Yet Another Reason To Move To Paris

PATTI SMITH RECEIVES TOP FRENCH CULTURAL HONOR!

The Insignia Of Commander Of The Order Of The Arts And Letters Presented To Pioneering Rock Artist By Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres


Congratulations to the groundbreaking rock & roll artist Patti Smith on being awarded of one of France's highest cultural honors.

Smith, whose seminal rock & roll album, Horses, was released in 1975, was presented with the prestigious insignia of Commander of the Order of the Arts and Letters by French Cultural Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres at an AIDS benefit concert in Paris on Sunday, July 10.

Smith, cited as an authentic rock & roll poet laureate, was praised by the French Cultural Ministry as "one of the most influential artists in women's rock 'n' roll." The citation also noted Smith's high profile appreciation of the 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud.

Previous recipients of the Order of Arts and Letters, established on May 2, 1957, include William Burroughs and Susan Sontag.

Smith is currently at work on a new album, her second for Columbia Records and her first of cover songs.

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www.pattismith.net
www.columbiarecords.com

It is a travesty that Patti Smith, one of the founders of Punk Rock, has not been inducted by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Write the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and demand that Patti Smith be inducted in 2006:

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104

Finding Neverland

In “Finding Neverland” Johnny Depp portrays J. M. Barrie, the author of “Peter Pan”. The film focuses on the relationship between Barrie, the four boys who inspired him to write “Peter Pan” and their mother. In a tragic twist, the mother and Barrie never consummate their relationship. In fact, no one sleeps with Barrie/Depp during the entire movie – a truly tragic turn of events that moved me to tears.

Rent Neverland at Netflix.com
http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=70001999&trkid=181026

Break Into Blossom

A Blessing
by James Wright

Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,

Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.

And the eyes of those two Indian ponies

Darken with kindness.

They have come gladly out of the willows

To welcome my friend and me.

We step over the barbed wire into the pasture

Where they have been grazing all day, alone.

They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness

That we have come.

They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.

There is no loneliness like theirs.

At home once more,

They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.

I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,

For she has walked over to me

And nuzzled my left hand.

She is black and white,

Her mane falls wild on her forehead,

And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear

That is delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist.

Suddenly I realize

That if I stepped out of my body I would break

Into blossom.

Copyright © 2005 James Wright. From Selected Poems.

Bio at http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/73

Ask How, Not Why

“The Case Of The Female Orgasm: Bias in the Science of Evolution” by Elisabeth A. Lloyd, though primarily of scientific and academic interest, has attracted a much wider audience. Lloyd’s book, a survey of evolutionary theories that insist the female orgasm must serve some function, raises issues about female sexuality of interest to sociologists, feminists and curious women everywhere. Lloyd presents and critiques existing theories and concludes that none of them have satisfactorily proven an evolutionary function for the female orgasm but does not offer any original research or develop a theory of her own. The male orgasm is necessary for reproduction but the female orgasm is irrelevant to a woman’s ability to conceive. Women can become pregnant without orgasm, and sometimes, even without their consent and cooperation, yet the scientific community continues to insist that the female orgasm must serve some reproductive function. Lloyd does not explicitly analyze why American scientists have a vested interest in establishing that the female orgasm serve some biological function. Why, in the twenty-first century, is female sexuality still mysterious and threatening to science, to society, to men, to ourselves?

But these questions are too deep for a Sunday morning. Let’s concentrate on how before we ask why. She Comes First : The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman by Ian Kerner

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060538252/qid=
1120406863/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/002-0090797-8671245?v=
glance&s=books&n=507846


Buy The Case of the Female Orgasm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0674017064/qid=
1120406775/sr=2-1/
ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-0090797-8671245

Dark Days Ahead

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice, has tendered her resignation after twenty-four years of service saying that she wants to spend more time with her husband who is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. O’Connor has been a crucial swing vote in protecting abortion rights, preserving affirmative action and maintaining the separation between church and state.

Full story:
http://www.time.com

O’Connor’s appointment was a victory for women. Is her abdication of one of the most influential posts in the country to devote more time to her family irresponsible? Does her resignation provide support to those who refuse to promote women in the workplace because women routinely drop the career ball when they can no longer manage the juggling act that our society requires of them?

O’Connor’s unexpected resignation, with rumors of Rehnquist’s impending retirement already circulating, raise the specter of Bush appointing two Supreme Court Justices and the elimination of our basic civil rights. The rights of women, minorities and non-Christians, in particular, are at high risk. “The Senate must stand up to President Bush and demand a Supreme Court nominee who will protect the rights and freedoms of the American people.” Sign this petition:

http://www.moveonpac.org/protectourrights/

Upcoming cases in the Supreme Court
http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/home.html

Gwendolyn Brooks

The Sonnet-Ballad
by Gwendolyn Brooks


Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?

They took my lover's tallness off to war,

Left me lamenting. Now I cannot guess

What I can use an empty heart-cup for.

He won't be coming back here any more.

Some day the war will end, but, oh, I knew

When he went walking grandly out that door

That my sweet love would have to be untrue.

Would have to be untrue. Would have to court

Coquettish death, whose impudent and strange

Possessive arms and beauty (of a sort)

Can make a hard man hesitate--and change.

And he will be the one to stammer, "Yes."

Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?


From "Appendix to The Anniad: leaves from a loose-leaf war diary" in Annie Allen by Gwendolyn Brooks, published by Harper. © 1949 by Gwendolyn Brooks.

Gwendolyn Brooks bio at:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/165