G E T • V I S I O N

FREZNO HALF WAY RUN

2011-12-26T22:35:00.001-08:00

FREZNO HALF WAY RUN 2007 from Frederick Douglass Perry on Vimeo.

2011-12-25T01:45:00.000-08:00

Video preview of The People Speak -- documentary based on A People's History of the United States (DVD out February 23, 2010) from Voices of a People's History on Vimeo.

From B I R D

2011-12-06T01:03:00.001-08:00

GREAT INDEED

2011-05-26T02:37:00.000-07:00

GREAT INDEED
the search for the solution
which brings
the dawn awake in the crucible
heated by our hearts
heart flowing like an incandescent moment
beating like a stranded wish in the maze of the MINOTAUR
the flow of the elixir
is the most of it
totally unsentimental
or so we say
the secrets of the words
marshaled God willing
to the side of the righteous
moving through the unsatisfaction
toward the Truth
through belief and persistence
the vessels have already left
you become a part
GREAT INDEED
the search for a solution
amid the chaos of passion
believe that your heart is made of gold
never let up even against the tide
the past is receding into the fog of imagination
now is the time to right the listing powers
which cling like fire to the past
GREAT INDEED
are those reflections of the melting vessel
an obsidian mirror described in the ancient text
struck by the incantation of the billowing storm
the tempest rages off stage
the sails protrude against the winds
as they fill from prime direction
filling with the terrible growing tumult
inexorable, fated, primal this spring
unimagined prior to now
as the winds grow from the hollow of the crucibulum
the night watch
believe in
belief
with the courage of empathy
GREAT INDEED
Great Indeed

©2011, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

LUZ y SOMBRAS

2011-05-26T01:05:00.001-07:00

luz y sombras 1000000214.JPG, originally uploaded by B I R D.

[G E T • V I S I O N] WATER--OR YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS BUT YOU CAN'T CHOOSE THE WEATHER

2011-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

MOUNT SHASTA ©2011 FREDERICK DOUGLASS PERRY, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

by: Shirley Gutierrez

My wife Julie and I just got back from a cross-country skiing trip in the Sierras, where the temperatures are now in the 50s. There is indeed tons of snow, more than I've seen in years, and yet this ski season totally sucked for us. Why?

It seems that even in non-drought years, winter still behaves in weird ways. This whole beautiful blog entry of Fred's began because I wrote a letter when I was going absolutely crazy during the six week dry spell we had back in January/February. Skiers HATE warm dry spells in January! After that, we had a series of huge storms that pounded the Sierras and helped finish creating a snow pack that in some places is the height of a two-story building.

So what makes it hard to cross country ski in a big winter like this one? The answer: the crazy alternation between huge storms, storms that close roads and make transportation impossible, destroy property, and sometimes threaten life, followed by the sudden and inexplicable shift to to-warm temperatures that make the skiing conditions suck. In the first case, you can't get to the mountains, and the resorts are probably closed anyway. In the second case, you don't WANT to get to the mountains.

What happened to winter? You remember winter, right? You know, it used to rain and snow, and then it would stop, but it would stay cold and cloudy for a few days before the next moderately productive system moved in. Now, we have this festival of extremity, crazy dangerous storms that dump multiple feet of snow, followed by unseasonably warm weather.

My ability to get my favorite recreation is really not the most important thing, but the fact that I can no longer really get it in the way I could fifteen years ago tells us something about climate change and its effect on mountain ecosystems.

For the past decade, I have watched the forests along the highway 80 corridor visibly decline. Once thick stands of evergreen are now scrubby and thin, mixed with deciduous trees and other species that tolerate the warm temperatures better, and that tend to colonize in the wake of the catastrophic fires that are the result of the drought years. A certain percentage of the evergreens that are left are dead, though I can only speculate as to why. I think we do know that warm temperatures favor tree parasites like beetles, which can weaken forests and make the effects of fires worse.

I think the trees are like me: we both depend on winter, that time of rest, cleansing, and renewal. Like the trees, I need winter to BE winter, and that means that winter is of normal duration and consistency. I've lived in this area for 53 years, and what's happening now, with the weather lurching from extreme to extreme like a drunk, doesn't feel right, or safe, at all.

But now we have 20 feet of snow, and I know how this goes. Once the reservoirs are full, in fact over full, everyone goes back to watering their lawns, washing their cars at high pressure, running their back yard water features, etc. Out here in the suburbs where I live, not even catastrophic drought can make people conserve, so a big winter like this one will only harden the suburban view of water as entitlement. And you know, they have a point; if we can't really store the water we save, if in fact in a big year like this one the water authorities will have to LET WATER OUT of the reservoirs in order to accommodate the melt from this major snow pack, what do we gain when we conserve?

Fred put it well. Water resources seem to be in a boom and bust cycle, and we have to prepare for both. Some people say we should increase our storage capacity, but more water storage means dams, and dams are justly controversial. So what do we do? I'm not really sure, but in the meantime, I'll keep taking my Navy showers, turning off the tap as often as possible, and generally trying to save water. Even if I don't get to keep the water I save, I think those are good habits to have. And what I would tell my suburban neighbors is that unfortunately, I can be pretty sure that the urgent need for those habits will be a reality before long.

WATER—OR HOW SHIRLEY GOT STUCK IN MY HEAD

2011-03-06T00:39:00.000-08:00

FLOW by Frederick Douglass Perry This piece is inspired by an email from my friend, Shirley Gutierrez.

When I wrote this article at the beginning of March, 2011, there was talk of a drought continuing in the state of California. Now, ironically, there is talk of a surplus. In fact, snow sensors, which measure the snow pack in the Sierras, have confirmed that we are at or above pre-drought level as measured by the yearly average snow melt taken each April 1st. However, as the wet winter continued, there were rumors that Governor Brown would declare the end of the drought, thus removing the restrictions on everything from agricultural irrigation to residential lawn watering. On March 29, 2011, Gov. Brown, issued a statement ending drought status but urged Californians to continue to conserve. He said, “While this season’s storms have lifted us out of the drought, it’s critical that Californians continue to watch their water use. Drought or no drought, demand for water in California always outstrips supply. Continued conservation is key.” But that's not how it started for me....

The water at work will turn from scorching hot to tepid in about five minutes. I was daydreaming, letting the water swirl into the sink. I occasionally rinsed off a plate or polished a utensil but mainly just let the water flow. The water was slowly cooling down, I was just about to turn it off to let it reheat when a ball of fury poked her head around the frame of the door and asked, "What are you doing? Don't you know that the water you are wasting will be gone forever? Sure, it will be mixed with sewage and poured into the Bay but it will no longer be that pristine mountain melt that we are used to.">p> In email Shirley responds: “That's some very creative dialog you've given me. I swear, all I remember from that incident is grunting and struggling to get out of your hug (the first and last time I will ever do THAT) so I could reach the tap and turn it off. Though I have to say, I like being called “a ball of fury!” You make me sound so tough!”

Whatever, you get the point...,

One thing was clear: she was a ball of fury half my size, putting water conservation on the agenda—a topic that has as many heads as hydra with very strange bedfellows. When you see environmentalists and fisherman stacked together on one side and farmers and lawn owners on the other, it is a killing field for ideas and compromise.

Shirley edits films for a living. She moves ideas around in all of their complexity—she knows how to dig deep into things and simplify the complex. Since that day, when I see Shirley I let her know that she is still stuck in my head. It is hard to rotate a faucet fixture without thinking of her principled water stance. I find myself washing my dishes in an orderly fashion, closing off the shower more quickly, and setting the washing machine to the shortest cycle possible. When I idle around the faucet, sink, or shower, I cannot turn away.

YOU need to get Shirley in your head! I can see a cartoon character sticker placed by any source of water, with Shirley turning off the faucet... any takers? But after all, this is what Shirley has been talking about. The danger now may shift to floods, which are part of the boom and bust nature of California’s continuing battle with its water infrastructure. Draw your own conclusion. At minimum, we need to understand the complex nature of water management in the U.S. in general, and in particular, the state of California, which is ranked #1 in population and #1 in GDP. One primary area of concern is looking at the crumbling infrastructure of the levees, damns, and dikes that transport and divert our water supply. We must mitigate the potential for our water supply to be reduced to a raging flood in an earthquake. It has been said that a water catastrophe in California could potentially dwarf the aftermath of Katrina.

We need to also take a serious look at the contamination of our groundwater supply caused by agricultural runoff and reckless industrial practices.

We all can do a little to help, we can reduce the amount of water we waste, we can follow bills in the state and national legislature that specifically target water issues. We can learn from the positive and negative examples of water conservancy, the reclamation of rivers, aquifers, and groundwater supplies. With the onset of global warming— the shifting weather patterns that cause freezing in one area and droughts in another— we are continually chasing the effects of mother nature. For example, changes are already beginning to sweep low-lying areas like Bangladesh and thousands of miles of sea coast off the map. With all of these catastrophes in the making we are already past the point where we need to alter our relationship to the entire ecosystem. We need to get smart quickly and not simply say that we can't have an effect. We can and we must. The assessment of California's drought status changes on each trip of the climatologists to the the Sierra snow pack.

