Blog No. 108: Mark Morris Dance Season 2023, Another Mary Oliver Gem, Songs About Parenthood

January 13, 2023

Mark Morris Dance 2023 Season

The Look of Love celebrating the music of Burt Bacharach

Pepperland: a tribute to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

I have written about the Mark Morris Dance Company before because I am a true enthusiast. I have listed below their 2023 performance schedule--I encourage you to attend if you happen to be near any of the following venues. It will be a guaranteed evening of color, exhilaration and joy, especially with this season's current offerings: The Look of Love, an homage to the music of Burt Bacharach and Pepperland, a tribute to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Both of these productions involve the creative work of Ethan Iverson (composer, arranger, piano), long time collaborator with Mark Morris

2023 Schedule:

January 27, 2023 The Look of Love Alice Jepson Theatre Richmond, Virginia

February 7, 2023 Santa Fe, NM Pepperland Performance Santa Fe

February 11, 2023 Manassas, VA Pepperland Hylton Presents Series

February 17-19, 2023 Berkeley, CA The Look of Love Cal Performances

April 14-15, 2023 Urbana, Illinois The Look of Love Tryon Festival Theatre

May 6, 2023 The Look of Love The Granada Theatre Santa Barbara, California — United States

May 13, 2023 The Look of Love Sandler Center Virginia Beach, Virginia — United States

Another Mary Oliver

IN PRAISE OF CRAZINESS OF A CERTAIN KIND
by Mary Oliver

On cold evenings
my grandmother,
with ownership of half her mind--
the other half having flown back to Bohemia--

spread newspaper over the porch floor
so, she said, the garden ants could crawl beneath,
as under a blanket, and keep warm,

and what shall I wish for, myself,
but, being so struck by the lightning of years,
to be like her with what is left, that loving.

Songs about Parenthood

There really are places in the heart you don't even know exist until you love a child. — Anne Lamott

Click on the images below to listen to these songs related to parenthood.

Teach Your Children Well by Crosby Stills Nash and Young

Eric Clapton Tears in Heaven, Illustration by Keetatat Sitthiket

Paintings of the Week

Came across these Tree pieces from many years ago (mixed media on handmade paper) in a cottage on Candlewood Lake in Connecticut a few days ago. Nice to visit with them again after maybe thirty years!

Charity of the Week:

Covenant House was founded in 1972 to protect runaway, homeless, and exploited youth. They operate homeless shelters and youth programs in 31 cities throughout North America and Central America. Click image to donate.

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.

Blog No. 107: Homeboy Industries, Emily in Paris, Rice Bowls

January 7, 2023

Homeboy Industries

Many of the images in this blog are linked to further stories so feel free to click on them…

“Wow, this is it…I am in the right place.!”

The catholic church gets a bad rap these days and a lot of it is well deserved but here is a church story that one can be proud of. When Jesuit Priest Gregory Boyle became pastor of the Los Angeles Dolores Mission church back in 1986, his parish had the highest concentration of gang activity and was home to the largest public housing facility west of the Mississippi. He was determined to service the community (there are currently approximately 120,000 gang members and 1100 gangs in LA County) and what began in 1988 as a way of improving the lives of former gang members in East Los Angeles has evolved into the largest gang intervention, rehab and re-entry program in the world: Homeboy Industries.

People Join Gangs Because of a Lethal Absence of Hope.”

"Nothing stops bullets like a job."

According to their website: "Father Greg popularized the radical notion that even the most demonized individuals can thrive when given a second chance. In the beginning he partnered with local Los Angeles businesses in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, encouraging them to hire homeboys and homegirls. Eventually, Homeboy Industries was established as a nonprofit and began creating and operating its own job training businesses. Now, Homeboy Industries has grown from a single bakery to almost a dozen social enterprises, which provide both a vital training ground for clients as well as revenue streams to support the mission. Expansion of our businesses proves that people can transcend their pasts and become valuable, empowered employees and business leaders." Gregory Boyle is, in my humble opinion, as close to a saint as there is on earth, with much wisdom to spread, as evident in this PBS interview with Kelly Corrigan and in his writings: Doyle has authored six books: his latest, Forgive Everyone Everything, The Homeboy Way, The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness, Creating a Culture of Tenderness, Barking to the Choir, and Tattoos on the Heart.

Emily in Paris TV Series

My favorite character, Sylvie Grateau (actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu)

Maybe I should be embarrassed to admit my unabashed love for the series Emily in Paris that many people would find trite and superficial but for the sake of honesty, here goes! I binge watched the whole third series last week and loved every minute of it. It is one stereotype after the next, full of predictable clichés about the Americans and the French. It is a romantic Hollywood style love story, complete with messy complications, superficial characters, and I probably should know better at my age...The New York Times wrote about it recently with the headline; "Emily Is Still in Paris. Why Are We Still Watching?." But what I love about it most is the fashion! The outfits are completely over the top, outrageous in all their glory, adorable, unexpected and oh so cool. Just check out the plaids paired with stripes!

Rice Bowls

Courtesy NYTimes Cooking. Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food styling: Vivian Lui.

Rice bowls are all the rage these days and I actually love that way of eating. The plate appeals to my sense of order--all neatly organized delicious ingredients, arranged into little stacks. You start with a base of rice (or quinoa or couscous or anything you want). What goes on top of the first layer is in small portions and you can choose exactly what you want to put in there based on what appeals to you. A rice bowl is a bit more substantial than a salad due to the carb and it is great for emptying out the leftovers you might find it your fridge. Here is a Sarah Copeland recipe from the New York Times Cooking app but feel free to substitute any of her choices for some of yours.

* 1½ cup short-grain or sushi rice
 ¼ head purple cabbage, very thinly sliced (8 ounces)
 ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
 1 tablespoon chile-garlic sauce
 1 tablespoon brown sugar
 2 tablespoons peanut, canola or grapeseed oil
 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
 3 green onions, thinly sliced
 1 to 2 cups kimchi, to taste
 2 cups raw or cooked vegetables (such as shredded carrot, sliced radish, avocado, edamame, grilled zucchini or steamed spinach)

* Step 1 Rinse the rice and cook in 2 cups water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, covered, until tender, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep covered 10 minutes more.
* Step 2 Meanwhile, toss the cabbage with the salt and set aside in a colander to drain. (It should be sliced as thinly as possible, so it wilts in the salt.)
* Step 3 Toss the shrimp with the chile-garlic sauce and brown sugar to coat. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until just cooked through and slightly smoky, 4 to 5 minutes, adding the sesame seeds in the last minute of cooking. Season the shrimp with a pinch of salt.
* Step 4 Divide the rice between 4 bowls. Top with the shrimp, cabbage, green onion, kimchi and any other vegetables.

And here is another recipe from Kay Chun with salmon instead of shrimp but again, feel free to substitue any protein of your choosing:
Yield: 4 servings * ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
 1½ cups sushi rice (short-grain white rice), rinsed until water runs clear
 1½ pounds skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch cubes
 ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
 ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
 2 tablespoons safflower or canola oil
 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped scallions
 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger (from one 2-inch piece)
 3 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
 8 ounces green coleslaw mix (about 3 packed cups)
 1 avocado, halved, pitted and thinly sliced
 Torn toasted nori sheets, for garnish (optional)
*
 In a large saucepan, combine rice vinegar, sugar and salt; stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the rice and 1¾ cups water, and mix well. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. *
 In a small bowl, toss salmon with ¼ teaspoon sesame oil and season with salt. Once rice is tender (after about 20 minutes), arrange salmon in an even layer on top of rice. Cover and steam over low heat until fish is cooked to medium, about 12 minutes longer. *
 Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine soy sauce, white vinegar, safflower oil, scallions, ginger and the remaining ¼ teaspoon sesame oil. Mix well, and season with salt. *
 Scoop salmon and rice into bowls. Top each with some cucumbers, coleslaw mix and avocado. Drizzle with the vinaigrette. Top with nori, if using.

