Tribute to the Bardo Museum by swo8 Blues Jazz

This video is called Tribute to the Bardo Museum and gives thought to those who were killed or harmed there on the 18th of March, 2015. The song is called Prayer for the East by swo8 Blues Jazz. The Bardo in located in Tunis, Tunisia and was quite remarkable. The pictures in the video were taken by me before the incident of 2015. The Bardo Museum is full of the ceramics that were used for the flooring and walls of the ancient city of Carthage. Tunis is also the where Carthage was situated. Remnants of this remarkable city still remain. You can wander through the old buildings that aren’t much more than footings.

Buddy on the Slopes by L. Martel

This is a 20″ x 24″ oil on canvas painted about two years ago – so that would be 2020. It is of our younger son “Big Dio” and his best friend Buddy (a golden Retriever). Just today the snow was disappearing fast and you could see a lot of grass. That has all changed, as of this afternoon, everything is thick with snow. So why not bring some pleasant thoughts and memories to mind and join these two on the slopes. Naturally, Big Dio has this painting for his own pleasant thoughts.

Summer Chaos by L. Martel

This is a 5″ x 7″ acrylic on canvas board painted in 2013. It is in a modern impressionistic style. It belongs to my older son so isn’t for sale. Nice to think about a summer garden. Definitely, it’s something to look forward to.

Never More by swo8 Blues Jazz lyrics by Rajiv Chopra

I usually post this on November 11th but the way things are going we could well be on our way to another catastrophic war. Let the government leaders go at it, if that is what they want, but let the young men and women in the armed forces go home to their families. We all pray for peace. Unfortunately, there are a demented few who don’t.

The Wizard and the Magna Carta by L. Martel

The Magna Carta, one of the most important documents in history, was issued by King John of England, in June 1215 and was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law. It was meant to make everyone, even the king and the government subject to the laws they created. It sought to prevent the king from exploiting his power, and placed limits on royal authority by establishing law as a power in itself. It guaranteed the rights of individuals, the right to justice and to a fair trial. It had three main provisions: It was to ban cruel and unusual punishment, insured trail by jury of one’s peers and insured that justice should not be sold or unnecessarily delayed. Why would King John sign such a document that clearly put limits to his powers? He was an unpopular king and a group of rebel barons sought protection from his powers. It was either sign the Magna Carta or face a civil war. It was not uncommon for people to be subject to illegal imprisonment. Their land and property could be seized. In my opinion, what happened in Canada with the truckers was a clear violation of that charter. The painting shows us how fragile justice is. It can be swept away in an instant by some wizard.

This a 8″ x 10″ oil on canvas painted in 2015 and is not for sale.

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The Quarter Man by swo8 Blues Jazz from the album Unfinished Business in iTunes

We actually had a quarter man at our grocery store awhile ago. The carts take a quarter to get moving and this enterprising fellow offered his services to return your cart when you were through. Times are tuff and I thought it was rather creative of him. My two sons do the vocals on this song, so we had a little fun with it.