Chainsaw Testing

My husband and I have a joke about what the worst neighbor could be. We came up with chainsaw testing. Unfortunately motorcycle testing is just as bad and this is not the first time this has happened. I thought zoning laws protected people from this?

The Slum Landlords are Destroying the City

The guys are running motorcycles inside the closed garage. I can hear the thundering hum as I am working at my desk.

The neighbors next door are throwing bacon grease off of their balcony. Their new landlord is in hiding. She's probably never seen the place.

 The neighbors who moved in 2 months ago left furniture and washing machine in the shrubs and on the porch leaving the door wide open.

Last week we had fire-escape man trying to break into J's apartment and over the weekend a young woman who was escaping her attacker frantically banged on our door for help during the night.

It's like a horror film.

The slum landlords are destroying the city.

more beauty in this life

“She was tired of everyone wanting to go to heaven, nobody wanting to die. The only thing worth grieving over, she said, was that sometimes there was more beauty in this life than the world could bear.”
― Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin

Good days, they come around the oddest corners.

― Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin

Colum McCann

 "I think a good novel can be a doorstop to despair. I also think the real bravery comes with those who prepared to go through that door and look at the world in all its grime and torment, and still find something of value, no matter how small."

 https://pen-international.org/news/nobel-laureates-writers-and-artists-worldwide-condemn-russias-invasion-of-ukraine

Nobel Laureates, writers and artists worldwide condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in unprecedented letter signed by over a thousand

Sunday 27 February 2022 - 5:30pm

Read the briefing in full

Nobel Laureates, writers and artists worldwide condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in unprecedented letter signed by hundreds

PEN International, the literary and free expression organisation, has released a letter signed by over 1000 writers worldwide, expressing solidarity with writers, journalists, artists, and the people of Ukraine, condemning the Russian invasion and calling for an immediate end to the bloodshed.

Read in Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic.

To our friends and colleagues in Ukraine,

We, writers around the world, are appalled by the violence unleashed by Russian forces against Ukraine and urgently call for an end to the bloodshed.

We stand united in condemnation of a senseless war, waged by President Putin’s refusal to accept the rights of Ukraine’s people to debate their future allegiance and history without Moscow’s interference.

We stand united in support of writers, journalists, artists, and all the people of Ukraine, who are living through their darkest hours. We stand by you and feel your pain.

All individuals have a right to peace, free expression, and free assembly. Putin’s war is an attack on democracy and freedom not just in Ukraine, but around the world.

We stand united in calling for peace and for an end to the propaganda that is fueling the violence.

There can be no free and safe Europe without a free and independent Ukraine.

Peace must prevail.

Signatories

Burhan Sonmez, Svetlana Alexievich, Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Anthony Doerr, Jonathan Franzen, Aleksandar Hemon, Siri Hustvedt, Yann Martel, Benjamin Moser, Joyce Carol Oates, Orhan Pamuk, Maria Ressa, Salman Rushdie, Elif Shafak, Colm Toibin, Olga Tokarczuk, Ludmila Ulitskaya.

