Off with their heads!

The Queen [of Hearts] had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small. 'Off with his head!' she said, without even looking around.
~Lewis Carroll

We are living in upside-down times. A man who commits crimes all day long says that patriotic Americans should be put in prison for not appreciating what a good job he's doing.

Uplifting

This is a chance
To dance your way
Out of your constrictions
~Funkadelic

For Music Monday, two songs. First, "One Nation Under a Groove" by George Clinton Jr., Walter Morrison and Garry Shider, performed by The Detroit Academy of Arts & Sciences Choir ft. King Bethel and Anaiya Hall:



Next, a cover of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" performed by Little Big Town:

Smarty Plants

Along with a home-inspection duo, a science writer, and some enterprising scientists at Princeton University, we dig into the work of evolutionary ecologist Monica Gagliano, who turns our brain-centered worldview on its head through a series of clever experiments that show plants doing things we never would've imagined.
~Radiolab

Cacao by Monica Gagliano

Want to be fascinated?
I heard this podcast on a drive today and loved it: Smarty Plants

The howlin' old owl in the woods

I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft.
~John F. Kennedy

Happy Poetry Friday!

I'm going to miss the Kennedy Center! It was a cool place when it was led by someone who loves the arts. I enjoyed seeing Phantom of the Opera, The National Symphony Orchestra, the Chieftains, The Lion King, The King & I, and more.

I didn't see the song below in person, but isn't it stunning?



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I don't know how long this will be available, but currently you can download a Poem Forest Toolkit from The Kennedy Center. They say "Poem Forest is an eco-poetry project that invites students, teachers, and communities to become environmental advocates through connecting with local ecology and the creative power of poetry."

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A poem by IN-Q, who will be at the Kennedy Center on March 16th.

When I think of superheroes I think of super humans.
I think of Superman, Wolverine and Wonder Woman.
Usually they have a cape, or a mask to hide their face just in case.
They have X-ray vision and super-human strength.
Some can even breathe in outer space.
They fly around a while, but always come back to keep our cities safe.
They’re here to save humanity from itself.
It’s a metaphor for how we look outside ourselves for help, and while the fantasies are fun, I choose to look for me and you.

read the rest here

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Little Free Lit Mag, in case you want to put it in a Little Free Library near you.

Free meditation resource: Tara Brach's "How to Meditate"

TeacherDance has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Linda!

P.S. Let me give a shout out to some recent things I've gotten from Etsy: a beautiful phone case from this Ukrainian store, Emily Dickinson pencils, and a "word of the year" mini banner.

The Cone of Montmorency

We of the United States of America consider ourselves blessed. We have much to give thanks for. But the gift of providence that we really cherish is that we were given as our neighbors on this great, wonderful continent, the people and the nation of Canada.
~Lyndon B. Johnson

Sending love to our neighbors to the north during Art Thursday. I haven't seen it in person, but doesn't Canada's Montmorency Falls in winter (in the 1800s) look fun? I'm also including one from a warmer season because it looks pretty then too.

The Cone of Montmorency, as it appeared in 1829
James Pattison Cockburn

Montmorency Falls in Winter
French-Canadian artist Joseph Légaré, 1850

The Ice Cone, Montmorency Falls, Québec, 1866
Robert Clow Todd

Montmorenci Falls, seen from close by
Coloured engraving by G.K. Richardson, 1840, after W.H. Bartlett

Waking up singing

I'm walking and talking with my mind
stayed on freedom
~Reverend Robert Wesby

So, I got a comment on my last post that was just the word "die!" written three hundred times. Hmm...was it something I said? I didn't expect to hear from the pro-defenestration contingent, but am I like, "Malevolent stranger, what would YOU like for me to say?" Umm, no.

The dust might have to settle before we find out if this is still the land of the free, but at least it can still be the home of the brave.

There aren't too many photos of groups where everyone in it looks good, but this is an exception. "Woke Up This Morning" with The Freedom Singers:

Darkness and strength

The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.
~Howard Zinn

Happy Poetry Friday! Glad we can gather together even when things are grim.

Sharing a song by Russian songwriter and guitarist Vadim Stroykin, who did not support the war on Ukraine and "fell" from a window today during a police raid.



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I shared this poem in 2018 but had forgotten about it until I saw Diana Butler Bass post it today. Yes, Sonnets to Orpheus II, 29, perfect.

photo of Glockenbaum sculpture by Symposiarch

Sonnets to Orpheus II, 29
by Rainer Maria Rilke

Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,

what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.

In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.

And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.

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by Shannon Downey

Shannon Downey's Let's Move the Needle: An Activism Handbook for Artists, Crafters, Creatives, and Makers
This is not normal (cross stitch pattern)
When it all feels insurmountable, do something kind for someone (embroidery)

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Beyond Literacy Link has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Carol!