Renata Carmen Writes

This post I would like to highlight a personal hero of mine - Neil Young! <3  I've been listening to this dude since the womb (literally) and got to see him perform for the first time recently in Essex for the launch of his Monsanto Years tour.  It was a life changing experience that still brings tears to my eyes when I recall it, but I'll be writing more in detail about that concert later, along with Mr. Young's current fight to aid Vermont as it undergoes a major lawsuit from the shady, scary powerful big corporate alliance known as the " Grocery Manufacturer's Association " - Mansanto and Starbucks being the primary companies within this group currently under his attack.  First, I want to focus on Neil Young as a person - what makes him tick; who/what made him the powerful, loving soul that he his today; how his creative process works. Right before going to see him play up by Lake Champlain, I heard an enlightening interview he did with Howard Stern a...

Hello there! It's been longer than I prefer since I've last posted on here :/ Between the Neil Young concert my man and I were lucky enough to attend a few weeks ago upstate, being a heat sensitive person in the peak of New England summer (woah, humidity!), and the sudden drop in temps we've had over the last week (WTF, signs of Fall already? Winter is coming!  Ah, Rural Vermont Life), along with a few other health issues I won't get into, I have been pretty laid low. "Low on spoons" as they say ;) But, I'm back on my feet, caught up on a major freelance project I've been trying to hammer out for some time ( Shameless self-plug: Go get a subscription to Auto Restorer magazine! ), and am very excited about everything that is happening right now, including posts for this blog that I've been wanting to get out for some time. Driving Upstate Vermont in Late Summer is a glorious experience! :) A preview of what's to come: - A write-up about the Nei...

A fun one I started a while back and finally finished today. I guess you could say I'm in the mood because I'm well enough to go downstairs tomorrow and start restoring the Celica Supra again ;) Yay! Enjoy the Gearhead Poetry! Oh, you rev my engine wear out my starter when I can't take any more you drive me harder thru terrains I never knew you got my alignment all askew runnin' till we see red and blue lights only you know how to move me just right baby let's hit the canyons tonight Thanks for reading! *Love & Light* Renata Carmen "Kaizen" aka "Kiki", our gorgeous 1982 Toyota Celica Supra P-Type 5 Speed <3

Starting something new on the blog! :) Every Friday, I am going to talk about "Bad Mofo's" - people who I find really inspiring.  Today, I would like to draw attention to an amazing woman I can't believe I've never heard of before. I learned about Louise "Landspeed" Noeth recently while catching up on the  Cars Yeah Podcast , where she is described as "a storyteller known for taking complicated subjects and making them entertaining and educational. She founded LandSpeed Productions in 1984 where she provides film and TV consulting, photography, writing, graphic design, and more. Her award-winning works have been published around the world. Dubbed 'LandSpeed Louise', she concentrates on land speed racing and people who do extraordinary feats by designing, building, and driving fast cars, trucks, and motorcycles. She’s one of the few women journalists in the automotive field who’s also comfortable and competent behind the wheel." A few ...

(Started writing this on Friday, had to take lots of breaks to finish it to my standards and add hyperlinks/pics, so it's going up on Saturday afternoon, 7-27) The Supreme Court just ruled in favor of same sex marriage!!!! What a way to close out an epic week for progress! I learned rather belatedly that the feds cut off funding to the DEA for medical cannabis raids late last year, due to recent back lash from the Justice Department. Come on guys, just let it go already! Stop fucking with sick people and our right to choose our symptom management!  You'll come around eventually.  It was a close decision, 5-4, but history has been made on this day here in this country. My mind is totally blown . I had no idea this was going on, as I don't watch the news, and avoid it online (not on Facebook, my homepage is Google). Especially when the Fibromyalgia is kicking my ass like it has been for the last few weeks (boo). The decision was based upon the 14 th Amendment, and fro...

Been in a pretty rough spot the last few weeks or so due to a flare in my Fibro . Been having major problems with my arms . Had issues with them in the past, but not to this degree. The muscles, tendons, and joints hurt, ache, burn and my whole arms are very weak and shaky.  To the point where I can barely lift my can of seltzer water (*note to self - get straws*). It's terrifying and frustrating when you've been doing better for a while and then you get debilitated again. And having to manage the pain is the hardest part, not so much the physical side of it, yes that is a huge challenge, but the drugs sure help (" I don't like the drugs, but the drugs like me.") . Although they don't really make me very functional, just take away the urge to have my arms cut off in hopes of alleviating the pain. The harder part, for me anyway, is the mental side of pain. Of waking up in Level 10 pain for weeks straight, being too debilitated to do even little things like va...

This is an old poem circa 2002 or so. I'm finally undertaking a long project and digitizing crates of poetry I've been carrying with me for years. Some of it goes as far back as the 5th grade! This one still stands out as a favorite, and I've been thinking of it recently due to some challenging interpersonal situations. Personally, I'm still stoked on the wordplay on this one :) Hope you enjoy it too! Fake Faltering in her silent steps she cries aloud. The light overwhelms the senses. Come, darkness! Save me from the truth. Envelop me with your star-studded veil. Don't let her see our technicolor dreams. For her plastic thoughts will ruin the universe, and she will only smile. -R.C.H. Thanks for reading! *Love & Light* Renata Carmen Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mech...