tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-203129662024-03-13T13:49:18.384-07:00Word Up!"One is responsible to life: It is the small beacon in that terrifying darkness from which we come and to which we shall return."
-- James A. BaldwinZaidi Barakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08589655504161999620noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20312966.post-1136308054542493442006-01-03T09:05:00.000-08:002006-11-08T23:57:44.169-08:00Dancing with Wolves<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"> <div style="text-align: left;"><font>A friend sent this to me, and I thought it so apropos for the New Year. It's called "Two Wolves". Enjoy.<br /><br /><font><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:navy;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12;color:navy;" ></span></span></b></span></span></div><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> <font><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:navy;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12;color:navy;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> <table class="MsoNormalTable" id="mod_EDIMAINTABLE" style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td id="mod_EDITEXTREGION" style="padding: 1.5pt; width: 100%; cursor: auto;" width="100%"> <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding: 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 0in; width: 100%;" width="100%"> <div style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></span><o:p></o:p></div><o:p></o:p> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><o:p></o:p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><b><u><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-family:Tahoma;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-size:100%;">Two Wolves</span><br /><br /></span></span><o:p></o:p></u></b></strong></span><span style=";font-size:85%;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-family:Tahoma;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style=";font-size:85%;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA">One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson<br />about a battle that goes on inside people. <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-family:Tahoma;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style=";font-size:85%;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA">He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" > <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA">One is Evil.<br />It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance,<br />self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" > <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA">The other is Good.<br />It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,<br />benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" > <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA">The grandson thought about it for a minute<br />and then asked his grandfather:<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA">"Which wolf wins?"<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" > <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-family:Tahoma;" lang="EN-CA">The old Cherokee simply replied,<br />"The one you feed</span></span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody> </table></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Zaidi Barakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08589655504161999620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20312966.post-1136240970198286642006-01-02T14:12:00.000-08:002006-11-08T23:57:43.886-08:00Remembering Shirley Horn<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/504/367/1600/foto_shirley_horn.3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/504/367/320/foto_shirley_horn.3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I had the enormous pleasure of catching <a href="http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?aid=2806">Shirley Horn</a> on the <a href="http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/schedule.html">Millenium Stage</a> at the <a href="http://www.kennedy-center.org/">Kennedy Center</a> back in 2001. As I made my way to the South Foyer, I recalled reading about how Ms. Horn put the raising of her daughter before her music career, which only made more pronounced her prodigious gifts when she did find the time to record and/or go on tour. To the late, great <a href="http://www.milesdavis.com/">Miles Davis</a>, who discovered her, Shirley Horn was his favorite vocalist. When I entered the foyer, it was wall-to-wall people. The seats were filling up fast. I quickly scanned the front rows, hoping to find a seat, and becoming resigned that I might have to enjoy the show standing in back of the audience. Then I heard a woman's voice, "Here's a seat!" I turned in the voice's direction, and saw three well-dressed, middle-aged women, and the one proffering me the seat, beckoning me to come sit with them. It was apparent that these women were well acquainted with Ms. Horn, and wanted me to share in the experience up close. I offered up a silent prayer, and moved to claim my seat. A few minutes after sitting, I heard a buzz coming from the audience. I let my ears seek out the source of the commotion, and I saw a woman in white, glittering with diamonds, being wheeled out from the stage wings onto the stage. The buzz grew into enthusiastic, but warm applause, as Ms. Horn was positioned in front of an ebony concert grand piano, whose back faced the audience. All I could see of her was her exquistely coifed head, sparking with diamond earrings, her feet, and her long-fingered hands, which she began to flex. After a few seconds of this, her hands rose up out of view, as she simultaneously nodded to her long time bassist and drummer, <a href="http://www.jazzhouse.org/gone/lastpost2.php3?edit=1003866255">Charles Ables</a> and <a href="http://www.abrushfire.com/bio.htm">Steve Williams</a>, and a luxurious sound of voice and chord followed. "This is heaven", I said to myself.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">"Shirley Horn, the Grammy-winning jazz vocalist and pianist known for her intimate, whispery vocals and top-drawer piano playing, died yesterday (Oct. 20) at Gladys Spellman Nursing Home in Cheverly, Md., following an extended battle with diabetes. She was 71." </span>Read more about Ms. Horn at<span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);" href="http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001349816">BillBoard Magazine</a><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">.</span>Zaidi Barakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08589655504161999620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20312966.post-1136007632835073082005-12-30T21:23:00.000-08:002006-11-08T23:57:42.320-08:00Martin Puryear: Evocative Minimalist<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/504/367/1600/profile.mpuryear2.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/504/367/200/profile.mpuryear2.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/504/367/1600/Blue%20Blood2.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/504/367/200/Blue%20Blood2.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);font-family:arial;" >If you haven't heard of Martin Puryear, you must! Mr. Puryear, b. 1941 in Washington, DC, is exhibiting new sculpture at the </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: arial;" href="http://www.donaldyoung.com/index.html">Donald Young Gallery</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);font-family:arial;" > in Chicago, Saturday, December 10, 2005 to Saturday, February 11, 2006.