However, the unceasing cycle of droughts and dam busting years continues unabated. The groundwater table is being slowly depleted and our farmers claim they can no longer irrigate their land. A macabre dance spirals, wisps of resources and use. This can no longer exist in the realm of potential “futures.” We have arrived at a tipping point where we trade floods in the winter and spring for wildfires in the fall and winter. This is truly a topic of urgency and substance. This is also a national emergency spurred on by climate change and global warming.

On Feb 8, 2011, at 10:29 AM, Shirley Gutierrez wrote:

Greetings, Family and Friends! Mark Twain famously remarked. “Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” While I can't do anything about this dry spell which is threatening our water table, I've decided I can do something to raise consciousness about the lack of rainfall and the need for water conservation. This morning, I sat down and wrote a letter to the Chronicle editor asking that the paper publish more information about the dry spell and the fact that we are now below our seasonal rainfall average. It’s extremely unlikely that my letter will be published, as they receive hundreds of submissions per day, but hell! This is the Internet age! Who needs the letters column in order to talk to their community? I understand that all of you are very eco-aware folk who are very careful with resources. This letter is not intended as a lecture or reprimand, just a loving reminder to think about every precious drop you use of the life giving fluid on which we all depend. Consumer confidence about water NEVER makes sense in California. Also, if anyone in your circle needs the reminder more than you do, please forward the email on. Warm weather makes lots of people happy, and I think it's hard to divert our attention from the natural enjoyment of these sunny days to the unpleasant fact that they constitute a continuing danger to us all. In short, even the best of us can forget to be careful with water usage. Many thanks for your patience and attention to my words. The Chronicle letter is pasted in below.

Much Love,

Shirley

Editor,

The warm, unseasonable dry spell continues in California, and many of its residents seem to be enjoying it. However, many of us also understand that the absence of rain is a real danger to our water table, and thus to the health of the state overall. People seem to forget that water doesn't really come from the tap, or from little bottles purchased from the supermarket; it comes from the climate systems that bring us the rain and snow we need to survive, so we have water to drink, to bathe in, to irrigate our fields with, and to keep our rivers alive and capable of supporting important fish species. Buried in the lower right hand corner of the Chronicle weather page is a table that shows our seasonal rainfall, and it indicates that we are now starting to fall behind our seasonal average. The early season punch from La Nina fueled rainstorms has gotten the rainy season off to a good start, but with every passing day of “lovely” weather, our situation grows more perilous. Panicking about the absence of rain is clearly not useful. Making a personal plan for conserving water on a daily basis is, and media outlets like the Chronicle can help. Now is the time for the paper to start publishing front-page articles about the unseasonable weather pattern and the need for conservation. Together, we can reduce our water needs, and help keep our state’s economy and eco-systems healthy.

Shirley Gutierrez

Walnut Creek, California

SOME LINKS: • Lots of links to water conservation can be found here: • Save Water - Bay Area Water Rationing and Water Conservation • California Water Crises • California Water Woes Worsen • California Water Resources

A CASCADE OF STARS

2011-02-19T00:41:00.001-08:00

A CASCADE OF STARS, originally uploaded by B I R D

What if
the stars of peace
played out in the square
and each square reverberated
with the sound of the other
and each one was connected by a cascade of stars
each star a martyr carried through the square
on the hands of the Innocent singing so true so true
peace is in our reach
AND WE HOLD OUR BREATH AS PEACEFUL TRANSITION GERMINATES
IN THE RICH SOIL OF THE FERTILE CRESCENT
....... INSH'ALLAH

Suheir Hammad: Poems of war, peace, women, power

2011-02-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

From The New York Times: RACE REMIXED: Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above -- A Commentary

2011-01-31T11:49:00.000-08:00

Let's be clear--this is how I was raised. When the topic of race came up around the Perry dinner table, my parents were unequivocal. "Mulatto" came from the Spanish word for mule--a creature unable to reproduce and bred only to work. Half breed, mixed, half cast, Miscegenation (Latin miscere "to mix" + genus "kind") etc., was the language of horse breeders. The single-drop theory was put forth by people who said that any race mixing was the pollution of the white race by others.
I remember being in a very heated Afrocentric meeting, back in the day. Both sides were represented by gentlemen who appeared as white as the driven snow. Yet, they argued about who was the "blackest." Who had black folk deepest in their heart? They told me that I had an African personality, I guess to imply that was where my "African-ness" began and ended. Right on! No one brought up my Sicilian mom...smart that.
As someone who is said to be "biracial," I find the whole discussion of the historical racial categories slightly amusing and bittersweet. I have even taken to calling the crop of "mixed-race" kids who you see being pushed around in strollers, "Obama Babies." It's as if Obama has given license to people who had a pent up yearning to cross racial and ethnic lines and are now able to exercise their desires. I say to that: Seeing anyone in love these days is a beautiful thing.
For years, my darker brother and I have been asked, "What are you?" My lighter brother was asked, "Who are they?" Our mother would look across the holiday table and say to me and my brothers, "All of you look so much alike!"

We are so late to the "race-mixing" rodeo. The Romans, the Bantu, the Vikings, the Mongols, and slavers of all sorts beat us by centuries. Forget about it. Go back a few generations and dip into that vast pool of your polluted blood. None of us will ever meet the purity test! Of course you all know that, you Hungarian-Black, Japanese-Black, Jewish-Black, Puerto Rican-Black, Jewish-Sicilian, Japanese-Chinese, Korean-Chinese, standard issue white guy married to a Louisiana woman--in fact all of you from Louisiana (speaks for itself) ... Whether you, your children or grandchildren are "mixed" we must continue to celebrate our uniqueness and our completeness in this crazy gumbo we are.

Frederick Douglass Perry
Editor Valerie Haynes Perry

Keep on pushing
I've got to keep on pushing (mmm-hmm)
I can't stop now
Move up a little higher
Someway, somehow
'Cause I got my strength
And it don't make sense
Not to keep on pushin'

Curtis Mayfield

CICK HERE TO GO TO THE TIMES ARTICLE

Subject: NYTimes: Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above

The continuation of the debate on racial categories

From The New York Times:

RACE REMIXED: Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above

Many young adults of mixed backgrounds are rejecting color lines that have defined Americans for generations.

CICK HERE T GO TO THE TIMES ARTICLE

WiFi Zone

2010-10-31T23:22:00.001-07:00

WiFi Zone, originally uploaded by B I R D.

As with everything it seems that the increasing intrusion of technology means what were once were quiet pastimes reminds only of times past.

SEASICK STEVE

2010-09-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS

2010-07-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

Go to the Carolina Chocolate Drops Web Site

Coming up in Alabama in the rural south of the teens and twenties, my father had to make a quick get-away to stay a couple of paces ahead of the local sheriff and the white robed posse. He hit the rails and began a long hobo journey first in the South and later up North. Somewhere in there he learned to play the harmonica. The harp was a great instrument for a traveling man whose modest possessions amounted to little more than a "bindle" and a few clothes. He evidently became quite a good player, playing in road camps or in line at the factory gates waiting for what little work was available. Sometimes he was able to put together a meal based on a couple of tunes. Other times he worked in back-breaking jobs everywhere the train would take him. It was in the depth of the depression that he made his way.

When I was 10 or 11, my father pulled out his harmonica and let loose with a couple of blues, followed by the train song. At the end of his set, he played the famous "Fox & Hounds." If you want to hear the song, go to your favorite download spot and search on "Sonny Terry." At the end of this song, my brother and I cracked up. To this day, I hold to our story that it was simply nervous laughter. It was something I had never heard before and Pops was so crushed that he never played the harp again in front of us. "Fox & Hounds," like "Turkey in the Straw," were endurance tests. The whooping helped the player pull off a kind of circular breathing.

In any case, after a good deal of trying and apologies on my part, Pops did relent and teach me how to get a sound out of a harmonica, how to bend notes, and how to pick notes out of the air. He said, "Look, it's simple. If you can whistle it, you can play it." To this day, I keep a harmonica on my desk. I just ripped a decent version of "Come on in My Kitchen." It is something you never forget.

In the 60' s and 70's, I, like many in The Movement, came across the Cultural Nationalists. This wing of the Black Nationalist movement, among other things, was into wearing long 'fros, dashikis, and insisting that the only authentic African American music was descended though the drum. Everything else was "handkerchief-head" music. That was very wrong and very narrow minded because our music sits on the confluence of many traditions. Many times all we had was the voice, a harmonica, a tambourine, or a set of bones. I guess their saving grace for the race was that a subset of these folks invented Kwanzaa.

"To my point," as Tavis Smiley likes to say, it is refreshing and quite beautiful to see the Carolina Chocolate Drops in ascent. Such a rich blend of music choosing from the roots, then the stem and the flower of our rich tradition. Wresting our beloved banjo, bones, and fiddle from the precipice of extinction and submersion in other cultures.

Gentlemen and lady, please know that this 59-year-old African American is part of your audience. I say this because both Terry Gross and Tavis Smiley seemed to question you on this demographic point. Doesn't your music cater mainly to white folks? For anyone with an open ear and a love of traditional American music, your eclectic brand of black roots music fills a long forgotten gap. Many of us have a secret love of this music. Sometimes, it is hidden like a quilt in the blues. Y'all keep on keeping on. We are listening.

