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mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

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April is Poetry Month

April 3, 2014 — 3 Comments

April is for poets, and we are all poets.  There are many ways to celebrate.  I have taken the challenge to write a poem each day in April.  My approach is zen.  The weekend workshop on ekphrastic poetry helped me find a place to begin.  By responding to art, the ekphrastic poet reflects, or echoes the artist by interpreting the artwork.  Memorizing a poem is another way to participate in the fun this month.  My father could recite almost all of the Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert W Service, which was always impressive.  Stories told in rhyme stay in the mind’s eye.

Poets.org has a poetry party happening right now.  You can make a commonbook with quotes and poems using resources on the site.  If you are lucky enough to live in Tucson you can visit our Poetry Center to experience space completely dedicated to poetry.  Docents there are happy to give tours of the rare books and more if you call for an appointment.  Today in Tucson the 31st annual Poetry Festival invites the public for free readings and activities all weekend.  Fluency and artistry enhance the lives of those who listen.  Tune in this month to hear what you may have been missing.

Amerind Foundation Party

March 30, 2014 — 1 Comment

Next Saturday, 5 April, 2014 will be a big day in Dragoon, Arizona.  The first run in Texas Canyon is organized to coincide with a food festival, a wine and brew fest, and a spring fling.  Dragoon is  just about an hour’s drive away from Tucson on I-10.  The Amerind Foundation Museum is primo Native art displayed perfectly.  The collections are impressive, and the galleries designed with the greatest of care.  If you have not visited the museum next Saturday is a great day to do it.  Admission will be free for the day, and the festivals will round out the activities.  Runners should register early if they want to compete in the trail run.

Smiling Indians by Ryan Redcorn

March 30, 2014 — 1 Comment

Ryan Redcorn, an Osage entrepreneur, has produced this video of smiling Indians.  It is dedicated to Edward Curtis whose Native American images dominate the web and the memory.  Just yesterday I was at the Arizona State Museum viewing some Curtis photos shot in Arizona, and all were new to me.  His seemingly endless portfolio was shot in the first decades of the 20th century.   The work has become controversial.  Mr. Redcorn believes in producing yourself, which inspired him to create this video as a counterpoint to Curtis.

I was in Pawhuska, Oklahoma a few years ago on an ancestry hunt.  My cousin and I were trying to sort out a story that our great-grandmother as Cherokee.  We never found any evidence pro or con, but we went to the tribal headquarters of both the Osage and Cherokee tribes to seek answers.  My cousin (like many Americans) was stuck on the romantic notion that we are Cherokee.  When I saw the tiny museum in Pawhuska and talked to the curators I wanted to be Osage.  They were always distinct among the 5 civilized tribes.  They got rich from oil and spent much of their wealth buying products from France, especially elaborate fashion items.   My father told me when he was a kid the Osage used to drive around in Cadillacs with goats in the back seat.  I am probably not descended from the Osage tribe, but I do really admire the way they are.  I loved the art, the history, and their sense of humor on my visit with them.  Now I also love Ryan Redcorn who has a sense of humor and a bigger sense of justice.

Poetry at the Gardens

March 29, 2014 — 1 Comment

Today at the Tucson Botanical Gardens docents from the U of A Poetry Center offered a reading and workshop in Ekphrastic Poetry. This style of poem is a response to a piece of art, the Ek being from Greek and referring to echo. The group attending was a mixture of students, visual artists, and poets.  By far the most emotional poem of the day was read by a Nam Vet who sat behind me. He chose to read War Photograph by Kate Daniels.  His choked up emotions brought tears to his eyes which brought tears to the eyes of the audience.  The other poems were discussed and analyzed but we were all very touched and had nothing more to say after he read.  At the end of the session participants wrote poems about the photos in the gallery.  All were striking.  I apologize, gentle reader, for cutting off the very beginning of some of these gentle readings.  It was a well produced and very well appreciated poetry experience, and we all have beautiful handouts to finish at home.  There is one more session this spring of Poetry in the Gardens, Native poetry on April 26, 2014.  These programs are included with garden admission.  It is SUCH A DEAL!!

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Pandora and Eve, First Ladies of Earth

March 27, 2014 — 3 Comments

Pandora was created as a trophy bride for Prometheus’ younger brother, Epimetheus.  She was intentionally created of earth and water to play havoc with humans. The gods endowed her with super powers, thus worthy of her name which means all-gifted.  After her arrival at her husband’s house she opened her famous box (or jar) which was full of evil spirits.  Like Eve, she had orders to keep the box closed but her curiosity was too strong.  Unlike Eve, at the bottom of Pandora’s box one spirit remained, Elpis, the spirit or diamon of hope.  While the evil spirits escaped and forced man to do hard labor, just like the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, hope remained in Pandora’s box.  Her daughter, Pyrrha was the first mortal child born on earth.  Pyrrha and her husband survived the Great Deluge to repopulate the earth, not unlike Noah and his family.

