May Day 2011! Be there!

I have lived in Minneapolis since 1988, and every year that I am in town in May I try to attend the May Day festival that In the Heart of the Beast theater puts on, with the participation of hundreds of volunteers. This year's festival will actually fall on May 1, tomorrow, and the weather forecast says no rain!

To celebrate the spirit of Beltane, here is Loreena McKennitt performing "The Mummers' Dance." What a voice!

The Mummers' Dance
When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair.

When owls call the breathless moon
in the blue veil of the night
When shadows of the trees appear
amidst the lantern('s) light.

We've been rambling all the night
and sometime of this day
Now returning back again
we bring a garland gay.

Who will go down to those shady groves
and summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
in the springtime of the year.

The sounds of birds seem to fill the wood
and when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
long past their woodland days.

We've been rambling all the night
and sometime of this day
Now returning back again
we bring a garland gay.

And so they linked their hands and danced
'round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
when all the shades are gone.

A garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
Here's a sprout, well budded out
The work of our Lord's hand.

We've been rambling all the night
and sometime of this day
Now returning back again
we bring a garland gay.

We lost Poly, too

Marianne Elliot Said was better known as Poly Styrene of the band X-Ray Specs. She was an inspiration for young women like me when the first punk movement emerged; we were  looking for those brave voices of self-confident women who spoke to us amidst the general anger and rebellion. She went on to be an artist, a mother, and an advocate,  had just released a new album, Generation Indigo, this March. Gone too young, of cancer.
 
"Germ Free Adolescent"

"Identity"

"I'm a cliche"
In this interview, she talks about the tracks on her new album.

Phoebe Snow, may you rest in peace

I'm so sad to learn of the death today of two amazing women whose music affected me, in very different ways. One is the marvelous Phoebe Snow, who died of complications following a stroke last year.

I was lucky enough to see Phoebe Snow perform when her hit album came out. What a BIG voice she had, and her guitar playing was also wonderful. She could be jazzy, bluesy, but her voice was totally original. Listen to "No Regrets" (a hit for Billie Holiday):

I wore her records out. I especially love "Let the Good Times Roll":

Why did she drop out of sight after making such a huge debut? Because her daughter was born with with brain damage, and she devoted her life to taking care of her. She kept her alive, despite predictions; she devoted herself to creating a loving life for her daughter for 31 years.  Take the time to watch this story about her life; it's worth it.

Walking our neighborhood

We didn't roast a leg of lamb for Easter, but we did have delicious French toast with Nutella and strawberries. Bacon from Pastures A Plenty. Fresh grapefruit juice for la chica, coffee for me.
Then we set off to have our first real walk of Spring. No snow, no ice, no rain, no gusty winds: blue skies, fluffy clouds, and mild sun.
We spotted a rabbit down the block, the second time I've seen one in that spot. Bird-watching was great: grackles, crows, robins galore, a yellow-rumped warbler, Canadian goose in the Walker Sculpture Garden, red-winged blackbirds and a mallard in Loring Park, assorted sparrows. We heard cardinals and finches but didn't see any. Blooming were forsythia, crocuses, blue and white squill, daffodils, lots of tulips, and our first dandelions of spring. The peonies are sprouting, still tender reddish shoots. In the sculpture garden, there were many well-dressed toddlers in their Easter outfits.

At Joe's Garage we had lemonade, fruit, potatoes, and desserts. By the time we walked home again, both of us were tired, but in that good way that comes from walking with a smile.
Today, I can't help but sing all the great Easter Parade songs by Irving Berlin:

Por/para

"Amor por ti" sung by Los ángeles negros was a big hit when I first went to Mexico when I was fifteen. It's how I remember that "amor" takes "por" instead of "para."

"Speechless," or, a politician takes a note from Bob Dylan

Right on, right on.

