Corriganville + Nino + Bass Clef

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

Not much to report today, though I did have a nice trip out to Corriganville this afternoon. I am happy to be hiking and taking pictures again. The weather is clouding up, as evident from my photo, and we are supposed to get a fair amount of rain tomorrow. The verdict is still out on whether this is gonna be a real El Nino or not. We did have those major rain days earlier in the month, but right now we are still below even our average January rainfall, let alone having a surplus. All during the Fall, the weather service was saying things like "it's gonna be the Godzilla Of El Ninos", and so far it isn't even average rainfall. In a real El Nino, it rains, like, for weeks on end, most days.

Of course, it doesn't bother me, haha. You know how I feel about Sun vs. rain. But I know we need the water. One thing I hope tomorrow's rain will do is wash this methane out of the air. It is really affecting me, and I don't mean anything really debilitating but it is irritating my eyes, throat and lungs. It feels exactly like the old smog days we had in the 60s, as I said before. Same symptoms (though not quite as bad as then). I sincerely hope SoCal Gas shuts the doggone thing off pretty soon, because it's not good to breathe this stuff.

This evening I watched another classic Randolph Scott Western called "Decision At Sundown". Then I ran through my lines for tomorrow's anthem in church. The song is called "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" (I probably already mentioned it), and the tenor notes are what our vocal coach calls "counterintuitive" (and I think I mentioned that, too). But - what you think the harmony line should be (intuitive) is not what it actually is. Instead, it's a really weird line with sharps and flats and "same notes" (repeated several times in a row). They call it "contemporary" or "jazz" vocal.

I took the sheet music home, looked up the bass clef notes, which I had thought were the same as treble clef (nobody ever tells me nothin', lol), and I played the lines over and over on guitar to help memorise them vocally.

And now I think I've got it.

I hope you had a good day. I was not able to see any new posts, but I imagine you are probably working on something or another.

I will be around, as usual, early before Church and then back after choir practice at about 1:30.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxxoxoxoxo  :):)

Placerita + TV Repairman + Kobi Doing Well

Happy Later-Than-Usual-But-Not-Quite-Super Late Night-Late Night, Sweet Baby,

Yeah, I know I'm a goofball.  :) If it was 1am I'd have called it a Super Late Night, but anyway....

This DNS thing is starting to drive me crazy. Sometimes my Chromebook works fine, or more or less fine, but then sooner or later the buffering wheels start turning endlessly and I'm back to "file not found". I am wondering if it could be my Chromebook, starting to wear down? I mean, I only just got it two and a half years ago. It was a refurbished unit, but still...

You have no idea how much I hate tech problems, and I suppose we all do, but the problem for me is that I am not a tech person. If I weren't writing on the computer I'd be writing with pen and paper. I don't care about the medium, I just want stuff to work correctly. I was thinking the other day, when this DNS problem began, that with all the hoopla in the last twenty years about computers and gadgets, that they still haven't been able to build a machine as reliable as a TV set. Way back when, in the 1950s especially, and into the '60s when I was a kid, there was something called a "TV Repairman". He came to your house and fixed your TV when it broke. Later on, because his rates were high and he made a lot of money, most TV Repairmen opened their own shops and you had to take your TV to them to get it fixed.

But now? The TV Repairman is close to obsolete, because they continued to improve TV sets to the point where they basically don't break anymore.

But here we are in the 20th year (or so) of the Internet, and computers continue to have all of these seemingly indecipherable problems that even the experts don't have solutions to. I tried all the DNS remedies I found online and so far none of them has worked.

Well, I'll shut up now because I don't like to be a complainer, but I just like stuff that works right. Like TV sets, which didn't use to work right but now do, because the manufacturers of TV sets figured out how to make 'em do so. If only the computer people had as much ingenuity.

End of complaint.

Actually, it was a very good day today. I finally scored me a hike, and a nice one at that; at Placerita Canyon, one of my favorite places. I even got a few good pics, posted at FB and Flickr, and it was also a nice day with temps in the mid-70s.

Best of all is that Kobi is coming around, behaving more and more like his old self. His personality seems to be coming back (barking, tail wagging) and he has stopped much of the wandering he was doing when he got out of the doggie hospital. So I am wondering if it was mainly the meds? Maybe he is used to them now, has a tolerance built up. Anyhow, we took him to Reseda Park again this eve, and it is so great to see him alert, pulling on the leash, sniffing trees and looking for chicken bones and scraps around the barbeque grills at the park (which I have to tug him away from).

So it was a good day indeed. I hope your's was good as well. The only post I saw was the one of James with an award for a hair salon that he is associated with, and it is fitting because he has award winning hair.

It looks like things are picking up all the way around, and that is good. It always takes a little while, after the holidays and New Year, to kick things into gear again, but now they are.

Sweet Dreams and I will see you in the morning. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Tarkovsky at CSUN + Kobester Report

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

Tonight was the start of the Spring semester Cinematheque at CSUN. We are doing a Tarkovsky retrospective this time, and as I've probably mentioned, he is one of my favorite directors. He only lived to age 54 and consequently made just seven films, but they are all excellent and filled with striking imagery. Tarkovsky was one of the all time composers of film - his slow, steady camera movement, placement of actors within the frame and use of nature (rain, fire, wind over grassy fields, roots in earth) gave his movies a dreamlike and poetic quality, which he was known for. Tarkovsky films are very slow to build, and you have to have patience with them, but once you are able to do that, you find yourself watching them again and again. I have almost all his movies on dvd (just need "Solaris"). For our first screening, we saw a documentary about Tarkovsky called "One Day In The Life Of Andrei Arsenovich" (including footage of him in the hospital in his last days, still editing "The Sacrifice", his final film), and we also saw two of his student films, "The Killers" and "The Steamroller And The Violin". Because he only made seven films, and because our retrospectives are 15 weeks long, the professor will be filling up the remaining weeks with films by directors who have been influenced by Tarkovsky, including Terrence Malick and Bela Tarr. There is no one like the original, however.

Your photo from this morning was excellent as always. The wind must have been blowing (or you could have used a fan perhaps), but you utilised the model's hair to great effect, textured against her black blouse and contrasted by the lighter tone of her face. As often in your modeling photos, the eyes stand out and are the focal point for the viewer. You have a touch for this type of photography, call it modeling or fashion or portraiture. You are very good at makeup and highlighting a model's features as well.

I am itching to take some pics myself, and maybe in the next day or two. I mean, I probably shouldn't speculate on it, given the fact that things have been in flux lately - and very busy workwise - but sooner or later (and hopefuly sooner!) I will get back to some semblance of my former hiking schedule. In Kobedog news, he seems to be doing just a tiny bit better, each day. This evening, he was barking up a storm at dinnertime (our dinnertime, don't forget), and his feet came off the ground again and again.

He seems to have some of his marbles back, and he isn't wandering near as much as he was when he first got back from the vet. His gait is still pretty tentative, and he sleeps more deeply than ever before, but he's regaining some of the old Kobular Strength, a good sign I think.

On my CSUN walk after the movie, I saw Momma Raccoon, standing in the gutter just out of the storm drain in which her family lives, across from the Orange Grove. She didn't run as I aproached, and I managed to get within about 5 feet of her, just to "say hey", very quietly. She had her Bandit Mask on. I wish I had had some chips with me or anything edible. I'd have made a new friend.  :)  ........

Well, that's all for tonight, my Darling. I will see you in the morning.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

ICP vs. Beiber (plus Reseda Park & The 'Ster)

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

All is quiet here in Pearl's kitchen, except for the ever-present sound of KUSC playing softly in the background. Kobi is out here with me tonight, asleep in his living room bed (he has two, the other is in Pearl's room). He has taken to following me everywhere and tonight wanted to stay with me even though he has always slept in Pearl's room ever since I've been here. Maybe because I've been handing out extra treats lately......  :)

We took him to Reseda Park today in the late afternoon. There is a a great atmosphere there because of all the activity - kids playing ball, people walking dogs, people playing tennis, the big duck pond. It's good for Pearl and for The Kobester to have stimulus, and that park is an excellent place for it.

Kobi is doing well, though he sometimes shakes his head a lot (worrisome). Tonight, he barked at dinnertime, meaning our dinnertime, which is a good sign because he has always barked while we are eating. It used to be a bit nervewracking, haha, but now I welcome it because it shows signs of his old self. And best of all, when he barked, his front paws came off the ground just like they always did in the past. He's always been a Power Barker.......

I hope you had a good day. I saw just a little while ago that you were mentioned in a post by a friend, and the jist of it was that she was your model for the day, so I'm glad you had a shoot. The other post I saw was this morning, and it was Insane Clown Posse.

