Monthly Archives: June 2023

Jun20

on world refugee day.

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*refugee rescue, painting by stephen burgess, winner of the 2017 ms amlin world art vote

 

Every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution, or terror. World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20th and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

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“refugees are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, with the same hopes and ambitions as us—

except that a twist of fate has bound their lives to a global refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale.”

-khaled hosseini, author, the kite runner

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*  Stephen Burgess, a driving instructor from Buckinghamshire in the UK, won the 2017 MS Amlin World Art Vote organized by National Open Art,  for his stunning painting of Libyan refugees being rescued at sea.

Burgess was inspired to create his picture, Refugee Rescue, after watching a TV documentary about refugees crossing the Mediterranean to try and reach Europe.

His painting is based on an image taken by a photographer on board an Italian Navy helicopter and vividly captures the moment hundreds of Libyan refugees were rescued at sea.

 

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source credits: united nations, separatedchild.org, evening standard

Jun19

on juneteenth.

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“to deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”

-nelson mandela

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image credit: princeton university, african american studies

Jun18

on father’s day.

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MENTAL FLOSS TRIVIA:

62% of fathers have embarrassed their children by doing this.

What is it?

ANSWER: Walking in front of their children’s friends in just their underwear

 

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“to an adolescent, there is nothing in the world more embarrassing than a parent.”

-dave berry

 

 

 

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photo credit: pinterest

Jun17

day in the d.

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fun day with colleagues in detroit

starting on the detroit river

visiting the only mailboat in the world with its own zip code

still waiting for someone to claim this bag

then off to the detroit river fire boat

and one of the oldest fire stations in the city

sculpture in riverside park

featuring steel from the old joe louis arena

made my detroit’s nordin brothers

and on to detroit’s central station

brought back to life

and lovingly restored

by ford motor company

soon to be their new world headquarters

so many people in the city, working hard

keeping it running and building it back

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“i think detroit is where muscle meets brains.”

-*dan gilbert

 

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*Dan Gilbert is an American billionaire, Detroit businessman, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and majority owner of Rocket Mortgage, founder of Rock Ventures, and owner of the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Dan Gilbert cofounded what would become Quicken Loans, the largest mortgage lender in the U.S., in 1985 at 22 years old. He and his companies have invested $5.6 billion to purchase and rehab a swath of buildings in downtown Detroit, with a plan to create 24,000 jobs.

Jun16

spots.

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i spot the sun. 

 

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“easy to spot a yellow car when you are always thinking of a yellow car.

easy to spot an opportunity when you are always thinking of opportunities.

easy to spot reasons to be mad when you are always thinking of being mad.

you become what you constantly think about. watch yourself.”

 

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poetry credit: unknown at poetry matters

Jun15

leon loft.

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what a lovely experience – attending a taping of singer-songwriter Devon Gilfillian performing at *The Leon Loft, featuring soulful songs from his new album Love You Anyway , a bit of Marvin Gaye, and some of his other favorite originals, all while chatting with  local radio’s Rob Reinhart in between songs. a portion of the session aired live on ann arbor’s 107one and will air later, in its entirety, on Rob’s Acoustic Café show. this was an intimate setting, 75 seats, perfect acoustics, all close to the stage, tickets won on-air or by invite only, an eclectic mix of music lovers. meeting up outside, then moving in to share this space and time on a weekday afternoon.

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“art is how we decorate space; music is how we decorate time.”

-jean-michel basquiat

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*At Leon, we mix art with audio, design with technology, and business with bohemia. We’re a group of artists, designers, engineers, and craftsmen who are dedicated to producing the finest quality bench made American audio. For over 20 years, we’ve been meticulously handcrafting a full palette of custom speakers and technology concealment solutions that bring sound + style to any space. Leon products are available world-wide, exclusively at high-end audio/video retailers. And because music is our first love, we have a dedicated performance space, the Leon Loft, at our headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In this intimate, live performance venue, we’ve had the privilege of welcoming some of today’s biggest recording artists for a live recording of Acoustic Cafe with Rob Reinhart. For more information about the Leon Loft, visit leonloft.com

Jun14

“i’m spicy and i’ve got skills.” – pascal siakam.

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( those of you who know me or read me,

know that flamin’ hot cheetos are my fav snack.)

Eva Longoria makes her film directorial debut with “Flamin’ Hot” — a feel-good story of how a Mexican American janitor rose through the ranks at Frito-Lay and was the brains behind the wildly popular and spicy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos corn snack.

