Happy Late Monday Night, Sweet Baby,
I hope you had a nice day. I saw a couple of music-related posts, one was a pic of a guitarist and the text read "music video half finished", so perhaps that means you? I am guessing as always, but if so congrats once again. :)
Not much to report here. Still freezing and overcast, though not raining. I can't recall a Winter like this one ever in my lifetime (which is nothing compared to you guys, I realise), but still, even more than the rain we have had, which is certainly in the top ten rainiest since they began tracking it in the 1880s, what is even more significant to me is the constant cold. It got cold at the beginning of December and has not let up for three solid months, just like a real Winter season. We have had a handful of 70 degree days since then, but basically it's been cold - mid-50s - and overcast for three months. With the rain too. Our usual pattern is a cold but clear December, followed by a similar January, but with periods of warm weather up to 85 degrees. By February, which is usually about half-rainy - the average temp is at least 65 degrees and very often it is warmer. Spring usually begins here in February. But here we are almost in March, and I am still wearing a sweatshirt with heavy down jacket over it.
I'm a California Cold Wimp, I am aware, but still..........it's never been like this.
I still managed a quickie hike at Aliso this afternoon. The hills look like Ireland, but I still want my heat back.
Tonight's movie was "The Infiltrator" with Bryan Cranston as a Federal agent who goes undercover to break up a huge cocaine ring run by a Columbian drug lord named Pablo Escobar, who was infamous in the 1980s. It's quite a story, and the movie also focuses on the involvement of a bank, which was also infamous at the time, called BCCI. This bank was later nicknamed "Bank Of Crooks And Criminals" (BCCI) when it's involvement surfaced in the Iran/Contra hearings of the late 80s. As it turned out, the government of the United States, always a Stellar Cast Of Characters (not), was importing tons and tons (literally) of cocaine, to finance illicit wars, in Nicaragua and Afghanistan. So, in the movie, while Fed agent Cranston is trying to bust these guys, who were famously known as the Medellin Cartel, the CIA was actively working against him, even trying to intimidate him, because they were working with the Columbian drug lords to import the coke. This all happened on Ronald Reagan's watch, and it was of course swept under the rug, though a few lower level people did go to prison for a day or two, and a few drug lords did do more serious time.
The movie is excellent as a thriller, and especially as it explores the human aspect of going undercover and pretending to be someone you are not. Cranston's character actually befriends one of the top drug lords and his family, and he is conflicted emotionally when it finally comes time to bust the guy, but in the end his conscience is clear because cocaine is a very evil drug.
I give "The Infiltrator" a big thumbs up. Though it is strictly a Hollywoodised thriller, and not a film of emotional depth or metaphorical elements, it works very well as a reporting of a historic event, during a time when cocaine was at a saturation point in America. The Medellin Cartel was ultimately broken up, but the biggest and most important operator still exists..........the CIA, of course. They, and other hidden elements within the US Government and it's agencies, are some of the worst people on the planet. I am glad that your generation doesn't seem to be as caught up in the drug thing, although I know marajuana is bigger than ever, and not a good drug either. But overall, you guys don't seem to be caught in the middle of it, and that is good, because by abstaining, you help to put all these criminals out of business. If nobody wants their product, they lose all their power.
End of sermon. :)
That's all for tonight. Keep praying for sunshine and warmth for Los Angeles. :)
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
Oscars + Music + The Days Of Golden Glenn
Happy Late Sunday Night, my Darling,
I hope you had a nice day and a good weekend overall. We had good singing in church this morn, with an 8 song rehearsal afterward. Lots of music coming up for Easter. No hikes today, just a little shopping and then this evening we watched The Academy Awards at Pearl's. Wow - I've been watching the Oscars my whole life and that was the biggest foul-up I've ever seen. At first, just like everyone else I thought it was a joke. I felt bad for the "La La Land" crew, but also for the "Moonlighting" folks, because the screwup took all the attention away from the winner. I must say, however, and this will sound strange coming from a movie fanatic like me, but I had never even heard of "Moonlighting" until tonight. Last year, there was a big outcry about the Academy being racist, and so tonight may have been their way of straightening things out. Not very PC to say, but it's the truth. There are a lot of politics involved in the Oscars, I'll just leave it at that. For myself, I would have voted for "Hacksaw Ridge" in every category for which it was nominated.
Of course I was sorry to hear about Bill Paxton, one of the most well-liked actors of the past twenty years or so. He wasn't a leading man, but he was always turning up in some of the biggest films, including "Terminator", "Twister", "Apollo 13" (one of his best roles) and others. He also made a terrific psycho-religious horror film, which he directed and starred in, called "Frailty" which came out in about 2002 or so. My Mom and I saw it in the theater, and it was so good I've seen it a couple more times on dvd. One of the good guys of show biz was Bill Paxton.......
I saw a few posts, mostly music related : one from Sarah musing on an "all-in-one" music studio/living space. We tried that at my house in 1980, lol, and that was why my band was called "Disturbing The Peace". We certainly disturbed the neighbors, haha - and they called the cops many times, hence the band name - but then we found a studio not too far away, in a converted real estate office building. All of the rooms had been muffled; there was a different band in each one, and for a while it was like a little "music apartment house", and you could even sort of live there. It was really cool, the Golden Glenn Music Studio, home of our band from January 1st, 1981 until February 1, 1982.
That memory, and Sarah's wish for musical convenience reminds me of another quote I will never forget. In 1982 I wanted to build a guitar from parts like my hero Edward Van Halen. I didn't know much about it, but still managed to acquire all the body parts and wiring for a guitar in the shape of a Gibson Explorer. Then I had it all put together and painted by a Reseda guitar maker who became very famous later on, a guy named Jim Tyler. When I went to pick up my guitar - which I still have! - it was well put together and beautifully painted, but there was one thing I wasn't expecting. It weighed a ton.
"It's really heavy", I said to Jim Tyler.
And I have never forgotten his response : "You've gotta bleed for rock n' roll".
He was right. You've gotta bleed, you've gotta disturb the neighbors, you've gotta get the cops called, you've gotta drive across town, and you've gotta ultimately do the "no matter what" thing.
Just keep playing. Just keep shooting. You shape your life, it doesn't shape you unless you let it.
Anyhow, still freezing here in The 'Ridge. The hills are green and beautiful, but a heavy price was paid, lol, in extreme coldness and wetness.
"Here Comes The Sun" is my new mantra.
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope you had a nice day and a good weekend overall. We had good singing in church this morn, with an 8 song rehearsal afterward. Lots of music coming up for Easter. No hikes today, just a little shopping and then this evening we watched The Academy Awards at Pearl's. Wow - I've been watching the Oscars my whole life and that was the biggest foul-up I've ever seen. At first, just like everyone else I thought it was a joke. I felt bad for the "La La Land" crew, but also for the "Moonlighting" folks, because the screwup took all the attention away from the winner. I must say, however, and this will sound strange coming from a movie fanatic like me, but I had never even heard of "Moonlighting" until tonight. Last year, there was a big outcry about the Academy being racist, and so tonight may have been their way of straightening things out. Not very PC to say, but it's the truth. There are a lot of politics involved in the Oscars, I'll just leave it at that. For myself, I would have voted for "Hacksaw Ridge" in every category for which it was nominated.
Of course I was sorry to hear about Bill Paxton, one of the most well-liked actors of the past twenty years or so. He wasn't a leading man, but he was always turning up in some of the biggest films, including "Terminator", "Twister", "Apollo 13" (one of his best roles) and others. He also made a terrific psycho-religious horror film, which he directed and starred in, called "Frailty" which came out in about 2002 or so. My Mom and I saw it in the theater, and it was so good I've seen it a couple more times on dvd. One of the good guys of show biz was Bill Paxton.......
I saw a few posts, mostly music related : one from Sarah musing on an "all-in-one" music studio/living space. We tried that at my house in 1980, lol, and that was why my band was called "Disturbing The Peace". We certainly disturbed the neighbors, haha - and they called the cops many times, hence the band name - but then we found a studio not too far away, in a converted real estate office building. All of the rooms had been muffled; there was a different band in each one, and for a while it was like a little "music apartment house", and you could even sort of live there. It was really cool, the Golden Glenn Music Studio, home of our band from January 1st, 1981 until February 1, 1982.
That memory, and Sarah's wish for musical convenience reminds me of another quote I will never forget. In 1982 I wanted to build a guitar from parts like my hero Edward Van Halen. I didn't know much about it, but still managed to acquire all the body parts and wiring for a guitar in the shape of a Gibson Explorer. Then I had it all put together and painted by a Reseda guitar maker who became very famous later on, a guy named Jim Tyler. When I went to pick up my guitar - which I still have! - it was well put together and beautifully painted, but there was one thing I wasn't expecting. It weighed a ton.
"It's really heavy", I said to Jim Tyler.
And I have never forgotten his response : "You've gotta bleed for rock n' roll".
He was right. You've gotta bleed, you've gotta disturb the neighbors, you've gotta get the cops called, you've gotta drive across town, and you've gotta ultimately do the "no matter what" thing.
Just keep playing. Just keep shooting. You shape your life, it doesn't shape you unless you let it.
Anyhow, still freezing here in The 'Ridge. The hills are green and beautiful, but a heavy price was paid, lol, in extreme coldness and wetness.
"Here Comes The Sun" is my new mantra.
