“Magical places are always beautiful and deserve to be contemplated. Always stay on the bridge between the invisible and the visible.” Paolo Coelho
Found on Pinterest
This is heavenly…no phones, no social media, no distractions; simply a butterfly-filled meadow alongside a sunshiny, babbling brook.
This pic reminds me of one of my favorite songs by (who else) Leon Russell, Down On Deep River. It evokes the perfect, serene mood…
“Hear the crickets singing for a mile And the sound of the bullfrogs make you smile So lead me beside the still waters Let me love you down on deep river.
Won’t you sit by my side And hold to my hand and love me all the way?
And we’ll leave all the highways far behind And just take a little blanket with the wine.”
Did you know that the Master of Space and Time had a long association with The Rolling Stones? He arranged and played on many of their songs, as well as performed covers that I feel were superior to the Stones in every way, but then, I’m totally biased.
Photo found on Insta
Here’s a few examples:
I’m pretty sure that’s Leon counting 1-2-3.
Leon also provided piano and horn arrangements. You can always tell it’s Leon by his signature glissandos.
Here’s an early version of Wild Horses with Leon Russell on the organ during a session for Sticky Fingers 12/04/1969-70.
And my favorite version of Wild Horses by Leon on Stop All That Jazz.
Leon referred to himself as a blues hound. In one interview, he said some musicians he worked with suffered from “jazz damage”. When Leon Russell referred to “jazz damage”, he was jokingly expressing his concern about music producer Tommy LiPuma’s extensive work with smooth, commercialized jazz artists and how that might have diminished his feel for blues and rock.
Here’s more:
In a 2014 interview about his album Life Journey, Russell recalled telling producer Tommy LiPuma, “I was concerned he might have jazz damage.” His reasoning was that LiPuma had previously produced successful records for jazz-pop artists like George Benson, Diana Krall, and Natalie Cole, which Russell saw as a departure from the grittier, blues-based music he favored.
His comment was not a condemnation of jazz as a whole but rather a witty, playful remark referencing his own background. LiPuma proved Russell’s fear was unfounded. The two had a productive collaboration and Leon happily noted that LiPuma was an “old blues hound like me, which was great”.
On another topic for a minute, isn’t is awesome that María Corina Machado Parisca won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize? She’s a Venezuelan politician, industrial engineer, and a prominent opposition leader to the authoritarian Nicolás Maduro regime. Congratulations!
Do you know Bad Bunny?
Singer and record producer Bad Bunny has been chosen to perform at the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
A lot of absolute and total subhuman idiots including that orange POS don’t seem to comprehend that Bad Bunny was born in Puerto Rico and that Puerto Rico is an unincorporated United States territory. To clarify, Puerto Ricans are United States citizens.
The most streamed artist in the world, Bad Bunny’s real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. He was born in Puerto Rico and chose the stage name Bad Bunny after a social media post of him as a child, wearing a bunny suit and a grumpy expression, gained popularity and led him to create a Twitter account with that name.
His mom is a retired teacher and his dad was a truck driver, about as American as you can get.
This choice for the Super Bowl LX halftime show has been met with a furious backlash from MAGA influencers who’ve complained that he “doesn’t sing in English” and that he has been critical of Donald Trump, something I admire him for doing.
This manufactured outrage and hostility towards Bad Bunny is not rooted in his music, but in his message, and his color.
It’s absolutely disgusting to realize how many racist people there are in this country and how they feel it’s now OK to be vocal about it. Really, really, disgusting.
In a weird kind of way, their faux outrage has catapulted Bad Bunny to the forefront of everyone’s mind; it’s priceless publicity!
Maybe I didn’t really know who he was before, but now that I do, he’ll be added to my playlist. Maybe not at the top because my heart still belongs to Leon Russell, but there’s room for a Bad Bunny song or two; some Latin urban, reggaeton, and Latin trap.
By choosing Bad Bunny, the NFL not only secures a global superstar, but also aligns itself with a narrative of inclusion and representation. I didn’t think anybody can top Prince’s electric performance in 2007, but I support the NFL’s choice.
