Turning 70

Sammy and Laverne

2010-05-26T03:03:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted here on this blog [I'm 72 now] for a long time.

As far as I know, Sammy passed away and [for some reason] I think Laverne also. Will speak to my informant in Hawaii, he will know for sure. I worked with them from 1964 to 68 in Truk [the spelling then].

gasoline shortage...

2009-03-12T07:22:00.002-05:00

Got ready yesterday to go to Miami Shores on route to Brazil. All dressed up and ready to go. Let's fill up the gas tank so you'll have a full tank on return. Good price @$1.93 a gallon [good price!!?] so this is the place. Now I remember this is the 'unlucky' place; but didn't remember soon enough. Of course I was in a hurry [what's new] and there must have only been dregs left in the underground tank. It was sooooo slow. And then a fountain, a spray, a surplus of gasoline spewing out of my gas tank! The stop switch, evidently, in the nozzle doesn't work. So with a puddle of gas on the ground around my shoe and malodorous sprinkles on my pants hem, I drove out of there smelling like you know what. I was afraid I wouldn't get through security at the airport smelling like a gas bomb. But that didn't hold me up; the metal container of loose tea did. Anyway, here I sit in Florida waiting for the approaching day of my flight and think - will I ever go back to that gas station again?

Go Johnny Depp!

2009-03-07T09:53:00.000-05:00

blognote: my hero

decisions...

2009-03-02T11:46:00.003-05:00

Now, do I walk up to lunch or wait for dinner. The dining room isn't that far away but it's 22 degrees and still snow showering. Depends on how hungry I am [but I'm always hungry].

Mmmm; omelet station! Sounds good, doesn't it?

Kiss Me A Lot

2009-02-14T13:32:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken at the 'Kiss Me A Lot' function in Mexico City. They were trying to break the world record of the number of people kissing at the same time. Sounds like a 'having a wonderful time, wish you were here' kind of day!

Psalm 30: 11

2009-02-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy...

Alleluia, praise the Lord!

JEAN THOMPSON FORAN
3/16/1937 - 2/10/2005
a different place for both of us,
a different time
a different reason,
a different mournful rhyme

I googled my mouse ball...

2009-02-09T15:09:00.007-05:00

...and then I cleaned it!

The mouse for my new IMac was freezing up. Sometimes it would work and scroll properly or not work at all and at other times it would just scroll up. So I googled how to clean a mouse ball. You just have to wipe it down with rubbing alcohol while rolling it back and forth. And voilá, problem solved.

I guess I had a dirty ball; now it's clean and moves up and down...

yesterday's 'trauma'

2009-02-07T10:02:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was a day 'in hell' but which ended on a good note!

Gym in the morning with a good workout; such a great way to start the day. Spent a lot of time 'exercising' my jaw as most of my posse were here. Lot's of good talk and fun and planning for a lunch date next week.

Then a pretty nice lunch in the dining room with a married couple that I know and like. We had some good food: Chicken Jambalaya and Moussaka [now there's a combo] at the buffet. Banana Cream pie [to go] for dessert.

Then a trip to Walmart to get some extra keys made [for the cottage]. Got an attitude in the Walmart parking lot and decided I didn't want to fight the crowds. So I went to TruValue, a nice neighborhood store, to get the keys. They didn't have the blanks but would be getting them next week. I drove over to Home Depot where I was sure I could get the keys but they don't carry that blank. 'Where is this key for?' said she a little perturbed that I was disrupting her oncoming break. 'My house!' said I. No keys but I can always get them done next week, no hurry.

I went scouting around the store and after a search found the water filtration aisle [how clever]. There was the Brita system I 'really' needed. But I hemmed and hawed because it had a mail-in rebate and being the really lazy person that I am, I put it back on the shelf. Then I found the PUr system I really needed and it was in chrome to match my sink and it was more expensive so it must be better. I purchased it.

Found gasoline at a good price and filled up after fretting over the four cents I was losing because of using my credit card. Watch for the fine print!

Went to Stop and Shop and yes, I do use one of those little handheld computer thingys that are putting everyone out of work! That worked fine and I was out of there quickly.

Then the day proceeded to go to HELL!

There was a call on the phone in regards to my wife's memoriam brought back lots of sad memories. The newspaper had changed page size and my address had changed, so last year's placement wouldn't fit and they had to change the poetry line and add a picture [which I don't like]. Anyway, get the message, I wasn't a happy puppy.

And my phone has decided that every call in or out should be sent to voicemail. Now the voicemail light is flashing and the message says: "you have no messages". So why is the damn thing flashing; doesn't it listen to itself? You have to unplug the phone to get it back on track. And don't try calling ATT to deal with the push button 1, 2, 87 or whatever.

So, I decided to install the 'you don't need any tools' PUr system on my kitchen faucet. That was a disaster! As anyone who knows me will understand, anything mechanical is a nono. I can speak/read/write several languages and do other professorial/linguistic feats BUT I cannot use a pair of pliers. Of course, according to the instructions [and I did read them], you don't need any tools. The gadget would not stop dousing the sink and adjoining counters because I could not screw [good word] the damn thing tight enough.

Talked to daughter-in-law who volunteered my son to fix it. I declined as they have enough going this weekend anyway. So I called my old [oops sorry for that word] standbys; brother/sister-in-law. She, hearing the complete hysteria in my voice, volunteered brother-in-law to come and fix it. He did! So we went out for ice cream [nice try on the diet, Thomas] and I had a junior sized hot fudge sundae which seemed to heal all my woes [the wonders of chocolate].

Good day to bad and back to good again; that's life!

Kusabi [on the website][in the magazine]

2009-02-04T06:19:00.000-05:00

Pictures of the table are now on the website. Just look on the left side and click on the top picture to see all the different views of Kusabi.

This is my new coffee table. It has been named 'kusabi' which means wedge in Japanese; you can see that that is an appropriate name. It was created by Seth Walter of Silverleaf Woodworking. I came up with an idea [multi-use directionality] and he continued the design, found the correct wood pieces and created it. It is beautiful and has been admired by many visitors to my cottage so far. I hear it will be the featured piece of furniture in a magazine/journal soon.

The magazine, 'furniture and cabinet making', arrived and the pictures are on page 29. The pictures are amazing and the quote: "...to accommodate the small but very well-appointed flat" is so British.

bloginfo: furniture and cabinet making; January 2009, Issue 149;East Sussex, Great Britain

The Fountain

2009-01-28T21:00:00.008-05:00

I watched the movie, 'The Fountain,' today midst ice and snow and not being able to get out of the cottage. Here is Hugh Jackman in a very different film. Dealt with 'death of love' and was the impetus for another poem to be published on 2/10 on my poetry website.

Romero Britto

2009-01-12T21:07:00.003-05:00

Saw several Britto statues at the Miami Midtown mall. They were around a center fountain; nice placement. I first saw Romero Britto's work on Lincoln Road in Miami, then visited his original studio in Sao Paolo two years ago. Also saw him in person at the Martha Stewart Tribute Brunch last year at the South Beach Food and Wine Fest. Wish I had bought something before he became so famous.

moonrise

2009-01-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

We drove to North Beach to see the moon rise. It was 'scheduled' for 6:40 pm and was to be a spectacle. The moon was as close to the earth as it ever gets. We arrived at 6:35. Walking from the car down to the path to the beach, we encountered a couple leaving and persuaded them to return and watch the show. We waited only a few minutes before sensing a faint glow on the horizon. That point started to turn from pink to red. The moon peeked over the horizon and continued to grow. A red ball slowly made its way up into the night sky. Some streaks of clouds formed patterns over the glowing orb. Then the moon began to fade behind a bank of clouds. We left the beach while small groups people were still gathered there. We walked around the block and on our return, the moon had reappeared. It was now a fully formed yellow ball floating in the sky, reflecting in the bay. Our goal had been reached: we greeted the moon rising over Miami Beach.

Lincoln Road

2009-01-11T21:09:00.002-05:00

Walked around Lincoln Road this afternoon. There was an antique fair going on [no, no one tried to buy/sell me] so it made the stroll a lot more interesting. Actually, you can't get more interesting than people watching on Lincoln Road. We stopped for some tapas at Maya Tapas & Grill [see review here]. Great weather, nice day and we got some 'exercise' walking around.

Miami Shores

2009-01-09T21:04:00.002-05:00

Arrived at the Fort Lauderdale airport early on a very east flight on Delta. Picked up and taken to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. Weather here is a cool 77 degrees [a far cry from the 28 and snow arriving at home].
Great to be here with family [the weather doesn't hurt either]!

'bye, bye...' [now a linguistic brouhaha]

2009-01-09T06:05:00.000-05:00

My great nephew [or 'grandnephew' depending on your linguistic style] saying farewell to his 'daily dump':
'bye, bye poops; have a good day in the pipes...'

