Ending the Year with April 1st

On the last day of 2009, here’s a recap of what’s been happening in the April 1^st Project over the past few weeks:

I’ve come across a lot of book lists and recommendations.

The Bolter by Frances Osborne

Dreaming in Hindi by Katherine Russell Rich

On November 30^th, the WSJ headline indicated “Obama Sets Plan for Afghanistan.”

On December 10^th, Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.

Oprah’s list of 10 books to watch for 2010:

Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America

Unfinished Desires

The Happiness Project

Day Out of Days

Talking About Detective Fiction

Nanny Returns

U is for Undertow

Stones Into Schools

Footnotes in Gaza

Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession

Oprah and I don’t always share the same taste for books, but she’s got some good ones here. I have added The Happiness Project to my library list and also believe that I’ll venture into the last three on the list.

The Guardian in the UK created a list of ‘the decade’s best unread novels,’ which I found interesting and repeat here:

The Spare Room by Helen Garner

The Secrets of the Chess Machine

Don Quixote – Translated by John Rutherford

Mutiny by Lindsey Collen

Barefoot Soldier

War Reporting for Cowards

Born Yesterday by Gordon Burn

Black Juice by Margo Lanagan

Journal by Helene Berr

Boy A by Jonathan Trigell

The Three of Us

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

I discovered www.filmsite.org as a great resource for film quotes and other movie-abilia.

“The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than its value.” – Charles Dudley Warner

Had a delicious feast with friends on Christmas. Our menu was:

Porcini Mushroom Soup

Beet Salad with Dijon-Honey Dressing

Baked Snapper with Potatoes, Oregano, and White Wine

Roasted Carrots

Brussels Sprouts Sauteed in Butter

Braised Fennel with Lemon

Berry Clafouti

“In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: They must be fit for it. They must not do too much of it. And they must have a sense of success in it.” – John Ruskin

Discovered www.vook.com and www.myebook.com.  And some great stationery sites: Kate’s Paperie, Jenni Bick Bookbinding, and Vickerey.

I was disturbed this morning by an article in the WSJ about Iran titled “Regime Wages a Quiet War on ‘Star Students’ of Iran” – An excerpt: “In most places, being a star means ranking top of the class, but in Iran it means your name appears on a list of students considered a threat by the intelligence ministry. It also means a partial or complete ban from education.”

I find all the news out of Iran disturbing, but the continued clashes, arrests and violence against people seeking truth, freedom, and democracy is outrageous. They are brave in a way that most of us will never have to be.

On a lighter note, Dan Pink – of whom I’m a fan – has a new book titled “Drive.” In it, he sets out to outline what it is that motivates us. According to Pink (from an interview in the WSJ), he says there are three things that motivate us:
autonomy, the desire to direct our own lives
mastery, the desire to continually improve at something that matters
purpose, the desire to do things in service of something larger than ourselves

Whatever motivates you, I hope you find an abundance of it in 2010. I hope that your dreams come true, your goals are realized, and that you remain in good health. Happy New Year.

Reflect and Renew

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to reflect and to renew.

I find that the best way to look back is to do so with gratitude, being mindful of and thankful for all of the goodness that I have enjoyed. I am blessed with an abundance of deep and lasting friendships, and it is through those that many of my joys have been experienced. I am blessed that my professional life has yielded success in many ways, but the most valuable have been the relationships and bonds that have transformed a business connection into a personal friendship. I give thanks for all the love and support that I receive, for the heart that has been connected to mine for so many years, and for the ability to give and share joy, a warm smile, and a good laugh.

Simple things are great when viewed through the lense of gladness. The turtles laying their eggs earlier in the year, the eagles over the pond, the frog symphony outside the back of the house. The fun cooking class with neighbors, time perusing Food & Wine, Gourmet, and Bon Appetit, and dirtying my hands, the kitchen, and a lot of plates. I’m thankful for time to read (presently am enjoying the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith), time to write, good music (love that iPod), and moments of silence. This year, I particularly enjoyed the Houston Grand Opera’s Cavalleria Rusticana and  Rigoletto, the Alley’s Eurydice and Gruesome Playground Injuries, the Menil’s exihibit of Joaquin Torres-Garcia (not too late to see this great work, ends January 3), and countless other visual arts and performances. I have enjoyed my involvement with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, enjoy my friendship with Alecia, and continue to be absolutely thrilled when I see them perform. I enjoyed my weeks of Looking at Art with a girlfriend as it gave us time to have a bite and catch up each week for a period – a true gift in the midst of busy lives and coordinated schedules. And there is so much more; these are but a sampling of my blessings.

In November, we kept a basket shaped as a cornucopia on the kitchen counter, a Post-It pad and a pen alongside. From the first until Thanksgiving, we became more attentive to those things for which we were/are grateful, and we wrote them down as they came to us, folded our notes, and deposited them into the basket. On Thanksgiving Day, we unfolded and read each one. From the big ideas to the small things, our gratitude overflowed.

