"The Blimp" by Captain Beefheart

     Don Van Vliet's parents moved from New York to California, and carefully selected a house in a good school district so that he would not fall in with the wrong sort of people.

     Van Vliet met Frank Zappa.  Need I say more? That is Frank speaking at the beginning and the end of the recording.

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpA4XpnnI_U     -video

     http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-blimp-lyrics-captain-beefheart.html  - lyrics

A verse than inspired me

     Even during those years when I was not writing poetry, I would think of the fifth verse of G>M> Hopkins' "The Wreck of the Deutschland" when getting the paper from the mailbox on dark mornings, especially in colder weather, when the stars shone more brightly:

     I kiss my hand

      To the stars, lovely-asunder

   Starlight, wafting him out of it; and

      Glow, glory in thunder;

Kiss my hand to the dappled-with-damson west:

Since, tho' he is under the world's splendour and wonder,

    His mystery must be instressed, stressed;

For I greet him the days I meet him, and bless when I understand.

This morning I saw the stars vividly, and my 15 Words a Day Challenge piece was:

Against deep-black sky
brilliance of starlight
descending to earth
raising eyes
to constellations and more

Arthur Turfa, copyright, 2015

I think Gerard Manley Hopkins would approve.  Check out the site on Facebook and Google+ and add your 15 Words a Day. It does help keep a writer in practice. 

It's time for Collections

     Not like on "The Sopranos", where people go around picking up envelopes of cash to pass on to Tony. Having noticed that some of my friends have formed collections for things that are special to them, I decided to do so as well.

     My first one features Places and Times. my first book of poetry. There are two more as of now. One shows some of the musicians, singers, and composers whom I like; this is extremely eclectic. you might find some you love, and some you cannot stand. The third has writers whom I admire; this one is not so diverse, but I am still working on all of the collections.

     I would love some input on some collections that you would like to see me make. What would you like me to create? What might be good for me to add?


     Here's the link:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/105028533284452620555/collections

A blog from a colleague.....no it's not poetry at all!

http://mentalsideofsports.blogspot.com/

     A little-known fact about me is that for one cross country season, I was a coach. It came with the job; I was at the school one year, and afterwards the school contracted with someone in the community who knew more about it than I did. But I was a coach, and I took it seriously.

     Back then I could run behind the team during most practices, and I was in excellent shape. Many of my colleagues over the years have or are coaches, and some of them are my closest friends. We respect each other for what we are, and we appreciate what we do.

     Ben Ehrlich is an assistant baseball coach and a friend. His passion is Sports Psychology, which he currently is developing by clients and a blog. The above link to his blog shows that. I am honored to include it on my list of blogs I follow.

     Maybe the Pirates will use him and he can get us tickets! My physician cousin almost worked for the team years ago, and we would have been set.

     Even if you are not into sports, I think you can get some ideas from Ben's blog.

Reflecting on the Blythewood Butterfly Festival

 What a fantastic event! The first-ever Blythewood Butterfly Festival has ended. I sold some books, and some folks said they would buy in on-line. My new cards were passed out liberally, which was a big help. I saw friends, and made new ones.Doko Manor is a wonderful setting for anything.

    Some of the new friends operate the 302 Aristans in Columbia's Vista section. Here is a link to their Facebook page:  Blythewood Butterfly Festival

     There will be 10 copies of "Places and Times" there on consignment. We are talking about some poetry events. They are even open to some workshops when and if I have the time and confidence to lead them (Columbia has a lot of fine poets, and I can and do learn form them).

Improving on Something Already Good!

     Yesterday morning as I turned onto the Interstate, Sirius XM's Classic Vinyl played Cream's "I'm So Glad" cover of Skip James' song. I thought the announcer said it was Elmore James, but I was watching traffic and may have not heard correctly.

     A high school friend showed me how to play the early bass part on the song. That's as far as I got which is why I write! The country blues song becomes something else great with Cream, as Clapton masterfully adds a psychedelic dash to the guitar.

    We all built on each other, no matter what our talents are. First Skip, then Cream!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPXjuD8sH_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3GIQ86eu6c

Rimbaud and Morrison

     Contrary to what many people thought, or think, 1960s underground/countercultural musicians read voraciously. The Doors took their name from Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception. They envisioned themselves as the doors opening to new realities.  i carried a German edition purchased on my fir

st trip there in 1973; I had been told that the book was banned in the USA, but then how did the Doors read it? Maybe it was "banned in Boston" for a time.

     It was natural that Jim Morrison gravitated toward Arthur Rimbaud. Both wanted to turn the artistic world of their time upside down, and both also led lifestyles that went against the grain. Rimbaud lived longer, of course. Morrison could not read French, but read all of Rimbaud he could find in translation.

     Of course, Morrison died young in Paris, and is buried in Père-Lachaise cemetery there, where many artists rest. Rimbaud traveled throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East,, but returned home to France to die.

     I post a few links about these two poets for you to read, and also a video, where Morrison speaks at  the end, perhaps to Rimbaud. "o you remember when we were in Africa?"

http://rimbaud6b.blogspot.com/  - On the two poets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjRQxRREIqk- video of "Wild Child"

http://www.mag4.net/Rimbaud/Poesie.html   The English translation I checked had spelling errors.

http://www.mag4.net/Rimbaud/Biography2.html  about Rimbaud

http://www.biography.com/people/jim-morrison-9415576   - about Morrison