Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Authors, Publicity, a little poetry, music to complement...and other stuff including politics, about life... "Books, Cats: Life is Sweet..."
Montezuma II was a good leader before the Spanish arrived https://www.thoughtco.com/emperor-montezuma-before-the-spanish-2136261
Montezuma
Your bronze eyes
sparkle in sunlight
from deep dark pockets
hewn on your furrowed
indigenous face,
your hands tremble
rough as rawhide
grafted on a chair
and you sit as you do
mumbling as if
conversing with spirits,
years ago
strong as a bull
you labored in the fields
proud to show the boss
you were equal to or better than
any machine,
now your strength is sapped
like water squeezed from a sponge
and the only thing left for you to do
is converse your way through.
~~~
--From The Bridge is Gone
Manny Monolin Moreno
Note: The music was so intriguing that it seemed appropriate to continue sharing the various videos created from just one haunting melody featuring history and nature... in Tribute to Montezuma...
Manny Monolyn Moreno is an ongoing contributor at Book Readers Heaven... He has Just been named a recipient from HeARTLand for his next book, Santa Nella Blues: Poems
This is my first attempt to get back into blogging. This time by featuring two friends--Walter Jack Savage, artist and author... and Regis Aiffray, writer/poet. The themes of these two works fit so well together that I just had to spotlight both!
Kittens (one in these plants) and flowers! My company at the Cabin!
MRI Brain Scan revealed small tumor in frontal area... Will be attending to details... Off and On...
Many of you have already seen a past notice on Facebook and have sent wonderful messages! Thank you! I thought an update was due, as well as a little more info... I have a great appointment with neurosurgeon. He indicated the tumor was somewhat routine and would be watched routinely, but not a problem now... On the other hand, he indicated everything going on was all different...The Vertigo is, of course, related to inner ears and equilibrium and medicine seems to be helping with that. I recently had another MRI from my neck to hip to identify possible problems with the nerve in the lower legs which is really my main problem. Anyway, Everybody, including my niece Tracey, has been wonderful and treating me so nice--but I'm still having trouble getting routine things done...
Sorry to say that during the work on this blog, my right leg became numb... Will be going back to neurosurgeon later this month...hopefully he will have a way to move ahead...
Living in the country has one major hazard for me...bugs...of all sorts! Bugs either leave you alone or come after you--I'm one they seem to like! Sooo, while I was heading back to the computer to finish today's review, and scratching here, and there, and everywhere, I thought of a poem I wrote when I was having fun with a poet I'd met online... In a cabin, there are many more ways for bugs to get into the house, and though I'm not aware I have bed bugs, I was flirting a little when I wrote the following... Hey, I'm not a poet, but I do like to mess around sometimes with words... So read the words, not whether it's good poetry...OK? In other words, I decided to hold my review to finish tomorrow and share this with you...Then, I'm heading back to read more of The Drop by Michael Connelly... It's nice to be your own boss and do what you want to do...LOL
"If you are at first lonely, be patient. "If you've not been alone much, or if when you were, you weren't okay with it, "then just wait. You'll find it's fine to be alone, once you're embracing it... ~~~
How to Be Alone
Poem by Tanya Davis
Illustrations by Andrea Dorfman
Soooo, why publish a book that has already been seen and heard nearly 6 million times? Well, we all know why, of course... At least readers do! Books are special! And if it is beautifully created, full of colorful pictures to match and merged with beautiful words, then all the better! It's easy to carry with you, it's a book that is perfect as a gift--maybe for a teenager, or an older child... And maybe even for a special older person you know... You'll know who might be the person who will read and cherish it...and keep near them for reading over and over.
Sure, the video is fantastic, but, sometimes, when you seek silence as part of being alone, a book is so much better, don't you think? You can pick it up, stop and think about what has been said or throw it on the bed, thinking you can't possibly do what has been suggested--like, going dancing by yourself?! Yuk, not me--that's a stupid idea...
But if you love to dance, you might, just might walk over to your closet and check out what you'd wear, and what shoes you have to go with that outfit...
And if you talk yourself out of that idea, at least that first time, then you can flop down again on your bed, pick up the book and continue reading. You can hold that book in front of you, maybe at the same time you look in the mirror, asking yourself, could I really do this???
You will have listened to the poem above, so I'm not going to spend too much time telling you about the story, but I did want to highlight one special part, at least for me: "Take silence and respect it."
I am content when I'm alone and the song, by Simon and Garfunkle, the Sounds of Silence, was one of the ways I learned about how wonderful, and useful, silence can be. Some people love music, and play it all the time. But, if you take the time when you are alone, to shut out all noise, you just may experience a new peace and calmness... Listen to the words... I changed the first phrase many years ago to sing, "Hello Silence, my old friend, I've come to talk to you again." Sure, darkness can be calming, but I found it was the silence that helped me...and I'm never lonely... If you get lonely, or know somebody who seems to want to be around somebody all the time, but their circumstances prevent it, this book just might be the perfect gift... The inside artwork is extraordinary. Each page is a colorful eyeful, with a chosen colored background that blends and highlights the pictures on each page--very much like the cover! Readers will see that it's aimed at girls, but, I'm not sure that would prevent boys or older adults from enjoying the book. I know I did... There's a lot of insight into the value of learning the difference between being alone and being lonely. For some, they might be confusing the two and this book will help to better understand how important it is to be able to be alone and to embrace it. Here's a wonderful statement: "But alone is a freedom that breaths easy and weightless, and lonely is healing if you make it." It is obvious that the author perhaps learned her words through personal experience... If not, her touching poetic story certainly will speak to those who open their hearts and minds to listen or read it...
This book will be released on October 22nd but can be pre-ordered. Go to the top and listen to this poem again... I think that as you listen, you will picture somebody in your family or one of your friends who is important to you...and someone you want to help understand about being alone. It just may be the one book that helps that individual through an important part of her or his life. The back cover points out that it is also "For those who have never been by themselves, or for those who relish being on their own... and "encourages us to recognize and embrace the possibilities of being alone--and reminds us of a universe of joy, peace, and discovering! I agree! Highly recommended. GABixlerReviews
www.tanyadavis.ca
Tanya Davis is a Canadian singer-songwriter-poet. Since bursting onto the Halifax music scene in 2006 with her debut, "Make a List," Tanya has garnered praise from the music industry, her audience, and her peers, as well as multiple award nominations including the 2009 ECMA Female Recording of the Year for her sophomore release, "Gorgeous Morning."
www.andreadorfman.com
Andrea Dorfman works as a filmmaker, animator, cinematographer, and artist. A graduate of McGill University and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, she has directed two feature films, "Parsley Days" (2000) and "Love That Boy" (2003), as well as numerous short films including the Emmy Award-nominated animation "Flawed" (2010).