:)

Now, I am guessing you posted that specifically for me, because you know - for certain- that they are the absolute bottom of the barrel, and not only make Beiber look like Mozart but also like a choirboy when the obnoxious quotient is factored in.

So of course your post started my day off with a laugh, and I am heartened to see that the Clowns are charitable fellows, which renews my faith in Human Nature.

So all is well with the world at the moment.

I will see you in the morning, Sweet Baby. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)

Beautiful Video (plus The 'Ster at Northridge Park)

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

Your new video is really beautiful! You got some gorgeous Fall colors and I love the shimmering effect which looks to be either from an overlap of shots, perhaps, or something in the dissolve from one edit to the next. You also captured some nice lighting artifacts, too. Really good photography by you, and nice music by John (which I will call him instead of Johan as he is using it himself). The music and pictures go together just right, due to the exactness of your editing, as usual. Your model projects the right mood as well.

Top notch work all the way around, by everyone involved.  :)

From your posts of the last couple days, it looks like you may have some client work lined up, too. I will look forward to whatever is to come next.

I am sure missing my own hikes and photography, but this year kind of started out with a lot of stuff going on, from the early bad weather to the gas leak to Kobi's recent illness. Today, I took him to Northridge Park, and we walked all over the place for 45 minutes. He is fairly strong physically, though with unsteady gait at times, but he walked a good 1/3 mile, off leash, and his wandering is down from when he first went on the meds.

All in all, he's still The Kobedog we all know and love, but perhaps he's a slightly more goofy version of himself, and a bit more frail. But tonight, he barked at dinnertime for the first time since he got sick, and his front feet came off the ground when he did it, so he showed a sign of being his old self.

The Kobester ain't done yet.  :)

That's about it, not much else to report because I am here at Pearl's a lot right now. One thing I am doing is trying to learn a tenor harmony to a song called "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" by Charles Gabriel. It's what they call "contemporary", which means it has jazz stylings, and it is not that hard to sing but has been difficult to memorize. So at home, I Googled the bass clef notes (tenor is usually in treble clef) and then I played the vocal notes on my guitar, very slowly cause I don't read music. Then I drummed it into my head, singing it under my breath during my walk. And I think I've finally got it. Now I've just gotta keep singing or humming it til Sunday, so I don't forget it!

And that is really all I know for tonight. Sweet Dreams and I will see you in the morning.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

I Don't Know Jack About Tech (and I don't like it either) :)

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

I am having trouble with the Internet connection here at Pearl's. Yesterday when I came back to work, my Chromebook was running slow, with the little buffering wheels turning and turning before a website would load. Usually Chrome is lightning fast. Then after that, pages would load with missing graphics, half-loaded pages, etc. And finally, some pages simply would not load at all and I'd get a "file not found" message.

The connection here is a DSL, and of course I don't know what that means except that it runs through the phone line. Now, they had just this past weekend plugged a new landline phone into the jack in the kitchen, where the DSL line is also plugged in. I thought the new phone might have something to do with it, because with the old phone (your basic receiver/charger/voicemail setup) my Chromebook always ran just fine. Then suddenly - new phone, bad Internet connection. I checked all the cords on my Chromebook and all were plugged in properly. Then, when a website came back "file not found", I clicked on "diagnose error", and it ran some diagnostics on my computer and then came back saying "dns failed". There were other things listed, "closed portal" or some such, firewall, and some other stuff. All of those things were running, except the DNS.

Now of course you know I would have no idea what a DNS is, so I Googled it, and it seems it's some kind of lookup system for the computer to find any given website. So if my DNS failed, it would explain all the endless buffering and half-loaded pages.

(I have to interject here to say "Good Lordy Moses do I hate all this tech stuff".)

I hate it because why don't they just speak English, y'know? Why all the jargon? I haven't the patience for this baloney.  ;)

Anyhow, now that my interjection is over, I followed some Googled suggestions to fix my DNS, and I am not sure they worked very well. It involved "reconfiguring" some settings and a whole bunch of other stuff I don't have the time or patience for. So the moral of the story is that probably, at some point, I am gonna hafta get on the phone with ATT and try to figure out what is wrong. I've had to do that before, and have actually managed to fix some complex stuff by following their directions.

I always say, "just tell me what keys to punch, and in what order, and I can fix it". It's just the jargon I can't stand, lol.

All this is to say that I hope the Internet connection improves here at Pearl's, and doesn't get worse, because right now I am maxed out timewise, and I don't have time to fix stuff, and I need my Internet connection to maintain contact with the outside world and with You of course.

It is a little difficult right now because of what is going on with Kobi. He doesn't rest or relax but just wanders. He is on his feet most of the day, just moving from here to there aimlessly. He does okay in some respects, like when he is outside. I took him on a catwalk this evening and he was almost normal. But in the house it is just non-stop wandering, until he finally collapses into sleep, which will happen sometime in the middle of the night. He's got a cerebral problem, but I think it's also the medications and I am hoping they can lower the dosage. He doesn't seem like he's gonna have another seizure.

Anyhow, sorry for all the complaining. I hope your day was good. I only saw one post, which was the Great Cheese Robbery.  :)

Now that was funny, and I was thinking that in Wisconsin, such a crime has gotta be punishable by life in prison, at least. Maybe worse. And if not, it should be! $160,000 dollars worth of cheese? That's like robbing a bank.

Except it's cheese. And we in California have a Cheese Thing going, too, with a slogan - "real California cheese"!..... (although authentic Cheeseheads have probably not heard of it).

Well, Sweet Baby, that's all I know for today. I will still hope for a hike and more pictures soon. Just gotta get the Kobester settled down, to whatever degree is possible.

The second "X-Files" episode tonight was another home run for Chris Carter and crew. That is some big league television writing right there. I'm looking forward to the remaining four episodes, but it ain't gonna be enough......  :)

See you in the morning, Sweet Baby. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Kobester + X-Files + Guarantee

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

Well, it was quite a day. Kobi has been wandering the house most of the day since he's been back, kind of confused, going this way and that, and I know that's a sign of doggie dementia. It might also be, at least partially, a side effect of his meds and maybe also a residual effect of the seizures. He did sleep for a little while, and it was encouraging that he knew where to find his bed, as always. But now he is back up and wandering, as I write.

Maybe if he can get a good night's sleep, he will be more coherant in the morning. I will keep the faith.

It was great to see the first episode of the brand new "X-Files". I thought it was a great start, full of conspiracies and Weird Stuff, lots of UFOs and Anti-Gravity technology. Right up my alley, in other words. :)

I did see a post of yours via a guy once again from Romantic Rebel, so I will bet they are a new client, and that is great news. Things are gonna take off, just like last year, and that's a guarantee.

I am running on just four hours sleep for each of the last two nights, and pretty tired, but tomorrow I can catch up on some sleep. I am just concerned once again how the Kobester situation is gonna play out. He is physically strong and eats well, but he's got a cognitive issue that is pretty serious at the moment. I just hope he can sleep tonight. Same for me as well.

Fingers crossed that things will improve in the morning, and I will see you then.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)

The Kobester Is Back Home (what a relief)

Happy Sunday Afternoon, Sweet Baby,

I just wanted to check in to say that The Kobester is back home. Yep, so it's a real blessing to have him back, and we are very relieved and very happy. As I said last night, he is 16 years old, and he did have a seizure, so we know that he's not 100% any more, but all the same, just to have him for as long as we can have him is a wonderful gift. So, thanks to the Lord. We are grateful indeed.

I am writing from home and I'm gonna head back to Pearl's in a few minutes. Just gonna grab some of my stuff - books, clothes, etc. - that I keep over there during my work cycle. Tonight is the new "X-Files", so you know I am excited about that! :)

One of my very favorite shows (and I recently completed the full nine season run on dvd, took me a few years.....).

So that's what is happening, and it's a good day. Kobi is now on anti-seizure meds, and he goes back to the vet in three weeks for a follow-up. But his energy is good.

I will write more later tonight at the usual time. Enjoy the rest of your day!

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Kobi Is Ailing (no news is hopefully good news + "Great Expectations")

Hi, my Darling,

I am checking in early today because I have some unfortunate news to report. This morning at 7am I got a call from Pearl's daughter, who reported that Kobi had a seizure last night. She had heard some noise and had found him shaking and foaming at the mouth, and she and Pearl took him to the vet immediately. Luckily, there is a 24 hour emergency vet located nearby.

I got down there at about 8am and joined them. Kobi was off in another room, hooked up to an IV. The vet came in and said his blood samples looked good, his heart looked good, x-rays were okay. But he said there could be an underlying condition such as a brain tumor. Because an MRI costs thousands of dollars, we really can't check to find out, and after all, Kobi is sixteen years old.