I watched a podcast some months back that featured Oprah interviewing Sarah Ban Breathnach, the author of Simple Abundance, a book that I have not read or picked up – yet. I enjoyed the dialogue between these two women, and the focus was on gratitude. Sarah urged the keeping of a gratitude journal and the practice of writing in it daily. I did not adopt the journal then, but I have now. And I begin 2010 with a lovely journal that will spill over with kindness, goodwill, modest pleasures, and some extravagances. Life is so rich. My life is so very rich. For that I am tremendously grateful.

And it is because of this that I also take time now to renew – renew the commitments that I’ve made to myself, renew my aspirations, renew the strategy that I have for my life and my work. I make renewed commitments instead of resolutions because the word “resolution” seems to have finality to it. A beginning and an end, a resolved issue, a goal attained. Life is an ongoing process, a journey that will take you down a number of paths, each contributing to who you are and how you see the world. I renew, make adjustments as I feel are needed, and continue into the new year with boldness and an open and glad heart.

Wishing you daily moments of joy and the time to reflect. And I hope that 2010 renews your spirit and fills your heart. Happy New Year!

Road Trip

I have two good reasons for not having posted in a while -- writing and a road trip.

I've had two writing projects knocking around in my head, so I took some time to finish the first draft of a play (quite good if I may say) and dumping out a story that could become a novella (still working on this and hoping to finish it for NaNoWriMo). I enjoyed clearing my calendar and focusing on getting the words out. It was one of those times when characters just do and say what they want.

Then came the road trip. I was headed to see my dear friend Hilary who was visiting San Antonio for a conference. I had set the deadline for the draft of my play as the night before I would depart. As a reward for finishing (read: creatively making an excuse to head down the highway), Tom and I decided to enjoy a week of windshield time. So off we went. San Antonio - Santa Fe - Durango - Taos - Home.

Our timing was perfect. It had snowed just before we had set out, so there was a light dusting left on ground and blankets in the mountains. Santa Fe is a favorite destination for food, art, and nature. We enjoyed two nights there, ate really great meals at Amavi and Ristra, and fell in love with a painting by Nikolai Timkov.

From there, we headed to Durango. The drive was spectacular. After a while, you just can't say anything other than "Wow!" And I gave up trying to take pictures - you just can't capture it.

In Durango, we stayed at the Strater Hotel, dined at Cosmopolitan (nice meal), and found a great gallery, Ellis Contemporary, and met Monica, the owner. She carries wonderful glass and jewelry along with other arts.

The next day, we headed back down into New Mexico to Taos. Stayed in a private condo, time share, thing. Nice and quiet. Taos was quiet. Actually, every place was quiet and without much traffic. I guess everyone was gearing up for the holiday week. And it was time for us to head back.

The next morning, we boogied home.

Here are some shots out of the April 1st Project:

Beginning November with April 1st

The April 1st Project continues, and I've really been enjoying cataloging the things that enter my life. While it's not a perfect snapshot, I am able to jot down quotes, lists of things to explore, URLs, etc. And while I try to add a post as frequently as possible, I find that I can get behind. Here's a catch up:

A quote by Jorge Luis Borges, from The Threatened One
"Being with you and not being with you is the only way I have to measure time."

Joaquin Torres Garcia - No longer living, but very relevant. The Menil has an impressive sampling of his work. More here. While I always enjoy discovering new artists, I wish I would have found him earlier.

Georgeanne Brennan puts on 'Provence in California' culinary weekends all year round.

From watching an Oprah podcast with Sarah Ban Breathnach - I must be the only person to have not read Simple Abundance - I jotted down three things worth remembering, although I suspect there are more gems with further study:

1. Gratitude is grace
2. The authentic self is the soul made visible
3. Regret is the only wound from which we don't recover

A few books to consider:

• I Love Your Voice by Selim Nassib
• Blue Window by Craig Lucas
• An Anatomy of Drama by Martin Esslin

And if you love theatre and/or opera, then I suggest you see the Alley's production of Gruesome Playground Injuries and HGO's Elixir of Love and Lohengrin. Time is running out and all three are worth it.

Below are a few of the journal pages:

The Elegance of the Hedgehog or How a Good Book Warms the Soul

I finished reading Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog a few days ago, actually it has almost been a week. I wanted to write something about it but haven’t been able to put anything into words, at least appropriate words.

It was one of those rare books that gladdens the heart and makes you weep at the same time. I couldn’t read it fast enough, couldn’t put it down, couldn’t wait to get back to it. With a little more than 50 pages left, I settled into my spot on the back patio and dove headlong into this beautiful text.

This book is about big ideas and small things. The tiny pleasures of life fully enjoyed. Small observations leading to great understanding. Opposite stories gracefully intertwined.