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Waterfall Trail + "Hacksaw Ridge" + Hope All Is Well + Oscars
Happy Late Saturday Night, Sweet Baby,
I hope you had a nice day, today and yesterday. This afternoon I had a very nice hike out at Santa Susana. The day was cold and overcast. It was the first time I've had to hike anywhere with my heaviest down jacket, but anyhow I concentrated on the Waterfall Trail once again, as the water is a temporary phenomenon, and this time I discovered that there is still a little bit of Water Falling. When I got to the top of the main trail, there were several people up there, and a lady showed me a little side trail that led up to the waterfall, or at least where it starts before it falls down the sandstone rock face. This side trail was very steep and canted at all kinds of angles, and would not have been traversable (by me, at least) if it were not for the two factors of rain-softened ground, which allowed for good footing, and also lots of turf - grass and other undergrowth that builds such a skinny trail up on the sides. In the middle of a blazing Summer this same trail would be a bald, grainy, slippery, skinny noodle of a trail but with the same steepness and canted angles, and there would be no chance I would climb it. But today the conditions were fortuitous, and it was awesome.
I am gonna keep going back to the Waterfall Trail section of the park (a place I never usually go - I always go to The Devil's Slide trail) just because we probably won't have a Winter like this too often, with this much water and this much green growth. The park just looks amazing. I only took a couple pics today but neither was that great, just because of crummy light. I went to Aliso yesterday afternoon, and it was sunny at that time, but no pics worth posting.
Tonight's movie was "Hacksaw Ridge", directed by Mel Gibson, the story of a conscientious objector who served as a medic at Okinawa in one of the most horrific battles of WW2. I was floored by this movie, and my immediate opinion as it ended was that it was one of the greatest war movies I've ever seen, but it's even more than that. It's really a profound anti-war statement about a man who refused to carry a gun into battle, or to even touch a gun, so strong were his Christian beliefs. These are the true Christian beliefs, as "Thou shalt not kill", and "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself", and this man went all the way with his beliefs. It is a true story, and the man was able to save 75 wounded soldiers all by himself, during a battle so unrelenting that onscreen it just looks like a meat grinder.
It may be presumptuous of me to call it a "man's movie", and I know certain men who would not want to see it because of it's vivid and realistic portrayal of what war actually looks like - lightning fast violence and chaos, with guys running one moment and getting blown to smithereens the next. Mel Gibson is known as a director who does not flinch from horror, and he more than demonstrates it here. The violence is not gratuitous, however, because this is the way war looks. It's a straight horror show, gory beyond belief. This is why I say it's a "man's movie" (probably a stupid qualification) but it's just that I can't imagine any woman wanting to sit through such violence. Still, the first hour of the film does deal with romance, and how the man met his wife, and all of that is beautifully done.
To sum up - an exceptionally moving film, really tremendous on every level. If I were an Oscar voter I would give it Best Picture. It is also a story of commitment and convictions that people need to see and hear in today's world. An astounding movie, with the highest possible Thumbs Up I can give. But decidedly not for the squeamish.
I saw a few posts today, all for bands and music. One was for Sarah's t-shirts, which look really cool! I hope the show went well on Thursday night. I also saw another post of a band sitting on top of their tour bus, but it only came up once and then I didn't see it again. It had something to do with "working" ( a key word in the text) so I figured that you are working as always.
Tomorrow morning, church and choir. A fairly easy song - though with a lot of words and breaths - called "Go Out With Joy". Sung "full on" in the pop style.......
That's all I know for tonight. I'll be back from choir practice at 1pm, and then tomorrow night I'll be here at Pearl's watching the Oscars. I haven't seen many of the films, but I am guessing that "La La Land" (which I haven't seen) will win big, just because The Academy loves movies about show business, and they also love musicals. My own pics would be "Hacksaw Ridge" for Best Picture, Andrew Garfield for best actor and Natalie Portman for best actress for "Jackie". I don't follow it as closely as I used to, but it will be fun to watch as always. And I will be around most of the evening, online, as I watch.
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope you had a nice day, today and yesterday. This afternoon I had a very nice hike out at Santa Susana. The day was cold and overcast. It was the first time I've had to hike anywhere with my heaviest down jacket, but anyhow I concentrated on the Waterfall Trail once again, as the water is a temporary phenomenon, and this time I discovered that there is still a little bit of Water Falling. When I got to the top of the main trail, there were several people up there, and a lady showed me a little side trail that led up to the waterfall, or at least where it starts before it falls down the sandstone rock face. This side trail was very steep and canted at all kinds of angles, and would not have been traversable (by me, at least) if it were not for the two factors of rain-softened ground, which allowed for good footing, and also lots of turf - grass and other undergrowth that builds such a skinny trail up on the sides. In the middle of a blazing Summer this same trail would be a bald, grainy, slippery, skinny noodle of a trail but with the same steepness and canted angles, and there would be no chance I would climb it. But today the conditions were fortuitous, and it was awesome.
I am gonna keep going back to the Waterfall Trail section of the park (a place I never usually go - I always go to The Devil's Slide trail) just because we probably won't have a Winter like this too often, with this much water and this much green growth. The park just looks amazing. I only took a couple pics today but neither was that great, just because of crummy light. I went to Aliso yesterday afternoon, and it was sunny at that time, but no pics worth posting.
Tonight's movie was "Hacksaw Ridge", directed by Mel Gibson, the story of a conscientious objector who served as a medic at Okinawa in one of the most horrific battles of WW2. I was floored by this movie, and my immediate opinion as it ended was that it was one of the greatest war movies I've ever seen, but it's even more than that. It's really a profound anti-war statement about a man who refused to carry a gun into battle, or to even touch a gun, so strong were his Christian beliefs. These are the true Christian beliefs, as "Thou shalt not kill", and "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself", and this man went all the way with his beliefs. It is a true story, and the man was able to save 75 wounded soldiers all by himself, during a battle so unrelenting that onscreen it just looks like a meat grinder.
It may be presumptuous of me to call it a "man's movie", and I know certain men who would not want to see it because of it's vivid and realistic portrayal of what war actually looks like - lightning fast violence and chaos, with guys running one moment and getting blown to smithereens the next. Mel Gibson is known as a director who does not flinch from horror, and he more than demonstrates it here. The violence is not gratuitous, however, because this is the way war looks. It's a straight horror show, gory beyond belief. This is why I say it's a "man's movie" (probably a stupid qualification) but it's just that I can't imagine any woman wanting to sit through such violence. Still, the first hour of the film does deal with romance, and how the man met his wife, and all of that is beautifully done.
To sum up - an exceptionally moving film, really tremendous on every level. If I were an Oscar voter I would give it Best Picture. It is also a story of commitment and convictions that people need to see and hear in today's world. An astounding movie, with the highest possible Thumbs Up I can give. But decidedly not for the squeamish.
I saw a few posts today, all for bands and music. One was for Sarah's t-shirts, which look really cool! I hope the show went well on Thursday night. I also saw another post of a band sitting on top of their tour bus, but it only came up once and then I didn't see it again. It had something to do with "working" ( a key word in the text) so I figured that you are working as always.
Tomorrow morning, church and choir. A fairly easy song - though with a lot of words and breaths - called "Go Out With Joy". Sung "full on" in the pop style.......
That's all I know for tonight. I'll be back from choir practice at 1pm, and then tomorrow night I'll be here at Pearl's watching the Oscars. I haven't seen many of the films, but I am guessing that "La La Land" (which I haven't seen) will win big, just because The Academy loves movies about show business, and they also love musicals. My own pics would be "Hacksaw Ridge" for Best Picture, Andrew Garfield for best actor and Natalie Portman for best actress for "Jackie". I don't follow it as closely as I used to, but it will be fun to watch as always. And I will be around most of the evening, online, as I watch.
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Friday, February 24, 2017
Happy Thursday + "The Dirty Dozen"
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I hope you had a good show tonight at Sarah's cd party, and also a good day in general. We had another day of sunshine, but we're also back to sub-zero temperatures : man it is cold tonight! It's like December cold - fruh-HEE-zing - and it's just really weird because we are almost in March and in any other year we would have begun our Spring a couple weeks ago, and would have had many pre-Spring warm and balmy days interspersed throughout the Winter calendar beginning in mid January. But this year we've had none of that. It's just been full-on Winter Weather all the way through, like we live in another state.
Well, at least it stopped raining. :)
Tonight at CSUN we saw "The Dirty Dozen", the classic WW2 film from 1967 which was directed by Robert Aldrich and which John Cassavetes acted in. I have seen bits and pieces of this movie before - a squib here and there on TV - but I had never before seen the whole thing before tonight. That seems unusual, with me being such a WW2 buff, and "The Dirty Dozen" being so famous, and I think it is exactly that factor that has kept me from seeing several "very famous" movies. I've still never seen "Gone With The Wind". I had not seen "Citizen Kane" until 2015. I'm sure there are a few others I could think of. Sometimes, with me, I think - "well, if a movie is that famous, it can't be that great".
I was 100% wrong about "Citizen Kane".
And I was pleasantly surprised by "The Dirty Dozen", which turned out to be one of the best WW2 movies I've ever seen, even though most of the action takes place in the last 30 minutes of a 2 1/2 hour movie. Still, the build-up to all that action is a very well told story of a Major (Lee Marvin) and 12 soldier/criminals who have been assigned a mission to kill several Nazi leaders who are holed up in a huge chalet. The incentive for the "dozen" wartime criminals is that their sentences will be commuted if they complete the mission.
