Serendipity of Travel

 Karin-Marijke & Coen Wubble's book Forever Off Track is now available. It includes some excellent, National Geographic-quality photos.

Go left at the mirage; you can't miss it.

Mimosa & Mike

I'd cosigned her 2nd mortgage so she could buy out her roommate. Two days later she died of a heart attack; I inherited a house and a $750/month mortgage. I'd been laid off and was living on unenployment and my 401k. 

After completing the repairs, I bought 13 mimosas to plant around the house. It took 12 and I kept the 13th. A buyer showed up the week before I was going to default on the mortgage. When, the next Spring, Michelle Cook and I joined households, it was barely a nub; I doubted it would live.

It grew for about ten or twelve years then seemed satisfied. It's now over 30 years old and maybe 9 feet tall.

Kenzie's Mike died today. He was 86.

SSRIs - The Origin of the Myth

My new physician, a condescending know-it-all who might be 30 (years old), suggested I try an SSRI to help cope with the noise of the city. My assertion that I'd tried them all was met with skepticism (There's nothing quite like having a child tell you you don't know what you're talking about.)

So, when I came across this review of Peter Kramer's book, I sent her the links. I know it's a waste of time; there's no arguing with a physician who, even after two years past internship, thinks the fact she made it through medical school makes her omniscient. 

From the Book Review..

"Eli Lilly cleverly suggested that it was a shortage of this substance [serotonin] that accounted for people’s depression. Inventing a fiction that was eagerly embraced by the public and many psychiatrists, Lilly declared depression a straightforward brain disorder that could be eliminated by adjusting the body’s biochemistry. In the words of one prominent patient, Al Gore’s then-wife Tipper: 'What I learned […] is your brain needs a certain amount of serotonin and when you run out of that, it’s like running out of gas.'"

No one did more to popularize this notion and proclaim Prozac’s extraordinary properties than Kramer, a hitherto obscure psychiatrist with a part-time appointment at Brown University. Listening to Prozac, his paean to the drug’s miraculous properties, was an international bestseller that brought its author both fame and fortune."

L.A. Review of Books review:

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/how-anecdotes-sell-drugs-on-peter-kramers-listening-to-prozac/

In the words of a 2023 study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, 

a “comprehensive review of the major strands of research on serotonin shows there is no convincing evidence that depression is associated with, or caused by, lower serotonin concentrations or activity.”

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0

The Fishers...Mary & M.F.K.

All I could remember was her last name. I thought her first name was Mary, so I googled Mary Fisher. And Mary Fisher I got. Unsure of who she was/is, I started reading...and soon went to hear her speech at the 1992 Republican Convention. 

 A Whisper of AIDS

Scroll down to read her essay titled Returning to the Ashes, wrotten 23.September.2023.

It was MFK Fisher I sought. She identified as a travel writer, but was, inexorably, tagged a food-writer. Though somewhat reluctant to juxtapose these two, I like to think both would appreciate being found, regardless of how. MFK died two months before Mary gave here speech.

Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher Parrish Friede

Photos were unattributed. Please contact me if you know who took them.

The Art of Eating is about MFK's return to a restaurant where she knew the waiter. What she didn't know was that, earlier in the day, he'd been fired. 

Charles, in his kind way has gone into the vaults and retrieved a marc of incomparable quality and MFK and her friend are enjoying it. This is a story about life...it's pleasures and its sorrows. The pleasures of the table are an integral part, but what MFK really writes about is people and places. 

On their way out she and her companion talk with the owner who tells her of Charles's dismissal. 

"...and a stiff ugly bouquet and two purplish rosebuds and a twig of cypress stood by them."

Bolero - Flashmob

Samstag (Saturday).17.September.2022

Saarländisches Staatsorchester (Saarland State Orchestra)

Da staunten die Besucherinnen und Besucher der Saarbrücker Europsgalerie nicht schlecht: Aus dem samstäglichen Einkaufsbummel wurde ganz plötlich ein Konzertbesuch! Die Musikerinnen und Musiker veranstaltenten unter der musikalischen Leitung ihres Genetalmusikdirectors Sébasten Rouland und in der Regie von Katharina Molitor einen Flashmob mitten im Einkaufszentrum...für alle, die nicht vor Ort waren und Maurice Ravels »Bolero« live erleben konnten, haben wir die Szene mit der Kamera festgehalten. Viel Spaß!

