“I know, no one’s going to show me everything / We all come and go unknown / Each so deep and superficial / Between the forceps and the stone.”
This is my favorite line from Joni Mitchell’s entire discography. It’s part of the title track off her 1976 album Hejira, a record full of longing and grit and beauty that is often overlooked in the great scape of her work at large. But it’s this line, this articulation of the uncertainty of life, that has stuck with me from the first time I heard it. Above everything she has done, Mitchell’s haunting voice captures the calm that comes from understanding simultaneous grandeur and microcosm of the human experience. We are both deep and superficial, all unknown, all in limbo between birth and death at any given moment. In this statement, I have found strength and calm throughout some of the most difficult periods of my life. The relationship I have with Joni Mitchell has changed over the years, but ultimately it comes down to that line, and the message it represents carries across much of her work: No matter who you are, what you do, or where you go, we are all here together, and we might as well find something deeper in the world around us. As a young woman growing up in a time where it’s sometimes hard to find the truth in popular music, Mitchell offered a sense of perspective on a larger scale, and for that, I will always be grateful.
Anyone who has ever had a conversation about music with me knows I love Joni; she is a puzzle and a master at the same time, an artist who has taught me more than even she could understand. Though I grew up with Mitchell’s hits like “California” and “River” playing throughout my house, it wasn’t until I had some of my own life experiences that I could truly appreciate her genius. I discovered her fully in the first few years of high school, which were arguably some of the darkest times I’ve been through. Being a teenage girl can often feel like a living nightmare, and I dealt with both chronic illness and depression on top of that. During those rough years, Joni was a friend, a mother and a prophet for me in a period where I desperately needed something to hold onto. For me at that point, Joni Mitchell’s music was both a salve and a lens to see myself through, an aid in understanding that accepting the future as it is provides more than trying to fix it in place.
"Hejira" is one of Joni's great songs.
"In the church they light the candles and the wax rolls down like tears" is another great line and one Chaka Khan has praised in interviews -- she's a Joni fan and loves the song "Hejira."
C.I. loves to note "Hejira" at THE COMMON ILLS. It's from the album of the same name and is one of Joni's classic albums -- like BLUE, COURT & SPARK, FOR THE ROSES, DOG EAT DOG and SHINE.
FORBES notes:
The great Joni Mitchell turns 75 next month and her adopted hometown is throwing a doozy of a soiree. Over two nights at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on November 6 and 7 (Mitchell's actual birthday), "JONI 75: A Birthday Celebration Live" brings together a big-name lineup of troubadours, harmonizers and singer-songwriters to pay tribute to the Canadian-born musical legend. Mitchell is expected be among the crowd for at least one night.
Chaka will be performing and Emmylou Harris, Graham Nash (whose "Our House" was written when he and Joni were a couple and lived together), Seal, Rufus Wainwright, Diana Krall, Los Lobos and Kris Kristofferson -- among others.
Joni's a legend and she's earned that.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Iraq PM Adel Abdul Mahdi sworn in amid bickering over cabinet dlvr.it/QpSCNQ bit.ly/1b9p15k
Iraqi Prime Minister @AdilAbdAlMahdi swore in 14 ministers to his new government last night. All were male.
"None of the [14] appointments were known to have come from the online application portal opened by Abdul-Mahdi to bring new faces into government. His office received over 15,000 applications in the span of less than a week, earlier this month."
He did not nominate two women but Parliament refused to vote on those two.
Press Release: SRSG Ján Kubiš welcomes confirmation of #Iraq Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, urges early confirmation of the full Council of Ministers, and expresses concern at the lack of female representation among ministers
SRSG Ján Kubiš welcomes confirmation of #Iraq Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, urges early confirmation of the full Council of Ministers, and expresses concern at the lack of female representation among ministers
facebook.com/UnitedNationsI…
Let's give AP credit for these two passages:
Abdul-Mahdi will hold the
portfolios of defense, justice, and others until parliament votes to
approve his nominees. The lawmaking body is scheduled to reconvene on
Nov. 6, though there is no constitutional deadline to confirm the
appointments.
Former Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki went without ministers of defense or interior for the whole of
his second term, from 2010 to 2014.
On the first paragraph, that is what will happen. On the second, that is what happened. But we stood alone in real time in pointing that out. The press repeatedly pretended otherwise. Someone Nouri puts in place, without the Parliament, is not the minister. (After we bitched and moaned forever, some outlets began using "acting minister.") Parliament approval is required to be a Cabinet member. To be removed as a Cabinet member? That goes through the Parliament as well. Bypassing the Parliament meant that Nouri let that person pretend as long as his decisions met with Nouri's approval. It was a puppet.
Now let's grasp just how bad a failure al-Mahdi currently is. ISIS was never defeated in Iraq. The press is pimping the lie that ISIS is back -- it never left. But whether you accept the reality that it never left or the current myth, ISIS remains a huge problem for Iraq. Minister of Defense? Kind of an important position right now. And he's unable to fill it? That does not speak well for al-Mahdi.
