tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76182762024-03-18T21:37:04.516-05:00Koranteng's Toli<strong>toli</strong>: <em>n.</em> 1. A juicy piece of news. 2. The latest word or gossip. 3. The talk of the town, typically a salacious or risque tale of intrigue, corruption or foolishness. <em>(Ga language, Ghana, West Africa)</em>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.comBlogger476125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-67151518445870368922024-03-12T07:00:00.027-05:002024-03-16T10:53:55.419-05:00Gee Doctor Fauci (Once Again)Gee kindly Dr Fauci they tell me you retired<br>
But this pandemic is still a raging fire:<br>
Everyone at work is out sick<br>
Oh, some say "personal responsibility",<br>
It's on them, they could have worn masks<br>
But better ventilation would have been cheaper clearly<br>
Is that really too much to ask?<br><br>
Dear kindly Doctor Fauci<br>
Have a talk with the folks at the CDC<br>
They won't listen to a comment coming from me<br>
They seem to have forgotten their mission statement <br>
Surely it's better for public health to try to <em>prevent</em> <br>
Than to <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2022/10/acceptable-loss.html">give in</a> and manage the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-cdc-drops-five-day-covid-isolation-guidelines-2024-03-01/">aftermath</a> <br>
Of mass disabling events<br><br>
Gee kindly Dr Fauci<br>
The issue is rather emotive<br>
There's a nagging sense that it's all about the profit motive<br>
Have you seen the price, these days, of a course of Paxlovid?<br>
And the insurance won't cover it if you keep getting sick<br>
Sticker shock for my colleague,<br>
In the thick of it<br><br>
Dear kindly Doctor Fauci<br>
They say that every day is for the thief<br>
And viruses too, I guess<br>
All that's left for us is tears<br>
For it seems it's far easier to stick to pleasant beliefs<br>
Despite the object lesson of the past few years<br>
That <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/04/no-one-is-coming.html">no one is coming</a> to give us relief<br><br>
Gee kindly Doctor Fauci<br>
Do you remember? <br>
The good old days<br>
A sentimental sort -<br>
I was thinking back with nostalgia<br>
Remembering the <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-second-wave.html">second wave</a><br>
Back then vaccines were coming<br>
We really thought that we might be winning<br>
Ah well, reality will always prevail over <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/10/wishful-thinking.html">wishful thinking</a><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/50047281977/in/album-72157714505657623/" title="Doctor Fauci, Pence, Trump coronavirus briefing April 10 2020"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50047281977_d44c0a6971.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Doctor Fauci, Pence, Trump coronavirus briefing April 10 2020" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br><br>
Gee kindly Dr Fauci please put the issue to bed<br>
They've been saying for years now that the pandemic is over<br>
Repeating it and shouting it increasingly louder<br>
This may be the case, but hear me out instead<br>
Was it Keynes, that prescient one, who once said<br>
In the long run we are all dead<br><br>
Gee kindly Dr Fauci<br>
What's really in a name?<br>
Is naming destiny?<br>
Or is it simply easier to blame?<br>
In math class, they taught us about irrational numbers<br>
Yet they won't name <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-new-variant.html"><em>any</em> new variant</a> Pi<br>
Hmm, makes you wonder<br>
Those three musketeers of fate <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/11/truth-and-reconciliation.html">again</a>:<br>
Irony, infamy and goddamn lies<br><br>
Gee kindly Dr Fauci I think it was Belloc who once said<br>
Apropos <a href="https://home.koranteng.com/writings/on-irony.html">irony</a>, that altogether sublime form of jest, <br>
That it was in the nature of irony <br>
That it should avenge the truth<br>
But there's no consolation as yet<br>
The cowboy never came to save America<br>
They say that he died in his boots<br><br>
Dear kindly Dr Fauci I confess that I rather miss the joys of indoor dining<br>
And movies, and nightclubs, and the fun of entertaining<br>
It's a bit like <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2004/07/on-swallowing-pills.html">swallowing</a> a bitter pill<br>
A part of my life <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2022/09/incalculable-loss.html">sadly forsaken</a> for fear of falling ill<br>
Instead, prudence, it's <abbr title="Uber eats">takeout</abbr> and Netflix and Chill<br><br>
Gee kindly Doctor Fauci, consider a play in two acts<br>
For, in this day and age, we need some relief<br>
Between an audience and writer there exists a kind of pact:<br>
The suspension of disbelief<br>
Between a population and a virus there is a matter of fact:<br>
The immutability of the <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-laws-of-grief.html">laws of grief</a><br><br>
Dear kindly Doctor Fauci please give me a break<br>
After seventy stanzas I thought this must be a mistake<br>
That our conversations were surely complete <br>
Instead, I've had to admit a miserable defeat<br>
And call you up for yet another consultation<br>
For this pandemic shows no sign of ending...<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/50056292938/in/album-72157714505657623/" title="the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50056292938_1e86a3a7e6_n.jpg" width="315" height="289" alt="the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br><br>
<h3><a href="https://home.koranteng.com/writings/pandemic-playlists.html">Soundtrack for this note</a></h3><br>
A few playlists that the good doctor and I have enjoyed over the pandemic
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJBjJDC2x4ViYbphdPKiTas">The Grand Reopening of Texas, a playlist</a> (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4H1QABLpyqtxaQbCjYhaHE">spotify</a> version)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLbFid7JTjAYK-Jda71TiU0">Herd Immunity, a playlist</a> (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6bs3cRomrsZzcjbzhlCJpr">spotify</a> version)</li>
</ul>
...<br><br>
See previous consultations with Doctor Fauci:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-grand-reopening-of-texas.html">The Grand Reopening of Texas</a></li>
<li><a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/05/shell-games-part-i-shame-cultures.html#fauci-remixed">Gee Doctor Fauci (Remixed)</a>
<li><a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/02/telemedicine-consultation.html">Telemedicine Consultation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2022/12/gee-doctor-fauci-revisited.html">Gee Doctor Fauci (Revisited)</a></li>
</ul>
<p>This lament with the good doctor is part of a series: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-covidious-time.html">In a covidious time</a>.</p><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/satire" rel="tag">satire</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/coronavirus" rel="tag">coronavirus</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/pandemic" rel="tag">pandemic</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/rogues" rel="tag">rogues</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/public%20health" rel="tag">public health</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/policy" rel="tag">policy</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/strategy" rel="tag">strategy</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/hatchet%20job" rel="tag">hatchet job</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Observers%20are%20worried" rel="tag">Observers are worried</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Buyer's%20Remorse" rel="tag">Buyer's Remorse</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/covidious" rel="tag">covidious</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: February 16, 2024<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-64916702890237615542024-03-05T07:00:00.003-06:002024-03-05T07:00:00.135-06:00Incipient SignsBefore the stray, early blossoms<br>
Before the green shoots announced themselves<br>
It was the birds, dozens of them that morning<br>
That descended on the bare tree branches<br>
The small ones this time, inquisitive at once<br>
Their colors indicating the southern provenance<br>
Tentative at this stage but the tweets confirmed it<br>
Modulo a final freeze, spring was coming<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/51217953812/in/album-72157719102027230/" title="pandemic garden"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51217953812_72e9b2469a.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="pandemic garden" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div></br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v">Spring, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/14N6iLaFCzxigHyvtXUQPQ">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZojUHky6TQ&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=1">Spring is Here by Kenny Dorham and Cannonball Adderley</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzOUzdeCqM4&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=2">Suddenly It's Spring by Stan Getz</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FTe6-5WwOQ&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=3">It might as well be spring by Sarah Vaughan</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLC-uSeGzSE&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=4">Blue Spring by Kenny Dorham and Cannonball Adderley</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2JSi_UZxjA&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=5">Spring is Here by Bill Evans </a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNZAbQGMd4o&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=6">It might as well be spring by Kenny Dorham and Cannonball Adderley</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXIF-x6w3RA&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=7">You must believe in spring by Bill Evans</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s13Nz1I2C_E&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=8">Poetic Spring by Kenny Dorham and Cannonball Adderley</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCnIGPuRiRI&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=9">Younger than springtime by Amel Larrieux</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgbFTOZyR4c&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=10">It might as well be spring by Jacky Terrasson and Cassandra Wilson</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iDRa5N1VA8&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=11">Passion Spring by Kenny Dorham and Cannonball Adderley</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZknLNT8788&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrK4Wd5rYIWAEwc1CeM3LZ_v&index=12">It might as well be spring by Ahmad Jamal</a></li>
</ul>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/nature" rel="tag">nature</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/life" rel="tag">life</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: March 10, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-53922249093311844902024-02-27T05:20:00.001-06:002024-02-27T05:29:49.138-06:00Root Cause AnalysisTime for the post mortem, as you know, some take it seriously<br>
The need to revisit, the urge to explain what happened previously <br>
For an ounce of prevention is said to be worth a pound of cure<br>
Let's get to the bottom of things and figure out the root cause<br><br>
Oftentimes it's a simple mistake, a moment of inattention <br>
Or sometimes it's really just idle exploration<br>
One minute you wonder, what does this button do? <br>
Then the thing happens that you can't recant <br>
Oops, you realize you just shut down the power plant<br><br>
Human fallibility tends to be the root cause<br><br>
Ah right, power. It's quite fitting in this era of modernity <br>
That one can't sing too highly of the virtues of Electricity<br>
So essential, we almost always overlook this august substance<br>
We only rue its wonder when confronted by its absence<br>
And now we've lost power and everything must stop<br>
Oops, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2005/04/lights-out.html">lights out</a>. In Ghana we call it <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34336319?SThisFB">dumsor</a><br><br>
Power failures are prime candidates for the root cause<br><br>
The next affliction, sadly, is all too common<br>
Like ants, human beings just like to burrow<br>
When in a mad rush to lay down some pipes, it's nigh inevitable <br>
So busy that we never checked to see what could be an obstacle<br>
Dig: bureaucracy got in the way, they were moving too slow<br>
Oops, the contractor cut the critical cable with his backhoe<br><br>
All too often, cable cuts tend to be the root cause<br><br>
<a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2006/03/things-fall-apart.html">Things fall apart</a>, they say, <br> equipment sputters, machines fail<br>
They blow <a href="https://twitter.com/jdchristopher/status/1533089680274731010">hot</a> and cold, or crack when used, <br> there's wear and tear<br>
Material scientists make a roaring trade <br> as do structural engineers <br>
That, sadly, alchemists never overcame nature's challenge <br> is the lesson learned<br>
Oops, the widget broke, <br> a reminder that no condition is permanent<br><br>
In this industrial age, hardware failures are a likely root cause<br><br>
Sometimes you're just too popular, <br> so crowded no one can get in or breathe<br>
Congestion is the operative word, <br> in matters of scale, a crowd changes things <br>
Your service is the flavor of the month, <br> and now you've become essential <br>
Oops, you're completely unprepared for when you go viral<br><br>
Woe is me, lack of capacity is frequently the root cause<br><br>
And then we come to the bad actors, <br> forever on the attack<br>
Always probing for an opening, <br> for vulnerabilities in your stack<br>
And that's even before we consider <br> the gremlins and parasites<br>
Iconoclastic beasts with distinctive manners <br> and singular appetites<br>
Every complex ecosystem in history <br> has had to deal with grifters<br>
Oops, your hospital is held to ransom <br> by a band of sneaky hackers<br><br>
Always protect yourself, a lapse in security is invariably the root cause<br><br>
There's more in this vein, <br> mankind has never built a system <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/apelad/albums/72157594388426362/">without error</a><br>
From the Tower of Babel to that fancy car, <br> or even that blasted word processor<br>
