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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/profile/blog/maurice1054/day/2-23-2021
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Rated: 18+ · Book · Writing · #1197218
Reflections and ruminations from a modern day Alice - Life is Wonderland
Reflections and ruminations from a modern day Alice - Life is Wonderland


Modern Day Alice


Welcome to the place were I chronicle my own falls down dark holes and adventures chasing white rabbits! Come on In, Take a Bite, You Never Know What You May Find...


"Curiouser and curiouser." Alice in Wonderland


I'm docked at Talent Pond's Blog Harbor, a safe port for bloggers to connect.


BCOF Insignia


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February 23, 2021 at 11:02am
February 23, 2021 at 11:02am
#1005075
Soundtrack of my Life
Feb 23rd, Entry 17. Like A Stone, Audioslave

Hands down, Chris Cornell is one of my favorite male voices...ever. I was a huge Soundgarden fan, largely because of their amazing front man. I feel like as my musical tastes matured, I tended to appreciate the more melodic musings of his band, Audioslave just a bit more. There was something about Cornell's haunting tones in this song in particular that move me. His voice is a world apart from the masses and his loss was a tremendous one. In my opinion, Chris Cornell earns to right to be ranked with some of the best male vocalists ever and I'd like to think he's up there singing along with the likes of Mercury, Bowie, Prince and Petty. The music world has lost some major greats these last few years for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QU1nvuxaMA



February 23, 2021 at 10:48am
February 23, 2021 at 10:48am
#1005074
Blog City
DAY 2394--February 23, 2021
Prompt: Nelson Mandela said, “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
Is this easy to do? What do you think?


I start any blog about "choices" lately with a great deal of trepidation as I am struggling with my personal choices more and more these days. I am a little afraid of what may come out if I lean in and examine them closely, put them through the filter of my craft. Honestly, I once thought I was pretty good about making choices based on my hopes for the future. I think I tended to reach toward my ambitions, make choices based on where I wanted to be, where I felt I could go. I had been raised to believe I could go anywhere and so it was easy to dream big. I've come to realize however that it gets harder and harder to make choices based on one's hopes when you learn a bit more about the way the world really works. I feel like I shed a lot of the naivety of youth and with it, unfortunately, a lot of my optimism and hope right along with it. As you age, as the responsibilities mount, it because much more practical to make choices based on one's fears. There are many more fears these days then hopes, truth be told. I've made choices because I'd been afraid of failing and letting my family down. I've made choices because I've been afraid the things I believed about people were no longer valid. I've made choices because I've lost faith in my future, in the path I was taking. My answer to the prompt's question is an empathic, no...is it not easy to make choices based on hopes rather than fears. I'm loathe to admit it, but I believe that latter is true.


Blogging Circle of Friends
Day 3020: February 23, 2021
Prompt: Describe a beautiful morning or a beautiful evening.


We've had a lot of snow these last few weeks on Feb here in the Northeast. I've woken up several mornings to a world blanketed by an overnight snowfall. In those still moments, before the dogs launch themselves into the yard, there is a beautiful quiet. The yard is covered by a perfect carpet of brilliant white that reflects those first tentative rays of golden sunshine that stream through the trees. Stepping out on the deck, the air is fresh and clean and I take deep breaths, appreciating this pristine moment when my world is just waking. These are the mornings I love the most. When I finally relent and let the dogs out, they race about the yard, grabbing mouthfuls of snow and marring the perfect drifts with their crisscrossing tracks and the simple beauty and balance of the morning is lost in their raucous joy.

By contract, the most beautiful evenings are those that come in late Fall. The indigo sky is full of stars and the outside fireplace crackles and glows in the crisp air. Sitting outside, wrapped in an oversized sweatshirt, the bats swoop and circle above your head. There is still enough foliage to mask the nearly houses so that you feel cocooned and isolated in the nature around you as you sip your wine and enjoy that autumn magic.
February 23, 2021 at 10:23am
February 23, 2021 at 10:23am
#1005069
Soundtrack of my Life Challenge
Feb 22nd, Entry 16
Ojala Que Llueva Cafe - Juan Luis Guerra

I spent a lot of time traveling in Mexico and South America, and as a result, I listened to a lot of Latin artists and Juan Luis Guerra quickly became one of most favorite voices. I love his style and his clear way of singing the words allow me to easily follow the lyrics as I learn the language. This song is one of my favorites. It makes my heart happy. It is forever linked amazing people, food and places where the world's colors seem brighter and the music seems more infectious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDEVFQnBTp0



February 23, 2021 at 9:05am
February 23, 2021 at 9:05am
#1005065
Soundtrack of my Life
Feb 21st, Entry 15
Dumaine St- Trombone Shorty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwYAeUpH1NM

Trombone Shorty is one of my most favorite musical discovers because he bridges the gap between the modern jazz my father introduced me to and the bounce and pulse of the New Orleans sound that is just a bit too loud for his tastes. Trombone Shorty leads us somewhere in the middle where we can both appreciate the talent not only of Shorty but of the wide cast of talented musicians he often plays with. He can sing but he also wants to make you move and its hard to sit still when he's blowing away. He's also got a great story.

Here is a video of him at Lincoln Center, age 13 with Wynton Marsalis in 2000.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9YUi3UhEPQ

Trombone Shorty, was born Troy Andrews, he hails from a musical New Orleans family and begin playing at the age of 4. His resume is impressive. He has played with legends, toured with Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz and even starred in the HBO series, Treme, which featured the neighborhood of Treme and the french quarter in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Which by the way is a fabulous show for anyone who appreciates all music and its roots in the American culture. Andrews never seems to stop working...or caring. He is also an impressive philanthropist.

He established the The Trombone Shorty Foundation, which evolved from Andrews' Horns For Schools Project, a collaboration with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, which works to aid schools across New Orleans receive instruments donated by Andrews personally. The Foundation's mission statement reads: "to preserve and perpetuate the unique musical culture of New Orleans by passing down its traditions to future generations of musicians."

He is one of the latest in a long, long of fantastic musicians to come out of New Orleans but its hard not to hear something new and fresh in his sound, even when he's playing the old standards and second line jams. He also earns my respect for being an artist who always remembers where he came from and is constantly looking for ways to give back. The pandemic has hit New Orleans musicians particularly hard and he's stepped up once again to do what he can for those that are struggling as the bars and streets have gone quiet under closures and curfews. I encourage you to check him out, Trombome Shorty is def one of the bright stars.



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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/profile/blog/maurice1054/day/2-23-2021