DAILY MUSE | Well… I’m still still here! It’s been a few tough weeks with the weather (rain and floods), work (critical deadlines) and most recently computer problems (my home PC at died… waa waahhh). I think it was a virus… still not sure what exactly happened. But I’m happy to say that I have made the move to Mac- bought a new MacBook Pro today. I just walkd into the Mac Store and 45 minutes later… voila! I’m so excited. It’s beautiful!
I’m going to have my PC fixed. I can only hope that I can save certain things that I hadn’t backed up. Not sure when the last ime was that I backed up my documents on my removable hard drive (lesson learned for anyone in earshot… back up often). Keep your fingers crossed.
Sorry about not keeping up with the postings lately. Now that I’m back online, I can return to posting. Hopefully, before I go to bed tonight I can get a real post up and I’ll be back on track. In the meantime… thanks for your patience.
DAILY MUSE | Enjoy this intriguing BBC documentary about Nikola Tesla, perhaps humanity’s greatest inventor, much ridiculed, now largely forgotten and overshadowed by others in history.
DAILY MUSE | I’m still here. I just haven’t had any posts the last few days because of the flooding up here in the Northeast. (That and I’m also dealing with an impending deadline here at work.) I literally couldn’t get to my house the other day because of flood blocked roads– had to sleep at my brother’s house. I’ll get back to my routine later this week after my deadline passes.
DAILY MUSE | Neko Case’s “Hold On, Hold On” is one of my favorite songs from last year. The studio recording and something about her voice give it the feel of 1960’s pop classic– one of those songs that sound inevitable. Here it is sung live.
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DAILY MUSE | Here is an excellent in depth documentary about the making of the film “Taxi Driver”. It includes interviews with Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybil Shepard, Harvey Keitel, Albert Brooks and writer Paul Schrader and others– a wonderful peek inside the creative process. (Video in 8 Parts) VIEWER ALERT: Contains strong language and scenes of intense violence. For mature audiences only.
DAILY MUSE | My bosses daughter, Nicole, lives in Philadelphia and works with a creative group that does film, print, advertising etc. They participated this year in the 48 Hour Film Project– a national contest in which teams have only 48 hours to write, produce, film and edit a 5 minute short film. Each team has to incorporate two of the same things: a particular character (this year it was home inspector, Kevin Oman- or something like that) and a particular prop (this year it was lotion).
This is their entry. It’s very clever, funny and well done. I’m amazed that they can pull this entire thing off in 48 hours– must have involved some all nighters. Watch for the lotion and the “K Man”. Nicole did the graphics at the beginning (pretty nifty) and end credits.
VIEWER ALERT | This film is for mature audiences only. It contains Strong Language and (Really Funny) Nudity.
DAILY MUSE | As I listen to music like Madeleine Peyroux and Norah Jones, who have garnered popularity nowadays, I recall one of my favorite groups from the late 80s– Fairground Attraction. They had one phenomenal album called “The First of A Millions Kisses”, which did well in alternative programming radio stations at the time, but did not fair that well in general POPularity. I listen to them now ( in relation to Peyroux and Jones) and think how much they were ahead of their time. How their music is still fresh and new. How every song on that album had a great hit-like hook… kinda like how the Cranberry’s first album was as well. FAs sound and sensibility seems to be a strong precursory influence of the current popularity of Peyroux and Jones and the like– which is a very good thing. Check out a few links below and listen to the sounds of Fairground Attraction.
Find My Love
Clare
Not sure what this video has to do with their music, but here’s another one of their tracks– Perfect
Live TV footage- Smile And A Whisper
More live TV footage- The Wind Knows My Name
The Moon is Mine- Live (not great sound)
More live concert footage (not great sound)- Allelujah
Find My Love (Live)
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DAILY MUSE | Sad news today. Connecticut’s own Sol Lewitt, modernist, minimalist and conceptual artist, died Sunday due to complications from cancer. Best known for his Wall Drawing series– those grandly scaled, vividly colorful drawings integrated into architectural spaces filling the frame of walls from edge to edge– he remained constant in his themes throughout his career; geometric and repetitive shapes, timeless childlike constructs on paper or in “structures” (as he referred to his sculptural work) that almost seemed obvious or inevitable. Their simplicity conjures up a sense of “I can do that!”. Not in that horrid, insulting way that is often applied to artists, but in the best sense… in that it offers permission and confidence to a viewer to step in and do it too. In that respect, his work always inspires creativity.