Painting of the Week

In process. Two of my Tree of Life Series mixed media on paper 60” x 22” each

Charity of the Week:

Blog No. 106: Street Art, Documentary Feeling Through, Poet Diana Goetsch

December 31, 2022

Thank you everyone…I am so grateful for all of you and wish you a happy and healthy 2023! And I wish for more peace & love throughout the world.

Street Art

I've always had the utmost respect for graffiti and street artists. It might look easy but it isn't--painting on the spot like that involves a lot of planning, the materials can be unforgiving and often the act of painting on walls can be dangerous due to height and hard to reach places, not to mention breathing in all those aerosols, which can't possibly be good for you.

Take a look at this video above, which shows a complilation of some some really cool street art done by artists from different parts of the world.

Short Documentary: Feeling Through

click above to see full 18 minute documentary

I am really excited about sharing the documentary Feeling Through with you. It is an extraordinary film which introduces many of us, for the first time, to the deafblind community. But most of all, it is an authentic film about humanity at its best...

Feeling Through tells the story of a homeless young man who randomly encounters a deafblind person in need of help crossing the street. It is inspired and based on the real life encounter the director, Doug Roland, had with Artemio, a deafblind man he met one evening in the streets of New York City. Feeling Through won sixteen awards and was short-listed for an Oscar for best live action short film in 2019. In addition to the film itself, here are two documentaries that show a behind the scenes to the film-making process Connecting the Dots, and another entitled The Road to the Oscars: Feeling Through, where you share in the excitement of all those involved, especially for the deafblind actor, who had no idea that he would ever act, let alone be nominated for an Oscar.

Poet Diana Goetsch

Love is love is love...it's what makes the world go round. And for those lucky enough to have felt it once or twice or twenty times in their life, there ain't nothing like the feeling...Here is a love poem that moved me when I came across it recently...

SWIMMING TO NEW ZEALAND
by Diana Goetsch

Once or twice in life you find a woman
you’d swim the ocean for. What are you doing?
friends will ask, as you perfect your stroke,
meantime pitying everyone outside of love.
Your only obstacle, the blue Pacific—
where your sun sinks, she’s dressing in the morning,
and when the dawn comes reaching back around,
turning up the volume in your city,
she’s drawing blinds, removing her make-up.
If you were Gatsby you would build a mansion
in some cove off the Tasmanian sea
and throw parties to lure her in. You’re not
of course—though nothing’s impossible,
except life without her, and so you swim.

The poet, Diana Goetsch, has had an interesting life. To read more about her transition from male to female, her background as a writer and school teacher, her eight other poetry publications, her new memoir, etc. click here.

Painting of the Week

Mitten Series, mixed media on paper, 22” x 30”

Charity of the Week:

Blog No. 105: Octopuses, Hyperrealist Howard Lee, Food Writer Linda Burner Augustine

December 24, 2022

Octopuses

Octopuses (yes, that is the preferred plural) are among the most fascinating and unusual animals on this earth as this documentary entitled The Insane Biology of the Octopus will tell you. Some even suggest that they might not even be from here--and the idea that we, as humans, are superior is challenged big time when you learn the characteristics and capabilities of these amazing toothless and boneless cephalopods.

Here are a few little known facts about them: they have a local brain in each arm, controlled by a central brain that oversees all the others. They are capable of unbelievable camouflage techniques, including disguising themselves as other undersea animals to escape danger. They can recognize individuals outside of their own species, including humans, as you can see in the film My Octopus Teacher about the real touching friendship formed in Cape Town, South Africa between diver Craig Foster and a wild octopus. And their brain-to-body ratio is the largest of any invertebrate and larger than most vertebrates, except mammals. For these and more images and facts, Nat Geo Wild has compiled a short video with some of these astounding facts. And if you are still hungry for more (I for one will never eat another octopus in my life), Christiane Amanpour interviewed Foster Craig Foster on his show Amanpour & Co. and Sy Montgomery's The Soul of an Octopus is on my list of next books to read.

Hyperrealist Artist Howard Lee

Check this out: English artist from Newcastle on Tyne Howard Lee is a hyperrealist who plays with illusion in his two dimensional drawings and videos. Using a wide range of materials, Lee's unique approach and imagination are captivating--I can sit for hours watching his videos and process...

Foodie Linda Burner Augustine

Linda Burner Augustine’s latest collaboration with Chef Jamie Callison

“Food is life, good food is good life” per chef, caterer, food writer, recipe developer and teacher Linda Burner Augustine, who I had the pleasure of meeting on my recent trip to Seattle. I found her inspiring as she talked about her love of fresh seasonal whole foods and family dinners--an appreciation she learned while living in France. She shares ideas and easy to follow, delicious and simple recipes in her food blog "A Year at the Table." "I believe in simplicity in cooking and will do all that I can to make recipes uncomplicated and easy,...keeping recipe ingredients to the most minimal..." Watch her talk about her passion on the morning show Day Northwest.

Painting of the Week

Tree of Life Series: Dove of Peace, mixed media on paper, 60” x 22”

Charity of the Week:

Blog No. 104: Michelle Obama, The Neighbor's Window, Music: Two Songs I Love

December 17, 2022

Michelle Obama on Jimmy Kimmel

Michelle Obama is the epitome of grace for me. Self assured, unabashedly herself, kind, open, so intelligent and now that she is no longer in the fishbowl of the White House, she can show her true colors in full glory. And she is not afraid of color--just take a look at her style! Watch her here on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, talking about her new book The Light We Carry. This woman has class and her own, expressive style...

The Neighbor's Window

In 2020, the Oscar was given to The Neighbor's Window for best live action short film. In the middle of the pandemic, many of us probably missed it. My friend Todd shared it with me the other day and I thought it worthy. It is a modern story about modern life in a big city, with universal truths, and as Marshall Curry, the filmmaker states, "a well told story is a powerful thing! It can change the way we see the world and it can help us to notice other people and care about those other people and maybe love each other a little bit more." He dedicated the film to his mom, whom he credits for teaching him his craft, where he learned his craft: "for her and all the other storytellers out there..."

Music: Two Songs I Love

One of the best things I did two years ago was to make a conscious decision to stop listening to cable news all the time. I have been a news junkie for years, obsessed with politics and gobbling up every dirty detail of human foibles. Maybe it was the guilt of having a mom who grew up in Nazi Germany, knowing that so many people just turned away and ignored what was going on...But I came to realize that I didn't need the 24/7 news cycle and in fact, to say it was toxic was an understatement...I finally did turn away from most of it and instead, turned up the music, which had always been a big part of my younger years. Am I glad I did! I really feel like a changed person because of it...I love to sing along too--something so uplifting about that--even though my voice has a lot of be desired. I try and make sure no one is really listening and I belt it out, mostly in the car or when I am painting...Here are a few songs a good friend shared with me recently--the first is a Stephen Stills, Judy Collins version of Handle with Care that I hadn't heard before and the second is an absolute unknown gem of a song entitled Bluebird of Happiness from an obscure British band called Mojave 3.

Painting of the Week

A little warmth and coziness for winter…

Charity of the Week:

My friend Emma, who lost her dad at 15, is raising money for Good Grief, an organization that helps kids deal with the death of a parent. Please consider donating towards her goal as she runs a half marathon.