“People think it’s about the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto but it’s about the life of Richard Montañez,” Longoria told the Australian television show “Today.”  “He came up with this brilliant idea to put chili on chips for the Hispanic market and today Flamin’ Hot is the No. 1 snack in the world and it’s a multibillion-dollar industry that transcends snacks.”

The comedy-drama biopic distributed by Searchlight Pictures is based on Montañez’s first memoir, “A Boy, a Burrito, and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive,” that details his humble beginnings from growing up in a migrant labor camp in Southern California and living in a one-bedroom apartment with his parents and 10 siblings to selling drugs on the streets of East Los Angeles, mopping the floors at Frito-Lay’s Rancho Cucamonga plant and building a career that spanned more than 40 years at PepsiCo.

Longoria admitted she was ashamed of not knowing Montañez’s story until she read the script. “I was like, ‘How do I not know this? He’s Mexican American like me. I love Flamin’ Hot.’ So it was like the flavor you knew, but the story you didn’t, and so I was immediately inspired and I thought, ‘Everybody should know this story. There are so many lessons we can learn from his life.”

Jesse Garcia as Richard Montañez in the movie Flamin' Hot.
Jesse Garcia as Richard Montañez in the movie “Flamin’ Hot.”

While Montañez’s story has become an inspirational tale of Latino entrepreneurial success, Frito-Lay disputed the claims that he created the spicy line of Cheetos, calling his version of the story an “urban legend,” and stating that he “was not involved,” according to an investigation by The Los Angeles Times in 2021.

That same year, Montañez reaffirmed his story with his second memoir “Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive.”

The film’s producers were informed by Frito-Lay of these allegations in 2019 before production but moved forward with the project. Longoria’s film does include nods to the possibility of the Flamin’ Hot flavor being developed in the Midwest at the same time. Frito-Lay credits Montañez with playing a “key role in accelerating the growth of our Flamin’ Hot Brand,” according to its website

“Flamin’ Hot” is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.

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“a good spicy challenge strikes a balance between flavour and fear.”

-adam richman

 

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source credit: edwin flores, NBC Latino. Searchlight Pictures

Jun13

youth.

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a sure sign –

a bike hurriedly tossed on its side

no doubt someone excited to play

if i had to guess

i’d say there is a child on summer vacation

somewhere nearby.

 

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“youth comes but once in a lifetime.”

-henry wadsworth longfellow

Jun12

’tis time for festivals and celebrations.

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a lot to celebrate

in recent days

 kicking off the city’s summer festival season with a funk band

elementary school moving up ceremonies

 baseball game for a birthday

 wedding shower lunch

 high school graduation party

 happy to be a part of it all.

“the greatness of a culture can be found in its festivals.”

-siddharth katragadda

Jun11

where does the rainbow end?

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After their LGBTQ pride flag was stolen twice in recent weeks, a pair of Ann Arbor churches are responding the only way they know how — giving away more flags.

St Aidan’s Episcopal Church and Northside Presbyterian Church, which share a building in Ann Arbor, are launching a “Need A Flag, Take A Flag” event today. The event will feature 300 LGBTQ pride flags and allow anyone in need of a flag  to take home their own handheld versions.

Although the event is in part a Pride Month celebration, the inspiration for it comes from the theft of the churches’ own flags. On April 3, church leadership received an email saying someone had removed the flag and thrown it into the bushes. On June 1, the churches reported the replaced flag had been stolen completely.

“I still haven’t found it,” said the Rev. Thomas Ferguson, vicar at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church. The Rev. Jenny Saperstein, pastor at Northside Presbyterian Church, told Ferguson, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that whoever took it must have needed a flag. “She said, let’s answer this with something positive,” Ferguson said.

The churches, which often partner on social justice issues, will have 300 flags available and plan to order more if they run out. Launching the event on a Sunday allows the entire congregation to get involved with the advocacy, Saperstein said. “It’s really this church community that stands for that,” Saperstein said. “Not just the pastors.”

Hearing affirming messaging from churches is especially important for marginalized communities. “We’ll hope to change hearts and minds with love,” Ferguson said. “We’re not going away, and we’re not changing our stance here with the oppressed.”

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Donde termina el arco iris,
en tu alma o en el horizonte?

Where does the rainbow end,
in your soul or on the horizon?

― Pablo Neruda, The Book of Questions

 

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source credit: jordyn pair, mlive, ann arbor news