Lifesize sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth

Ummm...wow...er, no comment. Mmmm, gee. Aye vey.

What will those crazy artists think of next?

Cesar Chavez Day

1927-1993

Cesar, your children are in the streets and we now miss your spiritual leadership more than ever.

¡Si se puede!

Here's a link to a review I wrote a long time ago on The Fight in the Fields, a documentary on the life and work of Cesar Chavez:

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj9705&article=970532c

El Gato

Back in 1979-1980, us P*Land boyz spent a lot of time at The Ranch Skatepark in Colton, California. We thought we were pretty good skaters and shredded our homestyle ramp daily, but once we left the desert and hit The Ranch, we discovered we had a long, long way to go. Eddie "El Gato" Elguera (pictured above, mid-frontside invert), was a local there and blew us away. I once saw him stop mid-Rock-n-Roll on The Ranch's half pipe extension, leave his skate rocking there on top, hop off, go get a soda in the snack bar. About 15 minutes later, he came back, hopped back on his board, and dropped in on 12 feet of vert back into the pipe. Maybe a bit of a showoff, but still...only El Gato at The Ranch could get away that. He definitely owned the place. We would drive back up to the desert, humbled but inspired, and keep blazing. One day I hope to write more about all that P*Land stuff.....so boyz, scan your photos and send them to me.

Chillin'

....I can't wait until I can take my favourite chair out on the balcony and enjoy the warm weather with a couple of bottleskis.

Bambea

Yesterday my grandmother would have been 86, or perhaps 84, depending on what year she told you she was born. She also used several different spellings for her family name. To other adults she was probably mysterious in a lot of ways---I'm sure her neighbours in the bucolic L.A. suburbs of 1950s-1960s El Monte thought so. But from a kid's perspective (that's me and her above in the early 60s) she was the amazing, dramatic, and wildly spontaneous Bambea (from "Gram Bea" I guess).

Bambea was certainly unconventional. "Noisy, colorful and disorganized, but well meaning," my mom wrote when she sent me this picture. I have no end of crazy and beautiful stories about Bambea (...fire red hair and whip cream fights, artists' sketches all over the actual walls inside her house, her pool filled with poor kids from Watts every summer, a trip up the coast for the Summer of Love, fantastic food creations, a yard overflowing with poppies, poinsettias, and pomegranates....). Imagine Endora from Bewitched meets Phyllis Diller meets Eva Peron. That gets close to my memory of her. Though she died in 1977---way too young---Bambea had a very big impact in my life, mostly by nurturing my curiosity and giving me a sense of wonder about the world. What a wonderful gift for a grandmother to give.

The Border Crossed Us

Wow, this is the East LA I remember as a kid (or at least it's how I imagine it was). Major protests are happening all over the States about some of the new immigration laws that make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally. I even saw the mayor of LA encouraging the marchers on TV. I know illegal immigration causes a lot of problems for everybody, both those coming and those living in the places folks are coming to. There are a lot of complex reasons why "labor" leaves one place and goes to another, including employers on both sides of the border who drive wages down so they can make more money themselves. But if I had to pick between upholding a law or supporting a family's dream for a more hopeful life, I would have to side with the family. Everyone should be able to take advantage of a more fruitful, peaceful, and fulfilling life. After all, that's why I fled the States and snuck into Canada.

Amadisto is Two Months Old!

...and these are real smiles. Wendy took these great pictures yesterday. It's amazing how one smile can make all the sleepless nights totally worth it! (And what is up with that hairdo? Ah, kids these days....)

Set the Captives Free!

Today is a happy, happy day at our house as heard the news of the rescue of Christian Peacemaker Team hostages in Iraq. Wendy and I (especially Wendy) have a lot of friends who are very close to James Loney, one of the Canadian hostages (above on the left) and we are very happy to celebrate with them. Joy is tempered by the killing of Christian Peacemaker Tom Fox who was also kidnapped with the group and found dead in Baghdad about two weeks ago, as well as by the fact that many Iraqi and some Western hostages remain in captivity.

