Independent Music 101

Marian Call is a talented musician who, after years of studying music, found the music industry lacking. She's one of the first of many musicians raised in a world of technology and entitlement who do not easily buy into existing business models of earning a living. She's wise for her years in that she suspects (I think rightly) that being sponsored and supported by an industry comes at a cost. She is also savvy enough to cultivate her own fanbase through the internet. A tremendous amount of focus and work goes into this on her behalf. Her fans are financing her next album.

There are many singer/songwriters who do this already and many, it seems, where initially forced into learning how to do it for the sake of survival. I find Marian unique (but my no means alone) in that her embracing technology grew alongside her cultivation of her talents. In this short video Marian talks about that process and how it fits her values.

I found as I listened that we have much to learn from those who come after us wanting the same things that we want: freedom, independence and choice. They deserve our interest and support. I'm not so sure that they are not born to bring us greater understanding in how to live large in freedom and prosperity. I think they may be hard-wired for nothing less and I think we should pay attention to what they are doing and saying.




Thanks to "Alaska Dispatch" for posting this video.

For the Man Who Has Everything: Throwing Grandma Out with the Bathwater

It seems like too much of my life is spent trying to identify the good guys from the bad guys lately. I wonder how it is that this line became so blurred...but it has. My current conundrum involves the debate about Social Security. I have always heard that the program was in trouble and there would not be enough money to help my children and grandchildren. Everyone has heard this so much that it has become fact even though it is a myth. Now I understand upon further investigation that there is an strong element of grandstanding and posturing for private agendas involved in cultivating that rumor. What to do?

There is currently a bill: Senate Bill 2853 that appeals strongly to everyone's sense of responsible fiscal action in government. It proposes a shortcut to expediting policies. Behind this bill is a fellow with a LOT of money by the name of Peter G. Peterson who has decided, I understand, that his legacy to the American Public will be to dismantle what he deems as a worthless program: Social Security. (He has his eye on Medicare and Medicaid as well but that is an addendum to this issue). You might recall in 2004 when then President Bush was rallying to reform Social Security by investing all that secure money into the stock market, Mr. Peterson was all for that idea...

( ....I will stop here for a minute to allow your imagination to work with your hindsight a moment. Imagine the current scenario that would have been the result of that action, should it have been enacted by the American people....).

It was the democratic process of open debate that saved all those elders from having to loose everything (often little anyway) when everything tumbled in winter of 2008. You think it is a crime to see dead bodies piled up roadside in Haiti due to a poor infrastructure and political philandering and think that disasters such as this could never happen here? Put America's financing on a "fast-track" so we can "get 'er done" and you will see things worse than New Orleans post Katrina. You will see your own Grandma and Grandpa denied care and funding that they paid into by working all of their lives. What's more you will have the opportunity to help them directly perhaps with the funding that was earmarked for your child's eduction.

Yes there are things to be done to improve Social Security and you can read about those things in simple language here at Ronni Bennett's Blog, Time Goes By. The Senate Bill 2853 that reads at the the onset to be so practical is really a way to circumvent the system to act swiftly on making financial cuts that could eviscerate the stable existing lifestyles of millions. We are talking cuts made by politicians with minimal debate done behind closed doors.

(...again let me pause a moment while the imagination has a chance to confer with hindsight regarding unchecked politicians, policy makers and lobbyists...)

Venture capitalists are very wily people. That is how they became so wealthy. When you get powerful and affluent people wanting to make a name for themselves like Mr. Peterson things can become very scary very quickly. Certainly that is the case here. Money talks in American politics and too often all it REALLY wants to talk about is itself. Be careful of this bill working it's way into our lives.
There is a recourse strategy. Tomorrow, 19 January, is Call-In-Day. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, who are, understandably, all over this bill, are joining with other elder advocacy groups to inundate the Senate with telephone calls against this bill. There is more about this in Time Goes By with links and explanations. To cut to the chase, the number to call is 800-998-0180 and the details of the bill can be found here . I encourage you to join me in making sure that reform does not spell deconstruction of programs that are, fundamentally honorable and sound and are simply in need of some compassionate attention.

Staying Warm

"All at once, the weight has lifted
Forgotten the weeping all last night
She's wearing a frown borrowed from her father
Her head is tilted a little to the right.."
~ Peter Mulvey
Tender Blindspot,
The Trouble with Poets, 2000

Years ago when I first moved to Bellingham WA, I went to a concert that was held in an ungodly hot office up four flights or so in a commercial building in town. I had heard Peter Mulvey on Whole Wheat Radio and found his music great and that is what set me to attend. He was playing with David Goodrich that evening along with a local upstart, Korby Lenker. I recall this concert not only because it was insanely hot in there but because the force of the talent in the room was unrelenting. Peter Mulvey is a musician's musician and, I think, an awe inspiring songwriter and poet. I hear his influences in others music all the time and when I do, I'm always returning in my mind to that steamy little House Concert in back in 2004. When Mulvey plays time stops, period. The relationship that he has forged with his craft is that strong and apparent when he plays. Any chance to see or hear him perform should be sought out and savored.

