Sunday, March 24, 2024

"Wanderer" by Angelo De Augustine

Wow, this is slowly squeezing my heart..."Wanderer" by Angelo De Augustine.


Wanderer
Just like a song
That's been rubbed out above your left arm
Full of light
Eager eyes
For the adventure of a lifetime

She's on the run
Who you running from?
It can't be me cause I'm no one
Turtle dove
Carried my love
And left it on the moon to shine

I'll try
My best to find some peace of mind
But the light fades to black
And you don't know where the exit is at

Wanderer
Labyrinthine fern
Planted in your dilated mind
Evil talk
Heaven above
Protect her in her darkest night



https://angelodeaugustine.com/

Saturday, March 23, 2024

"Some Type Of Skin" by Aurora

Aurora sings the big, anthemic "Some Type Of Skin" in which she realizes she must build a way to protect herself. As someone who lives life on the verge of tears because, well *looks all around at the whole world, pointing to it all*, I too often need some extra skin so the storms and stress can't penetrate. Or at least can't get as far in. Because, MY GOD IT'S A LOT.


Hit me hard where I am soft
Should my heart reveal itself to be
More than a muscle
Or a fist covered in blood
However much it feels to bleed
It's only temporary
We're good people and we both deserve peace
(Peace)

My God! It's a lot
(I build some type of skin)
(I've got to build some type of skin)
My God! It's a lot
(I build some type of skin)
(I've got to build some type of skin)

I guess I should build some type of skin
And let breath bе air
And love the things I know might disappear
And thе last light of the sun (Sun)
I let it slow me down
I'll crawl where everybody runs
We're good people
And we deserve peace
It's difficult, it seems

My God! It's a lot
(I build some type of skin)
(I've got to build some type of skin)
My God! It's a lot
(I build some type of skin)
My God!
(I've got to build some type of skin)
My God! It's a lot
(I build some type of skin)
(I've got to build some type of skin)
It's a lot
It's a lot
My God! It's a lot
It's a lot, a lot to me
To me


https://www.aurora-music.com

Thursday, March 21, 2024

"Andrew" by Ben Platt

Here is the beautiful, touching song "Andrew" by Ben Platt. The innocence, the yearning, the naïveté, the heartbreak. It is weightier for us. For so many reasons. Even with more acceptance and changes in attitudes toward LGBTQ+ issues... it is still different.


His hair falls in cool careless waves without trying
Goes days without crying
But still treats me kind
And it's not his fault, all the sleep I've been losing
The way that I'm ruined

One look in his eyes and I'm gone
Helplessly dumb
My senses go numb
My brain is on fire
They say wanting someone is supposed to be fun
That's because they never loved an Andrew

Honey, I know there's no one to blame
But honestly, damn you
It's just a cruel joke that chemicals play
You don't wanna kiss me, 'cause I'm not at all
Likе the girls in the posters that hang on your wall
What a timе wasting heartbreak to fall
For an Andrew
Oh-oh-oh

He floats through the air unaware of the damage
A hard right of passage for soft-hearted boys
He smiles like a friend, puts his hand on my shoulder
If I can't get closer, then I am destroyed

And I'm gone
Helplessly dumb
My senses go numb
My brain is on fire
They just can't understand why it hurts me so bad
That's because they've never had an Andrew

Honey, I know there's no one to blame
But honestly, damn you
It's just a cruel joke that chemicals play
You don't wanna kiss me, 'cause I'm not at all
Like the girls in the posters that hang on your wall
What a time wasting heartbreak to fall
For an Andrew

What a time wasting, sweet happiness-taking
Self-esteem, mess-making
Heart-breaking shame
Wanna hold your hand, and be more of a man
Like your world falls apart for me or stays the same
'Cause you're
Andrew

Honey, I know there's no one to blame
But honestly, damn you
It's just a cruel joke that chemicals play
You don't wanna kiss me, 'cause I'm not at all
Like the girls in the posters that hang on your wall
Wish that I'd never met you at all
Sorry, Andrew
Oh-oh-oh


https://www.benplattmusic.com/

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Jan Vogelpoel

Australian sculptor Jan Vogelpoel works in clay to realize some fantastic biomorphic forms. She says she is inspired both by Japanese and Mid-Century Modern design. In addition to sculptures, she also creates lighting, vases, framed wall tiles, and in the last two images below, multi-piece relief wall sculptures.


Pieces are for sale! Visit her website.
https://www.janvogelpoelceramics.com/

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Happy Spring Equinox 2024!

Happy Spring Equinox!


At 8:06 P.M. Pacific time, it is the first day of spring. The day and night are of equal length...perfect symmetry.

St. Joseph's Bread 2024

I come from a large Italian family. My great grandmother arrived in the United States on the SS Europa in 1910 to marry a man whose family came from the same village she just left. By the time I came along in 1964, she lived with her son and daughter-in-law and as you can imagine, was already quite old and hard of hearing (a problem that runs in our family). When I visited, she would be sitting at an enormous oak table in the front room, a soap opera blasting from the television, playing solitaire. Although she spoke English, she retained a very heavy Italian accent and would lapse into Italian whenever she was excited or frustrated. And I never saw her in anything but plain black or dark dresses, the kind…well, the kind immigrant women wore in the twenties.