The Christian Peacemaker Teams are my model for what actual lived Christianity should look like. Forget all the televangelists, war-mongering wackos, anti-evolutionists, anti-gay, Republican party faithful. It is very hard for me to see any sign of Christ in them. If you want to see what Christianity incarnated is, consider the Christian Peacemakers and so many other groups like them who put themselves in harm's way to protect the vulnerable, offer hospitality to the poor, testify against grave injustice, and speak the truth to power, even when it's dangerous and unpopular to do so. Believers like this are working all over the world, but are often overshadowed by the Religious Right, who often show more concern for themselves and their own power than they do for others. They could learn a lot about what is really spiritual from people like the Christian Peacemakers. We are so glad they are free.

Happy Birthday Sol!

Happy birthday to my brother Sol! As you can see, he's had quite the life...from shredding the ramp back in the 1970s P*Land days, to chillin' poolside, to engaging in some international diplomacy down in Mexico. And he does it all with style. (Nice hat, man!)

Happy Birthday C.C.!

My beautiful niece is six years old today! WoooWhooooo! We love you C.C.!

Hey Amigo, Lighten Up

Here are two pictures of me taken in Mexico, the first in 1987 in San Miguel de Allende (when el mustache was still cool, thank you very much) and the second in 2003 in Mexico City. Perhaps it's the arrival of spring, but there's more light today, I'm listening to Mana's "Revolucion" (a brilliant rock-en-espanol album that rivals anything that U2 has done in my opinion), and I'm wishing I was in Mexico again. I've had some of my sweetest and saddest times there and I'm sure I will be back. When, I'm not sure, but soon I hope. I will always consider it my second home, even if I am confused about what the first may be.

"Sleeping" Beauty

Here's a screen shot from a video I made of Amadisto sleeping, using the night vision function on the camera. It proves he's an extremely fidgety sleeper, swinging his arms, kicking his feet, and generally moving all over while making the funniest sounds all night long (well, at least during those times when he is actually asleep!). All of his sounds used keep us up in the night more than they do now. These days we are more apt to get up and check on him with flashlight if we don't hear any gurgling, huffing and puffing, sighing, gasps, shrieks, sneezes, or other baby aspirations.

Untitled

Baby lovers! There's a load of new photos in the Flickr tab at right...

P.S. Wendy wants everyone to know that Amadisto's nostrils aren't always so flared. He can be REALLY cute. [Editor's note: I think he IS really cute in this photo. But who am I? Just the lowly editor of my own blog.]

Straight from the museum of MOMART

Here's one of my Mom's latest works of art. Wow! Get this woman a gallery! My Mom and Irene have a whole bunch of these creations, made of found materials mostly from Santa Cruz's flea market I think, along with some of my Mom's original ironic, iconic poetry, in this case, sketched near the bottom. Being surrounded by so many artistic, creative friends and family has really made me question my career path as an office-a-tron. There's a weird world out there ready for the taking.

A half note may sometimes be the whole song

If anyone gets bored with my blog, I highly recommend you check out "At the Half Note." It's wonderful, creative blog by Katie, who I blogged about below. If there were a soundtrack to Katie's blog, it would be "What a Wonderful World," by Louis Armstrong. No doubt about it.

Here's the link:
At the Half Note

Blowing my Top

Popocatepetl, which you can see on a clear day overlooking Mexico City. I love this volcano. Sometimes my life feels like a volcano. So much pressure, ready to bust a gasket....pour a bunch of lava all over the place. No biggie really :-)

Sorry for once again playing the absentee blog owner. I've just been so busy. Did anyone know that being a new dad really occupies a lot of time? Of course, I don't do it all myself, but after 40-something years of doing pretty much what I want, there's been a bit of a transition in my life of late. Not to mention I've been really busy at my job at well. Emerging Spirit, which is the project I am the producer for at The United Church of Canada is a major campaign for the denomination, and I would say for the country as a whole. I like to tell friends (we're all friends here, right?) that Emerging Spirit's focus is the same focus I've had throughout my career in faith-based work....which is to change the church. No biggie really :-) It's really exciting to be a part of, but as you might imagine, there's also a lot of work to be done.