Now it is reported by the mother that the correct quote would be 'have a good dream in the pipes...'. This could become the doctoral dissertation that I never did: "Grandmother vs Mother in Quotable Quotes"
or "Whassup wit de toilet tawk? [Caregivers' Bridging the Gap in Male Developmentally Correct Language Acquisition"]!

Now there's a positive attitude!

get a job...

2009-01-08T11:14:00.007-05:00

Saw this online [via an interested party]! Wonder if I should apply. I am probably not bilingual enough anyway. BUT the real question is - would I really want to get into the rat race again at my advanced age?

another great invention...

2009-01-06T06:44:00.000-05:00

What would I do without my IPOD Shuffle. I am not the IPOD type; too much info. And it would probably fall off the treadmill!
So I fill this little bugger with classical music, clip it on and listen away. I'm sure people think I'm listening to NIN or Smashing Pumpkins but it's a whole bunch of Mozart Piano concerti that's blasting away.

The other day in the waiting area at the blood lab [too much info!], I overblasted the TV with my own music. But I almost didn't get in on time as I didn't hear my name called. Oh well, who wants a needle in their arm anyway.

The only thing I don't do is listen to it when I drive [or use the cellphone] as I am a bad enough driver as it is!

best invention yet..

2009-01-05T06:36:00.002-05:00

I had a remote starter installed in my car last month. This is by far the best invention yet.

I am on the waiting list for a garage here. But now with the initial expense of $250 I can just go about my business on any cold and/or snowy day. What a godsend! I start the car during breakfast and then a short while before I am going out. It's all warmed up and the ice is gone. Such a life! Of course you have to remember which button is which and to put the controls in the car on hot/blow/strong/etc. when you park it each night. So far, so good.

Black ice this morning, so I am not even going to start the car until later. Guess I can't go to the gym, DARN!!!

a clean windshield...

2009-01-04T06:44:00.000-05:00

If you have been driving around my neck of the woods lately, you probably have seen the car with the cleanest windshield ever. It is very easy to spot as the windshield washer is splashing fluid all over the road as it drives along. That's me!

The reason is that my windshield washer thingy has been freezing up [now that I am parking outside?]. So over the holidays there was no liquid coming out of the front washers but the rear was okay. Eventually it thawed. Everything was okay. And then it froze again, back and front. I had been using the blue fluid [doesn't everyone?] but that is no good said my mechanically inclined friends. So I bought some orange fluid which is supposed to be so much better. In order to put the orange into where the blue was originally, I had to squirt and squirt while driving [the washer thingy, don't get funny]. But after that also froze I now have the other color, the true color, the right color; except that now I forgot what color it is. But it is much more expensive. The blue only goes down to 25 degrees below zero, the orange to 30 degrees below and the new stuff can take care of the North Pole [where I do not live, really!].

If the thingy is frozen again today, I am moving permanently to Hawaii or Florida or the South Pacific. Or maybe I will buy a new car with a thingy guarantee.

where's my car...

2009-01-02T09:30:00.001-05:00

I looked out the window of my dining area and didn't see my car!

Where's my car? It's missing, someone stole my car. But it's always there.

Well, it wasn't there it was in the Commons parking lot. I was so excited about lunch and getting my mail that I walked right by it to my cottage. No one stole my car and I retrieved it later that day. Who's getting old!!!

resolution...

2009-01-01T09:11:00.004-05:00

Best Wishes for a Happy New Year to all who read my blogs [and to the uninitiated also].

I don't make New Year's resolutions but if I did it would be to blog more and more in the coming year!

new towel...

2008-12-31T12:42:00.015-05:00

Just got my new Aquis Adventure Towel from Amazon.com. It is super absorbent and will come in very handy in Brazil [is there a theme here?]. It comes in a mesh carrycase and has a loop on it to hang dry.

You do have to get used to the texture, though. It does blot up all the water instantly; I thought I would need the extra-large but the large is fine.

read about my new towel here

new shoes...

2008-12-30T19:33:00.003-05:00

read about my new shoes here

These are the coolest shoes; they will be great for tromping around Brazil. They have a quote from Mahatma Gandhi all over them: 'You must be the change you wish to see in the world.' And for every pair of shoes purchased, a pair is donated to a child without shoes!

Christmas Poem

2008-12-26T01:12:00.007-05:00

my change of address Santa didn’t get,
I’ve waited for another day and yet
no reindeer on the roof, no presents
by the door, only hay in my manger –
I guess I’ll wait no more; go out looking
for a present [for myself]; a stranger
or an elf would be a welcome now
to sit with me and joke with me and
tell me to ‘get a life’ and be thankful
for the friends and caring family I have
and then to go and find a wife [NOT!]

Santa, Santa, Santa...

2008-12-20T07:55:00.002-05:00

I had to add this link a little early: Santa!

Here we go again!!!

2008-12-12T11:07:00.002-05:00

Have decided to reinstate this blog. It will start on January 1 of 2009.

EXIT!

2008-02-26T22:06:00.005-05:00

I won't be blogging at this site anymore. The 'Turning 70' blog has outlived its usefulness. It was created for a specific purpose and now I have moved on.

continuing with: www.mofongoman.blogspot.com for restaurant news

and starting new: www.tjjfpoems.blogspot.com for my poetry

will start soon a travel blog [details forthcoming]

Thanks for reading and the comments!
Thomas

War/Dance

2008-02-18T22:31:00.006-05:00

Saw this movie 'War Dance' tonight at Real Art Ways [where else can you see decent movies?].
It was shocking and brilliant. Reviews went from pan [emotional pornography] to praise [will win the Oscar]. It really affected me as I was expecting the 'dance' to be the core of the movie but 'war' was. How these children can survive in that environment is beyond belief. But everyone should see it; there is hope!

LES ESCAILLES DE MEMOIRE

2008-02-16T22:15:00.005-05:00

Saw this performance of 'Les Escailles de Memoire' [Scales of Memory] tonight..

This is dance. A wonderful performance by a collaboration of two groups: Compagnie Jant-Bi from Senegal and Urban Bush Women from NYC. The work premiered in Florida last month. So we got to see it at only a month old here in Middletown at Wesleyan's CFA.

Superb dancing and choreography! Dance doesn't get much better than this.

three more words...

2008-02-11T15:48:00.000-05:00

bigotry...

2008-02-08T09:52:00.000-05:00

Moisés Kaufman spoke last evening at the CFA Cinema at Wesleyan [free]. He discussed his writing of 'The Laramie Project' and matters concerning the direction of modern theater. He was a very engaging speaker and the cinema was packed. Liz Lerman of the New York Dance Project was in the audience. She greeted me but I am sure she didn't remember that I was a 'star' pupil of hers during the summer of 2005.

'Groundbreaking writer/director Moises Kaufman will discuss his innovative methods of creating film and theater works that address issues of democracy in America. Moises Kaufman is a Tony- and Emmy-nominated director and award-winning playwright. His plays Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde and The Laramie Project have been among the most performed plays in America over the last decade. Mr. Kaufman is also the founder and Artistic Director of Tectonic Theater Project, a laboratory for new works in theater and film based in New York'. from Wikipedia

He is also the author of "I Am My Own Wife' which I saw at Hartford Stage last year.

YES WE CAN!

2008-02-07T16:05:00.000-05:00

Thank you will.i.am for letting me share this great message.

Symphonic Workshop

2008-02-06T21:32:00.000-05:00

Attended a fantastic symphonic workshop this evening at Wesleyan's Crowell Hall [free].

David Amram, composer, conducted his 'Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie.' The music was played by the Wesleyan University Orchestra; all non-music majors. The song was 'This Land is Your Land' and the concert was introduced by Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter [Arlo's sister]. She is responsible for the commission for the work to be composed.

The players, all sixty of them, played remarkably well for students that are not Music Majors. Angel Gil-Ordoñez, Music Director, should well be proud of this group.

Shower Dance

2008-02-04T19:52:00.000-05:00

Called International Ministries today to check on my March assignment in Brazil. My mentor is off to Thailand and she said she would have to do the 'shower dance' there. I guess I invented that term. It means to put your dirty clothes on the floor of the shower and dance on it to use the soap and shampoo residue. That way you conserve water, multitask and don't have to go to the wash house. When in doubt, improvise!

Yael Naim [¡yOU rULE!]

2008-01-25T09:09:00.003-05:00

This is the best video [and the music for the new MAC Air laptop].

commercialism, sexism, racism...

2008-01-24T23:07:00.000-05:00

thoughts on an Irish poem...