The raw materials of life, <br> whether it's the design or the initial conception<br>
Imposing one's will, <br> it might be a flaw in the ultimate implementation<br><br>
You probably have your own experience and area of expertise<br>
Your own rules of thumb about these puzzling mysteries<br>
Let me tell you something <br> from my profession of software engineer<br>
If you only knew, <br> to defend a system in depth is an exercise in fear<br>
How close we come to catastrophe, <br> partial or complete, every day<br>
Trust me, you really don't want to see how the sausage is made <br><br>
Now one could argue about the order <br> of this short list of failure modes<br>
It is only in retrospect that one is truly able to diagnose<br>
The human burden is to keep moving <br> in the face of systemic error<br>
To mitigate the worst, <br> to build the fail-safes and systematic procedures <br><br>
Spare a thought for the moron in a hurry, <br> for one day it could be you<br>
That, through omission or commision, <br> will be blamed for the miscue<br>
We haven't scratched the surface <br> of how much the human factor has an impact<br>
Fall back to folk wisdom, <br> suffice to say that curiosity killed the cat <br><br>
And what of the wider world, <br> say failed love affairs, or even wars?<br>
It's only human to search for simple answers <br> and the root cause <br>
Our prophets and philosophers have long emphasized <br> moral suasion and the golden rule<br>
You could do hardly do worse than social living <br> and the <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-mosquito-principle.html">mosquito principle</a><br><br>
Focus on best practices, usability, and layers of protection<br>
Try to put a process in place and make it official!<br>
Make sure that it takes many, many <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2005/05/unloved-html-button-and-other.html">big red buttons</a> <br> to launch that nuclear missile <br>
If there's any moral to this tall tale of root cause analysis<br>
Take heed, and wherever possible, make use of the checklists<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/1223951326/in/album-72057594056675363/" title="wide load coming through"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1109/1223951326_3ec4303046.jpg" width="500" height="361" alt="wide load coming through" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
After<ul><li><a href="https://how.complexsystems.fail/">How Complex Systems Fail</a> (Being a Short Treatise on the Nature of Failure; How Failure is Evaluated; How Failure is Attributed to Proximate Cause; and the Resulting New Understanding of Patient Safety) by Richard I. Cook</li>
<li>a quip about network outages from <a href="https://seclists.org/nanog/2001/Jul/44">Sean Donelan</a></li></ul>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02">Root Cause, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2CAO8wJuH7Etm8G6tfFZbM">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPFARweaCcA&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02&index=1">Oops (Oh My) by Tweet ft. Missy Elliot</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATMsWEVR5uY&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02&index=2">My Mistake (was to love you) by Marvin Gaye</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTeD3RWvE6A&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02&index=3">Reasons by Earth, Wind & Fire</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOVQqzctSNM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02&index=4&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Mistake by Fela Kuti</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLRA7OpquGc&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02&index=5">Knockin' at the Wrong Door by The Rollers</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXgeVL7DaQg&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02&index=6">A Few Reasons by Dwele</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM7lKBawUT0&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02&index=7">Who Can We Blame by Mica Paris</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5vBN-YpUVk&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKRQNUo-xdqcGpSyxKMsO02&index=8">Lessons by Eric Roberson</a></li>
</ul><br>
See also: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-dining-philosophers-problem.html">The Dining Philosophers Problem</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2005/11/resilience-and-adaptability.html">Resilience and Adaptability</a>, and <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/07/version-hell-revisited.html">Version Hell Revisited</a><br><br>
This belated entry on failure modes is part of the <a href="https://home.koranteng.com/writings/toli-technology-series.html">Toli Technology Series</a><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/failure" rel="tag">failure</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/systems" rel="tag">systems</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/resilience" rel="tag">resilience</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/best%20practices" rel="tag">best practices</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/human%20factors" rel="tag">human factors</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/networks" rel="tag">networks</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/operations" rel="tag">operations</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/error" rel="tag">error</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/technology" rel="tag">technology</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/software" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/hardware" rel="tag">hardware</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/design" rel="tag">design</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/strategy" rel="tag">strategy</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Observers%20are%20worried" rel="tag">Observers are worried</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: April 3, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-7103584648983212622024-02-20T04:34:00.001-06:002024-02-20T04:34:35.394-06:00Regret Is AllRegret is all, it's only human<br>
An emotion with an intimate audience<br>
The tinge of shame and imperfection<br>
And the taint, for we were never innocent<br><br>
For some can never descend the mountain of regret<br>
They can't let go of the history or even decide to forget<br>
Forever revisiting the past, vivid scenarios replayed <br>
It's hard to live in the bed of remorse that they've made<br><br>
Questioning whether the requisite words could have been found<br>
Or whether alternative actions could have been summoned<br>
Standing on the verge, poised between restraint and impulse<br>
Rueing whether different actors might have changed the outcome<br><br>
Communal regret is often the essence of cultural memory<br>
To find oneself laying down markers of collective identity <br>
Intimations of free will weighed against chaos theory<br>
The direction of the arc of time and missed opportunities<br><br>
Regret is all, it's a deficiency disease <br>
Testimony to the fallibility of memories<br>
Or sometimes to a surfeit of imagination<br>
The raw materials of life, regret is an imposition<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/200583873/in/album-72157594215426253/" title="boy on steps of crumbling castles"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/72/200583873_e2d35370ea.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="boy on steps of crumbling castles" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJq6GGDNb6zZrvPyVxpZX_c">Regret, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJq6GGDNb6zZrvPyVxpZX_c">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3LXdo5VVvJSUBMv4dJeeKK">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-D7C-uEz7c&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJq6GGDNb6zZrvPyVxpZX_c&index=1">Forever Regret by The RH Factor</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOxm-qD53jE&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJq6GGDNb6zZrvPyVxpZX_c&index=2">I Missed by Surface</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Pp2MCAYHg&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJq6GGDNb6zZrvPyVxpZX_c&index=3">Congratulations by Vesta Williams</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpNUqNe0U5g&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJq6GGDNb6zZrvPyVxpZX_c&index=4">We almost lost Detroit by Gil Scott-Heron</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24PdkV_bn1c&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJq6GGDNb6zZrvPyVxpZX_c&index=5">Non je ne regrette rien by Edith Piaf</a></li>
</ul><br>
Vaguely related: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2024/01/decision-to-forget.html">Decision to Forget</a>. The theme is buyer's remorse.<br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/regret" rel="tag">regret</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/wist" rel="tag">wist</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/decisions" rel="tag">decisions</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Buyer's%20Remorse" rel="tag">Buyer's Remorse</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: March 31, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-80231291052386178732024-02-14T06:42:00.001-06:002024-02-14T06:42:10.672-06:00Safe HarborMy hope is to disappear into you<br>
Dissolving slowly as you forget my name<br>
When our first encounter becomes a distant memory<br>
And the phantom sensation is all that remains<br><br>
Streams of thought, the quality of evanescence <br>
Happy to be wrapped in a blanket of impermanence<br>
Ephemeral traces, the comfort of a mood marker <br>
It was in your very self that I found my safe harbor<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/1382734739/in/album-220629/" title="sumi swirls"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1061/1382734739_c4b71f63de.jpg" width="336" height="500" alt="sumi swirls" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJczIo6xalqR4a28syl9HbQ">Safe Harbor, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJczIo6xalqR4a28syl9HbQ">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0NMijl8pMIRcyKlKrqZRKX">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EDwqldoFDE&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJczIo6xalqR4a28syl9HbQ&index=1">Forget my Name by Meshell Ndegeocello</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_G6pOQgwUs&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJczIo6xalqR4a28syl9HbQ&index=2">One More Chance by The Jacksons</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJYKIEwhy6w&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJczIo6xalqR4a28syl9HbQ&index=3">It Never Entered My Mind by Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-76ZcV-ivsk&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJczIo6xalqR4a28syl9HbQ&index=4">Just to Keep You Satisfied by Marvin Gaye</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBnj-J9MyEY&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJczIo6xalqR4a28syl9HbQ&index=5">Wrap My Body Tight by Johnny Gill</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXRbJ5GCGgg&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJczIo6xalqR4a28syl9HbQ&index=6&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">The Safest Place by Sade</a></li>
</ul><br><br>
See previously <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2023/02/i-daresay.html">I Daresay</a><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/sensory" rel="tag">sensory</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/emotion" rel="tag">emotion</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/life" rel="tag">life</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/lyricism" rel="tag">lyricism</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: March 10, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-72738363762817297792024-02-06T06:40:00.001-06:002024-02-06T07:06:22.203-06:00Waiting for the PopeThe Pope and Archbishop were coming<br>
And so we waited in the morning sun<br>
Sensible, well pressed skirts for the girls<br>
Boys in sharp shorts, our khaki school uniforms<br>
At the behest of stern teachers and chaperons<br>
We all made an effort to tamp down our ruffian ways<br>
Arrayed, or rather displayed, in formation at the roadside<br><br>
Earlier, after assembly, we'd marched out of the school gates<br>
Passing through the dusty streets of North Ridge<br>
And made our way to Ring Road, all the while chanting<br>
Oh the heat, the hours passed without a sighting<br>
No water, no snacks, but the novelty of the excursion compensated<br>
Seven year olds will find their own entertainment<br>
Serene and papal, we practiced our hand waves<br>
Then, inspired, tried out our Polish-accented English<br>
<cite>"Holy, holy, very holy... I bless you, my children."</cite><br><br>
In the event, after all that, it was a two minute affair<br>
No popemobile as it turned out, a rather sober procession<br>
Cars bearing dignitaries preceded by the motorcade<br>
Cheers, such cheers, and a mad scramble<br>
We bore witness<br><br>
A slight man in the flesh, pint-sized<br>
Can't say that he was larger than life<br>
Still, you could have sworn he looked you directly in the eye<br>
Made you feel a connection even at the roadside<br>
Our healthy skepticism of catholicism was almost overcome<br>
The great man theory, we'd learned some kind of civic lesson<br>
We savored the escape and managed to wrangle a further hour of fun<br>
Then slowly, very slowly, made our way back to North Ridge Lyceum<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/23187588890/in/album-72157659614008304/" title="ghana stamp pope john paull II archbishop of canterbury with president Hilla Limann 8-10th May 1980 20 pesewas"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/5627/23187588890_7f73ef9451.jpg" width="500" height="309" alt="ghana stamp pope john paull II archbishop of canterbury with president Hilla Limann 8-10th May 1980 20 pesewas" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLIcYLrY0tTrSTCJJNVcBZ-">Waiting for the Pope, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLIcYLrY0tTrSTCJJNVcBZ-">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4JCkAM3XZrrpft4jJtMEtL">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h9SUiwnB4E&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLIcYLrY0tTrSTCJJNVcBZ-&index=1&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">I don't mind the waiting by Omar</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzhvXn6-gDU&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLIcYLrY0tTrSTCJJNVcBZ-&index=2&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Waiting on you by En Vogue</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdfnKQdGlXc&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLIcYLrY0tTrSTCJJNVcBZ-&index=3&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Soon come by Bob Marley and the Wailers</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObAGzMw-sWU&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLIcYLrY0tTrSTCJJNVcBZ-&index=4&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Pope by Prince</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMGpWsFSP6I&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLIcYLrY0tTrSTCJJNVcBZ-&index=5&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Waiting by a roadside by John Englander</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aur744e6uLo&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLIcYLrY0tTrSTCJJNVcBZ-&index=6&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Soon Come by Peter Tosh</a></li>
