Blog No. 203: Words of Anne Frank, Satygraha, Holding Vigil by Alison Luterman

November 9, 2024

Words of Anne Frank

Miep Gies, the office secretary who defied the Nazi occupiers to hide Anne Frank and her family

The words of Anne Frank from 80 years ago touched me today, and I hope they have meaning for you: “It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquillity will return again." Let us be reminded of what is truly important in the midst of challenging and chaotic times, maintain our ideals, strive to better understand and work with each other, and keep fighting the fight. And follow the immortal words of John Wooden: “Things turn out best for the folks that make the best of the way things turn out.”

Satygraha: An Opera

Philip Glass Album artwork; credit: Luis Álvarez Roure: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

I spent the day after the election listening to music--I definitely need to bury my head in the sand for a while...I found solace in Philip Glass's opera Satygraha, which aside from its beautiful music and the visual feast of Julian Crouch's Metropolitan Opera production, also has a very relevant theme. Satygraha is made up of three acts, each dedicated to a key figure in the life of Mahatma Gandhi: Leo Tolstoy, Gandi's personal friend the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, and Martin Luther King. I saw it back in 2008, going two days in a row I was so mesmerized...If you ever get a chance to see it, go running...One of the best productions I have ever seen...Youtube is not the real thing but this six minute clip is better than nothing. Particularly apt today, the meaning of the word "satyagraha" according to Wikipedia, comes from the Sanskit: "सत्याग्रह; satya: "truth", āgraha: "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), is "holding firmly to truth",[1] or "truth force"--a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance.

Holding Vigil by Alison Luterman

HOLDING VIGIL by Alison Luterman

My cousin asks if I can describe this moment,
the heaviness of it, like sitting outside
the operating room while someone you love
is in surgery and you’re on those awful plastic chairs
eating flaming Doritos from the vending machine
which is the only thing that seems appealing to you, dinner-wise,
waiting for the moment when the doctor will come out
in her scrubs and face-mask, which she’ll pull down
to tell you whether your beloved will live or not. That’s how it feels
as the hours tick by, and everyone I care about
is texting me with the same cold lump of dread in their throat
asking if I’m okay, telling me how scared they are.
I suppose in that way this is a moment of unity,
the fact that we are all waiting in the same
hospital corridor, for the same patient, who is on life support,
and we’re asking each other, Will he wake up?
Will she be herself? And we’re taking turns holding vigil,
as families do, and bringing each other coffee
from the cafeteria, and some of us think she’s gonna make it
while others are already planning what they’ll wear to the funeral,
which is also what happens at times like these,
and I tell my cousin I don’t think I can describe this moment,
heavier than plutonium, but on the other hand,
in the grand scheme of things, I mean the whole sweep
of human history, a soap bubble, because empires
are always rising and falling, and whole civilizations
die, they do, they get wiped out, this happens
all the time, it’s just a shock when it happens to your civilization,
your country, when it’s someone from your family on the respirator,
and I don’t ask her how she’s sleeping, or what she thinks about
when she wakes at three in the morning,
cause she’s got two daughters, and that’s the thing,
it’s not just us older people, forget about us, we had our day
and we burned right through it, gasoline, fast food,
cheap clothing, but right now I’m talking about the babies,
and not just the human ones, but also the turtles and owls
and white tigers, the Redwoods, the ozone layer,
the icebergs for the love of God—every single
blessed being on the face of this earth
is holding its breath in this moment,
and if you’re asking, can I describe that, Cousin,
then I’ve gotta say no, no one could describe it
we all just have to live through it,
holding each other’s hands.

—from Poets Respond

Painting of the Week

Charity of the Week: Doctors Without Borders

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 Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

Source: words-of-anne-frank-satygraha-philip-glass...

Blog No. 202: Subway Station Mosaics, Songs of Freedom, Back on Your Feet Run Clubs

November 1, 2024

Subway Mosaics in NYC

I entered the 72nd Street Q station this morning on my way home from early voting and was reminded of the treasure trove of art we have underground in our subway system. 72nd Street is my favorite--mosaics by Brazilian artist Vic Muniz--but there are so many stations that brighten up a commuter's life. Each image is clickable so you can see the whole array of each artist's work.