The whole thing is extremely well done, it never lags, and everyone in the large cast creates a memorable character (especially Cassavetes, who was nominated for an Oscar). What is especially striking about the movie, though, is the realistic way it portrays the violence of war, and most particularly the cruelty of the violence. This aspect of the story is saved for the very end, and it must have been quite shocking when it came out in 1967, because it holds up now - to show the extent of what one "side" will do to the other "side", and how ruthless it can be. In this way it broke the ground for all-out 80s war films like "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon", in which nothing of the horror of war was held back.
"The Dirty Dozen" starred every Macho Man of that era, a necessity for such a film, but in spite of the Testosterone Factor it is not without a sense of humor, in fact there are laughs aplenty in the first two hours.
I know it's a Guy Thing, war movies in general, but I just report on it because I saw it, and it was a classic in all respects.
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope you had a good show tonight at Sarah's cd party, and also a good day in general. We had another day of sunshine, but we're also back to sub-zero temperatures : man it is cold tonight! It's like December cold - fruh-HEE-zing - and it's just really weird because we are almost in March and in any other year we would have begun our Spring a couple weeks ago, and would have had many pre-Spring warm and balmy days interspersed throughout the Winter calendar beginning in mid January. But this year we've had none of that. It's just been full-on Winter Weather all the way through, like we live in another state.
Well, at least it stopped raining. :)
Tonight at CSUN we saw "The Dirty Dozen", the classic WW2 film from 1967 which was directed by Robert Aldrich and which John Cassavetes acted in. I have seen bits and pieces of this movie before - a squib here and there on TV - but I had never before seen the whole thing before tonight. That seems unusual, with me being such a WW2 buff, and "The Dirty Dozen" being so famous, and I think it is exactly that factor that has kept me from seeing several "very famous" movies. I've still never seen "Gone With The Wind". I had not seen "Citizen Kane" until 2015. I'm sure there are a few others I could think of. Sometimes, with me, I think - "well, if a movie is that famous, it can't be that great".
I was 100% wrong about "Citizen Kane".
And I was pleasantly surprised by "The Dirty Dozen", which turned out to be one of the best WW2 movies I've ever seen, even though most of the action takes place in the last 30 minutes of a 2 1/2 hour movie. Still, the build-up to all that action is a very well told story of a Major (Lee Marvin) and 12 soldier/criminals who have been assigned a mission to kill several Nazi leaders who are holed up in a huge chalet. The incentive for the "dozen" wartime criminals is that their sentences will be commuted if they complete the mission.
The whole thing is extremely well done, it never lags, and everyone in the large cast creates a memorable character (especially Cassavetes, who was nominated for an Oscar). What is especially striking about the movie, though, is the realistic way it portrays the violence of war, and most particularly the cruelty of the violence. This aspect of the story is saved for the very end, and it must have been quite shocking when it came out in 1967, because it holds up now - to show the extent of what one "side" will do to the other "side", and how ruthless it can be. In this way it broke the ground for all-out 80s war films like "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon", in which nothing of the horror of war was held back.
"The Dirty Dozen" starred every Macho Man of that era, a necessity for such a film, but in spite of the Testosterone Factor it is not without a sense of humor, in fact there are laughs aplenty in the first two hours.
I know it's a Guy Thing, war movies in general, but I just report on it because I saw it, and it was a classic in all respects.
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxo :):)
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Sun + Santa Su + Great Concert Pic + Charlie Chan
Happy Late Night, my Darling,
Well hooray! - the Sun finally came out today. Naturally, I headed out for a hike as fast as I could, just in case it was a trick, lol. The sky was blue, but huge white cumulus clouds passed overhead and a heavy grey presence loomed on the horizon. The weather held out, though, and I had a great time, at Santa Susana which was absolutely lush and gorgeous, with water running in the creek just like at Aliso and Limekiln. I wanted to go up the Waterfall Trail because of that drone video I saw and posted the other day, even though I suspected it would not be "falling" five days after the storm, and I was right about that. When I got to the top of the trail, no waterfall, but you could see the stains the water had left on the rocks, and there were many runnels and rivulets still coursing down the nooks and crannies of the mountainside. (what is the difference between a nook and a cranny anyway?) :)
The clouds cast shadows on the hills below and also caused backlighting in the distance, which made for some good pix, one of which I posted on FB, of the darkened hilltop.
A regular workday other than that, with all the regular book reading and music listening breaks, as usual.
That was a great concert shot you posted on your professional FB page. Nice framing, with the lights in the upper left creating an elongated sideways "V" shape, like an opening, and then down at the bottom center of the pic, where you got her tattoo in there. A good action shot! I have not seen you post this band before, so maybe they are a new client. :) I know you have Sarah's CD release show coming up in a couple days, so you will get a lot of great pix at that one too. Keep shooting, keep posting 'em!
I saw the James post about Marilyn Manson, and I got a kick out of it (of course) because of the Grilled Cheese. If they ever meet, they will be inseparable!
In addition to my reading and music, I watched another Charlie Chan movie : "The Scarlet Clue", in which Charlie (and his two mentally deficient sidekicks Benson Fong and the hilarious Mantan Moreland) investigate a series of murders at a radio station. The murders involve wartime espionage and radar technology secrets, and it was a neat coincidence because during the war, Dad was in radar, and after the war, both Mom and Dad worked at a radio station. I love Charlie Chan, especially with Sidney Toler. I am gonna find as many of these as I can get my hands on, lol. :)
That's all I know for tonight, SB. I trust that all is going well. I hope our sunshine will continue! If so, more hikes will ensue.
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Well hooray! - the Sun finally came out today. Naturally, I headed out for a hike as fast as I could, just in case it was a trick, lol. The sky was blue, but huge white cumulus clouds passed overhead and a heavy grey presence loomed on the horizon. The weather held out, though, and I had a great time, at Santa Susana which was absolutely lush and gorgeous, with water running in the creek just like at Aliso and Limekiln. I wanted to go up the Waterfall Trail because of that drone video I saw and posted the other day, even though I suspected it would not be "falling" five days after the storm, and I was right about that. When I got to the top of the trail, no waterfall, but you could see the stains the water had left on the rocks, and there were many runnels and rivulets still coursing down the nooks and crannies of the mountainside. (what is the difference between a nook and a cranny anyway?) :)
The clouds cast shadows on the hills below and also caused backlighting in the distance, which made for some good pix, one of which I posted on FB, of the darkened hilltop.
A regular workday other than that, with all the regular book reading and music listening breaks, as usual.
That was a great concert shot you posted on your professional FB page. Nice framing, with the lights in the upper left creating an elongated sideways "V" shape, like an opening, and then down at the bottom center of the pic, where you got her tattoo in there. A good action shot! I have not seen you post this band before, so maybe they are a new client. :) I know you have Sarah's CD release show coming up in a couple days, so you will get a lot of great pix at that one too. Keep shooting, keep posting 'em!
I saw the James post about Marilyn Manson, and I got a kick out of it (of course) because of the Grilled Cheese. If they ever meet, they will be inseparable!
In addition to my reading and music, I watched another Charlie Chan movie : "The Scarlet Clue", in which Charlie (and his two mentally deficient sidekicks Benson Fong and the hilarious Mantan Moreland) investigate a series of murders at a radio station. The murders involve wartime espionage and radar technology secrets, and it was a neat coincidence because during the war, Dad was in radar, and after the war, both Mom and Dad worked at a radio station. I love Charlie Chan, especially with Sidney Toler. I am gonna find as many of these as I can get my hands on, lol. :)
That's all I know for tonight, SB. I trust that all is going well. I hope our sunshine will continue! If so, more hikes will ensue.
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Beautiful Photo + L.A. is Seattle Now
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
That was a beautiful picture of you this morning, sitting at the old piano. I had thought your trip to Florida was for a client, but I guess it was actually with your family, with your brother and Mom? I know you guys go on lots of road trips.......but yeah, your Bro took an excellent shot (as you noted), and not only captured the antique dignity of the piano but also your pianistic spirit as well. It would actually make a great promo shot in fact. :) Were you guys in a museum? I am interested in the Civil War aspect you mentioned, and it must have been a trip to touch the keys on that piano and feel all the vibes from hands that had touched it from over a century before........
As always, I hope you had a good day. It's still heavy overcast here, and drizzly and cold, and it probably always will be, so I suppose I'd better get used to it. We have become Seattle. ;)
Thus I remain in hibernation mode, which runs totally against my nature.
I saw a post from you yesterday via a band that was about to embark on a tour. I can't remember the name and it doesn't come up now on FB, but because it said something like "gonna head out on tour in a couple weeks, be back in Wisconsin at such-and-such a time", I figured maybe you are gonna head out with a band pretty soon here. If so, that will be awesome.
If the Sun even manages to peek out tomorrow, or even if the drizzle stops, so my camera doesn't get wet, I will try for a hike. Meanwhile, thank goodness for interesting books, Charlie Chan movies and the new Mike Oldfield album.
See you in the morning, SB. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
That was a beautiful picture of you this morning, sitting at the old piano. I had thought your trip to Florida was for a client, but I guess it was actually with your family, with your brother and Mom? I know you guys go on lots of road trips.......but yeah, your Bro took an excellent shot (as you noted), and not only captured the antique dignity of the piano but also your pianistic spirit as well. It would actually make a great promo shot in fact. :) Were you guys in a museum? I am interested in the Civil War aspect you mentioned, and it must have been a trip to touch the keys on that piano and feel all the vibes from hands that had touched it from over a century before........
