“Rumor del Viento”

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The last performance at Love By Design was singer, songwriter Ka Malinalli along with Leo Aether who’s latest album “Vuelo al Sur“is being released this month. It was getting close to dusk. The audience had thinned out, and volunteers began packing away tables and chairs.  

As part of the Swamp Sistas Songwriters Circle, a gathering of women under the
lead of  Beth McKee, Ka had written a song about the Pulse Tragedy. The song was written in Spanish, so before it was performed, she strummed the chords, as Leo read the translation. With Ka’s permission, I will share it here. 


“Rumor del Viento” (Whispering Wind)


The voices of the ones who fell travel in the whispering wind. 

The loves were silenced under fierce attacks of fire.

Joyful advocates of unconditional equality, transcendental essence of love.

They are victims of hatred deeply embedded in our history, invoking the light of humanity.


The grief of the ones who remain is kept by the whispering wind. 

They keep in their breath the names that inspired a grand movement, of strong defenders of unconditional equality, transcendental essence of love. 

And those who hate without thought,

will be blind as we march together,

beaming with this immense light of humanity.


We’ll be a great mountain. 

We’ll be a great wall. 

We’ll be a great canyon.

The whispering wind will find a refuge in the hearts

of those of us that can still appreciate the time given and look for reason.

And we will transform the songs of love,

into echoes of fight and revolution. 


Sung in Spanish the song was even more beautiful. Looking around, I realized there were only a handful of people experiencing this amazing moment. The lyrics quietly faded away in the early evening breeze. I was so glad that I stayed as long as I did. This song encapsulated the day. My eyes burned as I stood and clapped. There was a quiet beauty in the moment. Creativity flourished even if largely unnoticed.


 

Circa at Love By Design.

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In response to the tragedy at Pulse, AIGA Orlando invited the entire city to Love by Design, an event that will inspire and empower us all to stand against discrimination. Even more than a reflection on this tragic event, Love by Design will be an all-day celebration of The City Beautiful’s talent, diversity and resilience. Local artists and designers will donate original work for sale and auction. Food and entertainment will be provided by local musicians and food trucks. Proceeds will benefit OneOrlando, the fund formed by the mayor’s office to respond to the needs of our community in the wake of the Pulse Tragedy.

Circa was a solo act with plenty of heart. What made the performance so endearing was the fact that every song was directed to the performer’s girl friend seat in the front row. She beamed with pride as he sang and he looked he ” the eyes with every romantic note. Perhaps love can someday overcome hate.

I was drinking pear ciders and by this time, my sketches were loose and fluid. I got to enjoy the performance with Ka Malinalli and her daughter. Ka was the next performer in the line up. She referred to her daughter as the “barnacle” since the two of them are inseparable. Little did I know that it would be Ka’s performance that would bring home the meaning of the day’s fundraiser. Her original song “Whispering Wind” written in the make of the Pulse tragedy caused all the emotions to flood back…

Trajan’s Temple in Pergamon Turkey.

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Roman Temples are found all along the coast of Turkey. The Temple of Trajan, also called Trajaneum, is one of the most
spectacular structures in Pergamon‘s Upper Acropolis area. It is also
the only Roman monument in this location. The construction of the temple was initiated under the Roman emperor
Trajan (hence it’s name) and completed by his successor Hadrian. The
purpose of the temple was to provide a venue for the religious cult of
both rulers as well as Zeus. Since Hellenistic times, the worship of
rulers as gods had become customary in Asia Minor. As the monument of
Roman domination, the Trajaneum’s purpose was to strengthen the bonds of
Pergamon with Rome and with the Imperial family. The Trajaneum’s
position, dominating the summit, was like a propaganda statement
concerning who was the ruler of the city and the province. The Temple of
Trajan was the fourth imperial cult temple to be built in the province
of Asia.