Blog No. 103: Human Composting, Lopez Island Library, Sheila Metcalf Weaver

December 10, 2022

In the next few weeks I will be offering a giveaway of a large painting, in honor of the holidays and my 100th blog post. Stay tuned for details…

Human Composting: Return Home

Micah way back when I babysat for him. He was super intelligent and very personable, even then!

I bequeath myself to the earth to grow from the grass I love
If you want me again, look for me under your boot-soles
--Walt Whitman

The idea of human composting, an alternative to human burial and cremation, is gaining steam these days across the country. It is a way to gently transform human remains into fertile soil, give back to the earth and complete the life cycle in a non-polluting gift to the earth kind of way. You might have heard mention of it as it has been in the news a lot lately--it is legal in several states (California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and Washington and is being considered in New York State right now) and that number is growing.

Micah Truman the founder and owner of the largest human composting facility in the world, Return Home, a new type of funeral home (based in Auburn, Washington just outside of Seattle) has won numerous awards including Best Funeral Home in Washington State and one of three Best of the Best worldwide. It just so happens that I used to babysit for Micah (and his brother Sean) when he was a young boy.

If you would like to learn more about this method of burial, which actually gives back rich fertile soil to the earth, listen to Micah talk about his passion and business: Return Home.

Lopez Island Library (and Ramen Shop nearby)

Darren Hoerner, Librarian, Lopez Island, WA

For me, libraries are magical places and I try and make it a rule to visit them whenever I go into a new town. I just love being around books in general, as if the knowledge one can get from them literally feels like it is leaping off the pages...

On a recent visit to the greater Seattle area, my friend Lexi proudly took me on a field trip to her local library--a pure gem of one on Lopez Island. If the librarian is creative and visionary, as Darren Hoerner is, it can become a central hub of the locality, a place to gather and much vaster than just a place to house and borrow books. The quality of these institutions says a lot about the values of a community--how much effort and vision they are willing to put into these centers. If the montly newsletter is any indication, the Lopez Library is bustling with all kinds of activities, from lectures, knitting circles, game nights, holiday card making, open mike evenings, etc. They lend all sorts of musical instruments including large drums and bongos, board games, music, movies, and they have a fully stocked arts and crafts room where people can come, use the supplies and make art, often with intergenerations interacting. The library is inviting, filled with art and multiple large comfortable chairs and seating arrangements which give it a feeling of home and "hygge."

The Lopez library has been awarded "Star Library" status several times over (out of 7049 American public librarires, only 259 reach this distinction) and has also been selected as one of 15 public libraries in the nation to participate in the “Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces” grant project led by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) in partnership with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).

And if you are hungry afterwards, go check out another gem of the Lopez community, the Setsunai Noodle Bar just nearby, where Josh Ratza and his family Michelle and Noah cook up and serve delectable healthy, locally sourced and organic Japanese inspired dishes including rice bowls, ramen and udon noodle soups, kimchi and other delicious creative inventions. As good quality as any other top quality ramen shop I have encountered...

Top notch Japanese inspired noodle bar Setsunainoodle on Lopez Island, Washington

Chef Josh Ratza, photo courtesy Mikaela Judd, who writes a monthly blog https://www.mikaelajudd.com/

Sheila Metcalf, Weaver

Midnight and Moonlight, my new vest woven by Sheila Metcalf

One of the best things about being an artist is you get to trade with other artists and artisans for some really cool stuff. I was especially lucky this trip to find the wonderful Lopez Island weaver, Sheila Metcalf, willing to exchange with me. The great thing about this type of transaction I find is that both parties end up feeling like they made off like bandits. I defintely felt that way with the vest below and another beautiful light blue indigo shibori longer version. If you are in the market for beautiful woven and hand-sewn one of a kind garments with hints of Japanese influence, please check out Sheila's work on her website: sheilametcalf.com. It is wonderful and very reasonably priced.

Unique Gifts for the Holidays

**For unique gifts, visit our artShop:** **www.pamelasmilow.com/shop-all**

Charity of the Week:

This is the charity closest to my heart in New York City. My daughter Morgan was part of this wonderful dance program in the NYC public schools in fifth grade and then went on to dance with them every Saturday as part of their SWAT Celebrations Team for the following four years. As a young deaf boy, Jon Hine, (pictured here), was an incredible dancer who lit up the stage and has gone on to do wonderful things with his life…This is defintely a charity worth supporting as it literally changes kids’ lives…

Blog No. 102: Our Canine Friends, Singer Songwriter Lily Meola, Dale Chihuly Glass

December 3, 2022

In the next few weeks I will be offering a giveaway of a large painting, in honor of the holidays and my 100th blog post. Stay tuned for details…

Our Canine Friends

My granddog Frenchy! We think she might be a mix of Basenji and pitbull?

I have just become a dog grandmother, and as such, have a new found interest and love for our canine friends. I grew up in a family that always had dogs, but as an adult living in a big concrete city, I didn't think it was practical. My daughter recently stopped listening to her pragmatic mom and adopted a rescue dog from Tennessee. Am I glad she did! Oh boy, do we love this dog and how much pleasure it brings us...

According to researcher Brian Hare, an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University, we haven't paid near enough attention to the study of our man's (and woman's) best friends--they just haven't been studied as much as other animals, despite the fact that we evolved alongside each other for more than 15,000 years. Here is a very interesting story about Chaser, a border collie, whose extensive vocabulary was that of a 2+ year old toddler and capable of inferential thinking. Anderson Cooper did an interview about Chaser and the underestimated capability of dogs on on 60 Minutes. And if you want to put a smile on your face, watch this longer documentary about dogs entitled Seniors: A Dogumentary.

Lily Meola: Daydream

Here is a little song big on inspiration by singer/songwriter Lily Meola to remind us that life is not a dress rehearsal and to give us the everlasting message we all need to learn to stave off fear...Here's to daydreams...

Dale Chihuly

I have always wanted to visit the Dale Chihuly Museum in Seattle and yesterday it happened. What a wonder! This glass artist is fearless, ambitious and amazingly talented--no project is too big and he has the confidence to know that he will find a way...I watched a few short documentary videos of him at the museum and realized we have a common way of working. He doesn't think when he works (I don't either), he doesn't know where he is going with a piece and finds out in the process, he is interested in the architecture around his art, he often sticks to variations of one dominant color, and he tries to suspend judgment and just get to the point where something simply looks good...In other words, I think, like me, he relies and trusts his intuition and more than anything...

Unique Gifts for the Holidays

Charity of the Week:

Blog No. 101: Elizabeth Cotten, MOMA Favorites, No Knead Bread

November 26, 2022

In the next few weeks I will be offering a giveaway of a large painting, in honor of the holidays and my 100th blog post. Stay tuned for details…

Elizabeth Cotten

Print by JustaJar Design Press available for purchase on Etsy

On November 5, 2022, Elizabeth Cotten (1893-1987) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Some people thought it was long overdue. Working as a domestic and caregiver for the Seeger family (relatives of Pete Seeger), Elizabeth was discovered in a room one day picking away at the guitar. Totally self taught, Cotten had a very unique way of playing: she was left-handed and held the instrument upside down. "The Seegers hired Cotten, whom they called "Libba," to cook and clean and look after the kids. They were surprised to discover that she was a musician, too, says Peggy Seeger. "When I was about 15 I walked into the kitchen and I saw her playing the guitar that was hanging on the wall. And she was playing 'Freight Train.' Then she started trotting out songs. She knew a lot of songs. We would have been happy to do the cooking and cleaning if she would just play!" The Seeger family recognized right away her talent and eventually helped her to achieve a career in music. Most famous songs include Freight Train and Shake Sugaree but she has written many other great ones as well...For more of her folk and blues roots music, listen here.