*Blooming*, 1996, MTA Arts & Design, Lexington Avenue-59th Street. Photo courtesy Murray Holman Family Archive

***Stream*, 2001. MTA Arts & Design, 23rd Street-Ely Avenue, Long Island City-Court Square, *Images courtesy Fabrizio Travisanutto, Travisanutto Mosaics.***

Keith Godard’s glass mosaic hats at the 23rd Street N & R subway station

Songs of Freedom

Courtesy of Junne Alcantara via The Washington Post

Back On My Feet Run Clubs

It is New York City Marathon time this Sunday and one of my favorite days to be in New York City. I live just a half block away from the half way mark and I always like to get out there early and see all the wheelchair runners zoom by--what a symbol of the indomitable human spirit. By the end of the day I always have a sore throat from cheering everyone on...this is the human spirit at its best.

I recently heard about an organization that attempts to help the homeless by getting them back on their feet, literally. According to their website, BACK ON MY FEET is a national organization operating nationwide, that combats homelessness through the power of running, community support and essential employment and housing resources. They seek to revolutionize the way society approaches homelessness. Their unique model demonstrates that if you first restore confidence, strength and self-esteem, individuals are better equipped to tackle the road ahead. For all in need, they aim to provide: practical training and employment resources for achieving independence; an environment that promotes accountability; and a community that offers compassion and hope. For all with the capacity to serve – volunteers, donors, community and corporate partners – they seek to engage in the profound experience of empowering individuals to achieve what once seemed impossible through the seemingly simple act of putting one foot in front of the other."

Painting of the Week

Pam Smilow, Diving Board, mixed media on canvas, 50” x 70” approx.

Charity of the Week: Voters of Tomorrow

Source: subway-mosaics-nyc-protest-songs-freedom-s...

Blog No. 201: Let America Be America, Potato Leek Soup, Music to Relieve Stress

October 18, 2024

Let America Be America
by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes’s genial, generous, and guarded persona was self-protective.Photograph by Carl Van Vechten / Carl Van Vechte

Print by Ryan Sheffield available on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/listing/1067594746/langston-hughes-author-portrait-quote

LET AMERICA BE AMERICA AGAIN
by Langston Hughes

Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home—
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay—
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.

O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!

Potato Leek Soup

**Courtesy Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.**

I used to just wing cooking, reading a few different recipes and then just making up my own.  The results were sometimes good, sometimes lacking.  I have to say my life changed when I decided to splurge and subscribe to the New York Times Cooking App--well worth the money.  When I am short on ideas, I go to them.  My repetoire has expanded and the people who share my meals thank me endlessly for it...
As temperatures lower, this soup is super appealing to me.  Velvety, smooth, flavorful and most of all, just plain comforting.  God knows we all need a little comfort these days!

POTATO LEEK SOUP
by Kay Chun

INGREDIENTS      

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium leeks, light green and white parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 3 cups)

Salt and pepper

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups)

1 fresh or dried bay leaf

1 cup heavy cream

Chopped chives, for garnishing

Crusty bread, for serving

PREPARATION

In a large pot, melt butter over medium. Add leeks, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 minute.

Add broth, potatoes and bay leaf; season with salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, adjust heat to medium-low and cook at a gentle simmer until potatoes are completely tender, 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Working in two batches, if necessary, transfer soup to a blender and purée just until smooth. (Resist the urge to overprocess in the blender, which can result in gummy soup.) Return soup to the pot or, for an extra-silky soup, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into the pot.

Stir in cream and warm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Season with salt.

Divide soup among bowls and garnish with chives. Serve warm, with crusty bread.

Serves 4

Music to Relieve Stress

If you are anything like me, you are feeling excess levels of STRESS. I thought I would include a playlist here of music that might help relieve some of the angst so many of us are feeling right now.

Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622

St. Saens The Carnival of the Animals The Swan

Massenet "Thais" Meditation

Erik Satie Gymnopedie No. 1

Schubert Impromptu No. 3

Debussy Clair de Lune

Pachelbel Canon in D Major

Chopin Nocturne No. 1 In B Flat Minor, Op. 9 No. 1

Painting of the Week

One of my favorite paintings these days, this one at the home of my niece Maia and her husband Julian along with their two children, Otto and Hugo, in Brooklyn, New York.

Charity of the Week: Voters of Tomorrow

Source: https://pamelasmilow.substack.com/p/langst...

Blog No. 199: Danusha Laméris, Ancient Remedies, Michael Moore and the Polls

October 11, 2024

You can find additional content by clicking many of the images and underlined links below.

Danusha Laméris

I've always thought it was the small things in life that shape our days--saying hello and getting a big smile from the UPS guy, holding the door for someone, carrying the groceries home for an older woman...

I first saw this poem, written by Danusha Laméris, on a fellow writer, Lily Diamond's substack (check her out) and asked permission to include it here, as it expressed exactly what I have been thinking for a long time now. Laméris's poem was originally published in the New York Times in 2019.

SMALL KINDNESSES
by Danusha Laméris

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk

down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs

to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”

when someone sneezes, a leftover

from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying.

And sometimes, when you spill lemons

from your grocery bag, someone else will help you

pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.

We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,

and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile

at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress

to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder,

and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.

We have so little of each other, now. So far

from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.

What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these

fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,

have my seat,” “Go ahead—you first,” “I like your hat.”

Danusha Laméris, born to a Dutch father and a Barbadian mom, is a poet and essayist living in California. She has published three books: Moons of August, Bonfire Opera, most recently Blade by Blade and her work has been included in many publications including The Best American Poetry, The New York Times, Orion, The American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, and Prairie Schooner. She has won many awards for her writing and was chosen as the Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County, California in 2018-2020. She is currently on the faculty of Pacific University’s low residency MFA program.

Ancient Remedies

Western Medicine has been around for only 200 years (the American Medical Association was founded in 1847), whereas ancient cultures such as China, Greece, India and the Middle East created sophisticated medical systems over 4000 years ago that in many cases are still in use today. These systems espoused a more wholistic approach: diet, herbs, essential oils, acupuncture, exercise, meditation and spending time in nature. Sounds familiar? Many of us are acknowledging this ancient wisdom and turning back to knowledge we have more or less ignored or lost in modern times... Dr. Josh Axe's book Ancient Remedies, written in 2021, is a useful guide in teaching us everything we need to know about getting, and staying, healthy—without toxic, costly synthetic drugs. Did you know that there is promising evidence that sage extract can improve brain and memory function, especially in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Or that curcumin (contained in turmeric) is strongly anti-inflammatory, to the point where it matches the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs. And that cinnamon has potent antioxidant activity, helps fight inflammation and has been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. It can also lower blood sugar by several mechanisms, including by slowing the breakdown of carbs in the digestive tract and improving insulin sensitivity.

If you want to go into more depth, the classic The Modern Herbal Dispensatory: A Medicine-Making Guide will take you one step further and show you practical tips, in-depth preparation techniques and best formulas for making your own remedies at home.

I am not saying modern medicine and pharmaceuticals have no use--we have made amazing advances in the field of modern medicine over the years, but these ancient remedies are re-worth taking a look at and considering...

Michael Moore and the Polls

Michael Moore was right in 2016 when he predicted Trump would beat Hillary Clinton. (I don't mean to brag but I was one of the few who came to the same conclusion at that time.) In the end, in 2020, Moore predicted a Biden win when everyone was predicting the opposite and he was right again. I don't want to jinx it and I certainly want to warn against complacency (I for one am spending every weekend of October in Pennsylvania and I urge all of you to, as Michelle Obama says, Please Please Please "DO SOMETHING!."

