Steel guitar blues by Morgan Shortell.

Art From the Heart is a pop-up that my company hosts. The most recent installment was last Saturday, at 25CPW. To ensure that everyone present the night of understood AFTH’s intention, I drafted a short speech. It turned out to be unnecessary; the energy spoke for itself.

I’m putting this out there for anyone who might hear of the show in the future. This is meant to be delivered via human microphone.

Mic check?
MIC CHECK!

Welcome back
To Art From the Heart.

I love you.

These are times
Of empowerment.
People are forgetting their fear
And remembering
The power of their choices.

We all know
What we really want.

People want to express,
People want to be understood,
People want to connect.

Art is the bridge
We build
Between our insides.

Art brings
Grace and beauty
To the confusion
Of our lives.

Art points the way—
Forward,
Inward.

Only in an upside-down world
Would hearts and eyes
Be force-fed entertainment
While artists struggle
And art remains a luxury.

This life
This moment
Is our chance
To flip the script
To make our mark
For good.

See you next year.

Feeds many.

It’s easy… Very easy.

You have to buy sazón Goya and picnic shoulder ham.

It comes like a leg, but I buy half. Take the skin off. Make holes all over, not too many.

Salt, black pepper, sazón Goya, garlic powder, all over. Let the ham sit for one or two days with the seasoning, but it’s not necessary. 375 for one hour for one side, then you turn over and make it for another hour.

You have to pinch! If there is blood, you have to give more time.

And that’s it!

Feeds 6.

—2 cups of rice
—Half of one small chicken, use everything, shred it small
—Green peas, half a pound, 3-4 minutes in boiling water, then drain
—Onion. Cut into rounds, just a little bit
—Black pepper, whatever you like
—And ketchup. That depends. It’s up to you. In the end, you know how you like it
—Fresh parsley, chopped, just sprinkle it
—And olive oil

The first thing is, you cook the rice. 3 cups of water. Every cup of rice needs 1.5 times as much water. Salt the water to taste, but always use a little bit. It’s no good without salt. Olive oil also, probably 6 spoons of olive oil.

I put the oil, the rice, the water, the salt.

When the water is completely dry, you lower the heat and put the lid on the pot. Stir with a spoon, leave it for 10 minutes, stir again, leave for 10 minutes.

Now all the ingredients are ready, you know. The chicken, the peas, the parsley, the onion, you mix in a bigger pan. You put all the ingredients, then you mix. You put the ketchup, ¡picante no! If you want that, you have to put it separate. After the ketchup, you put more olive oil, to make sure the rice is not dry.

Fry an egg and put it on top before serving.

Then next day, when you fry, it’s even better than the first time.

Steven P. Jobs, 1955-2011.