A few MOMA favorites

I hate to sound so old and change resistant but in some ways I never really got over the Museum of Modern Art renovation or the return of Guernica to Spain. I liked the old museum! I knew where all my favorite paintings were and now I am lucky to even see a few of them once in a while...Here are a few Picassos that feel like old friends and that I have loved over all these years...

No Knead Bread

I probably shouldn't be eating so much bread but this recipe is so easy, so delicious and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and totally irresistible! I was graciously invited to a dinner at some new friends' house in Tenant's Harbor and Jo proved to be an amazing cook. The bread was only one of the many good things she made that day and she wasn't proprietary about any of the recipes. A few days later I made this no knead bread myself. Recipe below. You can substitute beer for water if you like...

NO KNEAD BREAD

Ingredients
3 cups all purpose or bread flour
1/4 teaspoon yeast (active dry or instant)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water (or beer)
1 1/2 tablespoons extra flour for shaping

First mix dry ingredients together and then add the water (or beer), combining together (with your hands if you like--it will be sticky so put some flour on your fingers). Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let sit out on the counter for 12-18 hours. Preheat oven and pan to 500 degrees (very important that both are very hot), shape the dough (by flouring the counter and your hands) into the shape you want and place in a dutch oven or loaf pan. Cook covered for 30 minutes and then uncovered for 15 minutes more.

Painting of the Week

When you live in Santa Barbara, you can even have paintings hanging outside on your terrace! Here is my friend Barbara Edelston Peterson, jewelry designer (https://projectbemoved.com/foreste-and-hils/) and founder of the Whole Champion Foundation, in her beautiful “tree house” home.

Unique Gifts for the Holidays

Charity of the Week:

Doctors Without Borders

Blog No. 100: Loreena McKennitt, Down to Earth Netflix Series, Vegan Broccoli (Cheddary) Soup

November 19, 2022

In the next few weeks I will be offering a giveaway of a large painting, in honor of the holidays and my 100th blog post. Stay tuned for details…

Loreena McKennitt Dante's Prayer

There are moments that you remember when you hear a piece of music and it just hits you. This is one of those songs for me. I hadn't heard of Canadian singer/songwriter Loreena McKennitt before and was introduced to her by a good friend, who by now knows what I like and often feeds me wonderful music. Maybe it was the setting I was in, not sure, but I remember the moment like I remember other big events in my life...And in some ways, I attribute Dante's Prayer to opening my heart just a little more when I didn't even realize it has been so closed...So here is the song...I hope its beauty and depth affects you too....It starts with a Gregorian chant...Click here for the song and the lyrics

Down to Earth: Netflix Series

Somehow the Netflix TV series Down to Earth, already on its second season, has not been on my radar, probably because instead of a television screen, I have just been gazing at a beautiful vast ocean for the last months. But a friend brought this series to my attention the other day and I wanted to share it with you. The show, hosted by the American actor Zac Efron, has searched the world for creative ways to live healthily and sustainably and as a result, discovered a group of extremely passionate, intelligent and dedicated people leading the way...This is very exciting tv, exciting news for the world, and I wonder why and only wish that the news media would focus on this type of news rather than doom and gloom and humans at their worst. This is truly human beings at their best--finding innovative ways of saving our planet, making responsible choices, and figuring our way out of this mess we have made of our planet.

I started with the second season, episode 1 of Down to Earth Down Under, which describes zero waste in many forms, from new ways to butcher fish with almost no part left over (did you know that with our precious and dwindling fish population on earth, we discard 50 percent of our catch!), to Joost Bakker and family's totally zero waste free new food system home, smack in the middle of Melbourne, Australia.

We are all capable of at least some of these practices so for some good ideas and inspiration, check this series out...

Vegan (Cheddary) Broccoli Soup

I am always looking for ways to eat healthier and this soup is a delicious option on a cold winter's night...It was served to me in Belfast, Maine by my friend Roberta, who shared this recipe from a cookbook she loves: Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

VEGAN (CHEDDARY) BROCCOLI SOUP

Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small chopped yellow onion
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cloves garlic
4 cupes chopped broccoli
1/2 cup peeled and chopped carrots
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
3 cups vegetable broth

CASHEW CREAM

1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
2 cups vegetable broth
3 tbsp mild white miso
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
ground pepper to taste

In a 4 quart pot, sautee the onions in the oil, adding a pinch of salt, the garlic (cooked about 30 seconds until fragrant), then add the broccoli, carrots, tumeric and broth and remaining salt. Cover, bring to a boil and then simmer for approx 10 minutes until carrots are tender.
In the meantime, prepare the cashew cream. Drain the cashews and in a blender, place the broth, miso and nutritional yeast. Blend until totally smooth (may take 1-5 minutes), scraping sides to get everything blended.
When carrots are tender, add the cashew cream to the soup and puree with an immersion blender. Keep cooking the soup on low for another 10+ minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Once thick, add the lemon juice and pepper and serve.

Paintings of the Week

Unique Gifts for the Holidays

Charity of the Week:

Doctors Without Borders

Blog No. 99: Dave Evans, Michael Moore, Poem by Kyle Tran Myhre

November 11, 2022

Dave Evans Wake Up Call

click for a tribute to Evans on W. Virginia Public Radio

Vietnam Veteran Dave Evans is the subject of a beautiful documentary entitled The Wake Up Call (directed by Alison Gilkey and Eric Neudel) which I had the privilege of seeing recently at a screening in Damariscotta, Maine. The film is making the film festival circuit and I am unable to share anything more than the trailer, but be sure to watch for it. Born in the coal mining country of West Virginia, Dave Evans enlisted, like so many young American men, in the Marine Corps as a young man looking for adventure and a way out. And sadly, like so many other men his age, he was rudely awakened to reality when he lost both legs in an ambush soon after he first saw combat.

Returning to West Virginia as a very angry disabled man, Evans soon decided to channel his anger into something more useful: he became an outspoken activist against the Vietnam War and spent a good deal of time talking to young men like himself. Realizing how lucky he was to live in a country where medical care was accessible, he then turned himself into an expert on artificial limbs and directed at least some of his intense anger against the American government into a life of healing for others. He spent the next forty years of his life traveling throughout the world to many remote areas where medical care was completely lacking, fitting fellow disabled people with prosthetics that would utterly change their lives...Evans was a hero and savior to so many in Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Angola are other places where he ventured to help set up prosthetic clinics.

Michael Moore: Our Nation's Conscience

Illustration by KeithNegley.com courtesy of The New Yorker Magazine

All through this election process, when I dared not look at the news and truly, I am ashamed to say, buried my head in the sand, Michael Moore was my one source of comfort. His frequent optimistic emails entitlted Mike's Midterm Tsunami Truths (there were forty of them) showed up religiously in my inbox, and maybe yours too, giving us a ray of hope through such heavy dark waters and doomsday predictions. And the glimmer was brightened even more when I remembered that he was no sugar-coater--he was correct in 2016 when he almost solely predicted (like me) Trump's victory over Hillary. Well, he turned out to be right again!

This wise caring man, who tirelessly fights the good fight, has documented our nation's shame in over ten important documentaries (including such films as Roger and Me, Sicko, Where to Invade Next and Farenheit 11/9 to name a few). I think I am going to go back aned watch them all again.