2008-01-18T17:33:00.001-05:00

Thoughts on “Swineherd” by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanán
from 'Voices and Poetry of Ireland, pp. 76-77

She says [after retirement]:

‘…I want to lie awake at night
Listening to cream crawling to the top of the jug
And the water lying soft in the cistern…’

and I continue:

I don’t want to lie awake at night
anymore listening to the orange bedroom walls
rearrange themselves [anew]
for
I want to deeply sleep at night
dreaming of dancing in a parquet-floored studio
and count out each new step
but
I can want and then can fail
to fulfill this destiny [alone] without any help or
guidance from earthly powers
and
I do want to be so alive again
that retirement becomes an age where one can
sleep or dream or be or not!

...casting the net...

2008-01-16T22:20:00.000-05:00

This will be the logo for our Lenten campaign to bring new people into the congregation.

On Palm Sunday we will sponsor a 'Bring a Friend to Church' campaign. There will be a special service and then a potluck dinner. Hopefully we will be able to show off our church and attract new members.

Matthew 13:47 'Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind...'

aging...

2008-01-14T09:12:00.001-05:00

"The genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age which means never losing your enthusiasm" -- Aldous Huxley

from the MILE: Milestones in Lifelong Education at Middlesex Community College website.
I will be giving a presentation there on Friday, January 25th entitled: Travel Talk.

memories...

2008-01-12T10:11:00.000-05:00

"Memories of the past would return to us more often if only we sought them out, sought their intense sweetness. But we let them slumber within us and, worse, we let them die, rot, so much that the generous impulses that sweep through our souls when we are twenty we later call naive, foolish...Our purest, most passionate loves take on the depraved appearance of sordid pleasure".

from 'Fire in the Blood' by Irène Némirovsky; pages 105-6

News from JAMI

2008-01-11T07:20:00.000-05:00

Just received this postcard yesterday from Herbert Lucas, Missionary in Guiné-Bissau, Africa. He and his family sent the following message:

Grace and Peace!
We missed you very much. Herbert and I remember always your time with us here in JAMI [Belo Horizonte, Brasil]. You taught us not only English, but you taught us about God's power. Through your life we were able to better understand about Isaiah 40:28 to 31.

Thank you! In God's Love
Desiré, Herbert, Natã

bloginfo: Isaiah 40: 28-31

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

A Tribute...

2008-01-10T00:02:00.000-05:00

I will leave it to the true poets this time:

from Oscar Wilde's "To L.L."

'Could we live it over again,
Were it worth the pain,
Could the passionate past that is fled
Call back its dead!

Well, if my heart must break,
Dear love, for your sake,
It will break in music, I know,
Poets' hearts break so.

But strange that I was not told
That the brain can hold
In a tiny ivory cell,
God's heaven and hell'.

and from Gerry Corr's "First Annual Report"

'That's about it for now, my dear,
Except to say the blubbering is ceased
And sorrow's sickly syrup of self
Expunged from the menu

Well...in hope and in prayer, that is,

My love'

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T10:43:00.001-05:00

"There are two ways of looking at things, don't you think?
From the perspective of the future and from the perspective of the past and things can look very different depending on which view you choose".

from 'Heart So White' by Javier Marías; page 233

Island Memories

2007-12-25T09:37:00.001-05:00

Truk High School c.1965

Holidays are celebrated in so many different ways. This picture [found on the internet] was taken at Truk High School in the Caroline Islands of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. I taught at this high school in the early 60's. The students would perform this war dance during the holidays.

It is an exciting memory of times gone by; never to be visited again. The island has gone back to its original name of Chuuk and the island group is now part of the Federated States of Micronesia.

My children grew up here. We lived on Truk for four years and then on Ponape, a neighboring island district, for one more year. Two of my very best friends worked here with us but stayed for seven years. They now live in Hawaii and stayed with me in Barcelona this year to help celebrate my birthday.

Meri Kirisimas! to all and to all good memories!

Romans 12:15

2007-12-19T08:40:00.001-05:00

...rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn...

heaven...

2007-12-18T11:27:00.000-05:00

"Almost everyone in heaven has someone on Earth they watch, a loved one, a friend, or even a stranger who was once kind, who offered warm food or a bright smile when one of us had needed it. And when I wasn't watching I could hear the others talking to those they loved on Earth: just as fruitlessly as me, I'm afraid. A one-sided cajoling and coaching of the young, a one-way desiring and loving of their mates, a single-sided card that could never be signed".

from 'The Lovely Bones,' by Alice Sebold; page 245

alive...

2007-12-16T18:20:00.000-05:00

the young, the beautiful, the maimed are there
hoping that we will care, or not care enough
to notice or stare at what is pointedly missing

a skateboader; young, bright in his teen years,
traveling diagonally across the busy street
pushing with an aluminum rod his slender body
one leg missing below the knee but not
disguised or hidden but there for all to see

a handsome twenty-something in a wheelchair
swiftly maneuvering the health club floor
pushing to the gym where he will practice shots
a basketball cradled in his lap, the blanket
softly covering the tragic loss of both his legs

the young, the beautiful, the maimed are there
and I am here, a little tattered around the edges
but whole and hale and thankful to be alive

Isaiah 9:6

2007-12-06T12:10:00.000-05:00

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

This is the greeting on my Christmas card from International Ministries, American Baptist Churches, USA

The Power of Song

2007-11-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

Saw this movie, The Power of Song: Pete Seeger, tonight at Real Art Ways. It was just released and with a five star rating it was a powerful chronicle of one the most important cultural icons of our time. This song, 'Bring'em Home' is so apropos even today!

a lament...

2007-11-28T11:28:00.001-05:00

LONDON - A rare enamel-and-gold Faberge egg that had been in the Rothschild banking family for more than a century sold for record-setting $18.5 million at auction Wednesday.

AND THIS HOLIDAY SEASON MILLIONS WILL DIE OF HUNGER!

Hunger and World Poverty

About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every three and a half seconds. Unfortunately, it is children who die most often.
Yet there is plenty of food in the world for everyone. The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish themselves. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. This makes them increasingly less able to work, which then makes them even poorer and hungrier. This downward spiral often continues until death for them and their families.

Hunger and World Poverty Sources: United Nations World Food Program (WFP), Oxfam, UNICEF.

Matthew 6:27

2007-11-26T13:10:00.000-05:00

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

¿Creen ustedes que por preocuparse vivirán un día más?

Qui de vous, par ses inquiétudes, peut ajouter une coudée à la durée de sa vie?

Sino sa inyo na sa pagkabalisa ay makapagdaragdag ng isang siko sa kaniyang tangkad?

Clock at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Today's thought...

2007-11-25T07:35:00.000-05:00

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-23T11:25:00.000-05:00

Thank you for my many blessings; family and friends.

I spent the last two days with those closest to me. Thankfulness does not come easy in this materialistic world but I try to remember that which has made my world so beautiful. We all have losses but there comes a time to forge ahead and be thankful for what we still have and what is yet to come.

The movie, 'Buddha's Lost Children' has made an indelible mark on my soul. I hope the future will allow to continue to serve and be part of the greater world. There is so much yet to accomplish...

Buddha's Lost Children

2007-11-20T06:48:00.000-05:00

Saw this move at Real Art Ways last night. Recommend it to everyone! The photography is brilliant, the music is great and the story leaves you with a message of true hope for the world [if only we could reach out to others].

"Buddha's Lost Children will challenge your views on childhood, parenting, schooling, spirituality, and what we have the power to do, as individuals, to support the children in our struggling communities. I left the film inspired and humbled." Dominic Cappello, author of Ten Talks About Violence

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from Wikipedia:
Buddha's Lost Children is a 2006 documentary film by Dutch director Mark Verkerk. The feature film tells the story of Khru Bah Neua Chai Kositto, a Buddhist monk who helps orphaned children in the Golden Triangle area of northern Thailand. The film opened in Dutch cinemas in September 2006.

The film won the International Documentary Grand Jury Prize (2006) at the Los Angeles AFI Fest, the Jury Award for Documentary (2007) at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the Best Global Insight Film (2007) at the Jackson Hole Film Festival, the David L. Wolper Best Documentary Award (2007) at the Napa Sonoma Valley Film Festival, the City of Rome Award (2006) at the Asiaticafilmmediale in Rome, the Crystal Film (2006) at the Netherlands Film Festival, and the Silver Dove (2006) at the Leipzig DOK Festival

Oedipus wrecks Mozart...

2007-11-18T15:49:00.000-05:00

This weekend I attended two presentations at Wesleyan. The first, Friday evening at the CFA, was a student production of Sophocles' 'Oedipus Rex'. The set was fantastic: an abandoned construction site. The players all wore masks which contorted their voices. This caused several of the leading roles to shout their lines; the Greek chorus did a much better job. All in all, I was a fun night [if murder, incest and mayhem are appealing to you] and cost a whole $5.