As always, I jotted down sentences and noted things to further explore. But two quotes from the book really stood out:

“…but we all know perfectly well that, in essence, dreams and waking hours do not have the same texture…”

Think about the truth in those words.

And then:

“You might note that the most noble concepts often emerge from the most coarse and commonplace things.”

To compose common language into sentences that move the soul is a true art, and it is one to which I aspire. To do so requires living life and broadening experience, and one of the many ways to do so is to read. My father used to say, “learn another language, live another life.” I think the same is true about reading.

Giving yourself totally to another world, one made up of people and places and situations that you may never encounter, is more than a great way to spend a few hours. It’s a way to explore who you are, what you believe, and what the world means to you. At least it is so for me.

This book moved me in a way that I haven’t experienced in quite some time, and the sadness of ending such a masterpiece is in determining what comes next. What could I possibly follow this with? When will I shake the characters, or will I? Do I even want to?

My friend Teresa Southwell directed me to this book. Truly a gift, and one that I share with you now. Give it a go and see if it warms your soul.

Food and Wine

This past Sunday afternoon, I sat out back and read some of my food magazines. I’m the sort of reader that starts from the front and works to the back with a pen in hand and a pad of small Post-Its. I take several culinary publications, but I had limited time and decided to tackle Food & Wine. It was the October issue.

After more than hour, I finished. I had a great list of things to seek out and multiple tabs of food to prepare and wine to try.

Let’s start with the food.

I discovered Rancho Gordo, Steve Santo, and his heirloom beans. This is something I will definitely explore, particularly in the cooler (hopefully cold) months ahead. Although I must say that beans are good all year and can be prepared in so many ways.

There was a great article about Oaxaca that linked food and art and highlighted creativity in both arenas. The artists featured were Francisco Toledo, Gabriela Leon, Demian Flores Cortes, Guillermo Olguin, and Jessica Wozny. I was particularly intrigued by the lime and cucumber frappe, and on Monday evening I prepared the roasted pork loin with orange-herb sauce. With a nodding of the head and a mouthful, I was told it was quite delicious. I had a salad.

The magazine also included a story about cooking in clay pots, a technique that I must explore further and frankly know nothing about.

I usually copy down any interesting web resources, and there was no shortage in this issue. Here’s a brief list:

mexgrocer.com

vannsspices.com

zingermans.com

bramcookware.com

spanishtable.com

tienda.com

mytoque.com

gourmetsleuth.com

billsaxpottery.com

claycoyote.com

emilehenryusa.com

urbanicpaper.com

trudeaucorp.com

allmodern.com

broadwaypanhandler.com

Now for the wine.

There were many wines listed and featured, and the issue had more features than usual about wine. All good stuff and worth a read and review. I made a short list of wines to pursue.

2008 Aphonse Mellot La Moussiere Sancerre

2009 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes – Argentinean white

2008 Te Muna Road Sauvignon Blanc

2007 Westerly Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc

2008 Sigalas Barrel Assyrtiko – Greek

2008 Gaia Thalassitis Assyrtiko – also Greek

2005 Domaine de Nizas

2001 Crasto

2006 Gabo Do Xil

2005 Masi Campofiorin

2005 E. Guigal Cotes Du Rhone

2007 Qupe Marsanne

2008 Tiefenbrunner d elle venezie

2007 Kunin Red Zinfandel

2007 Errazuriz Merlot Estate

2005 Chateau d’ Aiguilhe Cotes de Castillon

2006 Taurino Salice Salentino Rosso Riserva

NX Freixenet Cordon Negro – sparkling

From the issue, I also prepared the Moroccan-spiced lamb patties with peppers and halloumi, and tonight plan to cook the Chilaquiles-style roasted chicken, although I’ll modify it a bit. By now you’re probably wondering what I eat. Well, sans the lamb the halloumi dish was fantastic served with a cucumber and chickpea salad. Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese, one that I love, and it is versatile and particularly good for grilling as it doesn’t melt down. For the chilaquiles, I will also make two batches, omitting the chicken in one. I substitute where necessary and always have a salad alongside.

With a grumbling stomach, I’m now hungry and think it’s time to head off into the kitchen. Kali Orexe!

Ladies Who Letterpress

On Saturday, I attended a workshop on letterpress printing at the Museum of Printing History. We were a group of five students and one instructor, all women. In short, it was a delightful and inspiring day. After the introductions, we quickly slipped into conversation, and it was like putting on a favorite old pair of jeans – we were comfortable, without restriction, and willing to share creative vulnerabilities. Kind of like showing your knee through a hole and not feeling exposed.

Our instructor, Suzanne, had/has a tremendous enthusiasm for letterpress. She has been teaching at the museum for many years and is currently pursuing a MFA at the University of Houston. She provided us with many take-home resources, and she was very helpful with all of us first-timers.

