Elizabeth Warren Impersonation by Connie Bryan

I needed a laugh or two after my week, being rejected for an artist's grant by the San Francisco Mayor's Office.  Do you think they might have seen the shows where I DEMYSTIFY the supposed intelligence of this mayor and her uncertain credentials for public office??  Maybe SHE got an artist's grant, huh?  Why not, nobody knows what kind of job she had before she ran for mayor!  A realtor or realtor's assistant?  A manager at Ross or Marshall's??  Where else could she find those over-sized plus X suits??  Or, maybe a clerk at Sally Beauty, specializing in taming the wave???  No, I think she was a security guard in the Westfield's Mall!!  How else could her 'office' overlook granting (lol) your humble servant on Planet Glee, Jenneefur, a well-known artist in many genres, a little grant for all the free and gratis work on raising the consciousness of the San Francisco public??  Only those who can read could consider me for a grant.  I suppose that solves the mystery; artists aren't supposed to be able to write in English, or French, or German or Spanish, like me.  Oh yeah, that must be it.  I'd rather be able to read and write than play with watercolors!!

The Clash - bbc4 documentary 2014 Quarantine on Earth Day

Another day in quarantine, another opportunity to review history, to think back on times which were hard, to know that things can change.

A New Role and on the Dole?

In the afternoon today, Friday April 17th, I'll be asked to perform for a documentary film on our coping with the Covid-19 virus.  The film is a major extension and expansion of a 3-minute short made for the Covd-19 Film Festival which was begun on instagram and aired a week ago Friday.

Amir Jaffer is the Filmmaker for this project called 'Alone Together.'  I think Amir ses that we are all connected whether we are conscious of this fact or not.  What happens to everyone is absorbed by the collective unconscious of the one and of the many.

I have spent days just dwelling on how things used to be, what kinds of music soothed me when I was feeling trapped, and how I can extend my artistic vision to other forms of art besides, music, performance, and film. 

I have been doing my public access television show, Planet Glee, for almost 13 years here in San Francisco.  It has always been a show dedicated to the expression of Love and Respect for the kindness within every human being.  Planet Glee is a platform for the expression of freedom to choose whom you will be in given situations.  Hopefully, you will inspire others to be equally free to be regardless of classism, racism and imperialism.

This metaphor for a planet yet-to-be-discovered in the universe is Planet Glee.  I remember I was a guest on French American TV here in San Francisco, and Aline the host asked me, 'c'est ton planete.'  No, it's not my planet. I am a communicator for the possibilities that a new planet might bring to the imagination of the artist that is within everyone.

So, since I have received no monetary recompense for having done Planet Glee so long, I have to apply for unemployment insurance just like many people around the world.  So, tomorrow I will do my application online.  I have been working for a formerly successful cat sitting business owned by a woman here in San Francisco.

When she takes a needed vacation, she travels to sub Saharan Africa.  She is, not surprisingly, and animal rights activist.  She goes on trecks to see the animals she loves.  I really admire her for this.

In any case, I haven't been on a vacation in a long,  My vacation from my world is performance and doing Planet Glee.  So, I'll be doing some acting tomorrow for Amir's film.  I'll also be answering personal questions about how I'm coping with the Shelter in Place.  I'll write more about this after we film some time tomorrow!!
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The Stooges' James Williamson - Guitar Moves - Episode 1

Walls Of Jericho - Virgin Prunes

Consuelas de Amor

How much I miss Scarlet Experiment

Back in 2014 to 2015, I was in a Shoegaze project, with guitarist Ian Caporali.  We both lived in the Haight Ashbury, we were neighbors, we both had cats, and we both clicked on creating something from nothing, really.
Ian had several guitars and a bass, but he didn't have drums.  So, he purchased online a computer program for creating drums and bass by plugging in the key and selecting a beat.  That done, he would play these thrilling guitar licks over the bass. 

I had more experience with being in a band, given that I lived with the London guitarist Snakefinger and had fun dancing onstage with the band at the I Beam, The Stone, The OnBroadway and other venues.  I was not stage -shy.

As talented as Ian is on guitar, he had not really played out with his guitar nor had he really any experience playing with a drummer.  I had played bass in the punk band Electric Death Poppies in the early nineties, singing and playing rhythm guitar in my band with my ex, Ron Donabedian in Martyr Mia, and playing out with my tabla in the band Bhakti.

When I and I would get together to play, however, there was no stopping us.  The ideas and melodies just came to me like divine inspiration, haha, and Ian was just wailing melodically on guitar.  All our recordings are one take only.  We would talk about what the song was going to be about, and I would think up the first few lines, and the rest just came to me like I said.

Ian wanted to call his music project Scarlet Experiment, after a meme from the American writer Emily Dickenson.  He didn't want to share the name with me, for some reason.  My lyrics might have sometimes been too political, I don't know.  But he could recognize that we had something happening, and what it was, I just know, I was able to keep the recordings, for the most part.  THe songs where I am singing are my lyrics and melody, but one could say we worked on  the songs together, and I was willing to share.

San Francisco can be a difficult place to be an artist sometimes.  There are people who would rahter see themselves on the stage and not you.  It's very sad to me.  I had been friends with an older woman artist and her husband who gave parties in their carriage house with a lovely stage and pretty packed audiences.  When I asked her if Scarlet Experiment could play the twenty-minute slot at the party, she said, "Oh no, everyone's gonna love you. I don't want that."