Kai Aareleid, Jane Aaron, Evelyne Abitbol, Gabriela Adameșteanu, Kathrin Aehnlich, Inger-Mari Aikio, Ayad Akhtar, Bjanka Alajbegović, Päivi Alasalmi, Frank Albrecht, Amir Alić, Carlos Alonso Aníbal, Najat Alsamad Abed, Vicenç Altaió, Armas Alvari, Hazem Al Amin, Frances An, Ida Andersen, Trine Andersen, Henrika Andersson, Ben Andoni, Stanko Andrić, Dan Anghelescu, Éilís Ní Anluain, Liviu Antonesei, Lisa Appignanesi, Marie Arana, George Ardeleanu, Chloe Aridjis, Homero Aridjis, Gabriele von Arnim, Alexander Arkhangelsky, Ingeborg Arlt, Jordi Bergonyó i Aroca, Damir Arsenijević, Mona Arshi, Lea Cohen-Augsburger, Anisa Avdagić, Mihail Ayzenberg, Marianne Backlén, Elena Baevskaya, Vasile Baghiu, Tomica Bajsić, Leonid Bakhnov, Catherine Banner, Snježana Banović, Jürgen Banscherus, Ekaterina Barabash, Renato Baretić, Niels Barfoed, Jessica Barksdale Inclán, Sheila Barrett, Nune Barsegian, Lone Bastholm, Jette Bastian, Cikuru Batumiké, Juergen Baumann, Nurcan Baysal, Youseff Bazzi, Adisa Bašić, Almir Bašović, Germaine Beaulieu, Dirk-Uwe Becker, Simon Beckett, Sharmilla Beezmohun, Seida Beganović, Francisco Belard, Nadezhda Belenkaya, Amanda Bell, Gaston Bellemare, Timba Bema, Abdelkader Benali, Grațiela Benga, Vicent Berenguer, François Berger, Tewin van den Bergh, Mal Berisha, Michèle Bernard, Vicenç Llorca Berrocal, Thorvald Berthelsen, Rosaleen Bertolino, Abbass Beydoun, Emilie Bilman, Anne Marie Bjerg, Ana Blandiana, Sylvia Bledow, Gerda Blees, Jens Blendstrup, Kåre Bliutgen, Anna Blume, Isabel Bogdan, Iulian Boldea, Fióna Bolger, Tatiana Bonch-Osmolovskaya, Barbara Bongartz, Javier Bonilla, Thomas Borchert,, Virginie Borel, Virginie Borel, Carmen Borja, Marina Boroditskaya, Alla Bossart, August Bover, Agnete Braad, Corin Braga, Colm Breathnach, Marta Breen, Per Bregengaard, Alida Bremer, Alida Bremer, Hans Maarten vd Brink, Roberto Briones, Ricky Monahan Brown, Keira Brown, Marta Nadal Brunès, Niels Brunse, Mikael Brygger, Siv Bublitz, Simone Buchholz, Romulus Bucur, Olga Bukhina, Diana Burazer, Ahmed Burić, Dragan Bursać, Paddy Bushe, Anton Carrera i Busquets, Pat Butler, Ida Börjel, Jan Bürger, Oriol Pi de Cabanyes, Morana Čale, Jenni Calder, Lynn Caldwell, Drew Campbell, Siobhan Campbell, Daniel Canty, Eibhlis Carcione, Kristina Carlson, Antònia Carré-Pons, Àngels Castells Cabré, Amanda Castleman, Cecil Casttelluci, Dragica Čarna, Jaume Creus i del Castillo, Sara Martínez Castro, Arben Çejku, Branko Čegec, Ruxandra Cesereanu, Jade Chang, Natalia Chepik, Ron Chernow, Tatyana Chernysheva, Herménégilde Chiasson, Mark Childress, Søren Møller Christensen, Ioana Cistelecan, Antoni Clapés, Jennifer Clement, Nicolae Coande, Jonathan Coe, Carolyn Cohagan, Anthony Cohan, Pep Coll, Marian Coman, Denisa Comănescu, Colm Mac Confhaola, Micheál Ó Conghaile, June Considine, Philippe Constantin, Angélica Altúzar Constantino, David Corbett, Liliana Corobca, Željka Čorak, Costigan, Florica Courriol, Robert Craven, Jaume Creus, Bogdan Crețu, Jenny Croft, Pádraig Ó Cuinneagáin, Cung thị Lan, Tony Curtis, Darko Cvijetić, Grozdana Cvitan, Gearóidín Nic Cárthaigh, Magda Cârneci, Svetlana Cârstean, Bianca Côté, Mircea Cărtărescu, Nerzuk Ćurak, Denis Dabbadie, Gabriel Daliș, Joan eusa Dalmau, Louise Juhl Dalsgaard, Dang Nguyen, Hasan Daoud, Job Degenaar, Astrid Dehe, Marija Dejanović, Dinko Delić, Peter Demeny, Enkel Demi, Ajla Demiragić, Denise Desautels, Jean-Marc Desgent, Loraine Despres, Martina Devlin, Sadhbh Devlin, Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin, Margot Dijkgraaf, Vitaly Dikson, Simona-Grazia Dima, Adina Dinițoiu, Adriaan van Dis, Greg Dinner, Peggy Dobreer, Caius Dobrescu, Henrik Døcker, Veronica Dolina, Salvador Domènechi Domènech, Jackie Mac Donncha, Gerry Mc Donnell, Katie Donovan, Ariel Dorfman, Theo Dorgan, Kevin Doyle, Laurie Anne Doyle, Elma Drayer, Proinsias Ó Drisceoil, Olga Drobot, Daniela Dröscher, Lison Dubreuil, Anne Duden, Dave Duggan, Samantha Dunn, Catherine Dunne, Louise Dupré, Can Dündar, Ferida Duraković, Denisa Duran, Don Duyns, Benedikt Dyrlich, Olga Xirinacs Díaz, Dan Dănilă, Carleton Eastlake, David Ebershoff, Horst Eckert, Gwen Edelman, Jennifer Egan, Jari Ehrnrooth, Lizzie Eldridge, Menna Elfyn, Ayeshah Emon, Martin Enckell, Agneta Enckell, Michael Engler, Álvaro Enrigue, Markku Envall, Irjaleena Eriksson, Peter Lucas Erixon, Evgeny Ermolin, Victor Esipov, Vibeke Eskesen, Karin Evans, Paul Ewen, Belal Fadl, Daniel Falb, Maria Falikman, Elena Fanailova, Simon Ó Faoláin, Reza Farmand, Rafel Nadal Farreras, Sabina Fati, Lia Faur, Alexey Fedotov, Judith