The museum is an amazing place, and I’m surprised that I’ve driven past it for several decades without having visited. Out of nowhere, it surfaced on my radar from two directions. My friend Andis Applewhite is part of a show of a newly formed Houston printmakers group. And then, my friend Kilby invited me to attend the workshop. Life is just that way.

Larger than one would expect, the museum has a small, well-lit gallery in the front and a uniquely stocked gift shop. It has large exhibit spaces for traveling shows and has a permanent collection showcasing the history of printing. It has many old and interesting pieces of equipment, and it houses resident printmakers and bookbinders.

But back to the ladies who letterpress. Here’s my shout out to the gals – Brenda, Ceci, Sarah, Molly, Kilby, and Suzanne. You all are fun! Our goal for the day was to create business cards, but we decided on calling cards. It allowed us more flexibility in terms of size, and we were a bit more creative with color and lettering.

In a dark room with wood floors and low ceilings, surrounded by really old letterpress machines, we dispersed to select our fonts. Kennerly and Park Avenue for me. We were using lead type, although the museum does have wood fonts as well, and were reminded that we should wash our hands and not lick our fingers. Selecting and setting type provides a new appreciation for the days of old when books like the Bible were set by hand. Spacing is tricky, and the letters are laid out upside down.

It took a bit longer than expected, but we laid out our cards and began to print. We used black and one additional color. Suzanne inked the black press for us, and then we used another for the various colors. Ceci was up first. We were a true assembly line as you’ll see from the photos below. In many, we are blurred from moving around because we were busy inking, cranking, stacking, and passing. There are a few also of us hunting for fonts.

This creative group of women was truly inspiring. I learned a lot about letterpress, but I also learned that we are companions in our artistic walks, sharing the same desires, the same impediments, and the same love for all things that afford us expression. I believe the universe conspires, and I think it did so on Saturday. It was successful.

October Update on the April 1st Project

I haven't spent as much time on the web in the past few weeks as I've had my head down writing. But I did discover a few new artists on a trail that I found. They are:
Ben Nicholson
Patrick Heron
Paula Rego
Stanley Spencer
Stanley William Hayter
Luc Tuymans

We were invited to an art exhibit featuring Melinda Buie. Her cows were fantastic. I don't think the photos do them justice. I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed them. Very nice.

We also went to see Karen Armstrong speak as part of the Progressive Forum. I have read her Short History of Myth and really enjoyed it. She's a religious historian and has a wonderful message. Here's a clip of her at TED.


And then on Saturday, we were in the audience at the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra opening concert. Brian Lewis brought tears to my eyes. He, along with all of the musicians, are fantastic. Joel Smirnoff conducted. They are a must see.

Here are a few clips from the April 1st journal:

If anyone is out there reading, and I know you are thanks to Google Analytics, comment on what's here. I'd love to hear some voices.

April 1st on September 30

Two quotes from the April 1st Project and several journal pages.

"Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." - Charles Dickens

"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." - Abraham Maslow

Isabelle Allende: Tales of Passion

Truer than truth...

What The Night Knows

Last night, I listened to a podcast of KCRW’s Bookworm. The featured author was Eduardo Galeano, and the discussion centered on his book “Mirrors.”

I was dizzy with excitement from the moment he began to speak. What a tremendous discovery! Amazingly, I had never been aware of Galeano or his books and find it odd considering how widely I have read some of his Latin contemporaries and those to whom he has been compared. Anyway, it’s a great find, and I look forward to reading his oeuvre.

His words were poetry, and they effortlessly floated on his accent. You can enjoy the podcast here, and I encourage you to do so.

Of the many things he said, two things jumped out and caused me to grab the first pen and begin to scribble.

“Perhaps the night knows more about us than the day time.”

In a few words, this compact sentence, Galeano puts forth the mystery of dreams and what happens when we’re asleep. I could almost hear him smile. I could almost hear the question mark at the end. It was beautiful.

Later in the broadcast as he talked about history and storytelling, and he talked about learning by listening in the cafes. He said that he realized, “Past could be lived as present. Facing the boundaries of time was the beautiful task of the storyteller.”

Without knowing Eduardo Galeano, I imagine that he’s a man that has lived fully, lived knowingly. It seems that he doesn’t believe in boundaries or limitations, and it is this conviction that translates humanity into a melody of words.

Here are a few more links to Eduardo Galeano. Enjoy…

Paradoxes and Misnomers

Wiki: Eduardo Galeano

Washington Post article and conversation

NPR Interview and Article

Democracy Now Interview

Mythology and Imagination

Last night I finished reading two texts. As it happens, I usually have several books and magazines going at one time. Occasionally they intersect in a surprising way. It happened last night.

I was finishing A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong. It’s the first in Canongate’s Myth Series. I was also finishing Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare, a play that had been turned into a film with Will Smith and Stockard Channing that I had never seen.

