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Where leads this beckoning road, This silent, time-worn street? Does it lead to secret places, where Angels and demons meet? Or, does it fade with forward steps, And slowly cease to be? Perhaps it reaches unknown lands, Which I am doomed to never see. Yet I cannot long each road ignore, Nor allow my steps to turn, From each strange path to somewhere, And new things I must learn. Donovan Baldwin

I love this sculpture and how it depicts the joy of a warm sunny day in all its glory. Niki De Saint Phalle's joyful and exuberant 'Nana' sculptures at Guggenheim Bilbao. Video about the artist, Niki -> https://youtu.be/tZnQijyAsgU She was audacious and created some of the most jubilant, ambitious, and awe-inspiring art.

When you were just a tiny tot you rolled up in a sheet I remember when your mom taught you to dance upon your feet I remember you performing on the stage before a crowd You swirled and took a lively bow and made them laugh out loud At three, you sat upon the bench and much to your delight your tiny fingers barely reached the ivories black and white Right from the start, you played with heart - your talent grew and grew Shenandoah's got you now - That's no surprise - we knew I think that I'm in heaven when your fingers stroke the keys Oh, don't stop now... perhaps somehow you'll play just one more, please Let me hear you sing and play - That's your gift to me I'll store it in my treasure chest and write you poetry You must have always listened to the rhythm in your head Now you strum, play the drum and sing a song instead Tonight, we'll toast and make a wish as you turn twenty-one for health, wealth, happiness and, oh yes - lots of fun! So, bat those eyes, flash that smile Have a glass of wine Now close your eyes - make a wish All will be just fine. Copyright L G Rogers 2015

Sanchin is the first kata or form in Uechi-Ryu Karate. It is also our "stance". I wrote this when I was teaching. Sanchin Sanchin isn’t in your feet. Sanchin isn’t in your knees. Sanchin isn’t in the tuck of your hips, not even in your elbow grease. Sanchin isn’t held in your arms, nor is it in your fingertips You might try, the look in the eye, But you won’t find sanchin. The only way to find sanchin, is to know these things combined. (Pictured below- Sanchin Stance- Mr. Uechi-) Thanks for the read! K~

Grey surrounds my mind, heart and soul Cold grips like tallons, ripping and tearing All energy goes into making it through But wait, there's light lingering at day's end Causing hope to spark life from deep within Icy piles, slowly melt, Spring will come Hope is the rope tied around my waist Keeping me from hitting deep dark bottom Suspended in mirky depths awaiting Spring Eyes seeking those lengthening waves of light Senses awakening and anticipating Returning warmth and growth

Warm sunlight on my back Teasing me with its summer speak Knowing this soon would be gone And unwelcome winter will come Two long shadows and one short That’s us on our afternoon walk Crisp breeze and sunlight warm Making our way to park and home