Michael Moore is our nation's conscience and a true national treasure!

Poem by Kyle Tran Myhre

VOTING AS FIRE EXTINGUISHER

by Kyle Tran Myhre

When the haunted house catches fire
a moment of indecision.

The house was, after all, built on bones

Everyone who enters the house feels
that overwhelming dread, the evil
that perhaps only fire can purge.

It's tempting to just let it burn.

And then I remember:
there are children inside.

Smilow Mathiesen Swag:
Unique Gifts for the Holidays

Charity of the Week:

Warnock for U.S. Senate

My portrait of Raphael Warnock, used to make into lawn signs in Georgia. Click to donate and call me to get the image to make your own sign....

Blog No. 98: Billy Crystal on Muhammad Ali, Keanu Reeves, Kurt Vonnegut Documentary

November 5, 2022

This Robert Hubbell column today made me feel a little bit better this morning. It might do the same to you…https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/join-the-pre-election-discussion?r=4adbb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Billy Crystal on Mohammad Ali

Billy Crystal and Muhammad Ali had a friendship that spanned over forty years.

I have long admired Billy Crystal as a talented and wonderful, caring person and was not surprised to learn that, like me, he grew up in a home dedicated to civil rights. His father was a producer of jazz concerts and was one of the first to integrate bands in the forties and fifties. His family produced Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday's poignant song about the lynching of African Americans in America.

What I didn't know is that Muhammad Ali and Billy Crystal had an unusual and deep relationship and they considered each other brothers.

Muhammad Ali was a looming figure in my life--I admired him, not for his boxing prowess but because he was a hero to my father when he stood up against the Vietnam War and was a moral example for many young Americans who shared his belief that the war was just simply wrong and unjust...

I share with you here Billy Crystal's beautiful and very moving eulogy to Muhammad Ali, laced with humor, delivered in Louisville, Kentucky on June 10, 2016.

Keanu Reeves

Written by cultural critic Alex Pappademas, published by Abrams Books

Because this column is all about celebrating the unsung heroes of our world, here is a piece on Keanu Reeves that touched me.

"He was abandoned by his father at 3 years old and grew up with 3 different stepfathers. He is dyslexic. His dream of becoming a hockey player was shattered by a serious accident. His daughter died at birth. His wife died in a car accident. His best friend, River Phoenix, died of an overdose. His sister has leukemia.

And with everything that has happened, Keanu Reeves never misses an opportunity to help people in need. When he was filming the movie "The Lake House," he overheard the conversation of two costume assistants; One cried because he would lose his house if he did not pay $20,000 and on the same day Keanu deposited the necessary amount in the woman's bank account. He also donated stratospheric sums to hospitals.

In 2010, on his birthday, Keanu walked into a bakery and bought a brioche with a single candle, ate it in front of the bakery, and offered coffee to people who stopped to talk to him. After winning astronomical sums for the Matrix trilogy, the actor donated more than $50 million to the staff who handled the costumes and special effects - the true heroes of the trilogy, as he called them.

He also gave a Harley-Davidson to each of the stunt doubles. A total expense of several million dollars. And for many successful films, he has even given up 90% of his salary to allow the production to hire other stars.

In 1997 some paparazzi found him walking one morning in the company of a homeless man in Los Angeles, listening to him and sharing his life for a few hours.

Most stars when they make a charitable gesture they declare it to all the media. He has never claimed to be doing charity, he simply does it as a matter of moral principles and not to look better in the eyes of others.

This man could buy everything, and instead every day he gets up and chooses one thing that cannot be bought: Be a good person."

Humanity at its best.

Many people have stories about Reeves, since he often travels alone without handlers. Naomi Fry, staff writer at The New Yorker, wrote about some of these encounters in a short article entitled "Keanu Reeves Is Too Good for This World back in 2019.

Kurt Vonnegut Documentary

Documentary filmmaker Robert Weide was the principal director and an executive producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm for the show's first five years.

Whether you have been a big fan of Kurt Vonnegut all your life like the filmmaker Robert Weide and me or are just learning about him now for the first time, this documentary Unstuck in Time is a beautiful tribute to an amazing and influential writer who has a lot to say about life and the human condition. Vonnegut authored fourteen novels in addition to many essays and short stories. He tackled life's biggest questions with satirical humor and his unconventional style combined the philosophy of metaphysics with science fiction, mixed in with ramblings about the simple banalities of human life. Unstuck in Time is available on hulu and youtube and in my humble opinion, well worth the watch...

Photo of the Week:
My studio these days, Midcoast Maine

Charity of the Week:

ACLU Legal Defense Fund

Blog No. 97: Ignore the Polls, Ave Maria, Michael Singer Quotes

October 29, 2022

Ignore the Polls

Robert Hubbell’s newsletter started as a letter he sent out to his family.

Robert Hubbell sends out a daily newsletter on politics that is well worth the read. It originally started out as a letter to family members. He describes his intent as "a reflection on today's news through the lens of hope." I take a look at it every morning after I read Heather Cox Richardson. This entry today (October 27, 2022) is particularly good so I'd like to share it with you--important for all of us to read as we lead up to the elections.

Ave Maria

Two friends of mine who have a lifetime's intereest in music have a weekly radio show every Tuesday evening on WRFR.org, a community radio station in Rockland, Maine. It is always a treat to spend two hours listening to their eclectic mix of great music and hear the knowledgeable banter between two brothers who, amidst the teasing, clearly show that they enjoy each other's company.

All that to say that last night they played a surprising choice as part of their sweet lullaby section. It was R&B and soul singer Aaron Neville's version of Ave Maria. I am not a religious person and this piece of music has no religious connotation for me--all I can say is that this particular version of this song is beautiful beyond words...

There is a comment section under every video on youtube and I loved this quote from self professed heavy metal devotee Malin Choneska: "I'm a metal head to the bone. This song not only choke(sic) me up, but I actually shed some long overdue tears. How could this happen? I think I need those tears, not from pain, but from joy. There's now light at the end of this tunnel."
I couldn't agree more!

Liner Notes by the Whitt Brothers can be heard every Tuesday from 6-8pm eastern time online on wrfr.org.

Michael Singer Quotes

Michael Singer, illustration courtesy of nowwatch.org

I wrote about Michael Singer recently in another blog post. Here are a few choice quotes from him that struck a chord with me. I hope they interest you enough that you will want to look further into his books--they have had a tremendous effect on me!

"The mind is a place where the soul goes to hide from the heart."

“To get some distance from this, you first need to get some perspective. Walk outside on a clear night and just look up into the sky. You are sitting on a planet spinning around in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Though you can only see a few thousand stars, there are hundreds of billions of stars in our Milky Way Galaxy alone. In fact, it is estimated that there are over a trillion stars in the Spiral Galaxy. And that galaxy would look like one star to us, if we could even see it. You’re just standing on one little ball of dirt and spinning around one of the stars. From that perspective, do you really care what people think about your clothes or your car? Do you really need to feel embarrassed if you forget someone’s name? How can you let these meaningless things cause pain? If you want out, if you want a decent life, you had better not devote your life to avoiding psychological pain. You had better not spend your life worrying about whether people like you or whether your car impresses people. What kind of life is that? It is a life of pain. You may not think that you feel pain that often, but you really do. To spend your life avoiding pain means it’s always right behind you.”

"Do not let anything that happens in life be important enough that you're willing to close your heart over it."

