Sunday, June 20, 2010

Lyrical Baez

Joan Baez was a mega-star in the 60's and a friend of Bob Dylan. She was born in Staten Island, New York. Her father, Albert Baez, was born in 1912 in Puebla, Mexico. Joan's grandfather, the Reverend Alberto Baez, left Catholicism to become a Methodist minister and moved to the U.S. and preached in Brooklyn. Joan's dad studied to become a minister but turned to the study of mathematics and physics. He was the inventor of the x-ray microscope and author of one of the most widely used physics textbooks in the U.S. The Baez family converted to Quakerism during Joan's early childhood, and she has continued to identify with the tradition, particularly in her commitment to pacifism and social issues. Her mother, Joan Bridge Baez, or "Big Joan", was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, a daughter of an Episcopal priest. Her mom and dad met at a high-school dance in Madison, New Jersey, and quickly fell in love. Her parents moved to California. Joan remembers that her family moved about the USA like gypsies and her sister Mimi also sang. Martin Luther King's invited Joan to sing in Missisippi during outrageous times. Joan did not consider her reputation as an artist --- she followed her heart and always did what felt right. She was jailed many times in Oakland, California for her protest against the draft. She travelled to each war zone for over 40 years. Her son now plays in her band at the age of 60+. Joan never considered the power of her fame until she saw how music could connect hearts to her crusade for peace. Her faith and beliefs never wavered.---2008 was a landmark year for Joan Baez, it marked 50 years since she began her legendary folk singing at Boston's famed Club 47. She remains a musical force of nature whose influence is incalculable - marching on the front line of the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King Jr., inspiring Vaclav Havel in his fight for a Czech Republic, singing on the first Amnesty International tour in 2008, standing alongside Nelson Mandela when the world celebrated his 90th birthday in London's Hyde Park. She brought the Free Speech Movement into the spotlight, took to the fields with Cesar Chavez, organized resistance to the war in Southeast Asia, then forty years later saluted the Dixie Chicks for their courage to protest war. Her early recordings fed a host of traditional ballads into the rock era. Joan un-self-consciously introduced Bob Dylan to the world in 1963. She travelled to England and they sang duets. Joan's affection for Dylan allowed her to let go of his enigma style. Awakened to the truth that his passion did not include politcal causes kept them friends not mates. She influenced and sang hand-picked lyrics from songwriters that touched her soul. Woody Guthrie, Dylan, Phil Ochs, Richard Farina, and Tim Hardin, to Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle and many more. Her new collection of songs reflects the momentous times in which Joan delights as the grand-mother of FOLK. Her own words, "these words speak to the essence of who I am in the same way as the songs that have been enduring the backbone of my repertoire for the past 50 years," Day After Tomorrow is the name of the CD she recorded in 2008 - Her march for the rights of people continues to inspire. "I've never had a humble opinion. If you've got an opinion, why be humble about it?" Joan Baez


"GOD IS GOD" Written for Baez by Steve Earle
I believe in prophecy.
Some folks see things not everybody can see.
And,once in a while,they pass
the secret along to you and me.

And I believe in miracles.
Something sacred burning in every bush and tree.
We can all learn to sing
the songs the angels sing.

Yeah, I believe in God, and God ain't me.

I've traveled around the world,
Stood on mighty mountains and
gazed across the wilderness.
Never seen a line in the sand
or a diamond in the dust.

And as our fate unfurls,
Every day that passes
I'm sure about a little bit less.
Even my money keeps telling me
it's God I need to trust.

And I believe in God, but God ain't us.

God,in my little understanding,
don't care what name I call.
Whether or not I believe
doesn't matter at all.

I receive the blessings.
That every day on Earth is
another chance to get it right.
Let this little light of mine
shine and rage against the night.

Just another lesson
Maybe someone's watching
and wondering what I got.
Maybe this is why I'm here on Earth,
and maybe not.
Chorus:
But I believe in God, and God is God.DAY AFTER TOMORROW - Lyrics reflect her stand for non-violence - lyrics by Tom Waits
I close my eyes
Every night
And I dream that I can hold you
They fill us full of lies
Everyone buys
About what it means to be a soldier
I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel
About all the blood that's been spilled
Look out on the street
Get me back home
On the day after tomorrow

You can't deny
The other side
Don't want to die
Any more than we do
What I'm trying to say,
Is don't they pray
To the same God that we do?
Tell me, how does God choose?
Whose prayers does he refuse?
Who turns the wheel?
And who throws the dice
On the day after tomorrow?