</ul><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/2999170469/in/album-72157604644978342/" title="education church or state"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/2093/2999170469_a4f70d526f.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="education church or state" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br><br><br>
See previously <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2007/04/articles-of-faith.html">Articles of Faith</a> and <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2004/08/on-catholicism.html">On Catholicism</a><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/memory" rel="tag">memory</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/youth" rel="tag">youth</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Ghana" rel="tag">Ghana</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Africa" rel="tag">Africa</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/celebrity" rel="tag">celebrity</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: March 28, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-24989969870945419732024-01-30T07:00:00.022-06:002024-01-30T07:00:00.134-06:00Brow of DiscernmentThe kind of man that says unexceptionable and significations without irony<br>
His every pronouncement comes weighted with ballast and profundity <br>
The stylized pomp is deadly earnest and has no end<br>
Behold, in its full glory, the brow of discernment<br><br>
The arc of his thought, it is said, bends toward the contrarian<br>
Witness his long-standing battle against the conventional wisdom<br>
Very important this man, and altogether immune from mistakes<br>
Forget the previous discourse, here comes the definitive take<br><br>
Dizzying opinions fervently held to all appearances <br>
Beneath a surface layer of puffery and self importance <br>
Self identifying as a public servant of mankind<br>
Truth be told, he is a legend in his own mind<br><br>
Much like his peers, say, the mustache of understanding <br>
And erstwhile nemesis, the bow tie of fulsome waxing<br>
A mouthpiece to righteous blather, <br> ever prone to attacking cartoon villains<br>
Sample accusation: unlike him,<br> "no one is thinking about the children"<br><br>
Aspirations of grandeur,<br> capital's spokesman-in-chief<br>
Empire's useful idiot,<br> providing oligarchs comic relief<br>
Forever flirting with the masters of the universe<br>
Still there's something staid about him, <br> he's cool's dour obverse<br><br>
Paradoxically, one can point to <br> a thin veneer of past competence <br>
Before the turn to punditry, <br> there were some tangible achievements <br>
But hubris is all these days, <br> riding high, he's nigh invincible <br>
Try to pin him down though,<br> you won't find a guiding principle <br><br>
His stock-in-trade is outrage, <br> yet he's always on the side of angels<br>
Labels galore in his arsenal,<br> he knows how to turn the tables <br>
Throughout, he's surprisingly adept <br> at knowing where the money is flowing <br>
Mind you, he always checks first <br> to see which way the wind is blowing <br><br>
Backslapping repartee as befits the unctuous<br>
His prose style never varies from the oleaginous<br>
His days of punditry rather embody the savior complex<br>
But when caught out, his words were "taken out of context" <br><br>
Observe well, <br> his penchant for bonhomie and folk wisdom is rather notable<br>
With his idiosyncratic way with the mixed metaphor, <br> he remains ever quotable <br>
"Rising empires never sleep on blankets <br> forged in the fires of benign neglect"<br>
Car crashes have been caused <br> while trying to decipher his arch concepts<br><br>
Humanity is always on the precipice, <br> society is always at the crossroads<br>
Norm policing is his business, <br> he's prone to pearl clutching episodes <br>
So quick to assume the pose of the supercilious <br>
Even as he proudly wears the badge of the incurious<br><br>
After prefacing his remarks with a counterintuitive statement<br>
Comes a nod, that's when you'll find him fully in his element <br>
His favored weapon finally ready for deployment <br>
Raised and furrowed, the brow of discernment <br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/49819966781/in/album-72157714044132303/" title="Presentation Pete - Natty Dresser Pete"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49819966781_ccaa527acf.jpg" width="500" height="387" alt="Presentation Pete - Natty Dresser Pete" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJ85DYq7lv42GHM6TQ7zA_C">Puff, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJ85DYq7lv42GHM6TQ7zA_C">soundtrack</a> for this note. Self regard is everything. (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37YkkerGoOpEA63ST1kkd9">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uivvYGyQiow&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJ85DYq7lv42GHM6TQ7zA_C&index=1">He's Misstra Know-It-All by Stevie Wonder</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RYP2GsPysM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJ85DYq7lv42GHM6TQ7zA_C&index=2">Talking Loud and Saying Nothing by James Brown</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dIaDlnX9_w&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJ85DYq7lv42GHM6TQ7zA_C&index=3">Legend in his own Mind by Gil Scott-Heron</a></li>
</ul>
<br>
See previously: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-taxonomy-of-useful-idiots.html">A Taxonomy of Useful Idiots</a><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/satire" rel="tag">satire</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/hatchet%20job" rel="tag">hatchet job</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/rogues" rel="tag">rogues</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/useful%20idiots" rel="tag">useful idiots</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/gremlins" rel="tag">gremlins</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/parasites" rel="tag">parasites</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/opportunists" rel="tag">opportunists</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/ignorance" rel="tag">ignorance</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/shell%20game" rel="tag">shell game</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Buyer's%20Remorse" rel="tag">Buyer's Remorse</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Observers%20are%20worried" rel="tag">Observers are worried</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: March 24, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-61078361797515182912024-01-24T07:00:00.002-06:002024-01-24T07:00:00.127-06:00Bassa BassaOff kilter, your life is bassa bassa<br>
Just look at the mess that you've made<br>
Believe me, you need to shape up<br>
You've really got to change your ways<br><br>
Your affairs are bassa bassa, in such disarray<br>
And your finances, oh well, what more can I say?<br>
Always looking for a bailout to get you out of trouble<br>
"It's just a small loan, I go pay you tomorrow."<br><br>
Your room is hopeless, it's so bassa bassa<br>
How can you even cope with this kind of disorder?<br>
It's the dregs. Dirty things piled up high in this ghastly hovel <br>
Can't find anything, and let's not mention the smell - it's awful <br><br>
And as for your bassa bassa love life, don't get me started<br>
What's that phrase these days? Entanglement <br> Ah! So much drama.<br>
My friend, how many hearts must you leave broken?<br>
And for God's sake, <br> how many phone calls must you be dodging?<br><br>
You're not a child anymore, <br> this kind of life will catch up with you<br>
I have my own troubles, you know, <br> I won't always come to your rescue<br>
If you make your own bed you can lie in it <em>bassa bassa</em> <br>
Don't be surprised if you get burned when you play with fire<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/51952992908/in/dateposted/" title="bassa bassa spring cleaning chaos"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51952992908_e15cca7492.jpg" width="500" height="240" alt="bassa bassa spring cleaning chaos" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA">Bassa Bassa, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A wild and disorderly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA">soundtrack</a> for this note. (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1gDrzcE7mFWP2YZwdYgxYg">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH7RzrV725E&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA&index=1">Bassa Bassa by Vaudou Game</a><br>
Togolese voodoo funk in the vein of Poly-Rythmo.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAxP5wzqMN4&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA&index=2">Your Mess by Omar</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2AZZrhhm2Q&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA&index=3">Bassa Bassa by Jembaa Groove</a><br>
Hypnotic groove for the 21st century</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt3L-duHfiw&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA&index=4">Change Your Ways by Rufus and Chaka Khan</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt1WSwdQcK4&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA&index=5">Bassa Bassa by Osibisa</a><br>
They carried the Ghanaian musical flame in the era of the funk band</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL-AnrUzIic&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA&index=6">Change Your Ways by Horace Andy</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_CBqp34Jqo&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA&index=7">Bassa Bassa by Wognin Pedro</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bQmVk4Otw8&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKYrVvvzPkhVjfyPshCtXoA&index=8">Chaos and Disorder by Prince</a></li>
</ul><br>
See previously: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/08/never-never-man.html">Never Never Man</a><br><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/disorder" rel="tag">disorder</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/life" rel="tag">life</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/language" rel="tag">language</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Ghana" rel="tag">Ghana</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: March 21, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-45673975624359559582024-01-22T19:32:00.002-06:002024-01-22T19:32:41.846-06:00Extra TimeThe familiar arc of disappointment<br>
The sweet scent of repeated failure<br>
Once again facing the brutal letdown<br>
The aftermath of howls and moans<br><br>
First the raised hopes, the glimmer and uncertainty<br>
Then, almost immediately, the check of expectations<br>
The unavoidable, inevitable opening of the wound<br>
And still, the surprise at the ultimate fall from grace<br><br>
Welcome back old friend Disappointment<br>
With your chants of recriminations<br>
Welcome heartache and disbelief<br>
Come snuggle up with me<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/53481684934/in/album-72057594056675363/" title="extra time collapse ghana-mozambique afcon 2024"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53481684934_53eaede20f.jpg" width="500" height="424" alt="extra time collapse ghana-mozambique afcon 2024" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br><br>
<h4><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJJnAXRN0kbr4tPhgaOJrv0">A Familiar Arc, a playlist</h4><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJJnAXRN0kbr4tPhgaOJrv0">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FACwvhJ2rbLl8lZnGruWK">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3jO-3BoGzM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJJnAXRN0kbr4tPhgaOJrv0&index=1&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Good morning heartache by Billie Holiday</a><br>
So nice to see you</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsaOkw3KFds&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJJnAXRN0kbr4tPhgaOJrv0&index=2&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">A bad case of the blues by Dinah Washington</a><br></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVR73DHotbA&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJJnAXRN0kbr4tPhgaOJrv0&index=3&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">It hurts like hell by Aretha Franklin</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MBDOAvF8oY&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJJnAXRN0kbr4tPhgaOJrv0&index=4&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Blues up and down by Sonny Stitt</a><br>
Tracing the arc from eternal anticipation to unsatisfying letdown</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XdB1Nwx_Jk&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJJnAXRN0kbr4tPhgaOJrv0&index=5&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Blues grinder by Ronny Jordan</a><br>
'Tis the life of a Black Star's fan to be put through the wringer.</li>
</ul>
After: an extra time lapse by the Black Stars (January 2024)<br><br>
See <a href="https://twitter.com/koranteng/status/1749554061425160660">previous</a> installments: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-familiar-arc.html">A Familiar Arc</a> (2017), <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2014/07/could-have-been-should-have-been.html">Could have been / Should have been</a> (2014). You'd think I'd be prepared by now...<br><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/football" rel="tag">football</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/sports" rel="tag">sports</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Ghana" rel="tag">Ghana</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Africa" rel="tag">Africa</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/disappointment" rel="tag">disappointment</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/life" rel="tag">life</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Observers%20are%20worried" rel="tag">Observers are worried</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: January 22, 2024<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-57811420658679510932024-01-16T07:00:00.016-06:002024-01-16T08:16:00.575-06:00Solemnity PremiumsBuried on Ash Wednesday, the reading was from Revelations<br>