The two works intersected at mythology and imagination. Karen Armstrong’s book is a scholarly look at mythology through the ages. She traces its evolution, links it to history, religion, and scientific thought. She posits that social and cultural shifts transformed mythology, used it where necessary, and discarded it where it wasn’t useful. She argues, or puts forward, that mythology is a necessity.

John Guare’s play, dense with so many emotional tangles, pivots on imagination. A line: “The imagination has moved out of the realm of being our link, our most personal link, with our inner lives and the world outside that world…I believe that the imagination is the passport we create to take us into the real world.”

I believe in the power of mythology. I love the stories, plain and simple, because they make sense. They make sense of things we take for granted, and they give cause to things we can’t wrap our heads around. It used to be that we (the collective ‘we’) would tell stories to explain the complex or the simple – why spiders spin webs, the origin of the constellations, why a turtle has a shell, why there are seasons, and so on. We don’t do that anymore. Why not?

Have we lost our imaginations? After all, it is the imagination that created mythology. It is imagination that helps us rationalize the world around us. It is imagination that fuels us to create something new out of something that seems ordinary. It is in the imagination’s pages, stamped with experience, that we travel.

I’m not saying creativity is dead. It’s not. Far from it. But we share a common dialogue about creativity. We no longer do so with mythology and, perhaps only occasionally with imagination.

Armstrong writes, “It has been said that history is a process of annihilation, since each new development requires the destruction of what has gone before…whenever they enter a new era of history, people change their ideas of both humanity and divinity.”

We have done that. And perhaps that’s why we moved away from mythology. Armstrong thinks this is the reason. She also says, “A myth, it will be recalled, is an event that – in some sense – happened once, but which also happens all the time.”

Myths are a way to work through our fears, justify our hopes, explain the nature of evil, and celebrate the power of goodness. We need mythology. Don’t you agree?

The April 1st Project: September '09

Here's a September update for the April 1st Project, including some pictures of the journal at the end.

"In heaven, all the interesting people are missing." - Nietzsche

"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn." - John Lubbock

A headline from the July 25th issue of The Economist (yes, I have a stack or two of magazines to go through) -- "Waking from its sleep: A quiet revolution has begun in the Arab World; it will be complete only when the last failed dictatorship is voted out."

Design, typography, graphics, and more:
I Love Typography
typenuts
grain edit
Poster Cabaret
The Deck
Flick Out
Web Urbanist
Deco Journal
Cool Boom
Cult Case

From A Short History of Myth: "Mythology was therefore designed to help us to cope with the problematic human predicament. It helped people to find their place in the world and their true orientation."

From the Office of Management & Budget: $9 Trillion -- Projected federal budget deficit over the next 10 years, $2 trillion more than forecast in February.

Oulipo - a loose group of mainly French-speaking writers and mathematicians.

KQED: The Writers Block
Slate's Audio Book Club
The Writing Show

WSJ Headline on September 12: "Man vs God"

Book to read: The Elegance of the Hedghog by Muriel Barbery. Thanks for the tip Teresa!

Question: What is the truth of this situation? From Peaks and Valleys by Spencer Johnson.

Last.fm
Lala
Thru You

A list of plays to read that came from the inside back cover of 'Night Mother by Marsha Norman (a powerful play):
Three Tall Women by Edward Albee
Broken Glass by Arthur Miller
Suburbia by Eric Bogosian
All in the Timing by David Ives
Hello Again by Michael John LaChiusa
Pterodactyls by Nicky Silver
Lonely Planet by Steven Dietz
The America Play by Suzan-Lori Parks
The Fourth Wall by A.R. Gurney
Julie Johnson by Wendy Hammond
Four Dogs and a Bone by John Patrick Shanley
Desdemona, A Play About A Handkerchief by Paula Vogel
The Lights by Howard Korder
The Triumph of Love by James Magruder
Later Life by A.R. Gurney
The Loman Family Picnic by Donald Margulies
A Perfect Ganesh by Terrence McNally
Spain by Romulus Linney
The African Company Presents Richard III by Carlyle Brown
Imaginary Life by Peter Parnell
Mixed Emotions by Richard Baer
The Swan by Elizabeth Egloff

Not Just A Blip On The Radar

Music.

Webster defines it as follows:

             Main Entry: mu·sic

             Pronunciation: \ˈmyü-zik\

             Function: noun

             Usage: often attributive

             Etymology: Middle English musik, from Anglo-French musike, from Latin musica, from Greek mousikē any art presided over by the Muses, especially music, from feminine of mousikos of the Muses, from Mousa Muse

             Date: 13th century

1 a : the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity b : vocal, instrumental, or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody, or harmony
2 a : an agreeable sound : euphony music to my ears> b : musical quality music of verse>
3 : a musical accompaniment music>
4 : the score of a musical composition set down on paper
5 : a distinctive type or category of music music for everybody — Eric Salzman>

But that doesn’t explain what it is. I began to think about this (not music, I think about it all of the time) after I discovered Blip.fm.

