The January Post

♥ Streep (Why? - because of the Art that lives within her, her Humanity, her obvious talent, and for every single word also - that she says here, with her faltering voice. Love her. It's impossible not to)






- ♥ Bowie (Why? - well, he's Bowie, I don't really feel a need to give any other particular reason...)






and now - ♥ ♥ ♥ a beautiful friend whom I cherish,
Christian.
(Why? Well, besides the friendship, the talent, the extraordinary heart, and will, it's similar to the two above, for his Humanity.      Love him, and he knows it)

- So, I'll repeat two videos with him playing (two samples) - One where we can see another, so fabulously playing along side his beloved friend - (my goodness, speaking of talent, and art and so forth..) Richie Beirach. It's so pleasing (among other things) to see this quartet perform.
The other is a ''trio'', one I love to hear - so very much.

(well, I do of course have the Record, but I'll leave the demo of it, firstly)

(ok ok ok - I said I'd place two, but I'm incorrigible, so here's a third)

These five things I place above, other than exemplifying what I personally wish to dedicate this year on our tiny blue dot (as Sagan used to call it): Friendship, Love, Talent, Art, Humanity, and so much more than what I say (for not everything I know how to say, in words), they show great spirit - the kind that not only shine's through one's own talent, but even more when said talents are made stronger and even larger - through the bond of friendship shared therein.


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As the country where I was born prepares its farewell to one of it's towering figures of the XX'th century, an unstoppable Human Right's lawyer - one that up to his age of 50 - amidst the known oppression of the prior regime, defending even others who were (attorneys for Human Rights), and great minds such as Salgado Zenha (to mention one, but there were more such lawyers and activists defended, and those from other fields as well), whom after 74 set the ground work for our latest ''democratic'' rule (the one occurring in the xx century still, born through the hands of other great minds and men as well - Alvaro Cunhal, instantly coming to mind, and of course others such as Sá Carneiro, not to mention who actually changed the regime in 1974 (among others), - in the nation's armed forces, the only ones who actually could ... but I shall not linger on the subject at this time) - and as a statesman, internationally, his working alongside other European heads of state, leaving at the time he had done so his ''footprint'' (so to speak)  upon the EU during the timespan of his influence -
(I was saying)
- as the country prepares its farewell, I write this post.


Yes, the arts make us more Human, mirror us, are food for the soul (et cetera, yes, and indeed they are). The sciences take us further on our journey (within our Humanity - as a collective), and are somewhat similar (also so important) for such things (especially as the tool that it is, and depending on how and by whom it's wielded), just as contemplation / meditation and so forth, through our spirituality (be it though any ''organized'' religion or not) does, as well.

So now I leave three or four links - that concern the activity that seems to epitomize (mirror, make us more Human (in the noble sense of the word, as always when I use it), and yes - are also ''food for the soul'' (for so many reasons), and never any less than the afore mentioned ones (of the previous paragraph).




LINK



LINK



LINK


OOoops, I was searching for a LINK, in one of two blogs (pertaining to this one, that is) and since Gandhi is rather stretched ou in - and throughout either, I'll just simplify with an image I'd made some years back on the occasion of his birthday and place it here (also) as a symbol of the Civil Rights (Human Rights) Lawyer.

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So this is my first post for the year (because the previous one, made two days ago, would have been made any time of year that a statesman such as he leaves...). 



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Blessings, hope, and love, to all. (to whomsoever reads this post, and to others who might not spot it even).

Solstice - The longest day of the year - a celebration of and for 3 friends

Today is truly a solar day..

Three close freinds -

It marks the birth of a very dear friend, the Summer.

It is also the day another arrives by plane and yet when another was born.

.. I thus post a portrait of three hitting the dunes.

I'm almost certain there had to be a reason for the day's sunny length in this hemisphere.

So I leave you with the above music, an ink drawing and a wish for a happy summer to all.


In virtue of this ever changing world I also bring unto you the animal that  is truly symbolic of the hemesphere and the day's age..

The creature is not only magnificent it is truly a sight to see (at a safe distance of course)




(taken from a National Geographic article / link below)

« From childhood we create a picture of our physical world: The sky is blue, the Arctic is white. But before this century ends—and perhaps much sooner—most of the Arctic is predicted to be blue water every summer.