We left him at the vet and I came home about 11am. Then at Noon, Helen called me again to say that the vet had called her to tell her that Kobi had had another seizure. Because he was hooked up to the IV, they were able to inject medication and get in under control pretty quickly.

But as you can see, the news overall is not good. I have been very sad and worried all morning. Now, I have done some Googling, specifically about Bischons and seizures, and I have found some info that is mildly encouraging. It says that seizures are not uncommon in the breed, and especially in older Bischons. It further said that is an underlying cause can be determined, it can be treated and the seizures handled at home with medication. All kinds of potential causes were listed, including toxins from diet, and one cause in particular made me take notice: it was said that a trip to the groomer can even cause a seizure in an older Bischon.

I had just taken our buddy to the groomer yesterday. It said that, in older Bischons, it may be the combination shock from first being wet and then from the noise of the dryer that causes their brain mechanics to seize up. Now, it is true that Kobi is sixteen, already a very elderly doggie. And he does move a lot slower than he did, and he does act disoriented sometimes and wanders around. But even just last evening, before I left to come home, he devoured a bowl of dog food with his usual gusto and then went on a catwalk with me and The Black Kitty. He has been to Lake Balboa just last week, and had a blast there.

So, because I am reading that seizures can be treated - even in older dogs - I am gonna, for now, hang tough for The Kobester and have faith that he will pull through. I sure love that little guy so much (as of course does Pearl); he is part of Our Crew and he's just the best guy in the world.

I know he won't be around forever, and according to the vet he's already outlived the life expectancy for the breed, but I am gonna say my prayers and hope that maybe we can treat the seizures and have him back home for just a while yet. He is so strong in so many other ways.......

So even though you've never met Kobi, say a little prayer for him and keep him in your heart today, won't you? Thanks, Sweet Baby, and I'll keep you posted, though no news will be good news for now. And I'll write later tonight as always.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

12:20am : Happy Late Night, my Darling. I have no more news on Kobi, which I am hoping will be a good thing. I am slightly encouraged by the Google information I've read today. I know from experience that when things start to go wrong with older doggies, that their time is probably limited. Kobi is 16, which in itself is amazing. Still, I've been praying a lot today that he can come home and be okay for a while, how ever long that might be. I am reading about the meds for seizures, and they are said to work pretty well. It would be so great just to have him with us for as long as possible, and it would be less of a sudden shock for Pearl, who is gonna be 92 herself later in the year. Both Pearl and Kobedog have been so strong all this time, age or no age..........

I haven't been through the loss of a pet since 1997 and today, with the sudden news (which came out of the blue because, though elderly, he has been more or less his "old self") I was suddenly immersed in all the tremendous sadness that comes with the fear of losing such a beloved friend. It hit me just how close I am to The Good Boy (and I even tell Pearl that he's a Professor Of Goodboyism who teaches classes on the subject to other dogs when we aren't home)........and I'm just not prepared to lose him, not yet, and not so suddenly.

So, please Lord, let him come home for a while, however long that might be, for a Victory Tour. He is such a wonderful dog.

I hope your day was good. I did see some posts, one was of your friends in the snow, so maybe you are enjoying it too. :)

I also saw the post of the El Salvadoran baby. I heard about that on the news and it's really sad. I am guessing you meant it as a Sweet Baby post (and it might have been the only available baby picture), but if you didn't, I understand. I was a little confused because it says something about "a pause in having babies" and I don't know if that was a message for me or not. At any rate, I am thinking about you and just trying to go forward and hold things together.

Tonight I watched a tremendous film, David Lean's 1946 version of "Great Expectations". I'm continuing my Charles Dickens kick, and this movie was pure magic, and a nice diversion from the day's events. David Lean was one of the great directors of epic stories, and as a guy who could fill the screen with cinematic imagery, he had few peers. I never knew the story of "Great Expectations" until tonight, and what a discovery. Dickens again creates a story bursting at the seams with human feeling and intrigue, set as always within the social conditions of Victorian England. Dramatic B&W photography, great acting (with a young Alec Guinness, among others). It was the best film I have seen in a while, top of the line in every aspect.

Well, that's all I have for tonight. I am gonna say my prayers and keep my best thoughts with me all night. May there be good news in the morning, Sweet Baby, and I will talk to you then, as soon as I am able. I don't know yet if we will be going to church, but I will write as soon as I have news and can get to the computer.

I Love You. xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Iron Maiden, Lush, Concert Photos, etc.

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

I am writing from home as I begin my time off. It will be just a short break this time, so I don't anticipate doing a lot - mostly just relaxing - but tonight Grimsley came over and hung out for a while. He wanted me to hear some of the new Iron Maiden album, since he is a humongous fan of theirs. I was once a pretty big fan as well, back in the 80s, and I like what he played me (we listened in his car because I can't blast metal in The Tiny Apartment). Grim listens mostly to hard rock and metal and wants to know why I haven't kept up with Maiden, and I tell him "there's always a reason". In this case it was because Bruce Dickinson left and they got another singer back in the late 80s. So I stopped paying attention. Just like when Fast Eddie and then Philthy Animal Taylor both left Motorhead. I was of the opinion that Motorhead was a band, and not just all about Lemmy. So when those guys left, I stopped following Motorhead. And when Dickinson left Iron Maiden, I stopped following them, because he was irreplaceable.

I try to tell Grim that I like a lot of different kinds of music, including pop and progressive. I tell him that half of what I listen to nowdays is classical. But all he listens to is metal, and I was only like that for a few years in the early 80s. But I did like what he played me from the new Maiden album. Dickinson has been back for a while now, and his vocals are positively heroic. I called it "Braveheart Rock". And of course I will be going to see Iron Maiden on April 15th, my first IM show since 1988..........

I tried to get a ticket this morning for Lush at The Roxy, a club on the Sunset Strip. Lush was at the forefront of the Shoegaze movement in the early 90s, and I love their music. But the show sold out so fast that I was out of luck. I was logged on to Ticketfly at 9am sharp, and literally 30 seconds later it said "no tickets available". So on the one hand I am bummed that I didn't get a ticket, but on the other hand I am glad I won't be sardine-canned into The Roxy with fanatical fans who haven't seen their band in 20 years (it's a reunion tour).

But I'm still hoping they add another show, so I can go......

I saw a post from you today from a guy named Cody Ash who is gonna be playing drums with a band on an upcoming multi-band tour, and I am hoping you are gonna be part of it. Is his band a new client? I will keep my fingers crossed, but I already know that things are gonna be taking off this year, just like they did last year. Once concert season is in full swing, you will be shooting lots of bands at many shows. Your photo from this morning was another good one, and it once again captured the "in the moment" feel because of James' position on stage and the crowd response to him. You also have excellent framing in the top half of the shot with the colored lights forming a pattern in the middle and the white lighting on either side.

To shoot from that angle is interesting because it captures performer, audience and venue, all at once.

You are probably (or certainly) itching to shoot more concerts asap, and you are going to. Once the year gets rolling, it is gonna happen, and you will be making videos too. For all I know you may have projects and clients lined up already.  :)

That was all I was able to see on FB today, but I was glad to see it. Tomorrow I will mostly be just hanging around, not gonna do too much because I want to relax, so post if you get the chance. I'll be sleeping in a bit, but should be up and around by about 10am or so. See you then, Sweet Baby.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Hope All Is Well + Porter Ranch Gas Leak Can Now Be Felt In Northridge

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I finally did see two posts from you today, though I'm not sure there was a reference for me in them. One was for Legos (when you turn 100 you can't play with 'em anymore) and the other one was just a few minutes ago, where I guy is playing a guitar solo from (I think) "Saved By The Bell" (?)

Funny stuff, so maybe they are just a couple of humorous posts by you. At any rate, I am glad you posted something. I have been wondering if anything is wrong, just because you haven't been around much recently. Now of course I could have that all wrong due to my broken FB. Maybe you are posting lots of stuff, but in any event I can't see much of anything recently. So, I hope all is well, and if it's not would you please tell me?

Well anyway, not much to report except I finally got my hair cut today, first time since last September. It really needed it, and now I am more presentable, haha. Also now I can let it grow again for another few months until I am once more a Hippie.......  :)

One of these times I am gonna have to have it colored. I keep putting it off - and it's still more than 50% brown (not totally grey, in other words) - but it's eventually gonna hafta be done.....