As always, I hope you had a good day. It's still heavy overcast here, and drizzly and cold, and it probably always will be, so I suppose I'd better get used to it. We have become Seattle. ;)
Thus I remain in hibernation mode, which runs totally against my nature.
I saw a post from you yesterday via a band that was about to embark on a tour. I can't remember the name and it doesn't come up now on FB, but because it said something like "gonna head out on tour in a couple weeks, be back in Wisconsin at such-and-such a time", I figured maybe you are gonna head out with a band pretty soon here. If so, that will be awesome.
If the Sun even manages to peek out tomorrow, or even if the drizzle stops, so my camera doesn't get wet, I will try for a hike. Meanwhile, thank goodness for interesting books, Charlie Chan movies and the new Mike Oldfield album.
See you in the morning, SB. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Monday, February 20, 2017
Good Singing + More Rain, Oh Boy! + Chord Accents + "Salvatore Giuliano"
Happy Late Sunday Night, Sweet Baby,
Not much to report today, though there was good singin' in church. After that I was home for most of the rest of the day, due to..............wait for it..........more rain! Yessiree, I bet you can imagine how thrilled I was, especially as it was accompanied by fruh-HEEZ-ing cold temperatures for what seems like the 1000th straight day. I did manage to go for a half-walk during a break in the rain this afternoon, but mostly it was just reading & playing guitar, learning Bowie's "TVC15" (just cause I heard it on the radio) and once again the chords are deceptively easy. The deceptive part, as always, comes in the genius of the way the chords back up the vocal line, and also in the way Bowie, and all the best songwriters, would use accents, like 7th chords or minors, not as major mood changers (which is a legit strategy too, depending on the song) but just as little "flavorizers", to very briefly change things up. Thus, instead of ending a verse on an F major chord, he might use an F7 because it will trick out the movement of the vocal line just a pinch more.......and also create a slightly "unresolved" feel to the turnaround into the next verse. Then, when perhaps the second verse is gonna resolve into the chorus, he will use a major chord to fully resolve it, and thus create a dynamic hook.
These genius songwriters never complicate things. Their chordings are often simple, but they know just when to accent them, and they first and foremost create extraordinary vocal lines.
Well anyhow, just observations on music. I also listened to my new Mike Oldfield cd, just received in the mail yesterday. He is the composer of the famed Exorcist Theme from his "Tubular Bells" album, but he has done quite a lot more than that, and his new album is fantastic, as I mentioned on FB.
Finally, I watched a movie : "Salvatore Giuliano" (Criterion) made in 1962 by Italian director Francesco Rosi. It is the true story of a charismatic young Sicilian hoodlum who is recruited by politicians and Mafia to form a resistance army to fight for Sicily's independence from Fascist Italy at the end of WW2. Italy had been defeated in the war, but the Fascists still had enough power to dominate the poverty-stricken Sicilians, and the Mafia saw the battle as a way to gain even more political influence for themselves.
It is a convoluted film, and I was only watching half-heartedly for the first 45 minutes because it got a bit confusing, with all the different characters and their allegiances. Also, it wavers in style between trying for a documentary feel, and the Neorealism that was prominent at the time, and which directors such as Rosi and Roberto Rosselini used to such great effect. So for the first hour, you almost feel as if you are watching newsreel footage of a historic event. Then in the second hour, the plot kicks in, and a terrific actor named Mark Wolff (whom I had never heard of) takes center stage. He was an American, playing Italian, but you'd never know it, and his performance boosts the film into a gripping courtroom drama for the second half. On the dvd box, there are liner notes which state that "Salvatore Giuliano" was a favorite film of both Martin Scorcese and Francis Ford Coppola, and you can be sure they were influenced for their own Mafia films years later. This is a movie I will need to watch again, just to fully appreciate the complex connections in the plot, but it was quite good on first viewing at any rate.
I hope your day was good and that all projects are going well.
Tomorrow morning I am back on the job, with The Crew. Pray for sunshine, and heat. See you then.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Not much to report today, though there was good singin' in church. After that I was home for most of the rest of the day, due to..............wait for it..........more rain! Yessiree, I bet you can imagine how thrilled I was, especially as it was accompanied by fruh-HEEZ-ing cold temperatures for what seems like the 1000th straight day. I did manage to go for a half-walk during a break in the rain this afternoon, but mostly it was just reading & playing guitar, learning Bowie's "TVC15" (just cause I heard it on the radio) and once again the chords are deceptively easy. The deceptive part, as always, comes in the genius of the way the chords back up the vocal line, and also in the way Bowie, and all the best songwriters, would use accents, like 7th chords or minors, not as major mood changers (which is a legit strategy too, depending on the song) but just as little "flavorizers", to very briefly change things up. Thus, instead of ending a verse on an F major chord, he might use an F7 because it will trick out the movement of the vocal line just a pinch more.......and also create a slightly "unresolved" feel to the turnaround into the next verse. Then, when perhaps the second verse is gonna resolve into the chorus, he will use a major chord to fully resolve it, and thus create a dynamic hook.
These genius songwriters never complicate things. Their chordings are often simple, but they know just when to accent them, and they first and foremost create extraordinary vocal lines.
Well anyhow, just observations on music. I also listened to my new Mike Oldfield cd, just received in the mail yesterday. He is the composer of the famed Exorcist Theme from his "Tubular Bells" album, but he has done quite a lot more than that, and his new album is fantastic, as I mentioned on FB.
Finally, I watched a movie : "Salvatore Giuliano" (Criterion) made in 1962 by Italian director Francesco Rosi. It is the true story of a charismatic young Sicilian hoodlum who is recruited by politicians and Mafia to form a resistance army to fight for Sicily's independence from Fascist Italy at the end of WW2. Italy had been defeated in the war, but the Fascists still had enough power to dominate the poverty-stricken Sicilians, and the Mafia saw the battle as a way to gain even more political influence for themselves.
It is a convoluted film, and I was only watching half-heartedly for the first 45 minutes because it got a bit confusing, with all the different characters and their allegiances. Also, it wavers in style between trying for a documentary feel, and the Neorealism that was prominent at the time, and which directors such as Rosi and Roberto Rosselini used to such great effect. So for the first hour, you almost feel as if you are watching newsreel footage of a historic event. Then in the second hour, the plot kicks in, and a terrific actor named Mark Wolff (whom I had never heard of) takes center stage. He was an American, playing Italian, but you'd never know it, and his performance boosts the film into a gripping courtroom drama for the second half. On the dvd box, there are liner notes which state that "Salvatore Giuliano" was a favorite film of both Martin Scorcese and Francis Ford Coppola, and you can be sure they were influenced for their own Mafia films years later. This is a movie I will need to watch again, just to fully appreciate the complex connections in the plot, but it was quite good on first viewing at any rate.
I hope your day was good and that all projects are going well.
Tomorrow morning I am back on the job, with The Crew. Pray for sunshine, and heat. See you then.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Sunday, February 19, 2017
At Home + "The Girl On The Train"
Happy Late Saturday Night, my Darling,
I am writing from home, off work until Monday morn as noted yesterday. I didn't do much today, as is my habit on a day off : I am so busy doing stuff all the time during a work cycle that on a day off I just like to take it easy. Also, I like to stay out of my car (and thus the traffic) for at least one day. I did walk down to the Libe at 4:30, and saw the most amazing rainbow, stretching far across the sky. It was beautiful, and though I didn't have my camera with me, just to see it was enough. I didn't find any movies at the library, but I did have a free credit at Redbox, so I walked to the Box across the street and rented "The Girl On The Train" which I watched this eve.
Hmmmmm, what to say about this film? I guess the first thing I would say is that, like all modern thrillers, it is technically proficient. Camerawork and editing keep a 110 minute story very tight, and the director keeps you pulled into the plot for about the first 90 minutes. It's really Emily Blunt's movie, she's a really good actress who has a range wider than some of her action roles would suggest. In this film, she is the alcoholic ex-wife of a man who lives now with another woman and their child. She is in a very bad way, psychologically, and has trouble with her memory. That part struck home with me in a big way, because I know what that's like, though in my case the cause was not alcohol.
The story is a bit convoluted, but to be brief it involves her obsession with her ex and his new woman, and another woman she sees at a nearby house, while riding the train every day. She rides the train just for something to do, and she becomes obsessed with all of this. It's a very psychological film, and on that level it is very effective. There are all kinds of dark motives pertaining to abused women, and male control in relationships. As a psychological thriller it is excellent, and it certainly keeps you guessing, up until the 90 minute mark or thereabouts.
At that point it turns into more of a standard violent crime film, albeit very slickly produced. I just think that, had the director really wanted or had the artistic control to make a great film, he could have explored the psychological aspect right down to the wire, and brought the suspense out for maximum effect. Also, some of the violence could have been toned down and implied rather than shown.
All told, however, a very good "modern thriller" (meaning slick), with an excellent performance by Blunt and a good supporting cast of varied characters. Everyone is on edge except the police detective, played by the always reliable Allison Janney. The themes of abuse and memory loss, and of the various emotional pathologies inherent in 21st century relationships, contribute to tell a powerful tale, though at times it is pretty rough going.
That was all the news for today. My friend David F. came over for a CSUN walk, but that was the only other activity, besides reading about the ever-sinister LBJ, of course. :)
I hope your day was good. I saw one post, which related to "the most important woman" in the poster's life, so I figured that was a shout out to your Mom, well deserved as always. You guys rule. :)
I bet it's still warmer in Wisconsin than here. I have my heater running full blast as I write.
