The Crazy Wisdom Community Journal • September - December 2016 • Page 16
Continued from page 15 In 1988, Peter Blood and Annie Patterson published Rise Up Singing, a songbook filled with lyrics and guitar chords to 1200 popular songs that have been made accessible for professional and amateur musicians to use in churches, synagogues, schools, camps, picket lines, family gatherings, singalongs, and any other type of musical gathering. There are nearly a million copies in print. In September of 2015, Blood (who grew up in Ann Arbor) and Patterson released Rise Again, a new book of words and chords to 1200 more songs. To celebrate and expose people to the new book, local singer/ songwriter, guitarist, and workshop leader Jeanne Mackey will host a series of singalongs at the Crazy Wisdom Community Room on September 21, October 26, and November 30, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Mackey answered questions about the singalongs: Q. When did you come across the first songbook, Rise Up Singing, and what did you do with it?
Jeanne Mackey
A. I first came across Winds of the People, the underground predecessor to Rise Up Singing, in the early 1980s at the People’s Music Network, an annual gathering of activist musicians. In the days before Google, it was a blessing to have words and chords to such a wonderful variety of songs. I've used the songbooks to lead songs at weddings, earth-based ceremonies, picket lines, memorial services, birthday parties, benefit concerts, and more.
Q. What are some of your favorite songs in the new book? A. I have eclectic musical tastes and love the range of styles in Rise Again, from Hank Williams' “Hey Good Lookin’” to my friend Pat Humphries' earth anthem, “Swimming to the Other Side” to “Sunny” by Bobby Hebb, and Iris DeMents' “Let the Mystery Be.” Q. Why do you like to lead singalongs, and what do you hope happens at these ones? A. Singing together can raise our spirits, blend our frequencies, and remind us that we're all connected. We filled the Crazy Wisdom Community Room with a melodious multi-generational group at our first singalong last January, so I'm eager for more of the same! Q. Do you have specific songs or themes chosen for each date, and/or will the participants help choose what to sing? A. I'll choose a few songs to get us started — whatever feels right in the moment. Mostly, the participants will take turns calling out which songs to sing. Participants can buy the new songbook at Crazy Wisdom, or use a store copy. The suggested donation for the event is $5. Jeanne Mackey can be reached via email at jmackey50@gmail.com. The Crazy Wisdom Community Room is located upstairs inside the Bookstore and Tea Room at 114 South Main Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104.
On November 12 and 13, local food activists Claire Maitre, Bridget O’Brien, and Clifford Dean Scholz have organized a workshop with Dan Kittredge of the Bionutrient Food Association at the Washtenaw Food Hub in Ann Arbor.
Dan Kittredge
The workshop will center on “High Bionutrient Crop Production” and will cover soil development practices for both commercial and home growers that can increase harvests, reduce pests, and improve plant health and food nutrient content.
Claire Maitre answered questions about the workshop: Q. Are the methods being covered by this workshop compatible with organic farming and gardening?
A. Yes. These methods have the potential to improve plant resistance to disease, which can be especially helpful to those who are growing without pesticides. Healthier plants have greater resistance to plant diseases and insect pests…. Dan’s workshop takes a whole-systems approach with a focus on meeting plant needs for their optimum health. Q. Can the average home gardener really do much about their soil quality, and would it be prohibitively expensive? A. Certainly, yes, there are basic things home gardeners can do that will greatly improve their yields and their soil quality. They are not costly…. A comprehensive soil test costs $30, which is within many people’s budgets…. This workshop will introduce a range of practical and low-cost methods appropriate for everyone from home gardeners to commercial growers. Q. Can commercial farmers improve their profits as well as the nutritional quality of their crops by using these methods? A. We believe so. Dan shared with us at the workshop we attended in spring 2015 in Marion, Michigan, that a struggling farmer from Vermont who attended his workshop told him that just learning about the importance of boron [a trace mineral important for optimal health] in the soil more than paid for the cost of the workshop in improved yields. Coincidentally and importantly, we also learned that without sufficient boron in the soil, calcium is not bioavailable to the plants. This is just one example from a treasure trove of information in this workshop. Q. What got you interested in this knowledge? A. All of us … are very interested in local food, and we have a keen interest in the relationship of healthy food to healthy populations and even the development of individual consciousness. Maitre and Scholz, both longtime home gardeners, felt that attending the two-day soils workshop would add new skills and depth of understanding. What emerged from the workshop was way beyond what we expected: a complete vision for the connection of soil health to human health, with ramifications that extend holistically into every sphere of life. According to USDA statistics, nutrient levels in North American produce have been in documented decline for more than 70 years. The main thing that evolves from this work is that we’re not “managing” the soil, we’re in dialogue with it…. It’s a living system, and people are living systems in relationship to that system…. So we look at our tests, we look at our soil, we look at our plant community and how insects and pollinators are relating to it, we taste the food, we grow in understanding, and we keep asking questions. When we look at it objectively, our food system is basically a set of broken relationships from the bottom to the top. Healing it starts with the soil. Claire Maitre can be reached at clairemaitre06@gmail.com; Clifford Dean Scholz can be reached at 2greenhands@gmail.com. The website for the Bionutrient Food Organization is bionutrient.org. The link to online registration for the workshop is bionutrient.org/events.
New Classes Beverly Fish has been able to sense the spirit world since she was just ten years old, when she became aware of a family spirit in her childhood home. On October 8, from 6 to 9 p.m., along with her colleagues Matt Brown and Joe Stewart, she will offer a “Ghosthunting 101” class at Washtenaw Community College. Fish explained that since ghost hunting has become a popular hobby, people have had problems with accidentally calling up unwanted spirits. She, Stewart, and Brown help people who are dealing with malevolent ghosts and demons. Fish said she learned how to banish these entities from Samantha Harris, author of Fighting Malevolent Spirits: A Demonologist’s Darkest Encounters. When Fish had encountered a new kind of spirit that she felt wasn’t just an angry ghost, Harris was in town doing a reading. They were able to meet, and Fish said that by using Harris’ methods she was able to get rid of what she learned was a demon. Ghosthunting 101 will offer tips on how to safely investigate suspected hauntings, how to use equipment such as EMF detectors and recording devices to gather
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