Speed of Life

by Gregg Chadwick As a father I can only imagine the pain of Trayvon Martin's parents. My son is 17, the same age as the teenager Trayvon Martin  who was pursued and shot over one month ago  in Sanford, Florida by "neighborhood watch" member George Zimmerman, reportedly because Trayvon's hoodie made him look suspicious. My son was accepted into college by my undergrad and graduate alma maters this week and we celebrated over dinner, but we couldn't help but think of Trayvon and his family.  In the weeks before his death, Trayvon was planning for college - just a typical junior in high school worrying about his future. A screenshot of Trayvon’s Gmail inbox provided to news sources is heartbreaking. Martin apparently used his Gmail account for his college search, and it’s filled with emails about upcoming SAT tests and scholarship applications. One of the emails reads: “Trayvon, now is the best time to take the SATs!” Holiday Photo of Trayvon Martin Pro...

Sometimes Sigur Rós is all that you need. New song "Ekki múkk"  from the album "Valtari" to be released on May 28, 2012. More at: http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk

Gregg Chadwick To Talk About Trees 24" x 18" oil on linen 2012 What Kind of Times Are These BY  ADRIENNE RICH There's a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted who disappeared into those shadows. I've walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don't be fooled this isn't a Russian poem, this is not somewhere else but here, our country moving closer to its own truth and dread, its own ways of making people disappear. I won't tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods meeting the unmarked strip of light— ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise: I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear. And I won't tell you where it is, so why do I tell you anything? Because you still listen, because in times like these to have you listen at...

by Gregg Chadwick In response to  Spring for Music 's query: New York has long been considered the cultural capital of America.  Is it still? If not, where? Yeah, I'm out that Brooklyn Now I'm down in Tribeca Right next to De Niro But I’ll be hood forever I’m the new Sinatra And since I made it here I can make it anywhere Yeah,  they love me everywhere - from Empire State of Mind - recorded by Jay Z and Alicia Keys  Lyrics by Angela Hunte and Jane't "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic Vermeer in New York Metropolitan Museum, New York photo by Gregg Chadwick  Like Florence in the 15th century, Amsterdam in the 17th century and Paris in the 19th century - post World War II  New York City seemed to embody the dreams and cultural aspirations of the age. Does New York still claim that distinction? And does it matter? J.F. Kennedy Jr. would often say that New York City was a verb - not a noun. In that sense the ...