"Come", said the preacher, the message was an invitation <br>
But to the funeral goers, the reference to Lent was no consolation <br>
When in the throes of <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-laws-of-grief.html">grief</a>, there's only frustration<br>
We sang Abide With Me, but there was no returning <br>
For the loss was so keenly felt, it was all consuming <br><br>
The tributes were read, brief and poignant <br>
She'd trained us well, we were considerate<br>
No one lost composure, the mask didn't slip<br>
This was in Bristol, after all, stiff upper lip<br>
Thousands of miles from home, with a <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/06/another-zoom-funeral.html">virtual audience</a> to boot<br>
All of us dressed tidily in the most sober of black suits<br><br>
Something was missing, however, it was the sounds of cries<br>
If we were back in Ghana, clearly not a single eye would be dry <br>
Imagine! The queen of Makola market, <br> a woman so redoubtable <br>
We were duty bound to celebrate her life <br> by causing good trouble<br>
To make a scene, bassa bassa, <br> to weep uncontrollably on the side<br>
For when your heart is so rendered, <br> there is no keeping the soul quiet<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/50642446718/in/album-72157717029485353/" title="baba blanket reverse (2)"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50642446718_d34b8440de.jpg" width="500" height="440" alt="baba blanket reverse (2)" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div></br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKS4wPCYL39j6qk-cLhVDYj">Solemnity Premiums, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A stiff upper lip <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKS4wPCYL39j6qk-cLhVDYj">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3sYtbPujUxROwtoZXFCQBW">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8wRWxBeED8&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKS4wPCYL39j6qk-cLhVDYj&index=1">Please Don't Make Me Cry by UB40</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xpDSQe4HDU&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKS4wPCYL39j6qk-cLhVDYj&index=2">Keep it Inside by Cherrelle</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgr0KfC84MI&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKS4wPCYL39j6qk-cLhVDYj&index=3">One Last Cry by Brian McKnight</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FlMi5t4I9o&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKS4wPCYL39j6qk-cLhVDYj&index=4">All Cried Out by Alison Moyet</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3iMkv_Y_Xo&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKS4wPCYL39j6qk-cLhVDYj&index=5">Warriors Don't Cry by Beres Hammond</a></li>
</ul>
<br>See previously: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/06/another-zoom-funeral.html">Another Zoom Funeral</a><br><br>
After Auntie Naa Abia Mary Mould<br><br>
<p>This note is part of a series: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-covidious-time.html">In a covidious time</a></p>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/grief" rel="tag">grief</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/funeral" rel="tag">funeral</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/displacement" rel="tag">displacement</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/mourning" rel="tag">mourning</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/loss" rel="tag">loss</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Ghana" rel="tag">Ghana</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Africa" rel="tag">Africa</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/covidious" rel="tag">covidious</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: March 10, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-24764969371188505182024-01-09T07:00:00.005-06:002024-01-09T07:00:00.131-06:00Decision to ForgetWith the full knowledge of what lay ahead, he chose<br>
And this was no mistake, there was no buyer's remorse<br>
Having climbed, at length, this mountain of regret<br>
He'd made his peace with the decision to forget<br><br>
True, the burden of remembrance exacts a fraught bill<br>
The expense is paid in the currency of time and goodwill<br>
It has a cumulative effect, all this cognitive friction<br>
Such is the implicit weight of mental processing <br><br>
It would soon become second nature, adapting to this loss<br>
Yes, he accepted upfront the great transaction costs<br>
This pose of his, that some would term selective amnesia<br>
Was merely his favored strategy for resisting nostalgia<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/4747682491/in/album-72157624263279765/" title="pompidou metz model 3"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/4076/4747682491_7f34310755.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="pompidou metz model 3" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div></br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck">Decision to Forget, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck">soundtrack</a> for this note. Cultural memory is my enduring theme. (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4lRrSGLiA2mGYlJv3a31E0">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-D7C-uEz7c&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=1">Forget Regret by Roy Hargrove</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0oR2ZjbCvM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=2">Forgetting to Remember by Kinny and Horne</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXioFQhu1kI&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=3">Remember to Forget by Alice Russell</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0qBulm0hbg&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=4">I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near) by Michael McDonald</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP709vKwkD0&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=5">Forget me nots by Patrice Rushen</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjz_vl0cGrE&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=6">How Soon we Forget by Colonel Abrams</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6JgMOeVYks&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=7">Don't Forget the Ghetto by Hil St. Soul</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn3VcT6ZQk4&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=8">Don't You (Forget about me) by Simple Minds</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYKltpgW8m0&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=9">Don't Forget by Hindi Zahra</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFg0qanaOKE&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=10">Remember to Forget by Passenger</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufdSS-4R8Dg&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJcGySXYPKOag-EL39xW2Ck&index=11">Forgetting to Remember by Kinny (ft. Nostagia 77)</a></li>
</ul>
<br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/decisions" rel="tag">decisions</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/memory" rel="tag">memory</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/strategy" rel="tag">strategy</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Buyer's%20Remorse" rel="tag">Buyer's Remorse</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Observers%20are%20worried" rel="tag">Observers are worried</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: March 10, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-53347147362874824452023-12-30T06:00:00.001-06:002023-12-30T10:02:00.647-06:00Heidelberg Tavern MassacreWe'd passed the tavern on the same night <br> but decided to go somewhere with more color<br>
We woke in the morning to hear on the shortwave radio <br> about an overnight massacre<br><br>
As a good journalist, <br> Mum grabbed her microphone and tape recorder <br>
As a journalist's son, <br> I made sure to grab my notebook and camera<br><br>
No breakfast, we made our way to the scene <br> from the university guest house<br>
Checking the maps, we parked the rental car <br> as close as the police allowed <br><br>
The news didn't make for the best start <br> to tomorrow's New Year<br>
Ominous really, indeed, <br> the country was in a state of suspended fear<br><br>
It wasn't how we were planning to spend our short vacation<br>
But the journalistic impulse is a lifetime occupation<br><br>
Then again it was South Africa, forever on the verge of doom<br>
There were elections planned in April, 1994 loomed<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/7416557/in/album-72157720163546772/" title="Heidelberg tavern massacre Cape Town"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/5/7416557_150dd3c508.jpg" width="500" height="359" alt="Heidelberg tavern massacre Cape Town" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
The BBC didn't have anyone in Cape Town, <br> no boots on the ground<br>
For things had not been as heated there as in KwaZulu-Natal<br><br>
But now we could see the commotion, <br> the heavy police presence<br>
Flashing lights, weapons everywhere, <br> and the sounds of sirens<br><br>
Truth be told, it really felt as if we were in the middle of a war<br>
Darn it, I had run out of film. <br> Luckily, I spied a convenience store<br><br>
Walked in briskly and asked what kind of film they had<br>
Noting that I preferred Fuji but would gladly take Kodak<br><br>
Taken aback, the shopkeeper, <br> it felt as if I was integrating the shop<br>
Ah right, should have known better, <br> they'd never served black people before <br><br>
The way he was startled, as if I had come in the wrong door<br>
Was in the wrong place, an affront, and sullying his shop floor<br><br>
It was so over my head. <br> Had they really never been ordered around by my kind?<br>
Well anyway, their countrymen would soon be doing the same, <br> it was about time <br><br>
"Where are you from?", <br> a latter-day attempt at small talk over the counter.<br>
"I'm on holiday, Sir. Came from the States. <br> But I'm originally from Ghana."<br><br>
"Ghana." "Yeah, West Africa." <br> Rands proffered gingerly, patterns of exchange<br>
I picked up water and a Twix bar. <br> I told the owner to keep the change<br><br>
Dad used to regale us with stories <br> about his cohort of African diplomats<br>
Integrating New York right after independence. <br> This country was a throwback<br><br>
I loaded the roll of film, <br> would the memories I'd record be paparazzi gold?<br>
Well it was South Africa, 1994 beckoned. <br> Who knew what life would hold?<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/7416571/in/album-72157720163546772/" title="heidelberg tavern massacre - mum"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/4/7416571_9f57392287.jpg" width="500" height="346" alt="heidelberg tavern massacre - mum" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
Mum had already walked up beyond the security cordon<br>
Her microphone a kind of spear that opened all doors<br><br>
Looks of grudging respect from the soldiers and police officers<br>
Badged as she was as a live representative of the foreign press<br><br>
There was a local journalist on the scene <br> who seemed to appreciate a colleague<br>
It's not everyday that this kind of carnage <br> comes to your quiet streets <br><br>
It was only as she drew nearer <br> that it struck me that it was a near miss<br>
That it was only a matter of luck <br> that we weren't yesterday's victims<br><br>
This was the enlightened part of town <br> where races supposedly mingled every day<br>
Surprising really that the tavern would be singled out, <br> a real case of dismay<br><br>
<a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2023/08/an-hour-away.html">An hour away</a>, Khayelitsha had been rough, <br> but this was quite different<br>
This was the day, I guess, <br> that Observatory had lost its innocence<br><br>
Elsewhere, of course, <br> Buthelezi's people and the ANC were going at it<br>
That was the background of disquiet <br> that was giving most of us fits<br><br>
True, there were rumors of the apartheid death squads, <br> the rearguard action<br>
By and large however, on the ground <br> there was a lot of empty posturing<br><br>
Albeit we were learning the vocabulary of bloodletting<br>
The country at large becoming connoisseurs of necklacing<br><br>
But this was a terrorist attack plain and simple<br>
Shooting up a bar out of some misguided principle<br><br>
Students and others winding down the year <br> with music and alcohol<br>
Left for dead, maimed or injured, <br> and now a cautionary symbol<br><br>
Disconcerting, <br> it's not that I'd discounted her war stories about being shot at<br>
Sobering,<br> even as I was well aware of journalists' occupational hazards<br><br>
This was the new South Africa<br> whose leaders were lawyers who spent time debating<br>
At inordinate length, the finer points <br> of the mooted constitutional provisions<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/7416563/in/album-72157720163546772/" title="heidelberg massacre - mum inspects damage"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7/7416563_3de879d651.jpg" width="500" height="362" alt="heidelberg massacre - mum inspects damage" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
"It's bad." Onlookers murmuring, sidewalk symphony<br>
"It's bad. They seemed to have shot up outside."<br><br>
She gestured for me to come past the police tape. <br>
"Come, you're my photographer."<br><br>
"It's bad." What a refrain<br>
"Oh it's bad. Damn." "It's bad." A chorus of pain<br><br>
"Three dead at least." "How many?" "Three at least"<br>
"It's bad. We don't know if the others will make it."<br><br>
"It's bad." "What a shame."<br>
"No responsibility declared." No one to blame.<br><br>
"I counted ten, oh god. What a scene, it's bad."<br>
"They found a bomb, it could have been even worse." <br><br>
"Bomb squad was here. It didn't detonate. It's clear now"<br>
"They say... You don't want to see inside. Believe me, it's bad."<br><br>
"Come closer, take some photos." <br> Not quite as intrepid, I was staying behind the tape.<br>
Unabashed, she came and lifted the tape, <br> pulled me over to the front. "Go on"<br><br>
"Right here in Obz". Afrikaner accent<br>
"Terrorists. I can't believe it."<br><br>
"They should clean up the blood. It's bad, it's upsetting."<br>
The broken glass dispersed, shards everywhere.<br><br>
