In case you haven’t guessed by now, my new year’s resolution #2 was to get back online and blog. Now don’t get all pissy because it’s #2 instead of #1. Numero uno was checking email for the first time in MONTHS. Yeah, now that I’ve found out all about who’s been naughty and nice, read Christmas Letters to Satan, had a few laughs thanks to Bear and Berit, discovered my offspring INTENDS to put in an appearance on the new home front in a matter of weeks–goddamn it, she’s been gone for YEARS, what’s this prodigal daughter bullshit? Huh? I’m kidding. Okay not so much. Yeah, just kidding. Or not.
Anyway, long overdue greetings to anyone out there who’s paying one whit of attention to what’s NOT been going on in my blogcasa.
Am I supposed to feel guilty about this neglect?
Well, I do.
Sort of.
But–if you all knew what I know–you’d be grateful for the resounding silence here. Oh yeah.
I’ve been debating on what this first post of 2015 should be about for a couple of weeks: the holidays, films, books, horrible current events, –are there ever any wonderful events? I think not. –Sarge and Lily updates (yeah their story is ongoing), random thoughts about old dark British crime dramas such as Wire In the Blood and Touching Evil and what they reveal about the people who write the scripts, etc. . . .
Obviously NONE of the above has been taking up any wall space here. Nope.
I have decided to share one tiny suggestion for anyone considering making a long-term commitment to a significant other of any variety. Yep. There may be fallout from this, but– that’s okay. Feel free to prove me wrong about this notion.
Forget pre-commitment counseling. Forget talking through all your hopes and dreams for a shared future. Don’t bother getting all your duckies in a row. If you really want to know what you’re in for with each other — MOVE.
You read that right–MOVE. As in take all your material shit from one place and put it in another-and see what happens. See who does what–and how they do it. Listen to what’s being said. Who decides what goes where and why. Have you got a leg dragger as a partner in moving crimes? A non-stop whiner? A get the job done no matter what mind working full steam ahead? Is your “other” taking time out for all the other things that need doing–like watching every episode of something called “Haven” nonstop? Who is willing to make midnight runs to empty huge trash bins because there’s NO way the trash truck can haul ALL the bags away at one time? –This requires a certain sense of humor and willingness to fight the wind blowing it all back at you again and again and again. Are you ready to BANISH your partner from the moving site because all they keep saying is: “We’re never going to get this done. Never in a million years.” Frankly, who needs to hear that while getting it done? Hmm? Can you imagine someone saying that while a baby is being born? Better not to go there, right?
Seriously–if you want to get to know someone conduct a major move of worldly goods with them. I think some enterprising spirit could make a mint setting up a couple of abodes for people to ‘practice move’ in and out of in order to find out who their partner really is when it comes down to the nitty-gritty that’s involved in moving. Obviously hiring OTHER people to do the work defeats the purpose–unless your partner does this and leaves you to direct the hired help. That would tell you something important right there, wouldn’t it?
Bubble wrap–check.
Reusable grocery bags–check.
Cardboard boxes–check.
Duct tape–check.
Full tank of gas–check.
Keys–check.
Attitude adjustment–check.
Yeah, I missed you too. Oh come on, why would I lie about it? Huh?
Yeah, I’m a running a tad behind with this round of theme music, Hunger. These things happen when you don’t pay attention to what day of the week it is AND you leave your timer somewhere out of sight so you can’t press the set hour time alarm button. I have no idea where the little green device is–except that it is somewhere in the house. Somewhere being the operative word. Time seems to be what I hunger for the most lately. As for hunger for food–don’t get me started. Other hunger costs more than a quarter a day to satisfy.
alt- J ~ Hunger of the Pine ~
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Bob Wayne ~ Hunger In My Soul from Till the Wheels Fall Off
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As soon as I read Bear’s theme choice was hunger this song came to mind–so here it is, complete with a fun fan compiled visual handbook . . . . hmmmm, yeah.