Fein, Julian Fellowes, Betty Ferber, Ciara Ferguson, Conrad Fields, Birgit Filskov, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Viviana Fiorentino, Janet Fitch, Brid Fitzpatrick, Anne Fisher, Hana Fischer, Roman Fokin, Mathilde Fontanet, Assumpció Forcada, Sabine Forsblom, Tua Forsström, Kristian Bang Foss, Fouad Fouad, David Francis, Julia Franck, Diane Frank, Bashabi Fraser, Maureen Freely, Frederike Frei, Niels Frid-Nielsen, Meelis Friedenthal, Uwe Friesel, Anna Friman, Angela Furtună, Rita Gabis, Linda Gaboriau, Peter Gadol, Maria Galina, Mia Gallagher, Sergei Gandlevsky, Alisa Ganieva, Christine Garcia, Josep Rafel Cortés Garcia, Dominique Gaucher, Liliya Gazizova, Carlo Gebler, Eva Gedin, Stefan Gemmel, Alexander Genis, Nina George, Clive Geraghty, Ulrikka Gernes, Yaseen Ghaleb, Rania Ghandour, Radu Pavel Gheo, Carmen Gheorghe, Cătălin Ghiță, Áíne Ní Ghlinn, Áine Ní Ghlinn, Alexandria Giardino, Dagoberto Gilb, Bernard Gilbert, Shauna Gilligan, Daithí Mac Giobúin, Jo Glanville, Simon Glinvad Nielsen, Jacques T. Godbout, Peter H. E. Gogolin , Alex Goldiș, Francisco Goldman, Veronica Gonzalez, Benjamin Goron, Philip Gourevitch, Fiona Graham, Bel Granya, Safer Grbić, Àngels Gregori, Mark Grinberg, Lauren Groff, Jean-Louis Grosmaire, Joakim Growth, Annett Gröschner, Ralph Grüneberger, July Gugolev, Xiaolu Guo, Kerstin Gustafsson, Tracy Guzeman, Çağdaş Gökbel, Tarık Günersel, Morten Haahr, Agnete G. Haaland, Gerda van de Haar, Katharina Hagena, Anna Katharina Hahn, Malu Halasa, Ena Katarina Haler, Jacinta Halloran, Denise Hamilton, Daniel Handler, Marisa Handler, James Hannaham, Linn Hansén, Heather Harlen, Ann Harleman, Lenore Hart, Tessa Harris, Dennis Haskell, Josef Haslinger, Iben Hasselbalch, Rasmus Hastrup, Harri Hautajärvi, Barend van der Have, Tom Healy, Jürgen Heckel, Carol Hedges, Siobhán Hegarty, Christoph Hein, Elke Heinemann, Markéta Hejkalová, Joachim Helfer, Elizabeth Hemmerdinger, Saara Henriksson, Alban Nikolai Herbst, Harri Hertell, Anna Heussaff, Anne Hjælmsø, Kati Hiekkapelto, Judyth Hill, Sophia Hillan, Rinske Hillen, Jane Hirschfield, Elina Hirvonen, Elke Bannach-Hoffmann, Klaus Hoffmann W., Tom Hofland, Anneli Høier, Markku Hoikkala, Kaarina Hollo, Benn Q. Holm, Ulla Holm, Nina Honkanen, Laura Honkasalo, Ann Marie Hourihane, Meg Howrey, Dina Hrenciuc, Laura Hubber, Johanna Hulkko, Iman Humaydan, Jean-Claude Humbert, Franka Hummels, Vilja-Tuulia Huotarinen, Ramiz Huremagić, Jasmina Husanović, Eero Hämeenniemi, Severi Hämäri, Tomas Håkanson, Michael Hăulică, Florin Iaru, Omer Ibrahimagić, Nedžad Ibrahimović, Vasile Igna, Olga Ilnitskaya, Luuk Imhann, Debra Jo Immergut, Almir Imširević, Jouni Inkala, Igor Irteniev, Tuula Isoniemi, Martti Issakainen, Päivi Istala, Houssam Itani, Susan Ito, Andrei Ivanov, Natalya Ivanova, Victoria Ivleva, Oriol Izquierdo, Piret Jaaks, Juliet Jacques, Alain Jadot, Subhash Jaireth, Claire Jaumain, Jennifer Jenkins, Ingrid Mejer Jensen, Martin Jensen, Per Lau Jensen, Angela V. John, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Thella Johnson, Kaylie Jones, Lois Jones, Michael Jordan, Finn Jørgensen, Huguette Junod, Wim Jurg, Anssi Järvinen, Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, Elaine Kagan, Danson Kahyana, Gennady Kalashnikov, Kätlin Kaldmaa, Ken Kalfus, Regina Kammerer, Arla Kanerva, Anneli Kanto, Entela Kasi, Markku Kaskela, Riina Katajavuori, Nina Katerli, Lucina Kathmann, Dražen Katunarić, Roni Nasir Kaya, Enver Kazaz, Helmi Kekkonen, Annu Kekäläinen, Jochen Kelter, Al Kennedy, Ligia Keșișian, Murat Kharaman, Igor Kharichev, Katarina Kieri, Malin Kivelä, Aino Kivi, Veronika Kivisilla, Margalith Kleijwegt, Mark Klenk, Snješka Knežević, Uwe Kolbe, Aljaž Koprivnikar, Nikolay Kononov, Tomi Kontio, Satu Koskimies, Conor Kostick, Igor Kotjuh, José Kozer, Gennady Krasukhin, Enrique Krauze, Irina Kravtsova, Marcella van der Kruk, Grigory Kruzhkov, Jan Kuhlbrodt, Joachim Kühlmann, Asmir Kujović, Ilya Kukulin, Sergey Kuznetsov, Konstantin Küspert, Jorma Tapio Laakso, Oula-Antti Labba, David Lagercrantz, Jhumpa Lahiri, Olivia Laing, Michael Landgraf, Tanja Langer, Ksenia Larina, Felix M. Larkin, Ola Larsmo, Michelle Latiolais, Heike van Lawick, Eric Lax, Le Thi y and, Le Thi Nhi, Réaltán Ní Leannáin, Byddi Lee, Chang-rae Lee, Ion Bogdan Lefter, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Leena Lehtolainen, Eva Leipprand, Oleg Lekmanov, Lucia Leman, Jo Lendle, Andrea Lešić-Thomas, Paul Levine, Else Lidegaard, Ida Linde, Anne Linsel, My Lindelöf, Christoph Lindenmeyer, Fredy Rolando Ruilova Lituma, Zülfü