On another note, today I am wondering if that massive gas leak in Porter Ranch is now affecting us here in Northridge. I live approximately 3 to 4 miles from the leak, and I know I've even recently reported no noticeable effects in our area, and even at Aliso Canyon Park, which is just a couple miles from the leak. But today, and right now, I have had what I will call "shallow breath", and a mildly irritated throat, and it is very reminiscent of the heavy smog days we used to suffer in the 1960s, when there was still lead in gasoline, and before there were any air quality standards for smog. Back then, when I was seven or eight, there would be days, especially in Summer, where your lips would turn purple and you would have your breath catch at about the bottom of your throat, instead of in your lungs. It wasn't like you were suffocating or anything, but it was quite an irritation and certainly not a good thing for one's health. And today I've had a similar condition, though not quite as bad as in the smog days. Still, I hope it doesn't continue, and I really feel for the folks in Porter Ranch who've gotten the worst of this. The more I read about it, it's gonna go down as a major league environmental disaster, and SoCal Gas (the company) is gonna have lawsuits on the level of BP back in 2010 or whenever that was. This stuff is just pouring into the air, every second of the day, just like BP's oil was pouring into the sea, for months on end. And now I can feel it, or at least I am pretty sure I can, down in Northridge, just a few miles away.

I will have to stay away from my north Valley and Santa Clarita hikes until they shut this thing down. Maybe Chatsworth will be okay, or maybe the caves out in Simi Valley.

Well, things will improve. I just hope all is well with you, and I know that more projects will be on the horizon very soon, if they are not already.

I have a short break starting tomorrow night, and then through Sunday morn, when I will be back at church to sing and then back on regular schedule. Tomorrow morn I will take the Kobedog to Le Groomer at 10am, and then I'll be around most of the afternoon and all evening.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Post Then Write (Bowie & Books) (hope all is well)

Hi, my Darling, and Happy Late Night,

I am later than usual tonight (getting situated, etc.) so I am gonna post, then come back and write, so that you will know I'm here. Back in a little bit.....

Okay, I am back. I hope your day was good. I only saw one post on FB (in "posts You like") and that was one, via your friend Jake, with a picture of coffee mugs he bought online, or at least that's what I think it was. I don't know the significance of that one, and maybe it was just a regular old "like" on FB with no particular significance for me anyhow, but anyway that was the only one that showed up all day, and I did check multiple times to look for anything new.

I hope all is well. Sometimes I don't know what to do, because I am trying to communicate, with very limited resources as my Facebook has been reduced. It's difficult if you don't post (or maybe you do and it just doesn't show up on my FB, I dunno), but anyway, I will keep trying. Some days I have skipped blogs because I have nothing to respond to, but if I do that too often, or more than one day in a row, our communication could begin to fade away. I know I've said all this stuff a million times before, and I won't harp on it, but just so you know, I am trying. But it's a lot easier if I have something to respond to.

At any rate, I bought the new David Bowie album today, "Blackstar", and it really is as good as everyone has been saying. Very hypnotic and haunting, with propulsive beats and basslines and freeform instruments (sax & piano) mixed low in the background. Bowie's vocals are exceptionally good, considering his age and illness. I was blown away after one listen.

I am also starting a new book, called "A Distant Mirror" by Barbara Tuchman, who was a noted historical writer back in the 60s through the 80s. She wrote a very famous book about World War One called "The Guns Of August" which I remember seeing on the family bookshelf as a kid. Tuchman was one of my Dad's favorite writers; he had a book of hers called "The Proud Tower" (about the state of the world prior to WW1) and he used to recommend it to me all the time. At Christmas, while browsing Amazon, I came across "A Distant Mirror", about 14th Century France during the time of The Plague, and I thought : "That's the one for me".  :) It's got Knights Templars, pompous Kings, sadistic Inquisitors and all kinds of intrigue and torment - it's totally Goth........

I have also been watching a BBC production of "David Copperfield" from 1999, starring among others, little Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe. I think I mentioned, also during Christmas, that I was interested in discovering more of Charles Dickens' material, as I had only ever seen "A Christmas Carol". I watched "The Old Curiosity Shop" during Christmas week, and then just the last few days I've watched "Copperfield". Now I can see why it's considered one of the greatest books ever written. What a story, and of course you can't top the English actors.

I got into Shakespeare just two years ago because of the Shakespeare By The Sea troupe that comes around every Summer, and now I am discovering Charles Dickens, and I am pondering whether he might be the equal of William Shakespeare. And I think he is, based on the ability to convey Human Feeling.

Shakespeare has the precision of language, but Dickens writes of the characters of Victorian England, rich and poor, in their own language, and in that way he is just as precise, and his stories are epic.

So that's what's up in media. I have also been reading a book called "KL", about the Nazi concentration camps, by a writer named Nikolaus Wachsmann, but it is too grim to report on. It's by far the most horrific thing I've ever read. I mention it just to mention it, cause I've been reading it......

Anyhow, as I have been saying, post when you get a chance, and if you want to. It could just be my dumb FB, not showing anything new on "posts You Like". It does tend to show the same 15-20 posts again and again, but usually if you do post something new, it will show up there for a little while.....

So post if you wanna, and I will see you in the morn.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo  :):)

City Of Studios

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

Today was cold and drizzly in The 'Ridge, we've got a heavy cloud layer hovering, but so far the El Nino has been less ferocious than predicted (which is fine by me). It was a typical Tuesday, with Golden Agers for Pearl. The city inspection went by without any notice on my part; by the time I got home, they were gone. So it must have gone okay, and I will hope our building is in the clear.

I hope you had a nice day. I haven't been able to see many of your posts lately , and I really hate not having a news ticker cause it's like having half an FB, but I did see one post with a friend of yours sitting on a Panavision rig. The location said Studio City, which is at the southeast corner of the Valley, just north of Hollywood. You would have a blast being the DP in charge of such a rig. Never having been on a live set myself, I don't know what all such a job entails, but just to know that there is a separate job of focus puller (guy who keeps the shot in focus) gives you an idea of the operation, which also includes camera assistants to push the dolly, lay down camera tracks, operate cranes. But with your grasp of technology, you'd fit right in.

I don't have a lot to report, because I'm just working mostly. Pearl and the Kobester require a bit more attention as time goes by, and so I am on the job a bit more than I was. It's kind of a gradual increase, to be expected of course. I should still get my usual hikes in (with attention to time management, previously mentioned), but we have been having this crummy weather, so c'mon Sun! It's gotta come out sooner or later.

I hope everything is proceeding well and that you have projects on the horizon. The FB communication problem is a bit vexing to me, but there's not much I can do. So as always, post if you can.

I will see you in the morn. I love you.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Charts & Rock Stars

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

I hope you had a good day. Sorry I didn't write yesterday, but it was just a basic Sunday with nothing special to report, and I didn't see any new posts on "posts You like" so I had nothing to respond to. Today, though, I did see your pic of Tina. I didn't hit the "like" button because I figured that post was between the two of you, but I am glad you have such a good friend in her. I hope you guys get to shoot more "magazine covers" soon.  :)

I also saw your chart about musicians and their various instruments and the resulting "popularity" shall we say. That one I did hit "like" on, but I was a bit confused.......

I don't know where you got that chart, but the one I have says Keyboard Players = :):)

I think my chart is more accurate.......   :)

I'm also glad your friend Sarah and her band are gonna play SXSW. It would be so cool if you could go too. You are due for another road trip and that would be a great one.

Today we sadly lost more rock musicians, and while I was not a big Eagles fan, it's gotta be said that Glenn Frey was a very talented guy who led the band that created the whole California sound that was so big in the 70s. Lesser known was Dale Griffin (aka "Buffin"), but I certainly knew who he was because he played drums for Mott The Hoople, one of my first favorite bands when I started hanging out at College Records in 1973. Their album "Mott" was one of the first records I ever bought. It featured the hit single "All The Way From Memphis" which is a classic of the Glam Rock era, and the photo of the band on the album cover epitomised the Rock Star look, with knee-high platform boots, leather pants, open shirts and long, long hair.

Mott The Hoople had a huge hit right around the same time the "Mott" album came out with a cover of David Bowie's "All The Young Dudes", which (I think) he actually wrote for them and then recorded his own version. I'll have to re-check the order on that, but the Mott The Hoople version is the one that became a classic radio staple. Dale "Buffin" Griffin played on that, and on all the great Mott The Hoople material, and so he was a legendary musician, too, just like Glenn Frey.

Let's hope we don't lose anyone else anytime soon. Enough is enough, already.

Tomorrow at my building there is gonna be another stupid city inspection, to make sure the owners complied with the repairs of the first inspection. I can (sort of) understand the reasoning behind all of this. The general concept is to prevent slumlords from letting conditions deteriorate in their buildings. But of course in any situation in which power and authority is involved, it becomes intrusive.