Bad Bunny says, “Sin mucha labia, sin mucha cotorra. Cuando estoy contigo dejo que la vibra corra,” which translates to “Without much fluff, without much chatter. When I’m with you I let the vibe flow”.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Lao Tzu
Leaf Loss / Bare Bones / Blue Sky
This ash tree started out forty years ago in a five-gallon pot as a housewarming gift. As soon as the leaves begin to drop–in just a day or two– the branches will become bare and I’ll have a LOT of raking to do.
“Simplicity is the final achievement. Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.” Coco Chanel
Abscission is the reason why leaves fall. Scientists believe that a reduction in sunlight leads to the reduction of chlorophyll in the leaf due to a reduction in photosynthesis and this may trigger the abscission of leaves. The actual process occurs when the weaker cells near the petiole are pushed off by the stronger cells beneath them.
That’s a lot for my brain to process and right now all I want to do is quietly savor the stark, elegantly naked branches.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about T-I-M-E. Time flies. I hate to be late; I like to be ON TIME. Does time really exist at all or have we been brainwashed to think iit does?
Too much thinking about time as ephemeral makes me anxious. Too much thinking about anything does the same thing. My non-logical mind has determined that TIME itself isn’t the issue; THINKING about it IS and it makes my brain melt, just like Dali’s clocks.
Salvador Dalí
“Time doesn’t exist, clocks exist. Time is just an agreed upon construct.” — David Foster Wallace
“It takes just one unattended moment for an hour to pass.” ― Sherod Santos,Square Inch Hours: Poems
Santos was born in South Carolina, graduated from San Diego State University, and studied at the University of California, Irvine. I never met him when I attended SDSU, but I knew ABOUT him; all of us who studied creative writing and poetry knew about “Rod” Santos and W.S. Merwin and Glover Davis, who was actually my professor.
David Foster Wallace was an acclaimed American writer known for his fiction, nonfiction, and critical essays that explored the complexities of consciousness, irony, and the human condition. Wallace wrote the novel Infinite Jest.
“The Persistence of Memory” is an iconic 1931 surrealist oil painting by Salvador Dalí, famous for its “melting” clocks draped over a desolate, dream-like landscape inspired by his Catalonian home. The painting uses a paranoiac-critical method to explore the subconscious, with the distorted clocks symbolizing the fluidity and subjectivity of time, influenced by Freudian psychology and potentially Einstein’s theory of relativity. From Google.
Could Leon Russell’s version of As Time Goes By be the best ever? I think so…mature Leon was awesome, too.
Every full moon in September, this song comes to mind…
Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind? –Colors of The Wind from the film, Pocahontas
September’s full moon is special because it’s accompanied by a total lunar eclipse. Sadly, I don’t think we’ll be able to experience the eclipse here in the States but we might observe the moon’s deep reddish hue; not blue, though.
We are reminded to connect with themes of gratitude, release, and harvest by writing down what we’re thankful for and what we want to let go of, and by creating a gratitude chart. As always, this is a great time to charge crystals under the light energy of this full moon.
Because both of the Angel Kids’ eyes literally roll back in their heads when I make them listen to Leon Russell music, I found a slightly obscure song called “Too Much Monkey Business”. It’s more spoken than sung, like a precursor to rap music, and was written by Chuck Berry in 1956.
I played it and the Angels started singing along, as it’s a very catchy tune. I’d call out “How much monkey business” and they’d respond, “Too much monkey business!”
This song is totally earworm-worthy because they couldn’t stop singing it to themselves. All day long, during breakfast and helping to organize their books so we could donate some, I heard them quietly repeat “too much monkey business”, or “too much for me to be involved in.”
I said, “Cool song, huh?” as I planned my final move in my neverending quest to make them love Leon as much as I do.
When we sat on the sofa together after dinner playing card games, I asked Siri to play “Too Much Monkey Business” by Leon Russell and AB said, “Wait, that was LEON? It didn’t sound like him!” I replied, “That was my little joke. You had no idea you were singing one of his songs hahahahaha!”
Too late to stop it from happening; the lyrics are firmly embedded in their brains. They changed the words to: “How much Grandma business?” and “Too much Grandma business.”
