Day One of the Park Point Art Fair was a Treasure--Local Art Seen

Painting by Claudia M. Faith

The hot summer sun sizzled on the streets of Duluth and in the surrounding countryside here, causing many people to consider moving North. (Just kidding.) It was great weather for Friday evening's art crawl and the Park Point Art Fair yesterday. Thunderstorms blitzed the region during the night, and today's weather will be anyone's guess. Nevertheless, should the storm clouds lift a bit you'll find 120 artists eager to make you feel at home should you get out to the Point here in Duluth. What follows are some of the things we saw and heard there yesterday.

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Brian Wagner

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Claudia M. Faith

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Richard Gruchella/Carin Rosetti

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Ray Shellerud

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Ashlet Hise

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Ray Shelerud

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Blue skies and sunshine, music and 120 artists.

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Ashley Hise

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Richard Gruchalla/Carin Rosetti

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Stone Lithograph on Tissue, Brian Wagner

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Handfcrafted bandanas at Dock 5.

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Sandra Haff is Steppin' Out

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Jason and Veikko (Woodblind) were over by the food trucks...

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...and the Jug Band tucked in behind Karin Kraemer's pottery booth.

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Meantime, art goes on all around you. Get into it.

The Beatles' White Album Goes On Tour

The White Album is back. This Fall there's a road tour slated as a tribute to one of the classic albums of all time. (My unabashed opinion.) The band is comprised of Todd Rundgren ("Hello, It's Me"), Micky Dolenz ("Hey, hey we're the Monkees"), Christopher Cross ("Sailing"), Jason Scheff and Joey Molland (Badfinger guitarist). 

The album, which came out in 1968, is being honored in this 51st anniversary year.  The tour will kick off in Atlantic City at the Golden Nugget on September 21, with shows as far West as Akron, Ohio, though most along the Eastern Seaboard up through New England.

When I see the name Christopher Cross I can't help but think of the expression Criss Cross which is at the center of Hitchcock's intense 1951 thriller Strangers On A Train. (If you don't know this film I strongly encourage that you it.) The real Christopher Cross exploded on the scene in 1980 with a debut album that garnered five Grammy Awards.

As for the White Album... if one were to ask which Beatles album you have played the most over the years, in my case it would be The White Album. Of course when I was growing up it was the album sleeve that was white. The photo here on this page is a white vinyl of the White Album, being played at my daughter's house in Iowa. A treat.

Tommy Lee Jones makes a great reference to the White Album in the film Men In Black. And I have given it a shout out in my recent blog post Beatles Discography: What Are Your Favorite Beatles Albums?

TRIVIA: Micky Dolenz tried out for the role of "The Fonz" in the 1974-1984 television show Happy Days.

Related Links
If interested in more info such tour dates etc., here are the details at Stereogum.
 And if you're a White Album fan, you may enjoy this diversion from 2013: Why Was the White Album White?
Peter Tork's Passing Brings Back Memories

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Last night's Downtown Duluth Art Walk was rewarding, and I will try to share some of what we saw here. Today is the Park Point Art Fait, and the weather's perfecto.

Till next. Enjoy your weekend. 

This Weekend’s Northland Arts: Short Form Quick Picks for Arts Fans

Matthew Kluber at the Joseph Nease Gallery

Got Art? There's plenty to see this weekend. And the weather will be perfect.

Friday, June 28, 5-8 p.m.
(One Year Anniversary Tour) Downtown Duluth Arts Walk 
Details regarding participating galleries here on their FaceBook Page

Special thanks to Esther Piszczek for pulling these arts missives together. Her art will be on display at Duluth Fine Pianos, 331 W. Superior Street from 5-6:30 p.m. with live jazz from 6-8 p.m. featuring Ryan Frane on piano, Matt Mobley on bass, and Sam Miltich on guitar 

Friday, June 28, 6-8 p.m.

