In this solemn act of remembering, the poet pulls onto his shoulders the terrible weight of 'this world gone wrong' and bears it for us all.

Continuing a tradition of Mayakovsky and Hikmet to read to people publicly 'to confront people more than to console them', this is a social poem to 'like' and 'share' mouth to ear.

a tour de force, a poem memoir of great accomplishment.
Robert Adamson (SMH)

"a wholly absorbing mediation on, and a reclamation of, a politicisation of aesthetics."
Ali Alizadeh, Overland

Recommended Books of 2013
Melbourne Age

o, these past X number of Sundays, the Idiot Free Zone group on Facebook has been jointly, and solely for our own amusement, creating a weekly ad hoc musical melange comprised of YouTube offerings from the worlds of pop, punk, rock, rap, blues, be bob, r&b, soul, folk, funk and jazz, according to how well they fit into and/or wrap themselves around a weekly theme. We call it "The Sunday String." This past Sunday, November 8, 2015, for example, that theme was delineated thusly:

"This day in 1887, Doc Holliday lost his last fight to tuberculosis

"So let's dedicate this Sunday's musical string to the "bad guys." (to) the gunslingers, murderers, gangsters and bank robbers who make up so much of American lore."

So sayeth our fearless leader, Jose Rosa.

In thus flinging the proverbial gauntlet at our feet, Jose challenged our inner music nerds to come up with a definitive list of tuneful tributes to our favorite dangerous dudes and dirty dames, be they fearless, fatuous, completely factual or strictly fiction.

Here below, for the first time in these pages, is a link to a YouTube playlist of (nearly) all the songs submitted. Going forward, we'll only post one song from each IFZ member on the Idiot Free Zone website, so be advised. You may continue to post however many songs you like, of course, just be sure to put your best foot forward...that is to say, put the song about which you feel most strongly...first.

Right now, you may find yourself wondering: "Why is the hell should I do that?" Well, smart guy, because starting today, we're asking the IFZ community as a whole, to vote for three songs which they feel best represent the spirit of the week's stated theme, and the Citizones who have submitted the songs receiving the most votes are gonna get some kinda prize. Nothing fancy, you understand, but something you might like. Maybe even like a lot. Who knows? It could happen.

So, here's the link to the playlist. They Bad Playlist:

Listen to it (if you haven't already), and vote for three of your favorites (remember, no more than 3) in a comment below. Thanks, Citizones!! You da bomb (do people still say that?)

Peace.

Just before the election is probably not the best time to post a photo essay. Then again if you (like me) try to tune out the final few days and just wait for the damn results, then this might be a good distraction. This little collection is mostly stuff from the last month or so. This season’s harvest.

I love this old wreck.

One very fancy dragonfly stopped to perch on a dead teasel.

One day, an Osprey passed my way.

Morning frost turned to dew and revealed all this handy work.

Colors like this are earned over many years.

I snuck up on this roosting Heron. He didn’t appreciate being woken up at all.

I’ve photographed this Great Horned Owl several times but usually at twilight. I was happy to see him out early.

Dew covered mushroom reflecting the blue sky.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to get up close to Kingfishers but invariably they see me before I see them! They cackle as they flee as if they are laughing at this foolish human.

It is not unusual for me to receive a snail-mail letter from my friend Dr. Vincent Jubilee, resident in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is still resisting the Digital Revolution. Vincent is a family friend from Philadelphia. After decades, we had a reunion in Puerto Rico, where he was a professor of English at the University of Puerto Rico.

There was something unusual about this letter, however. It took years to convince him that my visual impairment precluded me from reading his furious, cursive writing. But, this particular missive was devoid even of his conciliatory, tight typing. Instead, there was a letter, written in Spanish, from the “Instituto de Cultura de Puerto Rico.”

Several years ago, I wrote a memoir, “Manzanero, Mexico, My Dear Old San Juan, Moi,” which is available at Amazon.com. It deals mainly with the experiences I had with major international artists – in Puerto Rico and Mexico – who were connected to the international music world. In the case of the mysterious snail-mail, apparently on a whim, Vince had submitted my memoir to the Puerto Rican Cultural Institute. The letter was a copy of their response to him, thanking him for the submission and assuring him that the book would be put to good use.

On second thought, not so much a whim, Vince’s action probably was induced by the fact that, after retiring from the university, he became a journalist with the island’s then-leading, daily, English-language newspaper, The San Juan Star, as well as the Caribbean Business Newspaper. Previously, I had written for the San Juan Diary, a weekly magazine that covered the island’s main entertainment venues. Also, I was editor of Leonardo’s People Magazine, a house-organ for the island’s leading disco.

The letter from the Culture Institute is printed below, in the original language. My English translation thereof follows.

***** ***** *****

Instituto de Cultura

Puerto Rico

31 de marzo de 2016

Estimado Dr. Jubilee,

Saludos:

Acuso recibo del libro titulado, “Manzanero, Mexico, My Dear Old San Juan, Moi,” de la autoría del Sr. Curtis W. Long, donado por usted.

Después de darle una rápida mirada, pude ver que se trata de una serie de felices encuentros y descubrimientos a través de las vivencias musicales del Sr. Long.

El libro será fichado y colocado en la briblioteca de la sala de studio y referencia, de modo que esté disponible al público visitante y a los investigadores.

Le expreso las gracias de parte del Archivo General de Puerto Rico, por su donación.

Atentamente,

Leida Ordaz Santiago

Especialista Asuntos Culturales

Archivo General de Puerto Rico

Translation:

Culture Institute

Puerto Rico

March 31, 2016

Dear Dr. Jubilee:

I hereby acknowledge receipt of the book entitled, “Manzanero, Mexico, My Dear Old San Juan, Moi,” written by Mr. Curtis W. Long, which was donated by you.

After giving it a quick review, I was able to determine that it concerns a series of pleasant encounters and discoveries by way of Mr. Long’s musical life experiences.

The book will be indexed and located in the study and reference room library, where it will be available to the visiting public and researchers.

On behalf of the General Archives of Puerto Rico, I would like to thank you for your donation.

Yours truly,

Leida Ordaz Santiago

Sspecialist in Cultural Affairs

General Archives of Puerto Rico