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‘Coco’ – A Movie for Both Children and Adults to Enjoy

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The Disney/Pixar companies have redeemed themselves after the 2013 debacle of requesting to trademark “Dia de los Muertos.” By hiring a mostly Latino cast and working extensively with Latino consultants, the result is an absolute win with their new film, “Coco.”

“Coco” works on many levels. First, it’s a delightful children’s movie with beautiful and colorful animation, lively music, and sight gags to please little tykes. It’s also an educational film, introducing to audiences who don’t know, the meaning and traditions of Dia de Los Muertos — a cultural, sometimes religious, spiritual, and familial holiday in Mexico and Latin America.

November 1 and 2 are days that many families visit cemeteries and/or build altars in their homes, decorating them with pictures of the deceased, flowers, candles, food, etc. The movie can bring about a discussion between Anglos and Latinos, who tend to have very different views of death and the afterlife.   [Read more…]

Nature Boy – Then (Nat King Cole) and Now (David Bowie & Massive Attack) | Video Worth Watching

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Audiophile Christa Blackmon over at Lawyers, Guns & Money, has a post that explores one of the songs—Nature Boy—written in 1947 by an odd character from that period, eden ahbez. It’s one of those songs so captivating that many performers over the years have been seduced into covering it. Here are two versions that resonate with me. The first, performed by Nat King Cole, is the one that brought the tune to wide national attention.

The second, more contemporary version, is performed by David Bowie & Massive Attack for the soundtrack of the 2001 Baz Lurhmann movie Moulin Rouge!   [Read more…]

Geo-Poetic Spaces: Portrait of My Parents As Lovers

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I don’t remember
the happy couple
pressed together
between two pages of Midwestern prairie

Never heard the words
love wrote inside high school dance cards   [Read more…]

Waiting for Dark Clouds to Lift Someday

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As I go along day to day, trying to move beyond the dark clouds that hover over me, I find myself indulging in reviving a few precious memories.

I see me in chorus in junior high school. Mr. Sidney Dawson is coaxing us to “sing it like you mean it” with a soulful expression on his face as he holds his hands over his heart.

I’ll always remember the day when we showed up at the Pioneer Hotel to perform, and the bellman said, “I can’t let you colored people come through the front door.”

And Mr. Dawson said, looking as serious as a heart attack: “Well, the mayor and some other VIPs are expecting us, and you gonna have some tall explaining to do – because we ain’t going in through no back door!”   [Read more…]

Readers Write: Time to Pull the Plug on Football in City Schools?

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By John Stump

The Board of Trustees is beginning the processes for preparation and funding of the upcoming Fiscal year 2018-19 Budget. I am requesting that your deliberations include a report of the revenues and expenses associated with promoting and subsidizing the injury and brain concussion prone NFL Style Football, as an academic sport at City of San Diego schools.

I request that the Board request a report which identifies all of the expenses associated with football, including but not limited to coaching, uniforms, facilities, workers compensation claims, and claims associated with students’ and the public’s participation in this sport. Analysis must consider both costs and revenues to determine the benefits of any budget item.   [Read more…]

Right Wing Scam Supporting Pedophile Fails: Democratic Institutions Under Attack

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As the daily outrages coming out of the Trump administration pile up, it’s important to not overlook the fact that all the institutions of democracy are under attack from the right.

All the talk of tax increases and/or decreases amid the GOP’s rush to pass a major piece of legislation doesn’t take into account its biggest accomplishment, namely constructing a financial framework for government guaranteeing the eventual rollback of the New Deal.  

Having eliminated the system of checks and balances within the Senate, a wave of judicial confirmations is underway designed to cripple the ability of ordinary citizens to seek redress.   [Read more…]

The Art of Flying – A Murmuration of Starlings | Video Worth Watching

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The relatively warm winter of 2014/2015 permitted starlings to remain in the Nederlands rather than embark on their typical southern migration. This presented Dutch filmmaker Jan van IJken with an opportunity to capture the mesmerizing and ineffable flight patterns of these otherwise unremarkable aerial navigators. The collective noun for starlings is a “murmuration”, although after watching these fluid and breathtaking maneuvers, I submit that a “gasp” might be equally appropriate.   [Read more…]

Evan Ziporyn’s ‘Frog’s Eye’: Motion, Stillness, Survival | Video Worth Watching

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Steven Schick conducts the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus in the 2008 West Coast premiere of Evan Ziporyn’s Frog’s Eye. The performance was a collaboration with Tijuana-based dance troupe Lux Boreal under the direction of Henry Torres.

The concert hall space pulsates as the musicians and dancers explore the feelings of motion, stillness and survival in Ziporyn’s composition.

The full video includes a brief interview at the beginning with Schick, Ziporyn and Torres.   [Read more…]

LADAMA – “Porro Maracatu” | Video Worth Watching

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LADAMA is a group of four women, virtuosic musicians, and educators — Lara Klaus, Daniela Serna, Mafer Bandola and Sara Lucas—each from a different country and culture of the Americas, who are sisters in song, rhythm and spirit. Harnessing music from their respective countries of origin –Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the United States, the group utilizes traditional and non-traditional instruments from across the Americas, but with a modern twist, to produce Latin Alternative music.   [Read more…]

Geo-Poetic Spaces: Verdict

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Natural selection
has sealed its indictment
under sheets of melting ice

Rats
quibble over spoiled venison
in headlights   [Read more…]

William S. Burroughs – A Thanksgiving Prayer + Jello Magic for Dessert | Video Worth Watching

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Food for thought … As an antidote to overly saccharine Thanksgiving missives floating in the seasonal zeitgeist, here is über curmudgeon William S. Burroughs venting his “Thanks” for the holiday. It’s from 1986, but surprisingly still resonant …

And since no good meal is complete without dessert, how about a bit of culinary Jello magic …   [Read more…]

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