MSPIFF 2011: Nostalgia de la luz/Nostalgia for the Light (film)

Nostalgia de la luz, a film by Chilean director Patrico Guzman, one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Playing at St Anthony Main theater one last time as part of the film festival (MSPIFF) tomorrow (Monday) at 8:45 PM. See it if you can! Here's a review by Cynthia Fuchs (director of Film & Media Studies and Associate Professor of English, Film & Video Studies, African and African American Studies, Sport & American Culture, at George Mason University) and editor at Pop Matters that tells more about the film.

ABDC is back! season 6

I love this show! Yeah, it's sometimes incoherent, but there is no denying the creativity, passion and dance skills of these crews. The first episode featured five of the ten crews that will be competing. Dominic (D'trix) Sandoval is a new judge; he was a competitor on SYTYCD and one of the Quest crew that were champions a few seasons ago.
IAmMe features the popular Phillip Chbeeb, Moon, and a group of tutters based in Texas, but with a terrific gal from the former Czech republic. ReQuest, the women from new Zealand were champions from the 2010 World Hip Hop Championships. I love that they are all Polynesian and I hope they show more of their cultural blend. The Boston funk crew has great style. I don't know who choreographed the opening group number, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were Napoleon and Tabitha, since they've done a lot of the group choreo in the past.

Tags:
America's Best Dance Crew (Season 6), MTV Shows

Listen to Eleanor Holmes Norton!

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton Upset Over Treatment of DC During Shutdown Resolution Talks: MyFoxDC.com

They have no shame.

Useful animal companion

I've been trying to get Leo to be more useful around the house, but his best trick is pushing small items off my bedside table.

Gutenberg (Sunday Girl by Blondie) subs español

The Story of Ferdinand

It is the 75th anniversary of Munro Leaf's book The Story of Ferdinand, one of my favorite books. 



by Munro Leaf

Once upon a time in Spain there was a little bull and his name was Ferdinand. All the other little bulls he lived with would run and jump and butt their heads together, but not Ferdinand. He liked to sit just quietly and smell the flowers. He had a favorite spot out in the pasture under a cork tree. It was his favorite tree and he would sit in its shade all day and smell the flowers.    
    Sometimes his mother, who was a cow, would worry about him. She was afraid he would be lonesome all by himself. "Why don't you run and play with the other little bulls and skip and butt your head?" she would say. But Ferdinand would shake his head. "I like it better here where I can sit just quietly and smell the flowers." His mother saw that he was not lonesome, and because she was an understanding mother, even though she was a cow, she let him just sit there and be happy.
    As the years went by Ferdinand grew and grew until he was very big and strong. All the other bulls who had grown up with him in the same pasture would fight each other all day. They would butt each other and stick each other with their horns. What they wanted most of all was to be picked to fight at the in Madrid. But not Ferdinand--he still liked to sit just quietly under the cork tree and smell the flowers.
    One day five men came in very funny hats to pick the biggest, fastest roughest bull to fight in the bull fights in Madrid. All the other bulls ran around snorting and butting, leaping and jumping so the men would think that they were very very strong and fierce and pick them. Ferdinand knew that they wouldn't pick him and he didn't care.
    So he went out to his favorite cork tree to sit down. He didn't look where he was sitting and instead of sitting on the nice cool grass in the shade he sat on a bumble bee. Well, if you were a bumble bee and a bull sat on you what would you do? You would sting him. And that is just what this bee did to Ferdinand. Wow! Did it hurt! Ferdinand jumped up with a snort. he ran around puffing and snorting, butting and pawing the ground as if he were crazy.
    The five men saw him and they all shouted with joy. here was the largest and fiercest bull of all. Just the one for the bull fights in Madrid! So they took him away for the bullfight day in a cart.
    What a day it was! Flags were flying, bands were playing...and all the lovely ladies had flowers in their hair. They had a parade ino the bull ring. First came the Banderilleros with long sharp pins with ribbins on them to stick in the bull and make him mad. Next came the Picadoreswho rode skinny horses and they had long spears to stick in the bull and make him madder. Then came the Matador, the proudest of all--he thought he was very handsome, and bowed to the ladies. He had a red cape and a sword and was supposed to stick the bull last of all. Then came the bull, and you know who that was don't you? --FERDINAND.
    They called him Ferdinand the Fierce and all of the Banderilleros were afraid of him and the Picadores were afraid of him and the Matador was scared stiff. Ferdinand ran to the middle of the ring and everyone shouted and clapped because they thought he was going to fight fiercely and butt and snort and stick his horns around. But not Ferdinand. When he got to the middle of the ring he saw the flowers in all the lovely ladies' hair and he just sat down quietly and smelled.
    He wouldn't fight and be fierce no matter what they did. He just sat and smelled. And the Banderilleros were mad and the Picadores were madder and the Matador was so mad he cried because he couldn't show off with his cape and sword. So they had to take Ferdinand home.
    And for all I know he is sitting there still, under his favorite cork tree, smelling the flowers just quietly.
    He is very happy.