Mathew Kluber Opening Reception: Friday, I’m in Love, Joseph Nease Gallery, 23 W. 1st Street

Free Range Geese heading to the Free Range Film Festival

Friday, June 28, 7-11 p.m.
16thh Annual Free Range Film Festival 2019, Free Range Film Barn, 909 Country Road Farm, Wrenshall.

Saturday, June 29, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Chum Rhubarb Festival, London Road at 11th Avenue E.

Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Zenith Bookstore 2nd Anniversary Celebration, Zenith Bookstore, 318 N. Central Avenue

Saturday, June 29, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Superior Artisan Market Pop-up, Hucklebeary, 106 E. Superior Street
(EdNote: Superior here refers to Superior Street, not Superior across the bridge.)

Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday, June 30, 12 p.m.-4 p.m.
Sue Brown Chapin Watercolors Gallery on 4th Grand Opening, 47 4th Street, Cloquet.

Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday, June 30, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
49th Annual Park Point Art Fair, Park Point Public Beach House, 5000 Minnesota Avenue

Sunday, June 30, 2:30-5 p.m.
Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony and Origami, Duluth Woman's Club, 2400 E. Superior Street

Sunday, June 30, 5 p.m.
Beer & Hymns, Sir Benedict's Tavern, 805 E. Superior Street
"A gathering for beer drinking and hymn singing on the last Sunday of every month."

STAY CURRENT WITH THE NORTHLAND ARTS SCENE 

at the Twin Ports Art Blog

Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit and Wisdom for People Who Enjoy Word Play

Oxymoronica: Any variety of self-contradictory statements or observations that on the surface appear false or illogical, but at a deeper level are profoundly true.

The author is Dr. Mardy Grothe, and based on the titles of his other books the guy is into word play. "Ifferisms," "I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like," "Viva la Repartee," "Oxymoronica," "Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You," and "Neverisms." I myself have been a lifelong quote collector, but this guy is definitely in the major leagues of that hobby.

The foreword is by Richard Lederer, an author of 30 books related to word play and not to be confused (as I was) with William J. Lederer, author of The Ugly American. I'd read the book in my youth, and the name Lederer stuck with me, in spite of fifty plus years passing. It was a powerful story about Southeast Asia, which was turned into a film starring Marlon Brando in 1963. Between this and Graham Greene's The Quiet American, it quickly becomes apparent how moronic our involvement was in the Vietnam escalation.

Oops, this is supposed to be about word play. Let's get to it.

Dr. Grothe's book begin with an explanation of where his title comes from. Oxymoron is to Oximoronica as Eros is to Erotica and Exotic to Exotica. Since that doesn't explain too much, let's just say it is "quotations that contain incompatible or incongruous elements."

Most of us are familiar with jumbo shrimp. That's an oxymoron. So, this book is full of quotes that accomplish the same but on another level. Here are some examples.

"Even his ignorance is encyclopedic."--Stanislaw Lec

"Free love is too expensive."--Bernadette Devlin

"You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap."--Dolly Parton

After an introduction to  his theme, with dozens of examples, the author clumps his quotations into chapters by theme. The Human Condition, Oxymoronica on Stage & Screen, Inadvertent Oxymoronica, Political Oxymoronica, and nine other categories.

The book includes classic and obscure sources. Here are a couple witticisms from the chapter on The Human Condition:

"We learn from experience that men never
learn anything from experience."--George Bernard Shaw

"The only certainty is that nothing is certain."--Plint the Younger

"Life is full of misery, loneliness and suffering--and it's all over much too soon."--Woody Allen

"A man chases a woman until she catches him."--Anonymous

"Their very silence is a loud cry."--Cicero

Reading this book makes me wish to find his others. If you find them first, tell me what you think.

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Related Links
Oxymoronica on Amazon. (Used copies as low as $2)
My wordplay story constructed of homonyms: How Eye One The Wore
Creating Crossword Puzzles for Fun & Profit

Matt Oman's Species of Art, Revisited and a Pair of Arts-Related Reminders

Last week I was notified that Matt Oman has added some new work and re-arranged the gallery space in his garage. I first wrote about Matt after visiting in 2012 at which time he stated, “I don’t think I mentioned that my biggest/favorite/most complex piece of artwork is my house.”

