This post right here is quite a milestone: it marks 1800 posts here on Art Predator. With each one averaging 1000 words, that adds up to 1,800,000 or more total, right? And when you add the pages, well that’s about 2 million words! Wow!
If 100,000 words equals a 400 page book, then that means I’ve written the equivalent of 18-20 books since I started this blog back in November 2007 nearly ten years ago. That’s quite a lot.
Thank you for being a reader and a subscriber: for taking this journey with me as I’ve been on the prowl for that which engages the whole soul… from Burning Man to ecopsychology to politics to environmental problem solving and more. Read more…
Over 3 Million March for Justice: Now what?
I am one of those who couldn’t believe that the America I know and love could elect Donald Trump as President.
I am one of those who voted for someone else, someone who won the popular vote by more than 3 million but lost the electoral vote.
I am also one of the over three million or more women, men, and children around the world who marched on Saturday, January 21, 2017 for women’s rights and justice for all.
Today I’m left with the reality that right now,
we’re in a fight for democracy.
On The End of the World As I Know It… and how to make a pussy hat!
Every four years the citizens of the United States chooses who will lead the country. It is a somewhat convoluted process of registering to vote, then actually being able to vote, followed by having those votes counted, then the winner of each state sends electors to actually select the winner who is then forwarded to Congress who seals the deal. At the end of it all, someone is inaugurated on January 20.
President Obama by Diane Bennett
In 2016, as everyone on the planet must know by now, former First Lady and Former Secretary pf State Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million over businessman and reality star Donald Trump. But because DT won more electoral votes in an election that has been called into question because of Russian influence, DT will be put in office tomorrow, and we will say good bye to President Obama.
Eight years ago was a cause of celebration in this house. My son asked to stay home from school so we could watch the inauguration together. We celebrated four years ago as well when we each wore these “The New Groove” shirts with Obama on them.
Tomorrow we are not celebrating.
We are mourning.
I was just minding my own business one day last year when I noticed Coachella was trending on twitter. So being the nosy person that I am, I went to see what was happening –and next thing you know
I GOT TWO TICKETS FOR COACHELLA!
And now that the line-up was announced yesterday and
RADIOHEAD
is headlining on Friday night, I am so excited!
And more tickets went on sale TODAY January 4 at 11am!
To celebrate, KCRW DJ Jason Bentley dug deep into the line-up with Randall Roberts from the LA Times. So beyond RADIOHEAD and BEYONCE, who is playing? And who should you go see? Read more…
Say goodbye to 2016 and to all of those “stars” we lost and do it in cosmic style by gazing skyward where you might catch a falling star to wish on and see a comet too while listening to “star” songs from videos by
- Maurice White of Earth Wind and Fire
- Prince,
- Bowie,
- Leonard Cohen,
- and believe it or not, The Muppets (in Star Wars regalia!)
while toasting them with sparkling wine on Sparkling Wine Day! All this and more below!
(Some ideas on which sparklers and what to pair them with here in the post “Around the World in Bubbles on Sparkling Wine Day New Year’s Eve”).
RIP 2016: you left us broken hearted
- RIP author Judith Ortiz Cofer 2/24/52 — 12/30/16
- RIP actor Debbie Reynolds 4/1/32-12/28/16
- RIP actor Carrie Fisher 10/21/56-12/27/16
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- RIP singer George Michael 6/25/63 – 12/25/16
- RIP author Richard Adams 5/9/20 – 12/24/16
- RIP actor Zsa Zsa Gabor 2/6,/17 – 12/18/16
- RIP environmentalist Harold Gilliam 1918 – 12/14/16
- RIP astronaut John Glenn Jr. 7/18/21 – 12/8/16
- RIP musician Greg Lake 11/10/47 – 12/7/16
- RIP Cuba’s Fidel Castro 8/13/26 – 11/25/16
- RIP actor Florence Henderson 2/14/34 – 11/24/16
- RIP singer Sharon Jones 5/4/56 – 11/18/16
- RIP musician Mose Allison Jr. 11/11/27 – 11/15/16
- RIP journalist Gwen Ifill 9/29/55 – 11/14/16
- RIP musician Leon Russell 4/2/42 – 11/13/16 (with Ron Wells)
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- RIP attorney general Janet Reno 7/21/38 – 11/7/16