Tomorrow morning is church and singing. We will be doing a song with a fairly involved vocal - lots of words and syllables, gotta remember to take breaths at all the right places. It is called "I Will Sing", which I will indeed do.
I'll be back home about 1:30 or so. See you then!
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I am writing from home, off work until Monday morn as noted yesterday. I didn't do much today, as is my habit on a day off : I am so busy doing stuff all the time during a work cycle that on a day off I just like to take it easy. Also, I like to stay out of my car (and thus the traffic) for at least one day. I did walk down to the Libe at 4:30, and saw the most amazing rainbow, stretching far across the sky. It was beautiful, and though I didn't have my camera with me, just to see it was enough. I didn't find any movies at the library, but I did have a free credit at Redbox, so I walked to the Box across the street and rented "The Girl On The Train" which I watched this eve.
Hmmmmm, what to say about this film? I guess the first thing I would say is that, like all modern thrillers, it is technically proficient. Camerawork and editing keep a 110 minute story very tight, and the director keeps you pulled into the plot for about the first 90 minutes. It's really Emily Blunt's movie, she's a really good actress who has a range wider than some of her action roles would suggest. In this film, she is the alcoholic ex-wife of a man who lives now with another woman and their child. She is in a very bad way, psychologically, and has trouble with her memory. That part struck home with me in a big way, because I know what that's like, though in my case the cause was not alcohol.
The story is a bit convoluted, but to be brief it involves her obsession with her ex and his new woman, and another woman she sees at a nearby house, while riding the train every day. She rides the train just for something to do, and she becomes obsessed with all of this. It's a very psychological film, and on that level it is very effective. There are all kinds of dark motives pertaining to abused women, and male control in relationships. As a psychological thriller it is excellent, and it certainly keeps you guessing, up until the 90 minute mark or thereabouts.
At that point it turns into more of a standard violent crime film, albeit very slickly produced. I just think that, had the director really wanted or had the artistic control to make a great film, he could have explored the psychological aspect right down to the wire, and brought the suspense out for maximum effect. Also, some of the violence could have been toned down and implied rather than shown.
All told, however, a very good "modern thriller" (meaning slick), with an excellent performance by Blunt and a good supporting cast of varied characters. Everyone is on edge except the police detective, played by the always reliable Allison Janney. The themes of abuse and memory loss, and of the various emotional pathologies inherent in 21st century relationships, contribute to tell a powerful tale, though at times it is pretty rough going.
That was all the news for today. My friend David F. came over for a CSUN walk, but that was the only other activity, besides reading about the ever-sinister LBJ, of course. :)
I hope your day was good. I saw one post, which related to "the most important woman" in the poster's life, so I figured that was a shout out to your Mom, well deserved as always. You guys rule. :)
I bet it's still warmer in Wisconsin than here. I have my heater running full blast as I write.
Tomorrow morning is church and singing. We will be doing a song with a fairly involved vocal - lots of words and syllables, gotta remember to take breaths at all the right places. It is called "I Will Sing", which I will indeed do.
I'll be back home about 1:30 or so. See you then!
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Saturday, February 18, 2017
That Was One Hell Of A Storm! (kinda scary) + High Noon & Saving Rock Clubs
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
Well, Good Lordy Moses, SB. Holy Smokes!, and...............wow. Sometimes that's all you can say, right? This time I'm saying it with regards to the storm, which was every bit as brutal, and fearsome, as advertised. I can only remember it raining that hard, for that long - about five hours straight during the worst part - maybe two or three times in my life. I remember once in the mid-70s, it was absolutely pouring, and me and my friend Mike B. (who is also an FB friend) got in his car and drove to a local bridge over the L.A. River, and we did so in order to take photos. We were both in photo class then, at Cleveland High School, and somewhere in my closet I have a great b&w 8x10 print of Mike, wearing a full length rain slicker with hood, standing on the bridge looking down at the river, which was almost full to the top. That was the highest I've ever seen it until today, when it was at the top. Our "river" really isn't a river at all, it's a mostly empty concrete channel. As I posted - it used to be a river, until 1938 when there was a humongous flood because of a similar storm, and so the US Army Corps Of Engineers drained the whole thing into the ocean!
How the heck do you drain a river? I don't know, but they did it. It took 'em about ten years or so, but when the river was drained they dug it out square and lined the whole 60 miles with thick concrete, all the way from Canoga Park, where it starts, down to Long Beach, where it used to go into the Pacific Ocean. Normally, the only thing that drains nowdays is just a trickle, because for years we haven't gotten much rain. Now, as I have posted before, the L.A. River is hardly the Mississippi, but it's still a river channel, at it's widest maybe 250 feet, and 15 feet deep. The channel on that news clip is probably only 50-75 feet wide, but still deep..........and the whole thing filled up in just a few hours.
That's how hard it was raining today.
It was unnerving, to be honest, and even a tad scary. A storm like that creates a bad vibe because you don't know what's gonna happen next, and this storm was accompanied by strong winds up to 35mph.....
So it really sucked, in other words, lol. I can only imagine how bad it was for the folks up in the mountains, where the fires hit last year, and on the news they showed a river of mud coming down one hillside in a community about 50 miles from here. So we here in the Valley didn't get the worst of it, but it was bad enough. If it wasn't a record breaker for most inches of rain in a single day in Los Angeles, then it was close.
That was really all the news for the day, obviously no hike, and I was too preoccupied with the storm to be able to relax and watch a movie or do much reading. It was one of those days when you are Glued To The News.....
I hope your day was good, and I have to note that today, the temperature was higher in Madison than it was here! When was the last time that happened? :)
I saw posts for High Noon Saloon and a radio station, both businesses are connections of yours, and I am glad that The Saloon will continue be a premier rock club in your city despite the change of ownership. It is always a worry when that happens, and here in L.A. we have already been dealing with the closure of the House Of Blues on Sunset in Hollywood. They say they are gonna reopen at a different location, but it was already perfect where it was. And, as the evil billionaire developers continue to try and turn the Sunset Strip into a straight line of high rise hotels and expensive restaurants, we have heard rumors that in years soon to come we may be in danger of losing legendary clubs like The Whiskey and The Roxy. I can't imagine that ever happening, but in this day and age.........
Well, let's just say I can't imagine it ever happening, evil developers or no evil developers.
That's the Power Of Rock & Roll, SB. Even of Hair Metal on the Sunset Strip! To stop developers in their tracks....... :)
That's all for tonight. I am "so over" this rain, this crummy weather, and this Winter, and I hope it hits 113 by June! (I'd say May, but I need a little warm-up....).
See you in the morning. I will be off tomorrow by 2pm, until Monday morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Well, Good Lordy Moses, SB. Holy Smokes!, and...............wow. Sometimes that's all you can say, right? This time I'm saying it with regards to the storm, which was every bit as brutal, and fearsome, as advertised. I can only remember it raining that hard, for that long - about five hours straight during the worst part - maybe two or three times in my life. I remember once in the mid-70s, it was absolutely pouring, and me and my friend Mike B. (who is also an FB friend) got in his car and drove to a local bridge over the L.A. River, and we did so in order to take photos. We were both in photo class then, at Cleveland High School, and somewhere in my closet I have a great b&w 8x10 print of Mike, wearing a full length rain slicker with hood, standing on the bridge looking down at the river, which was almost full to the top. That was the highest I've ever seen it until today, when it was at the top. Our "river" really isn't a river at all, it's a mostly empty concrete channel. As I posted - it used to be a river, until 1938 when there was a humongous flood because of a similar storm, and so the US Army Corps Of Engineers drained the whole thing into the ocean!
How the heck do you drain a river? I don't know, but they did it. It took 'em about ten years or so, but when the river was drained they dug it out square and lined the whole 60 miles with thick concrete, all the way from Canoga Park, where it starts, down to Long Beach, where it used to go into the Pacific Ocean. Normally, the only thing that drains nowdays is just a trickle, because for years we haven't gotten much rain. Now, as I have posted before, the L.A. River is hardly the Mississippi, but it's still a river channel, at it's widest maybe 250 feet, and 15 feet deep. The channel on that news clip is probably only 50-75 feet wide, but still deep..........and the whole thing filled up in just a few hours.
That's how hard it was raining today.
It was unnerving, to be honest, and even a tad scary. A storm like that creates a bad vibe because you don't know what's gonna happen next, and this storm was accompanied by strong winds up to 35mph.....
So it really sucked, in other words, lol. I can only imagine how bad it was for the folks up in the mountains, where the fires hit last year, and on the news they showed a river of mud coming down one hillside in a community about 50 miles from here. So we here in the Valley didn't get the worst of it, but it was bad enough. If it wasn't a record breaker for most inches of rain in a single day in Los Angeles, then it was close.
That was really all the news for the day, obviously no hike, and I was too preoccupied with the storm to be able to relax and watch a movie or do much reading. It was one of those days when you are Glued To The News.....
