Blog No. 270: A Lecture We All Need to Hear, For the Love of Animals, Kahil El’Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble

February 21, 2026

**The underlined words and many of the images in the newsletter are linked to more in depth information so don’t hesitate to click…**

For those of you in NYC on Thursday February 26th , my musician friend Tom DiMenna will be back in the City playing Story Songs of the 70’s including covers of Cat Stevens, Harry Chapin, Gordon Lightfoot, and James Taylor at The Cutting Room, 44 E 32nd St, New York, NY 10016. For those who saw him last time at City Winery, he has increased his repertoire to include some new greats and I guarantee an evening of joy—Click here for tickets

Important Message For These Times

Click image to hear an important message

Image courtesy of Ryan Putnam. Click image to purchase

Nobody likes to be lectured but hear me out on this one. I found this from Jean and the Sisters of Charity on instagram and I think it is a message we all need to hear right now. Please spend the few minutes clicking on the image above and listening to it. If you can, please share it with friends and acquaintances--although the message addresses older people, it is something we all need to hear--there is a lot at stake!

For the Love of Animals

Dedicated to my animal loving friend with the huge heart, Tina Carro.

We all need a break sometimes from the news of the day. If you want your heart warmed, take a few minutes to watch this series of uplifting anecdotes—amazing animal stories brought to you by the kind-hearted Steve Hartman of CBS Evening News. It includes segments on an emotional support alligator, a dog that thinks he is human, and a duck called Snowflake who sleds in the winter and goes trick or treating for Halloween…

If you find yourself wanting more (or are procrastinating from a task you "should" be doing), these extra Steve Hartman stories might just be what you need right now.

Kahil El’Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble

Click image above to hear a conversation with Kahil El’ Zabar who aside from being a musician, is also a clothing designer and fashionista…

Kahil El’Zabar on multi instruments, Corey Wilkes on trumpet, Alex Harding on baritone sax.

Off the beaten track in Waldoboro Maine, I saw a mind expanding concert last night at the Waldo Theatre. Hard to believe and how lucky we were to experience such an amazing musical event in such an unassuming town…Kahil El’Zabar’s music is very hard to classify. It has been described as bebop, Afro-Cuban jazz, free jazz, hypnotic soul—all over the place… When I asked David Kowalski, owner of Brunswick’s premier vinyl shop Deep Groove Records and one of the sponsors of the event how he would describe this type of music, he called it Spiritual Ethno Jazz Groove. No surprise that no one can actually put their finger on how to define it. Which is what makes it so great—it is so innovative that it doesn’t fall into existing categories. Best description I have come across is simply “a wide open vision of the musical concept” and “a higher consciousness of sound and spirt.”

Kahil El’Zabar is primarily a percussionist—he got his first drum when he was four years old—but aside from a normal drum set, in the performance he played the cajón (meaning box in Spanish), the kalimba (part of a family of musical instruments called Mbira, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe), bells around his ankles, and his voice, used in a different way than I have heard before—“everything but the kitchen sink.” He was accompanied on the stage by two amazing musicians: Corey Wilkes on trumpet and Alex Harding on baritone sax and you could tell they had been playing together for a long time and were in total sync.

For someone who has little experience with jazz music and I certainly don’t profess to know anything, what amazed me the most about the Kahil El’Zabar concert was that it forced me to really listen to the sounds coming off that stage in a new way and to appreciate and isolate the sounds that were coming into my ears. (It reminded me of the first time I ate sushi. It was a different experience…making me eat in a different way—savoring every bite rather than just filling my mouth up with food in an unconscious way…).