"It's bad. Oh, it's bad. I tell you. It's bad"<br>
"Station Road. Right here in Obz. Oh, it's bad." <br><br>
"Who was playing last night?" "Josh... so sad."<br>
"Is he okay? I wonder." "Oh, it's bad"<br><br>
There was blood on the ground and this was the aftermath<br>
"Oh, it's bad", I couldn't help but join in with the refrain.<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/7416586/in/album-72157720163546772/" title="heidelberg tavern capetown"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/6/7416586_33c553ba8c.jpg" width="500" height="355" alt="heidelberg tavern capetown" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
It took hours to interview everyone and talk to the police <br>
Bystanders and witnesses, shocked <br> yet wearing that mask of normalcy<br><br>
Later we went to SABC, to the main studio, to call in her report<br>
Filed for the African service, and then filed another for Focus<br><br>
We weren't sure how the story would go over, <br> the party line from Bush House <br>
The news cycle doesn't afford the complexity <br> that a long report allows<br><br>
This wasn't the kind of story that anyone wanted to receive<br>
No hearts would be warmed <br> by this tale of blood on New Year's Eve<br><br>
We decided to not get the film developed. <br> Her copy would have to do.<br>
By the time we finished reporting, <br> it was late afternoon <br><br>
We'd been so caught up that we'd forgotten to eat <br> and now we were hungry<br>
Thankfully I remembered my Twix bar, <br> the cheap snack came in handy<br><br>
We drove past the tavern again <br> on the way back to the guest house<br>
Canceled any nominal plans for the night, <br> we'd had more than enough<br><br>
Back in our rooms, it was time for some quiet reflection<br>
Malevolence. <br> We were shaken by our proximity to this unseemly action<br><br>
Cape Town devoid of music, and turned into a place of hurt<br>
Pain unbounded, the whole country holding its breath<br><br>
The broken glass at the Heidelberg Tavern, <br> death at the barrel of a gun<br>
We would bring in the New Year very quietly that night, <br> mother and son<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/7416583/in/album-72157720163546772/" title="heidelberg tavern cape town"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/5/7416583_6355962afe.jpg" width="500" height="356" alt="heidelberg tavern cape town" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nTF74hTrmmXuBqE30VFueDCV1HwkLNqT4">Soundtrack for this note</a></h3><br>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nTF74hTrmmXuBqE30VFueDCV1HwkLNqT4">Cape Township by Josh Sithole</a></li>
</ul>
The great guitarist Josh Sithole was holding court as ever at the Heidelberg Tavern on the night of the massacre. He was lucky to escape with his life but some of his audience, and someone from the next door checking in on what was happening lost their life. Casualties of a senseless deed.<br><br>
...<br><br>
Thirty years ago, I filled my notebook with some of the above impressions, I had yet to take everything in. I am still to write about the rest, what I later learned about the victims, the families and indeed the <a href="https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/reports/volume6/section3/chapter4/subsection13.htm">perpetrators</a>. Having published my photos of the tavern online, I was often contacted as the legacy of the trauma was debated and processed over the years. All in good time, I suppose.<br><br>
<em>[Update]</em><br><br>
<a href="https://lostinobs.co.za/">Lost in Obs</a> is an artwork commemorating the tragic events.<br><br>
See previously: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/11/truth-and-reconciliation.html">Truth and Reconciliation</a><br><br>
<p>I nominate this slice of life for <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2006/03/things-fall-apart.html">The Things Fall Apart Series</a> under the banner of The Rough Beast, which asks: who is writing the script?</p><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/travel" rel="tag">travel</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/memory" rel="tag">memory</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/South%20Africa" rel="tag">South Africa</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/violence" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/terrorism" rel="tag">terrorism</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/apartheid" rel="tag">apartheid</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Africa" rel="tag">Africa</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/journalism" rel="tag">journalism</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Things%20Fall%20Apart" rel="tag">Things Fall Apart</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Rough%20Beast" rel="tag">The Rough Beast</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/" rel="tag"></a></span>
<br><br>Writing log. Concept: December 31, 1993. February 3, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-28804693841428283282023-12-26T16:32:00.004-06:002024-01-13T16:33:36.930-06:00To Hunt the WrenThe Wife and kids will occasionally catch me enthusiastically singing a quite eccentric song, To Hunt the Wren. <br><br>
It seems to tickle their funny bone as it's quite a bit different from my usual soul/jazz/blues/hip-hop fare but, well, there's a story there...<br><br>
To Hunt the Wren is an old English folk song that is typically sung on Boxing Day as it commemorates a tradition where townsfolk would gather in the morning around Christmas to go hunting the titular wren - wrens being those cute (and tasty) little birdies.<br><br>
The lyrics, as I recall, are:
<blockquote><cite>
Where are you going?<br>
To hunt the wren<br>
This Christmas morning calls for hunting them <br>
How will you kill him?<br>
With sticks and stones<br>
Hatchets and cleavers honoring his bones
</cite></blockquote>
And so forth.... The bloodthirsty quotient quite accentuated by repetition<br><br>
Anyway... people who attended my boarding school might well recall choirmaster's Alan Vening's arrangement that the whole school would spend a entire term practicing, I believe we had a school-wide Christmas performance; To Hunt the Wren was a big feature during my time there.<br><br>
I guess it was a combination of the striking lyrics and the inspired arrangement that caused the song to be so firmly imprinted in my mind.<br><br>
(Or perhaps it was the savagery of those English tribes that the song laid bare)<br><br>
The felicitous way the tongue curls around "Hatchets and cleavers" is satisfying in its own sweet, merry way. In it, we can hear the deep origins of Maxim guns and future paeans to Rule Britannia.<br><br>
The verve of the call of response too was fitting and had some swing to it. You wouldn't guess how often the "How will you kill him? / With sticks and stones" refrain is heard in our household, thirty odd years later.<br><br>
Still the kids are quite blasé about the troubling lyrics - I suspect early exposure to such things fortifies the soul readying them for this neo-feudal world of organized gleeful violence visited on a (mostly) defenseless wren.<br><br>
The imbalance of power. Peace starts at home. <br><br>
To Hunt the Wren does have a certain incongruity in its imagery. For one the fascination and flair it finds in the act of killing. This is plainly a hands-on affair albeit with sticks and stones. <br><br>
And then there is the fact that it is a single wren that is being hunted by the gathered crowd. Communal catharsis, perhaps, in the ceremony of blood. Is this a kind of Sussex scapegoating at work? Stonehenge atavism? Middle England savagery? Who knows?<br><br>
The hunt of the wren does takes place after all on Christmas morning just days after the winter solstice. A celebration of harvests to come, the depths of these dark times, the light ever increasing going forward. I suppose you can deconstruct further meanings from the tune. <br><br>
The web being what it is, you can hear the song for yourself. Sadly the online versions will never approach the melodious peaks that stay in my memory. The lyrics and arrangements are quite suspect, says this expert. Trust me, you'll have to come my way to hear the real thing<br><br>
I notice that Natalie Merchant sings a version in her latest album! <br><br>
These takes are far more mournful than what I grew up with. Interesting an Olde English sense, but they don't quite spark joy in the same way. Where is the joy, I ask?<br><br>
So imagine, if you will, me crooning the peaceful coda on this Boxing Day morning
<blockquote><cite>
Yay and so amen<br>
Yay and requiem
</cite></blockquote>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLRp8aIwZ-wHhg3fiDu3fP9">To Hunt the Wren, a playlist<a> (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/43udUm8Jmi7trnXKqM8gNK">spotify</a> version)</li></ul>
(ducks)<br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/memory" rel="tag">memory</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/folk" rel="tag">folk</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/England" rel="tag">England</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/tradition" rel="tag">tradition</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/whimsy" rel="tag">whimsy</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/violence" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/odd" rel="tag">odd</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: December 26, 2023<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-69867213963212760832023-12-19T07:00:00.013-06:002023-12-19T07:00:00.131-06:00PlacesPlaces are a part of you, they leave their imprint<br>
As they burrow into your pores, piercing your second skin<br>
Slowly at first, then, before you know it, you're a local<br>
Affecting the manners and outlook, and reciting idées fixes<br><br>
The fabric of nostalgia is connective tissue to time and place<br>
That, even as your body faces the present, your soul lingers<br>
Tracing invisible boundaries in sand, affirming kinship<br>
Even at a distance, you can't suppress the great longing<br><br>
Phantom organs whose purpose is revealed on later reflection <br>
Their notional contribution is to supply a sense of balance<br>
Their stamps of indelible ink are charged with memories<br>
Such are the identity markers of modern travelers<br><br>
You touch, tentatively, as if to revive that feeling of old<br>
The sound of the streets you roamed, that playground you owned<br>
Grasping to decipher the messages weighted with meaning<br>
The lost stories are outlined faintly in the veins of belonging<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/23401378481/in/album-72157659614008304/" title="stamps african countries collage 3"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/743/23401378481_b9c1a07bda.jpg" width="500" height="313" alt="stamps african countries collage 3" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKgGfpmBXeRwuOzzNqfZX7H">Places, a playlist</a></h3><br>
I give you 120 or so neighborhoods of the mind, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKgGfpmBXeRwuOzzNqfZX7H">musical journey</a> around the world (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0SFvqSGKX6cSqO5C1F1Qex">spotify</a> version)<br><br>
<p>This internal displacement is part of a series: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-covidious-time.html">In a covidious time</a>.</p><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/nostalgia" rel="tag">nostalgia</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/memory" rel="tag">memory</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/sensory" rel="tag">sensory</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/covidious" rel="tag">covidious</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: February 27, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-57014522345582854732023-12-12T07:00:00.013-06:002023-12-12T07:00:00.131-06:00In a Moment<h3>I. Solidarity</h3><br>
Without a common language, all we had was a stare<br>
Yet a mere head nod opened an entire conversation <br>
In the silent gesture there was the keen recognition <br>
Of a fellow traveler, badged with the burden of loss<br>
The sour journeys we'd taken to get to this place<br>
The consolation of each other's presence assuaged all<br>
We looked around at the others, <br> We realized: together we would stand.<br><br>
<h3>II. Seduction</h3><br>
Without a single word, we reached an understanding<br>
Intertwined with searching glances <br>
Imperceptible pursing of lips<br>
Involuntary flicks of the tongue<br>
We would soon be wrapped in each other<br>
Soon<br>
Without a doubt<br>
The rest was waiting<br>
We looked at each other, <br> We realized: the game was on.<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/15770998429/in/album-220629/" title="kagyah dancer"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7472/15770998429_d00d9ebdc1.jpg" width="345" height="500" alt="kagyah dancer" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrIgpYRExIQgPfsWfPEuNx6R">In a Moment, a playlist</h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrIgpYRExIQgPfsWfPEuNx6R">soundtrack</a> for this note. (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3QcmOOWNFgqOegk9wRDjdf">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9w1aXWW_js&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrIgpYRExIQgPfsWfPEuNx6R&index=1">Instant Love by Leon Ware and Minnie Riperton</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWOYVG01Z4I&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrIgpYRExIQgPfsWfPEuNx6R&index=2">The Look of Love by Dionne Warwick</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ3t5ieiF4E&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrIgpYRExIQgPfsWfPEuNx6R&index=3">It Only Took A Minute by Rachelle Ferrell</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPe9Tr5lx5c&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrIgpYRExIQgPfsWfPEuNx6R&index=4">The Meetin' by Oliver Nelson</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQxPZCFiAgU&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrIgpYRExIQgPfsWfPEuNx6R&index=5">Playing Your Game, Baby by Barry White</a></li>
</ul><br>
See previously <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2023/11/close-contact.html">Close Contact</a><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/relationships" rel="tag">relationships</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: February 21, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-14388597301094106212023-12-05T07:00:00.001-06:002023-12-05T07:00:00.130-06:00Forgiveness and LoveScars unforgotten<br>
Marked the liminal landscape<br>
Monuments of loss<br><br>
We sought redemption<br>
Escape from the memories<br>
Refuge in the hills<br><br>
Out there at night time<br>
Relief in the melodies<br>
We sang without end<br><br>
Nature's comfort suites<br>