Oman graduated from UMD as a history major, but it was his love of beauty that attracted him to the arts. His works are generally small compositions of mixed media, collage or other compositions. Conceptual artists work in ideas or words. Oman's pieces each have a story, a concept, a revelation.

The words Species of Art is imprinted just inside the door of his garage, which has become a moniker of sorts for this garage cum gallery. Many of the pieces have no identifying titles or comments, but others include words, which sometimes offer keys for unlocking other meanings. Here are some of the words that appear on the various pieces:

Section 1: The Cultural
Pool of Water
The Smallest Blue Dot
Eating/Impenetrable
Science/What are the Chances?/Understanding the Universe
Intelligence Tested
Destroy All Monsters and Goddess
The Female Gaze
Lord Gallery
Romantic Realist
The Story of Human Language. Creation Myths
Bat Cave

If you were to visit, you would find many pieces that are simply thought provoking, and others that reveal a humorous wit. 

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EVENTS OF NOTE
THIS WEEKEND

49th Annual Park Point Art Fair

http://www.parkpointartfair.org/

Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

1st Anniversary
Downtown Duluth Arts Walk

Details Here

Related Links

2012 story about Matt Oman's Series of Art

2018 story about Matt Oman's Species of Art

Summer is here. Enjoy the sunshine!

Laughter by the Lake: Maritime Improv Crew Offers Up "Belly Laughs" for the Whole Family

Maritime Improv Crew, in uniform. (Publicity still)

This past week I was invited to attend a rehearsal of the Maritime Improv Crew as they prepared for their next gig, the Belly Laughs Improv Comedy Show, July 6.

The rehearsal was underway when I arrived at the Spirit of the North Theater and took a seat. Tami Siebert, of Siebert Event Consulting Management, is producer of the shows which have been a feature here for three years now.

The team was working through an initial warmup activity that appears designed to help them think on their feet. It reminded me of the routines a choir might go through to loosen their voices before a performance, or a basketball team getting ready for a big game.

Siebert explained to me how they began doing these improv shows. There are a few places in town where one can catch stand up comedy in the Twin Ports, and there have been improv shows at Teatro Zuccone for some time, but these latter  shows begin at 10:00 and while sizzling fun for the crowd they serve, it's not necessarily family fare, nor is it family friendly hours.

Warm ups.

Being aware of the need for fun comedy that is easy to be enjoyed without being too blue, or as Siebert puts it, "Wholesome comedy at a reasonable hour," led to Maritime Improv Crew.

Sharon Dixon Obst was asked to direct, but her schedule is such that it seemed imperative to have a pair of directors. Her co-director is Ted Carlson-Webster from the College of St. Scholastica who has also been active with the Rubber Chicken Theater.

"Tours here (at Fitgers) always resulted in someone saying they wish we had something like this earlier," Siebert said. "Ted and I held auditions. We wanted to do a different form of improv." Ted will be in the upcoming Dracula show later this year.

Fun and games. Fun for all.

"The size of the crew enables them to do shows when some folks are out of town," Siebert added. "The shows are once a month, which is fun, and not too much pressure."

Siebert shared how the audience gets invited to be involved so that it creates immersive experiences. “We want the audience to feel like they are part of the show. In our last show, for example, we had a six-year-old boy come up on stage and be Batman."

One of the routines the crew practiced was a game called Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? A variation of charades, one player leaves the room while all the others are assigned roles to play. When the main player returns he is told what the event is. In this case it was a bachelor party or some such thing. He had to then create the scene, identifying objects like a desk, dart board and such. The party animals knocked on the door and acted their various parts (One, for example, was Dr. Spock) while the main player guessed their identities. Correct guess, and you die. It was fun.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

Afterwards I connected with Sharon Obst for a few more details about the Maritime Improv Crew and what they are doing.

EN: Freud and many others have attempted to analyze humor. What is it that makes people laugh? And what is it that makes Improv especially fun?