The concert began with isolated nature sounds, bird whistles, tiny bells, similar sounds to what I had heard on my morning walk that day when the birds were out in full force. I loved that it began so quietly and forced me into a kind of meditative state. What followed was a feast—“blurring the edges of traditional jazz, Afrocentric rhythms and cosmic expanse.” I am sharing some of the songs that stood out to me:

Compared to What, written by American songwriter Eugene McDaniels. Sad to say it was written in 1966 and is still relevant today

Where Do You Want To Go

Full Live Performance at the 2021 Erie Blues and Jazz Festival

The Timeless Maestro: A Conversation with Sir Kahil El’Zabar

And a short documentary

The band is on tour now and the live experience is essential in my opinion to the full appreciation of this music. Here are the tour dates. Hopefully they will be coming to a city near you...

Painting of the Week

Pam Smilow. House in Fog, mixed media on canvas, 60” x 40”

Charity of the Week:
ACLU

Book of the Week

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 Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 269: Robert Rauschenberg, Buddhist Monks Again, John Prine Playlist

February 15, 2026

Robert Rauschenberg Exhibition

Click image to see a 5 minute film on his work

You still have time to get to Houston and see the Robert Rauschenberg show at the Menil Collection. It closes on March 1st. I wish I could go! Since most of us won't make it there, I thought I would include some photos of the exhibition, which centers on his love of fabric.

Rauschenberg is definitely one of my first and most important influences. I loved his use of bold color, and how he mixed different media and wasn't afraid of unconventional materials. He described his work as "a juxtoposition of images that are hopefully non-logical."

One of my most favorite paintings growing up (and I still love it) incorporated a real log cabin quilt. It is not included in this show but I saw it at the Museum of Modern Art when I was a kid and it will always be engraved in my mind...

Robert Rauschenberg, Bed, Museum of Modern Art

Buddhist Monks Revisited

Photo courtesy Travis Long—click image for his instagram

I just had to not let this moment go by without writing one more time about the Buddhist Monks and their Walk for Peace. Their remarkable 2300 mile, fifteen week journey came to an end this week when they reached their destination of Washington DC from Fort Worth, Texas…These monks carry a message that is especially important right now at a time when our country is in such turmoil. We have so much to learn from them and their way of life. I share with you their valuable advice through a couple of the speeches they delivered upon their arrival.

American University Speech

High Point, North Carolina Speech

Meditation from the Lincoln Memorial

John Prine Playlist

Click to read about a book about John Prine by Tom Piazza

Seldom has there been a songwriter who was so beloved, who has produced so many amazing songs and has been covered by so many musicians over the years. I share with you a two hour playlist of John Prine’s favorite hits for your listening pleasure. If you don't have two full hours, Here are a few performances that jump out at me:

Souvenirs

Hello In There

"That's the Way the World Goes Round--Tribute to John Prine with Stephen Colbert

Long Monday

Clay Pigeons (written by Blaze Foley but I just love the way John Prine sings it)

CBS Sunday Morning: At Home with John Prine

Just realized that John Prine was born, like me, on October 10th! We are both libras! And coincidentally, I just read on instagram an entry from astrologer @marcus_vale_that after studying astrology for decades, one sign consistently stands out for bringing together the most positive qualities. According to this guy, Libra balances everything naturally. They are ambitious without being ruthless, social without being fake and confident without arrogance. Known as the diplomat and peacemaker, they make others feel valued and heard. Their charm is genuine, their style effortless, and their presence uplifting…Relationships stay balanced because they understand give and take better than anyone... Their only weakness is avoiding conflict and sometimes sacrificing their own needs to keep the peace…The sign described is Libra, often considered the most balanced and harmonious sign of the zodiac.

Painting of the Week

Pam Smilow. Flower Power Series: Earth. mixed media on canvas 44” x 90”

Charity of the Week:
ACLU

Book of the Week

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 268: Mon Rovia Music, Takashi Yasui Photographer, New York's Cutest

February 7, 2026

Mon Rovia Music

Bloodline, Mon Rovia’s new album just released in January 2026

Quite a while ago I came across the sweet voice of a singer named Mon Rovia on Instagram and his music blew me away. Where had he come from? How was it that I hadn't heard of him before? I wondered whether others felt the same way. It turns out, many people did, including the personal growth expert Mel Robbins, who like me, was really taken by this guy and did an extensive interview with him--so worth a listen.