Can you think of events in your life or in history that remind you of Pandora’s box?

 

Pastiche Food and Drink in Tucson

March 23, 2014 — 4 Comments

Pastiche opened in the neighborhood 16 years ago as a “modern eaterty”.  This year it was closed for a couple of weeks in January to update and remodel the space. The bar was made larger, walls changed and removed for a new look. The colors are beautiful and the new bar very classy.  We went for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed the new look and the old menu.  Bob had a sirloin steak and I had a grilled Portobello with asparagus.  I chose French fries as a first course, while Bob enjoyed a cup of the delicious shiitake mushroom soup.  Service was impeccable, which we have come to expect from Pastiche.  One addition they have made is to feature a very extensive list of whiskies by the glass.  I tried the Hochstadter’s Rock and Rye with my mushroom dish and thought it was a perfect match for the flavors in my entrée.  I like the fun of tasting  the different kinds of whiskey without investing in a bottle.  We left with some Irish whiskey pie to eat later at home. For me this restaurant rates  an A plus in all categories.  The menu is just the right size, and everything is always prepared perfectly.  Service is friendly and seamless.  The wine list and beers on tap make the patron choose from a very extensive selection, a pleasant problem the wait staff can help you solve.  We are happy this is just a hop, skip and a jump from home.  It has always been well run, and now is once more very modern.

Agnes Countess of Rhine, 21st Great-grandmother

March 21, 2014 — 3 Comments

Otto and Agnes

Otto and Agnes

My 21st great-grandmother married into of the same family that brought us Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria, who is one of my favorite characters in history.  His fantastic castle is the model for the one at Disneyland.  Neushwanstein was opened to the public just weeks after the ultimate demise of Ludwig, and is still a very popular tourist attraction in Germany.  I have always wanted to see it, and now I feel inspired to make the trip.
Agnes of the Palatinate (1201-1267) was a daughter of Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine and his first wife Agnes, daughter of Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Agnes was Duchess of Bavaria by her marriage to Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria.
Family
Agnes’ paternal grandparents were Henry the Lion and his second wife Matilda of England. Matilda was a daughter of Henry II of England and his celebrated queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Henry II was son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and his wife Matilda of the English.
Agnes was the youngest of three children born to her father by both of his marriages. Her father’s second wife also called Agnes was daughter of Conrad II, Margrave of Lower Lusatia. Agnes’ two elder siblings were: Irmgard, wife of Herman V, Margrave of Baden-Baden and her brother was Henry VI, Count Palatine of the Rhine.
Marriage
Agnes married Otto II at Worms when he came of age in 1222. With this marriage, the Wittelsbach family inherited Palatinate and kept it as a Wittelsbach possession until 1918. Since that time also the lion has become a heraldic symbol in the coat-of-arms for Bavaria and the Palatinate.
In 1231 upon the death of Otto’s father, Louis I, Duke of Bavaria, Otto and Agnes became Duke and Duchess of Bavaria.
After a dispute with Emperor Frederick II was ended, Otto joined the Hohenstaufen party in 1241. Their daughter, Elizabeth, was married to Frederick’s son Conrad IV. Because of this, Otto was excommunicated by the pope.
Wthin thirty-one years of marriage, the couple had five children:
Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (13 April 1229, Heidelberg–2 February 1294, Heidelberg).
Henry XIII, Duke of Bavaria (19 November 1235, Landshut–3 February 1290, Burghausen).
Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany (c. 1227, Landshut–9 October 1273), married to:
(1)1246 in Vohburg to Conrad IV of Germany;
(2)1259 in Munich to Count Meinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol, Duke of Carinthia.
Sophie (1236, Landshut–9 August 1289, Castle Hirschberg), married 1258 to Count Gerhard IV of Sulzbach and Hirschberg.
Agnes (c. 1240–c. 1306).
Otto died 29 November 1253. Agnes died fourteen years later in 1267. She is buried at Scheyern .
References
^ Agnes Welf
^ Medieval Lands, PALATINATE

Agnes Countess Of Rhein (1202 – 1267)
is my 21st great grandmother
Elisabeth Wittelsbach Duchess Bavaria (1227 – 1273)
daughter of Agnes Countess Of Rhein
Consort Elisabeth the Romans Carinthia (1263 – 1313)
daughter of Elisabeth Wittelsbach Duchess Bavaria
Albrecht Albert II ‘The Wise’ Duke of Austria Habsburg (1298 – 1358)
son of Consort Elisabeth the Romans Carinthia
Leopold III “Duke of Austria” Habsburg (1351 – 1386)
son of Albrecht Albert II ‘The Wise’ Duke of Austria Habsburg
Ernst I “Ironside” Archduke of Austria Habsburg (1377 – 1424)
son of Leopold III “Duke of Austria” Habsburg
Katharina Archduchess Austria Von Habsburg (1420 – 1493)
daughter of Ernst I “Ironside” Archduke of Austria Habsburg
Christof I VanBaden (1453 – 1527)
son of Katharina Archduchess Austria Von Habsburg
Beatrix Zahringen (1492 – 1535)
daughter of Christof I VanBaden
Sabine Grafin VonSimmern (1528 – 1578)
daughter of Beatrix Zahringen
Marie L Egmond (1564 – 1584)
daughter of Sabine Grafin VonSimmern
Richard Sears (1590 – 1676)
son of Marie L Egmond
Silas Sears (1638 – 1697)
son of Richard Sears
Silas Sears (1661 – 1732)
son of Silas Sears
Sarah Sears (1697 – 1785)
daughter of Silas Sears
Sarah Hamblin (1721 – 1814)
daughter of Sarah Sears
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Sarah Hamblin
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