They grudgingly agreed it was GOOD but asked me to pleasepleaseplease stop dancing because I was embarrassing them. I can only imagine the many ways I’ll be an embarrassment when they’re teenagers. It’s a rite of passage. They can ask their dad for confirmation.
Those kids are uber funny but I won. They’re now listening to and appreciating the Master of Space and Time–in spite of themselves. My work here is done.
Runnin’ to and fro, hard workin’ at the mill Never failed in the mail, yet come a rotten bill Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Salesman talking to me tryin’ to run me up a creek Say, “You can buy it, go on, try it, you can pay me next week” ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Blonde-haired, good lookin’ tryin’ to get me hooked Want me to marry, get a home, settle down, write a book, ha Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Same thing every day, gettin’ up, goin’ to school No need to be complainin’, my objections overruled, ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Payphone, somethin’ wrong, dime gone, will mail I ought to sue the operator for tellin’ me a tale, ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
I been to Yokohama, been fightin’ in the war Army bunk, army chow, army clothes, army car, ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Workin’ in the fillin’ station, too many tasks Wipe the windows, check the tires, check the oil, dollar gas, ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business I don’t want your botheration, get away, leave me be
I love it when someone sends pictures of Leon that I hadn’t previously seen. These photos were taken in Detroit; the one on the left was at the Eastown Theater (1970) and on the right, Cobo Arena in 1972.
Ron Domilici Cobo Arena photo by Charlie Auringer.·Magic bag
One of the most truly amazing live performances took place at Leon’s Paradise Studios in 1979. All the musicians are incredible, but it features Leon’s long-time friend and colleague, JJ Cale. The sole female guitarist is Christine Lakeland Cale, JJ’s wife.
Grammy winner, legendary singer, songwriter, and musician J.J. Cale (born John Weldon Cale,1938–2013) was one of the originators of the distinctive Tulsa Sound. He is most famous for writing songs popularized by others, including Eric Clapton’s hits “Cocaine” and “After Midnight” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Call Me the Breeze”. Known for his laid-back, blues-rock style, Cale also pioneered the use of drum machines and produced his own records, engineering his own distinctive sound. He was also one of Leon Russell’s engineers in the 1960s.
Check out Leon on the drums!
PS There’s an album/dvd of that session but I haven’t found it available for purchase. JJ. Cale featuring Leon Russell – In Session at the Paradise Studios, L.A. 1979 [DVD] If anybody has one, please let me know! I’d love to own it.
“Yeah, I know with the help of the good God, and an artificially induced religious experience, I think it’s gonna be all right.”
Photo credit, found on Pinterest
The Master of Space and Time’s churchy, rolling piano and drawling vocals, his zealous evangelical outpouring of energy from the stage made his concerts, as Russell put it, “an artificially induced religious experience.”
Leon was offered an off-camera role in the film, “When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder”, as Reverend Duane Hindley, a radio preacher broadcasting from Del Rio, Texas.
He’s heard in the scene with Peter Firth as Stephen “Red” Ryder and Audra Lindley (remember Three’s Company?) as Ceil Ryder, Red’s mother.
Leon later revealed he read that religious rant, (he wrote it), in the style of Asa A. (A.A.) Allen, a 1960s American Pentacostal evangelist known for his “Voice of Healing.”
Listen closely to hear Leon say, “Feel the power,” “count your blessings,” and “encounters with the Devil.”
I thought this was a pretty cool discovery about Leon Russell. He could have had another career as a fire and brimstone preacher.
I’d definitely attend the Church of Leon. I believe!
It’s not often that a hummingbird will be able to stop moving long enough to take a picture that’s not blurry, but yesterday I got lucky. This little one darted from one monkey flower to another and my phone did a pretty good job of capturing her colorful exuberance. The nectar must have been sweet and delicious.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
“She’s little and I love her too much for words to say.” –Leon Russell
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
The lyrics to Hummingbird, another Leon Russell masterpiece, were swirling around in my head while I was snapping these pics. (This is Set 2 / Live At The Fillmore East/3/27/70 · Leon Russell Mad Dogs & Englishmen)
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 