"Garlands" by Gem Club

I am so pleased that Chris Barnes of Gem Club has released a new song, "Garlands" and it is as beautiful and moving as all his other pieces. His IG hints of more to come...I can't wait.

https://www.instagram.com/gemclub

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia 2025: THE POWER OF COMMUNITIES

This year's theme for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia is "THE POWER OF COMMUNITIES." The official website states:

Developed through consultations with LGBTQIA+ organisations worldwide, the IDAHOBIT 2025 theme “the power of communities” was announced during the ILGA World Conference 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa.

IDAHOBIT, observed annually on 17 May, commemorates the 1990 decision by the World Health Organization to remove homosexuality from its International Classification of Diseases. Since then, the day has served as a focal point for raising awareness of the violence and discrimination still faced by LGBTQIA+ people across the globe.

“The power of communities” reflects the diversity and richness within LGBTQIA+ communities, from the grass roots to the global, celebrating our varied and intersecting backgrounds, identities, and experiences. The theme for 2025 highlights the strength and resilience that emerges from our collective solidarity, recognising the contributions of human rights defenders, LGBTQIA+ civil society groups, allies, and millions of people in our communities who support human rights and collective liberation.

IDAHOBIT is not a centralised campaign; rather, it is a shared moment for communities and allies driving change around the world to take action in ways that resonate with their specific contexts and reflect their realities and priorities. Every initiative—big or small—counts and can make an impact, amplifying the movement’s reach and contributing to a world free from discrimination and violence.

Please visit the website for more uplifting and empowering information including ways to Mark The Moment.
https://may17.org/

"A Necessary Escape" by M83

I love the soaring, expansive music of M83, the outfit headed by Anthony Gonzalez, so I am excited to see that he has released a new album of music. "A Necessary Escape" is the soundtrack to the documentary film "Dakar Chronicles" about the Dakar Rally, an off-road race through inhospitable terrain, directed by French director/actor Jalil Lespert set for a June 19, 2025 release.

https://ilovem83.com/

"Little Bit Closer" by Sam Fender

I have quite a soft spot for Sam Fender and his always meaningful, touching lyrics (see previously here). This song, "Little Bit Closer" from his most recent release "People Watching" sends a strong message of understanding and support to the LGBT community. Fender has issued statements of support in the past: in July of 2020, he signed an open letter to the UK Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, calling for a ban on all forms of LGBT conversion therapy. Fender's lyrics here speak to being gay and the shame, rejection, and often-times violence--not only physical but psychological as well--coming from the church and its followers.

He touches on the idea that we are all connected to something larger than us, something that makes the human experience what it is, something that is immutable. But how does one reconcile that feeling of being in awe of the universe and what it contains with a man-made religion that diminutizes that experience while telling you that you are wrong, sinful, possessed by a demon, not worthy of living. Fender questions the source of that rejection, siding with those oppressed by religion, while allowing for those oppressed to reclaim their connection to the beauty of the universe without the aid of religion. Indeed, no religion or any human claiming to represent that religion has any authority to tell anyone they are not worthy of life.

The video stars the amazing young actor Owen Cooper who found fame starring in the recent Netflix limited series "Adolescence" which is an incredible creation, not only for Cooper's stunning, out-of-nowhere mastery of acting skills (that prove difficult even for some adults) but for the jaw dropping one-take method the production used for each episode. If you have yet to see it, I highly, highly, highly recommend it.

They break you in like a wild foal
Target the dole queue broken souls
I don't disagree with everything they do
I was a child in the peak of a panic attack
The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back
Was the wailin' sound of my cousin slain in spirit

Well
Come on, lift your head
Get out your frozen state
You're starting to look like Ötzi now
Come on, wake the dead
Show me you walk on water
And I get a little bit closer to it

Oh, I have friends who were cast aside
A young, meek lad with a curious mind
Just terrified of what the church would have to say
No, I don't know if I believe in Him
But when the rapture comes, if this is a sin
I'll burn with everybody that I know

Yeah
I was lost in their
Sermons and lies at God camp
Tryin' to pray the gay away
Something was shook in me
A birth of a new foundation
That gets me a little bit closer to it

I can't live under the notion
That there's no reason at all
For all this beauty in motion
I don't buy the deities spoke of
But in love, there's something to hold
And I get a little bit closer to it

What is God?
What is God?
What is God?

