Quote for the coming weekend…

Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to fashion.  Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.

  ~ Franz Kafka

New Arizona immigration law – the real agenda

A couple of days ago I heard the great investigative reporter Greg Palast being interviewed on the radio.  He theorizes that the real reason behind the Arizona show-me-your-papers law is not to stop illegals from crossing the border, or even kicking them out.  The real reason, says Greg, is to discourage, impede or outright prevent Hispanic CITIZENS from going to the polls in Arizona elections.  Here is his recent article on the subject, which should be required reading for everyone.  As I heard another pundit say yesterday: “ There are going to be an awful lot of ‘reasonable cause’ stops of citizens who look Hispanic made on election day in Arizona when those people are on their way to vote.  Gee, a lot of them may never make it.”  (Or they will never even set out for the polls for fear of being stopped and humiliated/hassled even though they are legitimate registered voters).

Palast’s theory makes complete sense to me, and it is scary.  As the white, rightwing base shrinks father and farther into minority status, they are going to figure out every possible way they can to keep the “people of color” majority from voting and having their votes counted.  Even now the white, rightwing base simply cannot accept the fact that there is a black man in the white house.  To them, elections that do not go their way don’t mean a thing.

~ Tom

Obama playing the hand he was dealt

From “day one” I have been saying that President Obama is making the best out of a very bad situation that he inherited.  I have read many pundits who point out that when the Republican are in power their “MO” is to completely ignore the best interests of the country and the planet and literally rape the country and the planet to lavish obscene profits and spoils upon the very wealthy and corporations.  Because this irresponsible course is no more than a giant Ponzi scheme, it is always inevitable that the whole thing will come crashing down.  The anger and frustration of the people who lose everything in the Ponzi scheme results in Democrats getting elected.  But then the Republicans try to blame all of the misfortune on the new leader, and even if most of the people don’t buy it, the leader still faces a giant pile of manure in his oval office.  He has a choice of trying to shovel it all out immediately (by definition impossible) or shoveling out enough of it to clear off his desk and a workspace around it so that he can enact laws and strategies that will allow him to eventually bring a bulldozer in to clean it all out.

That choice, and the President’s facing of it is well described in this article from the Washington Post.

 

Check out Pomplamoose

Surfing around on the Net I just discovered Pomplamoose.  I am pretty much in awe of the music they are making and the way they are doing it.  You can read about them here.

But more importantly you can listen and watch here.  Aside from putting together the clever, winsome arrangements and playing all of the instruments, they are doing an amazing job of audio engineering and video composition.  Having dabbled in the audio side I know how difficult it is.  Don’t miss their cover of Mr. Sandman.  And oh ya, I’m in love with Nataly. 

“big change with small actions…”

Check out this article concerning yet another of scores of positive changes the Obama administration has been implementing. Of course you will never hear or see a story about these quiet successes on Fox News, but that is to be expected. What is perplexing is why we see little, if any, reporting of these mini-triumphs in the mainstream media.

Some killer B&W photographs

I think I mentioned my photography background in a previous post.  Thus, suffice it to say that I know a little about the subject, especially shooting in black and white, developing negatives, and making prints in a good darkroom.  It goes without saying that I am always interested in new photos in the black and white milieu.   This morning I was surfing around and found this collection of 17 photos by Juha Arvid Helminen. 

This work blew me away.  First, the set pieces and costumes are insanely arresting, but the photography is truly inspired (and inspiring!).  Look at the use of light and shadow and appreciate how the blacks seem even deeper than they are.  Then pay attention to the textures of various materials and objects.  Every one of the photos is a masterpiece, but I keep coming back to “Faith II” – it is so simple but oh so complicated.  Great stuff.

~ Tom

My Foolish Heart

I was surfing the Net today and ran across this listing of the “Top Ten Jazz Standards.” It’s very cool because you can actually see and hear each tune by clicking on the start arrow. Enjoy.

I think a lot of the selections would fall in my list (if I were to take the time and thought to put one together), but I know for sure that these list-makers left out one of my absolute favorites: “My Foolish Heart.” I first fell in love with the song on hearing it on Bill Evans’ great, great, great album, “Waltz For Debby.” That album was recorded in 1961 when I was still in high school. I literally wore out my first copy and bought another later.

Later, I heard a vocal version (sorry I can’t remember who was singing it) and was impressed by the lyrics, which only enhanced the incomparable greatness of this tune. Here are the lyrics:

(N.Washington, V.Young)
The night is like a lovely tune, beware my foolish heart!
How white the ever constant moon, take care, my foolish heart!
There's a line between love and fascination,
That's hard to see on an evening such as this,
For they give the very same sensation.
When you are lost in the passion of a kiss.
Your lips are much too close to mine, beware my foolish heart!
But should our eager lips combine, then let the fire start.
For this time it isn't fascination, or a dream that will fade and fall apart,
It's love this time, it's love, my foolish heart!

There are several nice Bill Evans versions on YouTube, which actually feature video of him and the trio. But the definitive Bill Evans version for me is the one I feel in love with.

There are also tons of vocal recordings, (but not that many on YouTube) most of which are terrific, but you can’t go wrong with Tony Bennett’s version with Bill Evans himself.

post script: I got a bit choked up putting this post together. It brought back a lot of memories. I miss Bill a whole lot.

Winter is hanging on here in California

We were up at the Tahoe place on Friday and Saturday.  On Friday I strapped on my snowshoes and took my dog out for a hike in snow.  We found a place to cross the creek, and then hiked around by what is a big meadow in the summer.  On the way back home, we got stranded on the other side of the creek and had to trek an extra distance to find a place to ford – we didn’t mind because it was just great to be out in the snow.  Here are a couple of pictures to show you how beautiful it was.

Looking out at the big meadow …

Confronting the creek ahead!

We skied on Saturday and we were going to ski today (Sunday) but the weather forecast was for a huge winter storm to come in (1 – 2 feet of new snow, with 100 mph winds on the ridge tops!!) so we drove home yesterday. 

At the moment, the storm has hit Alameda in the form of rain and wind.  This whole season is a good indicator of why it is unfortunate that the term “global warming” got coined, when the proper term is “climate change.”  It’s still winter here in California, while in the Northeast it has reached 92 degrees recently as recounted by my friend Michael Lally.  Go figure.

Whoa! This is trippy…

Time for a little fun.  Check this out and then click on “Next” in the upper left corner.   Keep going until you get back to the starting image – there is much to enjoy.

~ Tom

April snow!

Just a quick post before we leave for a day of skiing at Squaw Valley.  It has snowed here the last few days and now we have 12-18 inches of new snow.  It is supposed to snow more today.

We are heading back to Alameda this afternoon after skiing.  I’ll catch up with you all tomorrow.

Cheers,

~ Tom