</span> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >This is an artist whose work evokes the essence of things and ideas using the </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >most unexpected media. As such, I personally find his work unique, inspiring, and a breath of fresh air in these politically-charged times when African American art, in order to be taken seriously, must limit itself to a literal expression of the <span style="font-style: italic;">'black struggle'</span>, or various aspects of black culture. Martin Puryear showed me that African American artists have as much claims to creative license as any other artist throughout the world. "Puryear’s objects and public installations</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >—in wood, stone, tar, wire, and various metals—are a marriage of Minimalist logic with traditional ways of making. Puryear’s evocative, dreamlike explorations </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >in abstract </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">forms retain vestigial elements of utility from everyday objects found in the world." Read more about Martin Puryear at </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/puryear/">Art: 21</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">.</span></span></div>Zaidi Barakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08589655504161999620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20312966.post-1135983715131349062005-12-30T14:06:00.000-08:002006-11-08T23:57:42.180-08:00New Year's Eve<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/504/367/1600/NEW%20YEAR%27S%20EVE.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/504/367/320/NEW%20YEAR%27S%20EVE.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>It's funny, but the reminder of our blessings on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving">Thanksgiving</a>, and our joy in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Birth</span> of <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">Our Holy Redeemer</span></a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas">Christmas</a>, keeps the short, cold, monochromatic days of winter at bey. On <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_26">December 26th</a>, we awake and sigh, amazed at how quickly the most important day of the year has come and gone so quickly, and so ignominously. Yet, there's still hope. We have <a href="http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen3/f1.html">New Year's Eve</a> to give us one last opportunity to extend the holiday euphoria. We brighten up, make some phone calls in search of that potentially perfect party, and dash off to our favorite <a href="http://www.wine-searcher.com/merchant/63">wine and spirits store</a> to stock up on <a href="http://www.champagne.fr/">Champagne</a>, and other assorted booze. What is it about holidays that make us want to eat and drink more than we would on any other day of the year? In the midst of this self induced frenzy, we manage to keep the "realities" at a safe distance. We're still on holiday leave, so we don't want to think about the job; that romantic fling, that was sure to be our <a href="http://steviewonder.free.fr/html/song149.html">Winter's Love in Spring</a>; or the annual fight with your brother-in-law when family gets together on Christmas. Perhaps, before we go a-partying, we will attend <span class="headline">a <a href="http://www.theriversidechurchny.org/events/index.php?event=126&filter=">New Year’s Eve Watch Night Service</a></span>, where we can lay these burdens down.<br /><br />So what is all this ruckus about? On the <a href="http://home.pacific.net.hk/%7Epaulchui/cosmic.html">Cosmic Calendar</a>, it's the quadrillionth tick of a decayed photon, after the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang">Big Bang</a>, that is real time. But with us <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human">Humans</a> it's something relevant to our need to find solace in this big, cold, indifferent <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/html/home.html">Universe</a>. We are, at soul level, children crying out in the wilderness for an immense, all powerful parent figure to assure us that we are safe and loved. So we passionately embrace our myths, superstitions, and nightmares to remind us of our human weaknesses which condemn us to a life bereft of our unrealized potential. "Surely," we try to convince ourselves, "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven">Heaven</a> is a far more attractive place than exploring the dark regions of the Universe, in beautifully constructed spaceships?" Heaven and angel wings vs. <a href="http://homepage.sunrise.ch/homepage/schatzer/Alpha-Centauri.html">Alpha Centuri</a> and the challenge of building <a href="http://galileo.as.utexas.edu/research.html">intergallactic</a> hardware is the question. That said, the clock strikes midnight and <a href="http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/earth.html">Earth</a> has completed its 365th revolution around the <a href="http://www.solarviews.com/eng/sun.htm">Sun</a>. We rejoice, not in this primary physical (f)act, but for the alcohol that has allowed us to feel released from all the guilt and shame acquired over the course of all the years passed. "Good Riddance, 2005!", we might slur, and place our now drained glass on the bar. Now that we are brand new beings, with brand new shiny souls, our next mission is to find a face to kiss--if we're single; or kiss the face we're with, keeping our fingers crossed that in this new year, our partner will finally devulge his or her real salary.<br /><br />Having said all of the above, I'll be at home, stroking my PC keys with a glass of my favorite <a href="http://www.delicato.com/dfv/wine.asp?wineID=71">Shiraz</a>. It's been a pleasure commensurating with all of you with whom I commensurated with in 2005; and it is my dearest wish that 2006 will bring you a ton of money, and the love of a life time!Zaidi Barakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08589655504161999620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20312966.post-1135881714190604192005-12-29T10:37:00.000-08:002006-11-08T23:57:41.576-08:00GOVT ONLY HOPE FOR AIDS CUREIt has long been my view that the Pharmaceutical Industry wasn't interested in developing an AIDS cure as long as it was making tons of money from the Insurance Industry through the development and sale of antiviral drugs that only "manage" the disease. These drugs have a low threshhold of resistance, making the patient dependent on newer, available, non-resistant antivirals. This cycle of dependence ensures more money for the drug companies for an interminable future. We tend to forget that drug companies are corporations, only responsible to their shareholders.<br /><br />Now my fears and suspicions have been confirmed. "According to a high-ranking AIDS researcher, pharmaceutical companies have no incentive to create an HIV vaccine, and will more likely wait until the government develops one." Read rest of article at: <a href="http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=4203">http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=4203</a>Zaidi Barakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08589655504161999620noreply@blogger.com0