Saturday evening I attended the Opera/Oratorio Ensemble Class presentation of 'Mozart Miniatures'. This was held in Crowell Hall. The young singers: 3 sopranos, 4 altos, 3 basses and a 'borrowed' tenor were at different points of singing ability. This too was a fun evening for $4. They sang everything from the 'Gloria' from the Mass in C Major to Opera Scenes, the best being 'La ci darem' from Don Giovanni.

'The City"

2007-11-11T08:38:00.000-05:00

Last night at Wesleyan's Goldsmith Family Cinema we saw the 1939 film, The City, with live accompaniment of Aaron Copeland's music by the Wesleyan University Orchestra. Angel Gil-Ordoñez conducted the orchestra, Jeanine Bassinger introduced the film and John Bassinger and others narrated. There was a post-screening discussion with several Faculty members of differing areas of study presenting. This was another terrific free evening on the Wesleyan campus!

musings on the tenth

2007-11-10T17:05:00.001-05:00

to come, to leave, to stay away,
to try to pray
another exit, another day

a mournful song my ipod played
while chill winds blew the leaves away
so clean the lawn and bare
awaiting a yuletide ‘blanket’ there

the date was right, the time was wrong
I tried to pray
another exit, another day

Tosca

2007-11-02T07:26:00.000-05:00

Saw TOSCA last evening at the Mortensen Theater of the Bushnell, a good production,
but...
do all male opera stars have to be so corpulent? How Tosca fell in love with Cavaradossi is a mystery to me
and...
my favorite part of the opera was the 'Te Deum' at the end of Act I. The ensemble singing was great including the children's choir
but...
where was the shepherd? Act III starts with lots and lots of church bells and never went anywhere. That was where the Shepherd was supposed to sing an aria but no one appeared onstage [and there was no one to take a bow at the end either]

Brian Brooks

2007-10-27T20:26:00.000-05:00

"Pushing the boundaries of physical and emotional space, choreographer Brian Brooks creates dances that test the limits of human strength and endurance. He gives a rare solo performance at Wesleyan University featuring live dances from his series of monochromatic pieces in pink, orange, green, white and blue, and I'm Going to Explode, his most recent work. The program also features excerpts of animated and live videos that include his first performance marathon, in which Brooks danced at eleven different public locations in New York City within eight hours". [from the Wesleyan website]

Saw Brian tonight at '92 Theater at Wesleyan and he gave a seamless presentation of his works from 1997 to 2007. He interspersed dances with videos and held the performance to a non-stop one hour.
His latest 'I'm Going to Explode' was, for me, the most interesting. It dealt with deconstructed movement in space and change in direction. The video 'Might' was the most intriguing with some of the best editing I have seen. It captures the same dance being done in public places in NYC. The set installation in 'again again' was frightening. It was a huge plastic globule that gradudally enveloped the stage and almost the front row.

Pipescreams!

2007-10-26T20:28:00.001-05:00

Attended 'Pipescreams' a Halloween Organ Concert at The First Church of Christ in Glastonbury this evening.

The music program included two Bach numbers [Toccata and Fugue and a Fuga], a Robert Louis Stevenson set of poems with accompanying organ music, a parade of children in costume to March aux Flambeau by Clark and several other scary, showy pieces. Our Central Baptist Director of Music, Kari Miller, ended the prohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifgram with a Scherzo by Guilmant.

The concert was a fundraiser for the High School Organ Competition to be held at the Storrs Congregational Church on May 17, 2008.

found poetry...

2007-10-24T13:44:00.000-05:00

I SAW A FLOCK OF REDWINGS
1963
James D. Foran

I saw a flock of redwings late this afternoon, and
I heard their reedy chorus from the swamp down there below.
This convocation in the swamp is yet another sign
That a promise made so long ago is being kept on time.
An atavistic urge inside welcomes back the Spring,
And a pagan prayer takes form as hope replaces fear.
The urge to dance as savages, to yell and shout and run,
The spongy sod, the birds return, the green buds swelling in the sun,
All take me back in mind and time to some less complex thing.
And so in empathy with those long dead returns again with Spring.

bloginfo: This poem was written by my father who died in 1992.
blognote: I found the poem while sorting out genealogy info.

Emily Dickinson lecture...

2007-10-22T15:15:00.000-05:00

reflections after a lecture on Emily Dickinson
MILE @MCC, October 22, 2007

dialog with emily dickinson
poem #341

"after great pain a formal feeling comes
the nerves sit ceremonious like tombs"
dully staring off into space where nothing
echoes or cares or deems importance
"the stiff heart questions was it he that bore
and yesterday or centuries before"
or she that birthed from goddesses there
on high in athens where creation came to be
"the feet mechanical go round
of ground or air or ought"
circling endlessly in arcs of light and dew
until the dullness of pain o’ertakes anew
"a wooden way
regardless grown"
stultifying and resisting growth and in
its resistance creates the gem of grief
"a quartz contentment like a stone"

"this is the hour of lead"
no precious metal here hidden in the clay
but dross and slag to play the wounded
"remembered if outlived"
or outloved or overborne of joy
the act of being cannot overcome death
"as freezing persons recollect the snow
first chill then stupor then the letting
go"

Chick, the Great Osram

2007-10-21T07:46:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, Hartford was the center of the art world—or very nearly so. It began in 1927, when the Wadsworth Atheneum, the oldest public art museum in America, hired the twenty-six year-old Arthur Everett Austin, Jr. to become its director.

CHICK, THE GREAT OSRAM

By David Grimm
Directed by Michael Wilson

In 1927, a passionate and rebellious new director began a career at the Wadsworth Atheneum that would shake up the city and make Hartford a center of the international art world. Based on the life and career of A. Everett (“Chick”) Austin, Jr., Chick, The Great Osram reveals the complex and passionate man whose energy and romantic vision inspired, infuriated and entertained.

This is a great production; don't miss it. There was a very sparse audience at today's matinée but it was the first Sunday of the run. The set is great, the 'dialog' runs along at a fantastic rate and the actors are perfectly cast.

Sarah Callinan

2007-10-20T17:06:00.000-05:00

No, Sarah, we are not stalking you. We just like to hear you sing. Attended your recitals at South Church in Hartford and St. James Church in Farmington. Keep up the great work!

'Time In'

2007-10-19T20:57:00.000-05:00

Attended Judy Dworin's Performance Project's 'Time In' tonight at the '92 Theater at Wesleyan. The project is described as; 'a collaborative performance piece reflecting on time as experienced by a group of women in prison.' The combination of the Women of the Cross a capella singers, dancers and sign language interpretation was stunning.

It was a very dramatic rendering and the '92 theater was the perfect place on the Wesleyan campus to host this type of presentation. I usually don't like '92 for performances but tonight's show proved me wrong.

the mermaid...

2007-10-16T09:04:00.001-05:00

the mermaid sits and stares at the pearl she has caught
and holds in a shell, her eyes downcast in captivity
the nubile body glimmers with tresses floating in the breeze
she is displayed encased in an antique library desk
the color of the sea, a convex window foiling her escape

originating in spain, this lladró creature, was rescued from
a tourist dock-side, cruise ship port shop in Copenhagen and
was to be a gift to another sea creature, a pisces, now dead
never having seen the ceramic sculpture gift hidden until
that next christmas when she was hospitalized and dying

the mermaid remains a signal, a ghost, recalling the joys of
our life together now over and but a memory that flits about
a gift and its recipient both held captive, both encased, in
places different; one near, one far, one inside and one out,
lifeless but both evoking moments from the past, where now?

'three cherry tomatoes'

2007-10-10T15:23:00.000-05:00

alone tonight
[rewritten from may 10, 2006]
october 10, 2007

alone tonight
I drive, I wait, I talk and cry
I live and die each memory of your passing

visiting your rainy grave today,
I left three cherry tomatoes from the backyard garden
upon your bronzed and shiny marker
an orphaned plant struggled up amidst the flowers
the seed of which was left there rampantly by some passing bird
and produced this autumn crop I share with you

alone tonight
I type, I edit, I create and rhyme
remembering the time before your passing

In Search of Mozart

2007-10-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

Saw this movie tonight at Real Art Ways in Hartford. The Hartford Courant reviewer sure got this one wrong with two stars. A most comprehensive review of Mozart's life with snippets of performances both concert and opera. The interviews were very interesting and lively. A most enjoyable and educational film!
Narrated by Juliet Stevenson, the film is a thorough treatment of his life and work that covers all the bases you would expect and mostly with the reverent tone you would imagine: the emergence of his miraculous talent, the massive tour of European capitals he embarked on as a boy with his father and sister, the return to gloomy old Salzburg, the allure of Vienna, his great successes in the 1780s, the mysterious commission of the Requiem, and so on. Most of the stories have been told in countless program notes and biographies -- how exactly we are still "in search of" Mozart is never made clear -- but they are assembled here in one smoothly flowing and easily digestible narrative that serves as a fine overview and introduction.