My father died when I was 14, leaving a tremendous hole in my heart. It is ironic that toward the end of his life, he contracted TB, sucking the air from his lungs, making it impossible to force enough wind through a harp. When I reached high school, I fronted a band--singing and playing harmonica. To this day, I can still pick out a tune just by whistling it. Sometimes, I tune my guitar to Dm and dash off some Skip James

I just love your music. Keep on keeping on.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS PERRY

Got your 2010 calendar yet?

2009-11-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

TODAY

2008-10-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

TROUBLE THE WATER

2008-09-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

Trouble the Water

I’m a writer, so I can’t help analyzing and sometimes over-analyzing films and books. Because of this built-in tendency toward critiquing, I often come away from stories feeling empty handed. So, when this is not the case, I’m energized and somehow renewed, which is how I feel after seeing Trouble the Water. This film was educational on so many levels. First, I have tremendous respect for musicians who communicate effectively through their art. Black Kold Modina’s “Amazing” decoded the core power of rap for me. I now perceive rap music, at its best, as the modern blues. Blues singers are storytellers. Rappers are storytellers as long as their content stands on substance. Something about the name, Black Kold Modina, makes me think of the name, Son House. Black Kold Modina—that sister’s story comes from her soul.

Trouble the Water is a hero’s journey in the Joseph Campbell sense of the term. Not only did Kim and Scott, the protagonists, weather the storm, they filmed it from its middle. They showed respect to those who disrespected them by “following orders” that would have broken lesser human beings. Their relationship with each other, and the ones they formed with others are nothing less then exemplary.

One must ask how many others in their shoes—their bare feet robbed of leather by nature’s wrath at the folly of the greedy and those who have trespassed on the crossroads, never looking back over their shoulders to ‘fess up to the wrong turn that makes anything go—could walk through that life “with ease and grace,” as I heard a reverend say.

Amazing.

VHP

http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com/
September 2005, New Orleans Louisiana, a massive hurricane lashes ashore. The name Katrina becomes synonymous with a lethal form of benign neglect, leaving the poorest of the poor victim to the rising waters and plummeting hope. All of the wheels of the federal government grind to a halt leaving people stranded and alone. Bodies float in the fetid water, shelter is no where to be found, and promised services evaporate into the swollen rain clouds. The Bush administration waits in the wings,FEMA is immobilized by the volume of suffering. Slowly unlikely heroes emerge. In the 9th ward a group of survivors were determined they were not going to go out like that. On the scene footage draws us into their lives -- and it won't let go!

Go see this beautifully layered, brooding, thought provoking film, this is some of the best film making I have seen in years! Well rounded compelling characters wound in a tight gripping story.
FDP

Thanks to RR for this link.

NESHOBA ~ DOCUMENTARY ON THE MURDERS OF CHANEY, GOODMAN AND SCHWERNER

2008-09-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

This clip from "Neshoba" perhaps gives an idea why the deaths of three Civil Rights workers in the mid 60's resonates today. The movie gives a face to the faceless victims around the world who have been murdered and dumped in unmarked graves. the people who have been disappeared, their history wiped away after being intercepted on a dark road, on what was to have been just another night. Whether in the alleys of Baghdad or the jungles of Columbia or the back streets of Haiti these three have come to symbolize what happens to our humanity when it is polluted by hatred. Inside of all of us their is small fire burning, the light that hope and love can shine through the darkness.

The emotion that this incident stirs still rises to the surface refusing to be held down. Seeing the faces that emerge from the shadows of this wrenching moment in our national history belies the commonly held view of how far we have come. Rather here we begin to understand the fundamental underpinnings of how hatred turns on fine points and how forgiveness can be the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of war. Join the filmmakers as they interview the participants of the 60's drama down in Neshoba County Mississippi
.
Go to this LINK to read about the Nw York premiere.

Here is an article written for New-Vision entitled It Makes Your Blood Run Cold It is the single most visited article in this blog.

Workers Protest California Wage Cuts

2008-07-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - 30JULY08 - Union members protest the decision by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to cut the wages of hundreds of thousands of state workers to the Federal minimum wage of $6.75/hour, because the state legislature has not passed a budget. Workers accuse the governor of using their jobs and wages as a means of blackmailing the Democratic legislature into agreeing to Republican budget cuts. The workers, members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, left their national convention and marched through downtown San Francisco to protest the wage-cutting order.

Copyright David Bacon

TO THIS

2008-07-29T15:52:00.001-07:00

TO THIS, originally uploaded by B I R D.

EXT DAY The Embarcadero ~ San Francisco CA
View On Black

...and so
it comes down
to this
and this
alone
echoes here
like footfalls
from passerby
that does not hear
the quickening
like numbers
on a ledger sheet
put down with these
two hands
each entry
firmly made
circumstances
accumulated
like water
beneath a wharf
the tide breathing
as it makes its way
sometimes pulled to the brim
then emptied on the lower passage
but here
to this slack tide
we come
and so we come down
to this
and this
alone
echoes here
like footfalls
from passerby
to this
mirrored in
the last moment of
slack tide
poised above the Embarcadero
B I R D
Poem & Image
©2008, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

CHARLIE ROSE 0N ~ NELSON MANDELA 90TH BIRTHDAY

2008-07-22T00:15:00.001-07:00

RECYCLE

2008-07-20T21:42:00.001-07:00

RECYCLE, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Please add a snippet about the story of this photo.... I know there are some writers lurking out there... tell me a story.
B I R D

Uploaded by B I R D on 19 Jul 08, 12.05PM PDT.

RECENT BIRDPOEMS ~ Inspired by Friends and a couple from my archive

2008-07-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

RECENT BIRDPOEMS ~ Inspired by Friends and a couple from my archive, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Some more great photos accompanied by birdpoems. I am blessed to be inspired by so many great photographers and lucky enough to be able to use their work to practice my trade as a jack legged poet. Click on one of the links below and scroll down until you see my icon and a poem - it IS that easy.

BIRD
Thanks to all of the artists who have participated in this project

1. art from heaven, 2. ABOUT Henna Tattoo and MEHENDI Designs..., 3. Withered...., 4. I still feel...., 5. bliss ??, 6. Ms R, 7. on the side, 8. EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 32, 9. EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 31

Copyright for all of the photos belong to the photographers.
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Rep. John Lewis Sponsors Bill to Honor Sacrifice of Cheney, Goodman, and Schwerner

2008-07-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

June 27, 2008: Rep. John Lewis Sponsors Bill to Honor Sacrifice of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner

On Monday, Rep. John Lewis introduced H. Res. 1293 to commemorate of the 44th anniversary of the deaths of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner who were murdered during the Freedom Summer campaign of 1964. The effort was a nationwide call for volunteers to help register black voters in Mississippi.

The brutal murders drew the nation’s attention to the violent resistance of Southern segregationists and provoked an outpouring of support for the Freedom Summer campaign and the ongoing Civil Rights Movement. Despite the widespread attention received by the case, no one was convicted for the murders for more than forty years. In 2005, on the day they disappeared more than 40 years later, Edgar Ray Killen, a leader of the local Klu Klux Klan group responsible for the deaths, was convicted of those crimes.

- M O R E-

OTHER RELAVANT ARTICLES IN THIS BLOG

Contact:

Brenda Jones

(202) 226 - 4674

PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTFOLIO #1 - Frederick Douglass Perry

2008-05-19T04:06:00.000-07:00

Know Your Enemy

2008-04-30T03:44:00.001-07:00

Know Your Enemy, originally uploaded by B I R D.

BEST VIEWED LARGE - Look Deep

The ground rules of war are simple - make the enemy faceless. We need to start seeing all the beauty in each other. The alternative is not pleasant.
FIND ME

I am your enemy

I am the road you are running the way you are walking and the last time you felt good. I am the memory of that and all things tucked back in the folds. I am what fed the grey matter in the first place a sweet nutrient through the time. I was the light that came on, and I was the first black in your black out. I am the leading edge of the scream when you know you can’t stand it and can’t be me. I am backbone and the latest edition of your confessions. And I am all that you call megalomaniac yet don’t have the power to stop. I am the feet that are marching -- you can tell mine because I have a bounce in my step. I will be the blood in your boots and your last drop of water. The ancient tribe of star seekers, I am beneath your midnight on a hard scrapple hill well below the radar. I am the echo bouncing back a simple well thought out deed. I see your face in the fire it dances with the flame of recognition. Yet it always comes back to this -- no this doesn’t all fit together in a nice little package I have slipped past your emotional defenses and you are wondering if you are I. This doesn’t connect back to the beginning, we are not in the middle, and this contour has no shape, no form! I am the last drop of your sanity I am walking away now. This doesn't connect back to me. I am a ghost I don't exist, I am the footsteps in your night, making weightless sounds. I am the frost on the mirror. Take this gourd full of stale water and walk across my treeless mountain -- I am waiting.

If you do not embrace your enemies they will devour you.
BIRD
©2005 Frederick D. Perry All Rights reserved.

EachOneTeachOne

2008-04-27T22:13:00.001-07:00

EachOneTeachOne, originally uploaded by B I R D.

JUNOT!