Sharon Dixon Obst: People laugh at what makes them uncomfortable or scares them, or things that are just ridiculous. I like improv because it's unpredictable. I never know what is going to happen until it does. In that way, it mimics life. We are all improv actors, we just don't realize it.

EN: Your events are family friendly. How is it that so much standup comedy is so off-color?

SDO: We are a family friendly show. Some stand up is off color because it's easy to go for the cheap laugh by using language or situations that appeal to that part of the human experience. It's harder and smarter to stay clean. It just takes more work, but in the end, it's worth it because the humor is more cerebral. Also, with long form improv, we are more of storytellers. We have to be able to come back to the scenes we create. Keeping the scenes more realistic and clean means there is more of a through line for telling a story.

Sharon Obst (R) with Ted Carlson-Webster (L)
and a portion of their crew in the background

EN: How did you become a co-director of the Maritime Improv Crew?

SDO: Brian Matuszak contacted me about Tami looking to start an improv group to perform once a month at Fitger's. I used to perform with Renegade and Rubber Chicken and have done workshops and private performances for many years. I was intrigued by the possibility of having the opportunity to create a new experience for the area in long-form from the ground up. Since I teach full time and have other obligations, I knew I would need someone to come in as a co-director, not assistant director. I wanted to make certain that we were working together and that the cast knew we were equals, even though Ted is much younger than me. Ted grew up doing improv and has a lot of experience. So once he said he would co-lead the team, we were both in.

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 BELLY LAUGHS IMPROV COMEDY SHOW

Saturday July 6 @7 p.m.
3rd Floor Fitgers Spirit of the North Theater

TICKETS:  $15/adults, $10 students @the door
Early Bird  online tickets at Eventbrite

Maritime Improv Crew page on Facebook

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While we're on the subject of comedy

Here's a Reminder that This Thursday 

RUBBER CHICKEN THEATER 

PRESENTS

7:30 p.m. @ THE UNDERGROUND 

DETAILS HERE

Nikolai Berdyaev: On Slavery and Freedom

FOOD FOR THOT DEPT.

"We live in a nightmare of falsehoods, and there are few who are sufficiently awake and aware to see things as they are. Our first duty is to clear away illusions and recover a sense of reality."--Nikolai Berdyaev

Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (1874 –1948) was a Russian Christian universalist mystic and Christian anarchist political philosopher. My first encounter with Berdyaev was in a book titled Four Existentialist Theologians in the early 1980s after our return from Mexico. I recorded and eventually memorized this statement in my "quote book": "Slavery is passivity. The victory over slavery is creative activity."

While reviewing and discarding some papers I was reminded of Berdyaev and stimulated to see how much of his thought and writings were gathered on Wiki Quotes. If you are looking for a way to become acquainted with great thinkers of the past, Wiki Quotes might become as rewarding a pasttime for you as it has for me.

The following excerpts been culled from the page on Berdyaev.

"Pain in the human world is the birth of personality... Already in the animal world individuality suffers. Freedom gives rise to suffering. One can lessen it if one refuses freedom."

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"Only the free man is a personality, and he is that even if the whole world should wish to enslave him."

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"Man, human personality (the individual) is the supreme value, not the community, not the collective realities which belong to the object world, such as society, nation, state, civilization, church."

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About Berdyaev:
It is difficult to fit the work of Nikolai Berdyaev into any neat category. The label that was used most frequently to characterize him was that of an "existential Christian philosopher" but … his voice is equally relevant to psychology and psychoanalysis and it also constitutes a uniquely original commentary on the very nature of the person in our postmodern world especially in relation to spirituality.-- Renos K. Papadopoulos

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Berdyaev lived through the Russian Revolution and those tumultuous times leading up to it with the idiosyncratic madness of the Tsar and Rasputin.. The following, titled The End of Time, was written in 1919.