Meatloaf ~ You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)~
O it’s goosey-bumpy time with the one and only supreme whistler ~~ LP. Yeah, the little woman with the HUGE voice is on the loose and singing wildly as ever. Caught between Jazz and LP’ s POP I may have to break down and invest in one of those mobile music machines. Get your dancing socks on now! It’s Sensual Sunday sounds in spades. Oh yeah. Dance burn time.
After a little kibitzing with The Bear about who wants to do what and when, I’ve selected The Journey as the Music Theme for next Thursday, October 16, 2014. Yeah, we’re slip-sliding the order of things from one line-up to another simply because we can. So without further explanation or ado:
We experience many kinds of journeys in our lifetimes. Some are outward ones that anyone paying attention can observe and others are inward and invisible to others.
For some inspiration I’ve turned to the film Sin Nombre for a music selection because there are both outward and inward journeys undertaken by its characters.
“In the spring time the only pretty ring time” ~~~
I can’t quite recall the very first time I read or heard these words by Thomas Morley but they’ve never gone away. That’s pretty damn good staying power for a songwriter from Renaissance England. Never estimate the power of a tune–a poem set to music for entertaining the masses. Spring is all about bringing things to life–contrary to the famous commercial GE has nothing to do with this when it comes to nature and the reality of our own existence. Every time art is created it’s an affirmation of the creative life forces centered in the promises of spring.
Paul Phoenix (now of the King’s Singers) and Barry Holden, then choristers at St. Paul’s Cathedral, sing “It Was a Lover and His Lass” in this 1978 production of As You Like It [ by William Shakespeare], starring Helen Mirren.
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Sand Animation ~ Spring ~ Marriage D’Amour by George Davidson
Stravinsky ~ The Rite of Spring, Part 1 ~ Watch at FULL screen for full visual beauty impact. ~ “Jay Bacal performed and rendered this piece using virtual instrument software by Vienna Symphonic Library.”
Click through to watch on YouTube for more information about the creation of this piece and others. Yes, there is MORE. The following is from the creator/uploader:
Each shape corresponds to a family of instruments:
ellipse: flutes (also cymbals and tam-tam)
octagon: single reed (clarinet, bass clarinet)
inverted ellipse/star: double reeds (oboe, English horn, bassoons)
rectangle: brass (also, with “aura,” timpani, guiro and bass drum)
rhombus: strings
. . .
In this video, musical pitch (as ordered in the musician’s “circle of fifths”) is mapped to twelve colors (as ordered on the artist’s “color wheel”). With this mapping, changes in tonality and harmony correspond to changes in the color palette. You can read more about this technique here: http://www.musanim.com/mam/pfifth.htm
Unpitched instruments (bass drum, cymbals, tam-tam, triangle, guiro) are shown in gray.
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Who is more in tune with spring than young people? Time for some serious education which has nothing and everything to do with the birds and bees aka sex education that really tells where babies come from. What’s the big deal? None of us would be here without the biological act of sexual intercourse–modern science’s efforts for infertile couples et al aside. Education, education– what’s it for really? In so many ways children are at the mercy of the parents, teachers and culture which often shortchanges them with devastating consequences. Where does the shame, guilt and fear come from? Who creates the dysfunction regarding sexuality? Such discussions are increasingly important as is evident by all current news regarding sex, rape and violence. Isn’t it possible to have a society which behaves in a healthy, positive manner concerning sexuality? Newsflash–the Stork crash landed and won’t be bringing any more babies to anyone. Unless, it recovers enough to fertilize its mate’s eggs.
Full Off-Broadway Spring Awakening.
Spring Awakening is a rock musical adaptation of the controversial 1891 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind.
It features music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater.
Set in late-19th century Germany, it concerns teenagers who are discovering the inner and outer tumult of sexuality.
The original play was banned in Germany for a while due to its portrayal of masturbation, abortion, homosexuality, rape, child abuse and suicide.
In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score.
Spring Awakening received eleven 2007 Tony Award nominations, winning eight, including Tonys for best musical, direction, book, score and featured actor.