2008-04-09T21:53:00.001-07:00

JUNOT!, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Dominican born author, Junot Díaz, was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished fiction by an American author, for his work "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao"

He had previously won the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Award for 2007

www.junotdiaz.com/

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 30

2008-04-06T12:45:00.001-07:00

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 30, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
____________________________________________________________

Let us turn our thoughts today
To Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the Earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
In our desire to see the world become
A place in which our children
Can grow free and strong
We are bound together
By the task that stands before us
And the road that lies ahead
We are bound and we are bound
From: Shed A Little Light ~ James Taylor
(Link is a little slow but be patient - then turn up your sound)

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.
Mother Teresa

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
I Corinthians 13:4-8

When I say I love (Senator) Eastland, it sounds preposterous -- a man who brutalizes people. But you love him or you wouldn't be here. You're going to Mississippi to create social change -- and you love Eastland in your desire to create conditions which will redeem his children. Loving your enemy is manifest in putting your arms not around the man but around the social situation, to take power from those who misuse it -- at which point they can become human too.
Bayard Rustin

Three passions have governed my life:
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.
In the union of love I have seen
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge.
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people].
I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart
Of children in famine, of victims tortured
And of old people left helpless.
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,
And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.
Bertrand Russell

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
Alfred Tennyson

Love is more than just a feeling: it's a process requiring continual attention. Loving well takes laughter, loyalty, and wanting more to be able to say, "I understand" than to hear, "You're right."
Molleen Matsumura

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 29

2008-04-02T12:53:00.001-07:00

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 29, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Wheels turn in the night
in my head
starting slow
then moving fast
at long last
create sparks
that light the dark
corners of my mind.

©2008, Susan Kennedy, All rights Reserved

Obama - Specifics

2008-02-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

The Blueprint for Change

Obama Fact Check

Hope... Got It?

2008-02-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Call everyone you know in Texas and Ohio... Hope is on the way!

Yes we can!

No he can't

V O T E

2008-02-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

V O T E, originally uploaded by B I R D.

FREZNO RUN 2007

2008-01-10T22:10:00.000-08:00

A motor cycle can appear as art, the sculpted sides and the abundant chrome challenge our sensibilities for industrial design. At the same time one rumble of it's mighty engine can instill fear and demand respect. Black motorcycle clubs have existed since the 1940's in America's core cities. This is little video is a glimpse into the world of black bikers. We offer it as a little teaser of what we hope one day will be a full length documentary.

ANOTHER SEAM IN THE CYCLE

2008-01-10T19:41:00.001-08:00

ANOTHER SEAM IN THE CYCLE, originally uploaded by B I R D.

01/01/2008
Please View Large

Another seam in the cycle
another revolution
another crossing over
let the old year fade away
the dead left sinking in the sand
rest in peace
not exhumed
dust slipping through the hand
the apprentice accomplishing something
carving a fine point
in the book of conjecture
let the martyrs sleep
in their shrouds alone
unable to speak the name
of their parents
resting in anticipation
of absolution
let the Book be opened again
and resting on your knees
amid the cloud of incense
pondering things larger than yourself
remembering each seam as they
rise and fall
like the breath of a sleeping child
understand all things
that pass us by
and the day of accounting
as the seam slips by
Another seam in the cycle
another connection
another crossing over
another chance to heed the word
don't look back
listen to the sound of the river
and those you have loved
BIRD
Poem Copyright
©01/01/2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

Obama Wins Iowa!

2008-01-03T22:54:00.001-08:00

THE FUTURE OF HOPE ~ THE ANTICIPATION OF VICTORY

Many years ago I was fortunate enough to hear Dr. King's speeches on TV, his poetic use of words the images that he seemed to effortlessly spin out and his command of tempo and pace always silenced the fear in my heart. I say fortunate because I heard them in context That is to say in the context of the struggle to transform the United States. My father was born and raised a few miles from Selma site of the of bloody Sunday Edmund Pettus bridge crossing. In college I listened to bits of many of the seminal speeches that were part of the sixties movement. Voices of hope raised to challenge the unacceptable status-quo, voices raised for peace, voices calling for an end for poverty in the richest land in the world. Beyond the rhetoric, the polemic and the emotional appeal, here was the gut wrenching feeling that the speakers were a vessel of my inner thoughts.

On the night of the Iowa Caucuses I drove home through the streets of Oakland after watching Francis Coppola's new film "Youth About Youth." We were trying to figure out where the film went wrong. It is a sprawling film that takes on a grand sweep of history that floods the viewer with ever changing shifts in historic, political, social, philosophical landscapes. It is rich and dense and in many ways challenging. It is the work of an older man mulling over life not the speculation of a young person. My conclusion was that maybe Coppola had taken on too much (writer, producer and director) instead of building a team around himself. The traditional master of a discipline was put into conflict with the other members of the production team. Especially on a project of this scope and a tale this hard to tell.

When I got home I turned on my computer going straight to Barack Obama's campaign web site. I was greeted by the You Tube video that is posted above. My plan was to just see how the results came out. From the beginning I knew that this was going to be one of those speeches that I remembered from my youth. This was a middle aged man filled with the hope of youth. He has the best of idealism that is grounded by ideas. He was clear that this stunning victory was the product of time and the energy of a growing movement that had sprung up around him. People who want to see the nation heal after years of division. People who want to focus on the needs of not only the American people but of the world's people. His campaign is fueled not just by like minded folks but by people who originated in different political camps, who have come together under one umbrella.

This is going to be an interesting campaign season. As I clicked through the different political news sites and blogs that night one thing became clearer and clearer. Mr Obama had not just captured the hearts and minds of young people, he had taken every major demographic in Iowa. If the other candidates who are now trying to pick up the mantel of "change" miss this fact it is to their peril. Mr. Obama is truly trying to build a movement for change that intrinsically seeks to build a consensus for change. He is also willing to listen as well as lead, his stump speeches are picking up bits and pieces of the daily news constantly refreshed and in touch.

We will see now as the campaign progresses to the other states with secret ballot elections whether he will be affected by the "Bradley Effect", in which people affirm they will vote for an African American candidate and change their minds in the quiet of the polling place. Iowa has shown us that it is possible for people in the light of day to adhere to their higher principals and not their basest fears. If anyone can help us to overcome our deepest fears and appeal to our greatest sensibilities, it is people like Barack and Michelle Obama. They are staking everything on building a movement for change. That is what has given Mr. Obama this wonderful opportunity the audacity to believe that we all can foment change the belief that hope is still alive and well.

OBAMA FEEDS

2008-01-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 20.9

2007-12-29T16:27:00.001-08:00

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 20.9, originally uploaded by B I R D.

The lights of Kwanzaa

January 1st -
Imani - FAITH is what gives us the heart to carry on whether it is struggling to bring into birth a new artistic creation or the struggle to transform the political landscape. We must also have faith that we will not do harm as we strive to create our future.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.
Rabindranath Tagore

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.
Helen Keller

Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.
Saint Augustine

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
Louisa May Alcott

A VERY SPECIAL NOTE
Please, if you can, make a donation to St Jude Children's Research Hospital to support their research into the crippling diseases that afflict our children. I was honored this year by having one of my photos chosen to represent Kwanzza. You can purchase an "e-card" to send to friends or family. For more information: Click This Link: .

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 19

2007-12-24T17:10:00.001-08:00

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 19, originally uploaded by B I R D.

A VERY SPECIAL NOTE
Please, if you can, make a donation to St Jude Children's Research Hospital to support their research into the crippling diseases that afflict our children. I was honored this year by having one of my photos chosen to represent Kwanzza. You can purchase an "e-card" to send to friends or family. For more information: Click This Link: .

I can't give you anything but love, baby
That's the only thing I've plenty of, baby
Dream a while, scheme a while
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for

Gee, I'd like to see you looking swell, baby
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby
'Til that lucky day
You know darned well, baby
I can't give you anything but love

Written by Jimmy McHugh, the Lyrics are by Dorothy Fields

FAMOUS WAYNE

2007-12-19T19:16:00.001-08:00

FAMOUS WAYNE, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Please View On Black

Famous Wayne
World Famous
Shoe Shine King
He has been on the corner Market and Spear in downtown San Francisco for 23 years. Looking up the hill to the Powell street cable car, over to the Hyatt Regency and down at Embarcadero BART station.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

2007-12-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

TOOLS OF THE TRADE, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Every trade has its tools, Wayne is always ready for anything.

Walls of Doubt

2007-12-02T15:03:00.001-08:00

Walls of Doubt, originally uploaded by * Honest *.

"I feel one of those rambles coming along. I don’t know if I want it to come out. I don’t know if I want to hear my own thoughts. I have distracted myself for too long, Is it time to face this feeling? To come and face it, and listen to what it tells me…  Yes. Quite simply: I’m frustrated. Frustrated by the ones who take others for granted, and don’t appreciate the preciousness of others and their time. Relationships take years to be built, a realization can make that wall crumble down, and the walls of mistrust rebuild themselves in an instant thicker and harder to penetrate than they were before. The walls suffocate the soul. But it’s a learned protection; compartmentalizing is necessary to survive.

Life has taught me, if you want something known, then speak it, do it or even think it. If not don’t even let yourself know about it. Is that a possibility? Yes, this IS my reality."

