Abstracted

Standing ovation worthy speech, in full, made by Jesse Williams.

Along Our Walk To Park

Captured on todays early morning walk to the park outside our teen center Warehouse 21.

First Ever Exhibit Of Works By Painter Marcia Stehr

Portrait of The Artist Marcia Stehr

Child asleep under one of Marcia's work of art.

Isn't that how art is supposed to be experienced, not in a rarefied atmosphere, 

but in the middle of life, where we gather to eat, pray, celebrate - and rest!

Paul Shapiro, artist, painter and friend of Marcia's for over half a century.

Good people having had a great time at Marcia's first ever exhibit of her work at La Cocina de Balam.

Purplish Contraption

Walking mid-afternoon in about 90 degrees a rest on this purplish contraption was more then welcome. Currents, a multi-media arts show at El Museo Cultural in the Santa Fe Railyard is happening now. Each year they build a contraption of sorts at their entry which will then usually stay on for the rest of the season, even after the close of their production, offering a welcome point of interest an rest in my already colorful 'hood.

Later in the day these dancers took advantage of this same contraption for a photo shoot with one of my neighbors.

Give Us Our Daily Walks - Pretty Please

Twice most days we walk with dogs through this park.

We never get tired of the variety of colors and textures, plant and wild life. 

Yup, lots of bunnies and ground squirrels to get excited about, heaven for our pups.

.

Mohn

Repurposed

A Purple People's Party

Photo credit to the one and only, incomparable, highly talented, passionate about art & life, 

professional photographer Jennifer Esperanza,

May 20, 2016, Bernie Sanders Rally, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Yes, I am all for a third party, based on Bernie's progressive platform and his current supporters aimed at 2020 elections. Independents make up the largest percentage of voters, meaning they (we, strictly I am still registered as Democrat, but that might change after the democratic convention, or by fall, or with a renewed attempt to establish a viable alternative to the 2-party system of Democrats and Republicans.)

Bernie chose to hitch his wagon to the Democrats, for now. It was an excellent choice, I believe, he would never have gotten the exposure he has gotten as a 3. party candidate from the start. I do not believe he can defect the Democratic party in favor of a new 3. party now. He would lose credibility and be seen as an opportunist. Bernie will be in a great position to work on a progressive agenda from within the democratic party. Meanwhile from within Bernie's movement we have already leaders such a as Professor Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor under President Clinton, who has proven himself to have been a most eloquent advocate for Bernie and the issues so important to us, and the formidable Nina Turner who as a Senator of Ohio introduced legislation S.B. 307 to regulate men's reproductive rights, in retaliation to male legislators attempts to restrict women's reproductive rights, hilarious. 

Bernie created a movement whose time may not have come yet, but will. It is crucial to gather the momentum in to positive action for a future we truly can believe in, but not on cost of a Trump presidency! Change takes time. Impatience will not get us what we want, but a long view will eventually. Time is on our side, I am hopeful.

Viva Santa Fe

Lisa Law's Hippie Bus Silver

Silver graced the outside area of El Museo Cultural in the Santa Fe Railyard during the closing party of famous photographer Lisa Law's Sixties successful exhibit yesterday, Friday evening, June 10, 2016. Geriatric hippies hung in and around this most colorful, fun contraption that had gotten a new coat of varnish for the occasion. Piglets and a Zia symbol up front emerged from that touch up, how cute. I miss those far-out rigs created by wild and wonderful imagination of the sixties and seventies too. I will never forget the one that had a hot tub in the back and organic wood beams gracing the living area. I have seen a few wondrous amazing contraptions and owned myself a Berkley city transit bus for that purpose. That holds stories upon stories I am not yet ready to tell.

Architextural Detail

Architectural detail of a historic home in our City Different.

Non-linear, rounded and textured, organic adobe structures are one of many charming aspects that make Santa Fe so picturesque.

THANK YOU BERNIE!

Yep, I voted the first morning of early voting in my community.

Yep, I voted for Bernard Sanders, not because I need access to a free education, I already had that, not because I want free hand outs, certainly not because I am looking for a boyfriend as was claimed early on in the campaign, and not because Bernie is the most charming of them all, although I do find him endearing and find it amazing that he is not more pissed off, but manages to stay civil and on point even during idiotic interviews and irrelevant questioning and unfair coverage through most of his campaign.