That's why I don't like liberals any better than I like right-wingers. Liberals want to introduce the Nanny State where everything is supervised. I am gonna be 56 years old, and I pay a small fortune for a miniscule apartment (higher that a house mortgage in the Midwest, no kidding), and I still have to submit to not one, but two, city inspections in a six week period, even though I pay my rent on time for 10 years and have no complaints about my unit. The original ordinance was created for slum conditions, with falling apart buildings and rat infestations. But now they do it in every building in the city, like a Nanny State Gestapo. Drives me crazy.......

So tonight I made everything Super Neat And Tidy, and tomorrow it will all be over, until the next inspection. ;)

Maybe Wednesday I can go for a hike, and take some photos.

I will see you in the morning, Sweet Baby. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Late Night Love

Happy Late Saturday Night, Sweet Baby,

I don't have a lot to report today, though we did have a nice trip to Lake Balboa at Noon. It was warmer today, almost 70 degrees, and there were a lot of people there, and many dogs and tons of birds, too. This afternoon I was following the football games (not watching, but keeping an eye on the scores) and I was first amazed at Aaron Rodgers incredible touchdown throw for Green Bay, and then not much later extremely disappointed at the Cardinals' comeback to win the game. I'm sure all the Wisconsin fans are even more disappointed, especially after one of the greatest Hail Mary passes ever, so I send and share condolences.

Green Bay was the one team I thought could beat the perennial nemesis Brady and the Patriots, but alas it was not to be.....  :(

But at least I got my picks right on the Yahoo Pick 'Em, and am leading our little group with just three games left to pick......

Yeah, sports again. But I'm all done for tonight.....  ;)

I saw several of your posts today, and they seemed to have to do with new people, so I thought "potential clients". I don't know if I got that right or not, but one band was called Romantic Rebel and is set to work with a Grammy nominated producer, so if you get a gig with them it will be a very good thing indeed.

Other posts were of Funny Friends in various humorous poses and comments. You guys look like you are having fun up there, and that makes me happy because it is the most important thing of all. Time is the basic currency of the human being -more important than money or any other consideration - and when I see people having a good time (time in which they are happy), then I like it, too.

I am glad that you and your friends and clients are able to mix business with pleasure and have fun, because that's what it's all about. And it's good to have some comedians along for the ride.  :)

Tomorrow morning, church as usual. Singing is getting better all the time.

I will be here early and then back by 1pm or so.

See you in the morning. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Dark Matter & Randolph Scott

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

All is quiet in Pearl's kitchen and I have been reading my Tom Van Flandern book ("Dark Matter, Missing Planets and New Comets") and though it is slow going because of all the technical astronomy talk, it is still one of the most interesting books I've ever read. I am now far into the book and he is examining the way in which moons of all the solar system planets are coated on one side, or not coated, in dark carbonaceous matter. He has calculated by the orbits and rotations of these moons, and the angles of same, where they would have been placed had a large planet exploded, that once existed in between Mars and Jupiter.

To me, it's obvious just from the asteroid belt, but he goes further to point out these coatings of dark matter, that would have sprayed the moons of the larger planets like Saturn and Jupiter in a blast wave, and to a lesser extent the inner planets Mercury and Venus. This is a book I'm gonna have to read a second time, maybe in a year or two, just for absorption of the technical jargon. But the basic concepts are mind blowing.

It was a regular day around here, no hikes or anything, but I did watch a great Western with Randolph Scott called "Comanche Station", directed by a man named Budd Boetticher. I am always on the lookout for Westerns I haven't seen and in December I found this dvd set of six Scott films, five of which are directed by Boetticher. Man, can he ever put a beautiful picture up on the screen.

The films I've watched so far (and I know that Westerns are a Guy Thing, kinda like football) have all been shot at a place in Central California called the Alabama Hills. It's like the Santa Susanas on steroids, like a moonscape of weird looking sandstone formations. I would love to see it in person. I will Mapquest it, but I think it's about 300 miles from me. So that's a road trip for the future, to see the Alabama Hills.

I saw a couple posts on FB today, one via James that he is gonna work on taking his songwriting to the next level. That is exactly what I was talking about last night, just staying focused and concentrating entirely on What You Do. Never question What You Do, and I am sure you don't. Just keep perfecting it, with laser beam focus. And not just perfecting it, but also expanding it. Picture in your mind different visual concepts, camera movements and edits.

It all starts in your head.

The next time you watch a movie, make it a point to watch what the camera is doing, what the editor is doing, and how the sound works throughout all of it. Don't over concentrate and ruin your viewing experience - watch for pleasure if you are watching a film for the first time - but just try to catch what is being done with the shot process. Watch it as a secondary thing and your eye will catch it.

I was doing this with these Randolph Scott Westerns I've been watching, directed by Budd Boetticher, and I've been going, "man, that's an incredible shot", and watching how the camera moves to first establish placement of scene, and then to accentuate and enhance the drama.

Ozu, who we watched last year at CSUN, was a master at camera placement.

Well, now if I get started I could go on and on about the subject........  :)

But you know what I mean anyway.

I also loved the post with the pic of the girl and the giant Koala or teddy bear. :):)

That's all I know for tonight, Sweet Baby. Sweet Dreams and I will see you in the morning!

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

It's What You Do

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

I liked your 2015 highlight clip this morning. You are really a good editor, you know that? You have a keen sense of motion and continuity and know how to keep the flow going. You probably learned this in school, but very early on in the history of cinema, they learned about the whole idea of direction in editing, like say in a car chase or just a man walking down a street and turning a corner. What they learned, by trial and error because moving pictures were new, was that you have to maintain a flow of motion that is not jarring to the eye, and that also maintains a continuity of direction. Certain angles cannot be edited in after a direction (flow of motion) is set.

There is technical terminology for all of this. Our Professor at the CSUN Cinematheque knows all of it, and he often points out and dissects the camera angles and edits of a particular scene to the students who attend. You may have learned it at school, or you may just have an eye for it. That is actually a very easy way to learn how to edit, just going by feel, by observing the visual flow.

Your own eye, as a moviegoer/video watcher yourself, can tell you if your edit is transitional. 

It's like playing a guitar solo. You know when you've nailed it, whether you have taken music theory or not.

So - you certainly have an eye for a good edit, and you will continue to hone it.

Today was just a basic Thursday, with a trip to the hair salon for Pearl. Next week I will go too. I'm a bit of a hippie at the moment, haha.

I saw your post via Sarah a little while ago, and you know that I not only support you but guarantee success. You mentioned the uncertainty inherent in freelancing, but the other side of that coin is the "just keep doing it" factor. The whole point, what it comes down to, is are you good at it? Let's say a person was not very good at what they did, or more importantly, it wasn't in their blood. Even if they "kept doing it" for years on end, they might not get much better, and hence would not have much success.

But you are good - very good - right out of the starting gate. Just one year out of school, and look.....

So even though there will be uncertainty, just keep concentrating on your work, and during periods when you are not working for a client, just keep honing your craft. Believe me, Elizabeth, you are already so good, and all you've gotta do is keep doing it - keep honing - and you will have created your own reputation, so to speak. Just keep building and building. Remember : this is what you do.  :)

That's all I know for tonight, Sweet Baby.

I Love You and will see you in the morning.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

New Keys! (and Film & Aliso)

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I like your new Yamaha! I was just reading some reviews of the C4 and it sounds awesome. You look super happy in the pic, and I am so glad you got it, and you are gonna love it! (Soulmate, eh?....)  :)

I hope you will continue to make your own videos (and I am sure you will) and write your own music even as you continue your work for other bands and clients. It's fantastic that you've been able to reinvest in your artistry and get both the new Sony camera and now the new keyboard. Hooray, I say!  :)

Today, I went up to Aliso Canyon while Pearl was at her Reseda Woman's Club meeting. This time I took my Pentax ME Super 35mm SLR, my film camera. I was inspired by your Boboli Gardens photo last week. I'll tell ya, it was good discipline to use the film cam again, which has had the same roll of b&w in it for two years now. Of course, for me it's kind of like riding a bike - you never forget how to do it - but still, when you go a couple years without shooting any film it re-disciplines you to set f-stops and shutter speeds, and most of all to focus. There is something great about seeing the image in the viewfinder, filling your eye. And you choose your shots very carefully because you only have 20 to 36 of them on a roll, and more importantly, especially nowdays, you've gotta pay for them, and it's a tad expensive. I am gonna take my film to Hooper Camera this time, instead of using a One Hour Photo at the drug store like I did last time. Hooper is a pro's camera store and processing lab, in Chatsworth, and when I checked their website I was heartened to see that they still develop all kinds of old film stocks, like 120 and 2 1/4, and of course 35mm.

