Friday, July 08, 2016

PEACE TO ALL SENTIENT BEINGS

Summer’s here but the living’s not easy
Humidity abates here and there,
The air’s pretty hazy
Time’s Square still sleazy
Closed public seating there
Get all our food – from who knows where
When I think about it, get scared
Easy times are rare
Life’s very unfair
Especially for animals on factory farms
Want us to think our meat’s here by charm
Nothing’s very clear
If we were to witness animals' suffering,
Their atmosphere, no space, no air,
Living in their excrement
How many of us could bear
The suffering, does anyone care?
I sit here in my chair waiting
For the rain to come to clean
Dirty city air
Wild horses corralled
by helicopters in the air
Taken to slaughterhouses in Mexico
Denied food or water, hundreds of thousands
By our inhumane society and made into dog food
Marilyn Monroe, a humanist through and through
Exposed this in her last film, the Misfits, in 1961
Look it up online at American Wild Horse Preservation
Trying to deal with so much cruelty
Horrors, animals’ torment
The world’s not what it’s meant to be
Take a deep breath,
Ask who cares?
How do us humans dare?


Words From Great Minds To Remember:

“A righteous man regards the life of animals” – PROVERBS 12:10; 

“If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion & pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men” – ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI; 

“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” – MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.;

“I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs…(They) are an obligation put on us, a responsibility we have no rights to neglect, nor to violate by cruelty….” – JAMES HARRIOT; 

“The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” – MAHATMA GANDHI


PEACE TO ALL SENTIENT BEINGS

Summer’s here but the living’s not easy
Humidity abates here and there,
The air’s pretty hazy
Time’s Square still sleazy
Closed public seating there
Get all our food – from who knows where
When I think about it, get scared
Easy times are rare
Life’s very unfair
Especially for animals on factory farms
Want us to think our meat’s here by charm
Nothing’s very clear
If we were to witness animal’s suffering,
Their atmosphere, no space, no air,
Living in their excrement
How many of us could bear
The suffering, does anyone care?
I sit here in my chair waiting
For the rain to come to clean
Dirty city air
While wild horses corralled
by helicopters in the air
Taken to slaughterhouses in Mexico
Denied food or water, hundreds of thousands
By our inhumane society and made into dog food
Marilyn Monroe, a humanist through and through
Exposed this in her last film, the Misfits, in 1961
Look it up online at American Wild Horse Preservation
Trying to deal with so much cruelty
Horrors, animals’ torment
The world’s not what it’s meant to be
Take a deep breath,
Ask who cares?
How do us humans dare?

Wednesday, July 06, 2016

THREE SHORT POEMS

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

He’s either a Cancer, a Capricorn or a Scorpio
Maybe just a sociopath
He’s a different sort of guy who
Perfectly jells with your alter ego’s abilities
He acts as though they have a spell upon each other
People in love
He’s a doctor or a lawyer, a newspaper man
A news feature writer, a painter
His words are smooth
Easy to see he’s telling the truth
Handsome, winsome,
Irresistible, he’s made for you and me

PHOTO OF THE CHILD YOU WERE

I see the little boy inside your eyes
Hidden away from prying eyes
Longing to be freed
A little boy hurt inside
Longing for a pinned on Sherriff’s star
You want to get back to where you used to be
To your red knit hoodie
Your favorite to wear as a little boy
Soft brown eyes shine through
The dichotomy of your discontent
Sherriff’s pin emblazoned
on your little boy’s red hoodie

The he you see isn’t the he inside

I AM THE MUSIC IN ME

Everyday I reinvent
Myself to discover who I am
I used to be somebody
Now I’m someone else
Lost inside my own mind
I’m coming through
Got a message in a bottle
I knit, crochet, & do macramé,
I nurture cats, plants, people, and money
I don’t play music to create
My heart beats with the music in me




Tuesday, July 05, 2016

busy busy busy

It's unbelievable that one can spend so much time writing reviews but I do on Amazon. I take photos of items I'm reviewing and post them along with my reviews. http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2HOPYNO8PMUHP?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_your_profile

It's kind of nice but gets a bit crazy. I get a lot of items that my friends beg me for, like friends of mine who have teenage daughters love the makeup brush sets I get which are generally worth about 20 to 30 bucks.

I'm a little off centered but wanted to post some photos from the park and from my reviews and other stuff.

All of the photos of items are items I received free in exchange for unbiased reviews at Amazon. It kind of surprised me when it happened. How it happened is that an online friend told me that I should review every item I purchase at Amazon and that then I'd probably get chosen by various sellers as a reviewer. And this is exactly what happened!






food scale I received for review.

bluetooth headphone I received to be used with iPad, iPod, or phone. 


Add caption

collapsible colander - I love this items - what a space saver for us folks living in small apartments. 





plastic utensils look like the real thing - silver with designs!




Lexis Grover from Outpatient Asylum performing.
Alexandra Roth's artwork


Sunday, June 19, 2016

Art in the Garden


Outpatient Asylum Vocalist Lexis Grover and I in front of Alice C. Hunsberger's Mosaics.


