RECOMMENDED. “Star Wars Trilogy.”

RECOMMENDED. Movie/s. “Star Wars Trilogy.” The first set of three films produced in the Star Wars franchise by George Lucas. 1977: “Star Wars.” 1980: “The Empire Strikes Back.” 1983: “Return of the Jedi.” Then there was a prequel trilogy between 1999 and 2005, and a sequel trilogy between 2015 and 2019. And so on and so forth. 

       Collectively, all these or post-1983 (including the first 3) are referred to as the "Skywalker Saga," which I don’t really care about. As far as me is concerned, “Star Wars” ended in “Return of the Jedi.” Sure, there was a woman Yoda named Yaddle, and there could be LGBT or trans or dog and cat versions of the Old and Green Master, as well as New Correctness equivalents of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. I bet Ewoks would be “inappropriate” so puppies and kittens may replace Ewoks? 

       The Galactic Civil War is fiction, not a fact. The fight between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire, to me, is classic Bad vs Good played up in grand make-believe cinema. Not Republicans vs Democrats or Conservatives vs Liberals. So don’t push it, okay? LOL!

       If you are a fan of Akira Kurosawa and have seen “Kagemusha” (1980) and “Ran” (1985), there are striking similarities. But the former was set during old Japan’s Sengoku period (1457 to 1615), long before the United States was born, and the latter was based on William Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” 

       The genius of George Lucas is his sheer improvisational inventiveness (in melding historical facts and what “could be” future parallels) and amazing flair in effectively crosscutting a coterie of you and me characters with fantastical inventions without losing grip. Did I see all these in succeeding prequels and sequels and spinoffs? I don’t know. I don’t even know what post-1983 Star Wars derivative I saw, started and didn’t finish, or is there another one or two coming?

       That’s when we lose the magic and realism of “Star Wars.” Commercialism’s nauseating excess. 🎬🎭🎬

Compilation of short MORNING THOUGHTS on Facebook.

For a time, I had a sweet respite from takin’ in endless political darkness in here via friends’ funny memes. Till the memes turned into Christmas shaming and (again!) the seemingly obligatory political murkthrow. Yes, a fact of Social Media. But they keep on showing up on my Homepage. Where are the “Nostalgia” photos? And sheer comical/cute dog and cat videos? Sure, I obviously dig political discourse—but not the juvenile heckling. I am a grandpa. Can we chill a bit? ☎️🤪🦊

Just give. Don’t overthink it. Christmas/ses and birthdays etcetera. Give. When I tell people that the amount that I spend for Christmas gifts is a lot less than what most Christmas/gifts-hating people spend on St Patrick’s drinking revelry, they get offended and say I am such a smartass! LOL! Yet if “penniless” happens in December, create gifts. Gift isn’t a consumer product. It is a human gesture of goodness. Wrap it with love. And don't forget the dogs and cat. 🎁🧸🎁

New technological baubles flood the market, flashed in front of children. Yet youths slide to juvenile shenanigans to full-blown crimes. Facts of life. Continuum of existence. Once the child “flies those wings” in freedom and frolic, we don’t know what’s next. So we turn to primal parenthood. Meantime, divorces are facts as well. Yet there must be a way that quarreling mom and dad could be civil in re shared parenting. The child both love them. When tug of war confuses the child, they turn to the obvious escape. 👩‍🦰👶👨

Think small, aim big—was the good rallying juju of SMEs or small and medium entrepreneurship before globalization took over economics. It is still an effective guiding wisdom for independent traders vis a vis giant franchises. Produce local, manufacture community-level. The supply chain is moved by/from different sources beyond the locality but if the profit is concentrated within, and revolves inside the village, sustainability is served and the benefits are much higher. 👜💸👞

Today’s Brunch. I was born into and grew up eating full meals 3x a day + 3 more snacks at 10 AM, 4 PM, and if I am awake, 12 midnight. That changed when I moved to America. Sociocultural conditioning, you reckon? I basically eat 1 full meal each day + little bits in between these days. I try to balance my food. I eat toxic, I eat non-toxic. And I try to be cool in and around the Left and Right. So I haven’t been healthier in my life! Food is my meds, Prozac, and vaccine. 🥑🥥🍅