Named for his city of origin in Liberia, Mon Rovia was born in the midst of civil war when young boys were being kidnapped and trained as child soldiers. At the age of 7, his grandmother brought him to the home of American missionaries and literally asked them if they would take him in, in hopes of giving him a better life. Thus began his life in the United States…He loved his new family but left behind a brother and sister and in an attempt to cope with life in America and to process grief, trauma and a whole lot of survivor guilt, Mon Rovia turned to music. To say his music is deep, sincere and heartfelt is an understatement.

Thanks to social media, his music, described as “Afro Appalachian” has spread and he now has over 17 million likes on TikTok. He is currently on tour in Europe and has just released his first full album. His most famous and timely song and everyone's favorite is called Heavy Foot but the entire album Bloodlines is great.

Takashi Yasui Photography

I love Substack for the fact that it has the ability of leveling the playing field and democratizing creativity. Anyone can be found and appreciated through their writings, thoughts, and images without having to be “famous."

I came across an amazing photographer recently whose work just spoke to me in such a deep way. His work is all about light. Takashi Yasui's photography epitomizes a word that was very important to my mid-century modern furniture designer dad, Mel Smilow. The word is SHIBUI—there is not really a good translation in English but it is something in-between beauty, elegance and simplicity as I understand it. I share with you some photos that spoke to this concept as well as an essay about how Takashi Yasui became a photographer that he published on his substack.

New York's Cutest

Click image above to see Mamdani’s Press Conference on Universal Childcare

  
    A different kind of politic is happening in New York City these days and I personally am finding it incredibly refreshing. This instagram clip above of a recent Mamdani press conference on universal childcare just might put a big smile on your face and take your mind off of other things for a few minutes…
  

Painting of the Week

Pam Smilow. mixed media on canvas 62” x 52”. approx. I came back from California a few months ago with a lot of commissions. This is my second to last one—going to a home in Palo Alto…

Charity of the Week:
ACLU

Book of the Week

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 267: Monks Walk for Peace, Lewiston Soccer Team, Amanda Gorman Poem

January 31, 2026

19 Monks:
A Walk for Peace

Click image above to see a brief report of the Monks. Photo courtesy Kaitlyn Ross Journalist’s Facebook

Click image to hear about Beautiful Aloka, whose name means light in sanskrit. Photo courtesy Aloka the Peace Dog/Instagram

I always had a dream of starting a TV station on a national/international scale like CNN but just with good news. I haven't quite gotten there yet. Ha ha. But what if there was a news programs devoted exclusively to celebrating the good in humankind--switching our focus to inspirational stories, welllness, biographies of heroic figures, etc. etc., the ones Mr. Roger's mom called "the helpers." Sounds kind of sappy but it might also just change our focus and lead us to examples of better ways of living...

There is an event going on right now that is definitely worthy of such coverage and a few stations have taken note. It is happening through rain and snow across a portion of the United States and I am not sure many of us know about it. A group of Buddhist Monks, 19 of them, and a beautiful dog called Aloka are walking from Fort Worth Texas to Washington, D.C. every day, all day, with no regard to weather on a Walk for Peace. Their goal is to raise awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion across America and the world and it will take 120-days and cover 2,300-miles. Their intent is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole. Check it out…especially if you need a little relief from the horrible news of the day. We have to continue our fight against the terrible things going on but we also can’t let them take our joy away…

Lewiston
Soccer Team

**One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together** by Amy Bass

My 15 year old grandson Toran lives in England and his passion is soccer. He won the equivalent of the lottery when he was spotted by a scout while playing on his local school team. Toran is diligent, extremely kind hearted, tall (6'2"+) and with the wingspan of an eagle...This scout introduced him around and gave him the opportunity to be seen by some of the top football leagues in England. Long story short, he is now on the development team of Manchester City and has moved from London to Manchester, going to school there and training every day.