I---who nobody would mistake for being anything but a behind-the-scenes type---ended up doing a big (for me) presentation to a room full of executives of the United Church a couple of days ago. In my opinion it went really well, proving that 1) even a goofball like me can give a halfway decent presentation using PowerPoint, and 2) the material Emerging Spirit is producing is really good quality stuff and worth spreading the news about. In a nutshell, the Spirit is creating change in Canada--but are believers ready to accept change themselves?

Anyway, I have a million blog entries in my head (you know, like a volcano ready to blow it's stack), but I don't have time to post them all. I'll try to get some up in the next couple of days...we will see how I do.

(Hey, did I just set myself up for failure again?)

Whoever the three dozen or so of you are who are checking this blog daily, well....God bless you.

Video grabs from our day in High Park

Another great hair day!

Amadisto upon waking up.

Sorry postings have been on the rare side lately. I've been really busy, but that doesn't mean we aren't having fun too. Yesterday was really warm in Toronto and Wendy and I took Amado out to High Park in his pram, along with a million other parents and their kids. We discovered he finds the squwalking of Canada geese ("Canadian geese" to Americans) distrubing. We have some great video of the outing. I'm sure that when Amado is older he will get a big kick out of watching his parents figuring out how to be parents.

Not your average red carpet showoff.

But he's still our little movie star.

Huitzilopochtli

I always found it interesting that the primary deity of the mighty Aztecs was a hummingbird. Certainly beautiful, but perhaps not the fear-inspiring god you might expect to have had thousands upon thousands of human sacrifices made to. I guess big surprises sometimes come in small packages.

Gone to join the ancestors.

"Africa is my source of inspiration, my home base, my joy."

The great Malian musician Ali Farka Toure has died. His powerful music is an organic blend of the traditional music of Mali, American blues, and Islamic influences. Like John Lee Hooker, Ali Farka Toure has a haunting soulful voice whether singing or playing guitar that arises from a very profound place, somewhere close to humanity's source. He was also a great humanitarian, spending a lot of money to make his region of Mali a better place. His album, The Source, has been one of my longtime favourites. Talking Timbuktu, the collaboration he did with Ry Cooder is also a fine piece of work.

I'm been very aware in the past few years that the earth has lost some amazing spiritual and artistic giants like Ali Farka Toure, John Lee Hooker, Babatunde Olatunji, Mongo Santamaria, Elvin Jones. Sadly, I don't see people of their stature being replaced. Who will be the next generation of spiritual resources for the world?

Here's a short bio of Ali Farka Toure:

"Contrary to many African artists, Ali Farka Touré was never tempted to exile himself in the West, during the seventies and eighties when the expansion of World Music drew many of them to Europe. Quite the contrary. This musician, whose musical culture is impressive, respected and revered throughout the world, is truly closer than any other to his own land, Mali. To such a degree that today, after winning over the international music scene with his sensitive, inspired blues, he now spends most of his time farming. One reason for this is his passion for farming and his personal investment in great agricultural irrigation projects. The father of many children, Ali possesses 350 hectares of land, mostly rice fields, in his native Niafounké."

"Ali Farka Touré was now one of the biggest stars of African music, both on his own continent and in the West. The man who said of American blues music "I am the root and the trunk, all they have is the branches and the leaves", had the opportunity to play with John Lee Hooker in summer 91. Their highly symbolic duet represented the long road taken by African music over the centuries. But his greatest international success came when the album "Talking Timbuktu" came out in 93, based on the mythical theme of Timbuktu. This work, full of blues themes, was the result of collaboration with the American guitarist Ry Cooder. The critics were over the moon and the album, recorded in Los Angeles, won the Grammy Award, the supreme prize of the recording industry."

"In 1997, Ali declared that he wanted to retire from the stage to devote himself to farming in his village 200 km from Timbuktu. The man who says "it is written that I am an artist on my identity card, but in fact I am a farmer", announced his intention to provide work to young people in his region to stop them from abandoning rural areas."