Most of my Facebook friends are (around) my age or older than me. Yet I notice that many have gotten back to grade school “hooliganism,” bullying, shaming, and heckling. I bet though these AARP people would castigate their grandkids for exactly doing what they’re doing. But I guess it’s fun? Anti-Christianity “humor,” mostly—that grossly offend devout Christians. But no, they won’t do that to Muslims though they got insults leveled at them, as well. We know why they won’t. ?☮️😫

Religious Faith or cultural diversity is interfaced via "holidays." Official holidays are work-break so we got time to relax or be with family or friends. Enjoy an “office hassle” free day. Popular frolic on St Patrick’s Day, it’d seem don’t have anything to do with St Patrick’s Christianity. Hangin’ out in festive drinking is the popular norm. Tribal harvest gatherings are enjoyed by all for convergence fun and community peace. We take the good, we reject the bad. Primal. ☮🗿☯️

Religion is preached as an ideation of God, yet it is mostly an expression of culture. God/dess is a concept of Good. A standard. So Faith is physicalized as community for mutual good. Hence tribal beliefs interfaced with what Churches brought. But it was the Good that paved the way for coexistence—in trade, art, feasts, food, sports. If diverse thoughts could enjoy St Patrick’s Day regardless of the Christian backstory, why would Christmas be different? The beers, maybe? ☮️❤️✝️

Time to decorate the front porch with Christmas. My family and kinship back home and elsewhere are religious. But I don’t think I am or my housemates either. Though we say a prayer before dinner. Christians celebrate these days. Others also have their rituals. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Wiccans, Shinto. The irreligious also got their days. To observe Belief in holiday rites is a human right. So why are those who advocate rights insult believers, especially Christians? 

       In all Faith or non-Faith, cultural life or politics/ideology, there are evil as there are good. We are an interplay of light and dark. We wrestle with our polar extremes as we breathe. Life. So why don’t we gravitate more to the goodness than badness of any religion or irreligion, politics or non-politics? Ain’t negativity and shaming getting so boring? ❤️✝️

The German series “Dark” deals with time travel. Not really science fiction but more family/small-town drama. Ponder: Rework the past so we can alter the present? Thing is, even if time machines are real, there’s nothing we can do to fix what already happened. But it’s good to look back and reassess what we can do today for the future. I don't mean the contradictions of “climate change” advocacy. But more on “family and small town,” like the TV series. 📺⏰☎️

RECOMMENDED. Music.

“Exile on Main St.” The 1972 album of The Rolling Stones. A little backstory: Recording began in 1969 in England, and continued in mid-1971 at a rented villa in the South of France while the band lived abroad as tax exiles. A collage of various images, the album's artwork, according to frontman Mick Jagger, reflects the Rolling Stones as "runaway outlaws using the blues as its weapon against the world,” showcasing "feeling of joyful isolation, grinning in the face of a scary and unknown future.” 

       I do dig background tales and stories how artists collectively work/ed. Such as Bob Dylan and The Band toiling in the Big Pink, a house in West Saugerties, New York. The Band’s “Music from Big Pink” (1968) and Dylan’s “The Basement Tapes” (1975) emanated from that house. 

       The Stones’ “Exile on Main St.” was recorded in a French villa called Nellcote. Although overdub sessions were completed at Los Angeles's Sunset Sound—with additions of pianist Nicky Hopkins, saxophonist Bobby Keys, drummer Jimmy Miller and horn player Jim Price—the feel and feelings of “Exile…” was all Nellcote, though I don’t know how’s that, really. LOL! 

       It was all about the music--blues, rock and roll, swing, country and gospel, and lyricism that navigated playful, eerie themes of hedonism, sex and whatever—that got me hooked to this rock/blues outlaw abandon.

       Sure, we get the definitive thump, thud, and trickery of "Tumbling Dice," "Happy," “Ventilator Blues," “Sweet Virginia,” and "Soul Survivor." But there’s also a loose cover of Robert Johnson’s "Stop Breaking Down."

       The Rolling Stones never disappoint me. Can’t help shake my skinny hips and all that. But on “Exile on Main St.,” I also somehow feel how the blues really rocks in an isolated world of self-imposed exiles. 🎼🎹🎼

Old Talk: Political Talk. And Stuff.