Our little buddy is sick

This week we have been adapting to the news that our beloved Mr. Kitty, Leo, has diabetes. We have been really worried and heartsick because we love our good friend, and don't want him to suffer.

I first noticed a change in his litter box, but I thought it was the litter formula that had been changed. Then he started to pee in the bathtub. I just thought he didn't like the litter, or that I needed to clean the box more often. I changed the type of litter. He started to poop in the bathroom. This annoyed me, but I again thought he was rejecting something about the litter box. Was it the hated vacuum cleaner that I had left next to it? Finally, I saw that he had lost some weight and was starting to feel bonier. Belatedly, it hit me that he was having a health problem, not a behavior issues. I felt terrible that I had not made the connection earlier.

On Monday, I took him to our vet. Tuesday, we got confirmation that his blood and urine showed elevated sugar levels. It took a few days of missed phone calls and scheduling to finally get him in on Friday for an insulin lesson. Our new routine is to give him insulin injections twice a day, change his food to a special diabetic formula, and watch him closely for three weeks. Then we get his blood tested again to see if the dose needs to be changed. I have already given another diabetic cat insulin injections, so I know that it is not difficult at all, and the cat hardly notices the very thin needle; the injections are under the skin, not into the muscles. The main thing is to have a solid routine so that the injections are 12 hours apart.

With luck, it will be easy to regulate his blood sugar level. He's ten years old: a "mature" cat, but not yet "geriatric," and he could still live comfortably and happily for many more years.

Baby elephants cavorting in a pool

The news is so horrific these days that I have contemplated cutting myself off completely from all of it, cold turkey, no internet, no twitter, nothing. But that wouldn't stop bad things from happening, and I also wouldn't get to see this:

Squeee! *head explodes*
Baylor and Tupelo are two African elephant babies at the Houston Zoo, each born last year.

New earworm! Explore Minnesota

Joe Mauer is endearingly off-key.

my family is coming back to Minnesota today! *throws hat in the air*

Data, context, knowledge: mapping conflicts in the Middle East

"Global Protests & Uprisings Maps Time-Lapse video" is a series of maps showing where protests and uprisings have occurred in the last few months, as documented in open source media. It was posted by the international blog portal Global Voices, but it was created by musician activist John Caelan at his website The Swamp Post. He explains that he documents each report on an excel spreadsheet, creates the images of maps and then puts them together in a video to give the effect of time-lapse. A very labor intensive effort, but with a mesmerizing, thought-provoking result.

It's important to also look at the key to the map where you can click on each flag to pull up the stories, and see the color key (red: violence resulting in death) and number of flags key (Five: Over 100,000) to understand where protests have been peaceful (green) or have been sites of conflict.

Having just spent five days of involuntary exposure to CNN, I can say that the effect is frightening, mind-numbing and singularly uninformative when not outright distorted. I don't know how people endure it.

Reliable, trustworthy historical context for me comes from Juan Cole: Top Ten Ways that Libya 2011 is not like Iraq 2003

Cats with thumbs!

I know it's an ad, but think about it.

Fleetwood Mac

I took a nostalgic tour through Fleetwood Mac's earlier incarnations. I don't have my records any more, so thank goodness for YouTube.

From Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, the song"Albatross," with both Peter Green and Danny Kirwan playing guitars:

Did you know that British guitarist Peter Green wrote the song "Black Magic Woman"--that the Santana version is a cover? Here is Green playing "Supernatural" with his previous band John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.

Green left Fleetwood Mac, under the influence of LSD and also in the throes of what would later be diagnosed as schizophrenia. Although he lived through some very rough times, friends have helped him come back to playing music. Unfortunately, the same has not been true of bandmate Danny Kirwan, whose time with the band I remember fondly. I love the album "Bare Trees," and the voice of Christine McVie will always mean Fleetwood Mac to me. I didn't hate the Nicks/Buckingham incarnation, but the band was never as interesting to me after they joined.

Edited to add: Leee! turned me on to this amazing live performance of "Rhiannon" by the band with Stevie Nicks in which every single member of the band is right in time. Wow, thanks!

Mallorca's wild life

My daughter has now been to Mallorca two times. That is two times more than I have. *Sigh* She is there with her dads, and I hope they are able to get out of Palma to see something of the natural part of the island. Since I am stuck here in snowy Minneapolis, I must travel via YouTube! This BBC program on Mallorca is quite lovely. "El buitre negro" (the black vulture) has been an the brink of extinction, but people have been trying to keep their population going.

Monday morning "get up" music: Janelle Monae

"Many Moons" official video by Janelle Monae. We love.

Lyrics to Many Moons :

Verse 1:
We're dancing free but we're stuck here underground
And everybody trying to figure they way out
Hey Hey Hey, all we ever wanted to say
Was chased erased and then thrown away
And day to day we live in a daze

Refrain:
We march all around til' the sun goes down night children
Broken dreams, no sunshine, endless crimes, we long for freedom (for freedom)
You're free but in your mind, your freedom's in a bind

Chorus:
Oh make it rain, ain't a thang and the sky to fall
(The silver bullet's in your hand and the war's heating up)
And when the truth goes BANG the shouts splatter out
(Revolutionize your lives and find a way out)
And when you're growing down instead of growing up
(You gotta ooo ah ah like a panther)
Tell me are you bold enough to reach for love?
(Na na na...)

2nd Verse:
So strong for so long
All i wanna do is sing my simple song
Square or round, rich or poor
At the end of day and night all we want is more
I keep my feet on solid ground and use my wings when storms come around
I keep my feet on solid ground for freedom
You're free but in your mind, your freedom's in a bind

Chorus

Cybernetic Chantdown:
Civil rights, civil war
Hood rat, crack whore
Carefree, nightclub
Closet drunk, bathtub
Outcast, weirdo
Stepchild, freak show
Black girl, bad hair
Broad nose, cold stare
Tap shoes, Broadway
Tuxedo, holiday
Creative black, Love song
Stupid words, erased song
Gun shots, orange house
Dead man walking with a dirty mouth
Spoiled milk, stale bread
Welfare, bubonic plague
Record deal, light bulb
Keep back kid not corporate thug
Breast cancer, common cold
HIV, lost hope
Overweight, self esteem
Misfit, broken dream
Fish tank, small bowl
Closed mind, dark hold
Cybergirl, droid control
Get away now they trying to steal your soul
Microphone, one stage
Tomboy, outrage
Street fight, bloody war
Instigators, third floor
Promiscuous child, broken dream
STD, quarentine
Heroin user, coke head
Final chapter, death bed
Plastic sweat, metal skin
Metallic tears, mannequin
Carefree, night club
Closet drunk, bathtub
White house, Jim Crow
Dirty lies, my regards

Closing Lullaby:
And when the world just treats you wrong
just come with me and I'll take you home
No need to pack a bag
Who put your life in the danger zone?
You running dropping like a rolling stone
No need to pack a bag
You just can't stop your hurt from hanging on
The old man dies and then a baby's born
Chan, chan, chan, change your life
And when the world just treats you wrong
just come with me and i'll take you home
Shan, shan shan shan-gri la
Na na na na na na na na na na na