I never found Him, I never found Him
I can't live under the notion
That there's no reason at all
For all this beauty in motion
I don't buy the deities spoke of
But in love, there's something to hold
And I get a little bit closer to it

I get a little bit closer, I get a little bit closer
I get a little bit closer, I get a little bit closer
I get a little bit closer, I get a little bit closer
I get a little bit closer, I get a little bit closer to it

Thank you, Sam.

https://www.samfender.com/

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Nadia Stieglitz

For her series Symbiotic, ceramic sculptor Nadia Stieglitz looked to the world of trees and fungi to create the wonderful, meandering, incised lines on her creations. She describes it in her artist statement for the series:

"I have been recently fascinated by the research of various scientists on the impacts of climate change on forests and the reliance of these ecosystems on the unseen work of fungus to adapt to it. My most recent work takes inspiration from mycorrhizal fungi – critical members of the plant microbiome that form a symbiosis with the roots of most plants on Earth. In my series 'Symbiotic,' the Sgraffito patterns etched onto the surface of mushroom-like shapes recall these complex networks that feed and support the functions of larger organisms. In their dormancy, these works remind the viewer that, despite appearances, there is always growth and circulation--life, ultimately, in stillness."

To see more of her work or to learn how to buy and commission pieces, visit her website:
https://www.nadiastieglitz.com/

Margaret Mead's Sign of Civilization from Sustainable Human

A student once asked the renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead what she considered the first sign of civilization in a culture.

The student expected an answer about tools—fishhooks, clay pots, grinding stones. But Mead didn’t mention artifacts. She mentioned a bone.

The first sign of civilization, she said, is a healed femur.

In the wild, if an animal breaks its leg, it dies. It can’t run from predators, can’t search for food or water. A broken leg is a death sentence. No animal survives long enough for the bone to mend.

But a healed femur tells a different story.

It tells us that someone stopped. Someone noticed. Someone stayed with the injured. Someone bound up the wound, carried the person to safety, brought them food and water, and protected them through the long, painful process of healing.

A healed bone is more than biology. It’s evidence of care. Of compassion. Of community.

It’s easy to measure progress in tools, technologies, and towers. But true civilization begins when we choose to care for someone who can offer us nothing in return.

In that quiet act of empathy—of tending to the wounded, of staying by someone’s side through pain—we find the roots of humanity.

Civilization didn’t begin with invention. It began with compassion.
It began when someone said, “Your pain is my concern too.”

So maybe the question isn’t how advanced we are.
Maybe the real question is: How well do we care for each other when it matters most?

Stories from the marvelous organization Sustainable Human:
https://sustainablehuman.org/

"Shy Girl" by Haute and Freddy

Haute and Freddy--the sparkling duo of Michelle Buzz and Lance Ship, (previously here)--have released a new lyric video for another of their songs, the charming "Shy Girl."

Shy shy shy shy girl
When you gonna run the whole wide world
I do recall there was madness in your eyes
Let it come out tonight
Let it come out tonight
And your sister and her boyfriend they can go and roll their eyes about it
And your mother and her friends can go to tea and write a book about it
‘Cause it’s staring you in the eyes every night
You wanna kiss it all goodbye and just live your life
Shy shy shy shy girl
When you gonna run the whole wide world
I do recall there was madness in your eyes
Let it come out tonight
Let it come out tonight
Well the way you walk the way you talk they never have to understand it
Ooo you change your hair and change your clothes and everybody starts to panic
But it’s staring you in the eyes every night
You wanna kiss it all goodbye and just live your life
Shy shy shy shy girl
When you gonna run the whole wide world
I do recall there was madness in your eyes
Let it come out tonight
Let it come out tonight

https://www.instagram.com/hauteandfreddy

BEAUTY: Drawing--Hamlett Dobbins

Artist Hamlett Dobbins' series of untitled drawings are pulsing with form and color. Form and color. They feel like life.

https://www.hamlettdobbins.com/

CREATE

ML Buch's "Suntub"

Now it's time for you to meet ML Buch, an amazing Danish musician with beautiful airy vocals who uses electronics to play off her hypnotizing guitar work which sounds a lot like the open tuned, seven string technique Joni Mitchell invented for herself. Here are highlights from her album "Suntub" released in 2023.

https://www.mlbuch.com/

BEAUTY: Painting--Jan Wier

For spring, here are some lyrical flowers in Wedgwood vases from the marvelous Impressionist painter Jan Wier.

https://www.janwierart.com/

"Final Days" by Lucius

Wow, this one took me by surprise...and has shaken me. I have seen video of Lucius (the duo of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig) singing on stage with the all-star cast for Joni Mitchell's recent concerts known as "Joni Jams" but had not really encountered them on their own. Until this emotional song, "Final Days" from their self-titled album out just yesterday. The lyrics are quite raw and penetrating... they tell a story I have lived a few times now and can feel every word they sing.

