R.I.P. Duncan Sheik

And now we have lost Duncan Sheik, talented singer-songwriter and Grammy AND Tony winner, who created some lovely songs as well as the genre-changing musical "Spring Awakening." Artists are leaving us at a quicker pace these days...

R.I.P. Duncan, and thanks for all the beautiful music.

https://www.duncansheik.com/

BEAUTTY: Art--Dahren Davey

I can't help but love Dahren Davey's wonderfully hued portraits ... and his freedom with color!

You can buy original pieces here:
https://dahrendavey.bigcartel.com/
But even better, you can buy tee shirts at:
https://dahrendavey.teemill.com/

I am getting this one, below. I love it!

R.I.P. Annie DIllard

I am greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Annie Dillard. Like many people, I approached her work through her Pulitzer Prize-wining book Pilgrim At Tinker Creek. Her writing is so immediate, so visceral, so breathless and urgent in its need to be heard, its need to be understood, but more than anything, for the reader to comprehend and stand dazzled in cosmic disbelief at what she discovered, whatever she pointed us toward.

I went on to read many of her other books like Teaching A Stone To Talk,  For The Time Being, and the beautifully tender and painfully exquisite memoir An American Childhood. She wrote words, sentences, concepts, that made me gasp out loud and cry.

Thank you Annie, for sharing your heart and soul with us. You have enriched humanity and you will be missed.

Annie Dillard | Photo: Phyllis Rose

“What does it feel like to be alive?

Living, you stand under a waterfall. You leave the sleeping shore deliberately; you shed your dusty clothes, pick your barefoot way over the high, slippery rocks, hold your breath, choose your footing, and step into the waterfall. The hard water pelts your skull, bangs in bits on your shoulders and arms. The strong water dashes down beside you and you feel it along your calves and thighs rising roughly back up, up to the roiling surface, full of bubbles that slide up your skin or break on you at full speed. Can you breathe here? Here where the force is the greatest and only the strength of your neck holds the river out of your face. Yes, you can breathe even here. You could learn to live like this. And you can, if you concentrate, even look out at the peaceful far bank where you try to raise your arms. What a racket in your ears, what a scattershot pummeling!

It is time pounding at you, time. Knowing you are alive is watching on every side your generation's short time falling away as fast as rivers drop through air, and feeling it hit.”

― Annie Dillard, An American Childhood

https://www.anniedillard.com/

A Creative Creed

1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life itself is pure creative energy.
   
   
2. An underlying creative force connects all life. There is an in-dwelling force—a universal consciousness—that infuses and links everything like a net, including ourselves.
   
   
3. Opening up to creativity aligns us with that force. When I open myself to my own creativity, I open myself to the universal consciousness’ creativity working within my life.
   
   
4. Human beings are inherently meant to create. I am, myself, a creation. In turn, my purpose is to continue that process by being creative.
   
   
5. Using creative energy is a two-way street. Creativity is the energy that connects me to the universal consciousness. Using it means participating in that shared net, and what I create passes that energy back.
   
   
6. Believing you aren't creative is an illusion. The refusal to create, or the belief that you lack creativity, is a false narrative that runs counter to your true nature.
   
   
7. Exploring creativity opens up new possibilities. When I open myself to exploring what I can make, I open myself to the possibilities within the universal consciousness.
   
   
8. Opening your creative channel brings change. As I open this channel with the universal consciousness, I should expect many gentle but powerful changes in my life.
   
   
9. It is entirely safe to be creative. It is safe to open myself up to greater and greater levels of creativity.
   
   
10. Creative dreams come from a profound source. My creative dreams and yearnings come from a profound source. As I move toward my dreams, I move toward that deep truth.

(Note: These points are a secular, individual-focused adaptation of the famous "Basic Principles" from Julia Cameron's foundational text, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity.)

https://juliacameronlive.com/

25 Years Ago...

"B Side Ourselves" by Siouxsie and the Banshees

The defunct band have reissued a vinyl set called "Downside Up," a collection of B-sides, and here is the jaw-dropping "B Side Ourselves." You're welcome.

https://www.musicglue.com/siouxsieandthebanshees/
https://www.instagram.com/siouxsieandthebanshees

"Blister Sunrise" by M83

Wow, a new M83 titled "I Wrote You A Letter" is on the way (released the 25th of this month, 2026!) but meanwhile, we can enjoy this epic new track, "Blister Sunrise," a return to form for Anthony Gonzalez. On his website, he says of the new album, "This record reflects my state of mind over the past few years. I’m deeply disillusioned by the world we’re living in. I wanted something less calculated, more spontaneous. More punk, in a way." Yes Anthony, I think anyone with a head is feeling it...

https://ilovem83.com/

HAPPY LABOR DAY 2026!

Happy Labor Day, readers in the United States! This is a holiday that recognizes and honors the American labor movement of the late 19th century and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country.

I believe in the power of labor and work. I believe in the dignity of labor and work. I believe in the power of unions to protect workers from abuse by companies and corporations, and I am a proud union member. Now more than ever in this current political climate, I believe all of these things. I believe in the sense of fairness toward which the human spirit strives. Happy Labor Day!

