Sunday, July 12, 2015

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Friday, May 29, 2015

Canalside Buffalo



On Think Twice Radio HERE

Below is live audio from Ismail and Company [R&B, blues, rock, funk, acoustic] and Tom Callahan, Marcia and Monte Jones [Traditional American folk and Celtic rock.]


1. Ismail & Company - "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" [with live tribal drumming] click here

2. Tom Callahan With Marcia & Monte Jones - "When I Paint My Masterpiece" click here

3. Tom Callahan With Marcia & Monte Jones - "Love Hurts" click here

4. Tom Callahan With Marcia & Monte Jones - "Linger" click here

5. Tom Callahan With Marcia & Monte Jones - "Crazy" click here

6. Tom Callahan With Marcia & Monte Jones - "The Weight" click here


Canalside Buffalo Memorial Day Weekend

photo © Canalside Buffalo 

 

Canalside is at the heart of Buffalo’s waterfront revitalization. It’s located in the city’s downtown corridor. 



photo © Susan Marie


Every other Saturday there is live music and artisans coordinated by Julie Leatherbarrow and Kathleen Allyn Ashwill as part of Buffalo Saturday Artisan Market.


photo © Susan Marie



  photo © Susan Marie



Live video: 



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All Music © Ismail & Company, Tom Callahan, Marcia & Monte Jones. 

All Songwriting © 
Norman Whitfield & Barret Strong [The Temptations]
Bob Dylan
Boudleaux Bryant [Everly Bros, Nazareth]
Dolores O'Riordan & Noel Hogan [The Cranberries]
Willie Nelson [Patsy Cline]
Robbie Robertson [The Band] 

Thursday, May 28, 2015

How Writing Has Positively Influenced My Life




Image © Jasmina Gorjanski



Writing is breath to me, blood pumping to sustain life. It is the air I breathe, the food that provides my body with strength, the desire and passion that keeps my soul alive. Writing is letting go and rebirth. It is a release. Writing is healing.

Writing is a positive force and I am grateful I am able to write without fear or ridicule of what anyone else perceives about the subject matter of my writing. In order to truly write, you must bare your soul to the world, allowing the public inside your heart, soul, mind and the most sacred parts of your being. 


This is brave. 


Every writer knows that all of their secrets, desires, dreams, loves and letting go, can be found in writing.

Various articles, books and so called “experts and critiques” of the writing world suggest volumes and advice that does not apply to everyday life. It may be helpful if enrolled in English Composition, however, a true writer simply writes. Get it all down first, free form flowing thought, emotion, anger, sadness, happiness, every emotion you feel, every thought you think. 


Editing is for later. 


If you cease to document those very first moments the need to write strikes, you will lose what is instinctual and natural as a writer.

Writing has assisted me in times of need. When I am sad, angry or hurt, writing is a release. When I am happy and grateful, it is a force of positive awareness.

As a journalist, writing has allowed me to connect to the entire world educating people on different cultures, politics, faith and tradition. Journalistic writing has ripped wide open the world of politics and human rights abuses. 

Writing connects us, as does all art. Humanity understands emotion. 




As a poet and spoken word poet, writing has provided me with featured reading engagements and numerous publications alongside writers I honor immensely. I write every day, on napkins, matchbook covers, scraps of paper, anything I can grab at the moment and with anything deemed a writing instrument. In this age of technology, I grab my cell phone and start recording my thoughts to later write them down.

Without the gift of writing in my life, to be able to speak clearly through the written word, and to have no fear of doing so, I never would have traveled paths unreachable to me from my home.   

I have met beautiful people in our world, connected with organizations, learned languages, helped people with events and causes and most importantly, touched people simply by letting them know that yes, I too, feel this way.

Writing is breath to me, blood pumping to sustain life. It is the air I breathe, the food that gives my body strength, the desire and passion that keeps my soul alive.

Writing is letting go and rebirth. It is a release. Writing is healing. 

* * * 



“I am participating in the Writing Contest: How Writing Has Positively Influenced My Life. Hosted by Positive Writer.”







“I am participating in the Writing Contest: How Writing Has Positively Influenced My Life. Hosted by Positive Writer.” - See more at: http://positivewriter.com/writing-contest-how-writing-has-positively-influenced-my-life/#sthash.4M17uaK9.dpuf
“I am participating in the Writing Contest: How Writing Has Positively Influenced My Life. Hosted by Positive Writer.” - See more at: http://positivewriter.com/writing-contest-how-writing-has-positively-influenced-my-life/#sthash.4M17uaK9.dpuf
“I am participating in the Writing Contest: How Writing Has Positively Influenced My Life. Hosted by Positive Writer.” - See more at: http://positivewriter.com/writing-contest-how-writing-has-positively-influenced-my-life/#sthash.4M17uaK9.dpuf