Almost giddy, I signed up as Mixin’ Maria – that’s the DJ name I selected. Check out all of my selections here or look at the end of this post for the first 18 of them.

So back to the definition.

As I carefully made my selections, I was asked if I wanted to add a few words about each song – you blip songs, blip as in a verb to indicate that you’re posting / playing / suggesting a song. So as I set out to spin a few tracks, I had to verbalize what I liked about a song, the singer, and such. While there are songs that I love because of the story they tell, most of the time I like a song because it speaks to me. It moves me. I feel exalted in some way (yes, that is the proper word to use). That’s what music is to me. It’s a connection on some level of which I am totally unaware. It has the capacity to make me feel like few things do. It provides the same joy as love. Crazy perhaps, but true. It opens my heart and I gush.

But that’s selective. There are thousands of bands and songs and compositions that I don’t like. Some are horrible, and I can’t change the channel fast enough. There’s no love there. None lost either. So Webster’s definition as “an agreeable sound” has truth to it, but it’s not accurate. I’m not talking about something that’s “agreeable.” I’m talking about something that makes you want to turn the volume up loud enough to shake the windows, dance in the living room, and use your lung capacity in a way that you can’t in a typical setting. And what’s this about “the science or art of ordering…” -- ? I doubt seriously that Madonna employs scientific methods to create her gyrating tunes. I would guess that it has to do with passion.

All great art is the result of an experience and results in an expression of that experience. That’s not scientific.

So what is music?

Life, Death, and Paying It Forward

I went to a funeral last week. Not someone I knew well, but someone who had casually been in my life for over 15 years.

The rabbi who presided over his services said many kind things. He beautifully eulogized his friend, for they were close friends, creating images not only of the man who had been ‘severed from us,’ but also of the emotions that we were experiencing now (and those we experience whenever someone is taken from us). I was moved by the tenderness of his words, and my heart cried when the rabbi choked up talking about our friend. The rabbi said that we should look at our friend’s death and learn from it how to live our lives.

What a glorious message.

I’ve been thinking about this ever since. And I’ve been thinking about the people that I’ve lost. But more importantly I’ve been thinking about the people who are in my life today, living and breathing, and a phone call away.

My friend who just died was authentic. That’s what I would say the lesson of his life was. He was exactly what you saw and experienced. He said what he had to say, he loved life and showed it, he was passionate about his opinions, and he loved people. He was himself. It never occurred to me to wonder who he was. I just knew.

There are many people in my life that I don’t have to wonder about, and for that I am blessed. They are good friends, important threads in the fabric of who I am. I am not waiting for a future date to learn from their lives. My life is rich, and I’d like to think that I’m a better person, because I try to live by the truths that they share.

I have a friend that I don’t’ see often enough, but when I do, I am reminded that having fun, being spontaneous, and laughing a lot are essential. I have several friends committed to helping people and serving the community. They are shining examples of how to make a difference. Another friend reminds me that you can have effortless grace even when you might feel a bit frazzled, and yet another amazes me with her self-honesty. I could go on and on.

I miss my friend who recently passed and am sorry that I didn’t tell him what it was about his life that I admired. But it’s not too late to thank so many and let them know that I’m trying to pay it forward. I better get busy.

The Killing Moon

The lyrics to, perhaps, my favorite Echo and the Bunnymen song. Sorry for the loss of their keyboard player, Jake Drake Brockman.

The Killing Moon

Under blue moon I saw you

So soon you'll take me

Up in your arms

Too late to beg you or cancel it

Though I know it must be the killing time

Unwillingly mine

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him

In starlit nights I saw you

So cruelly you kissed me

Your lips a magic world

Your sky all hung with jewels

The killing moon

Will come too soon

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him

Under blue moon I saw you

So soon you'll take me

Up in your arms

Too late to beg you or cancel it

Though I know it must be the killing time

Unwillingly mine

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him

You give yourself to him

La la la la la...

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him

La la la la la...

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him

La la la la la...

All Who Wander Are Not Lost

This is my favorite expression. Or perhaps it’s my motto. Either way, it’s something that I believe to be true. Some of my greatest discoveries have come from being aimless or from deviating from the road. It’s how I have accumulated a breadth of professional experience. And it’s how I saw the Petrified Forest in Arizona – I saw the sign and decided to head there. Why not?

It’s this question that gives meandering validity. Why not? How many times do we not ‘just go for it’ or ‘give it a whirl?’ And how many times have we regretted it? There have been numerous times in which I didn’t have the courage to answer the question. Typically on ‘big’ things – the really scary life stuff. But the truth is that I’m rich with experience because I have taken to the road, literally and figurative, and I don’t regret it.