As I said the other day, I'll bet you that film will hang in there, like vinyl records. I am gonna set a goal this year to try and shoot more film. Not a whole lot, but maybe three or four rolls for the year. Just to see how I do. I love the look of film so much, even though I am used to the ease of digital now. And digital can be posted or printed immediately, shared immediately. And it produces incredibly sharp pictures. But still, film has a special look that cannot be digitally duplicated, so let the two formats coexist, I say.

An aside about Aliso Canyon - you may have heard by now about an ongoing disaster in our area, in Porter Ranch which is three miles north of Northridge. It's a natural gas leak, and the location is also called "Aliso Canyon" and so the situation on the news is either referred to as the "Aliso Canyon Leak" or the "Porter Ranch Leak", but I mention it just to say that, while it is no doubt a humongous pollution problem, it basically does not reach the Aliso Canyon park area, which is where I hike and is located about two miles from where the leak is. In the park, you can't smell any natural gas, and they would have closed it down it you could. They've already relocated thousands of people who live near the leak, which is close to the church where I go every 4th of July to watch fireworks. Hopefully they will get it under control soon. They call it on the news the "worst natural disaster since the BP oil spill", and maybe it is, but it is not affecting people in anything close to the same way, and where I live (and in Aliso Canyon park), you don't notice it at all.

So that's all I know for today. I did see a few of your posts, including a couch-cushion fight between James and a friend. You must tell him that it's a good start, but at some point, lol, he's gonna have to graduate to full Rock Star Recklessness and start throwing TV sets out of hotel windows, ala Keith Moon. That was the kind of thing they used to do in the 70s, and somebody needs to resurrect it. I nominate James for the job.

Your friend Sarah is a character, too, but it seems she'd be too busy making Shrinky Dinks into the wee hours to engage in any TV Tossing........  :)

Enjoy your new keyboard, Sweet Baby! I Love You and will see you in the morning.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Rams (yeah, sports - pretty ridiculous I realise)

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

Well, the big news around here was the Rams coming back to town. You may have seen the trillion or so posts between my brother and I on FB this afternoon. Yeah - sports, I know. Pretty ridiculous to get all over excited about grown men bashing into one another while chasing a ball around. But it's the Rams, and I'm like a little kid when it comes to them because they were my first favorite team in any sport. My Dad used to take me to the L.A. Colosseum as a little kid to see Roman Gabriel and the Rams of the '60s. As much as I loved baseball, football was always my favorite. Basketball came later in the early '70s with Jerry West and the Lakers, but anyway.......

Yeah - sports, I realise. Sports are mostly a Guy Thing. But I am glad the Rams are coming back. They never should have left in the first place, though my favorite Rams team and favorite Rams player (Kurt Warner) are both from the St. Louis era....

Now wait a minute.........why am I telling you this? Sports is a Guy Thing, and after all, it's just sports as I have said so many times before. But I was completely Sports Crazy as a kid and I suppose it's a holdover from that era. Now I just follow the basic wins and losses of any given sport/team/season, and that's it. I still root for Tom Brady, Serena Williams and LeBron to lose, but that's about all I get worked up about anymore. It's a far cry from when I would turn off the TV during a nail biting Lakers/Celtics championship game because I couldn't take the pressure.

So to sum up : Rams! (yippee!!), but - sports, yeah I know........   :):)

I did go on my first hike of the year, to Rice Canyon as planned. Pearl was at Golden Agers so I had time for about a 90 minute trek, and the trail was fairly muddy as predicted but not sloppily so. No getting stuck in the muck. Unfortunately I didn't get any good pics because the January light just seems to have a flat quality, as if the Sun were a lamp with a bare bulb. There's no quality to the January light, at least at noon, and out here in California. I will try again tomorrow, however, as Pearl has a Reseda Woman's Club meeting in the morning. Not sure where I will go yet, but even without good pictures, it's still a nice hike.

I hope your day was good, and I did see your post about the Trivium show. I think the name of the band was Pangeia? So maybe they are a new client, and if so, that's fantastic, and a good bill because I think Trivium is a fairly well known band.

The only other post I saw was the Sweet Baby photo from your friend James. He is a natural born comedian, and I loved the pic. Classic Sweet Babyism in a rock n' roll context. That is me; I came out of the womb rockin'......   :)  (probably first to Chubby Checker.......then The Beatles....)

And that's all I know for today, Rock & Sports.

Sweet Dreams and I will see you in the morning.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Nothing Ever Dies

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

Not much to report today, it was just all about Bowie, reading all the posts and tributes and reflecting on his life as it related to all of ours. That clip I posted from "The Elephant Man" is, for me, one of the most beautiful and reassuring scenes in movie history, as John Merrick (The Elephant Man) removes the neck-stabilizing pillows from his bed so he can sleep like a "normal" person for the first time in his life. He does so knowing it will kill him, causing him to choke, and as he passes from this world into the next, he sees the image of his mother, who tells him "nothing ever dies".

In the movie, which is one of David Lynch's best, that final scene blows you away and you'd better have a box of Kleenex handy. I chose it because of that last line, and because David Bowie starred as "The Elephant Man" in Denver of all places, when it was still a stage play. That was how many people heard of it, including me. This was probably in 1979. I had never heard of John Merrick, and Bowie was playing him without any makeup. I remember reading a review that talked about the way he contorted his body throughout the performance......

Lynch immortalised the story in film, and I always remembered that line - "nothing ever dies" - because it is what I believe (am certain of), and it was appropriate on this day, for a man who affected so many people.

A basic Monday for me. Tomorrow will be Golden Agers, the first one they've had since before Christmas, so I am gonna try to get a hike in. Maybe at Rice Canyon. The trail will probably be pure mud, so I don't know how far I'll get, but it will be fun to find out.

I hope your day was good and that all projects are going well, and that your year is off to a good start in general.

I Love You and will see you in the morning.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

David Bowie (Artist)

Hi, Sweet Baby,

Happy Late Night, and also sad with the news about David Bowie. I will post this now and then come back and write it, just so you know I'm here. Back in just a bit.

Well, what can even be said? I see a couple of posts from you on Bowie (via friends), and that's the thing with him - everyone liked him, or at least something by him. His music was popular will all ages and in most cultures, and in that way he was right up there with The Beatles and Elvis, who had the same birthday as him.

It was just two days ago and we were just talking about him, me and Ono. I mentioned that 1972 concert (if you saw my FB post) because it is legendary, and it was at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, where I saw so many of my earliest rock shows in the 70s. I never got to see David Bowie live, one of the very few artists I've missed (that I am a fan of), and if I had had the chance to see him, I would have wanted it to be on the Ziggy Stardust tour, which was the epitome of Rock Stardom in the Glam Rock era. Everything was happening then, concerning Rock Style (especially English), and Bowie personified it. Ziggy was the character he created to present the image to the world.

People said he was gay, the first really famous gay rock star. He played that up, and especially with his Alladin Sane image, and into Diamond Dogs. Those are the three best Bowie albums, I think : Ziggy, Alladin and DD. But yeah, he was flamboyant way back when, 45 years ago. And his image was that he was gay. He may have said that himself, but then later refuted it, said it was just an image. And he was married to model Iman for many years. But he put all of that imagery on the map, on top of all the great music he made in that period (with guitarist Mick Ronson, another legend).

So that was a concert I always wished I had been at, the 1972 Ziggy Stardust show at Santa Monica. Just because it was so Rock Star.

I said in my FB post to Ono, from two days ago, that I didn't care for the Bowie period that followed "Diamond Dogs". He abruptly changed his image from Glam Rock King to Zoot Suited white soul singer. He was called "The Thin White Duke" then, and he was actually gaunt, strung out on cocaine. His voice had become deep and hollow. It wasn't the Bowie I had known, and so I stopped following him for a while. Then he had a big comeback in the late 70s (or early 80s, I don't remember) with "Low" and the humongous hit "Heroes". For me, it wasn't the rock n' roll of his heyday, but still great stuff and catchy as hell.

What I mean to say, without writing a retrospective of his whole career (which many dozens of rock scribes will be doing anyway), is that Glam Bowie was such a huge influence on my Young Rock Self. Back in those days, there were glossy rock magazines like Circus and Creem, and they followed the Glammiest Stars like Alice Cooper, Elton John, Mott The Hoople and David Bowie. Before I ever bought albums (LPs), I used to buy 45rpm singles, because being 12 I only had a few bucks. And one of the very first singles I ever bought, in 1972, was "Space Oddity" by David Bowie. The "Major Tom" lyrics and the way he sang them over a strummed acoustic guitar just gave you goosebumps.........

I think it's safe to say that we are all kind of blown away, and saddened of course, that we are losing guys like Lemmy and now David Bowie.