He has lost it all. It's a Friday night and a craggy face man, dressed in ragged, blood-stained clothes, sits inside a club, with his shoulders hunched over his bottle of beer, while a dance floor music keeps on banging loudly from the speakers of the neon-lit-up club. He is supposed to relish the lively backdrop of the club, but he is on the edge of losing other things more important than music. Maybe everything. IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT DO YOU KNOW HOW IT ALL STARTED? You are not the kind of man who starts up a day with wails, nor would you end it with a visit to a nightclub—except you went with your wife. But there you are, seated on a high stool and feeling disgusted at the fuzzy details surrounding you. And more disgusted at yourself as you look to an excited girl, seated on the other side of the bar with her friends. They are all giggling and chuckling as they sip from their glistening glasses of half-filled champagne. You scoff at them because they don’t know that life is a miserable old man pedaling down an empty freeway. You scoff a second time as you step outside the club, into the rain, as it drizzled on and on till your coat is soaked because you chose to walk home. The reason you are not driving your car is that you lost its engine. And maybe your house was next in line. It’s a red brick wall cottage, on the last line of estates, in the most desolate part of Dan Island, Connecticut. There are flashes of headlights and flashlights in your direction as you approach your house. The front lawn of your house has been overtaken by police cars, a red and white steps ambulance, and the clustering of police officers and forensics in their all-white uniforms. Everything is happening fast around you. Maybe the miserable old man—which is your life, now speeds down the freeway in formula 1 Renault. “Are you Mr. Donald?” A police officer calls after you once he sights you. But you ignore his question while staggering towards your house and your feet are so tired you end up buckling and crashing to the ground the moment you reach the front stairs of your house. Now you are the first attention of the forensics as they try to revive you with their CPR. But your consciousness slowly slips out of your head and back to how it all started. ***** It was on a Thursday evening; the closest time to Friday, when you came back from your work, as usual, only to discover a brown note sticking out from a novel you were fond of reading. The book lay on the top of the only cabinet in your spacious empty room. You decided to call out to your wife, Gizem. Calmly at first. “Gizem!” A little louder when you got no response for the first call. You proceeded to pick the book up from its ace and the letterhead slipped out to the ground and you stooped low to pick it. As you did so, the first thing you read from the letter said: “If you are reading this, you have been chosen.” You scoffed at it. Maybe it was a joke from your wife you imagined. Chosen for what? You questioned your mind before letting the letter slip out of your hand to the ground. But shortly after the letter had touched the ground, your lights went off as well and you were left, stranded in the terrifying darkness of your empty house. It was to be the start of a connected sequence of events; you couldn't take your bath in your bathroom because the water had stopped running. You went to the one downstairs only to find your dog sprawled out on the foot mat of your bathroom. It didn't answer when you called because it wasn't breathing. The meal in the fridge had soured. As you listened to your voicemails, Barry, your boss, had called to say you had been fired. That evening, heavy winds blew half your rooftop off. Gizem and Karl, your son, had still not returned. Your calls kept going to her voicemail. Should you call the cops? You didn't because they couldn't come home in the storm. They weren't still back. Your car’s engine popped with a wisp of smoke curling when you tried to drive it. Just then, Gizem and Karl walked in. She had come to hand over divorce papers to you and walked out again with Karl without any explanation. At the end of the day, you lost everything, even your night's rest. By the next morning, the dark circles around your eyes in your mirror’s reflection had disclosed your lack of sleep. And as the memories of the previous night’s events flashed through your mind, you started wailing uncontrollably. When you stepped outside your house, you discovered that your neighbors were gone too and the whole estate you lived in was completely vacant, or rather, their corpses were strewn on the empty streets and in front of their homes. And it caused you to realize that your clothing was stained with blood, while you held on to a razor-edged knife slicked with crimson blood. You felt too tired for someone who just woke up from sleep, your limbs were numb like you swung them more than necessary. The feeling of loss, dejection, embitterment, and confusion overwhelmed you. Your mind tried to console you that it was only a bad dream. It had also encouraged you to hobble out to the town and get yourself a chill bottle of beer from the closest nightclub. That's how you ended up in a nightclub, only to return late in the night to find a clustering of police cars and forensics as they investigated your ghostly estate. It's how you ended up passing out in front of your house because everything felt so strange and fast-moving to you. ***** But the next time you’ll be awake, you’ll find yourself strapped to a bed, inside a government-funded science facility, with your supposed estranged wife and son quivering at the sight of you. A man in a white coat will stand beside them and whisper, “I just hope the hypnosis had worked on him. The government will be proud of your husband. The program is going to help scare criminals into not committing crimes.” You’ll be able to eavesdrop on what he says to your family because they’ll not know you're awake. You will realize that everything that happened in the short, but fast-moving past was a result of you being hypnotized. And your memories will take you to some days back when you had accepted a letter from the CIA instructing: “If you are reading this letter, you have been chosen,” on its front page. You will also recall you had been paid a thousand dollars for volunteering for their program. “Cut me loose. Now!” But that’s all you’ll be able to say when these scattered puzzles of events are fitted in perfectly by your unstable mind. You’ll conclude in your mind that your government is crazy. But you’ll be obliged to keep details of the events and the program a secret. Why? Firstly, because you were chosen and had signed a non-disclosure. Secondly, because these seem to be dangerous people who’d do anything to protect their interests. Thirdly, because no one would believe all these tragedies happened only in your nightmares. Nsikan

Congratulations to Sandra Atumonye on completing an online masterclass in digital marketing fundamentals and on being accepted as a trainee intern in the ALX virtual assistant program.

I wrote a pretty detailed blog post on this topic, which you can read here. This blog lays out current and coming features and services. Here, I want to talk about what ArtsKeeper is attempting to do. How many artists do you know who are struggling? How many creatives do you know who had to take jobs not related to the arts just to make ends meet? How many want-to-be artists do you know? How many people with great creative ideas but no sponsors do you know? How many great writers, poets, songwriters, performers do you know who don't have a following? It's for these people and all the countless others I didn't list that ArtsKeeper exists. We believe creative people need networks of services and support to be able to build and run successful arts-based businesses. Some may not want to do more than create, but have no channel to exposure their work. ArtsKeeper has built a platform to enable creatives to express ideas, share experiences and exposure their work to new viewers, supporters and collectors. When ArtsKeeper began, we conducted a survey to validate this vision and to gather input on the types of services creatives need. The results have been driving our work. Just this week a revised site went live. We continue to refine and hone ArtsKeeper to make it work for YOU. It's critical to our combined success that we get your participation, input and feedback. We are listening very closely to what you say and hope you see this reflected in what we are doing. Lastly, I want to talk about why participation is key to ArtsKeeper's success - which in turn we hope means everyone's success. We collect statistics on how ArtsKeeper is used -- numbers of new and returning visitors, pages viewed, time spent on the site, and number of posts, etc. -- which in turn helps ArtsKeeper grow. Growth is key to getting donations and to attracting investors. ArtsKeeper will always be a not-for-profit movement, but we still need money to operate and evolve in ways our community wants and needs. It is our intent and desire to be able to establish a fund for arts projects. As was explained, the critical element for attracting funders is growth and usage. So, if you are finding ArtsKeeper is now providing you with value or you believe in what we are doing will provide value for someone else, then we ask you to help spread the word about ArtsKeeper and our purpose. It's really simple - you tell two friends, who tell two friends, and so on and so on... Together we have impact that will exceed our wildest aspirations. Thanks for your support!