Recently when my brother-in-law Jim was visiting, we went to Hugo’s. Being the hot food aficionado that he is, Jim wanted authentic and spicy, and they served it up. The fried grasshoppers intrigued him – well, all of us actually – and he ordered them. Why not? I had a bite. They were crunchy and spicy and not something I would order again, but I tried them.

There’s a lot to the expression “I gave it a shot,” and I think it’s one of those indisputable moments when you realize that although you didn’t ‘make it’ – whatever that means to the situation – you succeeded because you ‘went there.’ I keep a Lululemon ad on my bulletin board in my office. Of the many inspiring reminders, it says, “do one thing a day that scares you.”

When we’re young, we’re taught not to get lost, to stay on the straight path, and ‘go directly there and back.’ It’s great advice for a kid. But there comes a time when we have to shed the fear of getting lost and go down the path that branches away from the one we take to get to our destination. Perhaps the way to get over the fear is to remember that ‘all who wander are not lost.’

In My Dreams, The Devil Wouldn't Recognize You

I stayed in bed late today, or rather I fought getting out of bed. I was having wonderful, psychedelic, wild dreams playing to the soundtrack of Madonna’s Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You.

My dreams always have music, and I’m always amazed at how the music fits the action. When I wake, I usually can’t remember the details of the dream, just flashes of images, but the music stays with me. I hum it throughout the day. My guess is that my subconscious has access to my iTunes library. That would explain why I never dream to a Barbara Streisand song – not that I wish to.

There are some dreams that are vivid  - the color is clear, the shadows distinct, the emotion high – and I recall them at the oddest times and see them in my mind’s eye as if I’m watching a film. Even stranger is that some dreams or parts of dreams recur. As I write this, I have flashes of several which surface with frequency.

I’ve never been one to analyze dreams. I know people who do, and it always seems to me to be a bit like the horoscope – if you interpret its meaning a certain way, then you’ll shape the direction of activities to fit that interpretation.

Instead, I enjoy them for what they are – a collage of things that somehow have made their way into my subconscious. To sound really trippy, I’d say that sometimes your mind formulates images from sounds or music that you hear – so while you haven’t consciously seen an image, the deeper part of your brain has. Sounds weird, but it’s the only explanation for some of the things that cross my path in the darkness of night. It’s our imaginations at work. Just like when we read.

I think George Bernard Shaw captured it when he said: You see things; and you say, “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why Not?’

August 28: Journeying with Kazantzakis

Today was low key. I didn't travel too far on the web or on the page. But I did find some new things, and they are below. The best, and the one to spend some time with, is the passage from Kazantzakis. I'm reading his text, Journeying. More to come in the days that follow. So, for today:

crookedbrains.net

Headlines from the New York Times:
"US-Afghan Relations Strained Over Election"
"Ahmadinijad Urges Prosectuion of Political Rivals"

imaginationcubed.com
liveplasma.com

A quote from the Bhagavad Gita - "Bring your mind back every time it wanders away."
And from Buddha - "All that we are is the result of what we have thought."

goodwincreekgardens.com
shopadam.com
daubandbauble.com
terrakeramik.com
spoonsisters.com
roseandradish.com
zindelceramics.com
pancakeandfranks.com

From Journeying by Kazantzakis. His essay titled "Saint Francis"
"He preaches: 'The supreme virtue is poverty.' This widow of Christ, rejected by every home, wandered streets, scorned, and no one wanted her. And Francis loved her and took her for his wife. Poverty, obedience and chastity; behold the three great Franciscan virtues.
If these three virtues had prevailed, if everyone had become Franciscans, the world would be lost. If, again, Francis had preached more practical ideas, his preaching would not have the madness that alone can transport and save men's souls. The ideal, if it wants to renew the face of the earth, must stand much higher than the power of men. In this rests its secret strength, the pull, the painful straining of the soul to reach it, that formidable lifting upward that enlarges the stature of man."

Until tomorrow.

Photos of the 21st Century Collage a.k.a. the April 1st Project

It's Been A Busy Summer

Okay, so I'm way behind on posting. I have faithfully kept up with the April 1st Project in my journal, but I've been deficient here. So let's leap through the months of April until this point in August. What follows is a listing of the most interesting things I discovered and wrote down. Let me know what you think.

Paris' new bistros:

On the Left Bank -- Afaria, L'Aagussin, L'Epigramme, Itineraires, Jadis, Le 21

On the other side of the Seine -- Bigarrade, Le Chateaubriand, La Gazzeta, Le Hide-Koba's Bistro, Le Bistrot Paul Bert, and Spring

Time to head to the Gallic capital.

In April, discovered that the US is retaliating against Italy's ban on American hormone-fed beef and was putting a tariff on Italian mineral water. My question is why then is Pelegrino on all of the restaurant menus? It's hard to find a spot that serves Perrier.