Previously posted on my Facebook page. Or written years ago, unedited/not updated.

MAJOR reasons for individual animosities and global wars are kickstarted by polarities or non-compromises in the area of faith/religion (culture), politics and ideologies. When another energy or party bullies, imposes or forces its belief or stand over the other, it's going to be messy... 

       I always believe that all religions and cultures, political ideologies or party principles—are hinged or dovetailed on a good thing, for the common good of the people and communities that these human-designed norms and tenets are meant for. Christian or Pagan, Buddhist or Muslim, Republican or Democrat, Filipino or Somali, Communist or otherwise, black or white or yellow or brown and red—we are all here to enjoy Earth and Life under universal good. Universal Good is no-brainer. It doesn't have to be discussed all the time on TV talk shows, or hallowed halls of power, or neighborhood cafe. 

       A socialist finds it hard to vibe with a capitalist—but maybe southern blues rock can; a Pagan may not be able to share thoughts over sun and moon with a Christian but a nice brewed cocoa may gather them again; a Republican or Democrat may debate over Obamacare but, hey—sometimes they agree on a March Madness Bracketology. Whatever it is that we believe in, we have to stick by it, because I reckon all these that we believe in were originally guided by a sweet hand of goodness. The Holy Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, The Red Book, I-Ching, paella, and strawberry salad—are all good, great and holy. Be consistent, be staunch, be cool.

       What I don't dig are those who tread contradictions in favor of convenience. Che Guevara was a true revolutionary who dug in the wicked woods of his wars—he didn't purchase that beret on Amazon or I don't think he squirmed over “bizarre” food in the jungles of Bolivia. Whoever god or god/dess that we pay praises for—I bet that spiritual light didn't say I have white, immaculate skin of purity and yours is tangerine flesh of doom. 

       Criticize me, I'll criticize you; smile at me, I'll smile back at you—the human logic is quite simple. But sharing the good stuff is always more pleasurable than the opposite. When food is served on the table, the cook didn't say this lasagna is for Republicans and that pot pie is for Democrats. Or snow didn't just fall for the Cherokee, and rain didn't just flood Indonesians. We are all equal under the blue, blue sky—and down there, is murk and mud. We are the same as stones and wildflowers—although I dig the Bee Gees more than my friend's Rage Against the Machine. No big deal. It's all good. We don't have to argue about it. Dig? 🥹😗😑

Local poet Pasckie Pascua reads from his new book, with guests Randi Janelle, Keegan Avery and Devon Vuillier at Firestorm Cafe on Jan 16

LOCAL poet Pasckie Pascua resumes reading from his book, “Red is the Color of my Night” in a Traveling Bonfires show at Firestorm Cafe & Books (www.firestorm.coop/) in West Asheville on Jan 16, Saturday. He will be joined by author and spoken word artist Randi Janelle and singer-songwriter Keegan Avery and poet Devon Vuillier. 
       Firestorm is located at 610 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806 (tel # 828 255-8115). The free or donations-only show starts at 7. Firestorm's mission is to demonstrate the feasibility and desirability of a workplace based on free cooperation. The Cafe seeks to sustain and nourish the collective through fulfilling work, personal empowerment and equitable compensation.

       Randi Janelle is an author, photographer, performance poet, yoga instructor, cat whisperer. She calls Asheville home, but has lived and toured in Australia and New Zealand, and understands the phrases "fair dinkum" and "keen as." She's nourishing a coaching program along with writing “The Story” series. The first book “The Story: Deviation” is available to revel in, and the second book, “The Story: Possession” is due out in spring of 2017. 
       Keegan Avery is a local singer songwriter whose music exudes the sylvan mysticism of the mountains as well as the accessibility of a neighborhood troubadour. He is currently working on full CD and would be happy to share choice songs in the show.
Devon Vuillier was born in the sunny coastal city of Clearwater in Florida, and has been a resident of Asheville since childhood. Devon writes poetry as a way to get by with harsh moments in her life—but it was only until last year when she went out and joined readings in downtown Asheville that she developed confidence to share her work. Her poems mirror the angst of youth of her generation as well as the potentials of a matured poet way ahead of her age. She is currently in the process of putting together a chapbook of her choice poems so far.
       The Traveling Bonfires, a “people’s culture” organization that advocates family wisdom and community connectedness, has long been advocating alternative healing, herbal cures, and other non-conventional medical means through “Food Poets Society,” a food and music/arts interface program, and its cancer-awareness events and concerts. The show, which also serves as part of Pascua's continuing series of readings to help fundraise for The Bonfires' typhoon rehab projects in his home country, the Philippines.
       Born in the Philippines and reinvented in New York City, the Traveling Bonfires arrived in the mountains in1999 and almost immediately made Asheville its home. Founded and head by Pascua, the TBonfires has also produced and organized shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Baltimore, Washington DC and other North and South Carolina cities through the years. The organization puts up the summertime music convergence, “Bonfires for Peace at Pritchard Park” in downtown Asheville. Loved by the Buffalo is an independent publishing outfit based in Asheville.