Our friend John is all screwed up.

Proof that running and icy trails do not mix. Ouch! Get well soon John!

Amadisto's Grandparents

Paul, Kathy, Irene, Cooper

Maxium Minus 20

Everyone out on a sunny (and COLD) day in High Park. Amadisto slept through his first trip to the park, but we all had fun! We have the frostbitten ears to prove it! (Diane & Sol, Amado in pram, Mom, Irene, Wendy)

What? I'm part Californian?

Mother Drum

In our tribe, it's the matriarchs who pass the drum to the next generation. Above, Grandmas Coop & Bean present Amado with a pint-size djembe from California. A couple of years ago they gave me my two conga drums. When Amado gets a bit older I'll teach him all the Afro-Cuban rhythms I know--admittedly not much, but enough to get him started.

It's been a very busy few days, with all the Gallegos family in town to meet the baby. But it's been really fun showing folks around Toronto, with it's exotic weather and all. :-)

Open Yourself to Change

We're all headed for Sgr A*

Just to keep things in proper perspective....

"The Milky Way is a member of a collection of more than 50 galaxies called the Local Group. In terms of space occupied, Andromeda, or M31, is the biggest galaxy in this posse, but the Milky Way is the most massive."

"Astronomers estimate that the Milky Way contains about 100 billion stars. Recently, however, this number was upped by about a billion after the discovery that very old, nearly invisible stars had escaped earlier detections."

"Our sun, which is 4.6 billion years old, is located 26,000 light-years away from the galactic center on one of the spiral arms. It is a location considered more suitable than others for harboring life, in part because the central region is too chaotic, and in part because the concentration of metals there is too heavy, and it’s too light in the galaxy’s outer fringes."

"The sun makes one complete orbit around the galaxy about once every 225 million years."

"Colossal black holes are believed to lay at the heart of many galaxies, including our own. The Milky Way’s suspected black hole is called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, and is thought to have between 3.2 million and 4 million times the mass of our sun."

"A black hole’s event horizon is a theoretical boundary beyond which gravity is so strong that no form of matter or energy can escape. But black holes are more than just indiscriminate and voracious gobblers of matter; they are forces of creation that help sculpt a galaxy’s shape and distribute its stars."

From "Scientists rewrite guide to Milky Way galaxy."

Soñe que...

I think this says, "I dreamt that you love me." But I'm not sure.

In any case, this photo was taken by one of my new favourite Flickr artists, Carlos Bravo from Monterrey, Mexico. You can see his more of his photos at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miedo/

(You may need to sign in...I'm not sure.)

You can see that the actual art was done by a group calling itself "Accion Poetica" or "Poetic Action." We need more groups like this today.

More on that 1993 Santana interview

Ok, this is the LAST time I promote my 1993 interview with Carlos Santana this month! But, since it's being blogged about by none other than Bill Ives, I thought I should at least do readers a service and post the link again, this time with a picture of the actual event. Yes, that's a rare picture of me in my younger years, along with my great boss at the time, Karen Lattea (who asked Carlos the best questions of the day). We didn't expect to interview Carlos until the following day, so we weren't really dressed for the occasion. Carlos didn't seem to mind though. Interestingly enough, these outfits met the summer dress code at Sojourners back then. I'm not sure if shorts and t-shirts would cut it around that office now though.

Check out Carlos' cool Felix the Cat fanny pack he has around his waist. He kept it on the whole interview. I still wonder what he had in there. He was also wearing some really cool silk slip-ons with an image of the African continent on them. You can't see it in this picture, but he under his jacket he has on one of those super colourful shirts designed by San Francisco artist Michael Rios that he always wore in those days. This shirt had a giant image of Miles Davis' face on it. I have some other pictures from the interview that I will try to get scanned and post here one day. They were all taken by Washington D.C. photojournalist Rick Reinhard, who also happened to shoot my wedding day.

Bill Ives' website tackles the really interesting subject of blogs and knowledge management for most of the week, then switches to food, art, and travel on the weekends. Unlike my blog, his is a serious one and it appears he puts real thought into it. Thanks Bill for linking to my humble site!

