Wednesday, April 29, 2020

1st collage


Surrealism n.1 the youthful expression of dreamlike spontaneity which daily life conspires to suppress. 2 a state of mind embracing unconscious, poetic juxtaposition which is eroded by responsibility. 3 You pursue the terrible beauties of fear and hope. Your friends cannot help you


M'AIDER! M'AIDER!


"3 OF MY LOVES"
  'Afishin in The Backwaters of Lake Roussea"
(circa a few years back )
Photograph by Annie B. Siemer


MAYDAY! MAYDAY!"

According to wikipedia:


Mayday got its start as an international distress call in 1923. It was made official in 1948. It was the idea of Frederick Mockford, who was a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London. He came up with the idea for “mayday" because it sounded like the French word m'aider, which means “help me."*



A FEW DAYS AGO, I COULD NOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME REMEMBER HOW TO SAY “THANK YOU” IN  FRENCH

 I also could not remember the origin of  the saying "May-DAY" AND I think I thought it also meant May 1st.  Black mold and other pollens have kicked in again and simultaneaously ...this is the time of the year when the river of my creativity starts to boil over again...and the river this time is over-tired of impeding the flow.

I, like many over the past 30 years or so, have been trying to be Thankful for what I/We DO have...to focus on that, instead of what we lack.
 Knowing full well that what we focus on, we get more of.

AND, as a seeker of truths, and a reader of books about a plethora of mystical (FUSION-MOSAIC) pathways...
I have wanted to say “Thank You” for my blessings as much as possible, knowing on a higher level … that what we acknowledge and are Thankful for,
or GRATEFUL for..., WE GET MORE OF
 and what we focus on not having, remains so.

"As you think you travel; as you love, you attract. You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.
You cannot escape the results of your thoughts, but you can endure and learn, can accept and be glad. You will always come to the place where your LOVE (your most abiding and intense thought) can receive it's measure of gratification. If your love be base, you will come to a base place; if it be beautiful, it will come to a beautiful place"....

"The dreamers are the saviours of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as the realities which it shall one day see and know." James Allen



So on that morning , I was trying to say “Thank You “ in the few languages that I do know, but more importantly THE ONE that I learned (read: memorized and regurgitated) at Bishop Ready H.S. in Columbus, Ohio...FRENCH.

So I wandered about the yard and house saying the others: Gracias, Gratzi...in my head and (out loud to my self and Dad ) I kept saying ,

“I know it’s a romance language, so it must also start with Gee”...to no avail. I couldn’t even remember what GEO told me a few years back, how to say
 “Hankta Ouya” in Portagee.

Hours went by as my memory loss nightmare continued. Finally I succumbed to the info cache of the azure blue sky with clouds, Google, who relieved me of my temporary lapse, with “Merci Beaucoups” of course!!!!!

I was immediately overjoyed with the mere sound of that.

Phonetically, mer-sea….the same word twice followed by bow-coo, beautiful coups…. which brings  me back around, eddy-style to why I wanted to write this post in the first place….to say: 


 WAKE UP!!!..MAYDAY, MAYDAY!

Help Me, Help Us”....
 through these changing times, to continue on this pathway of LOVE, mutual understanding, acceptance, cooperation, compassion...continuing to see ourselves in the mirror of who we (believe) is the other, as our very own self.

TO BE GRATEFUL for WHAT WE DO HAVE…

To no longer have collective amnesia and fall back into this consumer nightmare that we have (seemingly)  created/become ...
robotic beings thumb-texting our way down sidewalks and the highway, endlessly collecting (what Doctor Seuss made famous  in  his book, THE LORAX)
as "Thneeds" or rather 

" THE THINGS   WE THINK     WE NEED" .

"UNLESS" WE ALL START TO SEE...

 THAT THERE ARE AS MANY LININGS to This Current Crisis, as there are many more colors in the wheel,
 MYRIAD (I LOVE THAT WORD) MORE COLORS , 
than Silver. 
THAT WE ARE TRULY ALL..

IN THE SAME BOAT! 
AND to finally 
SEE 

and  



FEEL


what it’s like to have the 

whole world 

breakdown into a collective 

LAUGHTER
 and somehow see how 

 IT'S  ALL  
DIVINE COMEDY.
 That we are 
ONE

 despite these many illusions of separation, 
EVERYTHING is happening exactly how it should,*

and I as an empathic person who 
feels everything...
is a wide open book
has wide open eyes
rolls like thunder at times
she who-laughs-as-she-runs-sometimes 
feels for the folks who now 

DONT HAVE FOOD

have been left to fend for themselves

calling me-myself-i

 "annespaceanniebziggyabaloneain'tquittin'buffalowomanthistle 
aiyuninieuharleeeulaliathunderbolteddy"

 
while the megapetrochem and big pharma industries
 stand to make a killing 
 me the 
double-Libra Scorpio rising
harmonica playing drummmer
TRIES VERY HARD TO MAKE SENSE OF ALL OF THIS

feels
 the horrible reality of not being able to touch our loved ones,
lost or otherwise
one foot in this world
one foot in that
one foot on land
the other in sea

feels
 that there are still thousands of "Undocumented families"
separated in unfathomable conditions at or southern border
separate as rumi eluded to
"as a reed from the river" 


KNOWING FULL WELL THAT MY ART HAS ALWAYS SHOWN ME
 

THEN FORGETTING 
AGAIN

 PHEW.........) 