We have talked a lot about the meaning of being an Artist, just straight-up being creative, and I think you could call him an Artist with a capital A. Besides that, in his most famous personae (Ziggy) he just plain was the representative of a brief time in rock and roll, when style was as important as the music, and had to be just as good.......  ////

On the home front, it was a good day in church, good singing and all. I have been the only tenor for four weeks now, as our other guy has been sick, and I've had fun singing my parts solo. It tests my voice, pushes me to improve. I saw several of your posts today, via Tristan and Sarah, and it seems like it was a nice, easy Sunday, good for just hanging out and making Art, or pondering it, or anything else to do with it. One post I saw had to do with tattoos and people's responses to them, from Tristan. There again you have the whole Image Thing, and it is always the character of the person that matters, which should go without saying.

I hope you have had a nice weekend and a good Sunday. I'm looking forward to the week ahead, in which I should be able to get in a hike or two.

Rock 'n Roll, David Bowie, Rock Stardom, my goodness.

I will see you in the morning, Sweet Baby. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Late Night Love

Happy Super Late Night, my Darling,

Some nights it takes longer to get situated here at Pearl's, hence the late start. I haven't much to report today anyhow, though we did have a nice little trip to Lake Balboa at noon, and it was clear today and fairly warm, maybe 70 degrees (freezing cold again tonight, however). It is good, and important, to get The Crew (Pearl & The Kobester) out and about as much as possible, just for the exercise and overall stimulation, especially in this period of extended L.A. Cold. Kobi's birthday is believed to be January 10th (according to the shelter he came from), and so on Sunday he will be 16 years old. All in all, he's a pretty amazing guy.  :)

No new posts showed up on "posts You like", so you must be working on a project or with friends. It's Friday. I have given up on FB ever restoring my news ticker, so I will just rely on the other communicative features, and they are working out ok for the time being.

If the weather stays dry for another couple days, I should be able to get out there and take my first pics of the year.

I hope you had a great day and I will see you in the morning.  I Love You.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)

Film Is Awesome

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I liked your photo this morning! Film - I Love It! Right away, what you notice is the grain, and that texture, that realness of film. I know I'm biased, and it's kind of funny because I've taken so many digital pics now myself over the last four years that they seem normal to me. And I love digital photography, which is advantageous in so many ways.

But when I see a film picture - a new one like yours - I get all excited about it again, because it is what I grew up on and used until 2012. And, it was the standard for.......over 160 years! (including daguerreotypes). And I think film will always have a niche market, like vinyl for records. Hopefully it will have a niche in movies, too, like with Tarantino's new one. Not a huge QT fan myself, but I am glad he champions film, and 70mm to boot!  :)

With your photo today, that is exactly the kind of picture I like because it has mystery. The wooden door, and even moreso -the dark window - hint at something. And then both are framed by the larger "door" of the outer shrubbery.

The thing with digital - and this is not a complaint, just an observation - is that it has made taking pictures very easy, because the camera does so much for you. With film, the camera still did a lot, just by the mechanics of it (viewfinder, lens, shutter), but you still had to load and wind film, set shutter speeds and f-stops, and you had to focus every shot. Also (and I've mentioned this before), you only had 20 or 36 shots per roll. Now you can pop off that many in a few minutes.

What film did was to give you a discipline in your choice of shot (excluding people like news or sports photogs who used motor drives even back then), and for me, that has carried over into my digital photography. I still wanna make sure everything looks "just so" in the frame before I take a pic. But I still shoot millions of photos now, compared to the days of film.......

Mostly I miss that look.....that grain and realism.

Maybe film will have a big enough "niche comeback" where it won't cost 20 bucks to get a roll of pictures back from the lab (or local drugstore). I would love to be able to shoot both film and digital on a regular basis.

Well, now you have inspired me to finally finish that roll of b&w I've got in my Pentax ME since 2014.....

Let it be said once again :  (1)....(2).....(3).......Film!

It's pretty awesome.  :)

No rain today, but still mighty chilly. We haven't gotten the usual on and off days of 75 to 80 degree weather that we get in January. This time it's been Straight Cold since early December.

I saw another post from The Archers today, so they must be your next video. You seem to have a connection to WJJO, so that is great. I also saw a post from a dog who appears to be a DJ at that station. Um......I suppose I shouldn't comment on that one, haha, but he seems to be quite the rogue.  :)

And of course your friend James is a natural born comedian ( and I must concur on pizza, which I basically lived on for a decade or two).....

.....and tacos, too.  :)

Well, that's all I know for tonight.  Except for that film is awesome.

I will see you in the morning.  I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):) 

Nino

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

That is a beautiful self portrait you posted this morning! :) It has an old-fashioned look, with the soft lighting and "pastel" skin tones and makeup. You could be a girl from a century ago, and yet modern at the same time. A lovely picture I think. I like your comment, too, and you know I am always harping about the time aspect - the slow but fast feeling experienced when a given period ( a year, a decade) is looked back upon as a whole, or in pieces.

Change is gradual indeed, and it's interesting again to record life, to note the changes. It would be neat to take "A Picture A Day", say for five or ten years, or even longer. And to make it not a repetitive picture, like of a growing child, but just of anything you thought of spontaneously. I often wish I had taken more photos of my neighborhood, and the various stores and businesses that have come and gone over the years. I love looking at websites like the L.A. Relics site that have decades-old photos of Downtown, or the similar site for the San Fernando Valley.

Of course, to take "A Picture A Day" (just one pic, no more) would take major dedication, because each pic would have to be somewhat special, even if it was of ordinary subject matter. Some thought, and therefore a little bit of time, would have to go into each day's photo. It might be too much to ask, in this day and age when we are busy doing all kinds of stuff.

But just to record life is a great thing, I think. To keep a journal, to take photos, make self portraits, anything you can think of........  :)

The rain is coming down as I write, and it is official that El Nino has finally hit us after five years of drought. Today was all day rain, and the Sepulveda Basin area of the Valley, the low ground where Lake Balboa is located, is now flooded. That's why the Army Corps Of Engineers drained our Los Angeles River back in the 1930s (I think it was then), because when the heavy rains came, the river would flood farmer's crops. So our river has been an empty concrete channel ever since, for flood control. And we never get any rain for years on end, except when we do, we get a lot.

So we are just hunkering down here at Pearl's. No dogwalks, no Golden Agers. I did get my own CSUN walk done, during a break in the downpour.

I liked your post of the little Jedi Knight! That is a Sweet Baby post if ever there was one. :):)

And I also saw another post by you for The Archers, so I am guessing that they are new clients, or potential clients, which is great.

Well, starting tomorrow we should get a brief break in the rain until Saturday. Can't wait to take some photos myself!

I will see you in the morn. Sweet Dreams until then.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Lots Of Water

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

It looks like our predicted El Nino weather system is finally here, with heavy rain for much of the day and more coming tomorrow. The coming weeks will tell if it's a true El Nino, as opposed to plain old Winter rain, and if it is one, we'll be in for a very wet season through March. I will sneak in some muddy hikes along the way, and by Spring there should be a lot of greenery and blooming plants along the trails.

I hope your day was good. Nice to see the video is off to a good start and generating positive comments on Youtube.  :)

I like your airborne pic of Greenland, too! I thought that was a great shot when I first saw it a year ago, and I think I commented at the time that it looked like "Lord Of The Rings". In fact, I think it led me to do some Greenland Googling, because I was curious what was there. I knew there was an American military base, but that was about it. I'd never heard of, say, a city in Greenland, or any type of government. But if I recall correctly, there are indeed some settlements and small villages and an indigenous population.

It would be awesome to do a photo tour, ala National Geographic, from the ground, and see those mountains up close.

Well, that's all I know for tonight. Maybe I will try for some rainy pictures tomorrow. Not sure how, without getting the cam wet, lol, but perhaps I can use an umbrella, or stand under roofs, or even trees. We'll see....

See you in the morning. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Excellent Work

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

Another excellent job on the Fall ll Rise video! Your edit is really tight, following the song with good anticipation of each band member's parts and fills. You hit little bass runs right on the spot, and lots of stuff like that. I bet it took a lot of hours to put all the pieces in place. :)

Your friend Brian had a good description of the overall camera work : kinetic. That is it exactly. The shots are fluid and "connect" with one another, creating a bouncing, swooping effect. Maybe your best camera work yet. I am just now Googling Glidecam, because I had not heard of it prior to your comment on the FB video thread, but I see that it appears to be a stabilizer similar to the old Steadicam but less bulky. I rented a Steadicam Jr. one time, twenty years ago, when I was making my video at The Meadows (and I've probably mentioned it before, too), and I really didn't know what I was doing - how to work it - I just had to wing it and use it by how it felt.

The Glidecam looks somewhat affordable, so maybe you bought one? And you are very good with it. For the "above the band" angles, you have gotta be standing on something, a ladder or something of that nature.