I am not ready to make a prediction yet but this is what Michael Moore is saying now and maybe it is wishful thinking--I so desperately want to believe: "Do the Math: Trump Is Toast"

To read his analysis, go to his substack post of October 4, 2024." Please take the time to click this link if you can...

NOTE: My writer friend who I went to high school with, Carol Weston, author of sixteen fiction and nonfiction books is hosting a writing workshop retreat in a chateau in France next spring. Contact her directly if you are interested in going...I think there are only a couple spots left...

Paintings of the Week

On my studio wall today, among other things...

Charity of the Week: Voters of Tomorrow

Source: https://pamelasmilow.substack.com/p/danush...

Blog No. 198: Climbing Mount Everest, Historian Allan Lichtman's Election Predictions, Lisa Bayne Astor

October 4, 2024

You can find additional content by clicking many of the images and underlined links below.

Climbing Mount Everest

*Climbing party 1924 Courtesy: Royal Geographic Society via Wikimedia Commons.*

Photo courtesy of Cory Richards and National Geographic

I have very mixed feeling about the documentary series Ultimate Survival: EVEREST: Team Discovery. On one hand, it was literally edge of your seat TV, excitement throughout each episode, living vicariously through this group of intrepid, determined climbers. I was totally engrossed and actually binge watched the whole six episodes in two days. This was footage where you actually felt like you were there, climbing alongside them, trying to traverse those treacherous ladders, hopping huge crevasses, fearing falling into the invisible hidden gaps underneath the snow and ice, out of breath from the endless steep inclines, dwindling oxygen, super high winds, freezing fingers and toes, frostbite, exhaustion, suffering through headaches and other symptoms of altitude sickness...You admire them for their sheer ability to endure, their bravery, their determination, their willpower and ambition.

But then something else comes up for me. Are these people out of their minds? What are they doing and why are they doing it? Do they have a death wish? Why is it so important to reach the top? What makes them push so hard? What are they trying to prove? And is this just borderline masochism?

I do not claim to be an athlete--forgive me for being naive--and I truly know nothing about it so it is hard for me to understand this deep drive to compete, to conquer, to defy pain and even death...I know for those who do attempt to conquer Everest, I am told that they feel that the most exhilarating way to embrace life is to risk death...a concept I have a hard time fathoming.

I hold these two thoughts in my mind: the utmost admiration at the same time thinking they must all be totally crazy...I would love to hear what you think about it...

For the hardworking Sherpas, the Tibetan natives to this region whose livelihood is to accompany the mostly rich climbers (it costs a lot to attempt to summit Everest), doing the heavy lifting: set ropes in truly treacherous terrain, schlep equipment, carry the heavy cannisters of oxygen and basically service the climbers in a multitude of essential ways, climbing has spiritual meaning--they call the mountain sagramatha (Mother of the Sky) or chomalunga (Goddess Mother of the World) and they revere her as sacred and a religious experience--before every expedition, a llama asks for permission to climb...They believe Mount Everest is a higher power.

Allan Lichtman Election Predictions

Photo courtesy Katie Couric and Allan Lichtman and Katie Couric Media

Katie Couric sat down with American University Professor Allan Lichtman on October 2, 2024 to talk about his predictions for the upcoming presidential election. Collaborating and teaming up with an acclaimed Russian scientist who was a predictor of earthquakes, Lichtman devised a system of 13 key questions or keys as he calls them and using this methodology has successfully predicted the outcome of every election (with one exception: Bush/Gore--which he argues was not an error on his part). These keys tap into the fundamental forces that drive elections and ignore the pundits, don't follow polls--for them it is the governing not campaigning that counts.

The methodology was developed by accident--after Lichtman met mathematician Vladimir Keilis Borok in 1981 at a university in California, the Russian leading authority on earthquake prediction from the Institute of Pattern and Earthquake Prediction in Moscow. Vladimir Keilis Borok loved politics and wanted to use the methods of earthquake predictions to predict politics but obviously couldn't use those skills in Russia ...They became the odd couple of political research. Combining their separate set of expertise and fields, they set out to reconceptionalize presidential elections in geophysical terms: They took a look at every presidential election starting with Abraham Lincoln's in 1860 through Ronald Reagan in 1980, using Keilis Borok's method of pattern recognition to see what patterns in the political environment were associated with stability and earthquake.