“If you want to be happy, you have to let go of the part of you that wants to create melodrama. This is the part that thinks there’s a reason not to be happy. You have to transcend the personal, and as you do, you will naturally awaken to the higher aspects of your being. In the end, enjoying life’s experiences is the only rational thing to do. You’re sitting on a planet spinning around in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Go ahead, take a look at reality. You’re floating in empty space in a universe that goes on forever. If you have to be here, at least be happy and enjoy the experience. You’re going to die anyway. Things are going to happen anyway. Why shouldn’t you be happy? You gain nothing by being bothered by life’s events. It doesn’t change the world; you just suffer. There’s always going to be something that can bother you, if you let it.”

“There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind - you are the one who hears it.”

“Imagine if you used relationships to get to know other people, rather than to satisfy what is blocked inside of you. If you’re not trying to make people fit into your preconceived notions of what you like and dislike, you will find that relationships are not really that difficult. If you’re not so busy judging and resisting people based upon what is blocked inside of you, you will find that they are much easier to get along with—and so are you. Letting go of yourself is the simplest way to get closer to others.”

Products of the Week:
Cutting/Cheese Boards

These Cutting/Cheese Boards (16" x 10.5" x 0.5") and more products available on our website: www.pamelasmilow.com/shop-all

Charity of the Week:

ACLU Legal Defense Fund

Blog No. 96: Neuroscientist Anil Seth on Consciousness, Maira Kalman, Mountain Gorillas

October 21, 2022

Ted Talk on Consciousness

Click above to see this mind blowing fake hand experiment

Anil Kumar Seth, British professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex.

Science was never my strong point but the field of neuroscience and the science of consciousness captivates me.
Here is a very powerful Ted talk in which Anil Seth, a neuroscientist from Sussex, England explains how conscious reality is just our brain hallucinating...Mind expanding! To prove one of his points, Seth illustrates an experiment involving a fake hand that can be mistaken as one's own...I'd write more by way of explanation but I think it is best you listen to him. And if you care to learn more, here is an interesting 2021 interview with Anil Seth in Quanta Magazine on the subject.

Women Holding Things by Maira Kalman

The Humor of the Every Day: Talk by Maira Kalman

I love New York! On any given day you have your choice of so many stimulating and inspiring things to do and tonight was no different. I attended a talk by Maira Kalman, one of my most favorite artist/illustrator/authors. To say she is one of the coolest people I know is an understatement: unabashedly herself, with an unbelievably great sense of humor (my kind of humor), truthful, open, and so creative! Kalman is author of some of my most treasured books...This new one is no different: Women Holding Things. Full of her colorful gouache paintings of unexpected people and objects, Kalman is her own quirky self--I find her so refreshing. Check out the long list of her wonderful books for children and adults. She is also a frequent contributor to the New Yorker magazine and The New York Times. If you happen to be in New York right now, check out the original illustrations from the book at her show at the Mary Ryan Gallery through November 12th.

Women Holding Grudges—Maira’s mother in law and twin sister who didn’t get along.

Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda

Silverbacks are mature adult male gorillas.

"It seems very unfair that man should have chosen the gorilla to symbolize everything that is aggressive and violent when that is one thing the gorilla is not, and that we are...."Sir David Attenborough

Growth of the mountain gorilla population in Rwanda is one of the few success stories in conservation history--their numbers has grown remarkably since Dian Fossey first studied them in the 1970s. To quote primatologist of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, "When you look in the eyes of a gorilla, you see a kindred spirit looking back at you. They are so much like us. They have friends, they have enemies. They love to play. They love to eat. They love to nap. They are incredible moms and incredible dads." To learn more, follow Charlie Annenberg, founder of Explore and Craig Sholley of African Wildlife Foundation as they guide us through Volcanoes National Park in this fascinating documentary about these mountain gorillas of Rwanda.

Gorillas share 98.6 percent of human DNA.

Products of the Week: Yoga Mats

These Yoga Mats and more by Smilow + Mathiesen available on our website: www.pamelasmilow.com/shop-all

Charity of the Week:

Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

Blog No. 95: Jo Malone Ad Campaign, Celery Leek Potato Soup, Tracy Chapman

October 14, 2022

Jo Malone Mental Health Video Clips

October 10th, which happened also to be my birthday, was named World Mental Health Day 2022--Many people are struggling around the globe one way or another, especially now after the pandemic. Jo Malone, founder of a British perfume and cologne company, started her own foundation dedicated to mental health. Their cool ad campaign, consisting of short little video clips, took me by surprise on the small screen in the back of a NYC taxicab the other day. Here are a few of these videos--I hope you think they are as brilliant and touching as I do...

Celery Leek Potato Soup

It's getting to be soup weather. Here is a recipe, courtesy of the New York Times, that looks good to me--aside from being delicious, I especially love the color!

CELERY LEEK SOUP WITH POTATO AND PARSLEY
By Alexa Weibel
serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 large leeks, cut in half lengthwise, sliced thin
3 sliced garlic cloves
1 pound celery (about 1 large bunch), peeled and thinly sliced (save leaves for garnish
1 large peeled russet potato, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
1½ teaspoons thyme
1/4 cup dry white wine
7 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
Crème fraîche or heavy cream, for serving

In a large pot, cook leeks and garlic, salt and p[epper in the oil until tender, approx. 7-10 minutes. Add the celery potato, preferably fresh thyme and bay leaves for an additional give minutes or so. Add wine to deglaze, then cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is almost dry, another approx. 3 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and simmer until another 20 minutes until vegetables are tender and soft. Discard bay leaves. Stir in 1 cup parsley leaves.
In smaller atches, add soup to blender or use stick blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
In bowls, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with celery leaves and parsley and a bit of pepper. Serve with creme fraiche, sour cream or a little bit of heavy cream... ]

Tracy Chapman

I always loved Tracy Chapman--hadn't thought about her for a long while until I heard one of her songs yesterday...Thought I would share a few of my favorites....

All That You Have Is Your Soul

Change

Subcity

Sing for You

and of course Fast Car

Charity of the Week:

World Central Kitchen

Blog No. 94: The Year Earth Changed, Poem by Diane Zeuss, Beth Krensky Art

October 8, 2022

Couldn’t resist posting this utter piece of joy that has just elevated my mood tenfold this afternoon…—Mark Morris’ Dance Company hot off the press including the divine costumes by Isaac Mizrahi. The piece debuts in Santa Monica on October 20th but watch for it as it tours in a performance venue near you…

The Year Earth Changed

David Attenborough Illustration by Lulu Kitololo

My friend Tina is pure heart and she always gives me great ideas of what to include in this blog...Brought to you by David Attenborough, the important Apple TV film The Year Earth Changed shows us the positive impact the pandemic has had on animal and plant life and is a clear reminder of how much better off nature would be without us. It also includes some practical ideas of actions we can take to better coexist with our fellow inhabitants on this planet, while not destroying them in the process (which is exactly what we are doing at fantastical rates right now...).

Bobby by Diane Zeuss

As it appears in Poetry Magazine October 2022

BOBBY
by Diane Zeuss

All the actors from the sitcoms
I watched as a child are dead.
And the musicians, assassinated
or natural
causes. Take a hint
they shout from the top tier
of the ancient Roman
amphitheater. No
I will not take a hint. I still
make a mean
bowl of soup which can now
be poured directly
from a can and inserted
into a box that heats
via electromagnetic radiation.
I once owned
a guitar and learned me
some of the chords to “Me
and Bobby McGee” and damn
if I couldn’t sing
good.
My voice was not like Janis.
Nothing like Janis. It was high
serene
forthcoming
piercing
mezzo
very lyric
very trill
hugely skinny like a water spout
the neighbors complained about
its beauty I sang I sung I’m singing
I barely began to begun
and I’m not done.

