Get up, arise, and speak anew
without fences or boundaries
without here or there
without fear of death.

Speak like a child,
straight to the heart.



I've been posting at LiveJournal for over 10 years, and mirroring at DreamWidth since 2012. Most of my posts here have been non-political, but that is likely to start to change as time goes on.

You should know that I'm American, Jewish, 51 years old, a proud parent, a military veteran, socially liberal, free-market conservative, registered Republican, queer-friendly, Zionist, patriot. In no particular order.

I've been back in my adopted hometown of Portland, Oregon, since the end of January, having spent almost seven years living (VERY reluctantly) in San Francisco. Amazing what you'll do when there are kids involved.

Shabbat shalom.

מילים: רבי מרדכי עבאדי
לחן: מאיר בנאי

"Assemblies of the People"
Words by Rabbi Mordechai Abbadi
Music by Meir Banai



I just love this song.

Looking back over my LJ archives, it looks like December 2005 was a pretty active month for me. I posted some bits of original fiction, an excerpt from Ursula K. LeGuin, and reflections on my new living quarters and old housewares.

And I still love this song by Electrelane, a musical setting of Juan Boscán's poem '¡Oh Sombra!' and which my brain still hears as "awesome bra":

is named Morrison, and doesn't wear leather pants.

Reminds me a bit of Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star.
And she's not bad looking.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/07/24/jeffersons-actor-dies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Hemsley

He was a progger.

'Hemsley is a self-proclaimed fan of 1970s progressive rock bands[3] including Yes,[3] Gentle Giant and Nektar. On his appearance on Dinah!, Hemsley performed a dance to the Gentle Giant song "Proclamation" from The Power and the Glory. After his dance, Shore was laughing and asked what kind of music that was. Sherman then proceeded to give a 5-minute speech on Gentle Giant.[4] Hemsley can also been seen wearing a Nektar T-shirt during his interview with Norman Lear when Lear hosted Saturday Night Live from Season 2 Episode 26. In 1999, he collaborated with Yes founder Jon Anderson on an album titled Festival of Dreams which was not released.[5]'

Friday night I skipped shul and ducked into my studio for the evening. There was an exhibition/reception on the top floor. When I walked in, I was stopped dead in my tracks: there was a young androgynous Asian musician making the most AMAZING sounds with guitar, voice, and assorted instruments. I plunked down ten bucks for the CD; you can download it for free at his website.

The kid's name is Jhameel. Go check out the website:
http://www.jhameel.com/Site/Home.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_en_mu/obit_fogelberg;_ylt=AoYm_aMHHCWp5DmBpdOc3yis0NUE
Dan Fogelberg, the singer and songwriter whose hits "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" helped define the soft-rock era, died Sunday at his home in Maine after battling prostate cancer. He was 56.

You've probably already heard the news that the lead singer from Boston has died.

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=187756

Who doesn't remember their first Boston album? (The ONLY Boston album for a long time!) I played mine until it was gritty and scratchy. I loved that the band managed to fuse a progressive-rock sensibility with the infectiousness of pure pop rock. But Brad Delp's vocals really took the music someplace nobody else could go. Think about that line, "I closed my eyes and she slipped awaaaaaaaaaay!" It's burned in your brain, isn't it?

What happens when cellists go bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM


Swiped from hollie_is_right.