...when I was just a 10 or 11 year old kid, West Side Story BURST into my life...and I knew racism. At its finest.
(BTW, 50 years, a half century, have past, in case you didn't notice?)
Among people who were the same...of related families.
Stephen Sondheim made us notice it, in his lyrics. And Maestro Leonard Bernstein made the message even more important, through the music.
A sample:
All people, of whatever color, are called 'racist' these days. It's an EASY word to say...and then feel good about, isn't it? Until the time comes that YOU are called 'racist', for what you think is no apparent reason...by those of your own particular color.
That is when people tend to become non-citizens, especially when someone who thinks they have 'power' is the name-caller.
To that person (you know precisely who you are) I say:
You are nothing to me, and perhaps not much in the mind of the Creator...as you have chosen darkness over light.
May you someday soon fall on your knees, and ask forgiveness for the awful things you have done.
...gang members and thugs were 'choreographed' to the music of Leonard Bernstein?
I had a five-or-so-minute conversation with the Maestro, when he was accompanied by my local Maestro, Lukas Foss, who was then conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Maestro Bernstein was resplendent: European blazer, white silk scarf, glass of Scotch and cigarette--in the main studio of the Milwaukee Ballet Company, at S. 5th and National Avenue, where they still reside.
I was not speechless.
I told him I had known his works from a point when I was quite young...and here I was, almost forty. Thankfully, he took my conversation as a compliment.
He went on to finance and produce an 'unproducable work', as it was then known, by calling a few friends (and perhaps Oliver Smith?) in New York.
In my estimation, Leonard Bernstein, for all his shortfalls, was the 20th century equivalent to the 15th's Leonardo.
I thank you, Maestro Bernstein, for all you contributed to the United States of America--of which the Obamas have not a scintilla of an idea!
Oh, don't you wish the Obamas would just break into some sort of 'song and dance'--for REAL?
...what I have ever done for Chicago, or even Rogers Park.
Well... in 1979 I was sent down, by the stagehands union, to Chicago from Milwaukee...because I was well-known as a PRODUCTION ARTIST.
In the 87 days I was here in Chicago, I worked a week painting at this mall, including the piece in 'Toys R Us'--my signage.
Continue to ask, perverse troll(s), what I have done for Chicago...in 1982, even in Genova, Italy, 'The Blues Brothers' was playing, demonstrating a heckuva lot of my works to the world!
Although I have never cared for Sarah Brightman's visual presentation, I do really appreciate her voice, which can be close to angelic.
Live performance by Sarah Brightman and Ben De'ath. Taken from 'Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration'.
But I would also like for all of you to know the lyric--just exactly what is being sung in Latin, a language many of you were not schooled in.
Pie Jesu, Pie Jesu Pie Jesu, Pie Jesu Qui tollis peccata mundi Dona eis requiem Dona eis requiem
Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy You who take away the sins of the world Grant them rest Grant them rest
Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei Qui tollis peccata mundi Dona eis requiem Dona eis requiem Sempiternam, sempiternam requiem
Lamb of God, Lamb of God Lamb of God, Lamb of God You who take away the sins of the world Grant them rest Grant them rest Rest everlasting, everlasting For those ALL who have lost their lives, especially in this past year: Rest in peace.
Requiescat in pacem.
This is in honor of those who were injured and perished in Tucson, Arizona. You are all loved, far beyond the borders of your state.
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good.[1] This is often used as a justification for evaluating actions in terms of how much pleasure and how little pain (i.e. suffering) they produce. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize this net pleasure (pleasure minus pain).
Personally, I sense they are both 'poseurs'...and should be ousted ASAP!
...as are my troll(s)...I'd like to say that, unlike Betty, who grew up near the fantasy of Hollywood, I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisonsin, the only daughter of a Milwaukee Police Department officer who became a somewhat-celebrated (for his powers of both inductive and deductive reasoning)Milwaukee Police Department Detective.
As a Milwaukee Police Department detective back then, my father retired in 1965, after having been 'on the force' since 1940, with a salary of $9,600 per year. With that and less, he had supported his loving wife and four surviving children...sent us all to Catholic grade and high schools, and all of us to Marquette University.
