Loreena McKinnett
Courtesy lowbeats.de
Illustration by Nannette Champeau
Photo by johan.abit via Creative Commons/Flickr
I recall the moment when I heard Loreena McKinnett's music for the first time like it was yesterday. My friend who introduced me to her music told me to go listen in my car, where I had the better sound system. When Dante's Prayer came on, it was one of those moments when the music seemed to reach into my soul and grab my heart. Music has a way of doing that but this was different--it went deeper...
Loreena McKinnett is hard to classify. Her music is totally original and falls somehwere beteween folk music, Celtic music, world music and new age. In fact, everything about her is original. She had the confidence to maintain artistic control of her own career where she has self-produced seventeen albums and owns her own record label, choosing not to take the conventional route...
Here is a wonderful interview with her from the Canadian arts and culture podcast The Gould Standard. And in her own words: "Music can be incredibly universal. In the Sufi world they talk about polishing the mirror of your soul and that there is something transparent that is so directly connected from your own heartbeat to someone else's heartbeat and I know that
as a performer, as an artist I am constantly working towards that end...Am I just being a technician and singing a song, or am I going across that barrier to a place which is where you are so much closer to someone else’s soul? For me, that’s a central part of what I try to do.”
If I am any judge, she has succeeded 100 percent.
For a good selection of her music, here is a link to her Live in Paris and Toronto album and another to her Greatest Hits. She is on tour now so check out her extensive schedule in Canada and the U.S.
And if you want to get into the weeds (not my normal upbeat message but very important), McKinnett has written an appeal for us for us to wake up to the detrimental effects of Big Tech on the music industry and on all of our lives...the article appeared in the Toronto Star this past week. "Whoever owns and controls the media has their hands around the throat of our democracies." Well worth the read.
Megan Rapinoe
Women's FIFA World Cup Soccer is just beginning and superstar player and political activist Megan Rapinoe has just announced her retirement--this is the last season she will play for Team USA. Rapinoe has been such a shining light and an ambassador for human rights, standing up and leading the way for equal pay for women and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Here is an interview she did with Glennon Doyle that I found interesting and a link to Time Magazine's article on her, where she made the cover.
I Bet You Haven't Seen This Before
So many times I stumble on things--case in point with this social media group I BET YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS BEFORE. (Thank you Godfrey Desh for your inspirational stories that uplift the soul.) Here is one of those stories:
"I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me.
He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wasu, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'
Taken aback, I read the card. It said: Wasu's Mission Statement:
To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.
This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!
As he slid behind the wheel, Wasu said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'
I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'
Wasu smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water, and orange juice.'
Almost stuttering, I said, 'I'll take a lassi since I’ve never had one before.'
Handing me my drink, Wasu said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have Good Housekeeping magazine, Reader’s Digest, The Bible, and a Travel + Leisure magazine.'
As they were pulling away, Wasu handed me another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'
And as if that weren't enough, Wasu told me that he had the heater on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for me.
Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also let me know that he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.
'Tell me, Wasu,' I was amazed and asked him, 'have you always served customers like this?'
Wasu smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard about power of choice one day.'
'Power of choice is that you can be a duck or an eagle.'
'If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. Stop complaining!'
'Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'
'That hit me right,' said Wasu. He continued and said, 'It is about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'
'I take it that has paid off for you,' I said.
'It sure has,' Wasu replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on it.'
Wasu made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.
Have an eagle life ahead.....
I hope we all decide to soar like an Eagle and not quack like a duck."
And thank you too Patti Huckaba and Summer Grace Vanni for the share.
Charity of the Week:
The Robin Hood Foundation
Paintings of the Week
Three Tree of Life paintings getting ready to be sent out to a client in Virginia.
New York, NY 2022
About The Author
New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.