I hope I didn’t let you down
‘Cause it’s too late to make a change
You’ve lived a hundred lives before me
So self-involved to think that I could hold that weight
Like a mother to them all,
With your arms stretched open wide
I hope you hear that heaven’s call
I hope they’re letting you inside
You look good like I remember
With all that sunshine on your face
I let you sit there without talking,
You let me sit there in your shade
You let me dream about the future
and all the plans we had to make
I hope I’m wrong about the after
and these are not your final days
Could’ve said I’m frightened but I couldn’t, I didn’t have the heart
Are you scared of dying? I couldn’t, I didn’t have the heart
So I said it’s waiting, your own true paradise
didn’t have the heart so I lied just to not see you cry
Yeah I didn’t, I didn’t have the heart
The world will go on spinning
Another day another scene
and I’ll be left with just a memory
and yesterday will be a dream
I’ll be looking out there for you
where all they see is empty sky
The space you left reminds me
that we don’t have to say goodbye
Could’ve said I’m frightened but I couldn’t, I didn’t have the heart
Are you scared of dying? I couldn’t, I didn’t have the heart
So I said it’s waiting, your own true paradise
didn’t have the heart, I didn’t have the heart
So I said it’s waiting, your own true paradise
didn’t have the heart so I lied just to not see you cry
Yeah I didn’t, I didn’t have the heart

https://ilovelucius.com/

"Spring" by Maria Sommerville

Ah, what lovely, dreamy sounds..."Spring" from Irish musician Maria Sommerville can be found on "Luster," her brand new release on the legendary 4AD label (home of Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, and This Mortal Coil among other incredible artists).

She is on tour this spring/summer and, for us locals, will be in San Francisco on May 23!

https://mariasomerville.com/

Happy National Day of Reason 2025!

Celebrated the first Thursday of every May, today is the National Day Of Reason. It is more important now than ever to promote reason and truth; we (our country, our government, and Democracy itself) barely survived the last administration which has returned to destroy the fabric of our lives. There is a large segment of the citizenry who don't care about facts or reality or obvious consequences such as spreading a deadly pandemic. We need Reason, Logic, and Action, not thoughts and prayers.

The National Day of Reason was created by the American Humanist Association and the Washington Area Secular Humanists in 2003. In addition to serving as a holiday for constitutionalists and secularists, the National Day of Reason was created in response to the perceived unconstitutionality of the National Day of Prayer.

The National Day Of Reason site says:

NOW, MORE THAN EVER, AMERICA NEEDS A DAY OF REASON.

With the religious right’s influence in Congress, and with the threat to our judiciary looming large, there has never been as important a moment in which to affirm our commitment to the constitutional separation of religion and government, and to celebrate reason as the guiding principle of our secular democracy.

During the past year we have witnessed the intrusion of religious ideology into all spheres of our government, with such assaults on the wall separating church and state as:

Faith-based initiatives in federal agencies that give preferential treatment to religious organizations which proselytize and employ discriminatory hiring practices;

Restrictions on important scientific research on the basis of religious objections;

Attempts to introduce biblical creationism and its alter-ego “Intelligent Design” into our public school science curricula;

The appointment of judges who willingly place their religious beliefs above our laws;

Battles over the display of the Ten Commandments and other overtly religious icons in schools and on courthouses;

Religiously motivated restrictions on access to reproductive services and information.

As in previous years, this year’s National Day of Reason occurs in close proximity with the congressionally mandated and federally supported National Day of Prayer. We thank all who value the separation of religion and government & join us in commemorating this year’s Day of Reason, and in building awareness for this important cause.

For more information about The National Day Of Reason, visit the website:
http://nationaldayofreason.org/

Happy May Day 2025!

This Northern Hemisphere festival is a traditional spring holiday. May Day is an ancient observation related to Floralia (which was a festival for Flora the Roman goddess of flowers), the Celtic festival of Beltane, and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. Rites and celebrations include the raising of and dancing around a Maypole, the crowning of a May Queen, gifts of May baskets (little baskets of candy and spring flowers), festive picnics, and bonfires (in certain counties in Ireland). It is a day to celebrate spring and the fastly approaching summer. Flowers, sunshine, and sweet treats for all!

HAPPY MAY DAY!