Great stuff all the way around, and I also really like the inserts with the young people holding messages. Those are awesome, and a great idea indeed. There seems to be a theme with these young bands, at least in name (Fall ll Rise, I Prevail, Versus Me) of "emerging triumphant", to use a phrase. That is really cool and empowering for bands and fans alike. So yeah, the insert messages are excellent.

You are a Professional Video Producer, Elizabeth. I use the term "producer" to cover all aspects, including Director, Photographer and all the other things you do on the shoot.

Yes indeed, you have done it. You are a pro.  :)

Now, I may have it right or wrong, but I think you still have two more videos coming (and as of this writing you already have over 700 views of Fall ll Rise). I think you still have 7 Seasons Deep and Versus Me? I will look forward to them whenever they will be released!

Continue to set your sights high because you have developed a definite style of your own, and bands are going to notice. I saw a post of yours today for a band called Archer, is that the right name? So perhaps they are in line for a video as well.  :)

That is all I know for today, Sweet Baby (and I did see your Sweet Baby post this morn)......

See you in the morning. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Time Management Is Essential

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I hope you had a good day, probably still settling into the new year (but knowing you, probably -or make that definitely - working on a project). Today I wasn't able to see any posts on FB, and I don't have a lot to report myself. I did finish the sixth and final episode of "Fear The Walking Dead" in time to return the dvd to the library with no late fees, so that in itself constitutes an awesome day.

This year more than ever, I wanna work on time management to get stuff done. I am already pretty good at it - alloting "x" amount of time each day for all the things I like to do. I mean, I'm not fanatical about it, and I don't have a schedule or anything rigid like that. It's more like something I keep in my head, and I've been getting better at it over the years, out of necessity, ever since my work schedule became more involved.

I like to hike, and read, and play guitar. My hands are fairly messed up (not terribly, though) with this Dupuytrens thing, and it has bent my left ring finger almost all the way down and hooked both pinkies. Both my folks had this condition and so now I've got it, but the thing is - and this part is cool - the thing is that it doesn't really affect my life much. My hands basically can do everything they've always been able to do, i.e. grip, write, anything dexterous, really not much difference at all. But on guitar, I've kinda had to re-learn how to play chords, using less fingers, and I'm still learning because this condition is new to me. I've only had it severely since 2013.

But the exceptionally cool thing is that it has made me learn the neck better than ever, and wanting to re-train myself to a new way of playing. And in many ways, I am playing better than ever.

So now I wanna play a lot, not cause I wanna join a band or anything, but just because it's fun to play guitar. But I also wanna read and have many (probably too many) books lined up. I just splurged and bought the extended version, 1600 pages, of The Beatles "Tune In" by Mark Lewisohn. That's the major league version of the regular book that I read two years ago.

And now I've got a sketch pad and wanna draw. I don't draw anything resembling realism, and I have no training to enable me to do so, so what I do is abstract and pattern oriented, but spontaneous. I have all of my paintings from the Burton Street days stashed in my apartment, and thinking about them has inspired me to get the sketch pad and to get my pencils and pastels out.

So with my day at Pearl's, I've gotta slot in certain amounts of time for all of these things that I like doing, including hikes and photography. But you can't really schedule it and say, "well, from 10:30 to 11:30 I'll do this", because there is also in between stuff to do, like rest and relax, or just think......

But it's just great to have a lot of interesting things to do, not just to occupy the mind, but to propel it....

So, time management will be important this year, but just keeping it informal, and still getting everything done!

Tomorrow is church and choir (I forgot to mention singing) and so that will be fun as well. I will be around early, and then after practice as usual, about 1:30pm.

See you in the morning, Sweet Dreams until then.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo :):)

Magic

Happy Late Night on New Year's Day, my Darling,

I hope the first day of the year was a good one for you, and I will guess that it was. I saw several of your posts today and they were just beautiful and right on the money.  :)

Two of them were very heartfelt, one from a photography FB page with Abbe in the name, and the other having to do with a person describing when they met someone very special. I did not want to be presumptuous and assume that the words of the Abbe post were meant for me, but when I saw the second, I thought it was okay to think they were. Those posts were so beautifully written, and I wish I could recall the name of the poster of the second one, which described a meeting of two people. Both were gone from my "posts You like" feature after the initial time I saw them, but I am so glad I did because they made my day.  :):)
I just think it's going to be a great year, and as always, it's all about Intent. The third post I saw was from the guy who just celebrated his tenth anniversary of making the decision to work for himself. That one was extremely well stated, the guy nailed every aspect of the importance making such a choice.

I know how he feels, and I have stated before that in my case, I didn't feel I had a choice. I mean, I did have one, in the literal sense, but I knew it would kill me, spiritually at least. In my case I didn't have any training or schooling to guide me, I just kind of had to feel my way, and of course I had my parents who supported me after I quit my job. Even though we had some very difficult times as a family unit, I would not have made it if it weren't for them.

The guy who wrote the post, Joel Wanasek (do I have his name right?) talked about not knowing where the road will take you, and that is what we have said all along.

I always knew that in my life. It was so weird, because I knew I wasn't suited for 9 to 5, and yet I wasn't rebellious against it. I had a job at MGM that paid well for the time, with job security that would have lasted years. I was in a union.

But I just couldn't do it. In my 20s, it was very confusing because I wasn't suited to do much else. I had no schooling, no formal training of the kind that leads to a career. I didn't know what else I could do. All I knew was that I absolutely could not work in a factory. In Joel Wanasek's case, it was a bank. So I didn't know what I wanted to do (except to play music, which I got a late start at).

But what I did have, inside, was a driving force. And that force was so strong that it could not be denied. It would have had it's way no matter what, and it was my soul speaking to me.

It was telling me to hang in there, that everything would become clear eventually.

That's what I mean when I talk about quiet confidence : just that certainty you can only have with yourself and God. It is the most powerful certainty of all.

And so we have seen it at work, both in my life and yours. It is a constant conversation inside yourself, and with God, to make magic in your life and to create a path for you to sustain that magic.

We have discovered that magic is real, and in fact that it is the most real thing in life. It is the mundane, which - though often necessary (washing dishes, tying shoes, etc.) that is less real, because it is less powerful. Settling for less, is less powerful, as Joel Wanasek discovered.

Magic, on the other hand (and I don't mean magic tricks but real live magic), is the most powerful thing one can experience, because it comes from God, and it comes to you because of your inner voice talking to you, telling you where you belong. That's quiet confidence, quiet because it's a silent conversation between you and your soul, and confidence because your soul is confiding in you. It is telling you Your Own Personal Truth.

As I found at 19, you can't help but listen. And though the road isn't always clear, you at least know that you are On The Right Road.

Because it's yours. It's Your Road. It's your own personal magic that drives you down that road, and because God gave you that magic, you can trust it entirely.

So that's all I know for tonight, and I just wanna say and reiterate that this year is gonna be amazing. Don't just believe it but know it, and pay attention to the details.

As an Artist, you may be part of a bigger project than you realise. And you may find (I think you certainly will) that your part is incredibly special and important. This will happen as a dawning, over time.

We have talked about life being huge, and this is what we mean. So you kind of live in two worlds at once, in your life as an Artist; one where you do your work and plan what's next and maintain continuity in that way, and the other in which you never for a moment lose focus on that inner conversation which deals with the magic and the bigger yet still unknown picture......

That is the part that is driving you, that inside part. It leads you into that hugeness, the enormity of life, lived simultaneously in the physical and spiritual realms.

That's all I know for tonight, Sweet Baby. This is gonna be a great year!

I Love You and will see you in the morning.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, my Darling,

I hope you had fun welcoming in 2016. We watched the Times Square party with Anderson Cooper. Folks were blowing off a few fireworks around the 'hood. Kobedoggie and The Black Kitty got in on the act, too, by alternately sleeping, wandering around, and hoping for extra food.  :)

That was a nice array of chocolates you got as a Christmas present. You sure have an eye for design, and the way you laid out the candies and the black and white checkered backdrop (tablecloth?) you used suggest an advertisement. You know, I got a kick out of it because we have one of those candy bars, in just a couple of stores here (and they are Mexican and Armenian produce markets, which makes it even funnier and curiouser), but it is the chocolate bar with the smiling blonde kid on the cover. Now I will have to try one!

Well, here's to all the great things that happened in 2015, all the progress made, and looking forward to new magic in 2016. Of course it will come. The fun part is not knowing exactly how, but expecting it and watching it happen.

Then going, "Wow"! (which is sometimes all you can say......)

I will see you in the morning, aka "see you next year" (haha). We will be watching the Rose Parade and generally taking it easy, around all day.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)