I've been so busy running to and fro and trying, as usual, to do several things as well which does usually work out for me. I'm like Lil' Ms. Muffitt, and I have too many things going on at once to focus on anyone. For example, this second I am also writing a review of Kafaya Quadri, a Nigerian musician and lyricist as well as trying to write here in this blog and at the same time, writing a text about Quadri to another musician who is interested in knowing more about her, plus opening mail and downloading photos to put here for our "Art in the Ring Garden" this year.

This year was very different for me at the Ring's Garden annual Art and Performance Show at the Ring Garden.

It was different because no one came from Manhattan Times and they usually have in the past, especially when Mike Fitelson was on board with them. It was the same in that Arthur Sherry also takes care of the sound set and performers.

It was also different because I fell in charge of organizing the artistic side - which meant doing all the flyers which were not properly distributed, no blame here, we were listed as a feature in the Annual Art Stroll event. It was also different because this was the first time in ages that I was responsible for introducing our performers. I was really happy to do this and enjoyed introducing our performers.

Also different because my good buddy, Demetrius Daniel, was out of town attending his uncle's funeral, plus Fred Arcoleo who usually performs, was out of town attending his niece's graduation.

Different because this year's art show showed new blood. For example, A two-piece band showed up called Out Patient Asylum and performed a short set for us. We also had artists there who'd never been there before, like photog, Aliza Frazier, wonderful and unique artist Chrystal Romero, artist and graphic designer, Alexandra Roth, (who was a blessing and helped me with the programs and printing), two truly amazing mosaics workers, Alice C. Hunsberger & Anina Klein, Artist Frank Barrett plus Calligraphy and hand style writer Dubblex.  We also had return artists, Gunther Bechofer and Marc Soliman who were kind enough to show up without any notice.

Early on in our performances, a special spotlight was with the performances by the Graham 2 Dance Performers and the Virginie Mecene Dance Program that was absolutely breathtaking. They danced to perfectly timed music that even my 2-year-old grandson loved and danced to.

It was a totally amazing day even with not having my good pal Demetrius Daniel there.

Dubblex and I also performed together in the afternoon, as a team, as usual. I was very pleased to have Helmi Pucinco on acoustic guitar and Arthur on electric guitar join me along with Dubblex on melodica.

Johnny Mandolin showed up later and played Italian Mandolin for our pleasure.

We were happy to end our day with the appearance of Carlo Baldo, who is a return performer, poet, and writer.

Next time I have to remember sunblock and a hat.

Here are some photos of our wonderful day.




Saturday, June 04, 2016

Muhammad Ali, who riveted the world as 'The Greatest,' dies

Muhammad Ali, who riveted the world as 'The Greatest,' dies


Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee. I don't think there was anyone from my era who didn't love this man for his poetry and his quick wit. I never liked sports but I always watched him spout his rhymes and enjoyed his braggadocio. I remember not being able to take my eyes off the TV when Ali would be on before a fight talking his talk. He is the greatest. He knew how to love and forgive and he loved George Forman too in later years. Ali was an inspiration! God rest his soul.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee

The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see!" 


"I'm so mean I make medicine sick."


I don’t believe there was anyone from my era who didn’t love this man for his poetry and quick wit. I, who never liked watching sports, enjoyed watching this man spout out his rhymes relishing his braggadocio. His magnetism aroused something in most people, even captivated sportscaster, Howard Cosell. I remember not being able to take my eyes off the TV when Ali would be on, before a fight, talking his talk. Ali will always hold a special place in the world for his antics, his beliefs, his soul and his personality. 

Ali is the greatest. He knew how to love and forgive and he loved George Forman too in later years. Ali was an inspiration! God rest his soul.

Dead at 74 years old, after suffering with Parkinson's for many years, Ali accomplished many great things, including a personal visit to Saddam Hussain, where he convinced Saddam to let 15 American hostages go home along with Ali. He also refused to fight in the war and charges were brought against him for this. Ali said he had nothing against those Viet Cong! Later he was exonerated from these charges and permitted to fight again. Ali proceeded to fight and won back his title again. 

He was an amazing man and humanitarian which many people don't know! Ali received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bush and the Presidential Citizens Medal from Clinton honoring Ali's social activism and activism for peace, and for being the most celebrated boxer in history. Ali will be remembered for being the "greatest" as well as for his promoting peace faithfully until the end! 

I celebrate a life well lived!



Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee. I don't think there was anyone from my era who didn't love this man for his poetry and his quick wit. I never liked sports but I always watched him spout his rhymes and enjoyed his braggadocio. I remember not being able to take my eyes off the TV when Ali would be on before a fight talking his talk. He is the greatest. He knew how to love and forgive and he loved George Forman too in later years. Ali was an inspiration! God rest his soul.



Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee. I don't think there was anyone from my era who didn't love this man for his poetry and his quick wit. I never liked sports but I always watched him spout his rhymes and enjoyed his braggadocio. I remember not being able to take my eyes off the TV when Ali would be on before a fight talking his talk. He is the greatest. He knew how to love and forgive and he loved George Forman too in later years. Ali was an inspiration! God rest his soul.





Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee. I don't think there was anyone from my era who didn't love this man for his poetry and his quick wit. I never liked sports but I always watched him spout his rhymes and enjoyed his braggadocio. I remember not being able to take my eyes off the TV when Ali would be on before a fight talking his talk. He is the greatest. He knew how to love and forgive and he loved George Forman too in later years. Ali was an inspiration! God rest his soul.