-Honest Thoughts

It IS a reality, you know, that you have confronted and analyzed, something true and complete, that only now exists in your imagination, emotion, and feelings. The reason we can call it reality is that it is an outcome, something that exists in a space we no longer can influence, but try to understand with all of our fallible instincts.

There are people like James Taylor who lived under bridges and went on to wow the world. There are others that have disappeared into the depths of time. What was Kurt Cobain's alternate outcome, Morison, Hendrix, Joplin?

Relationships are hard especially looking backward, that is if you are self-conscious (in the sense of "aware" - which you are). Because in un-threading the tangle of causality one often makes mistakes, for example attributing intention on the part of the other party when there was none. Or hanging on to an old sleight and wielding it like a weapon On a global scale this is what fuels war.

Remember “it is what it is” and in most cases cannot be changed - except by completely starting over with a clean slate. This can only be done if both parties are willing to stuff the hurts and humiliation into a box that is put into the attic remembered but unopened. This is hard but possible if you can have the discipline.

When you get to a fork in the road you might want to remember that no matter which fork you take, yes you will miss something -- but you are in charge of the outcome on the road you choose to take.
GOD willing you will be guided

Your wok is of paramount importance – let nothing stand in your way I know what I am talking about. Did I say I love your work and by extension a significant part of you.
B I R D
--
Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 13

2007-12-01T05:11:00.003-08:00

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 13, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Please View LARGE On Black

“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.”
- Anonymous

HAND OUT

2007-12-01T05:11:00.001-08:00

HAND OUT, originally uploaded by B I R D.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
And may you stay forever young

Bob Dylan

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 12

2007-12-01T05:08:00.001-08:00

EVIDENCE OF LIGHT ~ 12, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Please View LARGE & On Black For full effect

Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter light, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light.

Plato (427 BC - 347 BC), The Republic

You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in.
Arlo Guthrie (1947 - )

GOT HOPE?

2007-12-01T04:59:00.001-08:00

GOT HOPE?, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
[- ORIGNS of the NEW BIRD ICON -]

Senator Obama on the issues

In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?
Senator Barack Obama

As a citizen, you have a choice between two different paths.

One path is easy. When you turn on the TV or open the newspaper and hear about all the trouble in the world you could walk away from the stories about Iraq or poverty or violence or joblessness or hopelessness.

Just turn it off and tune out. That would be the easiest thing in the world to do. There will be pundits and politicians who will tell you that it’s someone else’s fault and someone else’s problem to fix.

I am not one of them.

There is a second path. This one is more difficult. It asks more of you. It asks you to not just pursue your own individual dreams, but to help perfect our collective dream as a nation. It asks you to realize there is more to life than being rich, thin, young, famous, safe, and entertained. It asks you to recognize that there are people out there who need you.
Senator Barack Obama

Junot Díaz

2007-09-27T00:38:00.001-07:00

Junot Díaz, originally uploaded by B I R D.

OAKLAND CA
Bloged @ Vizshun
Junot Díaz - Writer, at a book signing at Diesel Books in Oakland 09/26/2007 with his newest novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007) I try to buy books locally but here is a link to the Amazon Editorial Review Section

"My characters say a lot less than most people remember them saying. I don’t write dialogue really well. What I write really well is silence, the things that the characters don’t say, the gaps between people’s sentences, the ellipses between what we feel, what we see, and what we recognize. I think that’s where it all comes in. And of course I am someone who works in two languages. It’s not having quotes, not having italics, not having any of these things that separate the spoken word from thought-word, from narrative-word. For me, its also how I think about memory, how I think about language…" Junot Diaz

From: Interview with Junot Diaz
by Marina Lewis
Appears in Other Voices #36>

TURNING

2007-09-25T03:41:00.001-07:00

TURNING, originally uploaded by B I R D.

9/23/2007 the Autumnal Equinox moves through

"Equinox" means "equal night" — the hours of day and night are equal.

SOFTNESS FALLING

2007-09-25T03:38:00.001-07:00

SOFTNESS FALLING, originally uploaded by B I R D.

and then
the days
became unumbered
as we rolled n to the
las push before the holidays
and the slow decent
into darkness
which brings upon
inevitable
hibernation
let the crows
and the ravens
spin their mystery
let the bears tread
to a solemn sleep
and let the vultures and fox
pick the carcass of this year clean
and then we take in a shallow breath
holding onto the last days of summer
but let the colors be the last
to softly fall
and pour out seeds
which will gestate
till spring
B I R D
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry. All Rights Resereved

SCHWERNER / CHANEY / GOODMAN

2007-08-27T17:45:00.001-07:00

Here is an article from NPR on the passing this month of, Carolyn Goodman, mother of murdered civil rights worker Andrew Goodman - she was 91. [An audio link is provided at the op of the page]

Here is an article that I wrote for my blog IT MAKES YOUR BLOOD RUN COLD written in 2005 following a Civil Rights Tour of the Mississippi and Alabama.

As a movement
we learn
that there will be set backs
think back all of these years
perhaps on this day
someone said
this struggle is too difficult
we can't go on
or worse yet
set out to take an eye for an eye
we must honor our martyrs
keep their names on our lips
but remember
peace is like the honey on our lips
mixing with the bitter taste of loss
our job is to move
toward a more just world
if you want peace
work for justice
if you want justice
be prepared to forgive
perhaps not forget
B I R D

Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of
time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain.

-Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.

Martha Graham

Kintango: Who can tell me if there was a tribal war, and the men of Mandinga had the enemy surrounded on three sides, what should be the next thing done?

Boy: The men of the Mandinga will enclose the circle and surround the enemy.

Kintango: No, the goal of war is not to kill. The goal of war is to win. By surrounding the enemy, you would force him only to fight more desperately. If you surround him on three sides and leave him an escape route, he will leave your land and there will less blood spilled on both sides. For a warrior of the Mandinga, courage is not enough.

Boy: But sir, won't an enemy who escapes alive fight you again?

Kintango: It is impossible to kill an enemy. You may end a man's life, but his son becomes your new enemy. A warrior respects another warrior, even he is his enemy. A warrior kills only to protect his family, or to keep from becoming a slave. We believe not in death, but in life, and there is no object more valuable than a man's life. The way of the Mandinga is not easy, but it is best.

From Alex Haley's Roots

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops
of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
-Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)

GOODMAN * CHENEY * SCHWERNER

2007-08-05T19:42:00.001-07:00

GOODMAN * CHENEY * SCHWERNER, originally uploaded by B I R D.

(Not my photo but an iconic historical set of photos that carries content immeadiately for those who were growing up at the time.)

43 Years ago these 3 young men disappeared into the Mississippi night near the town of Philadelphia. They were civil rights workers engaged in organizing "Freedom Summer." a major voter registration campaign. August 4th is the grim anniversary of when their bodies were found buried in an earthen damn. Be still for a second and realize what the world might be like if these men were walking among us today. What would they have become? What would they have taught us to become?

If you have never seen Civil Rights Memorial in Birmingham AL here is the link.. It was created by the same woman who designed and built the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., Maya Lin Here is a roll call from the Memorial of other martyrs of the movement.

The hero is the one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light. ~Felix Adler

One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.
-E.B. White, writer (1899-1985)

It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace.
-Andre Gide, author, Nobel laureate (1869-1951)

Here is an article that I wrote for my blog V I Z S H U N

FOR CHAUNCEY BAILEY

2007-08-03T03:21:00.001-07:00

FOR CHAUNCEY BAILEY, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Oakland Journalist Chauncey Bailey was gunned down yesterday on his way to work. Here is an article from the Oakland Tribune where he worked for 10 years. Most recently he was appointed editor-in-chief of the Oakland Post.

On going coverage from WIKAPEDIA

LOCKED OUT!

2007-07-12T05:44:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Oakland, CA
Best seen as a slide show

On July 2, 2007 Waste Management Incorporated (WMI) locked out members of Local 70 of the international Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The Teamsters contract ran out on June 30th but according to the Teamsters they were set to work without a contract and continue to bargain. Instead the company Locked out it's employees and brought in "replacemnt worker" commonly caled "scabs".

According to one source "Waste Management’s lockout of 500 Teamsters in the Oakland California area is continuing. The company is reportedly paying $600,000 a day to pay for scab labor, hotel rooms and other costs associated with locking out the workers."

Meanwhile workers have already begun the process of digging into savings and talking to their creditors to piece together ways to make ends meet.

GONEFAR

2007-07-11T03:02:00.001-07:00

GONEFAR, originally uploaded by B I R D.

License plate of a vintage bus
Parked in front of
the San Francisco Municipal Railway Mariposa Bus Barn

There are tales to tell
of driving, having drive and being driven
of parties and long nights
stretching toward morning
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

PRAYER FOR PEACE

2007-07-09T03:00:00.001-07:00

PRAYER FOR PEACE, originally uploaded by B I R D.

"Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens."

- Carl Jung -

BIRDPOEMS ~ Inspired by my Flickr Friends. OH and a few of BIRD'S own

2007-07-09T02:01:00.001-07:00

BIRDPOEMS ~ Inspired by my Flickr Friends. OH and a few of BIRD'S own, originally uploaded by B I R D.