Driving Miss Daisy

2007-10-06T18:33:00.001-05:00

Saw Theater Works' great production of 'Driving Miss Daisy' this afternoon. Rosemary Prinz rules!

C'mon, you all know the story and probably saw the movie and/or the play. But the one here at Theater Works was great. The whole cast [all three of them] was very good. Ms. Prinz' aging from 72 to 90+ was ever so believable. The ending was just that, the perfect ending.

They have even extended the run. Tickets are limited; go see it!

Sanyog @ Navaratri Festival

2007-10-05T17:04:00.000-05:00

Attended one part of the Navaratri Festival at Wesleyan tonight. This was the dance concert featuring Madhu Nataraj and Satyanarayana Raju. The concert was named 'Sanyog' which means union. Each dancer comes from a different region and performs a different dance form: Madhu in Kathak form and Satya in Bharatanatyam form. The female dancer, Madhu, was lyrical, danced in upright twirling style and mimed many of the story actions while Satya was angular, more floor-based and used rhythmic foot patterns. Both dancers used very expressive hand movements.
They opened with Vandana, an obeisance to Shiva and Shakti. Then each danced two solos. The finale was a combination of Tarana and Tillana with each dancer trying to outperform the other.
The performance at Crowell Concert Hall was very well attended with a large number of the Indian community present. The hall was decorated beautifully with garlanded railings, altars beside the stage, flowers on stage and a huge wall hanging to backdrop the dancers.

Happy Birthday to Me [again...]!

2007-09-30T18:19:00.001-05:00

Walked into a 'surprise' birthday party today in Marlborough [big house]. Lots of special people there: 2 sons, 2 grandchildren, M and G, QDiL [hostess], M and N, J and B. Decorations were done by granddaughter.
Great food [this should be on the mofongoman.blogspot.com blog]; Shrimp Cockatil, Lox and Rye bread with an Apple Horseradish spread, Smoked Oysters, Brie and Grapes. Then Chicken Cordon Bleu [younger son's speciality], Sausage, Meatball and Peppers in a fab sauce with Spaghettini, Salad.

For dessert there was a Cupcake Tower [70?], Pastries from Modern Bakery in Boston [Medford?] and Brownies.
Great conversations outisde on the deck overlooking the woods. Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely but not as much as I did. I usually hate these big party thingies [maybe that's why I spent the real birthday in Barcelona] but this one was especially wonderful.
Thanks, everyone!

Our Town @Hartford Stage

2007-09-28T21:53:00.000-05:00

Thursday evening we saw Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town' at Hartford Stage. We had previously seen Hal Holbrook in the starring role at the technical rehearsal but he was ill and did not take the part. 'Scrooge' filled in and he did an admirable job. But I just never got truly 'into' the play. The last act was the most poignant. Most found it depressing and morbid; I found it very uplifting. It hit many of the hotspots of my grieving.

Act III [as described by Wikipedia] Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the living, the dead observe the living while seated in their "graves". Among the dead are Mrs. Gibbs, Mrs. Soames, and Simon Stimson. Emily soon joins them. As Mrs. Gibbs tells them of Emily's death during childbirth, Mrs. Soames makes the remark, "My, wasn't life awful - and wonderful," a line that somewhat summarizes the whole play, showing that life has both its upsides and downsides and that we never really notice the importance of our lives while we live them.

This last act reminds me of a bible passage and the poem I wrote on that subject: Questions for Isaiah 57: 1-2

Terror, war, tribulation, sorrows;
You are not here to witness these troubled times!

‘The righteous pass away;
The godly often die before their time.
And no one seems to care or wonder why.
No one seems to understand
That God is protecting them from the evil to come.
For the godly who die will rest in peace’.

Is this the reason you are gone?
Were you not to be a witness to this worldly despair?

Could we have not endured this together?
Seeing the world end, holding each other’s hands in fear?

An earthquake threatened us in Balayan -
Kasoy allergic reaction closed your trachea -
A sebaceous cyst was removed in Manila -
Your baby’s dysentery took us to the edge -

We survived these episodes but who can say
That no one seems to care or wonder why you are gone?

But if you are resting in peace then let me
Be the one to witness the evil yet to come!

Spanish influence at Wesleyan

2007-09-25T05:57:00.000-05:00

Two nights in a row I have been at Wesleyan for concerts. Who says you need a rest after travel. Anyway, it's a continuation of my trip to Barcelona as each concert had a Spanish influence

Sunday evening at Crowell Concert Hall I heard a Flamenco Music Concert [$5]. It was not very well attended but I enjoyed it in my own 'private section'. Ms. Zamora is definitely not one of the 'big ladies' you see and hear singing at a Flamenco tablao. She seemed a lot more suited to zarzuela and opera.
"Soprano Camille Zamora, who recently shared the stage with Placido Domingo in a lead role at the Los Angeles Opera, and Turkish guitarist Cem Duruöz, who has been regularly performing on four continents, will join their talents to take the audience through "A Mediterranean Journey." The two Juilliard alumni will perform Flamenco-inspired songs from Spain, Italian arias and traditional Argentine Tangos as well as Turkish, French and Sephardic folksongs with solo guitar interludes".

Monday evening I attended a concert at the Chapel [free] by Zarabanda entitled 'Domenico Scarlatti and His World'. Scarlatti spent a lot of time in Spain so that was the Spanish connection there.
"A concert commemorating the 250th anniversary of Domenico Scarlatti by the acclaimed Spanish ensemble Zarabanda. Alvaro Marías, recorder and traverso; Angel Luis Quintana, violoncello; Miguel del Barco Daaz, harpsichord". The concert also included the work of his father, Alessandro, and a work by Misón. The concert was very well attended and the group ended up playing three encores which included Couperin's 'The Nightingale' and a Handel [which was fantastic].

BCN moments to remember...

2007-09-18T10:56:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of the moments I will remember from my birthday trip to Barcelona, my favorite city in the world...

...being presented with a bottle of cava [Catalan champagne] by the 'Jefa de la Casa' after my birthday at Can Solé in Barceloneta

...eating true Catalan food in the cafeteria at the Monserrat Monastery and viewing the mountains out the windows

...visiting the statue of 'La Moreneta' [the brown virgin] in the Monserrat Cathedral and touching her hand

...breakfasting outside at DCafe on the corner by my rented apartment with Camila as our waitress

...dining alone at Can Culleretes, the city's oldest restaurant [1786], in the Ciutat Vell with the best gazpacho yet

...attending the Sara Baras Ballet Flamenco performance at the Teatre Liceu and remembering seeing her in Madrid with Jean

...listening to a Guitar Duo Concert at the Basilica de Sta. María del Pi and sweating in the night heat

...riding the Metro and knowing where I was going [most of the time]

...living in an apartment in the Eixample neighborhood and feeling like I belonged there

...eating at sidewalk cafes and ordering in Spanish and getting what I thought I ordered

...attending Mass at the Barcelona Cathedral and understanding most of the sermon

...buying flowers at the Concepció Market up the street from the apartment

...revisiting the marvels of Antoni Gaudi's marvelous architecture and climbing down the steps from the top of a 55 metre spire at the Sagrada Familia church

...sharing my expertise of language and knowledge of the city with family and friends

...praying in the Basilica Sta. Maria del Mar, the most beautiful church ever

...having the waitress at Set Portes tell me I was ordering too much and she was right

...waiting for a table at Ateneo in the Plaça Miquel and having it be worth the wait: the music, the food and the ambience of the evening

...walking down an alley and finding the Palau de la Musica, a Modernista marvel, and then hearing Mendelsohnn's 5th Sonata for Organ in the grand hall

...finding the lost Metro ticket shredded to a pulp in the pocket of my Tshirt after washing it

...seeing the classical works of both Picasso and Dalí and beginning to understand their genius'

...eating a dinner of bread and coldcuts in the dining room of my very own apartment

...taking the Renfe train to Figueras to see the Dalí Museum and finding it

...finding the Botero 'Cat' in the Rambla de Raval and discovering she is a he!

...riding the funicular from the Montjuic station to Paral.lel for just the cost of a Metro ticket

...having a Filipina waitress at Els 4 Gats restaurant and conversing in Tagalog

...being invited to San Salvador by my seatmate on the Iberia flight home and thinking about really visiting there

Happy Birthday to Me!

2007-09-05T12:45:00.000-05:00

Well, the dreaded birthday came and went. No fanfare, no meteors and no trauma.

I retrieved an email at an internet cafe in Barcelona that evening from a friend welcoming me to my early 70's. I had just been feted to a wonderful dinner at Can Sole in Barceloneta. Every guidebook says that they serve the best paella; I agree. As we were leaving the restaurant, the proprietress [learning that it had been my birthday celebration] called me back and opened a bottle of champagne [cava] to continue the partying. She was charming, my hosts were beaming and the arrival of the email all made it a birthday to remember.