Mmmmmmm...
I'm not fighting
For justice
I am not fighting
For freedom
I am fighting
For my life
And another day
In the world here
I just do what I've been told
You're just the gravel on the road
And the one's that are lucky
One's come home
On the day after tomorrow

And the summer
It too will fade
And with it comes the winter's frost, dear
And I know we too are made
Of all the things that we have lost here
I'll be twenty-one today
I've been saving all my pay
And my plane will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
IMAGINE this DARING DOG skating to TUNES of BAEZ!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

THE RAZORS EDGE

AH YES - gotta get clear about what I think about things! Larry postpones his engagement to learn the meaning of life. A shallow fiancee does not understand. Larry sought truth and "What is the meaning of life?"What does it mean when a man gives up his life for you? In the end Gene Tierney discovers by default that GOOD prevails while her fortune will NEVER bring her joy. A noble man knows "GOODNESS is the greatest force in the world and he has got it!"

BLONDE HAIRSPRAY

High School hair in the 60's was all about teasing and hairspray! This picture shows me and my sis with hair that was ironed, and ratted to gain a poof and sprayed with Aqua Net to keep it set! We attended Amos Alonzo Stagg from 1967-1969 and in my senior year Grace Slick played for us on the Senior Walk! Credence Clearwater, Stephen Wolf and all the 60's tunes would blast on the radio as Bobby Newell and I cruised Pacific Avenue in his 1957 metallic green Chevrolet! In 1976 my locks were punked short to mimick the ice skater Dorothy Hammil. This shot was taken aboard a cruiser in San Francisco Bay while taking a tour of Alcatraz. Notice these "Boots were made for Walking" by Nancy Sinatra! Yes hair... the style, the cut, the color keeps on changing to best fit the time, the mood and my delight! Boys mostly enjoy long sleek hair, but us girls like curls! In Hawaii 1986 ---dressed for a 50's BOP HOP at the Hyatt, I wore a poodle skirt that I sewed together with the help of my uncle Richard who then lived in Manteca. I attended an awards banquet hosted by "Matol Botanical", a Canadian Company that sold an herbal elixir that several athletes drank during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea. All the girls out there can truly relate to the truth of BAD HAIR CUTS in this Good Morning America clip with ANITA - Please girl tell us the TRUTH! When we bring in a photo of what cut we NEED and we get something that ain't NOTHING like it---YEAH that is MESSED UP! Our HOPE is deferred, and our PATIENCE and KINDNESS --- well that fruit of the spirit just got all dried out during that HAIR DO that went POO POO! But we get a new pair of shoes and we just keep on dancing! Taking my-all- one-length-BOB to a local shop with a photo of a more stylish BOB---YES total shock stiffened my neck as this hair destroyer used thinning shears all across my thin hair! After paying for something I did not ask for, at home I tried to accept that "It's just hair!" In the mirror my 2010 pixie had straggles of hair that looked like hair that missed the blade! Wild hairs poked out in defiance for the shearing! At home with precision as my guiding intention, I snip off all that dares to stick out! The very next weekend I went to a NEW local salon that advertized color! Lighter shades that swirled in layers atop my frazzled brain would make my short blunt hairs appear softer as I gently relaxed into the truth "It is just hair!" All kinds of stories to tell from the times living in Humble, Texas, New Iberia, and Santa Cruz --- with geography my style did radically shift! After one year working 10 hour days for ten days --- followed by ten days off from Houston's medical Center, I was offered a position marketing MRI's for a group of doctors. The 1980's waves of curls like Farrah Fawcet was sooo cute and FUN! Staying in style for awhile then bending the rules with a blunt cut was a must! No bangs in high school, just long and iron smooth was the look in 1969. Moving quickly through 30 years of cuts and colors, in 1999 I moved from Santa Cruz back to Stockton to work as a loan officer for the ultra conservative Union Safe Deposit Bank. Short with bangs, I chose a Loreal color because I am so very worth it...My "short do" matched my position as a business banker. On May 4, 2004 I started working for the City of Stockton. Over the last six years with the City my hair has been kept in a style that is "easy peasy" to fix quick! A relaxed style fits my preference for casual during the day....and for special occasions, that slicked back dramatic is always possible with short or long hairs! It has been a thrill to sport all kinds of style from the perfect BOB to the pixie cut! For a short while in 2009 my locks were long enough to bend around a curling iron. Standing in the lobby of the Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco in December 2005, I was a dazzling redhead! Change has always been exciting for me so for the remainder of my days in California I have opted to be a blonde! A great stylist in Manteca named Gina perked me right into summer 2010! Retirement is just around the corner - 2014 is the year that I shall drift into a land in which there is no time, and rushing to keep up with a hair trend is absurd! Being too slow, early, or late is also nothing that will be noticed round Lake Chapala. I shall enjoy being a California blonde until my hair turns naturally to a very silky and sexy silver! In Mexico it shall be like Aunite Mame living in heaven! In a place where there is no pace, or, if pace was there, it will be at my own pace. If I choose to move fast or slow it will be "Just Right"! There will be no haste, and no waste of time to select or change a fashion, decorator item, hair color or cut! From Lake Chapala it is but a quick 40 minute ride to Guad-a-la-ha-ha! The capital of fun festivities and fashion! With my Hair Spray Painted Blonde, it does tickle me fancy! It is TRUE that while following my bliss - my HAPPY did increase as a lighter blonde!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

