” . . . but Tuesday’s Just As Bad.”
This past weekend, NPR’s “All Things Considered” had an excellent segment on Texas Blues great, T-Bone Walker — specifically on his song, “They Call It Stormy Monday,” which was recently named to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. Blues and Rock ‘n Roll guitar players owe so much to this man. Here’s a link to NPR’s “Sounds of American Culture.”
kenne
(Photo from RollingStone)
Images by kenne
“I believe in taking one picture of one picture.”
— William Eggleston
This week I read an article on the current Whitney Museum of American Art exhibit of William Eggleston* photos, entitled, Democratic Camera. Considered by people as one of America’s most celebrated photographers, “Through snapshot moments, Eggleston has captured and continues to capture a time and a place so concretely and with such a depth of clarity and visual skill that few can argue with his place among the greats of photography.” You can learn more about this current art exhibit by clicking here.
As you can see, I’m using this entry on Eggleston to share a few of my own “organic” photos. (See Photo Set)
kenne
“My Lady” — Computer Art by kenne
Mask
what secrets does
she hide
behind her face
of stone
knowing she is
not real
see the phony look
distant stare
a lonely pretender
hiding doubt
having given up
the search
now her life is
a fake
she accepts it
only to
exaggerate
false truths
still unable to
look straight
into my eyes
tears drop
kenne
Sign of The Times
Noting that among all the McCain/Palin signs in the neighborhood there were a few Obama/Biden signs, Jim and Amanda decided to have an election party for the Democratic “yardsigners.” What a great idea! An opportunity to meet some of our like-minded neighbors, having wine and cheese, while sharing our thoughts and hopes as the election results reshaped the US electoral map.
She will sit and stare at charts on CNN.
(But aren’t we redeemed by what they cannot show?
The struggle in each restless heart to know
The terms on which the nation’s fate depends.)
She will think how, at last, millions have spoken as one,
That freedom requires an open mind and hand,
And the strength to be forgiven and understand,
And that tomorrow morning it has all just begun.
— From “Election Day,” by J. D. McClatchy
Read what people are saying about the election of Barack Obama.
kenne
Birth of a new day
Yesterdays are history
Tomorrows are now
kenne
On this historical Election Day, my heart is filled with the challenge of hope, let countered with a feeling of terror. Even though the polls show Obama with a sizable lead, I remain cognoscente of the last two presidential elections.
We voted a week ago at our nearby library. After taking care of some business, I will spend part of the day reading blogs on election experiences around the country, then this evening we will attend an election evening get-together with fellow Democratic yardsigners. Yes, there are a handful of us in Copperknoll. In the above photo, we are the Obama sign surrounded by McCain signs.
Share your election day experiences. Leave a comment.
kenne
Robert Shetterly has painted a collection of “Americans Who Tell The Truth.“ I just learned about Robert because one of his portraits is that of Studs Terkel. Each painting includes a quote. The Studs quote is:
“Perhaps it is this specter that most haunts working men and women: the planned obsolescence of people that is of a piece with the planned obsolescence of the things they make. Or sell. It is perhaps this fear of no longer being needed in a world of needless things that most clearly spells out the unnaturalness, the surreality of much that is called work today.”
In his “Artist’s Statement,” Shetterly writes: De Toqueville said, “America is great because it is good. When it ceases to be good, it will cease to be great.” A democracy, whose leaders and media do not try to tell the people the truth, is a democracy in name only. If the consent of voters is gained through fear and lies, America is neither good nor great. Nor is it America.” He goes on to say,
“The more I’ve learned about American history — past and present — the more people I’ve discovered whom I want to honor in this way. The paintings will not be for sale. They will stay together as a group. The courage of these individuals needs to remain a part of a great tradition, a united effort in respect for the truth. Eventually, I will give the portraits to one museum or library on the condition that they continue to be shown. These people form the well from which we must draw our future.”
Learn more about this remarkable collection at:
http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/
kenne
Talking Heads Succumb To Group Thought
Over the past decade, we have made several trips to southern California to visit family. One of the things that routinely stood out was the volume of home construction and the skyrocketing prices. Anyone with a little bit of judgment could see that this “bubble,” like the technology bubble, had to burst – it was only a matter of time. But, where were the experts? The information was there. The data was there. Why weren’t the conditions for an economic crisis observable by the “talking heads”? Why was something so obvious to “Mr. Sensible”?
Armed with less information, antidotal at best, Mr. Sensible has learned to trust his intuitive instincts, making observations (and decisions) based on accumulated experiences that his mind is processing – just at a different level. Roy Rowan writes, “This feeling, this little whisper from deep inside your brain, may contain far more information — both facts and impressions — than you’re likely to obtain from hours of analysis.” Most experts (talking heads) have gained their titles by accepting certain prevailing thoughts, which by its very nature takes on a form of group thought. Irving Janis pointed out in the early seventies how a group of experts could make mistakes because of being preoccupied with their relevance and effectiveness. Such thought neglects intuition, which involves too much risk, the very reason experts succumb to group thought. Experts who dare may lose their titles — God forbid!
It’s essential to listen to the logic of experts, but only while listening to your heart. Successful decisions come to those who dare. “Qui audet adipiscitur!”
kenne
P.S. “Opinion is like a pendulum and obeys the same law. If it goes past the centre of gravity on one side, it must go a like distance on the other; and it is only after a certain time that it finds the true point at which it can remain at rest.” — Arthur Schopenhauer
“You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round . . . . . The Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours . . . . Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.”
— Black Elk, Oglala Sioux Holy Man, 1863-1950
kenne
“Take It Easy, But Take It”
If you were to put everything that is Chicago, it’s people, music and places, into one person, that person would be Studs Terkel.
To know Studs Terkel
You must walk in his stories
Then you know people
kenne
“Walk On The Wild Side”
In the world of finance, the month of October is rarely a good month and this past October didn’t do anything to change historical expectation. As an article in the New York Times put it, “The wildest month in the history of Wall Street ended on Halloween with both scary and thrilling price movements.” The title of the article, “A Monthlong Walk on the Wildest Side of the Stock Market,” brought to mind Lou Reed’s early ‘70s song, “Walk On The Wild Side.” The song refers to a different “wild side,” yet when it comes to risk some of the lyrics apply:
Little Joe never once gave it away
Everybody had to pay and pay
A hustle here and a hustle there
New York city is the place where they said:
Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side
I said hey Joe, take a walk on the wild side
October’s walk on Wall Street had no “Sugar Plum Fairy,” yet it was important to not lose your head and just “take a walk on the wild side,” doo doo doo, doo…
kenne
A place to start
look at you,
kenne g
you have taken
multi-tasking to a felt
you need to be
more focused
uncomplicated
this is what they tell me
information is good
opinion
music
poetry
photo art
all are good
but, you are inexorable
demurred, I say
I do what I do
because I can
maybe you can’t,
you’re the problem
not me
all things are connected
not an isolated island
I choose to stay linked
open secret places
plant seeds
harvest thoughts
bucket ideas
but, you discard mind droppings
I mix and match
generating energy
to form inspiration
feel the heat
see the stream
it’s all shit
the shit shits
creating food
for tomorrow’s ideas
powering the music
stand up and dance
when I’m not here
there will be a place to start
but, you can add to my pile
— kenne
Share this:
Like this: