Blog No. 239: Between the Mountain and the Sky Documentary, The Legacy Danish TV Series, David Gittens: Renaissance Man

July 19, 2025

For those in NYC, my friend Tom DiMenna is reappearing at City Winery on Sunday July 27th at 7:30pm for another round of Story Songs of the 70s—this time with an expanded list of covers including the music of Jim Croce, John Prine, Leonard Cohen along with all time favorites Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Chapin..Everyone who came last time enjoyed a wonderful evening with this talented musician and his band. Hope you will join me. For Tickets: https://citywinery.com/new-york-city/ticket-selection?eventId=story-songs-of-the-70s-04li6a

Between the Mountain and the Sky Documentary

Don’t ever say one person can’t make a difference. Meet Maggie Doyne!

My friend Karen Mulvaney introduced me to the documentary Between the Mountain and The Sky (a Duplass Brothers Production), and in fact, I found out in the credits that she and her husband Tom were the producers of this beautiful film. It is well worth watching--will have you laughing and crying and realizing that yes, one person (and a Jersey girl at that) can make a difference, and in this case, impact in a huge "love" way the life of 50+ orphans in Nepal. Not to mention so many others who she has reached, like me, who are left deeply inspired...

Meet Maggie Doyne, a young woman who during her gap year between high school and college decided to participate in a program volunteering with children in India. One thing led to the next and the next thing you know, Doyne, together with her program partner, Top Malla, now runs a school, children's home, women's center, and girls' safe house in Surkhet, Nepal. There are many steps in between which the film documents, taking us on an exciting, inspiring and heartwarming story about "Mommy" Doyne and her kids. With the founding of the foundation Blink Now, a non-profit organization founded by Doyne in 2007 that provides financial support and management oversight to the Kopila Valley School, Children’s Home, Women’s Center, Health Clinic, Big Sisters' Home, and New Campus in Surkhet, Nepal, Doyne has cemented her humanitarianism in Nepal in a huge way...

Hurry up and watch this film--looks like it is about to be taken down very soon from online...and then will be available in film festivals and theatres and for rent...Click here to watch...

I highly recommend it! And so does CNN, who awarded Maggie Doyne the CNN 2015 Hero of the Year.

Danish TV Series
The Legacy

I recommend The TV series The Legacy (Arvingerne), now on PBS. It is a soap opera but a Danish and smart one at that. It tells the story of an artist Veronika at the end of her life and the legacy she left to her husband and children, all of whom you get to know very well throughout the series (three seasons).

I don't think this series could have been made in the United States--it is much more intelligent than your normal run of the mill soap opera with layers upon layers of truths about greed, fame, family and familial ties, loyalty, societal norms, the art world, child rearing, selfishness, infidelities, love...you name it, the series covers the full range of human emotions and foibles. It is wacky, weird, and unconventional, and the characters are in many ways Danish to the bone and definitely not American characters. The acting and writing are of very high quality...depicting real characters having complex, flawed, real relationships, that are allowed time to grow, and that inevitably lead you to ponder your own family and your own experiences...

According to one reviewer, "this was one of the wildest, craziest and most fascinating foreign series I've ever watched!... completely unique and original, compared to 99% of what we see in Canada and the U.S...

Another reviewer described the writing, acting, directing, etc., to "show a level of artistic merit that puts the great majority of UK and American shows to shame." I really enjoyed the series and binge watched a lot of it. Maybe you will enjoy it too...

David Gittens: Inventor, Artist, Humanitarian

David Gittens, inventor of this amazing car, the Ikenga, envisioned out of a session with the Spiritualist Society in London in the 1960s.

David Gittens is a remarkable man! I met him as a kid--he was my cool Uncle Stan's friend and colleague and he recently reached out to me, looking to find his old friend, my 95+ year old Uncle... When I looked him up to remind myself of who he was, I knew instantly that I wanted to include him in a blog post as I had discovered an absolute treasure trove! This guy has done everything! In fact, so much so that I have been having a hard time writing this because he has accomplished and done so many interesting things, I didn't know where to start and what to include--way too much for one brief column.

Let's start by saying he is an designer and an auto and aviation pioneer--creator of the 1967-69 Ikenga motorcar, the 1977 Ikenga Catamaran, and the 1986-92 Ikenga Autogyro aircraft--all of which are today still considered utterly futuristic.

The Ikenga Motorcar, 1967-69. Gittens “channeled” the design of the car.

**Ikenga 530Z Autogiro, i1958-1965, featured n the collection of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.**

Growing up an African American kid in Brooklyn, David Gittens, now in his late 80's, can claim so many additional titles to his name: commercial photographer (freelance, staff for Car and Driver for many years), videographer, musician, interfaith worker, leader of seminars at the Smithsonian, painter, creator of a solar heated shower in collaboration with Unicef, creator of an incredible 23 string guitar, spiritualist--I could go on and on...

Here is a wonderful, very personal interview with Shahzad Sheikh, AKA the BrownCarGuy that covers much more than just cars. Through the course of the interview, Gittens talks about his life story and it is really fascinating and inspiring...And now, at 86, he is still at it, continuing work with kids on his humanitarian Art/Peace/Heart Project he founded in 1999 celebrating love and kindness.

I am so happy to be reacquainted with this amazing person. Here are some additional links if you want to explore more:

David is also a musician and invented and built this 23 string guitar. Click image to hear him play this amazing instrument—a song called You Are Love—You Are Loved.

**Click to read more about his online, free-to-download, Arts/Peace Project for students of all ages.**

An article about him in the Sarasota Herald Tribune
Email: dwij@aol.com
Music/videos:https://vimeo.com/
user9399249/videos
Inspirational/Visionary Art: http://dwij.org/dwij/gallery.html

Music on my 23-string creation with soundscape artist Edward Cosla: https://youtu.be/CzIr_ndIIJ0

Aircraft design segment:http://dwij.org/dwij/aircraft.htm

Rare first flight film: The 1988 Ikenga 530Z Autogiro:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65GTibxR2hY

The Ikenga Story:
http://dwij.org/dwij/530Z_history.html

Automobile design segment: http://dwij.org/dwij/ikenga.htm

Rare film: The 1968 Ikenga MK II GT:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK7rCTfU06o

Painting of the Week

They glow! Painting by Pam Smilow, turntable by Brian Eno…

Charity of the Week: BlinkNow Foundation

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...

Blog No. 238: Hands, Time Magazine Top Digital Creators, Strawberry Shortcakes

July 11, 2025

Beautiful Hands

Courtesy Sean Alonzo Harris—click image to see more of his photography.

Courtesy Sean Alonzo Harris—click image to see more of his photos.

Time Magazine List of Top Digital Creators

Time Magazine just came out with their first list of Top Digital Creators 2025. I think it is a terrific resource for those of us that might want to learn more about what is going on on TikTok and other social media platforms we are not so accustomed to. Start small, and explore a few of them at a time--it's a good way to keep current and abreast of what is journalism online these days...And for us older generation, you might want to skip down to the leader section first--some (not all) in the entertainment section seem a little inane for my taste...

Strawberry Shortcakes

It is the last hurrah of fresh strawberry season and I am a big fan of strawberry shortcake. So here goes: a great recipe from Alexander Robert of substack's Alexander Bakes

For the shortcakes:
 1 1/2 cups (190g) all purpose flour
 1/4 cup (30g) almond flour
 1/4 cup (35g) medium grind cornmeal
 3 tbsp (38g) granulated sugar
 1 tbsp (9g) baking powder
 1/2 tsp kosher salt
 1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
 1 cup buttermilk (or cream)
 Turbinado sugar (or more granulated), for topping (optional)
  For the strawberries:
 2 cups strawberries, halved or quartered
 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  For the whipped cream:
 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
 3 tbsp granulated sugar
 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Make the biscuits: Add the all purpose flour, almond flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk together, then add the butter and pinch it into the dry mixture until it’s broken down to the consistency of breadcrumbs (no big chunks).
3. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. Stir together just until no dry clumps remain and a soft, wet dough forms. Scoop 1/3 cup portions onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart each— I divided the mixture into 8 biscuits (if you want smaller servings, do 10-12 instead). Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of each biscuit, then bake them for 18-20 minutes. They won’t gain too much color, but the edges will be golden brown. cool completely.
4. Macerate the strawberries: While the biscuits are baking, add the strawberries and granulated sugar to a small bowl. Stir every 5-10 minutes. The juices will begin releasing and the strawberries will soften slightly.
5. Make the whipped cream: add the cream, sugar, and vanilla bean paste to a large measuring cup. Use a hand blender to whizz the mixture together on high speed, until it turns into a thick whipped cream (you can also just do this in a stand mixer instead, but this way is really fast).
6. Assemble: Pair the biscuits with their twins. Place a bottom biscuit (I use the less cute ones) on a plate and top with a good scoop of whipped cream. Spoon some of the macerated strawberries and their sauce over the whipped cream, then top with another biscuit. Repeat for remaining biscuits and serve immediately!

And another of my favorite fruits is watermelon. Look at this masterpiece, also by AlexBakes. Looks like cubed cucumbers, feta and watermelon with some herbs thrown on top. So gorgeous and creative!

Painting of the Week

Thiese paintings found a good home in a beautiful apartment in Forest Hills, New York.

Charity of the Week: Unicef

Source: old-age-young-at-heart-chorus-mark-nepo-no...