I hope your day was good, and I have to note that today, the temperature was higher in Madison than it was here! When was the last time that happened? :)
I saw posts for High Noon Saloon and a radio station, both businesses are connections of yours, and I am glad that The Saloon will continue be a premier rock club in your city despite the change of ownership. It is always a worry when that happens, and here in L.A. we have already been dealing with the closure of the House Of Blues on Sunset in Hollywood. They say they are gonna reopen at a different location, but it was already perfect where it was. And, as the evil billionaire developers continue to try and turn the Sunset Strip into a straight line of high rise hotels and expensive restaurants, we have heard rumors that in years soon to come we may be in danger of losing legendary clubs like The Whiskey and The Roxy. I can't imagine that ever happening, but in this day and age.........
Well, let's just say I can't imagine it ever happening, evil developers or no evil developers.
That's the Power Of Rock & Roll, SB. Even of Hair Metal on the Sunset Strip! To stop developers in their tracks....... :)
That's all for tonight. I am "so over" this rain, this crummy weather, and this Winter, and I hope it hits 113 by June! (I'd say May, but I need a little warm-up....).
See you in the morning. I will be off tomorrow by 2pm, until Monday morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Friday, February 17, 2017
Hard Workin' Baby + "A Child Is Waiting" by Cassavetes + Whitney Canyon + Megastorm
Happy Late Thursday Night, my Darling,
I hope your day was a good one, today and yesterday. From today's FB posts, it looks like you have a ton of stuff going on (which is why my song title tonight was appropriate!); The Stitched Up post, in the van, said "this is what my life has been like for the last three weeks", so I know you mean "super busy". I see that Sarah has a record release party coming up too which I know you will attend and shoot, and also your friend Morgin is getting work too. It is a great time in life for you guys, and I think it is fantastic. :) I imagine you are finding time to play the viola, too!
Tonight at CSUN we saw a Cassavetes film called "A Child Is Waiting" (1963). It was only his second film made through a studio, and it was also his last because he hated the experience. Studios expect at least something conforming to commerciality, and whatever he shot was re-edited by famous producer/director Stanley Kramer, so it's really more of a Kramer film, and the end product looks fairly slick, much more so than the usual Cassavetes production that we've seen so far. It is the story of an institution for retarded children, or as they are now called, "developmentally disabled". Burt Lahn-cass-tah is back, as the psychiatrist who runs the institute with discipline, though he does have a heart. Judy Garland, middle aged here, is All Heart as the newly hired music teacher whose caring style clashes with Burt's. The boy at the center of the story, who has recently been institutionalised by his parents, has latched on to Judy as a substitute mother, and therein lies the plot. As Burt's strict discipline drives the child further inside himself, Judy Garland brings him out with her love.
Because Cassavetes directed, there is a lot more going on, including the results of the family trauma on the parents who felt compelled to "put the kid away" in the first place. They are shattered, simply by having a child who has been diagnosed as "defective", and believe it or not there was a time in this country SB, which lasted until the 70s, when asylums were commonplace in America, and not only retarded children were "put away" but all kinds of other people too. I think I once wrote a blog a few years ago about going to the VA with my Dad, and seeing a guy who sat on the steps who was known as "The Chief". The Chief was an American Indian veteran who just sat there and never said a word, and that was because he'd been lobotomised. They used to do all kinds of "experimental therapy" in this country, like shock treatment, and much of it was cruel and horrific, if not downright demonic.
In this film, what is depicted as being extremely traumatic is the actual taking, and dropping off, of the children to the institution. As disabled as they are, they know they are being "abandoned" by their parents. And yet, the parents are at a dilemma as well, especially in those days, because some of the children need 24/7 care, and the institute (and the psychiatrist) is essentially a caring place with proven methods of helping these children.
Nowdays, many more disabled children are capable of living at home, due to modern methods that grew out of these places, so they weren't all bad. But in those days, once a child was diagnosed, the pressure was heavy on the parents to institutionalise, and that's what the movie is all about : the trauma resulting from the separation, which is in essence an "abandonment", because many parents just left children in such a place and never visited again.
It's a heavy film, a heart-tugger, but also made with humor and good nature, and as mentioned, it is much more straightforward Hollywood than experimental Cassavetes.
Still, a big thumbs up from me. And, is there a person in this world who doesn't love Judy Garland?
I think not. :)
So there you have it, tonight's film.
Yesterday I managed to get out to Whitney Canyon in Newhall for an hour's hike. You know that Whitney is one of my favortites, and it's not so easy for me to get to the Santa Clarita hikes these days, so it was a treat. The only problem for photography was that, because of the rain, there were only two colors on view : green and brown. I like it better when things have bloomed and then have been subjected to heat and begin to turn color, as in Summer. The light is better then as well. Still a nice hike, though. I have been squeezing my hikes in through extreme time management; not too shabby, SB!
And reading, too. I am getting into the mystical system of Egyptian numbers in "The Temple Of Man" by Schwaller de Lubicz (whose name was simply Schwaller and who added the de Lubicz as a pomposity). He is a bit of a pill, but the book is still fascinating as I have noted before. Also reading my LBJ book.
I will have a couple of days off over the weekend, either starting tomorrow night or Saturday afternoon, depending on the weather. If the storm is as mega as they are predicting, Pearl's daughter will wait out the worst of it and come down Saturday instead.
Here's hoping it won't wreak havoc.
That's all I know for tonight. I will see you in the morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope your day was a good one, today and yesterday. From today's FB posts, it looks like you have a ton of stuff going on (which is why my song title tonight was appropriate!); The Stitched Up post, in the van, said "this is what my life has been like for the last three weeks", so I know you mean "super busy". I see that Sarah has a record release party coming up too which I know you will attend and shoot, and also your friend Morgin is getting work too. It is a great time in life for you guys, and I think it is fantastic. :) I imagine you are finding time to play the viola, too!
Tonight at CSUN we saw a Cassavetes film called "A Child Is Waiting" (1963). It was only his second film made through a studio, and it was also his last because he hated the experience. Studios expect at least something conforming to commerciality, and whatever he shot was re-edited by famous producer/director Stanley Kramer, so it's really more of a Kramer film, and the end product looks fairly slick, much more so than the usual Cassavetes production that we've seen so far. It is the story of an institution for retarded children, or as they are now called, "developmentally disabled". Burt Lahn-cass-tah is back, as the psychiatrist who runs the institute with discipline, though he does have a heart. Judy Garland, middle aged here, is All Heart as the newly hired music teacher whose caring style clashes with Burt's. The boy at the center of the story, who has recently been institutionalised by his parents, has latched on to Judy as a substitute mother, and therein lies the plot. As Burt's strict discipline drives the child further inside himself, Judy Garland brings him out with her love.
Because Cassavetes directed, there is a lot more going on, including the results of the family trauma on the parents who felt compelled to "put the kid away" in the first place. They are shattered, simply by having a child who has been diagnosed as "defective", and believe it or not there was a time in this country SB, which lasted until the 70s, when asylums were commonplace in America, and not only retarded children were "put away" but all kinds of other people too. I think I once wrote a blog a few years ago about going to the VA with my Dad, and seeing a guy who sat on the steps who was known as "The Chief". The Chief was an American Indian veteran who just sat there and never said a word, and that was because he'd been lobotomised. They used to do all kinds of "experimental therapy" in this country, like shock treatment, and much of it was cruel and horrific, if not downright demonic.
In this film, what is depicted as being extremely traumatic is the actual taking, and dropping off, of the children to the institution. As disabled as they are, they know they are being "abandoned" by their parents. And yet, the parents are at a dilemma as well, especially in those days, because some of the children need 24/7 care, and the institute (and the psychiatrist) is essentially a caring place with proven methods of helping these children.
Nowdays, many more disabled children are capable of living at home, due to modern methods that grew out of these places, so they weren't all bad. But in those days, once a child was diagnosed, the pressure was heavy on the parents to institutionalise, and that's what the movie is all about : the trauma resulting from the separation, which is in essence an "abandonment", because many parents just left children in such a place and never visited again.
It's a heavy film, a heart-tugger, but also made with humor and good nature, and as mentioned, it is much more straightforward Hollywood than experimental Cassavetes.
Still, a big thumbs up from me. And, is there a person in this world who doesn't love Judy Garland?
I think not. :)
So there you have it, tonight's film.
Yesterday I managed to get out to Whitney Canyon in Newhall for an hour's hike. You know that Whitney is one of my favortites, and it's not so easy for me to get to the Santa Clarita hikes these days, so it was a treat. The only problem for photography was that, because of the rain, there were only two colors on view : green and brown. I like it better when things have bloomed and then have been subjected to heat and begin to turn color, as in Summer. The light is better then as well. Still a nice hike, though. I have been squeezing my hikes in through extreme time management; not too shabby, SB!
And reading, too. I am getting into the mystical system of Egyptian numbers in "The Temple Of Man" by Schwaller de Lubicz (whose name was simply Schwaller and who added the de Lubicz as a pomposity). He is a bit of a pill, but the book is still fascinating as I have noted before. Also reading my LBJ book.
I will have a couple of days off over the weekend, either starting tomorrow night or Saturday afternoon, depending on the weather. If the storm is as mega as they are predicting, Pearl's daughter will wait out the worst of it and come down Saturday instead.
Here's hoping it won't wreak havoc.