- RIP singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen 9/21/34 – 11/7/16 (with Ron Wells)
- RIP writer Mike Tomkies 5/25/28 – 10/6/16
- RIP novelist Gloria Naylor 1/25/50 – 9/28/16
- RIP accordionist Buckwheat Zydeco 11/14/47 – 9/24/16
- RIP playwright Edward Albee III 3/12/28 – 9/16/16
- RIP actor Alexis Arquette 9/28/69 – 9/11/16
- RIP biologist Ruth Hubbard 3/3/24 – 9/1/16
- RIP actor Gene Wilder 6/11/33 – 8/29/16
- RIP author “Elie” Wiesel 9/30/28 – 7/2/16
- RIP author Alvin Toffler 10/4/28 – 6/27/16
- RIP actor Anton Yelchin 3/11/89 – 6/19/16
- RIP author Michelle Cliff 11/2/46 – 6/12/16
- RIP psychologist Jerome Bruner 10/1/15 – 6/5/16
- RIP boxer Muhammad Ali 1/17/42 – 6/3/16 (with Ron Wells)
- RIP journalist Morley Safer 11/8/31 – 5/19/16
- RIP musician Prince 6/7/58 – 4/21/16 (with Ron Wells)
- RIP poet Gwyn Thomas 9/2/36 – 4/13/16
- RIP musician Merle Haggard 4/6/37 – 4/6/16
- RIP writer Imre Kertész 11/9/29 – 3/31/16
- RIP rapper Phife Dawg 11/20/70 – 3/22/16
- RIP musician Keith Emerson 11/2/44 – 3/11/16
- RIP Sir George Martin 1/3/26 – 3/8/16
- RIP actor Nancy Davis Reagan 7/6/21 – 3/6/16
- RIP writer Pat Conroy 10/26/45 – 3/4/16
- RIP winemaker Peter Mondavi, Sr. 11/8/14 – 2/20/16
- RIP author Harper Lee 4/28/26 – 2/19/16
- RIP author Umberto Eco 1/5/32 – 2/9/16
- RIP singer Dan Hicks 12/9/41 – 2/6/16)
- RIP musician Maurice “Moe” White 12/19/41 – 2/4/16
- RIP musician Paul Kantner 3/17/41 – 1/28/16
- RIP actor Abe Vigoda 2/24/21 – 1/26/16
- RIP musician Glenn Frey 11/6/48 – 1/18/16
- RIP poet Francisco X. Alarcón 2/21/54 – 1/15/16
- RIP actor Alan Rickman 2/21/46 – 1/14/16 (with Ron Wells)
- RIP poet CD Wright 1/6/49 – 1/12/16
- RIP David Bowie 1/8/47 – 1/10/16 (with Ron Wells)
in memoriam: Bowie, Alan Rickman, Prince, Ali, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, Harper Lee, Pat Conroy, Gene Wilder
Each year, important figures in our lives die. 2016 was no different. Often, my friend Ron Wells takes the time to reflect on the impact of these people, often musicians, actors, and writers, who, through their work on the page, the screen or the stage, speak for us: they articulate for us our experiences, our joys, and our struggles in life. I edit what he sends and add images or videos or other clips but I don’t always have time to do so. Here’s a collection of Ron’s tributes that have been published on this blog David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, or are being published for the first time below: Harper Lee, Pat Conroy, and Gene Wilder. Read more…
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Cheers!
Did Santa bring you your heart’s desires? He did for me!
And I got a new 15 degree sleeping bag from Mountain Hardware which will serve me well for my Pacific Crest Trail backpacking trips in 2017! Read more…
3 Festive Winter Wines: Flora Springs “Holiday Kisses” and Bubbles Too
happy happy happy happy
Welcome winter! Welcome light! Happy holidays! Happy Hanukkah, Happy Omisoka, Happy Jul, Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, Merry Saturnalia, and everything else to you all!
How better to celebrate all of these special moments with friends and family than with some bubbles… and a really great Cabernet Sauvignon? And while a “Holiday Cabernet” just might pair well with the relatives, what are some other pairing ideas?
Thinking beyond turkey and ham (for which I usually go for zinfandel and here are some recommendations from Lodi), Sue and I took to the task the other day by putting together charcuterie and other appetizers, and tasting three festive wines that have holiday wrappings. Reviews and recipes below.
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I got the best, early Christmas present the other day when I heard that a new poetry manuscript by Paul Squires came out.
Titled The Architecture of Water, it’s a sort of “best of” collection from Paul’s blog GingaTao which Paul felt was his ‘masterwork’: indeed, The National Library of Australia describes it as ‘a work of significance and long term research value’ and has archived it. His friend Brad Fredricksen of Maekitso Cafe writes:
“To own The Architecture of Water is to hold a particular manifestation of Gingatao in the form of a narrative, or a guided tour if you like; not so much a selection of highlights (though every selection is), but rather an example of just one of the many ways it is possible to grasp Paul’s non-linear work of art in a linear fashion.”
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