Livaneli, Ruth Frances Long (Jessica Thorne), Kairi Look, M.G. Lord, Gert Loschütz, Daniela Luca, Maria Ludkovskaja, Sofia Lundberg, Ulla-Lena Lundberg, Maria Lundborg, Tomas Lagermand Lundme, Aki Luostarinen, Tom Lutz, Joris Luyendijk, Dorte Lykkegaard, Brendan Lynch, Irene Duffy Lyncy, Ruth Lysaght, Kristiina Lähde, Hélène Lépine, Adrian Lăcătuș, Michel Maas, Carl MacDougall, Chiara Macconi, Stuart Maconie, Kerry Madden, Tue Magnussen, Dolors Coll Magrí, Sabrina Mahfouz, Inger-Maria Mahlke, Maria Maiofis, Geert Mak, Zvonko Maković, Christodoulos Makris, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Ștefan Manasia, Riri Sylvia Manor, Ksenija Banović Marković, Sarah Manvel, Laura Marchig, Rae Marie, Viorel Marineasa, Rudolf Marku, Frane Maroević, Iva Grgić Maroević, Lieke Marsman, Emile Martel, Jean-Pierre Masse, Marisa Matarazzo, Alexandru Matei, Ioan Matiuț, Edi Matić, Nicolaas Matsier, Manfred Maurenbrecher, Natalya Mavlevich, So Mayer, Daniel Mazzone, John C Mc Allister, Martina McAteer, Felicity McCall, Alistair McCartney, Patti McDermott, Paula McGrath, Lisa McInerney, Maria McManus, Elizabeth McSkeane, Paula Meehan, Vonne van der Meer, Maryse Meijer, Eva Menasse, Dinaw Mengestu, Mooses Mentula, Bruno Mercier, Lluís Meseguer, Robin Messing, Gitte Meyer, Katherine Mezzacappa, Bríd Ní Mhóráin, Peter Mickwitz, Susan Midalia, Virgil Mihaiu, Călin-Andrei Mihăilescu, Lone Mikkelsen, Vanda Mikšić, Victoria Milescu, James Miller, Tim Miller, Lia Mills, Dolors Miquel, Ioana Miron, Sergey Mitrofanov, Jasim Mohamed, Clara Mohammed-Foucault, Núria Busquet Molist, Andreas Montag, Charles Montpetit, Carles Duarte I Montserrat, Laure Morali, Angel Martínez Moreno, Paul Morgan, Sinead Moriarty, Tony Morris, Pat Morrison, Ulli Moschen, Gitte Mose, Bertram Mourits, Ana María Dipp Mukled, Liridon Mulaj, Paul Muldoon, Marie-Ève Muller, Simon Mundy, Bogdan Munteanu, Seosamh Ó Murchú, Besnik Mustafaj, Carmen Mușat, Pekka J. Mäkelä, Ingrid Nachstern, Sten Nadolny, Azar Nafisi, Ralf Nestmeyer, Courttia Newland, Taciana Niadbaj, Ioana Nicolaie, Helmuth A. Niederle, Jørgen Christian Wind Nielsen, Kai Nieminen, Jani Nieminen, Jaana Nikula, Georges Nivat, Celeste Ng, Lynn Nottage, Mark Eliot Nuckols, Liz Nugent, Markus Nummi, William Nygaard, Konstantin Nökel, Barney Norris, Maxine Nunes, Nuala O'Connor, Lauren O'Donovan, Blanca Uzeta O'Leary, Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin, Fiona O'Rourke, Lev Oborin, Stipe Odak, Kurt Oesterle, Vida Ognjenovic, Per Øhrgaard, Daniel Øhrstrøm, Ben Okri, Sofi Oksanen, Musa Okwonga, Emili Olcina, Lissa Oliver, Ursula Andkjær Olsen, Niculina Oprea, Zeynep Oral, Margie Orford, Jem Cabanes Orriols, Julianne Ortale, Maxim Osipov, Mathias Ospelt, Marianne Østergaard, Markus Ostermair, Georg M.Oswald, Willem Jan Otten, Per Marquard Otzen, Jean-Luc Outers, Anton Antonov-Ovseenko, Eithne O’Donnell, Stewart O’nan, Iduna Paalman, Markku Paasonen, Nina Paavolainen, George Packer, Triin Paja, Vinyet Panyella, Rita Paqvalén, Alexey Parin, Serguei Parkhomenko, Leena Parkkinen, Alix Parodi, Maarja Pärtna, Tònia Passola,Vinay Patel, Nick Patricca, Cezar Paul-Bădescu, Jurica Pavičić, Alex Pearl, Michael Pearson, Daniel Gustafsson Pech, Daniel I. Pedreira, Gustaaf Peek, Riikka Pelo, Marianne Peltomaa, Mikko Perkoila, Cosmin Perța, Marta Pessarrodona, Vibeke Munk Petersen, Dagmar Petrick, Dmitry Petrov, Heinrich Peuckmann, Lang-Hoan Pham, Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui, Emmanuel Pierrat, Asta Piiroinen, Drago Pilsel, Joan Manuel Pérez I Pinya, Daniel Pișcu, Andrey Plahov, Vagn Plenge, Elisabeth Plessen, Thomas Podhostnik, Gregor Podlogar, Angelina Polonskaya, Antònia Carré-Pons, Simona Popescu, Liliana Popescu, Adrian Popescu, Edo Popović, Nenad Popović, Max Porter, Anja Portin, Kåre Vedding Poulsen, Peter Poulsen, Tiina Poutanen, Kira Poutanen, David Poyer, Begonya Pozo, Grace Prasad, Kerstin Preiwuß, Vahidin Preljević, Jordi Prenafeta, Ahmet Prençi, Joy Press, Ofelia Prodan, Francine Prose, Merete Pryds Helle, Alina Purcaru, Cezar Pârlog, Cathal Póirtéir, Barbara Quick, Shazea Quraishi, Verena Rabe, Mabrouk Rachedi, Tiina Raevaara, Arya Rajam, Selma Raljević, Karolina Ramqvist, Ian Rankin, Kukka Ranta, Jo-Ann Rasch-Hansen, Thomas Ravn-Pedersen, Rein Raud, Daniela Rațiu, Steven Reigns, Ole Reitov, Mario Relich, Petra Reski, Monika Rinck, Ashley Rindsberg, Henrika Ringbom, Magnus Ringgren, Fanny del Rio, Peter Ripken, Jukka Rislakki, Simon Robinson, Josep Ballester Roca, Antonio della Rocca, Mille Rode, Guenter G. Rodewald, Marc Granell Rodríguez, Manel