The 'turning70' blog will continue as I feel this is more a beginning than the end of anything!

Chocolate Candy Apples

2007-08-30T12:30:00.001-05:00

Actually they are 2 miniversions of the picture. And they are not apples but chocolate and nuts. And they were presented to me in the lobby of the Hartford Stage Company. And I didn't open the package so didn't have to share them [with Hal Holbrook] or anyone else. So Happy Birthday to me!

bloginfo: they are from the candy counter at Whole Foods in West Hartford
blognote: they were a gift from two foodies who appear often [unnamed] on www.mofongoman.blogspot.com

'Our Town' Technical Rehearsal

2007-08-29T17:11:00.000-05:00

Went to a technical rehearsal for 'Our Town' last night [with another 150 people]. Donors to Hartford Stage are invited to these technical rehearsals. We saw the wedding scene and the director mainly worked on staging and lights. It was very interesting to see this work in progress. The many minute changes in the second run-through made quite the difference. When I see the full performance October 21st I will be sure to check out if any more changes have made to this scene.

[from the Saturday, September 25th Hartford Courant]
Josie de Guzman, Annalee Jefferies and Donovan Patton will join Hal Holbrook in the upcoming Hartford Stage production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town.

Gregory Boyd will direct the season opener for the Connecticut company, which is scheduled to begin performances Aug. 30 with an official opening scheduled for Sept. 7. The limited engagement will end Oct. 7.

Joining Holbrook as the Stage Manager will be de Guzman (Guys and Dolls) as Mrs. Gibbs, Jefferies (What Didn't Happen) as Mrs. Webb and Donovan Patton ("Blue's Clues") as George Gibbs.

Also new to the cast are Ross Bickell (as Dr. Gibbs), Jake Lombardi (Joe Crowell), Bill Kux (Howie Newsome), Erin Courtney (Rebecca Gibbs), Jordan Cyr and Andrew Shipman (both in the role of Wally Webb), Ginna Carter (Emily Webb), Nafe Katter (Professor Willard), Frank Converse (Mr. Webb), Noble Shropshire (Simon Stimson), Charlotte Booker (Mrs. Soames) and Robert Hannon Davis (Constable Warren)

The ensemble also includes Jessi Ehrlich, Justin Fuller, Brock Harris, Joseph Kornfeld, Tom Libonate, Rob Pawlikowski, Denise Walker and Debra Walsh.

Holbrook has a history with the Grover's Corners, New Hampshire-set Our Town. He played the role of Stage Manager for the 1977 television version opposite Ned Beatty, Barbara Bel Geddes and more.

Kamp Katrina

2007-08-28T16:45:00.000-05:00

Saw this last night and it is a gritty, dirty, depressing documentary. Real life, real people with an in-your-face format.
Real Art Ways does it again! www.realartways.org

Kamp Katrina, an award winning cinéma vérité documentary, follows the in-depth lives of a small group of people who have taken refuge in a garden transformed into a tent city by an extraordinary New Orleans couple, Ms. Pearl and her husband, David. Carnivalesque Films latest documentary uses tragedy as a tool to clarify and illuminate abandonment and madness of their lives. This film has no political targets; instead, it focuses on the struggle of individuals who attempt to pick up their lives in the face of loss, grief, and hope. [taken from the movie website info]

Barcelona 2006

2007-08-27T16:23:00.000-05:00

I am off to Barcelona again. This time to celebrate my birthday. My 70th birthday has been the impetus for this blog. I do think, however, that I will continue it [at least until I'm 71!].

This poem was written last year. When I get back I will post the rest of my blog entries for the trip. Hopefully the poem will be rewritten also.

on barcelona [2006]:

return to Barcelona, a bittersweet return
for this time I am alone [but not alone in company]

the Ramblas rage with spirit and false hope
‘Is this my destiny?’ the buskers cry;
a ballet student masquerading as a tree begs euros
the retired general paints himself in gold and poses for a photo

comida del día, the old timers’ secret, offers two courses,
pan, bebida y postre [IVAT included]
we window-shop menus at two each afternoon

Gaudi rules the streets but a new modernity has begun to steal his fame
gawking at La Pedrera, a pigeon shit on me today; good luck is on the way

In Barceloneta, after cava and tapas, I visit a little church
light some candles in your memory and weep openly
caressing the statue of the crucified Christ, I beg forgiveness

the morning sun sleeps in and does not appear until eight
this way it can stay until ten tonight and party late; we sleep

are you ready to come home? I guess the time has come

Proverbs 20:29

2007-08-25T09:06:00.000-05:00

The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.

the sun sets and rises again eternally
how many more sunrises will I see?

I revel in the colors of the ending night
but too subtle the hues of morning light
to appreciate the dawning of the day
like one's life that begins with the gray
luster of a newborn's breath and sigh
and marches on so colorfully to try
and match the marvels of God's creation

and comes the end; the evaporation
where my spirit will blend into the blazing sunset

Manufactured Landscapes

2007-08-21T10:56:00.000-05:00

A stunning visualization of crass commercialism and the effect it is having on earth. Saw this tonight at Real Art Ways in Hartford at 56 Arbor Street [www.realartways.org] 860.232.1006.

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is the striking new documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams—Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris. The film follows him through China, as he shoots the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution. With breathtaking sequences, such as the opening tracking shot through an almost endless factory, the filmmakers also extend the narratives of Burtynsky’s photographs, allowing us to meditate on our impact on the planet and witness both the epicenters of industrial endeavor and the dumping grounds of its waste.

AWARDS
Best Documentary Feature - Toronto Film Critics Association
Best Canadian Feature - Toronto Film Critics Association
Best Canadian Feature - Toronto Film Festival
Best Documentary - Genie Awards

Buy 2 and get 1 free!

2007-08-18T20:07:00.000-05:00

Here is the rest of my summer reading list. Barnes and Noble had this 'buy 2 get 1 free' deal, so here are my three choices:

Beasts of No Nation

In this stunning debut novel, Agu, a young boy in an unnamed West African nation, is recruited into a unit of guerrilla fighters as civil war engulfs his country. Haunted by his father's own death at the hands of militants, which he fled just before witnessing, Agu is vulnerable to the dangerous yet paternal nature of his new commander.

In a powerful, strikingly original voice that vividly captures Agu's youth and confusion, Uzodinma Iweala has produced a harrowing, deeply affecting novel. Both a searing take on coming-of-age and a vivid document of the dark face of war, Beasts of No Nation announces the arrival of an extaordinary new writer.

2007-08-18T20:02:00.000-05:00

On Hitler's Mountain

On Hitler's Mountain is a powerful, intimate, riveting, and revealing account of a seemingly halcyon life lived mere paces from a center of evil and madness; a remarkable memoir of an "ordinary" childhood spent in an extraordinary time and place.

Provocative and astonishing, Irmgard A. Hunt's On Hitler's Mountain offers a unique, gripping, and vitally important first-person perspective on a tumultuous era in modern history, as viewed through the eyes of a child -- a candid and fascinating document, free of rationalization and whitewash, that chronicles the devastating moral collapse of a civilized nation.

2007-08-18T19:57:00.001-05:00

The Professor and the Madman

When we're children, the easiest way for writers and teachers and parents to hook us with a story is to begin with the words "Imagine a time when there was no ..." Simon Winchester, in his splendid, oddball slice of history "The Professor and the Madman," has come up with an irresistible hook. Imagine a time, Winchester asks us, when there were no dictionaries. That's such an unthinkable prospect to most readers (and writers) that Winchester needn't do any more to keep our interest. But he does. Winchester, a Salon contributor, uses this utterly fascinating account of how a combination of scholarship and nationalism begat what would become the "Oxford English Dictionary" (a project that would eventually take 70 years and 12 volumes to complete) to tell the story of the odd friendship the project sparked. [from review in www.salon.com]

Cliff Lee

2007-08-16T22:08:00.000-05:00

Saw this artist at yesterday's Chinese Exhibition at the NBMAA and am fascinated by his work.

Born into a Taiwanese diplomatic family in Vienna in 1951, Cliff Lee went on to Study medicine at Hershey Medical School at Pennsylvania State Collage and graduated to become one of America's youngest and most successful neurosurgeons. After five years of fourteen hour days without a holiday Cliff felt the need to take a six month sabbatical and enrolled in a ceramics course at the James Madison University, Harrisburg, VA. There he instantly fell in love with the clay, met his future wife, Holly, and asked to extend his sabbatical for a further six months to complete a Master of Arts degree in ceramics.