One Month Old Today!

Son, you will find that eyebrows are an important part of life in this world. Glad to see them starting to come in.

(Technically, Amado is only four weeks old today, not a month. But close enough.)

Hasta la Victoria!

I'm back from Victoria, B.C. (we stayed just steps from the scene pictured above). I was there for a couple of days to gather with my Emerging Spirit colleagues for a staff meeting. I work with a really great team and I think we're starting to get some good work done. But there's plenty more that will be keeping us busy in the months to come!

It was also good for me to get a "west coast fix" after such a long time back east. Victoria's a nice city and surrounded by a really beautiful environment. Ocean, forest, islands, mountains. Bald eagles all over the place. You wouldn't believe how dramatic mountains look after such a long time on the Toronto flatlands. Not to mention flowers, budding trees, and green grass at this time of year!

But the trip west was also the coup de grace for any sleeping pattern I had left. Plus I returned with a cold, so now I'm really messed up. It was great to hold baby Amadisto again, but he probably wonders why his daddy is wearing a surgical mask when holding him. Some kind of weird Michael Jackson thing? My son, you will thank me later. And no, I'm not taking you out on the balcony.

Even after a few days away I noticed how Amado had changed. Bigger, brighter eyes, some more coordination, and of course he's a bit fatter. He's one month old today, weighs 12 pounds, and, according to Dr. Hum, he is in the 90 percentile for every other measurement they use on babies. He's a big boy! Wendy and I are sure he's advanced mentally as well, though that's harder to prove. He's still digging the jazz though. Perhaps it's a sign.

I hope I didn't lose too many of you during my blog hiatus!

I'll be back...

I'll be away from my computer for a few days on work-related business (no, this blog does not support me full-time). If I get a chance, perhaps I'll post something from the field. Meanwhile, stay sweet, we'll party this summer.

What's Up Man?

I am a very noisy sleeper.

Just North of Santa Cruz

Mavericks 2006

Roger Bowen

Roger Bowen
May 25, 1932 - February 16, 1996

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Roger Bowen's passing. Even though I don't feel I knew him that well, he was a big influence on me in a lot of ways. His daughter, Katie Bowen-Kosh (above, with her dad), is a very important person in my life and through her I had the opportunity to get to know her father some in the late 80s. I don't think we ever had enough time together to get to know each other really well (he lived in New York and Katie and I lived in California), but I have great and lasting memories of him.

Back then he gave me an incredible walking tour of Manhattan, offering great detail about the history of each neighbourhood we passed through. Especially because of later events, I will always remember walking with him between the two towers of the World Trade Center. The buildings seemed so incredible to me at the time. Almost a force of nature in and of themselves. "50,000 people go to work every day in those buildings," Roger told me. I was totally awestruck. I don't even think the town where I lived at that time even had a population of 50,000.

Another time, after a fellow India Joze chef, Bill Forte, and I made a big Asian meal for the Bowens, Roger gave us one of the best compliments I've ever had about my cooking. "All of the dishes were great," he said, "but the rice was absolutely perfect and that's how you can tell it was cooked by a great chef." Or something to that effect. He also once surprised me by making a trip all the way to Princeton just to pick up a book I needed for my thesis.

Of course, Roger Bowen was also a famous actor. He played Col. Henry Blake in the M*A*S*H movie, was a co-founder of Chicago's Second City comedy troupe, among many other great accomplishments (see his biography link below). But that's not what I remember him for. The most important thing Roger Bowen taught me was how to be a great father to a daughter (or a son). I will never forget the relationship I witnessed between him and Katie. I don't even think they were aware I was watching, but Roger showed me what it is for a father to be loving, supportive, and emotionally present for his daughter, while at the same time respecting and honouring her as an adult with her own creative path in life. I always felt deeply honoured to be able to share in a small part of their relationship when we traveled to New York.

Another friend of mine who recently lost his father told me that his dad was and always will be his hero. He said that seeing the pictures on baby Amado on this blog eased his pain. "Now it's our turn to be heroes," my friend told me. Now, as a new father, I am so thankful that Roger Bowen showed me something about how to do this.

