Tuesday, December 20, 2011

...

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

Sunday, December 11, 2011

About the Video Above...

I first heard the song Journey to the Center of the Mind when I was eight years old. I was at a school carnival at Pinecrest Elementary, on a ride called The Whip. Cars moved on an oval track and lurched violently around each curve. This was supposed to be fun.

I remember The Whip because it was the first time I'd ever been on a ride by myself. It felt weird. "This is going to be my life when I'm 50!" I thought to myself. Well, no, I didn't and I'm glad.

I had a goldfish in a plastic bag on the ride with me. Anyone remember Pitch-a-Fish? If you landed a ping pong ball in one of the fish bowls on tiered shelves, you got to take the fish home in a plastic bag. With water in it. Did I really need to say that?

As the Whip did its terrible turns I worried about my fish. The ride moved fast. And those violent lurches... Was it upsetting my baggie-encased Comet ? I've always been sensitive. I cared about that fish.

This next part...who knows if I'm putting this together right. It all become a collage with each passing decade. But what I remember is hearing Journey to the Center of the Mind for the first time, at the carnival. Maybe while still on the ride. Really, it doesn't matter where I was because I slipped the mortal coil and flew.

If my third grade brain had been scanned at that moment, it would have shown my neurons glowing neon colors, pulsating and flashing like disco lights. The song made me ecstatic. I'd never had a song- maybe anything- make me feel that way before.

Journey to the Center of the Mind still makes me fly- in an overweight, close-to-menopause kind of way.

Everything about the video above makes me happy. Twenty year old Ted Nugent (did you know he was in the Amboy Dukes? No? Come to me for this sort of thing. I know it). Twenty year old Ted Nugent on guitar, smokin' hot and a great guitar player too. And if that wasn't enough, there are Go-Go dancers. I LOVE Go-Go dancers. If I could be anything at any point in history I'd be a 60's Go-Go dancer.

If there's even one person who watches this and gets how special it is, I'll be happy. Liking it for it's anachronistic charm is fine too.

Yeah, Yeah, I know, Ted Nugent's politics today... I'm not wild about his pro NRA stance, but his hunting is fine with me. I love his cookbook title "Kill it and Grill it". Subtlety is over-rated.

I saw Ted in 1977. He was insane; a wild man. It was awesome, but I love his restraint and little gestures in the video below. And the guitar playing. Wow.

So, check out Young Ted and some sixties psychedelic fun.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Dart on a Map

www.dartonamap.net

According to Dart on a Map I should go to the following places:

1. Eastern Oregon
2. Antarctica
3. The middle of the Pacific ocean

Eastern Oregon might be nice. Or not. I think I drove through it with my boyfriend Stuart 90 years ago.

I wouldn't go to Antarctica because it violates my 'More than half an hour away to obtain a diet coke' rule.

Speaking of diet coke, I've cut down my consumption. At the age of 50 I discovered coffee. I now like ridiculously strong, mud-like coffee.

The middle of the Pacific ocean...a cruise! That would be nice.

I wonder where the next three throws will take me.

I love Dart on a Map.

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Great Quote

“If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.” ~Thomas J. Watson

.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Fair Enough

I had better things to do at the Puyallup Fair than take photos of rides. There were roller coasters to ride, buttery jam-filled scones to eat (what am I supposed to eat at a state fair? Salad?), bunnies to pet and a mama pig with her hungry babies to watch (never eating bacon again. Never, ever). There were friends to have fun with and interesting people to see. All those reasons are why I only took a few quick photos. But I could spend hours taking pictures of rides. The color, the form, the motion...they are just so beautiful.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Most Improved

Today at work I received what was basically a 'You don't suck as much as you used to!' award. I got to select a $25 gift. I ordered a bed for Annabelle, although her favorite bed of course is the one I spent $850 on last February. Within a month she tore the netting under the box spring enough to fashion a hammock-like dwelling for herself. It's kind of clever really.

'You don't suck as much as you used to' awards are nothing new for me. The summer of '73 found me the winner of Camp Yonahlossee's esteemed Most Improved in Golf award. Mmm hmm.

I think I won Most Improved in Arts and Crafts the following summer. What was that supposed to mean- that I stopped getting glue in my hair by August?

I'm definitely not the winner of the most improved blogger award. I haven't even thought about blogging the past few weeks.

