Midwest Sunrise :: 10/3/2017
Greetings Steemit,
Its a cloudy/raining Tuesday from my vantage point this seat provides on this day. Though out and about as usual right at Sunrise, this morning's drive hosted a 'Wipers on' edition that left conditions for capturing the rising Sun occuring behind the storm clouds completely defunct.
I did happen to capture a sunrise a few days back while pumping gas that never made it to Steemit, as I'm still working gobs of hours and haven't been visiting as often as I'd like. That said, admittedly, I have been spending some time on Bookface the past few days, and I've been doing so with purpose as I'd like to discuss the results of those wanderings with you, before posting the aforementioned October 1st 2017 Sunrise pic.
As I've blogged about here before - I feel there exists two different worlds that I'm straddling the line upon. One is the established land of Bookface, upon which most my regionally local friends & family roam. The other is this upstanding community of Steemians, which upon discovery in June 2016, has become a pocket of my favorite non-locally residing friends & family - as well as hosting some of the finest OC on the interwubs at this time. (imo)
I wander between these two worlds, drifting wherever the ebbs & flows take me as needed.. and I've felt pulled back into Bookface the past few days upon a waive of people I know there dealing with personal tragedies, as well as a host of fire-brand social issues that are currently happening in my country that I am passionate about, and consider it needed to voice my opinions within those local circles.
I suppose it somewhat started when El Trump made his disparaging comments against NFL players engaged in a peaceful protest by kneeling during the National Anthem a week back. I personally do not watch American Football, nor do I support the NFL in any regard considering how much money they basically steal from their host city's tax payers as they claim to be a non-profit entity that earns BILLIONS of dollars a year.. yet I do take offense to the President's comments as I consider them to be "Anti - Free Speech".
Supposedly 'The Bill of Rights' and 'Constitution of the United States' is the essence of Law, Life, and Liberty in my home country. For a sitting Public Official (let alone the Potus) to instruct a citizen that they have no 1st amendment right simply because they are 'on the clock' is offensive to me, and legally inaccurate in almost all cases. There is actually case law & legal precedent in this country that CLEARLY states that no person can be forced to partake in these rituals, including school children. I get pretty fired up about Politicians trying to take away people's liberties, so I decided to hop into those conversations on Bookface instead of here on Steemit, as I felt like heading into the more hostile waters of Bookface was EXACTLY where I needed to be heard... as I'm someone who has the courage to run into the darkness & shine my own light opposed to running away from it.
A few days later we had Hurricane Maria completely destroy Puerto Rico, a US territory. El Trumpo has seemingly fumbled that response as well, instead getting into a Twitter flame war with local officials while people are essentially suffering & dying due to the inaction of FEMA and other aide agencies. That's also something I decided to discuss with friends & family on Bookface, opposed to bringing it here where I felt most my Steemit friends & family "get it" and would see things 'eye to eye' concerning these topics.
And then yesterday hit - filled with death and sorrow. We are being marketed that "This Nation's worst mass shooting in history" occurred, killing 50+ and injuring Hundreds. Followed by the death of Legendary DnB Producer "Apex / Unknown Error", who's music really did impact my life in ways that I'll never fully be able to understand and give proper credit, as well as the evening announcement that Tom Petty passed away.
In a word... ouch.
In regards to the Las Vegas shooting: I have much to say on that issue, but need to keep it brief as we're still learning about the event that just occurred. Lets start by saying that historically speaking, the worst mass shooting in this country's history was the Massacre at Wounded Knee - but I suppose when recounting the history of this nation, sadly in most all cases people like to exclude native american culture. Also - the media LOVES that buzzword headline, so .. eh, fuck it, lets just go with it! (/insert sarcasm)
I will also say that I'm an open minded critical thinker, who wouldn't put it past an over zealous power hungry government to stage a false flag operation (mostly because they've been caught doing it before) in order to pass desired legislation. I very well may post a break down at a future date, but for now would say check out @pressfortruth for baseline context, as he's asking the question "Can we have a rational conversation about this?". (Its a great question)
In regards to the passing of Apex/Unknown Error - This one really, really hurts. This man's music helped heal me as a person, and helped shape who I am as a DJ. I don't assume most anyone here will have heard of his tracks or talent - so I suppose I should leave a couple here linked to this post, as a tribute to his contributions that will out last his physical presence on this host cell Earth.
Just One Second - Apex Remix
Space Between - Apex
The Yearning - Unknown Error
The above 3 songs, which I have all 3 on Vinyl, represent 3 of my All Time favorite DnB tracks. The loss of this Artist basically feels like if I were to ask you what your Top 10 favorite Television Shows are, you tell me, then I just kill the entire cast of 3 of those shows. It feels like a SUBSTANTIAL loss to the DnB/Junglist community, and these tracks which feel like a physical part of me will now hold a hauntingly new tone that makes them even more special, in some sense. Salute to Rob who visited just long enough to slightly change my life, musically, for the better in every way. You will sincerely be missed.
In regards to Tom Petty's passing - I have a childhood imprint of Tom's music, as my Parents both loved listening to his albums. I distinctly remember one Live concert that they had on CD that I was fairly fond of, despite our wide differences in musical tastes at the time. Many of my friends are hard core Tom Petty fans too, hence why my presence on Bookface has been needed to help them deal with the blow.
All in all - its been a crazy few days - and I keep missing posting over here to hangout with all my Steemian tribe.
The purpose of this Midwest Sunrise post series is 3 fold:
- I take pictures of the Sunrise most mornings, so why not share them here on Steemit.
- I want to practice my writing skills, and this is the perfect format for anyone wanting to hear these rantings.
- I have a lot of thoughts firing in my mind, and taking the time to organize & express them helps on multiple levels, therefore, this is probably needed more than I initially realized, and should continue.
So yeah.. as I bounce back & forth between these two online worlds: I suppose that rounds up today's pre-work Steemit post. I'll end with some Sunrise photos mentioned at the beginning, shot a few days ago when the Sun was shining.
As we move through these tragedies - I like to focus on that bright warm sun.. again, helping to remind us that its 'ok' to shine through the darkness. Keep your chin up my friends!
Cheers Steemit!
~GiftedGaia
-Who is: GiftedGaia 1 Year Later?
-My Youtube Page (lots of Drone Videos)
-GiftedGaia's Favorite Quotations on Life and Music
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