That's all I know for tonight. I will see you in the morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Happy Valentine's Day + Great Portrait
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
Happy Valentine's Day. That was an excellent portrait of Nate this morning (and now I know what the connection was for yesterday's post). Your grey scale in that photo was off-the-charts, so varied that the tones in his hair (near where it is parted) almost look blonde as "in color". And it goes without saying that you always know how to pose your subjects. :) Once again, that photograph could easily be a full page in a magazine, perhaps one like GQ. As for the use of black and white in portraiture, keep in mind that some of the greatest pop-culture portraitists, like Annie Liebowitz and Richard Avedon, shot primarily in b&w. The reason is again, as mentioned in earlier blogs, because black and white reduces the subject to Pure Image. This is my own theory and not one I have picked up anywhere, but I think that color - in some instances - can create a "look of the Everyday" to a photograph. We see in color, and most of the photographs we take, and see, are in color, hence objects in color have an everyday look, like real life.
Now, as you know, this in no way invalidates color photography, which is magnificent when used right, and even when just used for simple snapshots it can be quite beautiful and create lasting feelings and memories. But if you notice all the old photos I "like" on the FB pages for LA Relics and Valley Relics, they are all in black and white, and as such, they evoke something, a "past", an "era", something unreachable, something forgotten.......and that is because, with no color, they are reduced to Pure Image. The objects in old photographs thus become symbolic in a way, and act on the memory in a certain way.
Portraits shot in black and white will thus act on a subject, and especially the human face, in the same way. There will be an evocation of a time and place, in addition to the picturing of the subject him or herself. Imagine if Dorthea Lange had shot her famous Dust Bowl depression-era photograph of mother and child in color (and I am not sure there was even color film then), but anyhow......that photograph, one of the most famous in American photographic history, is evocative above all other qualities.
All of this I point out just to say : keep shooting portraits in black and white. Do it as you feel the subject calls for it. Obviously it goes without saying that your color portraiture has been fantastic as well, and color schemes and saturations add all kinds of feel, style and emotion to a picture, especially for fashion or to create a mood.
Color and black & white are equally valid, which also goes without saying. Just keep experimenting with both, and use black and white when you feel the subject of the portrait warrants it.
Well anyway, a great photo of Nate. :)
Today for me was mostly the Same Drill as yesterday : a long push around the 'hood with Pearl this morn (no Kobi this time, it's kinda hard to carry him and push at the same time), and then a hike this afternoon, this time at Limekiln.
I only saw one post, for PRS guitars, and I imagine you were probably working on your own video.
I hope it is coming along well, and I hope you had a good day.
See you in the morn. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Happy Valentine's Day. That was an excellent portrait of Nate this morning (and now I know what the connection was for yesterday's post). Your grey scale in that photo was off-the-charts, so varied that the tones in his hair (near where it is parted) almost look blonde as "in color". And it goes without saying that you always know how to pose your subjects. :) Once again, that photograph could easily be a full page in a magazine, perhaps one like GQ. As for the use of black and white in portraiture, keep in mind that some of the greatest pop-culture portraitists, like Annie Liebowitz and Richard Avedon, shot primarily in b&w. The reason is again, as mentioned in earlier blogs, because black and white reduces the subject to Pure Image. This is my own theory and not one I have picked up anywhere, but I think that color - in some instances - can create a "look of the Everyday" to a photograph. We see in color, and most of the photographs we take, and see, are in color, hence objects in color have an everyday look, like real life.
Now, as you know, this in no way invalidates color photography, which is magnificent when used right, and even when just used for simple snapshots it can be quite beautiful and create lasting feelings and memories. But if you notice all the old photos I "like" on the FB pages for LA Relics and Valley Relics, they are all in black and white, and as such, they evoke something, a "past", an "era", something unreachable, something forgotten.......and that is because, with no color, they are reduced to Pure Image. The objects in old photographs thus become symbolic in a way, and act on the memory in a certain way.
Portraits shot in black and white will thus act on a subject, and especially the human face, in the same way. There will be an evocation of a time and place, in addition to the picturing of the subject him or herself. Imagine if Dorthea Lange had shot her famous Dust Bowl depression-era photograph of mother and child in color (and I am not sure there was even color film then), but anyhow......that photograph, one of the most famous in American photographic history, is evocative above all other qualities.
All of this I point out just to say : keep shooting portraits in black and white. Do it as you feel the subject calls for it. Obviously it goes without saying that your color portraiture has been fantastic as well, and color schemes and saturations add all kinds of feel, style and emotion to a picture, especially for fashion or to create a mood.
Color and black & white are equally valid, which also goes without saying. Just keep experimenting with both, and use black and white when you feel the subject of the portrait warrants it.
Well anyway, a great photo of Nate. :)
Today for me was mostly the Same Drill as yesterday : a long push around the 'hood with Pearl this morn (no Kobi this time, it's kinda hard to carry him and push at the same time), and then a hike this afternoon, this time at Limekiln.
I only saw one post, for PRS guitars, and I imagine you were probably working on your own video.
I hope it is coming along well, and I hope you had a good day.
See you in the morn. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Video? (you will still knock it out of the park) + Pushin' Around The 'Hood
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I saw your post a little while ago, via a guy named Nate, and because you do not post him much (as far as I can tell), I figured that the message was in the text rather than being a simple "like" of his video, especially because the text read, in part (paraphrase) "Something went wrong with the video". So, I figured you were using his post to convey a message of your own, that perhaps you had some trouble with the making of your own video today? Is that what happened? If so, I am sorry to hear it, because I know how hard you work to put everything together, but I also know that - depending on your schedule and other clients - you will be right back at it, making your video as good as you originally intended. Possibly even starting tomorrow. :)
We finally had a nice sunny day here, a placid warm day, the kind we always used to have for many Februarys previous, and so I took The Crew on a walk all around the neighborhood. Actually it was me doing most of the walking; I was pushing Pearl in the wheelchair (cause it was too far for her to walk) and though the Kobedog was on his leash I had to carry him a good percentage of the way, because he can't see and therefore is hesitant to go forward. So I was carrying and pushing all-in-one, but it was awesome because this is what we used to do back in the old days when I first started working for Pearl (2010). We would every day go on a long neighborhood walk, and enjoy just seeing all the trees and certain yards that had things like a tomato garden......just neighborhood stuff, looking at the Magnolia trees and such. It made me happy because: A) We finally had a chance to get outside after being Alice Coop(er)d up for several weeks, and B) because we can still do it, we Still Got It, i.e. the ability to Go All Over The 'Hood, even though with me carrying and pushing instead of everybody walking like in 2010. But hey - any way you can get the job done is a job well done, right? :)
This afternoon I also went up to Aliso for a lengthy trek. There is even more water than last time coursing through the creek, so I had to use stepping stones to cross previously dry ditches, but it was fun. And I love the sound of running water, as noted before.
This eve : reading LBJ & Schwaller, and working on a drawing. Time management is the key to Getting A Lot Of Stuff Done. Time allotment might be a better term.....
Thank goodness for sunshine.
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morn, you will have a great video shoot tomorrow, and Happy Valentine's Day in advance!
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I saw your post a little while ago, via a guy named Nate, and because you do not post him much (as far as I can tell), I figured that the message was in the text rather than being a simple "like" of his video, especially because the text read, in part (paraphrase) "Something went wrong with the video". So, I figured you were using his post to convey a message of your own, that perhaps you had some trouble with the making of your own video today? Is that what happened? If so, I am sorry to hear it, because I know how hard you work to put everything together, but I also know that - depending on your schedule and other clients - you will be right back at it, making your video as good as you originally intended. Possibly even starting tomorrow. :)
We finally had a nice sunny day here, a placid warm day, the kind we always used to have for many Februarys previous, and so I took The Crew on a walk all around the neighborhood. Actually it was me doing most of the walking; I was pushing Pearl in the wheelchair (cause it was too far for her to walk) and though the Kobedog was on his leash I had to carry him a good percentage of the way, because he can't see and therefore is hesitant to go forward. So I was carrying and pushing all-in-one, but it was awesome because this is what we used to do back in the old days when I first started working for Pearl (2010). We would every day go on a long neighborhood walk, and enjoy just seeing all the trees and certain yards that had things like a tomato garden......just neighborhood stuff, looking at the Magnolia trees and such. It made me happy because: A) We finally had a chance to get outside after being Alice Coop(er)d up for several weeks, and B) because we can still do it, we Still Got It, i.e. the ability to Go All Over The 'Hood, even though with me carrying and pushing instead of everybody walking like in 2010. But hey - any way you can get the job done is a job well done, right? :)
This afternoon I also went up to Aliso for a lengthy trek. There is even more water than last time coursing through the creek, so I had to use stepping stones to cross previously dry ditches, but it was fun. And I love the sound of running water, as noted before.
This eve : reading LBJ & Schwaller, and working on a drawing. Time management is the key to Getting A Lot Of Stuff Done. Time allotment might be a better term.....
Thank goodness for sunshine.
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morn, you will have a great video shoot tomorrow, and Happy Valentine's Day in advance!