Sunday, August 07, 2011

Higher Power


Do I need to explain how cool it was to be this close? Hopefully not, because I'm at a loss for words (as in being able to hear any).

Few things center me in the moment and the magic like the Blue Angels.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Bubble Cat




Annabelle exercises her aesthetic sensibilities with an art deco motif.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Delayed Post- Little Red Studio

There's an alternative theater in Seattle called The Little Red Studio. Don't go there if you are afraid of the occassional naked performer and / or the word fuck. But if you like to be in an informal setting where you never know who in the audience is a performer or what kind of act is up next you will love this place.

The evening's performances included a young, gorgeous, eastern European opera singer who made me rethink opera. The song had something to do with the moon and she sang it all starry eyed with perfect, delicate gestures. She was a faerie-like being, a little too perfect to be human.

She was one of several very polished, professional acts that one could see in any good traditional theater. However, the Little Red Studio experience starts the moment you walk in the door. In the front room a nude man and woman were standing like statues and being painted by a very large woman who was actually a man and looked like a sinister version of the mother in Hairspray. The woman being painted looked like Magenta from Rocky Horror. Are you starting to see why I love this place?

Some of the other acts included A frizzy-haired woman reading bad poems she'd written. An elderly, disabled black man reading a very good poem he'd written, bringing us right into his life experience. An aerialist. A woman named Pei Pei who performed a classical Chinese ballet dance naked. A little too close to where I was sitting on the floor, but never mind.

Almost all of the acts had an unusually strong emotional subtext which is why I may have connected with this place so strongly. My very favorite performace of the night wasn't the opera singer, the arialist, or the interpretive dancers. It was the Pink Floyd song 'Hey You' performed by a woman who remained sitting on the floor with the rest of us, accompanied by just her ukelele. Hey You is one of many angst-ridden songs from The Wall, so I never paid much attention to it. But from the very first acapella note the energy in the room changed and the meaning of the song came to life. Seriously. Right from the first word of the song. It was amazingly good. I have never- seriously, never- heard anyone emote a song the way she did. She was so present that she burst into tears after she finished it. Oh, and she could really sing, which was nice.

The Little Red Studio is an actual artist's studio. The artist seems to hold the events sporadically. He said something about the next night not being until next fall or next year. If you google Little Red Studio it says it's closed. It's a quirky place for sure, but when they open again I'll be back.

Friday, July 01, 2011

Balance




My nephew's favorite color is grey. Most people who know him would guess red. He's an intellectual and physical powerhouse who is always busy. Grey makes sense. He needs it for balance.

My color cravings vary, and are often a counterpoint to my current state. I crave orange when I'm depressed and antisocial. I crave white when I want everything to be new. I crave pink all the time.

Our favorite colors are relevant.

Everyone I've ever referred to this likes it. Try it: www.colorquiz.com

When I removed the color from the photo above I liked it much better. Sometimes a lack of color is a nice quiet place to be.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Opportunity


No one likes finding a broken beer bottle on the sidewalk when they are out for a sunny, Sunday stroll. But it was there, so I made the best of it. I kind of like how this came out.

I like whoever lives here



Pink stairs. Pink stairs! LOVE.

Dark Flowers


I was going to title this 'Spring' but that seemed kind of like "duh..."

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Six Reasons Why This is so Awesome

1. I overcame a 43 year-long prejudice against watching the movie 'Head', which this is from. When I was 8 years old I heard my beloved Monkees were in some yucky movie where they were all....weird..and I wanted nothing to do with it. At 51 I finally realized that a 1968 movie directed by Jack Nicholson featuring the members of The Monkees had to be pretty interesting. But I still had a moment of 'But it's that scary, yucky movie...' before ordering it from Netflix.
Of course I ended up liking it. But I wouldn't have in 1968.

2.Davy Jones was not 'my Monkee', but his charisma in this clip blows me away. If you are a woman between around mid 40s and late 50s you understand what it means to have had 'your' Monkee. My Monkee, just for the record, was Peter. As an adult I competely support that choice. My Beatle was Ringo. There are obvious similarities.

3.This is visually stunning. I love the cutaway shots, the costume changes from black and white to white and black, the editing, and the non-gratuitous strobe sequences.

4. Hello, that's Toni Basil dancing with Davy Jones. Seriously. A young, beautiful Toni Basil without that dreadful 'Hey Mickey' makeup spackled on her face.