His and my mother's sacrifices to make better lives for their children have not gone unnoticed by me, their only daughter.
One of these trolls says I don't look as good as Betty White--that I must have been 'beaten up' along the way. And, they have gone so far as to place my NAME on a pornography site.
We are only as good as our genes allow us--and as MONEY allows.
The comments (which I refuse to publish to you) I have saved from this obviously hateful troll(s) will be very useful when I present them to the authorities, won't they?
One, and only one, human being has seen these comments, which I keep in 'Comment Moderation'--and she was appalled, because she knows me well, and knows who I am and what my goals are.
There are laws against libel and slander in the United States of America.
And I plan to utilize each and every law available to take down this (these) perverted pseudo-citizens!
YOU AND I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND I AM COMING TO GET YOU!
I don't watch the games as much as I used to...I prefer to wait for playoffs and the Superbowl.
In 1985, I was still living in Milwaukee--and was probably the ONLY Bears fan there (perhaps because I had short hair, wore sunglasses due to an eye injury and had wide shoulders for a woman--my somewhat crazy cousin Bob tried to pass me off as Jim McMahon!), and I just thought Jim McMahon and Walter Payton were the BEST!
This is a great tribute to Mike Ditka and the 1985 Chicago Bears. There are a lot of good memories here, so please, try and watch the entire video.
All Copyrights to NFL Network and NFL Films.
And Mike, though I've never even had the slimmest chance to meet you, you are still the best coach--evah!
If you're a 'boomer', you remember the tune. And, if you're a 'boomer', you're classified by some younger punks (who don't realize their faces will change also over forty or so years) as OLD.
Peter Tork has fared quite well, even after beating cancer in the past few years.
What I ask you, my readers, to do, is ask yourselves these questions that the interviewer asked Peter Tork. Write down both the questions AND your answers, put them away for a few years, and bring them out to read them again...and see just where you are in this marvelous journey called 'LIFE'.
You are my stalwart, my being, because here, where I live, I am being stalked and attacked on the internet by a lunatic--similiar to Loughner in Arizona.
Please...continue to pray for me as I continue to pray for all of you.
This is a rendition of the famous 13th century Latin Catholic hymn, "Dies Irae" (or, "Day of Wrath," about the Second Coming of Christ and Judgment Day). This rendition is off the 1994 CD, "Ego sum Ressurectio," and is difficult to find.
This is Gregorian Chant, which I learned at an early age...and sang at a number of funerals.
I urge you all to look inside, and consider all that has been spewed over the Internet since last Saturdy's great tragedy in Tucson, Arizona.
Then, blank out the garbage, and concentrate upon the families of those who lost their lives. May they all be comforted...forever.
These are Chicago's northernmost beaches along the shore of Lake Michigan.
I begin with Howard Street Beach, because I just could not walk several more blocks north in yesterday's more-than-bracing wind.
Waves were pounding...only the bottom third of this shot is the actual sand of the beach.
The view to the south included Fargo Avenue Beach, Jarvis Avenue Beach, Sherwin Avenue Beach, and on down to the Farwell Avenue Beach pier...with the rest beyond.
The ices floes are huge this year, and the sound of the waves intimidating. Perhaps, I'll go again, soon, on another similar day and shoot video, so you can get the feel of what's it's like to live near Lake Michigan, a formidable ever-changing entity, in winter.
By LYNN SWEET Washington Bureau Chief Jan 6, 2011 11:33AM
Chicago Sun-Times photo of William Daley by Brian Jackson in 2009
President Obama will tap former Commerce Secretary William Daley Thursday afternoon to be his new White House chief of staff, a senior administration official confirmed to the Chicago Sun-Times.
..and the King of Siam is the one who compromised.
Can you silly progressives and Islamists learn anything from this?
I will certainly hope...and pray.
My daily prayer: "Please, deliver us of Obama and all of his ilk."
*********
I was working on an IATSE crew when Mr. Brynner's national tour came through Milwaukee. He was so full of energy, yet every moment off-stage was spent at the oxygen tanks, stage left and right.