Here are the keys and how Lichtman has rated the situation and come to his conclusion:
1. Party Mandate: Does the incumbent party hold more seats in the US House of Representatives than after the previous midterm elections? (False so it gets a score of -1).

2. Contest: There is no serious contest for the incumbent party nomination. (true)

3. Incumbency: The incumbent party candidate is the sitting president. (-1 false)

4. Third Party: There is no significant third party or independent campaign (true)

5. Short term economy: The economy is not in recession during the election campaign (true)

6. Long term economy: Real per capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms (true)

7. Policy change: The incumbent administration effects major changes in national policy (true).

8. Social unrest: There is no sustained social unrest during the term. (true)

9. Scandal: The incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal. (true)

10. Foreign/military failure: The incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs. False Score of -1 (he is attributing failure in the Middle East). This one and the next are difficult to call according to Lichtman.

11. Foreign/military success: The incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs (Ukraine is still standing and our NATO coalition is strong and has held together). (true)

12. Incumbent charisma: the incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero. (false hence score of -1)

13. Challenger charisma: The challenging party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero. (true)

When five or less items on the checklist are false, the incumbent party nominee is predicted to win the election (which is the case in this election predicting a Kamala Harris win) but when six or more items on the checklist are false, the challenging party nominee is predicted to win...

Final Score according to Lichtman's system: 4 false (negatives) predicting that Kamala Harris will win the 2024 ...Even if one of the foreign policy keys are poorly predicted and come out with negative scores, Harris would still win. Democrats need 6 negatives to lose...

A Visual Diary by Artful Home's Lisa Bayne Astor

Courtesy the Alembika blog https://blog.alembika.com/

Mesh Arroyo Dress designed by Lisa Bayne

I met Lisa Bayne Astor, one of the founder's of the beautiful catalogue The Artful Home at a recent overnight at Rancho La Puerta. She and her husband looked welcoming so I sat down at her table. Turns out she is a fashion entrepreneur and the designer of much of the clothing I have admired over the years in the Artful Home catalogue. She combines great style with a bit of whimsy, comfort and designs for women of all shapes and sizes...In addition, Artful Home features a beautiful mix of art, craft, and accessories.

Lisa and I got to talking and I realized that she is also a visual artist in her own right. I love the idea of a visual diary--always wanted to keep one myself and aside from a few years back when I was a teenager and my early twenties, I was never able to keep it up...She shared with me what got her started: "I began an illustrated journal shortly after my beloved Aunt Sandy died. She was like a mother/best friend to me, and she passed away in May of 2023. I had never journaled, and certainly had not painted with watercolors since art school 50 years ago. So this was all new, and became a daily practice, almost a daily meditation of sorts. It gave me a way to process my grief and my thoughts of Aunt Sandy, and gradually moved beyond Aunt Sandy and a way of reflecting on my day. It gave me an opportunity to pay attention more to my day, to my surroundings, and gave me great pleasure. It still does and I am still keeping up the practice." Here are a few of those drawings/entries that struck me...

Paintings of the Week

Sold these two pieces to a wonderful pr woman in San Diego. She wrote me this text after we placed these two pieces in her home: "OMG PAM! My son noticed it (he’s not talking yet) and pointed out and freaked out. He was “chatting” about it all throughout dinner (he’s not really talking yet 😂). And then when we put him to bed, he noticed right away and lit up babbling about the canvas over his crib 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰. He woke up pointing at it and babbling, then at this one all throughout breakfast. He’s so connected to them 😭😭😭😭😭." I always say kids notice so much more than you think they do. This is the best endorsement yet!

Charity of the Week: Voters of Tomorrow

Source: https://pamelasmilow.substack.com/p/climbi...