Lewitt’s work, while part of the minimalist and conceptual schools of thought which often inspire work so heavily intellectual that it can alienate viewers, never had that effect on me. His work was always humble and joyful– never pretentious.
Please enjoy some images of an enviable oeuvre from a masterful artist.
DAILY MUSE | Today I offer an inspiring and powerful quote from dancer/choreographer Martha Graham. Use it today– and everyday– to champion your creativity.
There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening
that is translated through you into action
and because there is only one of you in all of time,
this expression is unique.
And if you block it, it will never exist
through any other medium and be lost.
DAILY MUSE | I will add today this thoughtful conversation about Jesus and what he really meant by his ministry– a refreshing contrast to the constant blather we hear so often, particularly from the crazed fringes of Christianity which sadly have become more mainstream here in America. This intriguing and sane dialogue supports the general sense I see repeatedly played out– that by and large most Christians today are really missing the point. This particularly applies to those allied with the Christian conservative political aim and agenda, which all in all would make Jesus roll over in his grave (so to speak). Pray that sanity and reason and true compassion will embrace us all at last.
The conversation is the first segment (in the first 34 minutes)
DAILY MUSE | I thought long and hard about what to feature on today’s Sunday Serving– it being Easter and all. I considered featuring specific content about god, creativity and spirituality. But I do that a lot as it is. I thought that that would actually be too heavy for today. Instead, I thought we needed something different– something spontaneous in nature with a sense of rarity… and surprise, excitement and light. So I’ve decided on this– footage of The Beatles 1969 surprise rooftop appearance which turned out to be their last public performance together. Hope you enjoy it.
DAILY MUSE | Go see a play. Not a musical. A play. I went to see “Doubt” last night, playing in the Shubert Theater in New Haven. It starred Cherry Jones, who won the Tony Award for her role as Sister Aloysius on Broadway in 2005. It’s a rare treat for a play on tour to have the originator of a role in the touring company- let alone having the Tony Award winning originator of the role. Needless to say, both the performance and the evening were magnificent.
There really is no substitute for live theater. It offers unique creative opportunities, even as a mere member of the audience. On the one hand you have a singular opportunity to witness (both individually and in community) the stunning immediacy of well expressed emotions on a fabulously creative journey. On the other hand its an awesome opportunity for a helluva night on the town– we drifted through New Haven last night, letting one place lead us to the next, while we discussed the themes if the play… and life… and what have you. Either way you look at it you can’t miss.
Today, it seems that most people entertaining the possibility of seeing a live show are automatically drawn to see a musical. While musicals are a joy to see live and in person, there is a sacred intimacy to a play that I have yet to experience in a musical that deserves it’s own place of honor. Go pay homage. Go see a play!
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DAILY MUSE | Connect with your inner creative child today by connecting with your own actual childhood– savor some of your favorite childhood food and fare. Some of mine were Fluffernutter sandwiches, chocolate milk and Alpha-Bits cereal. What were your favorites? What do they taste like now? How do they make you feel?
DAILY MUSE | Go for a walk. I find that walking helps to quiet my mind, sort out and unwind from the stress or just the day. When I’m stuck in my life, I often take a walk to get unstuck- it opens up my creativity. Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way suggests that going for a 20 minute walk everyday will “walk your creative child back to health”. Try it.
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DAILY MUSE | Here are a few scenes from one of my favorite films “The Third Man“, directed by Carol Reed and based on a Graham Greene novel. There is much to fascinate in this movie– the cinematography, the actors (among them Orson Welles), the setting (in Post War Vienna when it was occupied simultaneously by the US, Britain, France and the USSR), the well tailored suspense of the plot and that uniquely famous soundtrack featuring the zither.
Here are a few scenes available online.
The Trailer
The Apparition
The Ferris Wheel Ride
The Final Scene
TCM Trailer
The Zither player
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DAILY MUSE | The words of Arundhati Roy, author of the novel “The God of Small Things”, feature prominently in this compelling documentary called “We”. Inspired from Roy’s “Come September” speech it deals with the politics of power, war, corporation, deception and exploitation in a literate, creative visual and sonic experience– with a great soundtrack featuring many notable artists.
