Under The Serpent

"After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: If anyone in the vicinity..."

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:47:46 -0400

“

After learning my flight was detained 4 hours,
I heard the announcement:
If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic,
Please come to the gate immediately.

Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress,
Just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly.
Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her
Problem? we told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she
Did this.

I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly.
Shu dow-a, shu- biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick,
Sho bit se-wee?

The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used—
She stopped crying.

She thought our flight had been canceled entirely.
She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the
Following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late,

Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him.
We called her son and I spoke with him in English.
I told him I would stay with his mother till we got on the plane and
Would ride next to her—Southwest.

She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it.

Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and
Found out of course they had ten shared friends.

Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian
Poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about 2 hours.

She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering
Questions.

She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered
Sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—
And was offering them to all the women at the gate.

To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a
Sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California,
The lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same
Powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies.

And then the airline broke out the free beverages from huge coolers—
Non-alcoholic—and the two little girls for our flight, one African
American, one Mexican American—ran around serving us all apple juice
And lemonade and they were covered with powdered sugar too.

And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—
Had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing,

With green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always
Carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.

And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought,
This is the world I want to live in. The shared world.

Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped
—has seemed apprehensive about any other person.

They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women too.
This can still happen anywhere.

Not everything is lost.

”

- Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952), “Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal.” I think this poem may be making the rounds, this week, but that’s as it should be. (via oliviacirce)

Man in Flight

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:11:00 -0400

Man in Flight:

Yow!!

Clayton Cubitt: On Beauty

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 11:56:21 -0400

Clayton Cubitt: On Beauty:

claytoncubitt:

I think there are two types of beauty.

The easier kind is inherited beauty. Youth and its accessories. Flawless skin, toned muscles, bright eyes, silken hair. Also, the ageless genetic gifts of symmetry, grace, and form.

While I cannot help but appreciate inherited beauty, I do not respect it…

good song. good bad. nuff sed thenearsightedmonkey: Artist: Os...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:43:04 -0400

good song. good bad. nuff sed

thenearsightedmonkey:

Artist: Os Mutantes
Song: A Minha Menina
Album: Os Mutantes (1968)

postcardsfromamerica: Susan Meiselas. Rochester, New York....

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:41:50 -0400

postcardsfromamerica:

Susan Meiselas. Rochester, New York. Memorial rally honoring Lawrence Richardson.

Still thinking about this gathering a week ago to honor Lawrence Richardson, who was brutally shot…. Susan

why doesn’t this make me feel...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:00:00 -0400

why doesn’t this make me feel safer?

new-aesthetic:

“Sandia researchers have invented a dart-like, self-guided bullet for small-caliber, smooth-bore firearms that could hit laser-designated targets at distances of more than a mile (about 2,000 meters). The four-inch-long bullet has actuators that steer tiny fins that guide it to its target.”

“A tiny light-emitting diode, or LED, attached to a bullet shows a bright path during a nighttime field test that proved the battery and electronics could survive the bullet’s launch. (Photo by Scott Rose)”

Sandia’s self-guided bullet path (by SandiaLabs)

nevver: André Kertész yeah, he rockest totaloastamy

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:54:27 -0500

nevver:

André Kertész

yeah, he rockest totaloastamy

Muddy Waters and Mozart

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:59:40 -0500

lareviewofbooks:

ARETHA SILLS

on the Late Great Townes Van Zandt.
Photograph by Julie Cline

What I remember most about the AP obituary that ran fifteen years ago tomorrow was its brevity — given that it was written for one of the most influential songwriters of our time — and a quote from Katie Belle, Townes Van Zandt’s five-year-old daughter who was with him: “Daddy’s having a fight with his heart.”

When he died at age 52 on New Year’s Day 1997, fans of the legendary Texas singer-songwriter were saddened but not surprised. He had, after all, named his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt — possibly a joke about his perpetual obscurity, or possibly because he and everyone who knew him thought he would die young like Hank Williams (who also died on January 1st). As his friend Guy Clark said at the memorial, “I booked this gig thirty-something years ago.” Townes’s seemingly brief turn on this plane was characterized by staggeringly self-annihilating behavior — behavior that had in many ways defined that turn, and has often overshadowed the powerful and transcendent body of work he left behind.
If I had a nickel I’d find a game. 
If I won a dollar I’d make it rain. 
If it rained an ocean I’d drink it dry 
And lay me down dissatisfied.  

— from “Rex’s Blues”
Townes’s obituary offered just enough room to recap a few basic facts: that his songs were recorded by singers more famous than he would ever be, including Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson; that though he sang about prostitutes and bums and emulated Lightnin’ Hopkins, he was the scion of a prominent Texas oil family; and, the often-told tale, that Steve Earle once threatened to jump on Bob Dylan’s coffee table to proclaim just who was the better songwriter. The obituary politely left it to Van Zandt’s lyrics (from “A Song For”) to hint at his lifelong struggles with mental illness and addiction: “There’s nowhere left in this world where to go. My arms, my legs they’re a tremblin’. Thoughts both clouded and blue as the sky, not even worth the rememberin’.”

The day after New Year’s 1997, I was working at Streetlight Records in San Francisco. A co-worker gingerly handed me the newspaper, fearing I’d be crushed. He knew that I had interviewed Townes a few years back. One of the last things I’d heard Townes say was, “I wish you could help me, Aretha” — a line I withheld from publication, as well as a few other sections of our conversation, including a part about how many rehab facilities and mental institutions Townes had visited over the years. I’ve been mystified by my reticence to print these moments ever since. I have no excuse other than that I was in my early 20s and more of a fan than a journalist.

Read More

Paramilitary Policing From Seattle to Occupy Wall Street

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:38:47 -0500

Paramilitary Policing From Seattle to Occupy Wall Street:

by the former Chief of the Seattle PD.
in the Nation.

uncertaintimes: Berenice Abbott playing ping pong # (beating...

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:41:55 -0500

uncertaintimes:

Berenice Abbott playing ping pong #

(beating your ass in between trips to the darkroom)

"Dieter Rams’ ten principles to “good design” Good design is innovative Good design makes a product..."

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:37:03 -0400

“

Dieter Rams’ ten principles to “good design”

Good design is innovative
Good design makes a product useful
Good design is aesthetic
Good design helps us to understand a product
Good design is unobtrusive
Good design is honest
Good design is long-lasting
Good design is consequent to the last detail
Good design is concerned with the environment
Good design is as little design as possible

”

- Dieter Rams via http://www.yatzer.com/as-little-design-as-possible-dieter-rams via Wm. Gibson intervu in Boing Boing

Now i get it…

Tue, 31 May 2011 12:10:51 -0400

Now i get it…

applicable in so many situations.

Tue, 31 May 2011 11:45:00 -0400

applicable in so many situations.

Happy Memorial Day! nevver: 18 suicides a day

Mon, 30 May 2011 11:00:10 -0400

Happy Memorial Day!

nevver:

18 suicides a day

Welcome to Pyongyang by Charlie Crane

Sat, 21 May 2011 23:53:07 -0400

Welcome to Pyongyang by Charlie Crane

"I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.’ And..."

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:52:05 -0400

“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it.
- Voltaire”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:53:50 -0400

toss between my MacBook & G11