He passed several months later, on October 10, 1985.
...something like this occurs, because man is very curious about death...and what it entails.
Eva Peron died, as we all shall...that should be no surprise to any of you readers.
Thankfully, most of our families and friends will not have had to experience the peculiarities associated with her death.
But...I caution you here, and say again...we all shall die...at some point in our lives. And I am not being morbid, only realistic...as I have lost most of my family and my children.
That includes our nation's leaders, as well...
And if this man doesn't look to you as if he's well on his way out, then I suggest you clean your glasses.
He is the twelfth president of the US in my lifetime...and I have never seen such an obvious gay man as president, nor one who, though he eats soooo much of everything his wifey is against (but she eats all that stuff herself--so call HER a gross hypocrite!), he continues to lose weight. The above photo shows a stick-man, basically.
He is either terribly ill with some sort of cancer, OR has a gross TAPEWORM!
It has been over a year since his last official physical, when the doctors told him to cut down on the alcohol intake (but apparently he and his wifey know better, and continue to over-imbibe--as there are many 'photo-ops' where she looks half-blitzed, and he looks as if he'd rather be on some other planet (home--wherever that may be, perhaps?).
To all my readers abroad...and I know you are there...I should not have to apologize for the behavior of the president of the United States. Nor will I.
I'd like to say "He is his own man."--but I feel that would not be truthful on my part.
I feel he is corrupt, and under the thumb of GeorgeSoros and all HIS buddies in the world...and Michelle is the 'beard' supplied to make Barky look like a 'real man'.
He has a history, here in Chicago, and certain people who are still alive know of him...and remember him, apparently.
That being said, I sincerely feel this man AND his wifey have severe mental issues which need to be resolved before he continues on as the leader of the United States of America.
And...if his wife does not learn how to dress within the bounds of "first Lady of the US" (--and where the heck are all these assistants we the people are paying a minimum of a million and a half dollars a year for, huh?), please, someone within society, 'Washington DC Society', begin a whisper campaign so that we never see something like this again!
Especially if, to the trained eye, it looks like this:
...because the Obama Regime seems very similar to that of the Perons...and history (as not studied by either of the Obamas, apparently)...does repeat itself from time to time.
Listen, carefully, and you will hear...much of what I discovered of governments, and what they do, and who they destroy, back when I worked the First National Tour of "Evita" in 1982.
One night, I sat alongside "Doc", (gold-colored because he WAS golden!) the sound man...and he let me hit the button for the heavy bass in this number, which was set so high, it rattled the walls and ceiling of Milwaukee's Performing Arts Center.
I love the music of Evita (Andrew Lloyd Webber), but the story of corruption made me wary of politicians for all my life!
Just wondering...if some voters will be singing like this, transposing 'Evita' with 'Obama' sometime this year, as he does not look well and has lost a lot of weight.
Matter of fact, he seems to be reverting to the 'skinny street kid' look he had in Jakar--no, NO...at Columbia and Harvard!
As Ahnold, in days past, would call him: "Guhlie-Mahn"!
...Evangelical Catholic bishop of the Diocese of the Northwest (www.evangelicalcatholicchurch.org/ which also verifies his signature)...somehow needs a confessional, it seems. He has been the Interim Treasurer of Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce since shortly after I resigned November 14, 2009.
If you click to enlarge this scan of the letter I received at the end of LAST year, you will see the highlighted portion quite clearly.
Not one single cent has been repaid since last December for, NOT "contributions" , but START-UP costs for Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce.
The Bishop, James Alan Wilkowski, an employee of Cook County earning a bit over $35,ooo per year, has 'lied through his teeth', the same as Bill Morton, the President of Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce, lied through his teeth when I lent him $700.00 in January of 2009, and another $725 in July of 2009, to supposedly "keep his apartment at 1205 W. Sherwin Avenue, #803, 60626" here in Rogers Park, the northernmost neighborhood of the City of Chicago.
Oh, yes, I suppose I could find a lawyer, and end up paying through the nose for these grifters' 'bad works'...but I would rather ask the businesses of Rogers Park, a 2.25 square mile area of Chicago:
What good as this Chamber of Commerce done for you?
