JaZzArt en València

I’ve got to say, dear diary, that I did not choose my life. I waited too long to learn, to be what I wanted to be now seems like a dream I dreamt a million years ago. I let my parents influence me towards science or law and for them those were the only two viable alternatives and the only choices for education. So naturally I thought so too… Because my parents were scientist they were brought to the US, and I think to give me a better life they chose their home base in Miami, although their work was in some far away place that I’ve no idea about. But, reference study, I did three years of medical school somewhere in Central America, and later I looked for an Army recruiter, walked in and volunteered. And I will never regret it because although I was not an immigrant, I did benefit from living in the US and I felt it was my duty to pay back.

But although I did gain some tremendously valuable experience in the military, all it led me was to civilian law enforcement in Miami-Dade County, Florida, (it was Dade County in my day)… I finally rebelled and studied psychology and Art, and my Art was through the Theatre Department at uni…

But what I really would have liked to do…being that I love to sing and dance…what I would have loved to have been was a Pip. Singing back up for Gladys Knight…

CHEERS

No hacen falta las palabras, el vídeo lo dice todo… disfrutadlo…

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No need for words, the video says it all… enjoy!

GRACIAS – CHEERS

Os traigo unas pero quizá vosotros conocéis otras más, venga que estoy seguro que si, a ver si me las decís…

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Here are a few but I think…I know…you know many more, so tell me which ones you like…

GRACIAS – CHEERS

Esto salió en el Instagram del periódico español El Mundo…

Horace Mann, estadounidense, escritor, político, filósofo, educador, reformador, y promotor del arte, sirvió en la Legislatura del Estado de Massachusetts, dice que la educación es el «…volante de la maquinaria social», y tu me preguntarás, ¿Qué maquinaria es esa? Bueno, te lo voy a decir…

Primero, una maquinaria es un conjunto de maquinas, entonces la maquinaria social es el conjunto formado por los seres humano y la tecnología imperante, sus interacciones y sus resultados, aquellos que no se hubieran logrado sin la union de las dos partes. Y Horace Mann tuvo toda la razón. Sin la educación adecuada no puede haber una buena interacción de estas dos «maquinas» y por ende perdemos todos.

Por ese motivo los regímenes comunistas, autocráticos, teocráticos, totalitarios y dictatoriales, (digamos que el comunismo abarca todas estas aberraciones menos la teocracia), buscan controlar el sistema educativo. Saben que les conviene mejor un estudiantado adoctrinado que uno con un aprendizaje libre. Y esto lo hacen hasta en los países libres y democráticos, pues colocan a docentes que tratan de meter opiniones en lugar de hechos y enseñan que esas opiniones son hechos.

Pues muy bien, ahora te toca a ti, ¿Dime, qué piensas?

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“Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer of the conditions of men and the steering wheel of the social machinery.”

This came out on the Instagram of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo…

Horace Mann, North American, writer, politician, philosopher, educator, reformer, and promoter of the arts, served in the Massachusetts State Legislature, said education is the «…steering wheel of social machinery,» and you may ask me, What machinery is that? Well, I’m going to tell you…

First, machinery implies a set of machines. Then the social machinery is the set formed by human beings and the prevailing technology, their interactions, and their results. Results that would not have been achieved without the union of the two parts. And Horace Mann was absolutely right. Without proper education, there cannot be a good interaction of these two «machines,» and therefore we all lose.

For this reason, communist, autocratic, theocratic, totalitarian, and dictatorial regimes (let’s say that communism encompasses all these abuses except theocracy) seek to control the educational system. They know that it is better for them to have a indoctrinated student body than one with free learning. And they do this even in free and democratic countries, as they place teachers who try to insert opinions instead of facts and teach that these opinions are facts.

Well then, now it’s your turn. Tell me, what do you think?

GRACIAS – CHEERS

Córdoba, in Andalucía, Spain, has one of the most brilliant jewels in the jewel chest of Europe, the Mezauita-Catedral de Córdoba. To see this magnificent temple is enough to reason to visit the city. And the city is quite impressive. It is on the shores of the Guadalquivir River and boasts of one of the largest…if not the largest…Jewish quarters in Spain. The medieval city is phenomenal and then there is the modern Córdoba as well. Great food, great entertainment and many historical sites. So, in order to prepare you for a visit, I am giving you a brief tour…

CHEERS

Bueno, el verano tiene sus días jodidos cuando el calor te sofoca y otros días que son una autentica gozada, asi también es la vida. Pero bueno, hay que aprovechar cuando uno tiene la oportunidad para hacerlo y a mi no me gusta perderme una. Asi que os dejo con algunas entradas del pasado que muchos no habéis visto y que espero os disfrutéis. Regreso pronto, si Dios quiere, y seguiremos con nuevas entradas en VALENCIARTIST.

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Well, summer has its tough days when the heat gets you down, and other days that are really enjoyable. Just like life. But, you have to take advantage when you have the opportunity to do so, and I don’t like to miss out. So I’m leaving you with some past entries that many of you haven’t seen and I hope you enjoy them. I’ll be back soon, God willing, and we’ll continue with new entries on VALENCIARTIST.

GRACIAS – CHEERS

Si te fijas bien en la ilustración veras que en el reflejo de la pieza que forma parte de la naturaleza muerta que pintó Clara Peeters, esta su autorretrato…

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If you look real closely at the above illustration you will see that, reflected in the piece that forms part of the still life that Clara Peeters painted, is her self-portrait…

GRACIAS – CHEERS

The weightlessness of feeling cautious love as one is floating like a cloud,

can be like warm chilled breezes that caress the gentle sea,

the moistened lips, embraces, circle round like grains of sand that cry beneath one’s feet.

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A Euro-Ku is my homage to the Japanese haiku (poem), but made from a Western perspective. There are no syllabic restrictions, just three parts, which must communicate directly the message, and an original illustration by the author. The euro-ku must flow logically and not drift off into outer space. As a non-Japanese person it would be impossible for me to imitate a formal haiku as I’ve not the history or the experience of one born in Japan.