And then, I was very much disturbed by what was and is happening to the Palestinians in Gaza, and I wrote a song called 'Gaza City'.  Ian was not that into it, but then it appeared on our Soundcloud page with a picture of President Kennedy being shot.  This was Ian's idea, but as soon as I got to liking it, he took the song down.  I still to this day do not have a copy of this important song.  Ian put together the most sombre lead to 'Gaza Cit'y you would be a robot if it didn't move you.  This was a tragedy, in my estimation.

We started playing with be on bass and him on guitar, and we put together quite a few tracks, but again, there was a problem.  These ambient Shoegaze tracks I think Ian might have somewhere on his computer. 

I should just skip up to today.  Since bein in quarantine, I have revisited the songs and quick videos I made to them.  Today's video is for the song 'Consuelas de Amor.'  IIan's parents are from Colombia. He had expressed concern over the name Consuela bevause it seemed to always refer to the woman who does the cleaning up that no one wants to do.

We had talked about how this song was supposed to go, and he put the bass down.  Then we went for it.  Like always, I had no lyrics written down and everything is improv.  I liked to sing in Spancais, I call it, Spanish and French.  For Consuelas I wrote from the perspective of Consuela,  She says she is breathing for,  'Soy respirando para ti.'  Now that we are in quarantine, I do believe that Consuelas and all people who are doing the 'janitorial' work might have the most difficult job of all staying safe.

So today I posted 'Consuelas' on my instagram with the video of me playing Martha in Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf/'  She is a young 1990's version of the Elizabeth Taylor (who probably never appeared onscreen without eye makeup).  My Martha is young and drunk and confused.  She is not a person of the 1960's. 

In any case. I haven't written in a while, and I know I should write every day.  Today is April 14 th, so I promise to write at least 3 t0 10 paragraphs a day.

Maybe also I should try to recover the lyrics to the songs and post them, too.

Beautiful Amma moments of USA Yatra 2011

Mdou Moctar - Tarhatazed (Live on KEXP)

Amma waving oil lamp and chanting prayers, and Planet Glee is the union of Venus and Saturn, Love and Responsibility

I have been a follower, a devotee of Mata Amritanandamayi, Amma of the state of Kerala in India, since 2002.  It's been 18 years of solace and inspiration from a woman who is the essence of Bhakti, the yoga of Love.  She is the essence of compassion, and she is also a staunch feminist!! This past Saturday she led the ashram in Cochin in what is arati, or a fire ceremony.  Everyone chanted, "Lokah samastah sukhino Bhavantu,' for peace and world love and compassion.



Personally, I have not seen Amma at the ashram since 2018, and I miss her terribly.  Today, having seen this short video of Amma's devoted and constant love for humanity, I am reawakened to her power and simplicity.  The darkness within the video is really telling, because the light is illuminating this darkness, just like our empathy and compassion can bring warmth and light to a  world in the USA that is overshadowed by incessant selfishness and self-seeking on the part of the country's current power structure, just like in India.



It was very disturbing for me to see the Prime Minister of India, Mister Modhi, walking around the lush gardens of his palace with the current USA president, a person that Planet Glee considers a person with a disability, actually several disabilities, and the country cannot suffer any longer from the constant disappointment that this person causes due to his deficiencies as a person, a human being, and as a 'leader' of a country as large as the USA.



Amma is said in the is you tube video to be praying for all of India.  Her state, Kerala, is doing okay.  It is, and has been, a Socialist state, however one wants to view that.  Amma has a huge teaching hospital there, and if there will be any scientists who can defy the chemical make-up of the Covid-19 virus, they will come from Kerala, or UCSF, or Paris or Cuba.



When I make food now, I think about India and the absolute lack of food for the majority of the people.  Here in San Francisco there are places for people to get free food, or to buy food at a low coast, (see the video from the Bistro SF Grill on this page). T



Today I went shopping at Rainbow Workers' Cooperative, the first and longest-lasting workers' cooperative int he country.  It is located in the Mission District where Saint Anthony's used to be.  Praise all the gods for Rainbow and the Foods Co which is half a block away from Rainbow.  I didn't buy much food, to be honest.  I usually get my vitamins there.  I did buy some vegan chips, and when I left Rainbow I was eating them while waiting for the bus.



When I got back to my neighborhood near the Castro Theatre, there were people lying on the sidewalk in sleeping bags or with just a blanket of sorts.  There was a young guy who was shaking out his blanket.  I handed him the big bag of vegan chips, and he was like, "Oh, cool.'  I said to myself that maybe I should start cooking for the people in the neighborhood that I have seen over the past few months.



I wonder what Amma would think of that.  I could make basmati rice and veggies, no dead things. like fish and meat and eggs.  Can I afford this?  The rice is not expensive.  It is easy to make.  I can get the veggies at my favorite Mexican market in the Mission.  I am concerned about people who need to keep up their immunity by eating something healthy.  My concern is that they are not able to keep themselves warm if they are starving..



Even health food chips are better than meat and fish.  Yet, when it's cold at night and there's a sandwich with meat in it, it's better to eat the sandwich than not.  I don't know.  When I think of the people in India who were interviewed by Democracy Now! and the fact that many of them said they would rather die of the virus than die of hunger, I am stumped.  How can I help?  What can Planet Glee do?



I think I have to go back and interview the owner of Bistro SF Grill again.  I want to know how their 'experiment' in community consciousness and awareness, community generosity and compassion, their dedication to providing meals to everyone, how this is still working.  I think I will go there tomorrow.  More on this later.

BLOODY MESS + THE SKABS - 6th Grade Field Trip FULL ALBUM 1990

Planet Glee SF