“Sweet Harmony” For MVB “Sing” Prompt, Aug 28, 2024

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Sweet Harmony

Nine years ago, when I visited friends from my childhood that I hadn’t seen for scores of years, we had a wonderful time  going through a box of mementos and then gathering around the piano to make  music as sweet as the memories.  Susan is a wonderful pianist and Karen a professional-level singer with a lovely soprano voice that always sends chills down my back.  Patti and I, good high school altos that we once were, created the harmony.  A perfect day with three of my favorite people whom I don’t see often enough.  Sweet Harmony for sure.

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Sweet Harmony

As the pianist deftly presses out her chords,
the soprano’s voice slides smoothly from her throat
while we others strain until “Dear Heart” syrups our vocal chords
and we slip with less effort up and down the scale—
old friends singing even older songs.

The small dog snuggles in,
balancing on the plush chair back.
The mother of the pianist and the soprano
observes from her frame atop the piano.
All husbands out and about on other business.

Old letters reread, old memories pulled from forgetfulness,
each of us is left at the end richer—hearts refilled
from a shared past. Every word
has been a song of its own—
our notes blending together
in perfect harmony.

The My Vivid Blog prompt is “sing.”

More Trump Dirty Tricks. Please read!

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Donald Trump recently posted deepfakes online that appeared to show pop music superstar Taylor Swift and her fans endorsing him for president.

What are “deepfakes”?

  • Deepfakes are sounds, images, or videos generated using so-called “artificial intelligence” (AI).
  • This is not science fiction or paranoia.
  • Existing AI technology is powerful enough to make deepfakes that are essentially indistinguishable from the real thing.
  • In fact, deepfakes are already being used — nefariously yet effectively — in real-world elections both here in America and elsewhere in the world.

To be clear, Taylor Swift has not endorsed Donald Trump.

And here’s what I told the national media:

“The deepfakes of Taylor Swift are yet another example of AI’s power to create misinformation that deceives and defrauds voters. The potential harms to our society that could result from such misinformation, including abuses of our elections, are wide-reaching and immensely damaging.”

In July of 2023, Public Citizen formally petitioned the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to require that political deepfakes be labeled as such. Frankly, it’s the least that the government agency tasked with safeguarding the integrity of our elections should do.

But — over a year since we asked the FEC to take this obvious step — we’re hearing that the agency may reject our petition and shirk its duty to prevent deepfakes from undermining the 2024 election.

We are running out of time to make our voices heard before the FEC makes a potentially disastrous mistake. Take action right now, even if you’ve taken action before on this critical issue.

To the Federal Election Commission:

The FEC’s core responsibility is to safeguard the integrity of our elections. And one of the most serious threats to our democracy is the emergence of political deepfakes. You can still get this right and require that political deepfakes be labeled as such. Democracy itself is hanging in the balance.

Click to add your name now.

Thanks for taking action.

For democracy,

– Lisa Gilbert, Co-President of Public Citizen

“Sacred Spaces” for CFFC Rectangles, Aug 28, 2024

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The Kitchen
The Shop
The Beauty Parlor
Center Stage
At Home (Memories)

Click on photos to enlarge.

These rectangles are five of a series  of six retablos I created to depict women’s “Sacred Spaces.”  These particular spaces are the Kitchen, the Shops (in this case, an Arts and Crafts Shop,) the Beauty Parlor, Center Stage and Home Sweet Home. ( Actually, if you look closely, the true place depicted is the last frame is “Memory,” for the woman depicted is reviewing old letters, photos and other memorabilia). The sixth one sold before I could get a photograph of it.  It was the Art Studio.

 

For CFFC: Squares and Rectangles

“After a Morning Rain” For FOTD, Aug 28, 2024

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Click on photos to enlarge.

For Cee’s FOTD

Fire Sun, Sheridan WY Aug 21, 2024

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The thousands of acres on fire nearby for days must have been responsible for this remarkable firey red sun that I photographed for a mile or so as we drove home along city streets. Amazing. Even more surprising was the fact that we smelled no smoke!

 

For Cee’s FOTD, Aug 27, 2024

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For Cee’s FOTD

Ode to My Doctor, For My Vivid Blog prompt, Aug 26, 2024

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Ode to My Doctor, Who Has Done Little to Curry My Favor

Each of these foods you suggest for my diet
has not one feature to urge me to try it.
The chard is too leafy, the kale makes me gag.
I will be affianced to naught in this bag.

This fluffy green spinach would be best in a dip
with sour cream and onions and served on a chip.
I have not one vestige of an urge to consume it
raw in a salad, so do not assume it

will ever pass lips as selective as mine.
I need carbohydrates and meat when I dine.
Do you get the message that I’m on the outs
with arugula, collard greens, beet greens and sprouts?

My palate’s delighted when it comes to spice.
A molé is lovely and a curry is nice,
but please put some meat in it. I’m a contrarian
when you attempt to turn me vegetarian.

For My Vivid Blog, today’s prompt is “Doctor.” I wrote this poem three years ago, but I’m still of the same opinion.

Pomegranate Yarrow, For Cee’s FOTD Aug 26, 2024

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For Cee’s FOTD

The Numbers Game #36, Aug 26, 2024. Please Play Along!

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Welcome to “The Numbers Game #36”.  Today’s number is 157. To play along, go to your photos file and type that number into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find under that number and include a link to your blog in my Numbers Game blog of the day. If instead of numbers, you have changed the identifiers of all your photos into words, pick a word or words to use instead, and show us a variety of photos that contain that word in the title.

This prompt will repeat each  Monday with a new number. If you want to play along, please put a link to your blog in comments below. Below are my contributions to the album:

This is a huge camote that washed down the arroyo. Patti will wash the mud off and cook it for dinner.
Weird recipe

Click on photos to enlarge!

 

All and Everything, For Wordle 669

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All and Everything

Our bones are branches gathered to keep our bodies tight.
They move us in the daytime, but settle down at night. 
We are not furred or feathered, but sometimes, still, we scratch
at winged and legged invaders we aren’t able to catch. 
Our skin is smooth but softer than stones smoothed by the tide—
our minds blown into hurricanes by what we keep inside.
Emotions tilting back and forth from agony to bliss,
once strangers, we turn lovers just with a simple kiss.
All things caught inside of us, our bodies are the home
to the whole history of man—as stuffed full as this poem.

 

For the Sunday Whirl Wordle the word prompts are: scratch bones branches gathered blow words stone stranger keep tilt feathered we  (Image from Pinterest.)