 

to trust each other enough to 
“Come back home”
 to the heart of it all.


 US


and that :


"UNLESS" 



someone like you, cares a whole awful lot, things are not going to get better , they're not".

ALL is ALL Y’all. ALL IS ALL.

O and Merci BEAUCOUPS !!!!




 iremembered 
 all:


"Unless Someone Like You Cares A Whole Awful Lot,

Things are not going to get better, they're NOT".


The Lorax Seuss 

et/and btw

she still
changes everything she touches
and everything she touches
changes 

Monday, April 27, 2020

Invoking The Azure Dragon






"Invoking The Azure Dragon"
 mixed media collage 
4/26/2020
Annie B. Siemer 


'
Yesterday or the day before, I opened up one of my favorite books, Michael Drakes "Shamanic Drumming, Calling the Spirits" to this page (140). 
That has always been one of my personal ways of divination or receiving insight. I have heard others do that too, so...

"Dragon medicine represents wisdom, protection, magic, transformation, shapeshifting, and the inner knowing of the true self.
 Dragon's power is that of shedding it's skin and coming out as a new 
transformed being.  Dragon transmutes with the mastery of the infinite self, bringing us to the culmination of our multi-dimensional existance.
Dragon is among our strongest allies on the path of self realization
and offers us fierce protection".
 Michael Drake 


Anyway, I am asking    y'all to help me to 

Invoke the

 Azure Dragon

as an antidote, anti-viral, as the necessary 

salve 

for these times.



The Azure Dragon on the national flag of China during the Qing dynasty, 1889-1912











Blue Dragons. ... Light blue dragons represent the vastness of the sky and flight, while dark blue dragons represent still, deep waters. Blue dragons are highly protective creatures and magical. Blue Chinese dragons are of the purest azure colors. They are a symbol of the East and are pacifying.”

this and bright yellow flag from China circa late 1800's are from wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azure_Dragon










The Cherokee Legend of Uktena


“Long ago -- hilahiyu jigesv -- when the Sun became angry at the people on Earth and sent a sickness to destroy them, the Little Men changed a man into a monster snake, which they called Uktena, "The Keen-Eyed," and sent him to kill her (the Sun). He failed to do the work, and the Rattlesnake had to be sent instead, which made the Uktena so jealous and angry that the people were afraid of him and had him taken up to Galunlati, to stay with the other dangerous things. He left others behind him, though, nearly as large and dangerous as himself, and they hide now in deep pools in the river and about lonely passes in the high mountains, the places the Cherokees call "Where the Uktena stays."
Those who know say the Uktena is a great snake, as large around as a tree trunk, with horns on its head, and a bright blazing crest like a diamond on its forehead, and scales glowing like sparks of fire. It has rings or spots of color along its whole length, and can not be wounded except by shooting in the seventh spot from the head, because under this spot are its heart and its life. The blazing diamond is called Ulun'suti -- "Transparent" -- and he who can win it may become the greatest wonder worker of the tribe. But it is worth a man's life to attempt it, for whoever is seen by the Uktena is so dazed by the bright light that he runs toward the snake instead of trying to escape. Even to see the Uktena asleep is death, not to the hunter himself, but to his family.

“The Uhktena are enormous creatures that live in the rivers and lakes of the great Ouascioto valleys and mountains (the Ohio Valley and Appalachians). The Uhktena come and go from this world to the underworld. They enter the underworld through caves that are found under the waters of rivers and lakes and also through certain entrances into the earth where there are springs.
The Uhktena have the body of a snake with very pretty and colorful circles all around their torsos. They also have wings like the great buzzard and horns upon their head like the great deer. Upon their forehead there is a special crystal which people prize because it has very special power over light and dark. This crystal is also a window into the future and the past.”




these two also from wiki.....




Chinese National Emblem
1913-1928



and via this new project , I  found an amazing new (to me)  
Artist,
 one Rebecca WANG!!



https://www.psychedeliczen.com/


There are so very many linings nowadays y'all and there are so many more colors than silver.
NOW GO DO SOME ART

Monday, April 20, 2020

my favorite ballad writer....





Pride Cried/Proud Crowd 

"I can't call you from this place
To hear you say that I'm not your kind
It's a thin road before us, we're the wake left behind
It's sad and I fail to see what it had to do with you
And me
But I guess that's like wondering what's a point to a
Line
 
There must be something I wanted more than wanting your
Love
'Cause you stood in my doorway and I stood in my glove
Most afraid to follow, a kingdom my stride
It's so telling what won't live with hunger and pride.

I thought of you often but I never could tell you
The 'you' that I cherished, something hurt me so bad
A few had come close, I couldn't take them in either




I guess the distance between us was my love never had.
And though we live separate I keep two rooms open
One has you in it, the other does not
And I move in the middle, unsure and protected
And I trip on my rope, vaguely sensing I'm caught.