The show also won four Drama Desk Awards, while its London production won four Olivier Awards.
Cast:
Melchior Jonathan Groff
Wendla Lea Michele
Moritz John Gallagher, Jr.
Adult Man Stephen Spinella
Adult Woman Christine Estabrook
Ilse Lauren Pritchard
Hanschen Jonathan B. Wright
Georg Skylar Astin
Martha Lilli Cooper
Ernst Gideon Glick
Otto Brian Charles Johnson
Anna Phoebe Strole
Thea Remy Zaken
Musical numbers
Act I
“Mama Who Bore Me” — Wendla
“Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise)” — Wendla and Girls
“All That’s Known” — Melchior
“The Bitch of Living” — Moritz, Melchior and Boys
“My Junk” — Girls and Boys
“Touch Me” — Boys and Girls
“The Word of Your Body” — Wendla and Melchior
“The Dark I Know Well” — Martha, Ilse and Boys
“The Word of Your Body (Reprise)” — Otto and Georg (not on the cast recording)
“And Then There Were None” — Moritz and Boys
“The Mirror-Blue Night” — Melchior and Boys
“I Believe” — Boys and Girls
Act II
“The Guilty Ones” — Wendla, Melchior, Boys and Girls
“Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind” — Moritz and Ilse
“Left Behind” — Melchior, Boys and Girls
“Totally Fucked” — Melchior and Full Company (except Moritz)
“The Word of Your Body (Reprise)” — Hanschen, Ernst, Boys and Girls
“Whispering” — Wendla
“Those You’ve Known” — Moritz, Wendla and Melchior
“The Song of Purple Summer” — Ilse and Full Company
Bear selected May Day as a subject for this round of music. Admittedly I’ve fudged on some of the music here. I reserve the right to revise at will. Until then Labor is the issue. Unless Bear had another kind of May Day in mind–as in the Maypole kind of May Day. Hmm. Anyway back to Union ordeals. Workers just don’t get much respect when it comes down to the bottom lines.
A few income figures of interest to a few Americans–well, to everyone who is not one of the 894 people who have more income than 99.99% of the rest of the people.
There are reasons people gather in unions in order to get a living wage–a main one is that many employers don’t like sharing the profits. The operative word here is greed. Or am I missing something?
I’m not entirely satisfied with my choices for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of any of these selections. My dissatisfaction stems more from the elusive quality of the rose itself as a symbol which extends far beyond wild and cultivated flowers. So often the rose represents a human in song, poetry and art. Often it references a state of mind, an awareness both secular and mystical. There are two poets represented here – Tupac Amaru Shakur and William Butler Yeats–two vastly different men from very different parts of the world who both knew the power of poetry. Both poets immediately came to mind when Bear selected The Rose for this round. Each turned to the rose for inspiration and communication. I discovered Shakur’s poetry in text form before ever hearing his voice or knowing anything of his persona. In this sense the focus was centered entirely on the words, the text, and the meaning striving for conveyance. Interestingly enough there is an entire album of his poetry posted on the tubes of you–but the poem I was after has been deleted from the mix due to corporate issues–ironically it is the poem which serves as the album title. What shall we make of that?
Shakur on poets and poetry–and by the usual extension of words paired with instruments creates music. I sincerely doubt W. B. Yeats would disagree with his perceptions which could easily relate to Ireland’s issues in his time.
2pac poem…”Rose That Grew From Concrete”… Young boy skates through his urban neighborhood faced with the obstacles of society.
I realize this is a 2pac poem over a biggie beat, this choice was intentional. My goal for this project was to disregard the personal feuds of 2pac and Biggie and portray a struggle which is bigger than all of us
This is poet Stella Shakerchi reading Yeats’ poem to musical accompaniment by Mark Bosley. The performance was part of their ‘Days’ show which was an anthology of songs and poems relating to different days of the year. It was part of Oxfringe, the Oxford arts festival on 26th March 2010.
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2draw Animation Music video for Salvador Dali’s “Meditative Rose”
To gallery or not to gallery — to quest or not to quest?