"The whole economic system of Capitalism is an offshoot of a devouring and overwhelming lust, of a kind that can hold sway only in a society that has deliberately renounced the Christian asceticism and turned away from Heaven to give itself over exclusively to earthly gratifications. ... It is the result of a secularization of economic life, and by it the hierarchical subordination of the material to the spiritual is inverted. The autonomy of economics has ended in their dominating the whole life of human societies: the worship of Mammon has become the determining force of the age. And the worst of it is that this undisguised “mammonism” is regarded as a very good thing, an attainment to the knowledge of truth and a release from illusions. Economic materialism formulates this to perfection when it brands the whole spiritual life of man as a deception and a dream."

When years later Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was exiled to the States, he similarly excoriated the predominant American ethic, "I want what I want," which Berdyaev scratched at above and here:

In order to be able to go on living it is possible that the bankrupt peoples will have to enter on a new path of self-denial, by curbing their covetousness and putting a check on the indefinite expansion of their wants, and by having smaller families.

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One last observation and a link to more:

"We live in a nightmare of falsehoods, and there are few who are sufficiently awake and aware to see things as they are. Our first duty is to clear away illusions and recover a sense of reality."

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nikolai_Berdyaev

Local Art Scene: Upcoming Arts Events for the Last Week in June

Piece from STRATA show at the DAI

Grandma's Marathon has always been more than a marathon. It marks the beginning of the busy Twin Ports Summer Scene. For decades it was a reminder that next weekend is the Park Point Art Fair. Now it is also a reminder that Rhubarb Fest is coming, also.

Here are some noteworthy events for your Art Happenings calendar.

Tuesday, June 25, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Creative Crosswalk Painting with Moira Villiard
Moira & team of volunteers will be painting crosswalks near the Myers-Wilkins Elementary School, 8th Avenue E. & 10th Street
"The Hillside streets will become safer and more colorful this summer when local artist, Moira Villiard, in partnership with Zeitgeist and local residents. The will produce four creative crosswalks at currently dangerous intersections. The crosswalks and intersections will be painted to attract more attention to crosswalks and the people using them, promoting pedestrian and bicycle safety by slowing traffic in the residential area, while also highlighting neighborhood culture and identity through public art. Zeitgeist will lead community engagement efforts to allow residents to influence the design of the murals that they will be walking, biking, and driving through daily. Neighbors are encouraged to come out to help paint the design." For more information, contact Shawna Mullen, Zeitgeist Active Transportation Coordinator. 218-929-1908.; Shawna@Zeitgeistarts.com

Friday, June 28, 5-8 p.m.
Downtown Duluth Arts Walk 
Between 20 and 30 arts spaces will be open again, continuing the "Last Friday of Each Month" art event. Duluth Fine Pianos, 331 W. Superior Street (next to Starbucks!) will be hosting jazz musicians  Ryan Frane on piano, Matt Mobley on bass, and Sam Miltich on guitar from 6-8 p.m.
Esther Piszczek's framed work on paper, glass, mirrors, and clay decorates the walls of Duluth Fine Pianos. Come out to hear some music, see the art, or just say hi to all the good people there. Duluth Fine Pianos is participating in the Downtown Duluth Arts Collective's night of art and entertainment, featuring Downtown Duluth art galleries, eateries, bars and performance venues. Email manager@josephneasegallery.com or call 218-461-8380 for more information. Downtown Duluth Arts Walk Google Map [NOTE: I will attend the DDAW 5-6:30 p.m.]

Saturday, June 29, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Chum Rhubarb Festival, London Road at 11th Avenue E.
"Chum’s 15th annual Rhubarb Festival promises lots of rhubarb — including hundreds of pies, muffins and crisps, as well as rhubarb brats and burritos. There will also be live music, games, crafts, auctions and stage shows." You can check out my Rhubarb Fest photos from last summer here.

Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday, June 30, 12 p.m.-4 p.m.
Sue Brown Chapin Watercolors Gallery on 4th Grand Opening, 47 4th Street, Cloquet Stop by to see Sue Brown Chapin's new space and register to win a framed original. Following the opening, Gallery on 4th will be open Thursday afternoons, 1-6 p.m., and by appointment.
Directions: Presbyterian Church Building, upper level, door to right of main door, look for sign.