Fortunately for all of us we can get a taste of this talent without even leaving our comfort zone tonight a 9 pm (PST) because he is playing at Whole Wheat Radio tonight and it is being simulcast for everyone's enjoyment. Just click on this link and you are there and ready to listen in. Information about Peter, his opening act Anais Mitchell, and a chat room to discuss the concert or leave messages for Peter and Anais will appear. I hope you allow yourself the experience of Peter Mulvey. As for me, I'm going to pour myself a glass of wine, listen in and maybe turn up the heat...you know, just for old times sake.

Saturday has left the building...

Saturday, 1996-2009

Saturday, born in Phoenix, AZ in 1996 and tossed into a gutter, found his way to food on my niece's porch in the barrio and into my heart soon thereafter. Weighing no more and 3 ounces and with ears as big as a fruit bat, he hissed down two adult cats to get to the food that was there. Before the adult cats could make a meal of him, my niece Leslie, called me to come pick up the foundling.

"Poppy and Nugget are going to KILL him if you don't come get him!" she shouted over the phone - only I couldn't hear for all the noise from a party that was going on at her place.

"What?" I said.

She shouted. "Saturday! A kitten showed up here on Saturday on my porch and the boys are going to kill him! Come get him!"

"What?" I repeated, struggling to make sense of what I could hear. "You have a cat named Saturday and you want me to come pick him up?" I asked.

I guess she was feeling that was as close to a complete communication that she was going to get from me because she shouted, exasperated, "YES! Come and get him! NOW!"

That is how Saturday came to be my companion for these last 13 years, through living in three states and often unbelievable living conditions. Always by my side; always somewhat subdued about just about everything yet passionate about me and a full food bowl. Saturday, a bit of a legend on-line and always number one in any reality for me.

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Rest in peace my dear feline companion. There is no more pain for you now. I will learn to live without you but it will be a lonely journey for lack of your sweet company and the great comfort that you never failed to bring me.Hold your pet close tonight and love them up. The acquaintance is always too short.

Esther Golton and News from the Northern Lights

I received my CD of Esther Golton's "Aurora Borealis: Conversations with Alaska's Northern Lights" just as I was arriving home from a music festival. I slapped it into the player as I was unpacking the truck. I didn't get very far with the unpacking before I found myself sitting in front of the speaker mesmerized by the music that she was producing. The first thing I thought of was "How in the name of God did she capture so much of that atmosphere so clearly?" How, indeed.

Esther is a fabulously gifted musician but even more, that she can actually translate a natural phenomena like the Aurora Borealis in such an accessible and fantastic way musically is awe-inspiring. She shares here what is essential of a natural occurrence that leaves many of us doomed to observe slack-jawed, wordless and in awe. She just keeps going deeper and deeper into the layers of music and brings us closer and closer to the radiance of that phenomenal experience.

I hear so many different influences in each cut that they rise above mere tunes. They truly are conversations with the Aurora itself, just as the title suggests. She has achieved her goal in this. This is subtly different from what you hear as a ambient music in the bookstore or yoga class. She has listened, observed, received the information and translated it in her very individual way for us to enjoy. I've listened to the CD several times (my favorite mode being intimately on my iPod) and I'm convinced I hear an invitation from the Aurora herself. Aurora, the goddess of dawn and new beginnings, speaks here and this CD clearly invites us to open our eyes and see the natural world with all the spectacular gifts this earth displays every moment, as if it is our first morning and our beginning, too.

Esther is having a special CD release party that anyone can attend on-line on Saturday, September 12th at Whole Wheat Radio. These live concerts can be attended on-line and are as easy to access as clicking a link to listen which can be done here. The party starts at 7 pm Alaska time [fashionably later Eastern - you can do the math here]. These concerts are a lot of fun and they are interactive, if you wish. It is Esther's birthday on that day, too. Judging by listening to this CD and her conversations, she has much to be proud of in the company she has kept this year.

Health Care Reform - Is there a Doctor in the House?

I didn't really know what to write about to my Congresswoman in regards to Health Care Reform. I choose Maria Cantwell because she did not have as much on her website regarding the issue. Unlike Patty Murray,who is actively culling stories to support her case for reform as top billing on her site , or Rick Larsen, who is currently on the ever critical House Budget Committee; he clearly has a strong grasp on this important issue on his site. I felt Cantwell needed the most encouragement.