MORE performer infos: Pasckie: http://pasckiepascuawords.blogspot.com/. Randi: randijanelle.com / Keegan: https://soundcloud.com/keegan-avery
AND http://ashevilletravelingbonfires.blogspot.com/ or http://pasckiepascuawords.blogspot.com/ or find Pasckie Pascua on Facebook.
POSTER design by Randi Janelle.

Pasckie Pascua, Caleb Beissert, Madelyn Lavender and guest performers advocate alternative healing in a Traveling Bonfires show at Noble Kava, Oct 27

LOCAL poets Pasckie Pascua and Caleb Beissert resume reading from their books, “Red is the Color of my Night” and “Beautiful: Translations from the Spanish (poems by of Pablo Neruda and Federico García Lorca),” respectively, in a Traveling Bonfires show at Noble Kava on Oct 27. They will be joined by Madelyn Lavender, who is on a new promotion campaign for her 2003 album, "Memory Tree." Sharing the stage are local poets Kelley Hoyer and Devon Vuillier, and singer-songwriter Amy Hamilton and poet/singer Eva Weinmann.
      Noble Kava, a family-friend, no-alcohol bar, is located at 15 Eagle St, Asheville, NC 28801. (828) 505-8118. The show is free. Donation is very much appreciated.     

 
       The Traveling Bonfires, a “people’s culture” organization that advocates family wisdom and community connectedness, has long been advocating alternative healing, herbal cures, and other non-conventional medical means through “Food Poets Society,” a food and music/arts interface program, and its cancer-awareness events and concerts. The show, which also serves as part of Pascua's continuing series of readings to promote his book, also raises fund for Weinmann, who has been afflicted with Rheumatoid Arthritis since childhood.
       Weinmann is currently on a fundraise and awareness drive focused on Peptide Therapy. Peptides are an amino acid, the building blocks of a protein and of our cells. Peptides are being used to treat and often cure cancer, Alzheimer's, ADHD, diabetes, epilepsy, dementia, many auto-immune disorders, allergies, and more. “This nutrient based medicine used for over 35 years in Europe with great success and now available in the US by only about 20 doctors, nationwide,” says Weinmann. “(Rheumatoid Arthritis) is a terribly debilitating and painful disease which has brought tremendous hardships to me and my family. This treatment gives me hope.” Weinmann will talk more about the subject between poetry and songs.
       Born in the Philippines and reinvented in New York City, the Traveling Bonfires arrived in the mountains in1999 and almost immediately made Asheville its home. Founded and head by Pascua, the TBonfires has also produced and organized shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Baltimore, Washington DC and other North and South Carolina cities through the years. The organization puts up the summertime music convergence, “Bonfires for Peace at Pritchard Park” in downtown Asheville. 

For info: http://ashevilletravelingbonfires.blogspot.com/ or http://pasckiepascuawords.blogspot.com/ or find Pasckie Pascua on Facebook. 

TO HELP Eva Weinmann and more info: 
[ ] Donate: https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/wp1b/healing-rheumatoid-arthritis
[ ] Link to a clinic in Mexico and its work on peptides and what diseases they can cure: http://rctherapy.com/treatments/
[ ] Video explaining how it works: http://rctherapy.com/regenerative-cell-therapy/how-it-works/

Bonfires for Peace is back at Pritchard Park for its 12th year, on July 13 and Aug 9 concerts

BONFIRES for Peace, the Traveling Bonfires' movable feast of family fun and community connectedness through music, arts and dancing, heats up again at Pritchard Park this summer. Now on its 12th year, the free to the public “outdoor party,” took off last July 13, and continues on Aug 9.