Shut up and pass paper and pencils. Art wants making.
For the book price of less than a dollar a piece, editor Sharon Louden, working artist herself, invites artists, and any other interested parties, to engage with 40 working artists n what has been an ongoing discussion for as long as creative people have striven to live and thrive in a world at large that far too often is less than supportive of their existence. No, Living and Sustaining a Creative Life, Essays by 40 Working Artists isn’t a book about artists who rock the status quo of mainstream society. Though there are artists within these pages who do so in one medium or another. What this very engaging tome offers is a very wide and diverse range of perspectives based on experiences had by artists who’ve found their own ways to survive, thrive and continue to create over time. There are discussions of quests for studio time, for money to provide food, shelter and art supplies, for solitude and for companionship, gallery representation and new ways of making a go of things with and without galleries. There’s a lot of insight, hindsight, information, ideas and inspiration in these essays written by a very wide range of artists including those raising children and engaged in mutually supportive relationships. Plus, there is an excellent photograph of each artist’s work prefacing their essay. Yeah, that’s a very sweet bonus track in this book–you get some views of art you might or might not have seen yet. So this libro also serves as a visual catalog of artists as essayists. Hence, you get a small visual sense of what these artists invest so much vital energy and time creating.
A few of my visual treat picks:
Michael Waugh’s The American Jobs Act, part 1 (detail)
Peter Drake’s Day for Night
Thomas Kilpper’s State of Control
Maggie Michael’s Swans of Other Worlds~ (photography by Dan Steinhilber)
Julie Hefferman’s Self Portrait as Big World
Jay Davis’ Please, no more birds
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Living and Sustaining a Creative Life Panel ~ Book tour video. Yes, this is an interesting and engaging serious discussion among artists, about artists, art and the art world. Enjoy.
Join us for a special panel examining the challenges that artists face in the ever more commercially minded and competitive contemporary art world. In Living and Sustaining A Creative Life, Sharon Louden, an artist living and working in Brooklyn, brings together 40 contemporary artists to reflect on their own personal processes for living life and creating art. Sharon will moderate a panel examining the questions of how artists choose to live their lives and stay true to their creative impulses, featuring some of the contributors.
Here are just a few of my favorite quotes from the essays:
Annette Lawrence ~ “I am generally led by curiosity, and nothing is off-limits.”
George Stoll ~ “I LIke to work but don’t always like to start, so I make it as easy to begin as possible. At a restaurant near my house that has good coffee, friendly waiters and an owner who tolerates my long visits, I start most days. . . . I’ve learned that I am especially productive when feeling a bit delinquent.”
Tony Ingrisano ~ “I sleep and eat and breathe drawing, so it’s only logical that I’d do anything necessary to keep drawing.”
Sean Mellyn ~ “Rauschenberg’s Bed made an early and lasting impression on me – that art can not only be made from anything, but material extrapolated from a life lived is a powerful statement.”
Brian Tolle ~ “There are no bad opportunities if you have only one.”
Austin Thomas ~ “There are as many ways to be an artist as there are artists; Lucas Reiner told me that one and it is true.”
Amy Pleasant ~ “And it wakes me up each day. And I follow it. And at the risk of sounding melodramatic, it is the greatest thing I know.”
Maggie Michael ~ “Falling n love was easy. What became labored was managing our bank account after college (when our student loans came due). Artists often pair with someone who has a reliable career and income, but we could not change partners now or in hindsight.”
Dan Steinhilber (Maggie Michael’s partner) ~ “Many people seem to give us extra credit because we involve our child in our life as artists. Clay has excellent conversational skills, yet he does not make a great deal of artworks. Nevertheless, he is imaginative and creative and amazing to us.”
Dan Steinhilber ~ “Over time we learned how to help, support, and appreciate each other rather than be competitive. For example, on days when Maggie is teaching, I often go to her studio and do practical things for her – build stretchers, prime canvases, and keep her supplies organized so that her time in the studio can be focused on painting.”