I decide a pep talk was in order. I mean if I had this tremendous battle playing out in front of ME, I'd want to here the roar of support from the troops behind me as I stepped up. I went with what I feel most comfortable with in an unfamiliar terrain. I can only hope I haven't made too big of a fool of myself by dabbling in politics.

Good luck to Ronni Bennett at Time Goes By with her online campaign and Good Cheer to all of us on this one.

My submission, forthwith:

The Honorable Maria Cantwell

511 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington DC 20510

August 18, 2009

Regarding H.R. 3200

Hello Senator Cantwell,

I am writing to you regarding H.R.3200: America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. I suspect that I am preaching to the choir here but you are my representative for a success in this endeavor and I want to make sure you don’t throw in the towel before every last hope for the best Health Care reform possible has been utilized and provided. This bill must be strong and lasting for generations to come. I count on your keeping this vision intact.

I am an elder who lives and works in Bellingham WA. I have worked for the better part of forty years doing one thing or another to keep mine and my family’s head above water. I have two grown children. One of my children is just starting a family. I hear it through the news that it is a common belief amongst those in political circles that seniors are not supporting Health Care reform. I hear, as well, that there’s a great deal of fact [link} being sullied in the name of special interests. I don’t watch a lot of television myself so I had to do a little digging to look at what the general population is viewing. I then took a look around me and realized that no one that I see in my circle of working seniors thinks the current Health Care System is sustainable nor is (save for possibly the health care provided by the Veterans Affairs Administration) there currently a foundation sturdy enough to build upon. As for concerns of losing Medicare, I understand that reforming a cumbersome bureaucratic mess does not necessarily mean that improvements will not be made. This monopoly by the health insurance industry must end to avoid the suffering of many Americans.

I do not write or call politicians often so you will have to excuse my lack of familiarity with this type of discourse. I simply want to say I am aware that these are critically important times for the fate of our country and this is a very complicated issue. I do not envy your job. I need to tell you, too, that I am hoping that you persevere in trying to keep H.R. 3200 as intact and protected from private interests as is humanly possible. I recognize that we all have a unique opportunity at this time to make a tremendous improvement on scores of lives across this country by setting a policy in place that provides for fair and equitable health care for all. Please do not loose heart or think that elders do not care and that we are not doing what we can in our own way to support these changes. We are online, we are paying attention and we are not afraid of change. We are right here with you in thought and spirit when you are required to go that extra distance to secure this very important improvement to the American Health Care System.

I thank you for all your work and service and I thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Respectfully,

It would feel good to be a part of moving this improvement of our Health Care System into law. May we all live long healthy lives and prosper in the knowledge our children have the care they need and deserve....

Do you remember November?

This is it. It happened this month, August 2009.

*Please make a note of it.*

All of us who were ecstatic about the election of Barack Obama – all of us who solemnly nodded to ourselves in thanks to the Powers-That-Be that we were given an opportunity for a second chance – all of us who readily admitted that we became too complacent in letting our leaders do all the heavy lifting in maintaining a democracy – all of us who cheerfully said, “Oh YES! We know we are going to have to help Obama! We know the election is just the beginning…” Well, recess is nearly over, literally. If we do not make a strong presence when class reassembles on health care reform, we are going to be witness to a great deal more suffering and disappointment than is necessary.

This Thursday, August 20^th is the day set aside for elders to rise in a clear cry of unity to, at the very least, break the stronghold the spinning media has on projecting the belief that seniors are against health care reform. From TGB:

“…not all of us want to keep our single-payer system – Medicare – and deny everyone else similar benefits, which is how it appears…in widespread media coverage of town hall meetings and interviews with elders.”

Thursday there will be blogging. There will be dust raised as conservative and liberal elders have it out. Don't send us to the front lines alone. This fight is an important one and will be resonating for decades and effecting generations - To put a finer point on it: this one is for you and those you love.

If you are unsure where you stand, go here for the debate. If you are not sure who to write, go here to get the correct cage to rattle. If you don’t know what to write, consider what not writing anything could ensue - then open a notepad on your computer and look here for a simple outline.

Be polite. Be heard. Be a part of history in clarifying your support for the Unites States as a responsible, caring and compassionate government for its citizens. Let’s show ourselves, our children and the world that we can follow through with what we swooned and swore over last fall. I am going to post what I have written to my Congress on this matter on Thursday, August 20^th and send the link to As Time Goes By . Ronni Bennett of TBG wants to try a show of force on the internet that one day. I don’t suspect what I write will be the most the eloquent thing I’ve ever written because I’m a bit shy about politics, frankly, but I’m passionate about freedom and liberty for all and I suspect that counts. If you blog, you can share your letter there, too.

Also, in truth, I’m about ready for another wave of that heady feeling of our November win. How about you? Well, it did not happen because it was left to gravity. It happened because we collectively held up the sky.