The Temple of Trajan was uncovered and examined in the years 1879-1880
and 1885 by an architect H. Stiller, but for decades the ruins were left
as they had been found. In the 1960’s the Turkish Administration
initialized the process of its restoration. The challenge was taken up
by German Archaeological Institute (DAI) that provided the initiative to
re-examine the building. Preparations started in 1965 and in 1976 the
restoration program was approved by the Turkish Directorate of
Antiquity. The reconstruction started with the halls which would be
easier to re-construct because of the weight and dimensions of working pieces.
Due to the preservation of complete pieces, columns in particular, the
northern hall offered the most promising preconditions. The
reconstruction lasted until 1994 with the cooperation of architects,
archaeologists and stonemasons from various European countries working
with numerous Turkish specialists. The Trajaneum was splendidly
reconstructed through anastylosis (the reassembly of existing, but
loose parts) by German archaeologists.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for July 23rd and 24th

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Saturday July 23, 2016

7pm to 9pm Free. Get Lei’d at Fairvilla: A Summer Surf Party. Fairvilla Megastore, 1740 North Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, Florida. Get Lei’d at Fairvilla Megastore as we celebrate summer with a retro-themed surf party.

Enjoy complimentary cocktails, groovy games, a sexy swimwear fashion show sponsored by Mapale by Espiral Lingerie, raffles and kisses at the Pug-Kissin’ Surf Shack to benefit the Pug Rescue of Florida, a retro-surf-themed burlesque by Lexii Rose of Blacklist Babes Cabaret and so much more.

Let your creativity shine in a homemade bikini contest: Put together a bikini using anything BUT traditional fabric and we’ll reward the best of the best with awesome prizes, including Fairvilla gift cards, a Fifty Shades of Grey by Lovehoney prize pack and more!

Your co-host for the night is Josh Pinkman from Real Radio 104.1’s Philips Phile. When you see him, say, “Hey bud, let’s party!”

7pm to 11pm Free. Ybor City Art Walk. Featuring a number of arts organizations and artsy businesses, be sure to R.S.V.P. here to get the official map for the walk!

This event will begin at 7pm and end at 11pm (or maybe there will be an after party!)

Here are the participating locations:

The Bricks of Ybor

Bloodline Tattoo

Ybor Arts Colony

Hot Wax

Wandering Eye Art Gallery

Dysfunctional Grace

Moon Over Havana Arts Gallery

Live Arts Labs

There will be other businessess joining the lineup so stay tuned! For any questions please feel free to contact the Ybor Art Alliance here through Facebook.

Expect to be wowed!

9pm to 2am Free but get a drink or two. BAD SANTA & the ANGRY Elves: XMAS in July (One Night Only!) with special guest DJ Sleigh. St. Matthew’s Tavern at the Orlando Beer Garden 1300 N Mills Ave, Orlando, Florida. Bad Santa and the Angry Elves are getting the f*ck out of the North Pole and coming down to O-town to blow the doors off St. Matthew’s Tavern at the Orlando Beer Garden! ONE NIGHT ONLY! Join Bad Santa (Christian Kelty), CC DeElf ( Craig Cobb), Elfie Nicks (Steve Hebert), & Elf Playcool (Daniel Wilkerson) for what is promised to be a legendary night in the annals of “XMAS PUNK ROCK BAND HISTORY”!

DJ SLEIGH (Kris Kokopelli) will be in the house spinning tunes to get you in the xmas spirit and there are bound to be more than a couple surprise guests!

So come on out and get your stockings stuffed!

You don’t even know how bad you need it.

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Sunday July 24, 2016

Noon to 2pm Free but order food. Florida Gospel Jam. Fish on Fire 7937 Daetwyler Drive Belle Isle FL. Every 2nd and 4th Sunday.

2pm to 4pm Free but get a coffee. Olivia’s Coffee House, 108 N Bay St, Eustis, FL.

7:30pm to 11pm  Suggested donation . Living Room Screening – The Man with Elephant Hands. Homegrown Local Food Cooperative 2310 N Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida. Jack Graham, Banks Helfrich and Tisse Mallon present independent local films in your living room. Living Room Screening events go beyond movie night and into a shared experience which includes the film, the creator and the reflections and thoughts of the audience.

This intimate experience consists of a number of previews, one short film, a feature and a conversation.

A few things for you to know:

– Due to the nature of this performance space, no late arrivals can be accommodated.

– While not lewd or vulgar, these films are recommended for ages 18 and up.

– The films lasts approx. 80 minutes.

NOTE: Due to limited space, we can only accommodate a certain number of people. If you have a plus one, we welcome them with open arms but please let your host know so that we have space for everybody!

The Man with Elephant Hands

Sid hates his hands; he thinks they look like elephant feet; so he hides them from everyone including himself.

Teaser 1- Meet Clyde

The Temple of Apollo in Didim Turkey.