Okay, now that I’ve done my good book information sharing deed for the day, it’s time to take advantage of the lull in the rain to get the box of sheet music out of the back seat and see what suits my agenda.
There’s just something about black and white with a whole lot of grey, literally, that seems to suit an introduction for a city like Chicago, a city known for crime, gangsters, corrupt politicians and a great newspaper columnist by the name of Mike Royko aka “The Man Who Owns Chicago.” If you don’t know Royko’s work you’re missing out on one of life’s truly witty reading pleasures. Royko’s columns provided a massive home school educational opportunity for moi. Political viewpoints are not genetically encoded. Who knew? )
Awwww, wasn’t that a sweet beginning for a couple? Well, darker reality often follows close upon such heels in Chicago–the film.
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Cell Block Tango from Chicago’s Cook County Jail via Chicago the film about murderesses in the city of Chicago. Murder and Chicago go together like snow and winter. The Cook County Jail is a real place with quite a reputation.
40th Anniversary Collection
Track Listing:
1. Just You ‘N’ Me 00:00
2. Saturday In the Park 03:42
3. You’re The Inspiration 07:36
4. Baby, What a Big Suprise 11:26
5. Hard to Say I’m Sorry/Get Away 14:30
6. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? 19:37
7. 25 or 6 to 4 22:58
8. If You Leave Me Now 27:50
9. Hard Habit to Break 31:45
10. Old Days 36:30
11. Beginnings 40:01
12. Call On Me 46:28
13. Make Me Smile 50:30
14. Love Will Come Back (w/ Rascal Flats) 54:56
15. Feel (w/Horns) 58:44
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Chicago Bears 1985 Super Bowl Shuffle ~ Enjoy it anyway you can ladies and gents.
Yes, it’s an ad for a newspaper hawking its prize writer and vice versa. Where else but in a tavern would you expect to find a discussion of punctuation?
Who & Why Royko ~ With background music. I wonder why it’s so hard to find a song for or about Royko? Someone needs to write one. Or two at the very least. Maybe they have. If you find one, do not hesitate to share it. Please.
The Meddlers Theatre Company in association with Jermyn Street Theatre presents the World Premiere of
SOCRATES AND HIS CLOUDS
by William Lyons inspired by Aristophanes
Directed by Melina Theocharidou
Designed by Katerina Angelopoulou
Trailer Credits:
Animation by Nastazia Lampropoulou
Music by Olivios Karaolides
Music recorded at Hook Recording Art Studio with the following orchestra:
Violin: Nikos Pittas
Cello: Peter Gospodinov
Clarinet: George Georgiou
Xylophone: Marios Nikolaou
Piano: Olivios Karaolides
On May 20, 2013, cancer took the life of Zach Sobiech but his legacy will live on through the beacon of love and hope he delivered through infectious lyrics and memorable tunes have imprinted on the minds and hearts of millions around the world.
Help fulfill Zach’s dying wish to help kids with cancer by supporting the charity he set up before his death- the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund at Children’s Cancer Research Fund:http://www.ChildrensCancer.org/Zach.
American Clouds was directed and animated by Micah Bell. Photographs used in the animation were taken across America by Ben Vela. Additional editing was provided by JT Daly of Paper Route.
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Peace Shanti Om
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Alice in Wonderland
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Breakfast Special(s)
For the very first post enter "Breakfast Special, #1" and/or scroll through older entries; second helping = Railroad Crossing; third helping, Close Shave; fourth helping, People? Really Now; fifth helping, Pussy No More; sixth helping, 'book ends'; seventh helping, Odds? What Odds?; eighth helping, Do You Dig Pink Flamingoes Dancing in the Snow and Blue Lights?; ninth helping, Old Reliable Jack; tenth helping, Snowing Deep Sleep; eleventh helping, Connecting; twelth helping, Equations; #13, The Most Important Meal of the Day; from then on enter into search box Breakfast Special and a number such as: #14, #15, #16 and so on.
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Climate Denial Crock of the Week
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