Beth Krensky Art

One of the best things that came out of the pandemic is the fact that we can visit faraway places virtually and experience things that are not just in our local backyard. For example, I have been a regular visitor of programs at the The Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Center in South Africa. I have participated in film festivals in California, attended holiday events with distant friends and family strewn all over the globe. And in the case below, we can attend an art exhibit at Yale University by artist Beth Krensky, because an old client asked me to take a look at her childhood friend's current exhibit there at the Institute of Sacred Music. I found her exhibit and the objects in it mysterious, meaningful and intriguing...Krensky considers herself to be "a gatherer of things--objects, words, spirit--and a connector of fragments, to make us whole..." And in the words of the curator Maddie Blonquist Shrum, "This exhibition invites viewers to inhabit the space Krensky does herself: the in-between of matter and spirit, the profane and the sacred."

Take a look yourself at both the exhibit entitled Between Spirit and Matter and the catalogue which accompanies the show...and if you are anywhere near New Haven, the gallery is open weekdays from 9-4.

Paintings of the Week

Collaborative Animal Giclee Prints, 8” x 10” or in customizable sizes….www.pamelasmilow.com/animal=prints/

Charity of the Week:

World Central Kitchen

Blog No. 93: Searching for Sugar Man, Anderson Cooper's New Podcast, Roger Federer's Retirement

October 1, 2022

Searching for Sugar Man

Musician Sixto Rodriguez (click on many of the images in this blog for further links).

Sometimes things just strike me as so important that I am inclined to repeat myself on this blog in an effort to spread the wealth and make sure it isn't missed. This is the case with Searching for Sugar Man--a 2012 documentary (available on youtube and amazon) about a musician named Sixto Rodriguez. I was reminded of it recently and actually sat down to watch it all over again this week. The story is so full of miracles and wonder that I just want you to do the same--watch it from start to finish and laugh and cry and be touched by this unbelievable and true story... And for those who have seen it already like me, you might just want to fill yourself with awe all over again... Here are the two records Rodriguez released during his career: Cold Fact (1970) and Coming From Reality (1971).

Anderson Cooper's New Podcast

A few people have shared Anderson Cooper's new podcast All There Is with me and I just had the chance to listen to the first two episodes last night (as I lay wide awake trying to sleep...). No one likes insomnia but I did like the podcast, which is all about grief.

Anderson Cooper is no stranger to loss: his father died of a heart attack when Anderson was ten, his older brother Carter committed suicide at the age of 23, and his mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, just died in 2019. In Cooper's words, "I was surprised by the lonelinesss I felt afterward and still feel...she was the last person from the little family I grew up in. The last person who knew the same stories as me, had the same memories. Now I am the only one. I feel like a lighthouse keeper on an empty island and i feel like I need to preserve all that happened because if I don't, my mom and my dad and my brother and all those moments and all their friends will just disappear..."

Named after the Peggy Lee song Is That All There Is, the first episode of the podcast takes us back to Anderson Cooper's mom's home in New York City as he attempts to go through and part with much of its contents in anticipation of it's sale. We are right there with him as he holds objects and articles of clothing that have been left behind and that have such sentimental value to him: the pajamas of his dad, hidden notes his mom left him to find after her death, his brother's belt...

The second episode is a follow up to a conversation Anderson had with Stephen Colbert on his show in 2019. Colbert experienced a terrible tragedy at the age of 10, when his father and two siblings died in a plane crash and in my opinion, has a lot of very enlightened thoughts and feelings about grief. From someone who has experienced my share of loss and grief, I found this podcast really to the point and illuminating...Looking forward to future episodes...

Roger Federer's Retirement

Roger Federer retired from tennis this past week after nineteen years on the tennis circuit. His last tournament of his career was played as a doubles match partnered with his friend and tennis rival Rafael Nadal. Some might say these are first world emotional problems but in any case, here is Federer's farewell--and a four minute display of love, friendship and sportsmanship by two of the classiest competitors tennis has ever seen. I couldn't help but be moved...

Paintings of the Week

Charity of the Week:

World Central Kitchen

Blog No. 92: Artist Kiki Smith, Paper Airplanes, Poem by Rumi

September 24, 2022

Artist Kiki Smith

No surprise that Kiki Smith grew up in a very artistic family--her father, the acclaimed sculptor Tony Smith and her mother, singer Jane Lawrence, seemed to give her a head start on greatness. This is an artist that does it all in so many different mediums and she might just be the contemporary artist I treasure the most. Smith makes wonderful mixed media prints, incredible monumental sculptures, and large-scale installations, many related to her interest in the human body and the human condition. Her subject matter is gutsy, visceral, and honest.

Smith is an artist's artist. I wouldn't be surprised if many of you haven't heard of her. Here is an interesting interview she gave about her life. She is definitely worth a look and a listen...
I don't usually like reviews but this one is particularly astute, no surprise written in 2015 by a non-professional critic--a student, writing in the the Cornell University newspaper.

How to Make a Paper Airplane

I guess I am just a kid at heart. Spent the last hour making some of these paper airplanes and flying them in my hallway, They do fly! I've had this idea of making kites for years--one of these things I just never seem to get to--but maybe this is the next best thing for now...

Poem by Rumi

The Guest House
by Rumi

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Painting of the Week

Doctor’s Office, West 51st Street, New York, NY

Charity of the Week:

Save The Children

Blog No. 91: Michael Singer's Living Untethered, The Farnsworth Museum, Oliver Sacks Why the Brain Loves Music

September 17, 2022

Living Untethered by Michael Singer

Just finished Michael Singer's book Living Untethered--it made a really big impression on me. If I had to summarize it (and I might massacre it, I am warning you), I would say that it is very clear account of what it is to be inside of you, why the mind does what it does, how the heart opens and closes and why we have such trouble "being here now." When we encounter an interaction that is uncomfortable, we push it away in order to protect ourselves instead of letting the experience come in and go out again--i.e, if we have a bad encounter with a snake, we then associate every time we see something snakelike (i.e., a piece of rope, a big worm) to that bad experience and it brings up the past trauma over and over again even though it is not the reality in front of us. When we store up these past experiences, they compound and become a mess of blockages that inhibit our energy flow, prohibit us from our natural state of wellbeing and affect our spiritual growth. Singer attempts to shed light on this by illustrating how the moment in front of us is not bothering us but we are bothering us. He shows us that we have the capability of freeing ourselves from this scenario, leaning away from the noisy mind and changing our focus to what is right in front of us, the reality as seen clearly in the stillness. Away from worldliness into spirituality. A lot to work on but being clear and aware is the first step...

The Farnsworth Museum

Artists have a way of finding the best places on earth in which to spend time and I never realized how many great artists have been attracted to the state of Maine over the years, either as full time residents, summer dwellers or occasional visitors. I took a recent visit to the Farnsworth Museum and realized again what a first class museum it is, right in the heart of the midcoast city of Rockland. The museum's primary focus is to celebrate Maine's role in American Art and here is a sampling of featured artists who have spent time in this beautiful state.

Why The Brain Loves Music by Oliver Sacks

I have written about Oliver Sacks before but find this lecture Why The Brain Loves Music he gave at Columbia University particularly fascinating. It is the basis of his book Musicophilia...It is a long lecture but if you can spare the time, well worth it. And if anyone has any doubt of the power of music to pierce your heart, have a listen to this P.S. 22/Andy Grammer rendition of Don't Give Up On Me and sing it at the top of your lungs. It transforms me! I've shared it before but could listen over and over...just to see those kids and Andy Grammer light up!