Peace, love, and blessing on Katie and everyone who loved Roger as we remember him at this time.

Here's a link to one of Roger Bowen's film biographies:

http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=7728&mod=bio

Dust and ashes touch our face

On Feb. 12 Minnedosa United Church in Minnedosa, Manitoba was destroyed by arsonists. It's a terribly sad story, made even sadder for us because Wendy has known Shawn Ankenmann, the pastor of the church, from way back. The church has a blog where they are sharing their story of the fire and the slow recovery from it. Please keep these folks in your prayers.

Minnedosa United Church blog (http://minnedosaunited.blogspot.com/)

"...how do you calculate the losses of a building that has served generations of a prairie community town?"

"Like a gaping wound, the smouldering ruins of what was an incredible church will remind us all for coming days of the hole that this fire has formed in the life, not only of our faith community, but of our whole community. There are few families who do not call our sanctuary "my church" or who have turned to us for transitions and passages, or who have been in the building for something ... showers, socials, concerts, nursery school, marriages, baptisms, funerals, special events ... the list is as long as the history of the building ... the memories and tears are flowing thick and fast ..."

Today's Hot 35

I've had the iPod on shuffle for the past two days while I worked...here are the first 35 songs....an embarrassing amount of Santana-related tunes. I have other stuff in my collection, really! But some good songs turned up here...the standouts were Alice Coltrane's "Journey in Satchidananda" (pure, exquisite, spiritual jazz), and Joy Harjo's "Letter from the End of the 20th Century" (dub poetry, indigenous style -- the ghostly redemption story told in this song will stick with me for a long time). "I Put a Spell On You," with Buddy Guy and Carlos isn't half bad either.

1) Funny Valentine – Dylan Crammer [funny, did someone at Apple program the iPod to play this song on this day?]
2) Letter from the End of the 20th Century – Joy Harjo
3) The Final Peace – Jeff Beck
4) Obatala (live) – Mongo Santamaria
5) Cintura de Alambre – Hilaro Duran
6) I Put a Spell on You – Buddy Guy with Carlos Santana
7) The Sermon – Jimmy Smith
8) Samba Pa Ti – Ottmar Liebert with Carlos Santana
9) Paris Finale – Santana [latin rock meets black gospel to close the show in paris]
10) Go Monkey Go – Devo [don't we all need a little devo in our lives now and again?]
11) Black Manhattan – Clyde Criner
12) Chan Chan – Buena Vista Social Club
13) Orange Blossom Special – Johnny Cash
14) Guiro Para Ogun – Ritmo y Candela [rebeca mauleon does a great santeria chant on this one....though she's really "just" the piano player]
15) Southern Man – Neil Young [this man is incredible]
16) Dick Dogs – Santana [live @ Eric Clapton's Crossroads Benefit]
17) Come Back Jesus – Alpha Blondy
18) Fu-Gee-La – The Fugees
19) Peachfuzz – Michelle Shocked [every Michelle Shocked song is great, imho]
20) Kaya – Bob Marley
21) Boogie Woman – Santana with Los Lonely Boys [live jam from Charlotte, 2005 tour]
22) 3rd Acts vs. Scratch – The Roots
23) Swapan Tari – Santana [say what?]
24) Oh What a Situation – The Caribbean All-Stars with Carlos Santana
25) Highway Robbery – Israel Vibration
26) King of Trees – Cat Stevens [an old sentimental favourite]
27) Negro and Andy Run This Very Night Into the Rumba – Deep Rumba
28) Journey in Satchidananda – Alice Coltrane
29) The Look of Love – Willie Bobo [swoony latin soul jazz]
30) Mark of the Dub – Abyssinians
31) Bonita – Antonio Carlos Jobim
32) Yesterdays – Wes Montgomery
33) Tocororo – Los Munequitos de Manzantas
34) Angklung Sekar Jati – Sekaa Genggong Batu [bali gamelan]
35) Whip It / Girl You Want - Devo