Rodríguez-Castelló, Guido Rohm, Màrius Serra I Roig, Alexis Romay, Adrian G. Romila, Jürgen Rooste, Ville Ropponen, Adina Rosetti, Henriette Rostrup, André Roy, Radu Sergiu Ruba, Lev Rubinstein, Evelina Rudan, Andreas Rumler, Maria Rybakova, Riku Räihä, Jan Röhnert, Astrid Saalbach, Hazem Saghieh, Kholod Saghir, Yassin Alhaj Saleh, Salajdin Saliu, Saad Salloum, Janne Salminen, Helena Pol Salvà, Gregor Sander, Paula Sanders, Ulrike Almut Sandig, Philippe Sands, Froukje Santing, Joachim Sartorius, Mark Sarvis John Ralston Saul, George Saunders, Jani Saxell, Simon Schama, Erika Schickel, Roswitha Schieb, Regina Schleheck, Joan Schmidt, Aase Schmidt, Samantha Schnee, Peter Schneider, Ralph Schock, Eugene Schoulgin, Jutta Schubert, Christa Schuenke, Martin Schult, Tom Schulz, Hermann Schulz, Erik Schumacher, Christine Schutt, Elmer Schönberger, Stefan Schütz, Marjan Strojan, Gert Scobel, Alice Sebold, Olga Sedakova, Lindsay J. Sedgwick, Gabriel Seisdedos, Krishna Sen, Séadna Mac Seoin, Seid Serdarević, Ellen Severance, Keyvan Shahbazi, Amir Shaheen, Flamur Shala, Paata Shamugia, Tatyana Shcherbina, Róisín Sheehy, Owen Sheers, Viktor Shenderovich, Peter Sheridan, Alla Shevelkina, Mikhail Shishkin, Paul Anthony Shortt, Gary Shteyngart, Arkady Shtypel, Nikesh Shukla, Niall Ó Siadhail, Kertu Sillaste, Marisa Silver, Goran Simić, Sherry Simon, Jonathan Simons, Helena Sinervo, Viveka Sjögren, Jane Smiley, Barbara Smitmans-Vajda, Gerard Smyth, Slobodan Snajder, Timothy Snyder, Johannes F. Sohlman, Catalina Sojos, Boris Sokolov, Natalia Sokolovskaya, María Soliva, Leela Soma, Rosa I Sabater, Jasna Šamić, Ivan Šarčević, Andrew Solomon, Simona Sora, Knud Sørensen, Sanja Šoštarić, Vladimir Sotnikov, Tatyana Anna Berseneva Sotnikova, Ralf Sotscheck, Matthew Sprecktor, Art Spiegelman, Monica Spiridon, Klaus Staeck, Irina Staf, Dmitry Stakhov, Dan Stanciu, Saša Stanišić, Laura Starink, Kjersti Løken Stavrum, Deborah Stein, Eira Stenberg, Cecilia Ștefănescu, Wilhelm von Sternburg, Vidosav Stevanović, Frederik Stjernfelt, Caroline Stockford, Jürgen Streich, Tina Stroheker, Antje Rávik Strubel, Lucija Stupica, Bogdan-Alexandru Stănescu, Leander Sukov, Francoise Sule, Anni Sumari, Lubov Summ, Irina Surat, Ville-Juhani Sutinen, Slobodan Šnajder, Michael Svennevig, Zoya Svetova, Hannele Mikaela Taivassalo, Eeva Talvikallio, Amy Tan, Anne Tannam, Stefanie Taschinski, Elma Tataragić, Anne-Marie Tatsis, Marion Tauschwitz, Henriikka Tavi, Catherine Taylor, Janne Teller, Dan Terkildsen, Marie Tetzlaff, Lone Theils, Thorkild Thejsen, Danielle Thibault, Ma Thida, Hans Thill, France Théoret, Christian Braad Thomsen, Kirsten Thorup, Susan Tiberghien, Mika Tiirinen, Lev Timofeev, Hjalte Tin, Alan Titley, Gráinne Tobin, Salimata Togora, Colm Toibin, Miia Toivio, Csilla Toldy, Steve Toltz, Carles Torner, Larry Tremblay, Andreas Tretner, Salil Tripathi, Ilija Trojanow, Agron Tufa, Kári Tulinius, Tanja Tuma, Natalya Tumashkova, Veera Tyhtilä, Frank Überall, Dolors Udina, Radu Ulmeanu, Manon Uphoff, Doina Uricariu, Lluís I-Jovani Urpinell, Luis Alberto Urrea, Urtzi Urrutikoetxea, Anja Utler, Damir Uzunović, Luisa Valenzuela, Tina Vallès, May VanDuren, Radu Vancu, Dragoș Varga, Johanna Vehkoo, Xavier Velasco, Dragan Velikić, Johanna Venho, Regula Venske, Xavier Vernetta, Laurence Verrey, Maarit Verronen, Jes Vestergaard, Lidia Vianu, Hoàng Nguyen Bao Viet, Knud Vilby, Félix Villeneuve, Tõnis Vilu, Marina Vishnevetskaya, Carolijn Visser, Alina Vituhnovskaya, Maria Vlaar, Călin Vlasie, Elena Vlădăreanu, Tatiana Voltskaya, Marja Vuijsje, Smaranda Vultur, Carlos Vásconez, Jan Wagner, Geneviève Waldmann, Maybelle Wallis, Katri Wanner-Salmi, Andrea Ward, Rainer Wedler, Lisa Weeda, Gabriele Weingartner, Thomas Weiß, Annamaria Weldon, Benedict Wells, Hanna Weselius, Taina West, Caj Westerberg, Tara Westover, Kjell Westö, Mårten Westö, Eva Wiesenecker, Herbert Wiesner, Renate Wiggershaus, Eley Williams, Jeni Williams, Rita Williams, Laurie Winer, Marion Wisinger, Uljana Wolf, Tobias Wolff, Máire Dinny Wren, Françoise Wuilmart, Christine Wunnicke, Marina Yadrova, Sergey Yakovich, Elena Yakovich, Alexander Yarin, Viktor Yaroshenko, Samar Yazbek, Charles Yu, Elvana Zaimi, Judith Zander, Andrei Zbîrnea, Michael Zeller, Joachim Zelter, Myra Zepf, Cornelia Zetzsche, Sophie Zijlstra, Clas Zilliacus, Harro Zimmermann, Igor Zotov, Matthias Zwarg, Celia de Fréine, Oek de Jong, Stéphanie de Roguin, Edmund de Waal, Kit De Waal, Ayelet Waldman, Josh Weil, Antoine Wilson, Alberte Winding, Jamie Wolf, Wolfmehl, Antonije Nino Žalica, Emina Žuna.

