Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Uncle Gabe & Aunt Rose Marie. Debbie prepared a delicious feast & we had fun doing some oral history. We asked Uncle & Aunt about their courtship, engagement, Gabe's travels in the army, and wedding. We got some great vignettes about Grandmom and Grandpop: Grandpop carried his big wooden toolbox on his shoulder & walked 3 miles to & from the shipyard to work everyday for many years --- how's that for commuting? It was touching to hear about their lives together. They are wonderfully sweet people & a joy to be with.

Painting

This weekend I'll be working on my third piece in a series of painting/collages. They are evolving pretty well. I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time on this before too long!

Lighten Up

I've read a lot of very dark novels this year. So it was refreshing to encounter two in a row that are light and airy. Nicholson Baker's The Anthologist is about poetry, meter, rhyme, reading poetry, writing poetry & life. This short book is a running monologue of a middle aged, unemployed poet. He makes observations about poetry &, since it's Baker, random things around him & thoughts about life. It's fun, even if you know nothing about poetry, like me. The NYT called Sylvia Brownrigg's Morality Tale "divinely deadpan" & for once a jacket blurb is right on. A troubled woman marries & discovers life is not as expected with two step children & a husband who spirals down into divorce wars & money problems. She works in a stationery store & sort of falls in love with a kind, jolly, Zen-ish envelope salesman. They have lunches, get found out, trouble ensues, she sort of stops loving the man, & demands changes in her marriage. You'll smile.

October 12th

Mom left us on October 12th after a brief illness and a powerful fight. I was able to spend 5 days in the hospital with her along with two of my brothers. Hopefully we were able to comfort her with our presence. The viewing, Mass & funeral were in NJ, with her sisters, brother & extended family in attendence. Randy's eulogy & the priest's sermon captured her life: scholarship to college, science, theater, business owner, mother, compassionate & gracious friend. I thanked her then and always for my interest in music, art, literature, business and her support for my spiritual path and meditation. Be in Peace, Mom.

Mom Likes Me Best.

Brothers, sister, spouses, children gathered to celebrate Mom's 92nd birthday. Unfortunately, Mom was sick so she missed our lunch. We gave Randy a set of Japanese chisels in thanks for all of the time and energy he has spent caring for Mom over the past three years. At the end of his thank you remarks, he told us the real reason he has spent this time with Mom, by revealing the t-shirt that I gave him for Christmas....

92!

Debbie & soprano Judeth Shey Burns performed a recital for my Mom at the Woodlands for her 92nd birthday. It was a wide ranging program & they both sounded great! Mom was quite ill but enjoyed the music and the gathering of children & grandchildren to celebrate with her.

I'm not a mystery reader, but the setting for Skull Mantra, by Eiliot Pattison, hooked me: the mountains of Tibet. This book gives a brutally honest portrait of the life of Tibetans, after 50 years of Chinese genocide. If you are interested in the horrific plight of Tibetans in their own country, then give this a read. The tip of the iceberg: 1.3 million executed; 6,000 schools, libraries & monastaries destoyed; labor camps; forced relocation; "disapearances", brutal suppression of Tibetan religious practices & language. From Pattison's website: "I write about Tibet to give those who do not have the opportunity to travel there to understand what it feels like to witness an armed policeman assault a praying monk. ...the cause of Tibet does not mean a conversion to Buddhism, it means a conversion to compassion, self-awareness, human rights and political equality." It's a pretty good mystery novel, too. How's your Made-in-China microwave doing today?

Sam Adams' Photography

Our friend Sam Adams had a retrospective of his black & white photography at El Museo Cultural. Sam photographs street scenes & street theater, and has a wonderful knack for capturing the spirit of the place and the moment. He often focuses on older people and teens, a rich subject matter in his hands. He also shot some special situations such as the separation of Siamese twins in Viet Nam. Sam's photos are well composed & gorgeously printed the old fashioned way. The result is perfect contrast and saturation, with great compositions. This is so refreshing in our age of point-and-shoot slice of life photos with no attempt at composition or eye for color & contrast, found on every gallery's wall and winning prizes left and right, gimme a break! Thanks for your great work, Sam!