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The Temple of Apollo has to be the most impressive old world architecture that I have ever seen. The columns have such a large circumference that they seem like they have to have been made by giants. A large stone hallway still leads to the center of the temple. There is no way to truly convey the vast scale of the site, When you get dos to the still standing columns, they are over whelming. There was a large puddle at the base of the steps to the temple. Thousands of tiny tad poles swam in the puddle frantically. I imagined the sun must be evaporating the water making it an imperative that they sprout legs an adapt to life on dry land. A turtle lumbered along across the path I wag on, as I sketched.

The ruins of Didyma are located at a short distance to the northwest of modern Didim in Aydin Province, Turkey, whose name is derived from Didyma’s. Greek and Roman authors refer the name Didyma to temples of the twins, Apollo and Artemis, whose own cult center at Didyma was only recently established. 
Excavations by German archaeologists have uncovered a major sanctuary
dedicated to Artemis, with the key ritual focus being water.

The 6th century Didymaion, dedicated to Apollo, enclosed a
smaller temple that was its predecessor, which archaeologists have
identified. Its treasury was enriched by gifts from Croesus. To approach the temple, visitors would follow the Sacred Way to Didyma, about
10 miles long. Along the way, were ritual way stations, and statues of
members of the Branchidae family, male and female, as well as animal
figures. Some of these statues, dating to the 6th century BC, are now in
the British Museum, taken by the British archaeologist Charles Newton in the 19th century

Kayaköy Turkey.

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Kayaköy is a deserted village in south west Turkey. Terry’s niece, Alison Brown joined us for this leg of the trip. She worked for the US embassy in Turkey, and this village was on her bucket list of places she wanted to see. In ancient times it was the city of Lycia, Later, Anatolian Greeks lived here until approximately 1922. The ghost town,
now preserved as a museum village, consists of hundreds of rundown but
still mostly standing Greek-style houses and churches which cover a
small mountainside and serve as a stopping place for tourists.

At the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) Greek inhabitants, mostly elderly women and children, were forced to leave through a march of fifteen days. During that death march,
the roads were strewn with bodies of dead children and the elderly who
succumbed to hunger and fatigue. The exiles of the next year were no
less harsh. In September 1922, the few remaining Greeks abandoned their homes and embarked on ships to Greece. Many of the abandoned buildings were damaged in the 1957 Fethiye earthquake.

Many of the exposed interior walls Still have warn coats of paint that serves as a reminder that this village was occupied not long ago. I imagined residents going about their lives in the narrow Stone alley ways. As Terry and Allison hiked ahead, I stopped to sketch on a bluff overlooking the ruins. I thought that this was a view that a painter like Cezanne would have appreciated. In September of 2014, the Turkish government announced plans to develop
the village. It plans to offer a 49-year lease that will “partially open ‘s the archaeological site to construction” and anticipated
“construction of a hotel, as well as tourist facilities that will
encompass one-third of the village.

Anatolian Houses in Goreme Turkey.

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This is a view from the grass covered roof outside our room in Goreme Turkey. We traveled to Derinkuyu, an underground cave city. Snow began to fall as the taxi driver drove us to the caves. Rooms, passage ways and an air shaft were all carved into the rock deep under ground. You couldn’t have claustrophobia and live in this underground city. The tube shaped passages were just large enough so you could walk through while hunched over. Extending to a depth of approximately 200 feet, it is large
enough to have sheltered as many as 20,000 people together with their
livestock and food stores. It is the largest excavated underground city
in Turkey and is one of several underground complexes found across Cappadocia.

 The underground city at Derinkuyu could be closed from the inside with
large stone doors. Each floor could be closed off separately. The city at Derinkuyu was fully formed in the Byzantine era, when it was heavily used as protection from Muslim Arabs during the Arab–Byzantine wars (780-1180). It was at this time that most of the chapels and Greek inscriptions
were added. The city was connected with other underground cities through
miles of tunnels. Some artifacts discovered in these underground
settlements belong to the Middle Byzantine Period, between the 5th and
the 10th centuries A.D. When the Christian inhabitants of the region were expelled in 1923 in the population exchange between Greece and Turkey the tunnels were abandoned. The tunnels were rediscovered in 1963, after a resident of the area
found a mysterious room behind a wall in his home. Further digging
revealed access to the tunnel network. It was opened to visitors in 1969 and about half of the underground city is currently accessible to tourists.