Can a blue Arctic support polar bears? Only in the short run, Amstrup and Stirling say.

Currents still cram drifting sea ice against the Canadian Arctic Islands and northern Greenland in summer, creating pockets that may retain enough ice to support polar bears through this century. If we can reduce the warming of the atmosphere, Amstrup says, it will not be too late for polar bears, but "if the world keeps warming, ultimately even those last refuges will fail to sustain the icon of the Arctic." »

LINK - Polar Bear

..... despite the day's celebration and still on the topic of 'natural habitat', in recollection of a bear's evermore painful duty to swim beyond its means, I quote the above link:

« (...) In 2008 a radio-collared bear with a yearling cub swam an astounding 427 miles to reach the ice off the northern Alaska coast. The cub didn't make it. Researchers counting bowhead whales in September 2004 spotted four dead polar bears afloat after a storm in the Beaufort Sea. Scientists estimated that as many as 27 bears may have drowned in that one storm.
(...) »

State Of The Ocean: 'Shocking' Report Warns Of Mass Extinction From Current Rate Of Marine Distress

share this story - Link
containing the original article.


If the current actions contributing to a multifaceted degradation of the world's oceans aren't curbed, a mass extinction unlike anything human history has ever seen is coming, an expert panel of scientists warns in an alarming new report.

The preliminary report from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) is the result of the first-ever interdisciplinary international workshop examining the combined impact of all of the stressors currently affecting the oceans, including pollution, warming, acidification, overfishing and hypoxia.

“The findings are shocking," Dr. Alex Rogers, IPSO's scientific director, said in a statement released by the group. "This is a very serious situation demanding unequivocal action at every level. We are looking at consequences for humankind that will impact in our lifetime, and worse, our children's and generations beyond that."

The scientific panel concluded that degeneration in the oceans is happening much faster than has been predicted, and that the combination of factors currently distressing the marine environment is contributing to the precise conditions that have been associated with all major extinctions in the Earth's history.

According to the report, three major factors have been present in the handful of mass extinctions that have occurred in the past: an increase of both hypoxia (low oxygen) and anoxia (lack of oxygen that creates "dead zones") in the oceans, warming and acidification. The panel warns that the combination of these factors will inevitably cause a mass marine extinction if swift action isn't taken to improve conditions.

The report is the latest of several published in recent months examining the dire conditions of the oceans. A recent World Resources Institute report suggests that all coral reefs could be gone by 2050 if no action is taken to protect them, while a study published earlier this year in BioScience declares oysters as "functionally extinct", their populations decimated by over-harvesting and disease. Just last week scientists forecasted that this year's Gulf "dead zone" will be the largest in history due to increased runoff from the Mississippi River dragging in high levels of nitrates and phosphates from fertilizers.

A recent study in the journal Nature, meanwhile, suggests that not only will the next mass extinction be man-made, but that it could already be underway. Unless humans make significant changes to their behavior, that is.
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The IPSO report calls for such changes, recommending actions in key areas: immediate reduction of CO2 emissions, coordinated efforts to restore marine ecosystems, and universal implementation of the precautionary principle so "activities proceed only if they are shown not to harm the ocean singly or in combination with other activities." The panel also calls for the UN to swiftly introduce an "effective governance of the High Seas."

"The challenges for the future of the ocean are vast, but unlike previous generations we know what now needs to happen," Dan Laffoley of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and co-author of the report said in a press release for the new report. "The time to protect the blue heart of our planet is now, today and urgent."


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   Today being a day of jubilation and being thankful - I'll leave the subject for 48hrs  .

  An entire season and friend was born upon this day, and another's arrival pushes me towards celebration..

  Tommorrow I'll bring you a sunnny beach..  

                                                   
    Once again - Happy Summer  

Celebrating Joe Cocker.. born May 20th

With A Little Help From My Friends
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There are times when silence and bewildered contemplation are the closest of friends
and moments within the hideout of a crowd where we find shattering inexistence or the cool hand that delivers a cold escape into a sea of doubt
Engulfed in a protective purpose to keep those loved from our mystery,
our burden, our sorrow, we forget
that paying attention to others is still the only true form of overcoming ourselves or succeeding in said protective will.

At bleak hours those we love unaware of themselves enter and surround the pain with heaven's sweet laughter..

link to an overseas friend

Baboon Liberation Army