Chinese Artists in America

2007-08-15T17:38:00.000-05:00

We visited the New Britain Museum of American Art today and saw this exhibition and roamed around viewing the rest of the galleries. I hadn't been back to the museum since they did the renovations and added a huge building. The place is spectacular and there is now enough room to show off their impressive collection.

Contemporary Combustion:
Chinese Artists in America
July 18-Oct.14, 2007

The NBMAA’s next major special exhibition, Contemporary Combustion: Chinese Artists in America, includes painting, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, photography, installation and video by 10 contemporary artists. The works range in date from 1978 to 2007, and explore the themes and techniques of traditional Chinese art and how they have been retained and transformed in the 20th-21st century.

The exhibition includes works executed in the Western, avant-garde and traditional Chinese styles. It will explore the themes of landscape, calligraphy/written word and the human figure. Scale, color and manipulation of form are distinctive contemporary components. Of the 10 artists, seven of them live and work in New York, while the others live in the Boston and San Francisco areas and Stevens, Penn. These impressive artists offer a sampling of the incredible range of art created by artists of Chinese descent active in the 20th and 21st centuries in the United States. Most of the work has been created within the last decade and offers a tempting glimpse of what lies ahead.

bloginfo: the Chinese exhibition runs until October 14th; don't miss it.
blognotes: parking is a cinch and we got free passes from the Cromwell library so saved a $7 senior entrance fee each
the cafeteria [run by Jordan Caterers the same as the Wadsworth Atheneum] is very pleasant and while there are not a lot of choices, the Moroccan Chicken Curry Wrap was excellent.

Tanglewood

2007-08-11T17:05:00.000-05:00

Went to Open Rehearsal at Tanglewood to hear the Boston Symphony today [$17]. Must be doing something right because the weather has been super for each day trip lately. Sat in the Shed for Haydn's Mass in Time of War and then went out onto the lawn and listened to Emmanuel Ax as soloist in the Mozart Piano Concerto. Ate lunch during Mozart's Overture to the Marriage of Figaro [the rehearsal schedule didn't match the program schedule].

Program for Sunday, August 12:
MOZART
Overture to The Marriage of Figaro

MOZART
Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat, K.271, Jeunehomme

Emanuel Ax (born June 8, 1949) is a Jewish-American pianist.
Born in Lviv, Ukraine (then a constituent republic of the Soviet Union) to parents Joachim and Hellen Ax, both Nazi concentration camp survivors. Emanuel began to study piano at the age of six and Joachim was his first piano teacher. When he has eight the family moved to Warsaw and then two years later, to Winnipeg, Canada where he continued to study music, including as a member of The Junior Musical Club of Winnipeg. In 1961 the family moved to New York City and Emanuel continued his studies at the Juilliard School under Mieczysław Munz. In 1970 he received his B.A. in French at Columbia University and became an American citizen.
Emanuel Ax is renowned not only for his poetic temperament and unsurpassed virtuosity, but also for the exceptional breadth of his performing activity. Each season his distinguished career includes appearances with major symphony orchestras worldwide, recitals in the most celebrated concert halls, a variety of chamber music collaborations, the commissioning and performance of new music, and additions to his acclaimed discography on Sony Classical.

HAYDN
Mass in Time of War
Haydn's Mass in Time of War, also called the Paukenmesse, was composed in 1796, following Haydn's return to Vienna after years in London, where he enjoyed immense popularity. Through Haydn's prominent use of tympani, we get the musical image of distant cannon fire from Napoleon's approaching armies, which greatly concerned the people of Austria at that time. The final Dona Nobis Pachem became both a prayer for peace and victory.

and more Summer reading...

2007-08-10T07:48:00.001-05:00

I opened this book for the first time today. The introduction speaks about four obstacles to obtaining your dream. The second obstacle is Love: 'We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream.' Today is another anniversary of the loss of love. But the author goes on to say, 'We do not realize that those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.' I often, being so focused on the loss of one love, forget that there are others that care for me.

From Publishers Weekly
This inspirational fable by Brazilian author and translator Coelho has been a runaway bestseller throughout Latin America and seems poised to achieve the same prominence here. The charming tale of Santiago, a shepherd boy, who dreams of seeing the world, is compelling in its own right, but gains resonance through the many lessons Santiago learns during his adventures. He journeys from Spain to Morocco in search of worldly success, and eventually to Egypt, where a fateful encounter with an alchemist brings him at last to self-understanding and spiritual enlightenment. The story has the comic charm, dramatic tension and psychological intensity of a fairy tale, but it's full of specific wisdom as well, about becoming self-empowered, overcoming depression, and believing in dreams. The cumulative effect is like hearing a wonderful bedtime story from an inspirational psychiatrist. Comparisons to The Little Prince are appropriate; this is a sweetly exotic tale for young and old alike.

Boston Harbor Trip

2007-08-09T17:30:00.000-05:00

A brilliant sunny day with azure sky and wispy white clouds, 51 Elderhostelers discovering the islands in Boston harbor on the UMass boat, Columbia. We left from Fan pier at exactly 10 in the morning after a commuter-filled traffic parade from Connecticut and finding easy parking [$11 for the day] in front of the Courthouse.
We sailed past Graves' Island Lighthouse and proceeded to the Boston Harbor Light where Sally the lighthouse keeper met us in full costumed regalia. We wandered the island and listened to the interpreters. But we weren't able to climb the lighthouse as it was being repaired after a 150 year respite.

Our next stop was Spectacle Island where we were served lunch under a tent and umbrellas in the Visitors' Center. The view was magnificent but the lunch was mediocre [until I discovered the freshly made Veggie Burgers]. An ice cream sandwich smoothed out the rest of the meal [remember the taste of soggy chocolate and sweet vanilla ice cream, yum].

We climbed to the top of Spectacle Island created from refuse and garbage and topped off with the remains of the 'Big Dig.' Wild blackberries picked from an overflowing prickery bush sweetend the walk to the top. It was not a steep grade but the sunny day became a little hot and the walk became a little strenuous. The view from the top was worth it; the Boston skyline in the distance. The walk back to the boat was downhill and easy.
The boat ride back was relaxing and the soft chop of the waves reminded us that it was time for a nap. But then there was the drive home to Connecticut...

Wordplay

2007-08-08T22:45:00.000-05:00

Saw this movie tonight. Very interesting documentary concerning something in which I spend a good deal of time. The winner of that year's contest in Stamford was so young I wonder what it did to the next year's machinations. Would like to see a follow-up with more recent info. Jon Stewart added a lot of humor to the lineup of commentators.

"Wordplay" focuses on the man most associated with crossword puzzles, New York Times puzzle editor and NPR puzzle-master Will Shortz. Director Patrick Creadon introduces us to this passionate hero, and to the inner workings of his brilliant and often hilarious contributors, including syndicated puzzle creator Merl Reagle. Along the way, the film presents interviews with celebrity crossword puzzlers such as Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, Mike Mussina and the Indigo Girls, who reveal their process, insight and the allure of the game.

Mahalia

2007-08-07T19:50:00.000-05:00

The Hartford Courant August 6th reviews states:
Gospel music is about spreading "good news in bad times."
So says the lead character in "Mahalia, A Gospel Musical" playing through Aug. 19 at the Hartford Stage Company.
There is plenty of good news in this production, which stars Frenchie Davis as the legendary Mahalia Jackson. Actor/musicians JMichael and Miche Braden play all the supporting parts. It's a clever device and makes efficient use of their many talents......

Saw this production tonight. It was very good but started 'thin'; necessary dialog to establish historical timeline seemed rushed.
The two supporting actors, JMichael and Miche Braden, were actually co-stars. They did a fantastic job of holding it all together. Miche's scene of driving down south was hysterical. Both could sing and Miche can surely dance. Frenchie Allen can really belt it out but it wasn't Mahalia!

bloginfo: Mahalia: A Gospel Musical is at Hartford Stage until August 19th and the house was very full. So if you intend to see it, do it now.
blognote: The bio for Frenchie Allen had a sticker pasted over the original. In removing the sticker I saw that the change was the removal of 'rose to her initial stardom with her sensational debut on American Idol [Fox]'. This did not appear in the doctored program. Guess there are really hard feelings there. Glad I wasn't the one who had to paste the new bio over the old one on the next 'bajillion' programs.

We Never Really Talk Anymore

2007-08-06T06:13:00.000-05:00

from this morning's New York Times:

Experts on language — the real ones, not those of us who merely use it — are having an intense debate about which species can talk. On one side are those who believe that only humans converse. On another side (this kind of debate can have many sides) are those who say, what about dolphins and whales and certainly the amazing Koko, the gorilla?

Koko has a sign language vocabulary of at least 1,000 words. She can recognize about 2,000 spoken words. And people pay attention. Once when she had a bad tooth, Koko signed the word for pain and pointed to her mouth and a medical team was rushed in immediately. The rest of us mammals can only envy her.

