HOMELESSNESS

The broken people

Hold crude signs on street corners

Waiting for small change.

They haunt me wherever I go.

On street corners, in doorways,

at stop lights, in the coffee shop,

young, old, battered women,

beaten men, howling to the wind,

muttering, mentally ill, drunk, dirty,

high, low, pushing shopping carts ,

sleeping in doorways, holding signs,

holding cups, holding hope, hopeless,

wild, calm, passive, depressed, belligerent,

obsessive, sweet, swollen, torn, barefoot,

toothless, bent, spent, broken.

http://www.alphaproject.org/

SECRETS

We all have secrets

Shadow selves, shameful but drawn

Like moths to a flame.

Stopped by Jett Gallery recently and

walked into a photo exhibit entitled,

"equal=secret identities"

While a little harsh to absorb, the idea

behind the horrifying photos was that

we all have secret identities, personal

secrets, fetishes that we keep locked

away but are, nonetheless, drawn to.

Once exposed we are never viewed the

same by others. The artist used bondage

as a metaphor for secret identities.

Seemingly normal, regular Joe's; teachers,

lawyers, business people who participate

in this slightly(and not so slightly) deviant

hobby on the sly.I am reminded of the secret

life that Tiger Woods has participated in. Once

exposed his adoring public repels from

his once pristine profile. Maybe that's

the point. While the exhibit made me feel

slightly sick, having never been exposed

to the world of bondage apparatus, still

I've been thinking about it for the past

week; the things we do to cope, to

explore, to heighten our awareness.

The photographer is Josue Castro. Well

worth a stroll.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANCY

Nancy Pelosi

Skewers obstructionism

Gritty, determined

Nancy Pelosi turns 70 on Friday. She is completely

awesome and in my opinion revived the health care

bill and was the impetus behind getting the job done.

She cajoled, prodded and used tough love to turn

what once looked impossible into a reality.  On 

Friday I will lift my glass to her.  Many people at

age 70 are out on the golf course, bouncing their

grandkids on their knees, playing bridge with

friends....you get the idea.  But Nancy Pelosi is out

there making things happen for others.  Big things.

Thanks Nancy and Happy Birthday.

FUV

Firmitas, Ray-Ban

Utilitas, Wayfarers

Venustas, classics.

 Ray-Ban Wayfarers have been

manufactured since 1952, hmm

a very good year, and represented

a revolutionary departure from

its metal eyewear kin. Wayfarers

have been called a classic of modern

design although they have zigzagged

in popularity through the decades:

50's and 60's hey day, 70's trough,

80's revival, 90's fade out, 2000's

going strong. Strength, function,

beauty, they are the perfect sun-

glasses.

DEEDLES

Jewel encrusted shades,

Mouth to the mic; sweet, savage,

Darkness turns to light.

Visited Anthology (music venue in

Little Italy) to hear Diane Schuur, nicknamed

Deedles, and her trio comprising piano, stand-up

bass and drums. She is a jazz singer and pianist,

blind from birth, who found her gift

early in life. She has perfect pitch and

is accomplished in both of her instru-

ments; voice and piano. She really

shines when she plays with both at once.

The blending of the two instru-

ments, piano and her voice verged on

perfection. Every note on the keyboard

is familiar to her touch and her voice can

make pretty much any sound that she

wants. The phrasing, the ease, the playfulness,

the mastery of the weave is something

special to witness. There is a certain sweet but sultry

sound that is her signature voice and she

retains a surprisingly youthful quality

despite the wear and tear on her mid-

50's vocal chords. Schuur broke into the "bigtime"

when Stan Getz heard her sing at the

Monterey Jazz Festival in 1987 and asked

her to join him in a performance at the White

House. She received her first Grammy in 1986

for the album, Timeless, with the second G

following in 1988 for, Diane Schuur and the

Count Basie Orchestra. She has recorded 20

albums so far, 12 of which have reached

top 10 jazz album status. Check "Deedles" out

at www.dianeschuur.com

Pardon the picture of her, but the venue was

dim and I wasn't allowed to use a flash, so I'm

trying to pull off this pic as "artistic" plus the

man I was sitting next to dumped a large glass

of Coke in my lap. It was the real thing. However,

that didn't dampen my spirits. Puns are base.

TEA-BAGGED

Vitriol infused

Tea-baggers' toxic meddling

Steeps loose leaf crackpots.

Tea, which hails from the plant Camellia sinensis,

comes in six varieties including: white, yellow,

green, oolong, black and pu-erh. All varieties

of tea come from this same species of plant and

represent different growing, harvesting and

processing techniques. Centuries old, the ritual

of preparing and drinking tea has come to

symbolize a moment of human civility; these

moments are precious. The so-called tea baggers,

led by the blowhard Glenn Beck, are the antithesis

of the true tea party; they are bitter, tannic and

uncivilized. They are the true mad hatters.