Some notable Greek Painters:

Sp. Papaloucas

Yannis Tsarouchis

N. Chatjikyriakos Ghikas

Yannis Moralis

Gerasimos Steris

Alekos Fasianos

Constantinos Maleas

Constantinos Parthenis

Nicolaos Lytras

Giorgos Bouzianis

Kostas Tsoklis

I'd have to add Yannis Mavides, our friend in Thessaloniki.

Interesting web sites discovered on June 1:

boingboing.net

fracturedatlas.org

thedieline.com

Seems I was musing on June 13 and wrote: catching up, making commitment, moving forward, spending time - not my typical entry. Also on that day, I decided to capture the headlines at one moment off of the Wall Streeet Journal. They read:

Ahmadinejad Win Sparks Clashes

North Korea Says It Will Weaponize Plutonium

Britain Warned of New Wave of Islamic Terrorism

Johnny Depp Stars as John Dillinger

Chief: BofA Coerced into Merrill Deal

China Refuses to Reduce Its Carbon Emissions

A quote from June 18th: "Art is the only legacy that lasts." - Octavio Paz.

I have read him, but not widely enough. He could distill life and the world to create authentic sentences about what it all means.

I discovered the web site for Canongate Books. I have begun to work my way through the myth series. I read Margaret Atwood's telling of Penelope. Quite funny.

On July 2, I watched Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech 2005 and howled at a gay British Travelocity commercial. You should look them up.

I found Thomas Merton's description of the individual. I'm certain it came out of the New Yorker. It goes: "I have what you have not. I am what you are not. I have taken what you have failed to take and I have seized what you could never get. Therefore you suffer and I am happy, you are despised and I am praised, you die and I live; you are nothing and I am something, and I am all the more something because you are nothing. And thus I spend my life admiring the distance between you and me." If you know me, then it makes sense that this was a two-by-four to the head. It infused me, and I've been bobbing along on the strength of these words.

On July 8, a quote from Franco Zeffirelli: "I have always believed that opera is a planet where the muses work together, join hands and celebrate all of the arts." He's so right.

And on July 15th, Pablo Neruda whispered in my ear -- "Two things make a story. The net and the air that falls through the net."

On July 17th, the headlines screamed that Iran faced more protests, more tear gas, and more discord. The protesters are brave. How many of us would risk our lives like that?

Fun sites that I chanced upon:

popdeluxe.net

chezcheese.com

lekkerhome.com

finnstyle.com

shopmiomia.com

yogamazing.com

unflip.com

More words of wisdom from the sage Martin Buber: "When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them."

I reread Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides. I'm working on a play, and so I've been reading and rereading favorites. In this play, the chorus speaks the most beautiful lines about the most horrible of acts - war.

CHORUS:

...The Achaean army will close in a circle of blood;

There will be heads forced back, throats cut;

Streets stripped, every building gutted and crashed;

Screams and sobs from young women;

And from Priam's wife;

And Helen daughter of Zeus

Shall learn what it is to leave a husband.

God grant that neither I nor my children's children

Ever face such a prospect.

As Lydian and Phrygian wives will see awaiting them

When they sit, glittering in gold, before their looms

And ask each other; who will be the man

Who twists his hard hand in my silken hair

And like a plucked flower drags me away

While my tears flow hot and my home burns?

Wow! That's powerful.

I recorded the death of Corazon Aquino on August 1st, and I noted a song titled "Look at Me" by the Mirrors.

With all the Julia Child craze - and I'm really guilty here - I sought out some of her thoughts. She was really a funny lady.

"I just hate health food."

"In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport."

"Life itself is the proper binge."

On August 2, I watched Isabella Allende speak at Ted. It was on You Tube - a must see. Her subject: Truer than Truth. She, too, has powerful words.

Disgusted by what is wrongly termed a 'debate' about healthcare, I cut out an article that came from the Los Angeles Times titled "Congress' own health benefits: Membership has its privileges." Look it up. You'll see why it's easy for them - both sides - to make decisions about healthcare in America.

Les Paul died on August 12. And on the 14th, I read Oprah's book club and found a list of books that had meaning to Ben Affleck. What an interesting guy. I had no idea that he majored in Middle Eastern studies. He understands the uprising in Iran in a way that the average person can't without having had those discussions. He recommended "Shah of Shahs" by Ryszard Kapuscinski and also "All the Shah's Men." His entire book list was fascinating and now on my long list of 'to read.'

August 16 was a busy day in history.

In 1896, god was discovered in Yukon

In 1969, Woodstock ended

In 1991, there was a coup against Gorbachev

In 1959, hawaii became the 50th state

I'll post photos of my journal tomorrow to highlight the images that I cut out and glue into it.

Meanwhile, let me know what you think of the April 1st Project and any of the links, lists, quotes, or thoughts.