AGNES ([1201]-16 Nov 1267, bur Scheyern).  The Notæ Sancti Emeranni record the marriage of “Otto dux Bawarie” and “filiam Heinrici palatine Rheni”.  The Altahenses Annales name “Agnes ducissa Bawarie” when recording the birth of her son Ludwig.

m (Worms May 1222) OTTO von Bayern, son of LUDWIG I Duke of Bavaria, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein & his wife Ludmila of Bohemia (Kelheim 1206-Landshut 29 Nov 1253, bur Scheyern).  Pfalzgraf bei Rhein 1228.  He succeeded his father in 1231 as OTTO II “der Erlauchte” Duke of Bavaria.

Hephaestus, Blacksmith of the Gods

March 20, 2014 — 5 Comments

Hephaestus was the crafty, cunning metalworker son of Zeus and Hera.  His difficult life began when his mother (or possibly his father) threw him off the planet at birth which pissed him off quite a bit and made him lame.  His talent at the forge became obvious early in his life, and he was called upon to craft golden thrones for his parents.  He used his extensive powers to revenge his rejection by creating a throne for his mother from which she could not escape.  A deal was struck to release Hera from the throne by giving Aphrodite to Hephaestus as a wife.  His marriage to the goddess of the sea was not blissful because she was unfaithful to him.  He is the only god that was imperfect and the only god that worked.  His mastery of fire was envied greatly by his father.  His archetype as a loner craftsman can be seen in people who focus on great artistry, production and invention. In Rome he was known as Vulcan.  In Tucson he is called Jerry Harris.  He was an ancestor of Daedalus, who fashioned wings, as does Mr. Harris.

Self Control, Trip to the Festival of Books

March 17, 2014 — 2 Comments

My strong love of reading has compelled me to do many things, including restricting my book consumption on a 3 book diet last year.  My consumer weakness it is for art and books.  I never seem to have enough of either one, even though I have more than I can store in my present circumstances.  The Kindle has helped me to reduce the space I dedicate to books, but the passion to read everything all the time was not diminished by the diet.  If anything I am rebounding since November when I allowed myself to buy books once more. I have loaded up on both print and Kindle books, plus I had a big backlog from the book diet year that I had acquired and not opened.  I am back in full force as crazy reading woman, proving once and for all that diets just do not work.

Attending the Tucson Festival of books for the first time was amazing to me.  The super well-organized event takes place on the U of A campus in buildings and in various tents set up for the weekend.  Windy weather did not deter the visitors or participants from having wonderful time.  Presentations for readers as well as writers are given all day both Saturday and Sunday.  A giant food court assures that spending the day there will require no sacrifice.  I did not eat or attend a session, but I thoroughly enjoyed all the tents I visited.  Volunteers make sure the crowd is informed.  Families with kids can participate in several ongoing demonstrations, book give aways, and photo ops with favorite characters from children’s literature .  I bought some great cookbooks, two of historical significance, from the Assistance League tent and a book of memoirs from an Albuquerque lawyer, Laws and Loves Part I, Real Stories of the Rattlesnake Lawyer.  I am a sucker for books that contain the word rattlesnake in the title. I am also planning to attend a free introductory class by the Writer’s Studio in Tucson.  I have some desire to write poetry, and this group offers workshops that are convenient and well priced.  Who knows, gentle readers, where this may go.  Maybe all this reading will help me learn to write.  Stay tuned; the plot may thicken.

Self Sustenance, Investment in Living

March 16, 2014 — 12 Comments

Our society is experimenting with self sustaining living.  In recent decades focus has changed from local   production of food and goods to a transportation heavy supply chain.  We now pay little to produce our goods in countries with lax labor laws and spend fortunes shipping those goods around the globe.  The skills of preserving food, and even growing food have been lost to a great extent, but there is new interest in reviving local farming and local cuisines.  Popular classes and books are teaching:

These alternative practices offer students ways to save money and become more creative. Learning new skills can reap big benefits for society as well as individuals.  The future will be shaped by the habits we develop now.  Communities focused on improving local, self-sustaining economies are becoming more common.   The trend is strong and, in my opinion, will grow in the future.  Have you made any changes in your own life to create a more self sustenance?