For further details contact Aurélia Dondo at PEN International, Koops Mill, 162-164 Abbey Street, London, SE1 2AN, UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 20 7405 0339 e-mail: Aurelia.dondo@pen-international.org

 

You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.

 -Pablo Neruda

Always Waiting

"Does he who is always waiting, suffer more than he who's never waited for anyone?"

-Pablo Neruda

I need the sea

"I need the sea because it teaches me."

-Pablo Neruda

Absence is a house so vast that inside you will pass through its walls and hang pictures on the air.

  -Pablo Neruda

synonym for traitor

Where did the word Quisling originate?

Quisling (/ˈkwɪzlɪŋ/, Norwegian: [ˈkvɪ̂slɪŋ]) is a term originating in Norway, which is used in Scandinavian languages and in English for a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for traitor.

Quisling - Wikipedia

Art reminds us that we belong here

I am a writer and my faith in the world of art is intense but not irrational or naïve. Art invites us to take the journey beyond price, beyond costs into bearing witness to the world as it is and as it should be. Art invites us to know beauty and to solicit it from even the most tragic of circumstances. Art reminds us that we belong here. And if we serve, we last. My faith in art rivals my admiration for any other discourse. Its conversation with the public and among its various genres is critical to the understanding of what it means to care deeply and to be human completely. I believe.

TONI MORRISON

You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.

 Winston Churchill

Nothing has really happened until it has been recorded. Virginia Woolf

neither power nor time

The most regretful people on earth, are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.
MARY OLIVER

Last Night

Last night we were upstairs watching a film. At around 9PM I heard the doorbell ringing repeatedly and then there was pounding on the door. My husband went down to check. Romeo was barking. I heard a woman's voice. I put on my slippers and sweatshirt and came down.

I smelled cigarette smoke. A distraught large-boned young woman was standing in the back room with a pink walking brace on her ankle. "He said he would kill me," she said. She showed me the purple bruises on the inside of her mouth. "He was being all sweet and then he'd turn on me when I tried to leave."

"He put his hand on my mouth when I tried to scream. Other adults were trying to lift him off of me. My instinct told me to get out."

"You did the right thing."

"Sorry to bother you."

"I'm glad you did, we're glad to help."

My husband called the police number and handed her the phone. We told her our street address and that we'd take her out front to meet the police so her attacker wouldn't see her. I handed her a glass of water and ran to find two bottles of water for her to take with her.

"I just want to go home, I hope the police can give me a ride home. I'm so scared he will come find me and kill me."

"Our police are excellent, they will help you stay safe." As I walked her down the steep granite stairs to meet the policeman two more showed up.

I hope she's feeling better. She trusted her gut. She trusted that we were a safe house.

Your hands, feet, and head lose heat before the rest of your body

 This is why I take off my bathing cap when the pool is overly warm.

Just a Mortal Man: The Jerry Lawson Story

Just a Mortal Man: The Jerry Lawson Story

Jerry Lawson was the original lead singer of the legendary a cappella group The Persuasions, first discovered by Frank Zappa in the early '70s. During his 40-year tenure with the group, Jerry recorded 24 albums, toured internationally and sang alongside Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell, among others.

https://www.pbs.org/video/just-a-mortal-man-the-jerry-lawson-story-x2uwtx/

the world of the poem: Individual words have to do a lot of work.

The difficulty is how to write with clarity that offers people access to any given moment while holding them in the complexity inherent in any subject. So there’s a lot of jostling and weighing one word over another, in terms of what I can get from that individual word. And that’s the world of the poem. Individual words have to do a lot of work.

CLAUDIA RANKINE

Best Roasted Potatoes

Rinse Yukon Gold potatoes and check for any spots that need trimming.

Then cube potatoes and soak in cold water. Rinse until water is clear. Dry the cubes on dish towels or paper towels.

Place potatoes in bowl or baking sheet sprinkle with olive oil and favorite herbs and spices or just salt. I like Adobo.

