The Blues On Campus (Lone Star College, Montgomery – 02/19/03) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
“The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits.
It’s better keeping the roots alive,
because it means better fruits from now on.
The blues are the roots of all American music.
As long as American music survives, so will the blues.”
The Cowboy Loss — Image by kenne
Losing is only temporary and not all encompassing.
You must simply study it, learn from it,
and try hard not to lose the same way again.
Then you must have the self-control to forget about it.
— John Wooden
View from the Top, Near Barnum Rock On Mt. Lemmon (10/05/12) — Image by kenne
Joy With Her Man In Memphis (01/22/10) — Image by kenne
– Elvis Presley
La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Tucson Rodeo (2/17/13) — Image by kenne
— Steve Toltz
I’ve been spending more time going back through my blog posting during this time of COVID-19. This is a posting from January 2010 that still rings true today in so many ways. It was a time when we lost two great American writers, Howard Zenn and J. D. Salinger, as today we mourn Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s death. Whether we like it or not, the human condition remains much the same. — kenne
Much has happened since going to Memphis to attend the International Blues Challenge. For starters, the NY Times Travel section was two weeks late in providing a good article, “Roll Over, Elvis. Meet Indie Memphis.” We now know we missed a lot.
While in Memphis, the US Supreme Court decision involving the Fair Elections Now Act works against the continued corporate takeover of our government. Are corporations evil? No! Neither are the people who work within their controlling environments. However, with the Supreme Court’s recent decision, it is becoming even more convincing that we need to redesign a poorly designed invention of our culture (corporations). I know this will not be an easy task since most of us products of the corporate mentality and lifestyle. Still, if we value the mystery and categories of human enterprise, we must find ways to level the playing field. It is important to remember that there is nothing more unequal than the equal…
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Cloud Ripples At Sunset — Image by kenne
— Gary Snyder
Nice Dress — Image by kenne
— kenne
When I heard of the death of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, I experienced a rush of thoughts from the past, most filled with memories of conversations my brother Tom would have — poetry, literature, music. There’s a line from a 2005 Los Angeles Times interview I love and have paraphrased many a time before and after he said: “I think the real poetry today is with music. Bob Dylan was a real poet. There’s the poetry of folk singers, bluegrass, and country-western. Rap poets are more alienated from society than the Beat poets ever were and they have a lot to say.” My brother would agree and so too would Frank Hudson. The world is indeed a beautiful place because of Lawrence Ferlinghetti. — kenne
Some people live so long as to make time and its boundaried eras seem a foggy measure. Such a man was Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the American poet, painter, and bookstore owner who predates and post-dates the Beat poetry scene — or for that matter the Hippie scene, and our century’s activist eras and its search for peace and justice. If you are a fan of generational short-hand (I’m not) you will notice that every one of those eras was widely denounceable as impractical, delusional, and in most ways inferior to those that came before that.
Perhaps I should remind all that Ferlinghetti was 101 years old, and would have been 102 next month. That means: he knew the Roaring Twenties and whatever we have begun in these Twenties. To any of you XYZ believers, that means he was a member of the Greatest Generation. This man, Ferlinghetti, attached philosophically during the…
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I like this poem, however, overcoming inertia is not a problem with which I live. I always keep busy, sometimes just reading or listening to music. Maybe I should write a poem, “How to Overcome Drive.” — kenne
How to Overcome Inertia
by Betsy Mars
Set an alarm. Don’t hit snooze.
Set more alarms
at fifteen minute intervals.
Let your phone fall beneath the bed
where it can’t easily be silenced.
You have to reach to quiet it.
Doze off while thinking
of ways to overcome your inertia.
Encourage the cat to sleep on your bladder.
Remember you are nothing
if not productive.
Forget the bird beyond the pane
unaware of your watching.
Feel the urgency of days and news
forever passing without observing.
Scroll your mind’s endless listing
awaiting scratching. Check
your time, just existing.
IMAGE:Still Life with Sleeper by Henri Matisse (1940).
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I thought about what I have gotten really good at during the pandemic and came up with the obvious answer: inertia! Of course, while practicing inertia so effectively, it was difficult to write. And then how to describe the…
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Looking back seven years ago, hiking the Hidden Pasture Trail on the Rincon Mountains’ east side. — kenne
Panorama Views On The Hidden Pasture Trail In The Little Rincon Mountains by kenne
Images by kenne
There’s a special place on the east side of the Rincon Mountains,named “Happy Valley.”
A primitive road goes past ranches as the terrain and vegetation evolve, creating a picturesque kaleidoscope of nature’s beauty.
The road slowly narrows with several curves lined with large cottonwoods, oaks, and sycamore trees, forming a belt along a fence-line above the trees.
On a previous trip into Happy Valley, we had identified a lone railroad post as a marker on the fence above a grove of trees where we could leave our car. Approaching the marker-post, we hiked the fence-line up through waist-high thorny bushes till reaching the gate to the Hidden Pasture Trail. Located in the Little Rincon Mountains, the trail slowly leads us through a maze of beautiful rock formations and scenic views.
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Saguaros In the Morning Haze (02-04-13) — Image by kenne
— kenne
Eastern Bluebird — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Mexican Poppies Along The Phoneline Trail In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Mexican Poppy and Desert Lupine Wildflowers Along The Phoneline Trail — Image by kenne
Most Sonoran desert wildflowers are annuals, which are short-lived even when there’s timely rain. Sabino Canyon has had no rain since December 20th. Oddly enough, limited rain and a short lifespan helps ensure survival in the desert. With the lack of rain and warmer than normal temperatures the annuals have been quickly sprouting and blowing before the dryness and heat kills the plant.
kenne
— William Blake
Anna B Savage — Source: Music&Riots
London-based singer-songwriter has completed a new project,”A Common Turn.”
In Clash Magazine, Jamie Wilde begins her review:
“Michelle Obama once said that to “dare to be vulnerable”
is to break down barriers and show others who you really are.
With Anna B Savage, this quote can be applied explicitly throughout her
tenderly captivating and embracingly
vulnerable debut album ‘A Common Turn’.”
An artist brave enough to show vulnerability . . .
Here’s a link to the full album — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpymbnIc1YY