Are they supporting you with any type of good works, other than showing the photo of the Charmers' coffee mug several times per week on the Chamber blog (http://www.rogersparkchamberofcommerce.blogspot.com/)?
Just how does the Cafe Society help you and your employees?
Is it helping lower your business taxes, your sales taxes?
Is Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce help the efficiency necessary to run a business in 2011?
Has Bill Morton come to your business and spent time with you, helping you sort through some of your business problems? If he has, have there been positive results?
Is Bill Morton and the Board of Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce helping you at all?
Because they are lying their lips off to me...for over a year now!
I'm looking at over $2,400 here, owed now for up to TWO YEARS...with no official communication since over a year ago.
Do I want payback? Heck, yes!
Do I care about Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce?
NO--because Bill Morton seems to be an uneducated loser...who can spend money before it's made.
The Bishop has supported him with pizzas from the far South Side, which Bill has fed to his dog, because he had no money to buy dog food for the poor beast!
He had to beg the East Rogers Park community when his 'un-neutered' mixed breed, foundling dog was besieged by a German Shepherd this past summer on the beach...because Bill Morton does not even understand the responsibility required when one keeps a pet!
Perhaps...someday...soon...these grifters who call themselves Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce will receive a 'reality check'.
And I certainly hope Ms. Duncan, Ms. Interlandi Bell, and Mr. Dorjee understand, when they, as the Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce Board, voted NOT to repay me START-UP costs, and have to live with their own consciences.
What in the world has so terrified them that they abandoned so much that was once the American Dream? So much of what was their history?
What is it that has so debased their lives--that caused them to just 'walk away'?
And why is it that once-beautiful Dearborn has become a Moslem stronghold in the United States of America, and is now known by many as "Dearbornistan"?
Religion of Peace? NOT!!
Please click on that link and look...closely...at the destruction.
Do not cry, though that is easy to do.
And...merci beaucoup, Mssrs Marchand et Meffre, pour les photos extraordinaire!
I shot these vegetables at a Farmers' Market in Milwaukee, WI, five years ago last September with my old camera, the little Olympus 3.2 megapixel. The day was perfect, the light was perfect...and the vendors made the best of laying out their products.
And for a number of days, I have been trying to upload the simple 1:35 video with music to BLOGGER to no avail....
So I'll show you some photos.
SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED (i.e. Michelle Obama) has requested (a polite term) that we eat more vegetables--like those she (her STAFF) grows in the toxic White House so-called 'organic' garden.
Well, well, well, Michelle...HIT THE DAMNED BOOKS AND LEARN SOMETHING FOR ONCE!
*********
I first began organic gardening with my grandfather, as a child of four years old, planting in the wondrous garden space that came with the house in Milwaukee my Slovak-immigrant grandparents purchased in 1919.
I then helped my Dad, a Milwaukee Police Detective, with the organic garden at our new house, beginning in 1956.
I even had an organic small (14 acres) farm back in the early 70s; we sold fruits and vegetables to Fox Hills Resort when YOU were still trying to prop your big butt on your Daddy's knee!
At almost 65 years old, I KNOW organic gardening, thoroughly.
And you, Michelle, know NOTHING about gardening, let alone organic gardening--you only understand PHOTO-OPS--with your wighat and wearing black!
But I, AND MOST OF AMERICANS, already know we need to eat vegetables--and that it is NOT A DIET FOR YOU, MICHELLE, TO ENFORCE!
YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER OF CONGRESS, NOR DO YOU HOLD ANY POSITION TO TELL THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES JUST WHAT THEY MUST DO OR NOT DO.
Leone Park playground, and one of many people who come to sit by the lake and contemplate.
Looking northeast to Leone Beach. When the icy snow melts, the lake is about 30 feet closer.
Looking to the east. The snow/ice mounds are due to wave spray. The area can be quite treacherous when the North and East winds cause non-stop waves.
Looking to the southeast at Farwell Beach pier, about a half-mile downshore.
A local restaurant, closed until we get warmer days (maybe in June?).
The Loyola Park playground, at the lake end of Greenleaf Avenue.
