Self-Isolating Archives - Paul Yanuziello

Country of Freedom

Country of freedom, be free in thy heart:
Free from the shackles of prisoning pride,
Free from the liar’s contemptible art,
Free from allurements that tempt thee aside,
Free from the crafty and treacherous guide,
Free from the ravening greed of the mart,
Free from the snares that in opulence hide,—
Country of freedom be free in thy heart!

Amos Russel Wells (1862 – 1933)

Hello all and welcome to this weeks journal, where I share with you 5 things that I found to be of interest and I hope you will enjoy it too.

1. This week I worked on my new book trailer for Samba in Brazil.

I also started to plan for the virtual book release party, set for February 14th, the release date of Samba in Brazil and you’re all invited. We’re going to be touring Salvador, Bahia; join us.

This is the start of my new book promotion, timed perfectly for lockdown. Searching for something new to read this year? Look no further! My author friends have teamed up to offer a delightful selection of books, including my book Samba on a Snowy Day. Available for a limited time. “New Year’s Book Giveaway”

2. Our mini – NaNoWriMo of the WCYR writers group that I belong to features some of what was written during the November session.

The featured photo, courtesy of Pixabay was chosen by author M.J. Moores who requested some of our creativity so that she could put together some of her own cool memes.

3. Eye candy for this week; there was plenty, the best one to enjoy with the young ones or even the young at heart, Being Elmo. Do you remember the characters from Sesame Street? Elmo is one of my favourites.

Another interesting and entertaining movie The Trial of the Chicago Seven, very reminiscent of last weeks events in Washington D.C.

4. Audio delights this week were all about the blues, from Howlin’ Wolf to John Lee Hooker and taking in Buddy Guy and Luther Allison too. Joyous blues, “Smokestack Lightning.”

Ontario has declared a state of emergency and it looks like I’ll be working from home instead of a nice video/recording studio.

Back to playing and listening to the blues with one of my favourite harmonica players, Indiara Sfair.

5. My reading interests; The Beloved: Reflections on the Path of the Heart, Kahlil Gibran. This is a wonderful book that is designed to open the heart.

And for what I am writing and rewriting; which is my newest Sci-Fi, comedy-thriller, The Snowaxe Café.

A story about an alien running a coffee shop that caters to the top musicians and artists in the world and provides the best coffee in the universe.

Thank you for reading. If you think someone would enjoy the newsletter please share it with them. If you are looking for a fun children’s book check out one of my books. Samba on a Snowy Day or my new book, Samba in Brazil.

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong and keep going.

Newsletter 31

Hello all and welcome. The world as we know it has changed and most of us are living in a state of emergency. At times like this everyone must come together and help where ever they can. In many cases that means social distancing, self isolation or staying in quarantine and in so doing you may save a life. There are many people who are called to action, the front line workers, they are the hero’s and heroines of this global pandemic. Thank you – to all of you front line workers – you are all awesome.

1. Reading books to your children at this time of social distancing and self isolation is very important. If you want to know how it’s done or pass the job on to others, check out actor Chris O’Dowd reading Arnie the Doughnut, a fun kids book. You can also have a look at me reading my book, Samba on a Snowy Day.

2. I love sailing and sometimes I check out youtube for information on sailing around the world, a dream of mine, something at the bottom of the bucket list. In one of the videos, I watched as the vessel sailed into the Chagos Archipelago, a group of islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The skipper provided a little history on the island chain and a recommendation to watch the educational documentary, “Stealing A Nation” (John Pilger, 2004). I highly recommend the documentary.

For anyone interested in home schooling, some specials by my favourite documentary movie theatre, Hot Docs. Some wonderful children’s documentary’s a dynamic lineup of free films to help inform, engage and soothe the anxieties of the present moment. Curated by the popular “Docs for Schools” program, these family-friendly, education picks cover multiple subject areas and age levels.

3. Some great musicians passed away this week. Kenny Rogers (1938 – 2020) left us at the age of 81, he was an award winning pop/country music singer, songwriter, musician and actor. I liked some of his songs, especially The Gambler. Rest In Peace Kenny Rogers. Also late this week, Manu Dibango (1933-2020), Afro-funk saxophonist based in France, a victim of Covid-19 – age 86. RIP Manu. One of my favourite percussionist’s, Ray Mantilla passed on March 21, he was 86, read what my friends at Latin Jazz Network had to say about Ray’s accomplishments.

There are lots of free concerts available from artists self isolating, I particularly like following Chick Corea as he practices or workshops during his self-isolation.

4. Let’s face it, most kids want to be active. For the younger ones try to set up some fun scavenger hunts. There are lots of ideas online for indoor and outdoor treasure hunts. If your kids are into martial arts make sure they practice. No excuses – many great martial arts teachers are offering free classes online, including my friend and teacher Scott Langley sensei. This is especially for my students, continuing to learn Heian Shodan, there are many free videos here, phenomenal karate value. And for some cool agility ladder drills, check out Seamus O’Dowd sensei.

5. “But people of the deepest understanding look within, distracted by nothing. Since a clear mind is the Budha, they attain the understanding of a Budha without using the mind.” — Bodhidharma

Stay safe, stay well, stay home if you can and stay strong. Don’t take chances with your health or the health of loved ones. Remember to stay connected through social media, telephone folks, face time, be with the ones you love but can’t be with. Write letters, find pen and paper and try some old fashioned style of communication. We will get through this together.

Love and Light

Thanks for reading, if you think someone you know would like my newsletter please share it with them. If you’re looking for a great children’s book, Samba on a Snowy Day is available at Amazon.ca. Check out my blog, follow the link, sign in. Get the weekly newsletter in your inbox, no spam I promise.