Patricia Racette sings cabaret

Opera soprano Patricia Racette sang a program of cabaret songs at the Lensic Theater. She was fantastic. I am very wary of opera singers doing jazz or cabaret programs because they usually sound like opera singers trying to sing jazz...negative outcome! Ms. Racette, however, grew up on this music & she nailed it. Her singing was as smoky as 20 year old Scotch. She sang "chest voice" for the entire evening. In fact, she warned the audience, "If you came for the high notes, you're not going to hear them tonight!" Craig Terry was her wonderful collaborative artist on piano. His day job is the Assistant Director of the Chicago Lyric Opera. But, he, too, began his career playing jazz and this was well evident. He played the hell out of the songs! A delightful evening!

First WOW

Finally, my first WOW book of the year: Susan Choi's A Person of Interest. This book is dense with insights, ideas & observations about marriage, friendship, betrayal, loneliness. At the end it morphs into Fugitive-esque suspense, without losing its literary stride. I worry that this will prevent the literati from giving the book its due, which is substantial.

The Book of Unholy Mischief, what a delicious stew. A chef in the Doge’s palace, dodging the Inquisition & a member of secret society protecting Knowledge, takes an orphan under his wing in the kitchen. Surprising mentions of The Present Moment sprinkled throughout. Oh, and lots of writing about food, wonderful food. The Buddha of Suburbia is the best Indian ex-pat in Britain novel that I’ve read. There’s certainly be a lot of them lately. I got to this one late, written in 1990. Fun portrait of actors & artists in the days of class warfare in Britain of the 60s & 70s. Some tough observations about families, love, self-discovery & the high costs of all three. Shift gears: Maynard & Jennica a quirky portrait of quirky NYers in present day, including using the word “like” frequently in speech by a few of the characters (oi vey). The structure of the book is a bit overbearing: one & two page monologues by all the characters are used to advance the story. A fun conceit, but for the entire 300 pages of the novel? OK, I’m being to hard on it, It’s funny at times & touching.

4th of July

Happy 4th of July, I'm glad I'm here in the USA! OMG, ain't that controversial?! Today I'm celebrating some of the best things about our country: art, literature & music!!! First, I finished a painting that I've been working on for a couple of weeks. It's quite different from recent works, related to chakras. Then I finished reading Sarah Dunn's secrets to happiness, which was a lot of fun. Think Saul Bellow collides with Sex in the City! When the protagonist see's The Cloud of Unknowing on her boyfriend's nightstand & he quotes Pema Chodren, I just about jumped! I am listening to a CD by Gil Shaham & Andre Previn of violin & piano sonate by Gershwin, Copland & Previn. Beautiful, tonal 20th Century music, gorgeously played.

So, red states & blue states you can kiss my keister......
My country is purple!

Mom's New Home

Debbie & I visited Mom at her new ALF this weekend. It is brand new & delightful. Her room is sunny & seems just the right size & arrangement for her mobility.The staff is wonderfully attentive & present everywhere. We ate several meals in the dining room with Mom, and they were quite good, & offered choices each time. We took her for a little outing on Furman's beautiful campus that is right next door & sat by a pond. Thanks again to Randy for arranging this and for everything he does for Mom each day!