He was here visiting over Christmas holiday—he comes often to the States—and as a gift, I gave him the book One Goal, about the Lewiston soccer team comprised mainly of Lewiston residents from Somali. Toran is of mixed race so I thought the story would be especially meaningful to him as I am not sure he is an avid reader….

I decided to read the book as well…. Turns out it is particularly relevant right now as Lewiston is in the news and I am learning a ton about the history of the town and how it has been revitalized more than once by immigrants. It approaches the question of immigration in a different and personal context--aside from a great sports read, through the book we get to know the players and what they have gone through previous to being repatriated to Maine.

One cannot help but show enormous compassion for what these immigrants have gone through, many of them living previously in refugee camps in Africa under terrible conditions, only to face racism here in Maine as well…

This is a good book for our youth—-it is also a good read for anyone interested in sports and learning first hand accounts of the plight of Somalis and Bantus in Lewiston.

Elizabeth Strout’s book The Burgess boys is a fictionalized version of a true hate crime that took place in Lewiston, Maine

Amanda Gorman
Poems

  
    "For Alex Jeffrey Pretti" 

Murdered by I.C.E. January 24, 2026

by Amanda Gorman

We wake with

no words, just woe

& wound. Our own country shoot

ing us in the back is not just brutal

ity; it’s jarring betrayal; not enforcement,

but execution. A message: Love your people & you

will die. Yet our greatest threat isn’t the outsiders

among us, but those among us who never look

within. Fear not the those without papers, but those

without conscience. Know that to care intensively,

united, is to carry both pain-dark horror for today

& a profound, daring hope for tomorrow. We can feel

we have nothing to give, & still belove this world wait

ing, trembling to change. If we cannot find words, may

we find the will; if we ever lose hope, may we never lose our

humanity. The only undying thing is mercy, the courage to open

ourselves like doors, hug our neighbor,

& save one more bright, impossible life.

Amanda Gorman also wrote a poem right after Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed.  Here it is:

For Renee Nicole Good

Killed by I.C.E. on January 7, 2026

by Amanda Gorman

They say she is no more,

That there her absence roars,

Blood-blown like a rose.

Iced wheels flinched & froze.

Now, bare riot of candles,

Dark fury of flowers,

Pure howling of hymns.

If for us she arose,

Somewhere, in the pitched deep of our grief,

Crouches our power,

The howl where we begin,

Straining upon the edge of the crooked crater

Of the worst of what we’ve been.

Change is only possible,

& all the greater,

When the labour

& bitter anger of our neighbors

Is moved by the love 

& better angels of our nature.

What they call death & void,

We know is breath & voice; 

In the end, gorgeously, 

Endures our enormity. 

You could believe departed to be the dawn

When the blank night has so long stood.

But our bright-fled angels will never be fully gone,

When they forever are so fiercely Good.

Painting of the Week

Pam Smilow. mixed media on canvas 59” x 87”. $8500

Charity of the Week:
ACLU

Book of the Week

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 266: Lessons from the Danish Resistance, Batsheva Dance Company, Mary Oliver on Resilience

January 24, 2026

Lessons from the
Danish Resistance

Courtesy Museum of Jewish Heritage, illustration by Sveta Dorosheva

Courtesy National Archives, College Park, MD, USA

We have much to learn from resistance movements throughout history. And no better example than what the Danish population did to resist the Germans during World War II. Last August, The Nation ran an article entitled The Danes Resisted Fascism, and So Can We which included lessons we can learn from this Scandinavian country’s resistance to the Nazis.

This ten minute documentary on the Danish resistance movement can also serve as inspiration to us. There are remarkable similarities to what we are experiencing now in the United States.

Under Hitler’s orders, Denmark’s Jews were to be deported on 1 October, 1943 – but in the space of a few weeks, an underground network and the country’s non-Jewish population spirited almost 8,000 people to safety via small boats across the Øresund to neutral Sweden.