Cross this bridge to Park Point Art Fair. Watercolor by Sue Rauschenfels

Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday, June 30, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Park Point Art Fair
Park Point Public Beach House, 5000 Minnesota Avenue
"The annual Park Point Art Fair will feature the juried fine art and crafts of more than 120 artists from the upper Midwest and beyond. In addition to the outdoor gallery, there will be a food court, demonstration areas, a stage with live music and more — all at the Park Point Recreation Area.
Located at the foot of the recreation area’s Beach House and ball fields, the event is accessible by bus and bike, as well as the nearby airstrip and public boat launch. With artist tents lining a paved path that extends through the park, the show allows people with physical disabilities the chance to fully experience the event."

Sunday, June 30, 5 p.m.
Beer & Hymns, at Sir Benedict's Tavern, 805 E. Superior Street
"A gathering for beer drinking and hymn singing on the last Sunday of every month."

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STAY CURRENT WITH TWIN PORTS ART

by Bookmarking the

TWIN PORTS ART BLOG 
https://twinportsart.blogspot.com/

My Most Read Stories On Medium This Week and a C.S. Lewis Quote

Friday was the longest day of the year. It was also the kickoff for Grandma's Marathon weekend with their pre-marathon 5K event that I ran two years ago. The weather has been perfect for running and/or walking... or watching. Saturday's marathon was once again run with enthusiasm. 9000 runners this year.

The week my most-read stories on Medium were:

12 Powerful Novellas That Moved Me When I First Read Them 

A Pocketful of Points to Ponder by Socrates
Published in A Philosopher's Stone

The Chemistry of Photography: A Father’s Day Tribute
My Father's Day tribute

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Infobahn
Published in The Startup

Creating Crossword Puzzles for Fun & Profit: A Visit with Christina Iverson
Also published in The Startup

The Virtue of Discipline
On becoming our better selves.

Memories: Both a Comfort and a Curse

Awed by Two Van Gogh Paintings at the National Gallery

* * * *
THOT FOR THE DAY
"Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters."--C.S. Lewis

TapRoots: An Invitation to Join Me in a Wisdom Game from the 500 BC Foundry

Can obtaining Wisdom be fun? Certainly learning can be fun. I would agree there are games that serve as diversions, and games that sharpen our thinking. And then there are games which teach us things, about our world and even our selves.

When I was a kid I used to play a game called Geography with my parents. It involved a map of the world with all the major cities, plus an egg timer and a spherical die that had letters on it instead of numbers. You would roll the die, and once you had the letter revealed the egg timer would be turned over. You had one minute to find as many cities as possible that began with that letter.

This blog post is about a website called 500 BC Foundry. I'm still not entirely sure what it is but the more I explore, the more interesting it becomes.

It may be that the problem in our 21st world is that we're TOO BUSY to really explore things that are deeper than superficial. 500 BC Foundry has many layers, though they also have tools to help you dig, if you can dig that.

When we're too busy it is because we have committed to too many things. The end result is an inability to focus on much of anything for very long because those various commitments are knocking at the door and on the windows.

ALL THIS TO SAY, slow down, take a deep breath and check out the 500 BC Foundry. There's a link at the end of this post.

One of the authors on the site is Plato-McBoar. The name should be considered a clue. Plato McBoar is our philosophizing, business-savvy boar with an irregularly large brain. He loves truffles with a side of tea and crumpets. (The tone here should also be a considered a clue.)

For what it's worth, one of the features on the site is a bit of Blockchain technology, which appears to have some real value for those who play to win. There are some people who feel that Blockchain will change the world as much as the Internet itself has disrupted everything.

This game, if I understand correctly, revolved around Digibles, which are digital collectibles. IF YOU PLAY YOU CAN GATHER DIGITAL CURRENCY and theoretically this currency can be exchanged for real world valuations. If you enter through the link below you can look for this heading and learn more: Digital Collectibles Are Changing the Crypto-Landscape

According to Plato McBoar, "TapRoots is a game to help you know and grow yourself. Soon, with blockchain-powered rewards, we hope to make investing in yourself even more fun."