Larissa Carlson Workshops

I did two workshops with Larissa Carlson at Full Circle Yoga, a great studio in Winter Park. Larissa has heavyweight credentials from Kripalu & she really delivered. A two day workshop on Pranayama, yogic breathing, was informative & a great experience. She presented 5 different techniques & connected them with asanas & meditation. Day three Larissa did a chakra yoga workshop, in which she included a series of seated & standing postures for the 7 major chakras, meditation, & the basics of the science of the chakras. The chakras are a big part of my personal practice, so I was glad to attend. I told Larissa how important her work is & encouraged her to continue. The world is crawling with celebrity yoga teachers who roll into conferences like rock stars & mainly teach yogaerobics, with no treatment of the other 7 "Limbs" of yoga. Larissa started the first class with an in-depth discussion of the 8 Limbs of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, a very unusual move. By the way, Patanjali told us that the purpose of yoga is to prepare the body & mind for seated meditation, something that is totally lost in the world of make-it-burn-yoga that substitutes sweat for insight. The 8 Limbs are a recipe for holistic, healthy living & personal growth. Oh, yes, we did sweat in Larissa's workshops, but the empasis was on insight & growth. Hooray, Larissa! A big thank you to Lewis & Susan for hosting her!

See: http://www.larissacarlson.com/ & http://www.fullcircleyoga.com/

Fun Recital

My oft' postponed recital finally happened & it was a fun night! I performed 12 original compositions on piano & electronic keyboard, most of them on the keyboard. Some utilized the remarkable electronic sound bank to cool effect! They ranged from a simple blues-jazz piano piece, "Film Noir", to rockin' guitar, "6 String", & some unusual techno in between. It was fun to share this music that's be percolating for the past 2 years with my closest friends. Lots of vino and conversation followed!

Joe Dispenza

We had the great opportunity to do a workshop with Joe Dispenza at The Crossings. Joe gained fame for his role in the movie "What The Bleep Do We Know?" Joe dealt with the bio-chemistry of the mind & body, & how it creates memories, habits, attitudes, & behaviours. He then worked with practical applications to change them. He is a fantastic speaker: energetic, articulate, generous. He traveled 200 days last year, to help people, his real mission. I had read his book & so looked forward to meeting him. He exceeded all my expectations. Thanks, Joe.

The Crossings

We went to The Crossings for a workshop & found a wonderful eco-conscious learning center, with great food, a beautiful spa & grounds. The Crossing's 200 acres & hiking trails rest in the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, which the founders, Ken & Joyce Beck, helped to create. The Becks have built a super-green enterprise, including a cutting edge water reclamation system. While, yes, there is a beautiful spa, the Becks' vision is for a learning center, & they have a roster of great workshops. The buildings are built with Texas limestone & have a theme that echos New England & the Romanesque! The Sidalgo Sanctuary is a beautiful & very special building, that reflects the approach of the Crossings & is unique among its competitors, even the more expensive ones! We will go back.

Il Divo

Il Divo was the standout film among the five we saw at the FFF. Superbly directed by Paolo Sorrentino, it had great acting, pacing and cinematography. It is the story of the often reviled Italian politican Gulio Andreotti. Sounds boring, but the way the material was handled was captivating. Somehow they presented this great villain with a compassionate hand, while accusing him of murders, manipulation, fraud. The actors who played Andreotti, Toni Servillo, and his faction were each perfect for their very different parts. It reminded me of The Lives of Others, but with gorgeous Italian cinematography!

Jon Voight at Florida Film Festival

We watched Midnight Cowboy at the FFF and heard Jon Voight interviewed for over an hour. He made very insightful and intelligent observations about the art of film making, and told lots of great stories, often with wonderful humor. Afterwards, he talked individually with people & of course signed autographs. He seemed to be a very thoughtful person, in every sense of the word.

PInk Lemonade Stand

Victoria Petrucelly's Pink Lemonade Stand is a big success! This morning there were lots of people & TV coverage! All proceeds are being donated to the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Victoria & her friend Jesse had long planned a lemonade stand. When her mother, Angela, was diagnosed with breast cancer, they decided to make it a PINK lemonade stand. Angela left us on Valentine's Day, and her memory is alive and well! Way to go, Victoria!