I even got to get a peek of the real man when he came to Santa Fe on very short notice and gave a speech in a hall filled to capacity on a Friday afternoon, when most were committed to work, yet still hundreds like me outside the hall that got treated to an impromptu greeting by the couple and not so short of a speech by Bernie. This was my first sighting and attendance of an event of a presidential nominee. 8 years earlier I attempted to attend Barack Obama's event in the evening, but a very long line of cars made it impossible, we were ordered to turn around

I was truly overjoyed when I heard from my friend Amy, the owner and chef of Venus, a farm to table restaurant in Berkley CA, that Bernie Sanders with entourage was on his way to have a bite at her establishment. Amy is an amazingly creative cook and sweet friend that surprised me and my friends with a truly delicious send-off 12 years ago, before I left the bay area for good to return to the City Different in the Land of Enchantment. Guess what Bernie asked for in one of the finest eateries in Berkley. Fish & chips is what he wanted and bless her heart, Amy did not question his order, did not try to  convince him to eat something better and healthier, but gave him what he wanted as she recognized he simply was looking for fuel after another very large and successful rally in Oakland.

THANK YOU BERNIE!

Yesterday's primaries were disappointing for us Bernie supporters. I had hoped New Mexico would feel the bern, he came short last I read 6%. Democratic voter turn out was around 30-something % of eligible voters. Higher then before, but surely nothing to brag about. New Mexico's primaries are closed and I could not convince those Independents I know to switch their allegiance to the Democratic party, if only to give their vote to Bernie. This seemed too much to ask from most Progressives. Main media had declared Hillary the winner, the Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee the night before, counting pledged votes unfairly, by delegates, that include lobbyists, committed long before Bernie was even in the running. That is what we call a rigged system.

But Bernie Sanders already won with the millions he mobilized and energized and spoke to their hearts and their minds, with integrity and intelligence and a vision for a better life for Americans, a system that serves the people more then for profit corporations. The profit motive should have no place in education, and basic health care. Prisons should not be run for profit, elections should not be bought. Independents should not have to pay with their tax dollars for elections they can not participate in. There is a lot wrong with our current system. Bernie brought the main issues to the table and proposed sane solutions, I for one am very grateful to Bernie Sanders and his wife, Dr. Jane Sanders for the trouble they have put themselves through for us during this last, long and intense year. They have succeeded beyond expectations. Bernie is spearheading a movement for social justice, it will go on far beyond the elections for US president this  coming November. Bernie Sanders earned the right to carry his message through and in to the democratic convention in July to make the most of it.

So it saddens me to feel no elation about the US having it's first female presumptive presidential nominee in Hillary Clinton. I, a woman of a certain age, close to Hillary's age, am in accord with Naomi Klein in that electing according to gender is a very shallow feminism and just is not good enough. I am a first generation US immigrant, a drop out who did not believe in mainstream culture, including politics, although I always voted in national and most local elections. Over the last year, since I got very excited about Bernie Sander's running with his message straight out of Occupy and of course earlier the civil rights movement, I have been given an education. I devoured most everything written in regard to these primary elections. I learned more about Hillary and the Clintons then I ever wanted to know. I don't believe them to be evil as so many on the far right and far left seem to believe. In fact I do not believe in evil, basta, but consider it an outdated religious concept, I find too often in posts on social media from the extreme sides. We tend to judge people and their intentions too harshly. What I do find though is that Hillary has shown bad judgment, despite her intelligence, again and again and keeps standing on the wrong, the establishment side of issues, on the other side from where I am which is deeply troubling. This can be seen in her statements in regard to Israel and lack of such in regard to Palestine, in her acceptance of the death penalty, her disregard of whistle blowers, her promotion of GMO crop world wide, her lack of stance against Walmart where she was once a board member, her support of TPP and especially her willingness to go to war, to be aggressive as if she needed to prove that as a woman she too could act like a man. Sadly this is not the kind of woman I would like to see in the White House. 

Drumpf, the emotional retard with the vocabulary of a 6 year old, will be worse, I have no doubt, although not all of my facebook contacts share this view with me, very troubling. It may come to a vote of keeping out the unmentionable, we will see, a lot of water yet to flow under the bridge.