white/anglo folks tossing the politically correct label around, it's always about issues like multicultural studies in schools, objections to racist stereotypes and attention being called to accepting ethnic/religious/sexual/etc. diversity??

Click for the insightful post from Gather.com:

I can't separate Audrey Hepburn from "Mr. Yunioshi"

Happy Birthday, Tura x0x0x

This world is definitely missing her amazing spirit, but her inspiring, powerful story lives on. She was truly an amazing survivor and one of the fiercest pussycats around. If you don't know her story, you should learn it. 

This is a video interview with her back in 2008 along with other great B movie bits:

Here's a great snippett of her classic role as Varla in Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! I still remember how I felt seeing this flick as a kid in the 70's. While so many other little girls dreamed of being Laura Ingalls and Marcia Brady, Tura's tough-talking-karate-choppin' Varla was one of my heroes: 

http://youtu.be/zktang91b4Y

Dare to give a damn about what's happening right outside your door....and KEEP giving a damn.

Today is Kitty Genovese's birthday.  She would've been 76 years old today.  Maybe still living a loving, committed relationship with her partner, Mary Ann...with grown children of their own...and loving grandchildren...or at least a crowd of beloved friends and other loved ones who cared for her as deeply as any of us care for the loved ones around us.  But on March 13, 1964 her future was violently ripped away from her as she was stabbed and raped near her apartment on her way home from her late shift at work.  A very large number of witnesses (some said it was 38 people) heard her calls for help tucked away inside their safe apartments...but no one responded to her screams.  Not one.

Dare to care about the community you're living in.  Whether it's an apartment building in a densely populated big city or homes in the far-flung suburbs and rural areas, dare to give a damn and get to know the people living near/around you.  Fear, racism, xenophobia and ignorance have a mighty hold on our society that gets worse every day.  It's too easy to sink back behind our burglar bars and security doors and turn the tv or computer volume up to drown out the life around us.  As Kitty's case unfolded, there was no shortage of racist bigots who tried to use her murder as a wedge to keep blacks and whites divided and perpetuating the ideas of wild black men on the loose to rape and kill delicate, white women.  Men of ALL races commit violence, rape and murder against women of every race.  They did in Kitty's time and they STILL do today.  Many people still sink back in the quiet shadows when they see crimes being committed or hear screams outside their windows.  Dare to be different.  Dare to care.  Get to know your neighbors and dare to speak up when you see something bad happening.  Honor Kitty's memory and dare to care about the people in your community and the quality of life around you.

Kitty Genovese

Happy Birthday, Frida x0x0x

"I am not sick.  I am broken.  But I am happy as long as I can paint."

"I paint my own reality.  The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration."

"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best."

"I hope the leaving is joyful, and I hope never to return."

Sun and Life -- 1947

A message for Cy Twombly...

Thank you for the inspiration and wisdom.  Rest well x0x0x

Twombly in his Houston gallery

from his Roses exhibit

Landscape -- 1951

Leda and The Swan -- 1963

Pan II -- 1980

Happy Birthday, Poly x0x0x

You're still so sorely missed, luv, but you deserve to dance in the light.  Rest well, chica.  We'll see you again.

This vid is from an interview she did about the tracks on her last album, Generation Indigo, that was released in March before her death.  It's a great, inspired album...full of her wisdom and day-glo energy.

Thoughts for this July 4th weekend (and every year, for that matter)....

It's hard for me to watch all the frothing red, white and blue nuttiness every year.  Flapping plastic flags on everything in sight...hotdogs, apple pies, Uncle Sam caricatures and all the Rah-Rah, USA, we'll-kick-your-ass-any-day fervor charging the air.  Ever since I was a kid, I have always felt so disconnected from it all.  And no matter how old I become, I can't help but think of  what my own American Indian and African ancestors were going through as this nation was being "founded."  "All men are created equal" was far from the true phrase it should've been in the Declaration of Independence.  And then there are always those troubling racist phrases like "merciless Indian savages" in the Declaration of Independence and referring to African slaves and their descendants as "three-fifths" of a human being in the Constitution.  And women of any race didn't have a welcoming spot at the table yet, either.

I remember reading the Declaration of Independence and Constitution as a child and wondering why there were such brutal contradictions.  I never felt like those pieces of paper had much to do with me.  I didn't feel like jumping on top of a table and waiving a flag or singing patriotic songs. Those divisive, racist statements hit hard like my father's fists.  I remember the first experiences with racism I had as a little kid from a predominantly black parochial city school traveling to the far-flung suburbs of Chicago to visit another parochial school for performances and competitions.  I'll never forget the first time I heard the words "nigger" or "red nigger" aimed directly at me coming from the mouths of the white kids in front of me.  It was the early 1970's and things were still very stilted and segregated in many suburban areas where "white flight" had been the order of the day as more blacks, American Indians and Latinos had settled into Chicago neighborhoods which had once been all-white enclaves.  And now all these decades later, it still floors me to see the racism and inequities that still happily flourish in the times we're living in.  And the blissful ignorance knows no bounds -- or racial barriers.

You know what else I can't stop thinking of???  I moved to New Orleans over 10 years ago and first lived with a cousin in an area outside the city called Metairie before moving into my own place in New Orleans.  If you've never heard of it, one of its claims to fame was being the residence of a renowned white nationalist/supremacist and klansman and electing him to state office in the early 90's.  He was actually running for Louisiana's First Congressional District when I arrived in 1999.  I still remember the sickening lump in my stomach as my friends and I drove past the "Welcome to New Orleans" highway sign and saw one of his large campaign signs directly alongside it.  And when we finally hit the city limits of Metairie, there were "stars n' bars" confederate flags dotting lawn after lawn after lawn after lawn....and a massive confederate flag draped across the rooftop of some store or business that was all-too-visible from an Expressway off-ramp.  Absolute madness.  I felt like I'd walked into an episode of the Twilight Zone...or off a Freedom Riders bus in 1961. And people wonder why I get pissed when I see clueless people walking around town with "rebel flag" belt buckles, shirts and other crap who are completely ignorant of what that flag means to blacks who fought hard against jim crow and segregation as well as the white racists and other southern folks who hold the fervent belief that "the south will rise again."

From the beginning, this troubled train was off its center.  Flooded with lies, greed and the blood of genocides.  And now here we all stand as descendants inheriting some majorly dysfunctional, corrupt legacies.  We need to make sense of the madness we're living in.  All of us have a stake in how to get this train on the right tracks and where its journey will go -- ALL of us...every color...every gender....all sexualities...all economic classes, abilities, ethnic origins, religions, etc.  have a part to play.