Bake at 450 and stir every 5-10 minutes until golden and crispy. 

So good!

To make a goal of comfort or happiness

“The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and truth. To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.” -Albert Einstein

"Do It Man! The Story of The Celebrity Club"

To celebrate Black History Month Tom Shaker's award-winning film "Do It Man! The Story of The Celebrity Club" will be free to watch this weekend.

Here's the link

https://www.facebook.com/Celebrity-Club-227180464009305/

Celebrity Club

February 18 at 4:57 PM  ·

Rhode Island Filmmakers offer Celebrity Club documentary screening for free viewing in honor of Black History Month

"Do It, Man! The Story of The Celebrity Club" is an award-winning documentary about many things.

It's about music, history, race, crime and urban renewal, but most of all, it's about the people of Rhode Island. It's about the power of music bringing people together.

This film tells the story of Providence's legendary Celebrity Club, located in an African-American neighborhood, Randall Square, and owned by an Italian-American, Paul Filippi. The Celebrity Club is believed to be the first integrated nightclub in New England and featured top national jazz and R&B acts as well as local talent throughout the 1950s. Music royalty such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday and Fats Domino would come to Providence and stay for weeklong engagements.

Rhode Island's rich musical culture is on display in this documentary. Jazz reigns supreme here, from nationally known Rhode Island musicians Bobby Hackett (Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman) to pianist Dave McKenna (Woody Herman, Rosemary Clooney) to saxophonist Paul Gonsalves (Duke Ellington, Count Basie) to vocalist Carol Sloane (Larry Elgart, Kenny Burrell) and many, many more. Local Rhode Island music legends Duke Belaire, Clay Osborne, Randy Ashe and Ed Coates share their personal stories about the club, racism, and growing up in little Rhody.

"Do It, Man! The Story of The Celebrity Club" is a film about a forgotten club with an unforgettable story!

This is a film all Rhode Islander’s should see!

It’s a positive, upbeat, musical tribute to Black History Month.

We’re thrilled to share our film, free, on Saturday, 2/26 & Sunday, 2/27.

Check back here Saturday 2/26 for the link to view the film.

https://www.facebook.com/Celebrity-Club-227180464009305

 

stripper names from the New York Times

red cabbage ragu 

ginger-dill salmon

bricklayer style nachos

Hearing the formerly incarcerated voting rights activist Desmond Meade speak at my prison reminded me that my sky is full of stars, my heart is full of hope and my future is full of promise.

 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/02/25/the-genius-speech-that-changed-my-life

Snow Day

I tried to stay up late last night by drinking coffee at 7PM but I was out cold at 8PM. I woke at 4 and made roasted Yukon gold potatoes, 10 loaves of multigrain sourdough mini loaves and now I'm simmering a vat of tomato sauce.

After a nap I shoveled like crazy.  The tomato sauce aroma filled the house. It tastes good. I dipped slices of the new bread in it. Tomato sauce sandwich!

They only care about you at Christmas. So you know it's a sham.

Anastasia Afanasieva

 That’s my home. 

There was a bridge here

Now there isn’t. 

 

Where there was once a pass, 

now there’s a boundary. 

 

We live here,

 on the boundary. 

 

In the devil’s belly, 

that’s where. 

 

 Anastasia Afanasieva 

Translated by Olga Livshin and Andrew Janco

Ukraine- do you know what the flag is supposed to mean? 🇺🇦 Blue skies above fields of wheat.

Ukraine- do you know what the flag is supposed to mean? 🇺🇦 Blue skies above fields of wheat. Ukraine is known as the breadbasket of Europe. The flag was illegal in USSR, like Puerto Rican flag in the US

Write anything you want because we’ll never be heard from again.

BARACK OBAMA

Tiny Lasagna

Is there such thing as a tiny lasagna? Last night we had about 2 cups of homemade tomato sauce left and I found no boil lasagna noodles in my cupboard. I took an 8x8 Pyrex dish and sprayed it with oil and made a thin layer of sauce. Two rectangles of noodles fit on top perfectly. I repeated using up most of the sauce, placing two more rectangles of noodles and the last two tablespoons of sauce. Then I found four Monterey (Pepper) Jack slices in the freezer and placed them on top. I baked this in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. It was fantastic. 

This came out like authentic Italian lasagna. It was thin and delicate and delicious. The American style has become cheese heavy and gloppy. Both have their place.

This was so fast and delicious I am ready to make another batch of sauce for next time. I'd love to try making it again using my own fresh pasta sheets.

Roasted Potatoes

Here.

very dark and violent

Today is the birthday of Wilhelm Grimm (books by this author), born in Hanau, Germany (1786), who with his brother Jacob collected and compiled oral folktales from nearby villages. The brothers Grimm published their first volume in 1812. Many of the folktales were very dark and violent. While their original intent was only to preserve their culture's oral folktales, they soon realized children were reading their book and the brothers began adapting the tales to take out out some of the more disturbing imagery. The old stories, which had previously performed the psychological function of preparing young people to deal with the harsh realities of medieval life, ended up as fairly sanitized cautionary tales about morality. They also provided a lucrative franchise for Walt Disney.

We can thank Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm for the tales of Snow White, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Sleeping Beauty, among others.

Brussels Sprouts

Slice them in half coat with olive oil and Adobo, and roast them at 450 stir every 5-10 minutes. Delicious hot cold morning noon and night!

prickly and strange and needy

I think writers need tolerant people around them. They’re prickly and strange and needy, yet they demand to be left alone. First readers need to be aware of what they’re being asked; it’s mostly for moral support, but any evidence of close reading and real appreciation is welcome to the wretch who feels she’s walking in the dark—it’s as if someone has switched on a light and said, “This way.”