1. In The Depth Of Seeing, 2. Passages..., 3. I still believe that..., 4. The feeling begins..., 5. Finding its Path, 6. Fragility, 7. Antelope Canyon #7, 8. Sunrise - Monument Valley, 9. Sunrise - Monument Valley, 10. The Furious 4, 11. BusieD, 12. TO THINK LIKE AN ANGEL, 13. streetlife - Kiezleben
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Look for the B I R D Icon

Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: "Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print - my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey - from the subject before me? ~ Ansel Adams

Poetry is the clear expression of mixed feelings.
-W.H. Auden, poet
(1907-1973)

I get up every morning determined both to change the world and to have one
hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day difficult.
-E.B. White, writer (1899-1985)

Words ought to be a little wild, for they are the assault of thoughts on
the unthinking.
-John Maynard Keynes, economist (1883-1946)

The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are
permitted to remain children all our lives.
-Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955)

AMUSING

2007-07-07T20:20:00.001-07:00

AMUSING, originally uploaded by B I R D.

2007-07-07T20:17:00.001-07:00

My creation, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Meet Barack Obama

2007-06-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

From the Barak Obama for President site.

WALK FOR CHANGE June 9th, 2007 - From djovida.com

PLANS FOR 2008

WALK FOR CHANGE

2007-06-10T23:12:00.001-07:00

DSC_4945, originally uploaded by project_infinity.

DSC_4945.jpg
Oakland Ca

This photo was taken at a Baraka Obama rally.

MORE HERE: PROJECT_INFINITY

Sunrise - Monument Valley

2007-06-04T20:40:00.001-07:00

Sunrise - Monument Valley, originally uploaded by B I R D.

THIS PHOTO BEST SEEN L A R G E

the arc of the old ones
ascends the sky
on the back of a palomino
scattering gold and dreams
bringing forward
what was done in the night
hope springs eternal
in the thin air of the plateau
the shawl of the people
envelops lost soul
wending around the base
of left mitten
transferring old songs
the air blows restless
as the sun comes up
bouncing light
into the furthest reaches
of the darkness
long term memory
i treated with respect
the monuments
have been animated
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry

Sunrise - Monument Valley

2007-06-04T01:48:00.001-07:00

Sunrise - Monument Valley, originally uploaded by B I R D.

'Sunrise - Monument Valley' On Blackand L A R G E

It is dark
shapes loom all around
reaching out with primordial hands
thrust up in prayer
a thin belt of light
golden against turquoise
calls to the original ones
hidden in silhouette
dawning their red robes
dark matter explodes
a gash rips the sky
the cold lashes the plateau
for an instant only the wind roams
knowingly caressing
transforming buttes on the level of pebbles
and the gust steals back fire
from the departing night
and warm blankets modestly cover
the secrets of the old ones
B I R D
Poem & Image Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

POLLIN NATION

2007-05-27T17:37:00.001-07:00

POLLIN NATION, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Berkeley Rose Garden
Berkeley, CA

TO THINK LIKE AN ANGEL

2007-05-27T16:05:00.001-07:00

TO THINK LIKE AN ANGEL, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Berkeley Rose Garden
Berkeley, CA

To think like an angel
Wings constantly unfurling
infusing the light
ready to meet terror with beauty
unfailing, unexpected, unnoticed
willing a way into the heart of the world
holding steady in the breeze
protecting this portion of land
procreating, variegating
wearing wishes like perfect moments
thinking of being an angel always
not just when it is convenient
B I R D
Poem & Image Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All rights reserved

a caress of shadows

2007-05-20T00:36:00.001-07:00

a caress of shadows, originally uploaded by Mai An Hoa.

Through the glass
faint shapes
hover in the last bit of wind
shapeless and formless
the lines converge
like a funnel cloud
from mullions
to Mondrian
and the details
noted neatly
in practiced motion
methodically assessing
what can not be quantified
hanging on to the last bit of reality
above and beyond
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All rights reserved

Blogged @ NEW-vizshun

Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)

I'M THINKING ABOUT IT

2007-05-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

I'M THINKING ABOUT IT, originally uploaded by joewig.

we supply the drama
and the script
the global vision
and the summation
the gnawing in the stomach
and the quickening of the heart
the belief and the hope
and he fear and the disappointment
and when they move down stage
pausing before the first line
we wonder what we would be thinking
and what we would do
and if the doing
would be the undoing
or the unraveling
be the first act of reconstruction
still waters run deep
every good bye aint gone
every shut eye aint sleep
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, all rights reserved

Blogged @ NEW-vizshun

janice

2007-05-20T00:17:00.002-07:00

janice, originally uploaded by Mai An Hoa.

The light falls softly
like an expectant kiss
in baby soft bundles
caressing cherry red lips
and the spaces between
foreground and background
actualizing the hope
of the sharp light in her eyes
a fragile emotion
youth framed
in the passing of this instant
as if the soft breath of the shudder
chants an incantation
spoken in a stage whisper
what mystery will unfold
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All rights reserved

Blogged @ NEW-vizshun

appraisal

2007-05-20T00:17:00.001-07:00

appraisal, originally uploaded by Lorrie McClanahan.

Through the glass
half empty
faint shapes
hover in the last bit of wind
shapeless and formless
the lines converge
like a funnel cloud
from mullions
to Mondrian
and the details
noted neatly
in practiced motion
methodically assessing
what can not be quantified
hanging on to the last bit of reality
above and beyond
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All rights reserved

Blogged @ NEW-vizshun

--
Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)

Being at Rest

2007-05-19T23:41:00.001-07:00

Being at Rest, originally uploaded by Mai An Hoa.

behold this
know that amid the chaos
I looked out at you
and your flashy things
and muted color
I look out at you
while hearing a natural rhythm
like things growing
and falling to the ground
the river and the clouds
the sound of threshing
and the deep tone of a bell
here I am being at rest
in contemplation
of all I am
in this life
that gently blows across me
as if the wind of a butterfly's wing
behold this
I am observing
the way I have been
for thousands of years
smelling the aroma of plenty
learning the sacred insight
slowly
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

FRESNO - 1/2 Way Run

2007-05-19T17:44:00.001-07:00

FRESNO - 1/2 Way Run, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Half way between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area lies the city of Fresno. Twice a year the town plays host to thousands of motorcyclists belonging to the states many black motorcycle clubs. Because of it's location between the states two major cities, these rallies have become known as the 1/2 Way Run.

This photo essay is BEST SEEN AS A SLIDE SHOW</

an ocean of lights

2007-05-11T12:43:00.001-07:00

an ocean of lights, originally uploaded by espresso marco.

experimentation
mono chromatic dreams
bathed in dimness
spoken in whispers
secret signals
imaginary vanishing points
profusion of similarity
a forest in the underneath the miasma
untranslatable
smoldering memory
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, all rights reserved

BLOGGED @ NEW-vizshun
--
Seen in The World Through My Eyes - Post 2 / Comment Any 1 (?)

catch

2007-05-11T12:03:00.001-07:00

catch, originally uploaded by Pat Ramos.

attitude
pure attitude
like a reason and a rhyme
wrapped gently
in a split second
at shutter speed
braced against the flow
sow the wind
reap the whirlwind
look a here
who says
you can't get no
satisfaction
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Resserved

Blogged @NEW-Vizshun

Airborne

2007-05-11T03:03:00.001-07:00

Airborne, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Foster City, CA

the wind whipped bay
chases the fog
to the backs of hills
sheep that sleep
in the distance dreaming
rushing from work
they spring head on
into the air currents
throwing their fate to OYA

More Kite Boarding photos

B I R D
Poem & image Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, all rights reserved

Richest Man In The World

2007-05-11T02:50:00.001-07:00

Richest Man In The World, originally uploaded by sami.mandeel.

dreaming together
of impossible kindness
luxurious moments
breathtaking visions
knowing that in the dreamtime
they own everything
and want for nothing
their connection
bonded in the life fluid
for a moment
peace floods in
moving through
on a spring cloudburst
each within a breath
of each other
knowing
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, all rights reserved

So she waited up for him...

2007-05-11T00:38:00.001-07:00

So she waited up for him..., originally uploaded by Ms. Ryan.

She waited up for him
as the night surrounded her
and the moaning of the feral cats
draped the alley downstairs
the gun swung deadly in her hand
a moment between life and hair trigger
no-one would weep for her
there would be no quenching
the fire of the violence
once set in motion
and then the turning of the key
and the fist squeaky steps
on the stairs
blood rushed to her head
the smell of his breath
proceeding him into the foyer
and the place where he had tried
desperately
to land a blow on her face
the small bone
that runs on the outside
of her right arm
reverberated as she
raised the gun
the last thing she remembered
was his final words
so what the hell you gonna do
with that?
B I R D
Poem Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

MAKE BELIEVE

2007-05-03T03:03:00.001-07:00

MAKE BELIEVE, originally uploaded by B I R D.