Sacks refers to himself as just a country doctor and "an explorer and naturalist, exploring many strange, neuropsychological lands — the furthest Arctics and Tropics of neurological disorder.” Seldom has there been a physician more compassionate and incessantly curious about all aspects of the human condition. In addition to Musicophilia, Sacks is known for books such as The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, An Anthropologist on Mars, Awakenings, Seeing Voices, Island of the Colorblind, The Mind’s Eye, and Hallucinations. He has also written personal accounts of his own life including the titles Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood and his motorcycle days in On the Move: A Life. Additional books include The River of Consciousness, Gratitude and final essays published after his death entitled Everything in Its Place.

Painting of the Week

Tree of Life Series, mixed media on paper mounted onto canvas, 60” x 22”, Grantham, New Hampshire

Charity of the Week:

Save The Children

Blog No. 90: Amazing Grace, Serena Williams, Spicy Baked Chicken Recipe

September 9, 2022

The President Sang Amazing Grace

Michelle and Barak Obama resurfaced this week in all their glory as their official presidential portraits were unveiled at the White House. It got me thinking how much I miss them! I don't think we ever had a cooler president....Which lead me to revisit this stunning Joan Baez video about the horrific 2015 Charleston church shooting The President Sang Amazing Grace (written by English folksinger Zoe Mulford, art by Jeff Scher). I shared this once before but it is definitely worth seeing again.

Lyrics
A young man came to a house of prayer
They did not ask what brought him there
He was not friend, he was not kin
But they opened the door and let him in
And for an hour the stranger stayed
He sat with them and seemed to pray
But then the young man drew a gun
And killed nine people, old and young
In Charleston in the month of June
The mourners gathered in a room
The President came to speak some words
And the cameras rolled and the nation heard
But no words could say what must be said
For all the living and the dead
So on that day and in that place
The President sang Amazing Grace
The President sang Amazing Grace
We argued where to lay the blame
On one man's hate or our nation's shame
Some sickness of the mind or soul
And how the wounds might be made whole
But no words could say what must be said
For all the living and the dead
So on that day and in that place
The President sang Amazing Grace
My President sang Amazing Grace

Serena Williams

Serena’s goodbye speech after her loss last week at the US Open

Click image to hear Serena talk about being black and different

Hear Alexis Ohanian talk about his marriage to Serena Williams

I am kind of a fair weather sports person--most of the time I don't pay much attention but when I do, I always enjoy it...Once a year I tune in to the U.S. Open because I have memories of going to it when it was still Forest Hills with my dad and I have gone a few times more recently... Happened to watch Serena the other night and was very moved...Has there ever been a more spectacular athlete? Thought I would share the New York Times piece on her--What Serena Williams Means to You in which they asked people about their personal memories of watching her play.

Let's not forget that Arthur Ashe paved the way...

Indian Spicy Baked Chicken Recipe

This recipe is delicious!

Recipe by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients (serves 6)
1 tbsp. ground cumin seeds
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. ground turmeric
1-1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 1/2-3 tsp. salt
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed to a pulp
6 tbsp. lemon juice
3 1/2 lb. chicken pieces, skins removed
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Combine the cumin, paprika, cayenne, turmeric, black pepper, salt, garlic and lemon juice in a bowl. Mix well. Rub this mixture over the chicken pieces, pushing the paste inside any flaps and openings that you can find. Stuff some paste along the bone of the drumsticks. Spread the chicken pieces in a shallow baking tray and set aside in a cool place for three hours covered with plastic wrap (or longer).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush chicken with oil. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes, then turn the pieces over and cook another 25 minutes. Basting the chicken pieces 3 or 4 times. If there is a lot of liquid, remove extra fat with a spoon and pour remaining liquid into a smaller pot and boil until reduced a bit. Place cooked chicken on platter and pour reduced sauce over the pieces and serve with basmati rice.

Painting of the Week

Charity of the Week:

Save The Children

Blog No. 89: Viktor Frankl: The Meaning of LIfe, Another Mary Oliver Poem, I AM BLKBOK

September 3, 2022

Viktor Frankl The Meaning of Life

In my daughter Morgan's elementary school there was a sign that hung in the stairwell that all the children passed every day that read: "Happiness is an emotion that requires effort at times." This is the crux of Viktor Frankl's philosophy and what he claims enabled him to survive Auschwitz (and thrive in life). "It wasn't the people who had the physical strength and brawn who were most likely to survive, but, rather the people who had the best imaginations and could visualize what they had to look forward to in the future. This mental projection could be a person, place, or thing, that gave them a reason and the passion to want to live."

In his autobiographical book Man's Search for Meaning, the Austrian born psychoanalyst and neurologist talks about “What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.”

Here are four things Frankl considers essential:

1. We find meaning by paying attention to synchronicity--meaningful coincidences when an event in the outside world matches up with the inner state of the mind that has inner meaning and causes a feeling of amazement and the sense of the numinous. These seeming "coincidences" lift us outside of ourselves, giving us a glimpse of the sense of the divine.

2. We find meaning by finding work that feeds the soul. After losing his life's writing, Frankl never lost hope of getting his manuscript back and if not, he knew he could rewrite it...So essential to have a task that is waiting for us.

3. We find meaning through the people we love or have loved--only through love can humanity be saved. That is true fulfillment.

4. We find meaning by facing our suffering. Even in the face of horrific conditions, it is possible for spiritual life to thrive...

Another Mary Oliver Poem

Spent last weekend in New Hampshire in a beautiful setting in the White Mountains. Went kayaking on a mountain lake and sat ever so peacefully in a kayak, watching a great blue heron move so slowly, intentionally and gracefully through marshy grasses...Then came across this Mary Oliver poem this morning which just about says it all...

Heron Rises From The Dark, Summer Pond

by Mary Oliver

So heavy
is the long-necked, long-bodied heron,
always it is a surprise
when her smoke-colored wings

open
and she turns
from the thick water,
from the black sticks

of the summer pond,
and slowly
rises into the air
and is gone.

Then, not for the first or the last time,
I take the deep breath
of happiness, and I think
how unlikely it is

that death is a hole in the ground,
how improbable
that ascension is not possible,
though everything seems so inert, so nailed

back into itself--
the muskrat and his lumpy lodge,
the turtle,
the fallen gate.

And especially it is wonderful
that the summers are long
and the ponds so dark and so many,
and therefore it isn't a miracle

but the common thing,
this decision,
this trailing of the long legs in the water,
this opening up of the heavy body

into a new life: see how the sudden
gray-blue sheets of her wings
strive toward the wind; see how the clasp of nothing
takes her in.

I AM BLKBK

If you asked me which musical instrument I love the most, I would be hard pressed to say just one, but if you forced me I know it would be the piano. Not sure where I came across BLKBOK, a uniquely talented pianist from a family of musicians in Detroit who in his own words is "doing what thousands of black artists have always done--take the tool we have and create our own hybrid expression." I love his mission--to make classical music more accessible to everyone. He loves rap and hip hop as much as he loves Mozart and Debussy, and composes what he describes as neoclassic musical poems created for everybody and to bring everyone together. Here is a beautiful example. And here he is performing and talking on the Today Show, interviewed by Al Roker. He makes special mention of a film I particularly loved entitled Green Book, , the story of trailblazing Don Shirley who travelled to the deep south at a time that was not safe for a black musician, to bring music there. If you are looking for something to watch one night, this is a good one...

Charity of the Week:

Save The Children

Painting of the Week