Sleeping chambers of welcome<br>
Forgiveness and love<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/46991952231/" title="aburi carved tree detail sculpture carving"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7900/46991952231_711609e93d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="aburi carved tree detail sculpture carving" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qura1SNuRo&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrI-WrbdSbQThEvFeXm76trR&index=6">Soundtrack for this note</a></h3><br>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qura1SNuRo&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrI-WrbdSbQThEvFeXm76trR&index=6">Forgiveness and Love by Meshell NdegeOcello</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPRNcLKNE5c&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrI-WrbdSbQThEvFeXm76trR&index=11">Slavery Days by Burning Spear</a></li>
</ul><br>
See previously: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/08/bloodbath-south-carolina.html">Bloodbath, South Carolina</a> and <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2023/08/until-such-time.html">Until Such Time</a><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/griots" rel="tag">griots</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/memory" rel="tag">memory</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: January 16, 2022<br><br> Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-1065213851796846322023-11-28T07:00:00.018-06:002024-01-12T20:52:41.110-06:00Addresses<blockquote>Addresses are given to us to conceal our whereabouts<br><br> — Saki (H.M. Munro)</blockquote>
First you take a right after the vegetable seller's kiosk. <br> The blue one.<br>
Then you'll pass the school painted green <br> by the way before the T-junction <br>
Turn right, you'll find him <br> just after the big mango tree on the left<br>
If you get to the gold house with the black gate, <br> you'll know you've gone too far<br><br>
You can't miss him, his prose style is inimitable<br>
There's no artifice, he's the genuine article<br>
Elliptical, yet full of quips and surreal turns<br>
When you read him, you feel as if you're with a friend<br><br>
Deceptively deployed and unadorned, <br> the language is unassuming <br>
Yet, on a sentence by sentence basis, <br> his writing is simply sparkling<br>
But even with the arcane plots, <br> his characters come out fully fleshed<br>
Still, don't ignore those few hints in the dialog, <br> he might be pulling your leg<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/52108545785/in/album-220629/" title="M.C. Escher stairs"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52108545785_39cc089f0a.jpg" width="486" height="500" alt="M.C. Escher stairs" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY">Addresses, a playlist</h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY">soundtrack</a> for this note. The titles tell a tale of unanswered questions, lose yourself in the music (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/30kd6FRhNKOgLGgORig4U8">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTFn0VgWEdg&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=1">Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) by Marvin Gaye</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfunypXsBO4&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=2">Where The Streets Have No Name by U2</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu_TUrTsyPk&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=3">I Wanna Be Where You Are by Michael Jackson </a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMQHQy7fIp8&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=4">Where I'm From by Digable Planets</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuaugaX8N2U&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=5&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Home Is Where The Hatred Is by Gil Scott-Heron</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B11f6DpLj5Y&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=6">Can't Get Nowhere by Omar</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT4Ewyo34gM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=7">I Know Where I Stand by Johnny Gill</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsjG3hQ09w0&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=8">Where Do We Go From Here? by Incognito</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTJz-tq55NM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=9">Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) by Paul Young</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzVxLnws6Mg&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=10">Where Are You? by Dexter Gordon</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPbL0JhOGFA&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=11">Where Do We Go From Here? by Cherrelle </a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLjKegJrnBc&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=22">Wherever by Omar</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK1AWjMx_LE&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=12">Home Is Where The Hatred Is by Esther Pillips</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6CEryWus_A&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=13">Where Are We Going? by Donald Byrd </a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5e5SxiOwOM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=14">Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) by Dianna Ross</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZEa4uG-IB4&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=15">Where Are We Going? by Marvin Gaye</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h625GKA3B8E&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=16">Where Pathways Meet by Sun Ra</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU_dEEUdiQU&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=17">Where Do We Go From Here? by Jamiroquai </a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDfFjsUN8e4&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=18">Somewhere In The Night by Grant Green</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41rMBxfpZck&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=19">Where Are You? by Ben Webster</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1f7dH_3JXM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=20">Where Do We Go From Here? by Vanessa Williams</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5QWmebzVNM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=21">Where are you tonite by Chaka Khan</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g5BsfQCrjQ&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLI6F7gq9lYyhvMUXqz_7dY&index=23">Brother, Where are you by Abbey Lincoln</a></li>
</ul>
<br>
See also: <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35385636">Finding your way in a country without street addresses</a> and <a href="https://www.graphic.com.gh/features/opinion/welcome-to-my-hi-tech-address.html">newfangled addresses</a><br><br>
<em>[Update]</em><br><br>
A <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/video/watch/direcciones">lovely documentary</a> on the conundrum of addresses in Costa Rica.<br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/maps" rel="tag">maps</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Ghana" rel="tag">Ghana</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Africa" rel="tag">Africa</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: January 31, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-48928114872887322002023-11-21T07:00:00.008-06:002023-11-21T07:00:00.156-06:00Ode to the Word NuisantHarmful, for though it made for the perfect rhyme <br>
Its impact was marred by that red, squiggly underline<br>
I checked, not only in that web browser, <br>
But also in countless other word processors<br>
The word is nary to be found in most dictionaries!<br>
I'll admit a strong case of disbelief <br>
For even in the authoritative one from Oxford, <br>
I came to find it marked obsolete<br><br>
Hurtful that such a perfectly good word <br>
Would fall into this state of disrepair <br>
So that future editors of my prose <br>
Would be confronted by supposed linguistic error<br>
An intimation of lack of care or poor grammar <br>
Inattention and pretension in equal measure <br><br>
Nuisant, as a word, it doesn't get much press<br>
Forever prone to replacement by auto-suggest<br>
Yet its plain meaning isn't hard to decipher <br>
An apt weapon in the hands of a writer <br>
And so it behooves me to take a stand<br>
In favor of the adjectival nuisance<br>
And pen a minor ode in its defense<br>
This is plainly a nuisant development<br><br><br>
"Harmful, hurtful; of the nature of a nuisance"<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/929678605/in/album-72157601019021082/" title="Oakland Container Port 124"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1065/929678605_ccc9d29f57.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Oakland Container Port 124" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJeCQYTz8J-V5KOB8R-iQbj">Word, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJeCQYTz8J-V5KOB8R-iQbj">soundtrack</a> for this note. (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5l1aTZMGgzqUNBoXhbjQcu">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWDgFfYQkgc&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJeCQYTz8J-V5KOB8R-iQbj&index=1">The Word by Prince</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJQ79yh_Agk&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJeCQYTz8J-V5KOB8R-iQbj&index=2">Word Up by Cameo</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAx7nLaOCcc&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrJeCQYTz8J-V5KOB8R-iQbj&index=3">The Word is Love by Steve Silk Hurley</a></li>
</ul>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/language" rel="tag">language</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/writing" rel="tag">writing</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/whimsy" rel="tag">whimsy</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: January 29, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-53758954103878219702023-11-14T07:00:00.005-06:002023-11-14T07:09:48.213-06:00Close ContactA state of grace, a rarefied connection <br>
Revealed belatedly the identity of your companion <br>
Retrospectively located through track and trace<br>
A fellow traveler similarly internally displaced <br><br>
A fleeting encounter, side looks and glances <br>
The human marketplace of second chances<br>
Leading to a stolen moment of solidarity <br>
A stare, recognition, and then complicity <br><br>
Your lot in life, still, you were startled by the realization<br>
Strange bedfellows you were, normally masked in alienation <br>
Sporting badges of ambivalence, angst and dismay<br>
And now to find a comfort suite in social interplay<br><br>
A conversation that seemed as if it would never end<br>
The joys of discovering you've made a new friend<br>
Such are the pleasures of proximity, the virtue of presence<br>
And the ease with which you share a comfortable silence<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/9681732/" title="Floral Arrangement by Wiz - 1998"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/4/9681732_6b066705a3.jpg" width="500" height="355" alt="Floral Arrangement by Wiz - 1998" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKT62lBj9wGAhbgKw_aWWnB">Closer, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKT62lBj9wGAhbgKw_aWWnB">soundtrack</a> for this note. (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/73TvYBe9uYZXr4BaDgX3Is">spotify</a> version)<br>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPJHKZ-0VkE&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKT62lBj9wGAhbgKw_aWWnB&index=1">Closer by Goapele</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ed-h8u8a_k&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKT62lBj9wGAhbgKw_aWWnB&index=2&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB">Closer to the Feeling by Incognito</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76wHGXU0LJ0&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKT62lBj9wGAhbgKw_aWWnB&index=3">Closer than Friends by Surface</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVOb8tErVB4&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKT62lBj9wGAhbgKw_aWWnB&index=4">Closer to Home by Courtney Pine</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Trc-Y7DTBM&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrKT62lBj9wGAhbgKw_aWWnB&index=5">Love Conversation by José James</a></li>
</ul>
<p>This note is part of a series: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-covidious-time.html">In a covidious time</a>.</p><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/social" rel="tag">social</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Comfort%20Suite" rel="tag">Comfort Suite</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/covidious" rel="tag">covidious</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: January 29, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-20783193142757110632023-11-07T07:00:00.004-06:002023-11-07T07:00:00.351-06:00Quality of NumbnessPlease ensure that you're in the right tasting environment <br>
Pleasant conditions are preferable for maximum enjoyment<br>
Open yourself up to the experience of bearing witness<br>
Dress casually to appreciate the quality of numbness<br><br>
Sight evaluation is the first order of business<br>
You'll learn how to describe the ingredients of catharsis <br>
Start with a top view, <br> examine the density saturation of the substance<br>
Stare closely for a few seconds <br> to imbue the essence of the absence<br><br>
Then, visual inspection from a side angle, <br> observe the color of shock<br>
The oblique viewpoint will gather up all signs of discomfort<br>
Over time, you'll recognize the shades <br> that are said to be characteristic<br>
The <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2022/01/a-shadows-burden.html">burden of the shadows</a> can overwhelm, <br> the way they move is mystic <br><br>
Sip slowly, don't swallow unease as your liquid companion <br>
Taste for yourself the astringency of alienation <br>
Mature vintages will often leave you numb in contemplation<br>
A result, it is said, of the intense period of fermentation<br><br>
Savor the aromas of regret, the heavy burden of loss<br>
Let the waves of disbelief wash over you, do not resist<br>
Caution, take heed of spontaneous outbursts of cynicism <br>
A rout of the soul often dampens one's initial enthusiasm<br><br>
Scents are next on the agenda, <br> but be mindful of your surroundings<br>
With unbounded grief, you're apt to wallow in nostalgia <br> and its misgivings <br>