Let Denmark be an example to us all…

Batsheva
Dance Company

I love dance and in my humble opinion, Batsheva Dance Company is a company worth paying attention to.

Founded in 1964 by Martha Graham and Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild, based in Tel Aviv, the company in 1990 transformed itself under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin. Naharin is a figure worshipped by the dance community—The New York Times called him “one of the most important choreographers in the world. Mikhail Baryshnikov said that he had “never seen such a combination of beauty, energy and skill.” Dance Magazine stated that “Naharin may be today’s most widely worshipped guru of modern dance.”
Here are a few excerpts of Batsheva dances:
Naharin's Virus
Medley of different dances

In 2014, The Heymann Brothers produced documentary entitled Mr. Gaga based on Naharin and his unique dance methods, released on the occasion of Batsheva’s 50th anniversary; the title Gaga coming from a language of movement Naharin created, based on very small movements, on nuances, and on gesture. The film is not currently available to stream but Gilli Navot, Batsheva continues to produce beautiful choreography and performances…To access their full repetoire, go to Batsheva’s archive website.

Mary Oliver
on Resilience

I came across this entry on Facebook by Sarah Grain. The first part are her words. The second is the poem by Mary Oliver.

Today, I will let Mary Oliver speak for me, and the only thing that I will add is this: In the last 36 hours, I have seen these digital walls flooded with the most beautiful protest art. Poems, sketches, songs … and I’ve reflected on how important art has been in every single movement, every single resistance, every single attempt to dim the light of progress and prosperity. My hope for the next four years from Washington is not much. But my hope for art is great. Artists and musicians have a pivotal role in helping society make sense of the insensible; organize the chaos; disassemble the madness and then reassemble it into an explosive sculpture of color and sound and delight. I cannot wait for the art. Joy is not meant to be a crumb.

DON’T HESITATE
By Mary Oliver

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case.
Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Paintings of the Week

My friend Terrie Frisbee carrying a poster she made at a candlelight vigil for Renee Good.

Charity of the Week:
ACLU

Book of the Week

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 265: 1963 Children's Crusade, Know Your Rights, History Teacher Unlearn 16

January 17, 2026

1963 Children's Crusade

On the occasion of America’s national holiday celebrating the birthday of the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., I share with you a 2005 documentary made by the Southern Poverty Law Center about the Birmingham Alabama civil rights marches in the 1960s, highlighting the bravery of young activists involved in the 1963 Children’s Crusade. The film won an Academy Award in 2005 in the category of Documentary Short Subject. This is a chapter in American history that many of us might have heard about but without being aware of its extraordinary details.

When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put out a call for people to go to jail in the fight against segregation (he himself was jailed for a period of time), much to his disappointment no adults responded—it was the high school students who volunteered and stood up, willing to go to jail in the fight for freedom. There was much controversy around that and protest from many of the parents but the children were unstoppable and the movement grew secretly and almost overnight. When King was confronted about allowing children in this role, he stood his ground and calmly spoke: “Don’t worry about your children. They are going to be alright. Don’t hold them back if they want to go to jail for they are doing a job for all America and all of mankind…”

about the Birmingham Alabama civil rights marches in the 1960s, highlighting the bravery of young activists involved in the 1963 Children’s Crusade. The film won an Academy Award in 2005 in the category of Documentary Short Subject. This is a chapter in American history that many of us might have heard about but without being aware of its extraordinary details.