       Billed, “Downtown Get Down: Bonfires for Peace,” the July 13 show featured a Goa trance music dance event, with DJ music provided by Touch Samadhi's Goadream, Sensoma, and Sean O'Daniels. On Aug 9, popular Asheville acts Lyric, Pipapelli, Marshall Jim Duncan, Tom Hoa Binh and the Peacemakers and Riyen Roots share music to the community.
        Pritchard Park is located right in the heart of downtown Asheville. The Traveling Bonfires, which was born in the Philippines during the politically-turbulent mid80s, kicked off its annual “barrio-level” convergence in the spring of 2002 with all-day, multi-band concert events that lasted to early fall—and carried on since then.
        The Traveling Bonfires produced an unprecedented 16 weekend park events in 2004, involving hundreds of local and North/South Carolina performers and visiting acts from as far as Tokyo, Manila, Houston TX, Boston, San Francisco, New Jersey, and New York City. The organization has also produced similar outdoor and indoor concerts in New York City, Baltimore, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Frisco, and Manila and Baguio City in the Philippines, “instigating arts and music events and bringing people together in celebration of peace and multicultural connectedness.”

        Touch Samadhi is a community of “trance Goa” DJ's that takes its spiritual root in Goa, a small state in India. Mythology says Goa is associated with “spiritually cleansing touch,” a peacefulness or consciousness that Traveling Bonfires believes fit well with its vision-mission of global peace and community harmony through diversity. Touch Samadhi is a perennial highlight in Bonfires for Peace events since 2004.

        Pipapelli calls its music “rockin' blues with a celtic-knotted twist!” The band, with most of membership wearing the traditional kilts, has performed for the TBonfires' Philippine typhoon benefit late last years. Pipapelli: Just Cindy, vocals/percussion; RJ Grady, bagpipes/guitars/flutes/vocals; Zuzu Welsh, bass/vocals/guitar; Johnny Haisman, guitar/bass/vocals; Dana Koone, drums/vocals.

        It will be the second time that Lyric plays for Bonfires for Peace. Lyric, a pop, funk and rock act fronted by Leeda Jones, enjoys a large following in Asheville—having played in practically all major local festivals to a packed audience. The rest of the band: Dave Matthews, bass; Derrick Graves, Afro-Cuban conga, percussion; Mike Berlin, drums.

       Duncan, who assumes guitar duties for local band The Old Guard, is one of the mountain's most versatile musicians. Tom Hoa Binh is the stage name of Tom Smith, a war veteran who devotes his music to mostly pro-peace and anti-war advocacy. He is a regular fixture in Asheville peace gatherings and singer songwriter dives. Riyen Roots, who also plays with his blues band, says he is “taking the blues genre to a new place, with unique rhythms, truly original song stylings.”

        “We see the need to effect a vibe of peace and joy in Asheville and allow that sublime wavelength to travel elsewhere,” says TBonfires founding executive director Pasckie Pascua. “We don't have to launch speeches or recite our holiness, we just play music and enjoin the community to come out, dance and be together. That is a simple thing, isn't it—but it's powerful.”

        “Bonfires for Peace” events enjoy the support of a number of local Asheville businesses, organizations, and individuals. “This is the true meaning of community connectedness,” offers associate producer Marta Osborne. “Local business help us fund permits and other peripheral expenses in turn we sell them friendly ad space in our tiny newspaper, The Indie. Restaurants also feed our performers who share music and art for free...”

      The organization's partner project, Loved by the Buffalo Publications, publishes The Indie, a small newsprint tabloid that is mainly distributed in downtown Asheville and soon, in Athens in Georgia as its sister city. Both the Traveling Bonfires and The Indie's projects have benefitted non-profit organizations that work with at-risk youths, families of the disappeared, orphans, and disaster victims, especially typhoon victims in the Philippines.

PHOTOS (from top): Sensoma, Pipapelli, Riyen Roots, Lyric.