The spirit of the night
explodes the light spilling out
like the silence
on the balcony of imperfection
focus and you can see
the spirit of make believe
focus and you can see
the spirit of make believe
B I R D
Poem and Image
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

RUN2

2007-05-03T02:25:00.001-07:00

RUN2, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Run Run 2 Run Run Run 2
the suggested rhythm
punctuated by the sound of sneakers
taken out of the closet
Run Run 2 Run Run Run 2
reality struck on the hour
it was hard enough
to put one foot in front of the other
was it safe to follow
Run Run 2 Run Run Run 2
like many things today
only understood
by a million rehearsals
nothing matters more than
your breathing
Run Run 2 Run Run Run 2
the suggested rhythm
B I R D
Poem and Image
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

THE ONGOING VIZSHUN

2007-05-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

SOME OF OUR FAVORITES

2007-04-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

FLOW

2007-04-22T19:50:00.001-07:00

FLOW, originally uploaded by B I R D.

In this world, there is nothing softer or thinner than water. But to compel the hard and unyielding, it has no equal. That the weak overcomes the strong, that the hard gives way to the gentle -- this everyone knows. Yet no one actsaccordingly.

The best [man] is like water.
Water is good; it benefits all things and does not compete with them.
It dwells in [lowly] places that all disdain.
This is why it is so near to Tao.
Lao-tzu (604 BC - 531 BC), The Way of Lao-tzu

CHIORI

2007-04-14T22:59:00.001-07:00

My friend ~ " Chiori Santiago This picture was taken last year at a reading she gave in Oakland. Here are some samples of her work

- 4/14/07
I want to thank you all for all of your wonderful whishes and prayers....
I have very sorrow filled news.
Chiori Santiago passed away from complications of her cancer tonight.

Love is forged
slowly
and then
in time like steel
it cools
annealed
quenched
it hardens
into fierce
gentle bonds
oh how each wish
should be held quiet
like a foundation
supple and strong
bearing the load
but distributing it
B I R D
Poem and Photograph Copyright©2007, Fredrick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

~ Dear Friends and Family,

This is a difficult message to write. I am sorry that I am not able to contact all of you individually. Chiori Santiago passed away early this morning due to complications related to her cancer. She was initially admitted to Alta Bates early in the week with fluid in her lungs. It seemed that she would be ready to come home on Thursday but the ICU decided to keep her for observation for another day. Thursday night her condition worsened and she was unable to recover. Chiori was able to express her desire to have her family with her so that she could pass on in peace surrounded by her family. A few hours before she passed a small group of her friends were able to come in and say goodbye. Chiori was concious and alert. She requested that life support measures be turned off. At that point, surrounded by her immediate family, she was given comfort care and passed a few hours later at peace and without pain. I know that this news is difficult for all of us. Please remember Chiori's life and all of the ways she touched our hearts. hse was an amazing and inspirational woman. She is responsible for everything I have accomplished in my life. Her example made me the person I am today and she had an affect on evryone who knew her. She will be missed by all of us. Chiori's ashes will be scattered in a private ceremony by her family. Dates and details of her public memeorial will be sent out as soon as they are available.Thank you for all of the love and support you have given her and our family,
-Roberto Santiago

Those who knew and loved her will sorely miss her. The world will suffer without her brilliance. She was the bearer of many gifts she will be remembered by those who love fine words and those who love planting flowers, and those who love to dance till dawn. So loving and so committed to making this world a better place. Creative and full of life, a ball of kinetic energy, Chiori tackled the world with passion. Not one to waste time she embraced our world on a full throttle, always full of thought. If you have some time please click on one of the links above and hold her in your heart as you read them. Her sprit rises now ~ join us in this praisesong.

BEAUTIFUL VAGABOND

2007-04-14T15:58:00.001-07:00

BEAUTIFUL VAGABOND, originally uploaded by B I R D.

Lake Merritt, Oakland CA.

BEAUTIFUL VAGABOND ~ L A R G E

The very idea of a bird is a symbol and a suggestion to the poet.
A bird seems to be at the top of the scale, so vehement and
intense his life. . . . The beautiful vagabonds, endowed with
every grace, masters of all climes, and knowing no bounds -- how
many human aspirations are realized in their free, holiday-lives
-- and how many suggestions to the poet in their flight and song!
John Burroughs

______________________________________________________

What does my freedom mean
if I am not on wing
and share the sky with kindred souls
who unsnared seek only freedom and their space
to rise above the commonplace
and look over the wind soaked sea
and forest near and far
risen from the tethered race
I see as I glide on high
no better fate than this
unrestricted and unbound
I answer to no one
this is what my freedom means
B I R D
Poeam and Image Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry

FIREBIRD

2007-04-09T06:35:00.001-07:00

FIREBIRD, originally uploaded by B I R D.

I 5 southbound firebird racing
toward the night
sharp contrast
last minute change in plans
tires hum as the blanket
woven of last nights dream
is placed softly over the still hips
of the pacific coast range
like a final caress
B I R D
Poem & Image Copyright
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

See 'FIREBIRD' LARGE

MONUMENT VALLEY

2007-04-05T21:22:00.001-07:00

MONUMENT VALLEY, originally uploaded by B I R D.

As for feeling small
among the wonders
strewn amid the valley floor
like toy boxes tipped on edge
the stuffing out here and there
and that lost among the speculation
of what is just a grand plan
made elsewhere some being
tossing debris from his napkin
and so on and so forth it goes
yet standing here humbled
agape and lost for words
I wonder is this slow decaying end
drenched by downpours and blown by wind
the fringes of the base no longer able to stand
and rocks like a thousand crumbs
tossed from higher or just slipped into place
return to earth where gravity calls down
with firm voice it is time
B I R D
Poem and photo copyrights
©2007, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

Shasta

2007-03-30T15:18:00.001-07:00

Shasta, originally uploaded by B I R D.

I once read that mountians this large have their own weather system around them....

LARGE

Into the Mistic

2007-03-16T22:48:00.001-07:00

Into the Mistic, originally uploaded by B I R D.

We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic
And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home
And when that fog horn blows I want to hear it
I don't have to fear it
I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
Then magnificently we will float into the mystic
And when that fog horn blows you know I will be coming home
And when that fog horn whistle blows I got to hear it
I don't have to fear it
I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will float into the mystic

Into The Mystic by Van Morrison

CHIORI

2007-02-26T00:29:00.001-08:00

CHIORI, originally uploaded by B I R D.

My friend " Chiori Santiago was diagnosed with "cancer last year. Since then she has undergone treatment and is slowly recovering. I took this picture of Chiori and her son last year at a reading she gave in Oakland. Here are some samples of her work Please send her your good wishes, your thoughts and your prayers.

'CHIORI' L A R G E

Love is forged
slowly and then
in time like steel
it cools annealed
quenched
it hardens into
into fierce gentle bonds
oh how each wish
should be held quiet
like a foundation
supple and strong
bearing the load
but distributing it
B I R D
Poem and Photograph Copyright
©2007, Fredrick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

Strong Women

2007-01-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

Strong Women
Originally uploaded by B I R D.
Top Row: Daisy Bates ~ Jo Ann Gibson Robinson ~ Fannie Lou Hamer ~ Viola Liuzzo
Bottom Row: Rosa Parks ~ Ella Baker ~ Ruby Hurly ~ Septima Clark

On this day that we celebrate the life and work of Dr. King, let us not forget those who struggled with him.

The thing that we need in the world today is a group of men and women who will stand up for right and to be opposed to wrong, wherever it is. (Lord have mercy) A group of people who have come to see that some things are wrong, whether they're never caught up with. And some things are right, whether nobody sees you doing them or not.

From the sermon: Rediscovering Lost Values Dr Martin Luther King Jr. www.stanford.edu/group/King/popular_requests/

IMANI ~ FAITH

2007-01-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

IMANI ~ FAITH
Originally uploaded by B I R D.
IMANI ~ FAITH

Faith is the bird that feels the light
And sings when the dawn is still dark.
Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore:

The last day of Kwanzaa celebrates faith; this is what we must have if we are to continue with our work. It is also what we must have if we are to continue to strive for peace through justice. May this year give you the courage to continue and to reach for new heights.

FLOW

2006-12-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

FLOW
Originally uploaded by B I R D.
May light continue to flow into your world
May love always surprise you wherever you go
May your children always follow you in the light and not venture into darkness
May peace flow like waters among our peoples
May you be blessed with the courage to fight empty handed
May you have the strength of Samson
May you have the wisdom of Solomon
May you have the power of the Virgin of Guadalupe
May you find vision with meaning
May you share with those who have little
May you always bring illumination into the world
May you inspire and ignite leaving a trail of brilliant ideas
May your life be filled with all of the blessings that you have earned
May you have the inspiration to see the world differently everyday
May we seek not the word but the meaning
May we share the festival of seasons as it was meant to be

Happy Holidays
B I R D

THE SEEN

2006-12-20T01:21:00.000-08:00

THE SEEN
Originally uploaded by B I R D.
BEST SEEN LARGE

As if a half truth
the landscape rises
like the language in the
backroom of a sullen bar
magic minutes increase fleetingly
a cartoon running across the windows
a fledgling painting
a knife thrust into a decaying neighborhood
reframe of the scene
where scrub brush lined
raccoon trails down to the estuary
like everything else this is
mistaken for reality
this is hope for now
everywhere rising
minor epics
played to the tune of the homeless
whistling underneath the balconies
and worshipped as truth
rather than what it is
mulch for some distant bulldozer
B I R D
Image & Poem Copyright
©2006, Fredrick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

SOFTNESS

2006-12-20T01:20:00.000-08:00

SOFTNESS
Originally uploaded by B I R D.