A friend tried to find me and saw through to my wheel
She said you're now on the bottom, it's either that or
The top
You can keep yourself tiny and bang on the big door
Or take the space saved for the queen of the hop

But you know queens have their problems too,
And my size won't stay static
I like to think I never was one for the hoop anyway
And then that night I dreamed again of the far side of
Nothing
And trembling with terror I chose to come back this
Way.

In the streets or the 'after,' in the churches or in
Memory,
The light that will guide you is the source of the
Flame

While stumbling the back alleys in search of right
Action
I fell and wept darkly and acknowledged your name
And the door to my prison dissolved right before me
But like a young fool I quick looked for a power to
Claim
And my wailing increased with the shock of the
Knowledge
That I often have needed something out there to blame.

I give up my fisted touch, my thoughts strong like
Fences
My totem-pole stature, body chipped to the bone
I'm nobody's saviour, and nobody's mine either
I hear the desert wind whisper "But neither are we
Alone."
Sure I long to ask how you're doing, if you got to the
Lightness
That you wanted so fiercely when we drifted that way
There's no telephones ringing now, but I feel something
Calling me
And I'm ready to go, I just need time to say

Hearts are like meadows, with their weathered potential
With their reasons diluted by reason itself
I may be shivering at the foot of this slow-giving
Mountain
But the tiny spring flowers can look just like you
And I won't ask the purpose of all of my footsteps
And I won't let my eyelids cast down
I am looking for something outside of forgiveness
You might call it the jewel of the crown."

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Who knew....There really WAS something about Maria!



One of the things I have been doing lately is watching  black and white documentaries on Youtube.  I came across this earlier today (ahem) wrote what I thought was a good little post then..... and just lost the entire post with one mis-touch of one fat finger. So the gist or grist for the mill is:
 I have seen The Sound of Music since childhood like everyone else  , but I had NO idea about this story about the Von Trapps and specifically , Maria. 

I think it is very poignant for what is going on on Earth now....
Check it out:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q9UVRQ5gZ4&t=713s





"What should I do about the wild heart that wants to be free and the tame
heart that wants to come home? 
I want to be held. 
I don’t want you to come
too close.
 I want you to scoop me up and bring me home at night. 
I don't  want to tell you where I am. I want to be with you." 

Jeannette Winterson



Saturday, April 18, 2020

6 years 6 months hairs standing up now....

a Ferron song for Mary Ann



Mary Ann Crago was my boss at the Columbus Public Library 16 years ago and we are friends on facebook. We connected as  fellow "creatives" back in a time when my hometown was slowly transforming to be more like the culture I had loved and left on the west coast of California.  I Love her art and someday hope to be in a better place to be able to support it.  You can here : www.maryanncrago.com

Somehow through this corona insomnia I stumbled back upon this oh-so-very-poignant-still blog entry. Blogs are so many more things to me than most other folks.  It gave me chills to see that it is nearly spot on 6 years and 6 months ago...


http://maryann0094.blogspot.com/2013/10/long-lost-and-recently-found.html

THE BIG KAHUNA OF PRINE






Back in the fall of 1979 I left home for college and landed in a small college town in eastern Kentucky called Morehead. I was a softball and soccer athlete at Morehead State University there and had a fellow athlete/ resident advisor in  my Freshman dorm of Waterfield, named Del Jean Ross*.  She is the person who gave me the nickname "Annie B." as prior to that my name had been Anne.

She is also the person who (inadvertently) playing some 8 track or cassette at this or that after- practice -gathering or ride to the bootlegger, introduced me  to the music of John Prine long, long before I ever had my first "Illegal Smile".

Years later,  I sang and played guitar ( to the best of my ability)  to kids in Environmental Education/Outdoor Education campfires and programs and folks of all ages camping with friends and families at a few park campgrounds, my own little version of John's "Paradise". Thus the folk process.

It goes without saying that this laughing- spirit- singing -soul,  had a huge impact on us all, whether we know it or not...and his passing a few weeks back from complications with this corona madness has really floored so many, inspired so many,touched so many....bringing musical therapy to us all.

 This morning I found the Big Kahuna of youtube videos and its from my old town of Austin , Texas on one of the most influential tv music programs ever, Austin City Limits. Thank the Great -Spirit for PBS. Enjoy.

  RIP John Prine and Thank You.







Thursday, April 16, 2020

Yesterday In the Garden, today a new poem and I can't believe it's been 10 years. RIP Little Brother.



Truth and Beauty 

"I do not have to go
to Sacred Places
in far-off lands.
The ground I stand on
is holy.
Here, in this little garden
I tend
my pilgrimage ends.
The wild honeybees
the hummingbird moths
the flickering fireflies at dusk
are a microcosm
of the Universe.
Each seed that grows
each spade of soil
is full of miracles.

And I toil and sweat
and watch and wonder
and am full of love.
Living in place
in this place.
for truth and beauty
dwell here."


--Mary de La Valette














https://anniebsiemer.blogspot.com/2010/04/