Know Your Rights

Important information on ICE
from former law enforcement officer, Kramer Hammy):
"It is clear that US citizens' ignorance of federal laws and law enforcement duties, procedures, and limits of authority is getting to the point where it is deadly. I spent probably 3 hours watching and re-watching, and finding every single video and angle I could of the situation in Minnesota yesterday and came to one immovable conclusion based off of what I saw and what I know from a professional standpoint. This is long, but please give it a read.
"As a former officer, let me make something clear: ICE agents ARE NOT police officers, deputy sheriffs, or troopers. They are not local/state law enforcement. They are not federal criminal law enforcement. They have an INCREDIBLY limited scope of authority, and that scope of authority exists in detaining and arresting with probable cause and/or SIGNED WARRANTS those investigated and suspected of being in the US illegally.
"They cannot just pull anyone over for a traffic violation or because their car is in a place they don't want it. They have NO authority to pull people over for ANYTHING other than immigration enforcement- and even then that involves probable cause, such as a known vehicle of someone they have been tracking, or a warrant. On very rare occasions they have the legal authority to pull someone over if they are threatening the lives of others, but that was not happening in this case. They do not have the training nor the authority to pull ANYONE else over. They cannot arrest legal citizens. They cannot detain legal citizens without probable cause to believe they might not be legal. They have ZERO authority to be attempting to force entry into a vehicle- without even identifying themselves, without a warrant, without exigent circumstances such as a life being directly threatened- that is trying to drive down the street without probable cause in relation to IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT. "This ENTIRE situation in Minnesota was outside of the scope of legal authority from the get go. None of it was done within the scope of authority of ICE. Every single behavior those agents made was procedurally incorrect, done without proper authority, and was based off of intimidation and the assumption that people do not understand the law and their rights in regards to interactions with ICE.
"On no planet should an officer, agent, or any human being ever step in front of a car in 'drive' that is actively trying to leave and use their body as a shield to prevent a person from LEGALLY LEAVING a situation in which they are not legally being detained. It takes maybe a week of any kind of actual law enforcement training to understand that under NO CIRCUMSTANCES do you ever place yourself in front of a vehicle in 'drive.' That agent had every single opportunity to simply take two steps to the right and not be standing directly in front of a vehicle attempting to conduct their legal right to drive away. "You can see the wheels are turned, [Renee] backed up and turned them to the right, moved forward a bit to leave, couldn't because an agent was standing in front of her, and continued to try to leave by TURNING HER WHEELS TO THE RIGHT and moving forward. He continually chose to stand there and not allow her to legally leave as she had every single right to do.
The officer pulling on her door and banging on her window and swearing at her had ZERO authority to order her out of her vehicle or attempt to make entry into her vehicle. NONE. A single day of actual training of the legal scope of authority and the LAW would've prevented that from happening.
"You now have a frightened citizen being blockaded by immigration agents (with another person in her vehicle) who had zero obligation to follow legally invalid orders from that agent, being blocked in and having a fully grown, masked man attempting to make entry into her car. If this were reversed, every single person would immediately feel she had every reasonable expectation to fear for her safety. It doesn't matter if she knew it was ICE because the agents weren't even acting in their scope of authority anyway.
"Whether or not she made the right decision by very CLEARLY- based off of how hard her wheels were turned and how low and to the driver corner windshield that shot was fired- trying to drive to the left of that agent is IRRELEVANT in the picture as a whole. None of this would have happened if those agents had done even one single thing correctly. Not just correctly, but within their legal scope of authority. Every single moment of that interaction was escalated by untrained, unprofessional, procedurally inept "agents" who not only had zero control of themselves but everything around them. And not because they are helpless, but because their actions that did not fall under their scope of power CAUSED this. Their tempers, lack of training, and the knowledge that they can get away with violating their own scope of authority caused this.
"I will always be the first to defend law enforcement when lethal force very clearly is required. But this was not even remotely the case, and as an actual TRAINED professional in that field with experience and understanding of both the law and procedures, there is no justification for this- and it would benefit EVERYONE to actually read up on the laws, scope of authority, and use a single shred of common sense to see that this situation was started, escalated, and caused by the ICE agents involved. I have zero respect for those in power who are ignorant of the scope of their authority and abuse it at the cost of lives around them." (courtesy Tom Hoefling's substack)

To make a Know Your Rights zine to distribute, click here

A Wonderful
History Teacher

I have a new hero--her name is Joanna--a history teacher par excellence--she is Unlearn16 on tiktok. This person is pure dynamite!