HILARY MANTEL

best advice ever: don't make telephone calls or go to a party

If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don't just stick there scowling at the problem. But don't make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people's words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.

HILARY MANTEL

Lamp meets Shade

Mermaid in Ad

 

Dreaming in Latin

 

Other Phrases of Latin Origin

Lang	Phrase	Meaning
Latin	ad absurdam	to the point of absurdity
Latin	ad hoc	for this purpose only
Latin	ad infinitum	endlessly, forever
Latin	ad lib	improvised, without preparation
Latin	ad nauseam	endlessly, to the point of nausea
Latin	a fortiori	even more so, all the more
Latin	alma mater	one’s old university or school
Latin	alter ego	another self
Latin	anno domini (A.D.)	after the birth of Christ
Latin	annus mirabilis	wonderful year
Latin	ante bellum	before the war
Latin	a posteriori	inductive, empirical
Latin	a priori	deductive
Latin	aqua vitae	water of life
Latin	ars longa vita brevis	art is long, life is short
Latin	aurora borealis	northern lights
Latin	bona fide	in good faith
Latin	camera obscura	dark chamber
Latin	carpe diem	seize the day
Latin	casus belli	justification for an act of war
Latin	caveat emptor	let the buyer beware
Latin	ceteris paribus	other things being equal
Latin	coitus interruptus	withdrawal prior to ejaculation
Latin	compos mentis	of sound mind, sane
Latin	corpus delicti	evidence of a crime
Latin	cui bono?	to whose benefit?
Latin	curriculum vitae (CV)	résumé
Latin	de facto	in fact
Latin	de jure	based on law
Latin	delirium tremens	alcohol withdrawal symptoms
Latin	de profundis	out of the depths
Latin	deus ex machina	unexpected or improbable explanation
Latin	dramatis personae	characters in a play
Latin	ecce homo	behold the man
Latin	e pluribus unum	out of many, one
Latin	ergo	therefore, consequently
Latin	et al.	and others
Latin	etc.	and so forth
Latin	Et tu, Brute?	You too, Brutus?
Latin	ex cathedra	authoritative statement
Latin	exempli gratia (e.g.)	for example
Latin	ex officio	by right of office
Latin	ex post facto	retroactive
Latin	flagrante delicto	in the act
Latin	genius loci	spirit of the place
Latin	habeas corpus	writ requiring a prisoner to be brought to trial
Latin	ibid.	in the same place
Latin	id est (i.e.)	that is
Latin	in absentia	in the absence
Latin	in camera	in secret, in private
Latin	in extremis	in extremity, near death
Latin	in flagrante delicto	in the act
Latin	infra dig	vulgar, beneath one’s dignity
Latin	in loco parentis	in place of a parent
Latin	in medias res	in the middle of things
Latin	in situ	in its place
Latin	inst.	in the present month
Latin	inter alia	among other things
Latin	in toto	in all, altogether
Latin	in vino veritas	there is truth in wine
Latin	in vitro	in a test tube
Latin	ipso facto	by definition
Latin	magnum opus	great work
Latin	mea culpa	my fault
Latin	memento mori	reminder of death
Latin	mens sana in corpore sano	a healthy mind in a healthy body
Latin	modus operandi	way of doing things
Latin	modus vivendi	way of living
Latin	mutatis mutandis	with the necessary adjustments made
Latin	N.B.	note well
Latin	ne plus ultra	the best
Latin	nil desperandum	never despair
Latin	non compos mentis	not of sound mind, sane
Latin	non sequitur	something that doesn’t follow
Latin	obiter dictum	a passing remark
Latin	op.cit.	in the work cited
Latin	pari passu	at an equal rate
Latin	pater familias	father of the family
Latin	pax	peace
Latin	per capita	per person
Latin	per diem	by the day
Latin	perpetuum mobile	in perpetual motion
Latin	per se	in itself, intrinsically
Latin	persona non grata	unwelcome person
Latin	post mortem	autopsy
Latin	post scriptum (P.S.)	postscript, afterthought
Latin	prima facie	self-evident
Latin	primum mobile	prime mover
Latin	pro bono	for the public good
Latin	pro forma	for form’s sake
Latin	pro rata	proportionately
Latin	Q.E.D.	that which was to be demonstrated
Latin	qua	as
Latin	quid pro quo	fair exchange
Latin	quo vadis?	where are you going?
Latin	q.v.	refer to
Latin	rara avis	rare or unique person or thing
Latin	re	regarding, with reference to
Latin	reductio ad absurdam	reduction to absurdity
Latin	rigor mortis	stiffening of the body after death
Latin	sanctum sanctorum	holy of holies
Latin	sic	it is thus in the original
Latin	sic transit gloria mundi	thus passes the glory of the world
Latin	sine qua non	essential element or condition
Latin	status quo	current state of affairs
Latin	sub rosa	in secret, in confidence
Latin	sui generis	one of a kind, unique
Latin	summa cum laude	with the highest praise
Latin	tabula rasa	empty slate
Latin	tempus fugit	time flies
Latin	terra firma	firm or solid land
Latin	terra incognita	unknown, uncharted
Latin	ultima ratio	final resort
Latin	vade mecum	constant companion
Latin	via dolorosa	sorrowful way
Latin	vice versa	the other way round
Latin	vox populi	popular opinion or sentiment

Phrase: summa cum laude
Meaning: with the highest praise Language of Origin: Latin Additional Information: Used to express the highest academic distinction. Example: “She graduated at the top of her class, summa cum laude.”