It’s ELECTION DAY: Time to Cast Your VOTE
Four years ago on election day, I was sure I would go to bed and awake with Hillary Clinton elected as our next president.
artwork by J. Bjork, an Ojai artist
After all she won the popular vote by three million– THREE MILLION MORE people voted for Hillary Clinton than the guy who defeated her via electoral college and became the 45th US President. Read more…
It’s time for Dias de Los Muertos.
A time when the veil between this world and the next thins, and the spirits of those who have gone before us come back to visit. Check out this poem I wrote about an epiphany I had on Dia de Los Muertos.
A very apt day for MusiKaravan to release a new video where they play a Danse Macabre. Read more…
Happy Halloween! Happy Blue Moon! Happy Bloggoversary to Me!
Halloween scene by the chicken coup at the Bees Knees in between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo in Los Osos
Today is Halloween. It’s also a full moon all over the world, and a blue moon here which means two full moons in one month.
And it’s the night of the TIME CHANGE.
scene by the chicken coup at the Bees Knees in Los Osos
Why is that important, except to remind you you get to sleep in an extra hour and spend that time changing clocks? (And that 2020 didn’t need an extra hour? And no I didn’t go to a Halloween Party because of COVID?)
The night of the Time Change is important to me because that’s when I started blogging Read more…
Let’s ROCK-Y the #VOTE! It’s just a jump to the LEFT — and NOT a step to the right!
It’s astounding… time is fleeting… and the 2020 election is here! Check out Mayor Pete and Senator Warren doing the Time Warp along with Jack Black.
That’s right, in this cover of “Time Warp” written by Richard O’Brien with Special Thanks To Lou Adler, Jack Black and Kyle Gass sing with special guests like Senator Elizabeth Warren and Susan Sarandon — who was in the original Rocky Horror Picture Show— plus: Read more…
A Chance Encounter with Diane di Prima (RIP 1934-2020)
Left to themselves people
grow their hair.
Left to themselves they
take off their shoes.
Left to themselves they make love
sleep easily
share blankets, dope & children
they are not lazy or afraid
they plant seeds, they smile, they
speak to one another. The word
coming into its own: touch of love;
on the brain, the ear.
–Diane di Prima
She shared this poem in the film, The Last Waltz, which you can watch below: Read more…
In a new video out yesterday, October 13, Don Winslow teams up with Bruce Springsteen, who recently celebrated a birthday. Read more…
MusiKaravan Visits Ventura County
“Hello Gwendolyn! This is Etienne. We are two violinists traveling and performing for employees of organic farms and wineries,” read the text.
Friends of mine told Etienne I helped harvest grapes at Clos des Amis Winery on South Mountain above Santa Paula in Ventura County’s Heritage Valley.
“Maybe we could join too, play, capture some images? We make videos of our encounters and about the craft and life of the artisans we meet.”
Valerie Kaur: “The heart is a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.”
Mother Teresa says that if we look at all that we have to do, at the mass of it all, we will be overwhelmed and never act. Instead, “Begin With The One,” she advises. Find the one thing, the one step, the one persons, and focus your energy there.
Valerie Kaur “In See No Stranger” says “The heart is a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.” Read more from Valerie Kaur here.
So what will you focus on? How will you use your heart? Here’s what I’ve been up to.
World Blind Wine Tasting Challenge 2020: And the winner is…
On this day last year, I woke in the Loire Valley, France. We were staying in an Air B n B that snuggled up to a limestone cave. In fact the kitchen was IN the cave. Our accommodations, a two story structure, adjoined the cave.
And there was a hot tub where I soaked and drank my tea on that misty morning. The night before, we enjoyed oysters and a pet nat.
From there, we visited Vouvray’s Vincent Careme, a master of Chenin blanc wether still, sparkling, or sweet, and after lunch at Chateau du Pray, a Michelin starred restaurant also built into a limestone cave, we arrived at Chateau Chambord, possibly the most impressive castle in France, if not of Europe.
Just outside of Chateau Chambord were our next accommodations. This is the view from my bed:
And why was I in the Loire staying at a Chateau? Read more…
art predator 