Wake

Angela's wake was a wonderful celebration of this extraordinary woman. Reid prepared three fantastic bulletin board sized photo collages of Angela's life. We all stood looking at them in amazement, laughing & crying. Angela is very photogenic & the photos captured her energy. For two hours, her friends and family poured out their hearts with wonderful stories & tributes. A big highlight was her three grade school friends and fellow cheerleaders from Long Island, christened "the Divas" by Victor. Angela's high school cheer leader jacket hung on the wall. Father John, the penultimate Irish priest who got to know Angela during her illness, summed it all up, "She deserved heaven more than earth."

Angela

Our dear friend Angela left us on February 14 after a brutal struggle with cancer and infections that wracked her body. She hopefully is in Light and Peace now. Angela was my truest, dearest friend. She was the Rock of Gibralter as COO/CFO of DRZ, and chief counselor to 30 people there who loved her and relied on her. She was the true Super Mom, somehow making costumes and baking theme cakes on top of her demanding job. She was a bright light who touched everyone around her. My wishes for healing and peace to her husband Reid, her young children Victoria and Vincent and her mother, father and family.

We celebrated our friend Bebe's birthday with her at dinner & joined some of her friends at a dinner party the next evening. Bebe appeared in her trademark black leather pants & black turtle neck. Her regime of swimming, Pilate's & hiking keeps her in incredible shape. She is busy in the studio. She is continuing the astronomy theme of last year's successful show of collages, in a larger mixed media format of painting & collage. The first two look fantastic! Another show is scheduled for March. Go Bebe!!

TASF

We recently visited the little house which was purchased by the Tibetan Assn. of Santa Fe, one of the Tibetan organizations which we support. We met Rigzin, who gave us a tour: two classrooms, a kitchen and a small hall. The classrooms are mainly used to teach children the Tibetan language, a practice that is illegal in their native country. In the hall, three gentlemen were wrapping and organizing a great many sutras. They are going to be placed in slots in two big shelves built by Tashi, who we also met. Rigzin offered us tea and asked us to sit down. We spoke at length with about the preservation of the Tibetan culture and the genocide occurring at the hands of the Chinese in Tibet (please see my Nov. 08 posting). He asked for advice on fund raising and grant writing to support the classes. We hope to be able to help.

Monica Yunus performed a lieder recital at Rollins, sponsored by the Marilyn Horne Foundation. The collaborative artist was Gerald Steichen on piano. The MHF supports the "art song" tradition by teaching and promoting young singers. I happen to be a lieder nut, I have dozens of lieder CD's and am glad for the MHF's efforts. Yunus mapped a great program including an anthology of Italian song, some Debussy favorites of mine, and some Rachmoninoff that I had never heard. She was born in Bangldesh to a Russian mother and loves to sing in Russian! Oh, she grew up in New Jersey, where many great people hail from! Yunus is a member of the Met Opera company.

I just finished reading Joe Dispenza's Evolve Your Brain. He is the "create your day" speaker in "What the Bleep Do We Know". He gives mountains of information about the chemistry of the brain & the mind-body complex. He explores how habits and reactions get "hard-wired", what the yogis call samskara. My interest is in how to change them, neuro-plasticity, and he provides a template for this. Some interesting cross-cultural intersections with the visualization techniques in Tibetan Buddhist meditation practices.

Ayers Family Christmas

Debbie, Jessica & I traveled to Lodi, WI for the Ayers' Family Christmas. Some 30 gathered for a great party organized by D's brother Greg & his wife Angie. We then had a lot of fun at Darlene & Tim's home with lots of nieces & nephews & presents. J spent an evening at a pizza party with all the cousins and had a nice time. Lodi had a heat wave, up from -15 degrees the prior week to the high twenties, hooray!

Jessica & I visited Grandmom on the way home from college. Grandmom was thrilled to see Jessica & we all had a great time. We spent some time at Oakleaf & had some meals there. We also had a nice dinner with Randy & Amy in Greenville.