She was of course a Roman Catholic and brought with her all sorts of feast days, observations, and traditions. But the most delicious feast day for us was that of Saint Joseph. There is a special kind of bread that is baked only on this day, Saint Joseph’s Bread or Panne di San Guiseppe. It is tender and sumptuous, more like cake but not sweet, more on the savory side. It was a treat everyone in the family looked forward to all year. I don’t know how many loaves my great grandmother would make but every family got one--she would bake all day and then walk to each home to deliver them in person...so today is the feast day of St. Joseph, the day when she would have delivered these treats.

Anise seed (a very traditional Italian spice that shows up in many national and regional dishes) is what gives this bread a subtle taste. Some traditional recipes call for the addition of golden raisins, but I will say that my great-grandmother never added them. While I am in no way religious (although I am a mystic at heart, which is very different!), I still enjoy this delicious bread.

St. Joseph's Day Bread

5 lb. flour
2 Tbs. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tbs. baking powder
2 tbs. anise seed
Combine these ingredients in a large bowl
Work in 1 1/4 cups vegetable shortening

In another bowl combine:
4 1/2 cups warm water
3 pkgs. of yeast or 3 tbs. of yeast
Dissolve yeast in warm water
Add 5 eggs, beaten

Add liquid ingredients to flour and shortening mixture. Mix well and knead on floured surface. Place in greased bowl and allow to rise until double in size. Punch down and let rise another hour.

Shape into small round loaves (should yield around 5), and let rise for 30 minutes. Traditionally, the loaves were small and could be made in the shape of a cross, bambino (baby), heart, beard, crown, or staff in honor St. Joseph.

Brush loaves with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame and poppy seeds. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

3.17.24

I'll have a boxty and a Guinness...

Top to bottom: St. Mary's Old Parish graveyard, Cahir, Ireland; Roadside sign, Cahir, Ireland; Ben Bulben mountain from Drumcliffe, Ireland; St. Columba's Church, Drumcliffe, Ireland; grave of W.B. Yeats, St. Columba's Church, Drumcliffe, Ireland; Giant's Causeway sign, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; Giant's Causeway sign, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; Giant's Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; basalt columns at Giant's Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

All photos above by JEF


"Belfast Child" by Simple Minds

When my love said to me
Meet me down by the gallow tree
For it's sad news I bring
About this old town and all that it's suffering
Some say troubles abound
Some day soon they're gonna pull the old town down
One day we'll return here
When the Belfast Child sings again

Brothers, sisters, where are you now?
As I look for you right through the crowd
All my life here I've spent
With my faith in God, and Church, and the Government
But there's sadness abound
Some day soon they're gonna pull the old town down

One day we'll return here
When the Belfast Child sings again
When the Belfast Child sings again

So come back Billy, won't you come on home?
Come back Mary, you've been away so long
The streets are empty, and your mother's gone
The girls are crying, it's been oh so long
And your father's calling, come on home
Won't you come on home, won't you come on home?

Come back people, you've been gone a while
And the war is raging through the Emerald Isle
That's flesh and blood man, that's flesh and blood
All the girls are crying but all's not lost

The streets are empty, the streets are cold
Won't you come on home, won't you come on home?

The streets are empty

Life goes on

One day we'll return here
When the Belfast Child sings again
When the Belfast Child sings again



http://www.discoverireland.com/us/

http://www.simpleminds.com

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Even More Collage...2024

Regular readers may recall that during the pandemic, I spent some of my downtime creating a lot of new art work including a series of collages previously seen here, here, here, and here. I was recently inspired to revisit this technique but this time with a few different goals. I wanted to work with texture, color, and shape alone, and not try to create anything representational like my prior works. I wanted to leave white space around each composition. I wanted to assemble each composition very, very quickly, using instinct, without overthinking or fussing too much with placement--since I had all the pieces pre-cut, I spent about an average of a minute or so on each one, just grabbing what seemed right. Even the titles came quickly, in just a few seconds--I chose simple, one-word titles and not the narrative titles I used in previous collage pieces. Goals met! I found it a fun way to kickstart creativity.


Top to bottom: Union; Ticket; Farm; Mycelium; Kingdom; Tectonic

Friday, March 15, 2024

BEAUTY: Interior Design--Pierce and Ward

Singular and stellar design firm Pierce & Ward worked with homeowner and star of "The Big Bang Theory" Johnny Galecki to place his lifetime collection of antiques and objects into a wonderful context in his home in Nashville. They created a labyrinthine home that is part antique, part retro (20s, 30's 40's, punctuated with a few elements and accessories from the 60s and 70s), part Alice In Wonderland, and part Dark Nostalgia. The result is an unexpected and fascinating mélange--and their use of wallcovering is unparalleled. I would love to tour Galecki's home and take time to absorb each room and tableau, to ask after the history and story of each piece...


https://pierceandward.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sanctionedjohnnygalecki/