Try not to miss the cues, <br> musty glasses are a sure sign of resignation <br>
There is no simple formula, <br> doubt can be balanced by complete immersion<br><br>
Swirling around the tongue, <br> you'll discover the flavor that lingers <br>
It's much like a social disease <br> this sense of communal numbness<br>
After a taste of deficiency, <br> you may find satisfaction ever elusive<br>
Off kilter, the quality of numbness ensures a satisfying finish<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/51153936724/in/album-220629/" title="durbar"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51153936724_e8b2882863.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="durbar" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLqTnm9blPyPL0OiFTRgppj">Numb, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLqTnm9blPyPL0OiFTRgppj">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0gvvgy1v3ECLlpK4IXLI2M">spotify</a> version)<br>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfw7oAGxq8Q&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLqTnm9blPyPL0OiFTRgppj&index=1">Numb by Portishead</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0j4HcnRn9c&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLqTnm9blPyPL0OiFTRgppj&index=2">Numb by Pet Shop Boys</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-xTttimcNk&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLqTnm9blPyPL0OiFTRgppj&index=3">Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-2l1dl71UY&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLqTnm9blPyPL0OiFTRgppj&index=4">Down Here Below by Abbey Lincoln</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQjH81Kfdpw&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLqTnm9blPyPL0OiFTRgppj&index=5">I'll Walk Alone by Nancy Wilson</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QvzTXEJGGo&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLqTnm9blPyPL0OiFTRgppj&index=6">Numb by Lewis Taylor</a><br>
An album length treatment of the quality of numbness. What the pandemic has wrought</li>
</ul>
See previously: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/06/rhythm-of-loss.html">Rhythm of Loss</a> and <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-laws-of-grief.html">The Laws of Grief</a><br><br>
<p>This note is part of a series: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-covidious-time.html">In a covidious time</a>.</p><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/grief" rel="tag">grief</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/social" rel="tag">social</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/life" rel="tag">life</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/mourning" rel="tag">mourning</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/covidious" rel="tag">covidious</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: January 22, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-81962981799787826992023-10-31T07:00:00.000-05:002023-10-31T07:00:00.142-05:00Dancing in the Dark (The Heart of Darkness Playlist)I give you a playlist fit for Joseph Conrad and his inspired creation: Kurtz. Musical relief for the darkness and an entry in the <a href="http://koranteng.blogspot.com/2006/03/things-fall-apart.html#comfort">Comfort Suite</a>. The liner notes were written 15 years ago for the <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2006/03/heart-of-darkness.html">heart of darkness</a>. Thankfully, these days the songs are mostly available for streaming (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLECE1A746721A594A">youtube</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7zbSII83f4TaueYLaur4H1">spotify</a>).
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLECE1A746721A594A">Heart of Darkness, A Playlist</a></h3><br>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wckZlb-KYY&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=1">Prince Of Darkness by Miles Davis</a><br>
Our musical tour of this territory will <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2005/07/miles-ahead.html">start with Miles</a>. This is Richard Perle's theme. Menacing and presented as noble. Righteous music. The album is called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000DCH1/">Miles Smiles</a>, the second great quintet had found its groove and Miles reveled in it.
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn5aWxvx0dk&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=2">Footsteps In The Dark (Part 1 & 2) by The Isley Brothers</a><br>
Again the album title is ominous, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000258G/">Go for your guns</a> and quite belied by the lazy groove and Ronald Isley's lush falsetto
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBqPP1oAEY&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=3">Congo by Amel Larrieux</a><br>
My favorite vocalist went to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00015YW8U/">Congo</a>, she's a bravebird. I've always wanted a live performance of this song, hope springs eternal.
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NURbkMNM4Fc&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=4">Crazy Baldhead by Bob Marley and the Wailers</a><br>
Kurtz's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000669JO/">theme</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeoAQX_PDjA&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=5">Down Here in Hell (With You) by Van Hunt</a><br>
The acoustic version, the Narrated Autobiography starts with the immortal line
"My father was part-time painter and a pimp". Dysfunction was the original sin.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ALoCkIIQo&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=6">Dancing in the Dark by Bill Evans</a><br>
Scott LaFaro, whose exploits were well documented in Sunday Night at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, had died tragically a few years earlier. Thus it was Gary Peacock who <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000047G3/">stepped in</a> with ghostly bass runs as counterpoint to Bill Evans's luminous piano.
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4auIcd-xgQ&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=7">I Guess I'm Crazy by Mavis Staples</a><br>
Long before Gnarls Barkley, Mavis was telling it like it was. Prince was urging her on at the mixing console
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K7Hsw56pKA&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=8">In the Dark by Nina Simone</a><br>
Blues are part and parcel of the heart of darkness.
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVHi3dN3UaY&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=9">Dark Side of the Cog by Incognito</a><br>
From the album in which Incognito went electronic
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBNZevgJH1g&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=10">Slippin' Into Darkness by War</a><br>
Funky and dark grooves
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGjGShFD54g&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=11">Darkness by Black Uhuru</a><br>
The 10' version is bouncy. Darkness seems to rule over the world.
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX4Rf1r9yFk&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=12">Dancing in the Dark by Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis </a><br>
Something Else was going down with that first great quintet and its offshoots.
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVgEoq9ufNo&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=13"> Dancing in the Dark by Duke Ellington</a><br>
The Duke's portfolio is endless
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=637slwEqZUc&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=14">Darkness on the Delta by Cassandra Wilson</a><br>
The modern day blues queen
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOgry4MrZwI&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=15">Blues In the Dark by Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing</a><br>
Fruits of a cooking session</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAFCSxw9YJE&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=16">Darktown Strutter's Ball by Fats Domino</a><br>
Dave Bruebeck also gives a cool version
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC88oMcNoek&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=17">Dark Rapture by Count Basie</a>
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5yLuU8aDeU&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=18">Bohemia After Dark by Cannonball Adderley</a><br>
Birdland after dark was a magical place, the birthplace of a quiet revolution.
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCFTL4IO6t4&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=19">Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen</a><br>
The Boss found uplift in Ronald Reagan's morning in America. Hey Iran/Contra was a ball. The seeds were sown of the great reckoning though. Would have been better off with John Wayne.
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVNo1swwsPk&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=20">Deep In Your Heart by Ronny Jordan</a><br>
A trifle to warm the heart
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZMd0soMxCg&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=21">Dark by Prince</a>
<blockquote>Somebody take this dark cloud away... <br>
How could you leave me in the dark?</blockquote>
The remix, So Dark, which appeared on the Crystal Ball compilation is a reminder that his Royal Badness sometimes needs to leave well enough alone. But then we know that things fell apart</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFHTxERtFHc&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=22">Light To Dark by Ronny Jordan</a><br>
Changing the perspective </li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HtF-l6NNO8&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=23">Blues In the Dark by James Carter and Joshua Redmane</a><br>
The legendary cutting session immortalized the jook joint in the movie Kansas City</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_b3Y_x95kA&list=PLECE1A746721A594A&index=24">Dance Cadaverous by Wayne Shorter </a><br>
We started with Prince of Darkness, a Wayne Shorter composition hence we'll end with another of his dark themes. I was initially thinking of Juju but that isn't quite foreboding enough. Dance Cadaverous it is then. Ominous and a little crazy, the man got lost in the jungle and is emerging slowly to face the interlocuter. The title of the album stands to reason: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000I8UH/">Speak No Evil</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000DCH1/" title="Miles Davis Sorcerer"><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81l2hEC4vnL._SL1500_.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Miles Davis Sorcerer" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br>
See previously: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2006/03/heart-of-darkness.html">Heart of Darkness</a><br><br>
I nominate this note for the <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2006/03/things-fall-apart.html">Things Fall Apart series</a> under the banner of The Comfort Suite.<br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/obsession" rel="tag">obsession</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/whimsy" rel="tag">whimsy</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/jazz" rel="tag">jazz</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/soul" rel="tag">soul</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Joseph%20Conrad" rel="tag">Joseph Conrad</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Things%20Fall%20Apart" rel="tag">Things Fall Apart</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Comfort%20Suite" rel="tag">Comfort Suite</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log. Concept: June 30, 2007<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-75936714825282025562023-10-25T06:30:00.000-05:002023-10-25T06:30:00.146-05:00Operation Urgent FuryBarracks<br>
Truck bombings<br>
Bad optics<br><br>
Casualties<br>
In a foreign land<br>
French and American marines<br><br>
Contingency plans<br>
Swift change of the narrative<br>
Operation Urgent Fury<br><br>
Small island, little scrutiny<br>
Marxist Bishop, revolutionaries<br>
"Visit America before America visits you"<br><br>
Structural adjustments<br>
Our sphere of influence<br>
Washington consensus<br><br>
Destabilization strategy<br>
Of brutal leftist thugs<br>
A base for aggression<br><br>
Scripts readied<br>
Protection of the free world<br>
Prime time address<br><br>
Rollback of influence<br>
Strategic vision of democracy<br>
Liberation, security in our hemisphere<br><br>
This is a dangerous situation<br>
The threat posed to our nationals<br>
For their safety is paramount<br><br>
We decided on preventive action<br>
Moving forward to restore freedom<br>
And bring about regime change<br><br>
Rapid troop deployment<br>
Our special forces<br>
Armed intervention<br><br>
Simply responding to an appeal<br>
A formal request for aid<br>
This morning's invasion<br><br><br><br>
After Grenada, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/17/world/us-sums-up-reasons-for-invading-grenada.html">1983</a><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/52755295874/" title="maroon lives tribute to maurice bishop and grenadian freedom fighters"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52755295874_ee7eb6e642.jpg" width="500" height="415" alt="maroon lives tribute to maurice bishop and grenadian freedom fighters" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br><br><br>
<h3>Soundtrack for this note</h3><br>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBu2Dz9NZMI">B movie by Gil Scott Heron</a></li></ul>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/5772408577/in/album-72057594056675363/" title="gil scott-heron ronald reagan and john wayne - b movie"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/2189/5772408577_475f925dd8.jpg" width="500" height="371" alt="gil scott-heron ronald reagan and john wayne - b movie" border="0" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br><br>