MOMMA MIA

Mary feels the shine and exudes the happy glow of her fitness in Tuscany 2010! At her 1968 class reunion in August 08 Mary represented her class well! This review of the renewed Mary, a liberated boomer babe who is YOUNGER in mind and body than her average peer, is to honor her stunning accomplishments. Radiant and dazzling at the beginning of her 2nd adulthood, Mary, a seasoned road warrior intelligently signals her body to renovate itself with an hour of exercise daily. With each running stride, her cells are jolted to release natural chemicals that bathe her brain and soul with positive feelings - and she glows! Having read and applied the teaching contained in YOUNGER NEXT YEAR, Mary does not negotiate her committment to exercise hard six days a week. She is relentless about her set priority and my life has been enhanced by watching her grow younger and stronger since my visit in May 2008. Indeed exercise is the magic of her optimism, poise and strength to trot the globe as a board member of a major Canadian company. She is brilliant on the tennis court, confident on the golf course, respected in the board room, and cherished by her doting husband at home. Smart women do not grow older, they grow stonger, more vibrant and younger! With extreme exercise, diet and keeping her soul supported by choice Chiquititas, she sings and dances to Momma Mia. Hooyah! Mary turned back the bio clock. Statistics show that the fastest growing segment of the USA population is of active folks thriving past a century. Another great book "WHAT HAPPY WOMEN KNOW" reveals pages of truth that Mary has lived. Mary is happily a ravishing victoress, living cancer free for 15 years. Courage is taking constructive action in spite of fear. Fear rose up, and Mary intentionally invoked her neocortex to overtake the lower brain (amygdala) where fear resides. Her courage is rehearsed and ready to combat any thought to quit. Mary is among the conscious wise that enjoy the benefit of an earned, generous income, the good habit of healthy thinking, eating and moving.Mary is a GRAND mother and the creative genius of fashion for her tiny tots that strut her designs annually in the Halloween parade. A happy tradition of communicating current measurements over the phone, these cuties passionately love their glam Gamma. As a happy woman, Mary knows that her beautiful possessions are not all that delivers happiness. She is generous, kind, humble and greatful. Wisely she does not play the comparison game because she knows that someone wlll always have more than she does. Mary is content knowing that good enough, is good enough. The Countess of Blessington "There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness" Mary is the container of beauty and as my senior sister by only 10 months, she is my mentor, my greatest soul supporter, model of courage and compassionate friend. We will live well into our nineties, and we will live with boosted bio - chemistry, amazing brains and optimistic fanfare! Gail Sheehy confesses in the foreward of "Younger Next Year" that she goes to Rancho la Puerta in Mexico annually for a fitness camp. One session of exercise she truly enjoys is "strip dancing" to great tunes! A class dedicated to stripping off the normal identity in order to reveal the natural erotic creature that thrives under the skin of every female. Gail remarks "It's a heck of a lot more fun than doing squat thrusts in a sweaty gym". Gail's latest book "Sex and the Seasoned Woman" suggests that women need to strut their stuff, grind their hips, shake their booty, dangle their ornaments and have FUN shamelessly VAMPING! Exercise is a FUN habit that includes a good release of the inner goddess - crank up the chemistry with great music and swirling moves, FEELING the beat of the tamborine as the dancing QUEEN! A choice Chiquitita!