Dovecotes in Goreme Turkey.

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Freud would have much to say as to why women, and men,are so fascinated by these naturally formed pillars, called dovecotes, that populate the valley near Goreme Turkey. Terry and I hiked the valley exploring several ancient christian Churches and then climbing a sandstone cliff to get an overall view of the valley. Some of these phallic pillar had been carved out to make cave dwellings but they were no long occupied. One lone window is visible in the sketch. They are formed from thousands of years of erosion. One stone at the top resists erosion allowing water to run down the shaft gradually eroding a way sandstone.

In ancient Greek mythology the
dove represented Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love, and figures in the
holy books of the major monotheistic religions. The earliest reference is
in the Old Testament, where Noah releases a dove to seek land, and it
returns with an olive branch showing that life had been restored following
the deluge. From then on the olive branch and the dove became symbols of
friendship and peace. In the New Testament, when Jesus is being baptized,
the Holy Ghost alights on his head in the form of a white dove, which is
why in Christian iconography the dove represents the Holy Ghost.

In the
Koran, when Mohammed is fleeing from the Qureysh, he hides in a cave.
Spiders weave webs over the entrance and a dove makes her nest, so his
pursuers do not bother to look inside and he is saved. In consequence, the
generality of Muslims regard pigeons and doves as sacred and do not hunt
or eat them. From the same motive buildings in Islam countries often
incorporate dovecotes. The
earliest examples of nesting houses for birds in Turkey date from the 16th
century and can be seen in mosques, bridges, libraries, and other public
buildings. The dovecotes in these pillars, can be seen high up just at the lower edge of the head.

The Anatolian Houses Hotel in Goreme Turkey.

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On our trip to Turkey, Terry and I stayed in the Anatolian Houses Hotel (50180 Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Turkey) in Goreme. Our room was in the stone building attached to the large sandstone structure on the left: The living room was in the building and the the bedroom and bathroom were carved out in side the sandstone. It was like living ” a very modern well a point cave. The bathroom had large jacuzzi tub and very tiny windows that can be seen on the cliff face. The walls had plenty of carved out niches for storing towel and clothes. In one section of the bathroom, the floor dropped and and a glass plate was used to maintain the flat floor surface. A light was placed down in the crevasse to illuminate the ceiling.

On one occasion, I had to run back into our suite, because I forgot something. While running out of the bathroom, I smashed my forehead against the bathroom doorway. I was dazed for a bit but recovered, simply cursing my stupidity. Goreme is well known for it’s hot air balloon rides. We didn’t splurge on the balloons, but they brightened up the sky every morning.

Fourth of July Fireworks over Lake Killarney.

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A week before July 4th, I sat on the end of a dock with my toes in the water admiring a gorgeous sunset over Lake Killarney. The underbellies of the clouds turned a bright watermelon color and the horizon was bright yellow and orange. As the last of the color faded away from the clouds, I heard a series of pops on the far shore. It wasn’t the quick hectic sound of a pack of fireworks going off. It sounded more like a series of shots from a rifle with a pause between each trigger pull. Should I keep sitting at the end of this dock, I thought. How far could a bullet travel if shot across the lake. The wood around me didn’t splinter, so I lay back and watched the stars. At least a horizontal target was harder to hit. The sound probably was fireworks, but after living through several weeks of Pulse related vigils and fundraisers, I must have experienced a mild case of post traumatic stress disorder. Any loud noise would be associated with an assault rifle.

On July 4th, I returned to the dock to watch fireworks as they illuminated the sky and water. In Orlando there are fireworks every night at Disney, Universal and Sea World, so I had no desire to fight traffic to get close to Lake Eola. Lake Killarney offered a relatively peaceful alternative. The distant fireworks had to compete with a far more inspiring display of heat lightning in the clouds. Odin ignited severe bright light in bolts to the ground which was as impressive as any fireworks burst.

A young couple began setting off mortar tubes which just set up fountains of sparks maybe ten feet high on the boat ramp near where I was sitting. It was fun to watch their childish delight as they would light the fuse and run away. Although not as impressive as a profession show, these smaller fireworks were just as fun. The wildlife, I usually see, were nowhere to be found. The ibis, egrets and a large grey owl were probably as far away from the fireworks as they could be. This human instinct to blow things up isn’t part of the natural order.