BIRDPOEMS (Larger Selection)

2006-12-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

BIRDPOEMS (Larger Selection)
Originally uploaded by B I R D.
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

I created this mosaic using the tag "birdpoem." Birdpoems are what I call the extended comments that I write for others and occasionally for myself. They are inspired by the work I see before me. These small poems are my way of attempting to illuminate the work with some small spark of imagination. I invite you to click on some of the listings below and scroll down to my icon. What you will find perhaps is what inspired me to write. Please try a couple. If you wish to see more search on the tag "birdpoem". Thanks for visiting! Your comments are of course appreciated.

B I R D

By the way you can go HERE for a poem about why I choose the name B I R D

1. THE SEEN, 2. time~~second borns love having weathered storms, 3. Speaking to the voice inside.., 4. Soar..., 5. *N*, 6. To Bob, 7. St Peters revisited, 8. Our Man on 95th St... With Company, 9. remember me!, 10. Mitchell, 11. Old Bracero's dress-up hand, 12. charca, pool, 13. some clouds and sunbeams, 14. A story in three pieces / 3, 15. Autumn still life, 16. inner light, 17. that which remains, 18. I Walk Alone, 19. letting it go, 20. Algumas imagens sobre longos dias tranqüilos..., 21. rain coming ......., 22. collared light, 23. Bits of blue sneak into hide..., 24. Queen Anne's lace, 25. *InsiPiD*, 26. Lensbaby roses, 27. Untitled, 28. RED HEART POISED, 29. EMERGENCY, 30. Big Black Carpenter Bee, 31. MOVING ON AND ON GLOW, 32. ~MadneSS~, 33. An Angel Lost a Feather, 34. Cloches, 35. Untitled, 36. waterfront - singapore

LUCKY

2006-10-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

LUCKY
Originally uploaded by Greatwork.
sing it slowly and deliberately as a cowboy waltz

Lucky aint I lucky
No one can tell me that
I aint the lucky one here
Lucky aint I lucky
I pull a card
And a winner appears

Lucky could be my middle name
Written in fortune and fame
Lucky has always been
The place that I started in
Lucky they all shouted pointing my way
Until the moment my luck went out to play

Oh I've had a good life
A future free of strife
At least that's what others see
But I see the truth here
On this side of my fears
Lucky aint I lucky to be me

When the clown paints his frown on
Everyone wants one
They laugh and they point with glee
He pulls his checked pants on
All of his hope gone
He stumbles out into the ring
Everyone’s laughing
He’s such a sad sack
He's lucky see what lucky can bring

When he pulls the deck of cards out
Everyone knows what he'll do
The cards go a flying
All aces and the other clowns
Know what to do
They chase him and beat him
No one's gonna cheat cheat them
Lucky so Lucky
Lucky so Lucky
Lucky must surely be me
B I R D

Poem and Image Copyright
©2006. Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

DIGNITY ~ NO DOUBT

2006-09-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

DIGNITY ~ NO DOUBT
Originally uploaded by Greatwork.

DIGNITY ~ NO DOUBT
The heart of the labor movement in the U.S. has been shifting more and more to the service sector. In 2004 I photographed striking hotel workers during the day and deep into the night. That conflict is heating up again and looks to be a long and bitter battle. If you have ever been on strike you know the gut wrenching feeling of seeing your last few dimes evaporate. I dedicate this Labor Day to those hard working, under paid hotel workers that we barely notice as they now take their own destiny into their hands. When you see them in the street, don’t just walk by ~ shake their hands.

From all of us who brought you the weekend, health and safety standards and a better standard of living relax but stay tuned this Labor Day there is much more in store!

Uploaded by Greatwork on 4 Sep '06, 3.20am PDT.

An Injury To One Is An Injury To All

2006-09-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

An Injury To One Is An Injury To All
Originally uploaded by Greatwork.
Read this man's jacket LARGE
.

International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union - Local 10
Drill Team
San Francisco California 2003

"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major. Say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. Say that I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things in life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say. If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody he is traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain."

Excerpted from The Drum Major Instinct, a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, on 4 February 1968.

- Martin Luther King, Jr. Minister, Orator, Civil Rights Worker, Drum major (1929-1968)

Pictured above the ILWU drill team has become a Bay Area tradition and they are so very special. Performing at Labor Rallies and Peace marches they always send an electric shock through the audience with their slick precision cadence. Their routines fall somewhere between close order drill and a rendition of African American "Step" They used to pull cargo by hand now this is how they do it.

Full disclosure when I was a young man I went from working in a couple of non-union warehouses in the Bay Area to working out of Local 6 in Oakland. Suffice it to say the conditions in the union shops were night and day.

"Put your cart up son," an older worker said to me.
"But I'm not through," I said. "I can eat this and put up this stuff man"
"For the next half hour your through" he said "And if anyone says anything tell em to come see Joe, trust me they ain't gonna wanna do that. Now go on sit down in the break room and eat lunch like a gentleman brother."
"Yes sir" I said.
"I aint no sir man I'm an enlisted man.... and I'm a lifer." I looked at his lapel and saw an enamel pin with ILWU Local 6 and the word Shop Steward.

Never seen the man since but he is a large reason I'm a union man to this day. Remember this - If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything! Though I haven't seen the inside of a warehouse for years I still believe in the ILWU motto to my heart - "An Injury to One - Is an Injury to All !"

BIRD

Uploaded by Greatwork on 4 Sep '06, 6.24pm PDT.

~MadneSS~

2006-08-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

~MadneSS~
Originally uploaded by Wind LaSS.
~MadneSS~

“Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.”
Anonymous auThor

“The courage of the poet is to keep ajar the door that leads into madness”
(Christopher Morley)

“Truly great madness can not be achieved without significant intelligence.”
(Henrik Tikkanen)

“What is madness? To have erroneous perceptions and to reason correctly from them”
(Voltaire)

“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free”
(Nikos Kazantzakis)

Uploaded by Wind LaSS on 13 Aug '06, 8.19am PDT

“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free”
(Nikos Kazantzakis)

The ~MadneSS~ deep and penetrating
moving through like it's been incubating
letting everyone else turn to news
but all you have left is the blues

You scream you cry you dump the TV
the radio ain't no better the voices you start to see
this is madness you say am I getting through
all you have left is the blues

B I R D

Poem Copyright
©2006, Frederick Douglass Perry
All Rights Reserved

P E A C E * B E * W I T H * YOU

2006-07-30T02:13:00.000-07:00

P E A C E * B E * W I T H * YOU
Originally uploaded by Greatwork.
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Please take a moment and leave this page to donate a little something for those who are suffering in Lebanon. This link will also give you a chance to donate for the relief efforts in Gaza, Darfur, the Caucasus and elsewhere. You can read about the many wars raging, displaced people etc. and thh things that people are doing to heal. Relief Lebanon Do something to help those caught up in these seemingly endless wars. Then work for Peace and Justice however you can. We can make difference!

Thanks to the www.flickr.com/groups/savelebanon/ Save Lebanon Group who gave me the link.

SEE IT LARGER

1. DUET2, 2. DUET, 3. INNOCENTS, 4. PEACE AMONG THE THORNS, 5. Respect Your Light, 6. This Light, 7. 2000, 8. World Peace 2, 9. You Shall, 10. ThisLIGHT, 11. World Peace 7.1, 12. World Peace, 13. StayOnThePath

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.
Mohandas Gandhi

PEACE ~ TAKE ACTION

2006-07-30T02:12:00.000-07:00

PEACE ~ TAKE ACTION
Originally uploaded by Greatwork.
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

See it LARGERhere.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Please take a moment and leave this page to donate a little something for those who are suffering in Lebanon. This link will also give you a chance to donate for the relief efforts in Gaza, Darfur, the Caucasus and elsewhere. You can read about the many wars raging, displaced people etc. and thh things that people are doing to heal. Relief Lebanon Do something to help those caught up in these seemingly endless wars. Then work for Peace and Justice however you can. We can make difference!

Thanks to the www.flickr.com/groups/savelebanon/ Save Lebanon Group who gave me the link.

DUET

2006-07-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

DUET
Originally uploaded by Greatwork.
the curtain goes up
new day, new aspirations
for peace
peace comes in twos
two sides,
two explanations
two war rationalizations
two forms of retribution
two dreams
too many families
caught in the violence
too many left homeless
too many fatherless children
too many vendettas
too many mothers
standing at the sides
of bomb blats
thousands waiting to go
on the roads to the ports
bodies heaped with the debris
bodies with blue flags and green flags and red flags
mourners marching to the gravesites
rocking in that same mourning rhythm
who will sing the song of peace
who will drink the cup of forgiveness
who will sit in twos and talk solemn words
who will play the peace duet
each side taking a part
to make war past tense
not M.A.D.*

BIRD

©2006, Frederick Douglass Perry, All Rights Reserved

DUET2

2006-07-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

DUET2
Originally uploaded by Greatwork.
light in the darkness

--
World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.
Speech delivered December 1964
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Minister, Orator, Civil Rights Worker, Drum major