Musikalische Leitung: Sébastien Rouland, Generalmusikdirektor Regie: Katharina Molitor Organisation: Alfred Korn, Orchestermanager

Saarländisches Staatsorchester

Kamera: Honkphoto. Pasauale De Anaiolillo

Schnitt: Honkphoto

The visitors to the Saarbrücken Europsgalerie were amazed: their Saturday shopping spree suddenly turned into a concert visit! Under the musical direction of their genetic(something lost in translation?) music director Sébasten Rouland and directed by Katharina Molitor, the musicians organized a flash mob in the middle of the shopping center...for everyone who wasn't there and was able to experience Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" live, we have the scene captured on camera. Have fun!

Thoughts In the Presence of Fear

In this film by Herb E. Smith, author Wendell Berry shares his thoughts on the 9/11 catastrophe and the road ahead.

Here is the trailer for Laura Dunn's film about Wendell.

Alfred Wegener Greenland Expedition

On p.38 in M Train, 

Patti talks about The Continental Drift Club and her invitation to speak at their 2005 conference in Bremen (described in link below).

https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/service/press/single-view/tod-im-ewigen-eis.html

13 and a half minutes film of Wegener Expedition

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn1003133

Non-sequitur resource found while searching for footage of Wegener. May have some interesting stuff. Some (all?) appears to be free.

https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/37-grad-leben/situationships---die-unverbindlichen-beziehungen-100.html

Karina Canellakis - Conductor

From July 20 - August 15, 2024, Ms. Canellakis will conduct Der RosenKavalier by Richard Strauss at the Santa Fe Opera.

Here she conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the third and final movement of Sibelius's Symphony No. 5.

Sibelius Symph #5 - III. Allegro molto

Text from Youtube: When Jean Sibelius saw a flight of swans in the sunset, he knew that he had the ending of his Fifth Symphony: ‘I’ve never seen such beauty!’. With the LPO’s Principal Guest Conductor Karina Canellakis, it’s the climax of a concert that spans continents and crosses decades.

The complete concert can be seen here.

Zipper, Italian Footwear & Casa Urraca Press

Decades ago, when it was time to jump ship from UNM PRESS, I thought to apply to Syracuse University Press. Those in the know advised against it saying, "They notice what brand of shoe you wear." 

I thought I might fit in with my Johnston & Murphys, but the idea of it mattering dissuaded me.

Still, having a propensity to fine footwear, I couldn't help but look longingly at the Italians. Renowned for their exquisitely soft, $2,000 loafers, please join me in admiring these $10k+ sneakers.

It was in Grande Junction (Colorado) where I met a comely performance artist whose boa constrictor was having its nap and couldn't be disturbed. As we stood on the sidewalk, her long black hair lending delightful contrast to the loveliness of countenance and cleavage, she told how it, along with her demonstration of a "zipper" on her breast (explanation begins at 7:10) at get-togethers and private parties had brought her fame and fortune. If only I'd been 30 years younger! 

But the real find that day was a slim volume by Magdalena Lily McCarson and Zach Hively.

Tap images to visit website

Wild Expectations led me to Casa Casa Urraca Press where I found the writings of Margaret Randall and, my fav so far, Desert Apocrypha, by Zach.

You just never know.

To sample Zach's writing, here's a link to his (currently free) weekly reader.

Mango...as Art

You had to be there. 

Capitol Siege Cases

George Washington University in Washington D.C., maintains a website with the litigation status of the Capitol Siege rioters.

Main Page

Here is an alphabetized list of the cases with details of the incident, charges and verdict.

Here's the text and photos from the case of the wearer of the fur hat: Alam, Zackary 

A media article describing some of Alam's offences and behavior.

Craigie's Leviticus

 John Craigie

Talkin' Leviticus Blues

videos have to be named in case they disappear.

I Should Be Dead

I'm grappling with how to take it. As with some Nam vets, there's embarrassment at being alive. After all the drama, I should be dead. But the most recent comment on Wahnfried is, "Welcome news it is. Rock on!" I have to smile and say, "YESSS!"

Tears are close. I was there vicariously as She-of-the-Capri prepared to go. Once there, her photos at Dinosaur and Echo Park brought memories of our time together.

The Reed

Last night, as the the day's intensity sank in, I realized I'm beyond the four-year statistic of the second heart attack. 50% of those who experience an MI (myocardial infarction) have another within that time; there's usually not a third.

I've been granted a reprieve....or, at least, a stay of execution; it's overwhelming.

Each time I asked, and over the 30-minute interview I managed it thrice, Adam said infarctions are unpredictable; they can happen at any time. He told of a runner whose came the next day, when he was resting. It's like limbo, but we're all susceptible; we're all "dying." Serious illness elicits an acute awareness.

Pinkey's History

The best part was when he asked if I had any inclination toward depression or self harm. After nearly a lifetime of suicidal ideation and several attempts, the "No" came easily and was followed by resoundingly affirming enthusiasm; not an iota of dejection. She brought the years of work to fruition. And the tears...of relief and happiness flow.