In clear, succinct, and simple terms, she walks us through the history of Venezuela and shows the role of the world and most specifically the United States' role in that country. Needless to say, the picture is not pretty.

She has produced many more history lessons on video--go find her on tiktok.

Here is another of her teaching sessions--her lesson on inflation that I found very informative...

Jumpstart Your Creativity

Charity of the Week:
ACLU

Book of the Week

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 264: Nuremberg the Film, Poem by Fatimah Asghar, Eggplant Recipe

January 10, 2026

Nuremberg

I can't say that the film NUREMBERG will leave you feeling uplifted. Quite the contrary. But I recommend it wholeheartedly because it is an important film to watch at this point in history, given the circumstances of our day. For those of us that warned back in 2016 that T was a Hitler, thank you for recognizing the big picture ahead of most of us...

Based on the the 2013 book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai, NUREMBERG is centered on the army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley who was hired to evaluate the characters of the top ranking Nazis in order to gauge their competency for trial and gain insights into their personalities in preparation before and during the trials. One leaves with a robust portrait of these characters, especially Herman Goering (played brilliantly by Russell Crowe). In addition, we gain a broad picture of the messy ins and outs of the international negotiations that led up to the trials, and insight into the key American and European figures who played the role of prosecutors. Douglas Kelley, played beautifully by Rami Malek, is a particularly poignant figure.

The film serves as a warning against those whose psychological tendencies mirror the Nazis in our world today. Perhaps this knowledge, seen through the lens of history, will enable us to do something about the current actors before it is too late...

NUREMBERG is available on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Prime Video and YouTube Movies & TV.

And as an aside and a warning, I never thought I would be quoting Jesse Ventura, ex-governor of Minnesota, but listen to his admonition and urgent call to action.

Poem by
Fatimah Asghar

  
    
IF THEY SHOULD COME FOR US 
by FATIMAH ASGHAR

these are my people & I find
them on the street & shadow
 through any wild all wild
 my people my people
 a dance of strangers in my blood
 the old woman’s sari dissolving to wind
 bindi a new moon on her forehead
 I claim her my kin & sew
 the star of her to my breast
 the toddler dangling from stroller
 hair a fountain of dandelion seed
 at the bakery I claim them too
 the sikh uncle at the airport
 who apologizes for the pat
 down the muslim man who abandons
 his car at the traffic light drops
 to his knees at the call of the azan
 & the muslim man who sips
 good whiskey at the start of maghrib
 the lone khala at the park
 pairing her kurta with crocs
 my people my people I can’t be lost
 when I see you my compass
 is brown & gold & blood
 my compass a muslim teenager
 snapback & high-tops gracing
 the subway platform
 mashallah I claim them all
 my country is made
 in my people’s image
 if they come for you they
 come for me too in the dead
 of winter a flock of
 aunties step out on the sand
 their dupattas turn to ocean
 a colony of uncles grind their palms
 & a thousand jasmines bell the air
 my people I follow you like constellations
 we hear the glass smashing the street
 & the nights opening their dark
 our names this country’s wood
 for the fire my people my people
 the long years we’ve survived the long
 years yet to come I see you map
 my sky the light your lantern long
 ahead & I follow I follow


  

Eggplant Wrap Recipe

I love eggplant and I am including this Eggplant Wrap recipe (courtesy @DianeMorissey on instagram--it seems like a perfect and healthy recipe to start the new year. It can be totally vegetable based (or you can add some sort of meat) but it looks delicious. Here is the recipe and a video to go with it:

VIRAL EGGPLANT WRAP

Preheat oven to 350F.

Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, slice an eggplant thin (I used one that was on the thinner side).

Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet in a rectangle, being careful to make sure the ends of each circle are touching.

Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.

Sprinkle with 1 cup shredded mozzarella .

Bake for 25 minutes or until the cheese is golden.

Remove from oven.

Invert it and flip it over.