Dangerous & worrying security developments in
Show this thread
Where's the Minister of Defense? To be appointed.
Let's do numbers. The Cabinet has 22 ministers. How many spots did al-Mahdi fill? 14.
This is a leader?
This is someone who can get things done?
I am wondering what happened to Iraq’s PM-designate Adel Abdul-Mahdi's online portal application for those who run for Iraq's 22 Ministries? I am one of those who applied for one of those positions and see myself as qualified as anyone else...
He got a lot of attention for that, al-Mahdi did. Even though the application period had ended, several outlets were still doing pieces on it earlier this week. His announcement was treated as yet another indication that this was the one Iraq had been waiting for. Time and again, we're told this Iraqi (who fled Iraq for years and only returned after the US military invaded in 2003) will be the change agent. And they turn out to be exactly the same as the one that came before.
al-Mahdi's words are treated as reasons to rejoice and then when his actions fail to live up to his words, the media reduces it to a paragraph deep in the story.
It's amazing that the online applications qualified as headline news yet the failure to use those applications is not considered worthy of a headline.
But then re-selling the war requires that the media never tell the harsh truths. You can't keep a war going for 15 years and counting without the help of the media.
Haider al-Abadi out, Adil Abdul-Mahdi officially in vowing a 'new phase' for #Iraq under his premiership
He's vowing a "new phase"? Oh, goody, more words. He's been incapable of living up to his promises thus far in the last month but let's all pretend that's going to change. His first broken promise was that he wouldn't be meeting with foreign officials during his time as prime minister-designate.
مجلس الوزراء يعقد جلسته الاعتيادية الاولى برئاسة رئيس مجلس الوزراء السيد عادل عبد المهدي في مكانه الجديد خارج المنطقة الخضراء.
رئيس مجلس الوزراء السيد عادل عبد المهدي : مجلس الوزراء سيعقد اليوم اول اجتماع للحكومة الجديدة للبدء بالعمل وتحديد الاولويات والتوجيه بالالتزام بالبرنامج الحكومي وتنفيذه في اوقاته المحددة .
رئيس مجلس الوزراء السيد عادل عبد المهدي : علينا جميعا التعاون والعمل يداً بيد من اجل حاضرنا ومستقبلنا ،حيث ان امامنا الكثير من التحديات والعمل الجاد في مجال تطوير الاقتصاد وتنشيط سوق العمل وتوفير الخدمات وكل متطلبات شعبنا .
رئيس مجلس الوزراء السيد عادل عبد المهدي : قدمنا برنامجا وزاريا طموحا وتفصيليا بمدد زمنية واضحة وسنعمل على تنفيذه وان هدفنا الأسمى هو تحقيق تطلعات شعبنا الذي عانى طويلا وآن له ان يقطف ثمار صبره وتضحياته.
رئيس مجلس الوزراء السيد عادل عبد المهدي خلال مراسيم التسليم والاستلام : بحمد الله والتوكل عليه نتسلم اليوم مهامنا الرسمية بعد نيل حكومتنا ثقة ممثلي الشعب.
جرت اليوم الخميس مراسم استلام وتسليم الحقائب الوزارية بحضور رئيس مجلس الوزراء السيد عادل عبد المهدي ورئيس مجلس الوزراء السابق الدكتور حيدر العبادي .
....جاء ذلك خلال زيارة سيادته لمقر جهاز الامن الوطني واجتماعه بالمدراء فيه، حيث حيا جهود العاملين في الجهاز الذي كان له حصة في النصر الذي تحقق وبالاخص تضحيات الشهداء والجرحى .
رئيس مجلس الوزراء القائد العام للقوات المسلحة الدكتور حيدر العبادي يؤكد ان التحدي المقبل يتمثل بالإعمار وتقديم الخدمات وجلب الاستثمارات، وهذا لن يتحقق بدون استقرار الامن ....
The two last ones, from the 24th, are Hayder as prime minister. The ones from two hours ago are al-Mehdi.
At one minute, he insists that they've presented a detailed plan, later on (further up the thread) he's crowing that the Cabinet will meet for the first time today and decided on priorities. Didn't that detailed plan he spoke of earlier do just that?
Words, words, pretty and empty words.
And Iraq's facing real crisis -- that's plural. It's not just ISIS. There are many more. For example, this:
OMG. While all eyes on formation of new #Iraqi govt, drought crisis hit the country strongly, according to Iraqi Agriculture Ministry,the country will lose 55% of agricultural land within the next 12 months. If this happened in another country will be declared state of emergency!
The following community sites -- plus the ACLU -- updated:
McCain the fake, Sade the real thing
10 hours ago
The story not to miss?
10 hours ago
MODERN FAMILY spoiler
10 hours ago
Margaret Kimberley, Fred Hampton
11 hours ago
I'm with Rebecca on this
11 hours ago
We need peace
11 hours ago