Standing together with co-workers in a union makes a tangible difference you can feel every day. Here are just a few benefits:

• Workers in labor unions make 18% more in wages than our nonunion counterparts.
• We are more likely to have health care benefits. More than nine out of 10 union members have access to employer-provided health insurance, compared to 68% of nonunion workers, according to the Department of Labor.
• We work in safer workplaces. One study found job sites that were unionized have lost-time claims at a 31% lower rate than non-unionized sites.
• We have more job security—even and especially in moments of economic crisis.

Countries where most workers are in a union are among the happiest and healthiest on Earth.

Life is better in a union.

https://aflcio.org/laborday

ALL

Happy 50th Birthday "Dancing Queen!"

ABBA's song "Dancing Queen" has turned 50 and it still soars. It remains a special song: the production values are unique, the string section is lovely, the ringing piano chords offer a noble counterpoint, and despite the upbeat lyrics the tune is actually somewhat wistful and melancholy. And the glorious, perfectly overlayed vocals and harmonies of singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad are heart-melting.

https://abbasite.com/

BEAUTY: Painting--Mittie Cuetara

East Coast-born artist Mittie Cuetara relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area years ago and now paints scenes of streets, houses, and parks in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley ... views and images of cityscapes and landscapes I know so well! Regular readers know how much I love a painter who really uses paint in a visceral way, creating Impressionistic feelings with globs and swirls of glorious color, and Cuetara does that in a loose, free, masterful way. So beautiful!

http://mcueta.otherpeoplespixels.com/home.html

September's Here Again 2026

September's here again.

The sun shines high above
The sounds of laughter
The birds swoop down upon
The crosses of old grey churches

We say that we're in love
While secretly wishing for rain

Sipping coke and playing games

September's here again
September's here again

http://www.davidsylvian.com/

Happy World Letter Writing Day 2026!

Happy World Letter Writing Day!

Observed every year on September 1st, World Letter Writing Day celebrates the timeless art of handwritten connection. In an increasingly fragmented and isolating digital world, a letter harkens back to a time when human connection was more valued. Writing and sending a letter to a friend, family member, or loved one is a meaningful way to slow down and share your thoughts or express gratitude.

I will sit down and write a few notes to friends and loved ones today. However, when I was much younger in my twenties, I used to send "art letters" to friends which was usually a larger manilla envelope filled with some combination of, among many things, old photographs I got at an antique store, magazine photos from old LIFE magazines, bits of my poetry, drawings, found papers or flat objects, sometimes even natural elements like leaves, flowers, or a small plastic bag of sand from a special beach. I would send these anonymously but of course they all knew exactly who it was from ... they knew me and it screamed "JEF."

"Oceanside (Monkey Safari Remix) by Eli & Fur

Hazy, trippy, trancey. This is the Monkey Safari remix of Eli & Fur's song "Oceanside."

https://www.eliandfur.com/

"Overchord" by Actress

I am mesmerized by this incredible track and video from Actress, the nom de musique of English electronic / Afro-Futurism-adjacent artist Darren J. Cunningham. The images to this song "Overchord" are arresting. The narrative takes place in a minimalist dream space layered with enigmatic systems and objects ... in short, dream logic reigns supreme. In many ways, it reminds me of the work of contemporary artist Matthew Barney. Kudos to Cunningham, director Anna van der Velde, DP Peter Bishop, and of course Production Designer Hugo Harris. Stunning work.

https://whoisactress.com/

R.I.P.

It often comes in threes...

https://www.dollyparton.com/

https://www.timcurry.co.uk/

https://yayoi-kusama.jp/

"new avatar" by Kelela

I am so blown away by this new album from alternative R&B / electronic artist and singer Kelela (previously here). Listen to the intriguing, powerful "new avatar" in its entirety here.

https://www.kelela.co/

BEAUTY: Painting--Miho Ichise

Painter Miho Ichise has a fasciation with light and shadow and the way they behave and appear. Her breathtaking Impressionistic images of sunshine dappling through tree branches or glinting off the surface of water capture the immediacy and ephemerality of it all ... ichi go ichi e...

https://mihoichise.com/

BEAUTY: Painting--Aron Wiesenfeld

I have been appreciating the unsettling work of painter Aron Wiesenfeld for some time now and can't believe I have not shared him with you yet. I love his eerie narratives of a single person in a lone desolate spot, probably in some form of peril ... ... his unease with tunnels and what they mean psychologically is a recurring motif, as is the imagery of people (often adolescents or children) in snow wearing clothing clearly not meant for cold weather. They work like film stills, asking more questions about the spooky circumstances we are seeing than they answer.

Top to bottom: The Wedding Party; Turning Back, Tunnel; Transfer; Train Tunnel; Shell; The Settlers; The River; The Return; The Oathbreakers; Night Grove; Limbo; The Lesson; Hackers; The Garden; Entrance; Border: A Late Arrival

https://aronwiesenfeld.com/