Fill it with whatever you want! .

Jumpstart Your Creativity

Charity of the Week:
ACLU

Book of the Week

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 263: Zohran Mamdani, Power to the People, American Bald Eagle

January 3, 2026

Zohran Mamdani
Mayor of NYC

Zohran Mamdani with his wife, artist Rama Duwaji

I'd like to invite you to listen to Zohran Mamdani's inauguration speech as he was sworn in as Mayor of New York if you haven't already. Even though I am spending more and more time up here in Maine, this week I am definitely a proud New Yorker! I've had a tough few days, but this speech put a big smile on my face...And in the words of Zohran Mamdani, "we will do something that New Yorkers do better than anyone else. We will set an example for the world."

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams also delivered a beautiful, emotional speech, which is also well worth a listen. And I would like to salute my cousin's son, David Kahn, who works for Jumaane Williams in the capacity of Community Organizer for Environmental Justice and Infrastructure. As a young person, David has a very strong moral code and has worked hard and stayed engaged over the years to promote liberty and justice for all...So proud of him!

People Have The Power

This is not the first time I've played this song but I couldn't think of a better way to start the new year than with a dose of Patti Smith singing Choir Choir Choir. Sing along at the top of your lungs to feel invigorated and empowered to continue to resist and continue the fight in 2026. Nos ganaremos..

American Bald
Eagle

Every time I see an eagle I take it as a sign of good luck and it always makes me feel privileged to be able to observe these amazing birds soaring high up in the sky. I see them more and more--often on a daily basis--and they are definitely making a comeback after near extinction. Their increasing numbers are a direct result of the power of conservation and the results of the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973.

Here are two stories from the instagram account Haunted Conspiracy, a site full of touching stories about animal rescues.

An eagle asks for help

A friendship between a horse and an Eagle

An interesting fact: The "bald" in bald eagle does not mean hairless in this case. The name derives from the Middle English word "balde" which means shining white, referring to its bright white head and tail.

Paintings of the Week

Pam Smilow Tree Tops, Detail of my Tree of Life Series pieces, each tree measurimg 60” x 22” mixed media on paper

Charity of the Week:
ACLU

Book of the Week

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 262: Architect Frank Gehry, ICE Protests, Roots of the Americas

December 27, 2025

Architect Frank Gehry
(1929-2025)

Most of you know that I am a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wright and his architecture, especially since I grew up in Usonia, New York, a community founded by that notable American architect. So what am I doing honoring Frank Gehry, an architect who couldn't be more far apart and diametrically opposed to the principles and organic forms of Frank Lloyd Wright. Can I like them both for different reasons? I am much closer to the aesthetic of Frank Lloyd Wright but admire the pure audacity, daring and innovativeness of a Frank Gehry. What can I say, I have eclectic taste...

I got permission from fellow substacker Cool Stories About Art to include this AI video as normal buildings morph into Gehry's vision, with the help of NASA software.

If you want to dig deeper, here's a piece CBS Sunday Morning produced on the Canadian architect and a great documentary entitled Sketches of Frank Gehry on his life and process.

This is the Way to Do It

This is the way to do it! Protesting ICE across the country:

Priest says No

ICE Out of New York City

Rockland Maine says no to ICE

Ohio's way of doing it

Minneapolis police resistance

Blocking ICE from exiting a parking lot in New York

"To read an article in The New Yorker about how Orange County is resisting, click here

Roots of the Americas

Here is a very important reminder from Martin McSweeney's substack Truth Matters @politicsusa46 about the roots of the Americas lest we forget:
With special thanks to Indigenous Revolution 🎥 TikTok

"We are not the past of this continent—we are its future."

A last minute Hanukkah video (a little late) with Mandy Patinkin and family and our new mayor Zohran Mamdani, who they tried to paint as Anti-Semitic…

Collage of the Week

Pam Smilow Heart and Soul mixed media on handmade paper

Charity of the Week:
ACLU

Book of the Week

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...