* * * *

There are some people who have invested a lot of creative energy into making this online game in which players discover ancient truths and wisdom that they can apply to their present lives. At first brush it seems complicated, but as you take time to investigate various links and features, you will discover some rather profitable features and opportunities.

The motto here is: You owe it to yourself to get to know yourself. Knowing oneself is essential to a great life. Knowing oneself precedes "To thine own self be true." How can you be true to yourself when you are oblivious to who you are.

What Phelan, the Founder, discovered was that the insights from antiquity remain relevant today. This understanding led her to seek a way to share these insights via a new medium, in the tech-infused world we now live in, using the tools of our contemporary culture. The end result was TapRoots, a game of self-discovery.

In ancient times, people used sharpened flint as a tool. Today we have apps devoted to transferring the wisdom of the ages into our present seeking minds. That's what TapRoots is all about.

* * * *
For what it's worth, I like what I've been finding in the 500 BC Foundry and TapRoots. I'm interested in what they are attempting to do. And it may be the right timing for this because there are so many distractions now to take us away from who we are. How can you be to thine own self true if you don't even know who you are?

So, I'm playing a new game, just to see where it goes. If you want to play, to be part of it, here's where you can learn more... and be part of a contemporary game that can potentially make a difference in your life.

#GalacticGiveawayShares   

Sign up to get cool rewards at 500 BC Foundry 

and by doing so, my rank will improve. 

* * * *  

Where this will lead I have no idea, but I will keep you posted.

It's the Beginning of Summer, a good time to kick off your shoes and dive in.

Here's the Link, one more time:

#GalacticGiveawayShares

http://rfer.al/IuObGMbQp

Let's Do It!

If You Fly Delta, This Credit Card Can Earn You Tens of Thousands of Free Miles

An out of this world offer...  Read on.

OK, here's the deal. I can earn 12,500 Delta Sky Miles for each person who signs up to get an American Express Personal or Business card before the end of July. AND you can get 60,000 Sky Miles!

Here's how it works: If you make $2000 in purchases within the first three months you will earn 60,000 Delta Sky Miles.

To be honest, I've never pursued these things because I'm not the credit card kind of guy. Then, a couple years ago we had friends who told us how much they enjoyed accumulating, and using, their miles. And guess what? Since then I've enjoyed collecting all those miles now, too.

I used to travel a lot through the two companies I've worked for, and one perk from all that travel was receiving Sky Miles. By means of Sky Miles I flew my daughter to Ireland one year and to Scotland a few years later. 

Maybe you have kids or grandkids you wish you could see more often. Or maybe an exotic trip you've always wished you could afford. Delta Sky Miles might be just the ticket, and if you meet the criteria (a pretty low bar, actually) you can bag 60,000 Sky Miles right at the start. It was a lot easier than I thought.

It does require a little discipline in this respect. Neither Susie nor I like having to pay interest on debt, so we make it a point to pay off the card every month. If you are in the habit of living within your means, this should not be a problem. It has not been an issue at all for us, which is why I am letting you know about it.

OK, I am letting you know because I JUST NOTICED that I am permitted to use Social Media to tell people about this.

HERE'S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET STARTED

Apply for an American Express Card with this link. 

We can both get rewarded if you're approved! 

http://refer.amex.us/LEONNCO1a?xl=cps5

Decorative glass in the underground corridor
at Mnpls Airport, a Delta hub.

EACH FRIEND (& you're my friend if you're reading this) CAN EARN
60,000 Bonus Miles after they use their new Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months and a $50 Statement Credit after they make a Delta purchase with their new Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.

This Limited Time Offer ends 07/31/2019.

You will be able to choose from all available American Express Personal and Business Card offers. I will receive my referral bonus no matter what Card you are approved for.

IF YOU DECIDE TO SIGN UP, I'D LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT IT.

Thanks for taking time to consider the offer. I hope it works for you.

Corridor from main terminal to the B terminal at Mpls-St. Paul Airport.