See also: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2007/04/excellent-discussions.html">Excellent Discussions</a><br><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/rogues" rel="tag">rogues</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/USA" rel="tag">USA</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/war" rel="tag">war</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/blood" rel="tag">blood</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/imperialism" rel="tag">imperialism</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Reagan" rel="tag">Reagan</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/policy" rel="tag">policy</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/strategy" rel="tag">strategy</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Grenada" rel="tag">Grenada</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/language" rel="tag">language</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/cold%20war" rel="tag">cold war</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Great%20Game" rel="tag">Great Game</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/hatchet%20job" rel="tag">hatchet job</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Observers%20are%20worried" rel="tag">Observers are worried</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: September 4, 2022<br><br> Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-63313717240121667392023-10-17T07:00:00.009-05:002023-10-17T07:00:00.147-05:00Staffing ShortagesStaffing shortages in a covidious time<br>
Supply chain snafus, empty shelves and long lines<br>
Rising <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/07/positivity.html">positivity</a> rates were how we bore witness<br>
For our streets were paved with discarded rapid tests<br><br>
<a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/01/duty-of-care.html">Inboxes</a> flooded with statements <br> explaining the <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-message-from-our-leader.html">difficult decisions</a><br>
<a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/05/structural-adjustments.html">Structural adjustments</a>: <br> "We make every effort to minimize disruption"<br>
"The increase in cases <br> created an impact on essential services around the country"<br>
"Our <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/12/restructuring-activities.html">staffing levels</a> are being affected <br> by those who are either sick or in self-quarantine"<br><br>
While <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/10/sirens.html">sirens</a> were testaments to the ebb and flow of capacity<br>
Partners in health bemoaned the limited testing availability<br>
We were <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2022/10/acceptable-loss.html">living</a> in an interminable era of <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2022/09/incalculable-loss.html">incalculable loss</a><br>
Even as we asked the obvious, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2021/08/what-paradise-have-we-lost.html">what paradise have we lost?</a><br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/51767711173/in/album-72157714505657623/" title="covid risk december 22 2021"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51767711173_766dff4c5a.jpg" width="500" height="120" alt="covid risk december 22 2021" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLPrCaZLURP6HniJZP-rNXX">Staffing Shortage, a playlist</h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLPrCaZLURP6HniJZP-rNXX">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Mv4itSZ1gq1fKPIqx6TP7">spotify</a> version)<br>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE62j3y_XKg&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLPrCaZLURP6HniJZP-rNXX&index=1">Man Shortage by Lovindeer</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAGBBw-WqLQ&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLPrCaZLURP6HniJZP-rNXX&index=2">Inflation Calypso by E.T. Mensah & the Tempos</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dddixPDWcp4&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLPrCaZLURP6HniJZP-rNXX&index=3">Just Can't Get Enough by Depeche Mode</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7dLxhipJI8&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLPrCaZLURP6HniJZP-rNXX&index=4">Got to be Enough by Con Funk Shun</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbKMhXCW6XI&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLPrCaZLURP6HniJZP-rNXX&index=5">Never Enough by Groove Theory</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7clskTsuns&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLPrCaZLURP6HniJZP-rNXX&index=6">Shortage by Dave Hollister</a></li>
</ul><br>
After Omicron BA.1<br><br>
<p>This internal displacement is part of a series: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-covidious-time.html">In a covidious time</a></p>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/coronavirus" rel="tag">coronavirus</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/pandemic" rel="tag">pandemic</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/economics" rel="tag">economics</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/covidious" rel="tag">covidious</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: January 16, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-85304983624208476582023-10-10T07:00:00.016-05:002023-10-10T07:00:00.142-05:00Playground EducationThey pantomimed the firing squad <br>
Reenacting the march of the bedraggled and confused <br>
The older boys had grabbed sticks <br> and descended on a group of us<br>
They lined us up roughly, laughing and barking orders<br>
Repeating phrases they'd heard from their parents<br>
And the dawn broadcast<br>
"We'll finish them..."<br><br>
They set up a few paces out, <br> on the edge of the playground.<br>
"Line up. <br>
Take your marks.<br>
Fire."<br><br>
Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow.<br>
Six <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/49971783642/in/album-72157714577834088/">shots</a>.<br>
"Attention."<br><br>
Then the recriminations:<br>
"You. You didn't die properly. <br> You. The General. You didn't slump.<br>
Let's do it again."<br><br>
More laughter.<br>
Scenarios were contemplated for the next round.<br>
"Let the blood flow..."<br><br>
There must have been something in your look <br> that gave them temporary pause<br>
For even as you had kept a brave face, <br> you couldn't break out a smile<br>
Appalled frankly. You recognized a wrong, <br> something beyond the pale<br>
The comment escaped your mouth, you couldn't help it<br>
"That was someone's daddy."<br><br>
A brief pause, but then the conversation resumed<br>
Mocking tones infused their frenzied acting<br>
You detached yourself from the game<br>
Dusted yourself<br>
Casually<br>
And walked off<br>
You didn't look back<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/28052876/" title="digable planets"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/21/28052876_4482291bdf.jpg" width="500" height="321" alt="digable planets" style="display:inline;" /></a></div><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrL9_EQ5T6oq2mny1zxa2SKr">Playground Games, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrL9_EQ5T6oq2mny1zxa2SKr">soundtrack</a> for this note. (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KNyVEjqGNUtVydbk1dHYh">spotify</a> version)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO5mu4xLJbk&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrL9_EQ5T6oq2mny1zxa2SKr&index=1">Cruel Summer by Bananarama</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY_focPmSYs&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrL9_EQ5T6oq2mny1zxa2SKr&index=2">Games by Cannonball Adderley</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRmLCnE5n-w&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrL9_EQ5T6oq2mny1zxa2SKr&index=3">Fun and Games by Junior Byles</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d-4ePWCf60&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrL9_EQ5T6oq2mny1zxa2SKr&index=4">Don't Be Cruel by Bobby Brown</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kVkNtOdM-Q&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrL9_EQ5T6oq2mny1zxa2SKr&index=5">Zombie by Fela</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKupNvVnXn8&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrL9_EQ5T6oq2mny1zxa2SKr&index=6">Games by Chuckii Booker</a></li>
</ul>
...<br><br>
Timing is everything<br>
<a href="https://home.koranteng.com/writings/observers-are-worried.html">Observers are worried</a><br><br>
...<br><br>
See also: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-wages-of-thermidor.html">The Wages of Thermidor</a> and <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2020/06/june-4th.html">June 4th</a><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/memory" rel="tag">memory</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Ghana" rel="tag">Ghana</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/coup" rel="tag">coup</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/violence" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/children" rel="tag">children</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/youth" rel="tag">youth</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/cruelty" rel="tag">cruelty</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/blood" rel="tag">blood</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/fear" rel="tag">fear</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/perception" rel="tag">perception</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Africa" rel="tag">Africa</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Observers%20are%20worried" rel="tag">Observers are worried</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Rough%20Beast" rel="tag">The Rough Beast</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log. January 4, 2022<br><br>Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-40356997782990905252023-10-03T07:00:00.018-05:002023-10-03T07:00:00.182-05:00End-User CertificatesEnd-user certificates<br>
Squalid bureaucracy<br><br>
Did you ever wonder what was in those planes?<br><br>
Contractual obligations<br>
Roaring trade in ammunition<br><br>
Did you ever worry about the company you keep?<br><br>
Warlord clientele<br>
Improvised identities<br><br>
Did you think it would come to this?<br><br>
Cult of corruption<br>
Merchants of death<br><br>
Did you see what they left in their wake?<br><br>
Bulletproof warriors<br>
<a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2015/04/to-make-road-fearful.html">Small boy units</a><br><br>
Did you ever wonder about the price we all paid?<br><br>
Cargo of weapons<br>
Shipments from Belarus<br><br>
Did you realize the tangled web they wove?<br><br>
Profitable transactions<br>
Collateral damage<br><br>
Did it mean anything to you?<br><br>
Neutral brokers<br>
Two-sided networks<br><br>
Did it really seem innocent?<br><br>
Equal opportunity<br>
Excess revenues<br><br>
Did you ever wonder how they sleep at night?<br><br>
International transfers<br>
Dealers of deceit<br><br>
Did you remember how it all started?<br><br>
Final recipients<br>
Embargo detours<br><br>
Did the excuses really stand up?<br><br>
Supply chain lubrication<br>
Undesired buyers<br><br>
Did you get everything that you wanted?<br><br>
Victims everywhere<br>
Blood and sin victorious<br><br>
Did you ever wonder why these men are smiling?<br><br>
Clean hands<br>
Indelible ink<br><br>
Did they leave a trace?<br><br>
Rebel militia<br>
Intractable conflicts<br><br>
Do you ever wonder when this will end?<br><br><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/27795610203/" title="elmina castle 5"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8787/27795610203_feee57a3b5.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="elmina castle 5" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br>
<div style="text-align:center"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/27795618883/" title="elmina castle view 3"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8899/27795618883_82e30c46b8.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="elmina castle view 3" style="display:inline" border="0"></a></div><br><br>
After: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767915623/">Blood from Stones by Douglas Farah</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424024/">Darwin's Nightmare</a> and that pulp piece, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295/">Lord of War</a>.<br><br>
<h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLp36j0KB0JdXYsCsMdNW8J">End-User Certificates, a playlist</a></h3><br>
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLp36j0KB0JdXYsCsMdNW8J">soundtrack</a> for this note (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4XcFr8Ga662IOqBPJVHp0P">spotify</a> version)<br>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlgEoVkONg0&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLp36j0KB0JdXYsCsMdNW8J&index=1">Guns are Drawn by The Roots </a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Z97VUiwdI&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLp36j0KB0JdXYsCsMdNW8J&index=2&t=25s">Bullet From A Gun by Derek B</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUlS7eEt9bU&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLp36j0KB0JdXYsCsMdNW8J&index=3">Certified by Guru</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anfao_kMVGs&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLp36j0KB0JdXYsCsMdNW8J&index=4">Machine Gun by Portishead</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzfEfYcQ1ck&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLp36j0KB0JdXYsCsMdNW8J&index=5">Sword + Gun by Jose James and Hindi Zahra</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhT9_OXxnwc&list=PLsr0JQDa6jrLp36j0KB0JdXYsCsMdNW8J&index=6">Because of Guns (Hey Joe Redux) by Vijay Iyer</a></li>
</ul>
...<br><br>
Timing is everything<br>
Observers are worried<br><br>
See previously: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/2023/03/arms-on-ghana-plane.html">Arms on Ghana Plane</a><br><br>
<span class="technoratitag">File under: <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/arms" rel="tag">arms</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/weapons" rel="tag">weapons</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/rogues" rel="tag">rogues</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/terrorism" rel="tag">terrorism</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/crime" rel="tag">crime</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/war" rel="tag">war</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Strange%20Bedfellows" rel="tag">Strange Bedfellows</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/Observers%20are%20worried" rel="tag">Observers are worried</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/poetry" rel="tag">poetry</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/culture" rel="tag">culture</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/observation" rel="tag">observation</a>, <a href="https://koranteng.blogspot.com/search/label/toli" rel="tag">toli</a></span>
<br><br>Writing log: January 1, 2022<br><br> Korantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.com0