In a new book called “The First Word,” Christine Kenneally catalogs the complex debate over language and includes one particularly revealing experiment in which scientists put two male apes who knew sign language together. One might have expected these guys to start grousing about their keepers, to wonder at beings that are all thumbs and actually seem to enjoy giving away bananas. But, no, they started madly signing at each other, a manual shouting match, and in the end, neither appeared to actually listen to the other.

So, are two creatures actually conversing if they’re both talking and nobody is listening? Where does talking-without-listening put one in the animal brain chain?

Let’s see, talking without listening. Many wives can think of someone who might qualify. Teenagers do, easily. And parents of teenagers. Also, a lot of successful politicians and talk show hosts.

With a hot August and a long political season ahead, we might venture that what really separates human from ape is not the ability to talk in complete sentences. It is our underused capacity to listen.

The Namesake

2007-08-05T05:18:00.000-05:00

The Wadsworth Atheneum has a great summer movie schedule; we caught this one last night. Starts slowly and then explodes into crosscultural dilemmas. It goes back forth with solutions and then new problems. Well acted and good music.

'When the the Ganguli family moves from Calcutta to New York, they embark upon a lifelong balancing act to meld into a new world without forgetting the old. Though parents Ashoke and Ashima long for the family and culture that enveloped them in India, they take great pride in the opportunities their sacrifices have afforded their children. Paradoxically, their son Gogol is torn between finding his own unique identity without losing his heritage. Even Gogol's name represents the family's journey into the unknown'. [from the Moviefone review]

See the accompanying restaurant review at www.mofongoman.blogspot.com

latest reading...

2007-08-04T09:07:00.000-05:00

I have just started this book. The plot device is an interplay between Ahmad, a Muslim high school student, and Mr. Jack Levy, the high school Guidance Counselor. The boy is a devout, articulate mixed-race Muslim and the man is a tired, ready to retire non-practicing Jew. Looks like it will be very interesting.

'In his extraordinary and highly charged new novel, John Updike tackles one of America's most burning issues - the threat of Islamist terror from within. Set in contemporary New Jersey, "Terrorist" traces the journey of one young man, from radicalism to fundamentalism to terrorism, against the backdrop of a fraying urban landscape and an increasingly fragmented community. In beautiful prose, Updike dramatizes the logic of the fundamentalist terrorist - but also suggests ways in which we can counter it, in our words and our actions ...' Barnes and Noble review

You can see by its cover why I didn't take it on the plane. It could have been mistaken for a 'manual.'

Travel Hint

2007-08-02T22:21:00.000-05:00

Don't put your passport case or travel document holder in the front pocket of your airline seat!

I found a document holder with a Taiwan passport on the FLL to BDL flight on Tuesday. The seat assignment card showed that it had been left there on the flight up from Hartford. So the person who lost it may not have even known it was missing yet. I gave it to one of the flight attendants and he said he would post the information. What a terrible thing to happen on vacation.

Summer Readings... [just finished]

2007-08-02T08:51:00.000-05:00

MOTH SMOKE
BY MOHSIN HAMID
FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX
FICTION
247 PAGES

I just finished this book [recommendation found of elder son's blog]. It was my travel book from Hartford to Miami and back.
Definitely an intriguing read but a little confusing in the narrative concerning who really killed the boy on the bike. I did enjoy it.
Parts of the Salon review by Sudip Bose follow:

'"Moth Smoke" is set in the summer of 1998, when Pakistan detonated its first nuclear weapons in an escalating test-for-test with India. Like the atoms that must be split for a fission bomb to explode, modern-day Lahore is itself divided: between old and new, rich and poor, conservative and liberal. Lost amid this fractured society is Daru, a young man fired from his job as a banker, whose two great passions are hash and his best friend Ozi's wife, Mumtaz. Daru, an intellectual wastrel, has a kind of underworld existence; unable to afford electricity or air conditioning, he lives alone in sweltering darkness. Ozi and Mumtaz, in contrast, run with Lahore's urban hip, the sushi-and-mobile-phone crowd.

We are told early on that Daru has killed a boy. But did he really do it? The discovery of the truth leads us along Daru's downward flight from stability to desperation, from salaried banker to low-life addict. Daru is wracked by devastating hunger, for food and drugs as well as for the radiant Mumtaz. (Think Knut Hamsun writing Pakistani noir.) When Daru departs after a meal at his uncle's house, he is consumed by the aroma of leftovers: "The smell makes me hungry even though I've just filled my stomach with as much as I thought it could hold ... I wonder why my body has chosen this moment to give me such an appetite, when I can least afford it." The food Daru has just consumed is a luxury beyond his means, as is Mumtaz, with her glamorous life of sleek cars and elite parties, though that doesn't prevent him from pursuing her.

To tell Daru's story, Hamid employs multiple narrators, each with a distinct voice, none entirely reliable. This variety is, to my taste, a flaw, since none of the others is as finely pitched as Daru's tragic, ironic voice. When Daru isn't speaking, the prose tends to the flamboyant, with overworked metaphors and relentless punning, adding up to a bad Salman Rushdie impersonation. All in all, though, Hamid has turned a beautiful trick: He has made an old formula -- man, woman and cuckolded husband -- into something fresh and luminous. Rather like a moth turned into a butterfly'.

Gypsy Caravan: Where the Road Bends...

2007-08-01T09:47:00.000-05:00

Saw this movie last night at Real Art Ways in Hartford. Have been waiting for it as the trailers have been very enticing. The music is wonderful as is the dance.The insight into four different gypsy cultures is intriguing. The movie, though a bit long at two hours, is well worth the visit. Any visit to Real Art Ways is well worth the time...

'Musicians from different lands but sharing a common heritage come together for a concert tour that proves as revelatory for the participants as their audiences in this documentary. In 2001, American promoters persuaded five noted bands of gypsy musicians to join forces for what was billed as "the Gypsy Caravan Tour," but while these musicians appealed to many of the same fans, for the most part they had never met before going on the road together. The performers were Taraf de Haidouks, an 18-piece group from Romania whose lineup spans several generations; another Romanian group, the 11-piece horn ensemble Fanfare Ciocarlia; Antonio de Pipa's Flamenco Ensemble, which combines both music and dance in their performances; Maharaja, a Northern Indian group featuring musicians from all sides of Indian society; and Esma Redzepova, one of Macedonia's best and most acclaimed vocalists. As the tour wore on, the artists began to interact both musically and socially, and their different takes on gypsy music began to inform one another in new and interesting ways. Filmmaker Jasmine Dellal followed the tour with a camera crew, and When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan offers a look at the music these artists performed on stage as well as their interaction after the shows and on the road; the film also features individual interviews with the musicians back home after the tour was completed'. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

50,000 Beds

2007-08-01T07:44:00.000-05:00

Saw this installation Tuesday night at Real Art Ways. I had really been looking forward to it. The prepublicity was ginormous but it PUT ME TO SLEEP!

bloginfo: www.50000beds.net has some great videos of different pieces of this installation
blognote: I liked the 'By the Hour'; the piece by Jeffrey Miller where all the items on the bed get put into the correct place; and the 'holy bible' person under the bed

delayed plane blues...

2007-07-31T17:05:00.000-05:00

Now that I check the flight progress online, I am subject to all sorts of travel worries and insecurities.

Case in point: Delta flight #1507 was reported delated in its departure from BDL to FLL this Monday evening. After checking its [non]progress every hour, the plane had not left Hartford by the time it was due to land at Fort Lauderdale.

I called Delta and spoke with a very personable operator who helped me change the flight to one this morning.

The flight did eventually arrive at FLL at 11:00pm and flew back to BDL arriving at 2:00am. But I slept well in Miami Shores and now sit in the Delta Crown Lounge at the Fort Lauderdale airport. Since my hosts work today, I had to arrive at the airport at 8:30am for a 11:40 flight.

The security line had ONE person ahead of me and I was through the security ordeal in record time. So here I sit [away from the sweating masses] in the lounge partaking of the 'free' continental breakfast.

Another hour before boarding...

Backyard Spa/Miami Shores

2007-07-26T11:25:00.000-05:00

enclosed, private, solitary 'aqua'finement
a modern oasis sits squarely in the morning heat:
a plastic beachfront roiling crystal water

a blazing steamy sky languishes closely overhead
no brilliant blues today, no aqua here on the terrace
recovering from yesterday's tropical deluge

winds have shifted my landscape: natural and storebought;
leaves, branches and twigs litter the herringbone floor
pillows and cushions in disarray still limp and damp

no songbirds in the heat today, only man-made sounds:
a neighbor's lawn-cutting tractor hums and growls while
workers taptap a new roof into place across the street

but I am alone and pensive, reveling in 'being away'
yet longing for familiarity and remembering
what is lost and dreaming of what is yet to come my way