5. Ok, yeah, there's Frank Zappa at the end, Frank Zappa with a cow, whatever, which some would say is the best part. I'm not a big Frank Zappa fan. For some reason, he reminds me of Yoko Ono, except I think Yoko Ono is more earnest (discuss). I do kind of like the snarky commentary though, and he's a vision in a suit. What a presence.

6. Although this is a cheesed up version, it's a poignant song written by Harry Nilsson. The lyrics to 'Daddy's Song' are worth reading.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Fyrir hvað sem ástæða

The title is Icelandic for "For whatever reason". I'm now fluent in Icelandic! Isn't that exciting?

Just kidding. I ran the phrase through Google translate. Icelandic is basically Old Norse. It's what the vikings spoke. It's hard, ok?

For whatever reason, these are among my favorites of the photos I took in Iceland.



I've gotten a good response to this one. I like how I composed it. It's from inside a church that I should know the name of.

I love Scandinavian style decorating. Simple, pops of color, no bad motel art...

Classic Icelandic colors

Bus ride from Mjodd to whatever the name of the village is Vidar lives in. Unbelievable, lunar scenery but somehow more lush in its whiteness. There were streams here and there, and dogs happily bounding in front of their owners. It was the closest thing for heaven (for me) that I'd ever seen.

What's not to like about this?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Monday, February 21, 2011

Connection


Brandy is 11 years old and doing well. I bought her this bone recently: you put treats in it and she has to figure out how to get them out. She loves it. She is a beautiful soul. I'll readily admit I love her more than Annabelle. I can't wait until I can have a dog of my own again (for the record, I adopted Brandy in March of 2001. My parents have had her for the past five years).

Hey!


What are you looking at? I can ruin Wendy's crocheting if I want to. I'm a CAT. Got it?

My Parents




My parents are awesome. I'm showing them off.

They took these photos somewhere in British Columbia. I think the bears were friendly.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Twiceland

I'm going back to Iceland in March. I found a stupidly cheap airfare and hotel package. Leaving Iceland last year was like losing a great book I was in the middle of. I can't wait to pick up where I left off.

Last year I continued on to Copenhagen, which was highly unnecessary. This trip will not involve seeing a certain cruel Swedish man (who is even more cruel because he's not even really cruel- he just doesn't like me).

I'm watching figure skating right now. In the pair skating, the woman just picked up the man and carried him around the ice. Awesome. You go girl.

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Star Spangled Blather

Let's get this out of the way first: Christina Aguilera looked like a goth version of Donatella Versace. Sort of a less orange, sleeve-wearing Donatella. I'm not a conservative (um, am I?), a traditionalist, or a flag waver. But...if you're been selected for a great ritual that unifies millions of people, show a little respect. Don't look like a flesh-eating zombie (that black, black dress and that red, red mouth. Scary). Our national anthem has meaning to the players. Some of them appeared deeply sentimental; like they were going to cry during it, and it's not just because you, Christina Aguilera, screwed up entire sentences. Whole sentences omitted and / or combined. "What's so proudly we watched..."

No, we didn't.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Michael Been

In 1983 I heard the song The Walls Came Down by The Call and thought it was absolutely perfect. Granted, my idea of absolutely perfect, such as Gary Beacom skating to Leonard Cohen's I'm your Man (Youtube it), can be a bit quirky. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who bought a cassette tape of Modern Romans within hours of first hearing The Call.

I saw The Call somewhere around '97. After the show, I confided to my guy friend that I had a huge crush on Michael Been. How could I not? He was so very talented and passionate. It's the latter that gets me every time. Technical proficiency is a means to a end. Passion is a life force. The Walls Came Down in concert was elemental, like the roar of the ocean or a bonfire.

At the end of one song Been mused "I'll be doing this until I die." I doubt that was some Wayne Newton-esque thing he said at every show. More likely he was caught up in his passion (there's that word again) for his life's work.

Let the Day Begin is the other Call song that got radio play. If that's all you know of The Call, please check out this site http://the-call-band.com/home/home.html.

As you may have guessed, this post is a tribute. I found out today that Michael Been died of a heart attack in August at the age of 60. Sad, yes, but the man got his work here on earth completed, and what wonderful work it was.

Thank you Michael Been and The Call for music that's been spiritually important to me since the days of cassette tapes.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

1/11/11

Maybe not an exact palindrome, but rather sassy nonetheless.