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Monday, February 13, 2017
Happy Sunday + Fortune + Singing + Nuttiness
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I hope you had a nice day, and that was pretty far out about your fortune from the Fortune Cookie! Confucious, or maybe P.F. Chang himself, must be aware of your video plans for tomorrow. :) I take it that the video will be for some of the music you have been recording recently, that was also represented by the face-painted album cover? I of course will be excited to see and hear the results, and I know it will take a little while to finish, but post a still pic or a snippet or something if you are able to do so. :)
We did not sing in church this morning, as previously noted, but we did have a one hour rehearsal afterward, working on some fairly challenging songs. My voice is becoming more elastic all the time due to the Car Singing, and so I always look forward to stretching it in whatever ways the songs call for, and especially in the legato singing, which really tests your ability to sustain at low volume, and to "tell a story" with phrasing. That is what out choir director is always after us about. He will say : "Okay. You've got all the notes, now you've got to tell the story". He doesn't like it - and rightly so - when we just follow the rhythm of the piano and sing exactly with the beat. Legato singing has to flow and stretch......stretch past the bar line at times, and put emphasis on certain lyrics, and sustain all throughout. I know - because I have been listening to pop music since I was three years old - that I have a good chance to be able to sing many different styles of song, just from memory alone, if my voice is strong enough to handle it. So that's what I am trying to do, as I mention a lot, haha. I could always mimic pop singers, because I did nothing but listen to the radio as a kid, and now that I've been a choir singer for over two years, I am having a chance to do it for real, and I am seeing my voice develop. So it's fun..........it's fun, I tell you! :)
It is imperative that I put emphasis in the typing of such assertions, and that I repeat the most salient and final point, as above. It must be done, I tell you.......it must! :)
As must the disclaimer always be posted that I realise I am slightly nutty. I point out my awareness of same in lieu of anyone else pointing it out for me..........
Well anyhow, a sunny day today, but somewhat windy, though short of Gale Force, and so maybe a hike tomorrow if the Sun persists and the wind does not increase.
More reading - Schwaller, who is obtuse and nutty in his own right (but also fascinating), and Phillip Nelson, who is anything but nutty. And also Leonard G. Cramp, who sounds like he should be nuts because of his name, and who writes about "UFOs and Anti-Gravity", but is found to be of entirely sound mind due to the evidence presented.
That's all for tonight. Tomorrow you will shoot your video and it will be great, knocked out of the park as always.
See you in the morn. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope you had a nice day, and that was pretty far out about your fortune from the Fortune Cookie! Confucious, or maybe P.F. Chang himself, must be aware of your video plans for tomorrow. :) I take it that the video will be for some of the music you have been recording recently, that was also represented by the face-painted album cover? I of course will be excited to see and hear the results, and I know it will take a little while to finish, but post a still pic or a snippet or something if you are able to do so. :)
We did not sing in church this morning, as previously noted, but we did have a one hour rehearsal afterward, working on some fairly challenging songs. My voice is becoming more elastic all the time due to the Car Singing, and so I always look forward to stretching it in whatever ways the songs call for, and especially in the legato singing, which really tests your ability to sustain at low volume, and to "tell a story" with phrasing. That is what out choir director is always after us about. He will say : "Okay. You've got all the notes, now you've got to tell the story". He doesn't like it - and rightly so - when we just follow the rhythm of the piano and sing exactly with the beat. Legato singing has to flow and stretch......stretch past the bar line at times, and put emphasis on certain lyrics, and sustain all throughout. I know - because I have been listening to pop music since I was three years old - that I have a good chance to be able to sing many different styles of song, just from memory alone, if my voice is strong enough to handle it. So that's what I am trying to do, as I mention a lot, haha. I could always mimic pop singers, because I did nothing but listen to the radio as a kid, and now that I've been a choir singer for over two years, I am having a chance to do it for real, and I am seeing my voice develop. So it's fun..........it's fun, I tell you! :)
It is imperative that I put emphasis in the typing of such assertions, and that I repeat the most salient and final point, as above. It must be done, I tell you.......it must! :)
As must the disclaimer always be posted that I realise I am slightly nutty. I point out my awareness of same in lieu of anyone else pointing it out for me..........
Well anyhow, a sunny day today, but somewhat windy, though short of Gale Force, and so maybe a hike tomorrow if the Sun persists and the wind does not increase.
More reading - Schwaller, who is obtuse and nutty in his own right (but also fascinating), and Phillip Nelson, who is anything but nutty. And also Leonard G. Cramp, who sounds like he should be nuts because of his name, and who writes about "UFOs and Anti-Gravity", but is found to be of entirely sound mind due to the evidence presented.
That's all for tonight. Tomorrow you will shoot your video and it will be great, knocked out of the park as always.
See you in the morn. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Noiret! + Our Singers Again, At Mid-Val + I've Had Enough Rain + Charlie Chan
Happy Late Saturday Night, my Darling,
I liked your post of Phillipe Noiret in "Cinema Paradiso"! He was so great in that movie, and also in "Il Postino", two of the Great Romantic Movies Of All Time. I haven't seen either in a few years, and I think I need to remedy that problem very soon. :)
Also in the Romance Department, my sister Vickie and I went to the Mid-Valley Libe this afternoon to watch and hear our favorite Operatic Couple, Andy and Jennifer Watson, sing an hour long program of love-themed music from famous operas and Broadway shows, in honor of the upcoming Valentine's Day. They have a great presentation and because they are a married couple themselves, the songs come off as very romantic indeed. For their last song, they sang "All I Ask Of You" from "Phantom"........so you know that made me think of you. :):)
This afternoon it rained again for several hours. Oh joy! Speaking only for myself, while I love the newly green landscape everywhere I look, and find relief in the knowledge that our state is mostly replenished from the lengthy drought, I have nevertheless had enough...... :)
If it doesn't rain again for another five years, that'll be just fine with me. :)
Cause I wanna get outdoors! I wanna hike trails and climb mountains! I wanna get The Koberman Pinscher to the park, and Pearl too. Everybody has been cooped up because of the neverending rain, so enough already.
So, I just read my books this afternoon, and this eve I watched a fun movie : "The Shanghai Cobra", which was one of the Charlie Chan mysteries that were popular in the 1940s. I saw a few minutes of it on Turner Classic Movies a few weeks ago, and then ordered it from the libe. The Charlie Chan films star a white actor named Sidney Toler as a brilliant Chinese detective. That would be seen as "racist" or "condescending" today, and they used makeup and tape on the eyes to make him appear more Chinese, but the movies are so much fun, and done with warmth and humor, that it's hard to see how anyone could protest. They made about five or six of them - all short, about 65 minutes in length - and they are a perfect example of low-budget economy turning out a high quality product in Golden Era Hollywood. The script is super tight, the direction crisp, the actors lively and the mystery of the plot keeps you guessing til the end.
I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was, but because it was, I ordered two more Charlie Chan flicks from the libe. :)
That's all I know for tonight. I also saw another post this evening, of a new promo pic for Stitched Up Heart. I don't know if you took that one, but if you did, it is another excellent shot by you. And I imagine you are working with them now, or you will be in the near future, which is also exx-cell-ent, as Mr. Burns would say.
Tomorrow morn is church, but no singing because it is The Boy Scouts day tomorrow. They are gonna have a show during the service, so the choir will be sitting in the congregation like everyone else. But, we will be practicing as usual afterwards, so I will be back at the usual time of about 1pm.
See you then! I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I liked your post of Phillipe Noiret in "Cinema Paradiso"! He was so great in that movie, and also in "Il Postino", two of the Great Romantic Movies Of All Time. I haven't seen either in a few years, and I think I need to remedy that problem very soon. :)
Also in the Romance Department, my sister Vickie and I went to the Mid-Valley Libe this afternoon to watch and hear our favorite Operatic Couple, Andy and Jennifer Watson, sing an hour long program of love-themed music from famous operas and Broadway shows, in honor of the upcoming Valentine's Day. They have a great presentation and because they are a married couple themselves, the songs come off as very romantic indeed. For their last song, they sang "All I Ask Of You" from "Phantom"........so you know that made me think of you. :):)
This afternoon it rained again for several hours. Oh joy! Speaking only for myself, while I love the newly green landscape everywhere I look, and find relief in the knowledge that our state is mostly replenished from the lengthy drought, I have nevertheless had enough...... :)
If it doesn't rain again for another five years, that'll be just fine with me. :)
Cause I wanna get outdoors! I wanna hike trails and climb mountains! I wanna get The Koberman Pinscher to the park, and Pearl too. Everybody has been cooped up because of the neverending rain, so enough already.
So, I just read my books this afternoon, and this eve I watched a fun movie : "The Shanghai Cobra", which was one of the Charlie Chan mysteries that were popular in the 1940s. I saw a few minutes of it on Turner Classic Movies a few weeks ago, and then ordered it from the libe. The Charlie Chan films star a white actor named Sidney Toler as a brilliant Chinese detective. That would be seen as "racist" or "condescending" today, and they used makeup and tape on the eyes to make him appear more Chinese, but the movies are so much fun, and done with warmth and humor, that it's hard to see how anyone could protest. They made about five or six of them - all short, about 65 minutes in length - and they are a perfect example of low-budget economy turning out a high quality product in Golden Era Hollywood. The script is super tight, the direction crisp, the actors lively and the mystery of the plot keeps you guessing til the end.
I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was, but because it was, I ordered two more Charlie Chan flicks from the libe. :)
That's all I know for tonight. I also saw another post this evening, of a new promo pic for Stitched Up Heart. I don't know if you took that one, but if you did, it is another excellent shot by you. And I imagine you are working with them now, or you will be in the near future, which is also exx-cell-ent, as Mr. Burns would say.
Tomorrow morn is church, but no singing because it is The Boy Scouts day tomorrow. They are gonna have a show during the service, so the choir will be sitting in the congregation like everyone else. But, we will be practicing as usual afterwards, so I will be back at the usual time of about 1pm.
See you then! I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Happy Friday Rainy Day + Reading, Etc.
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I hope your day was good as always. For us, it was yet more rain - not a downpour but light and steady - and I am thinking that this has got to be our rainiest year in at least ten years. I know back in the 90s we had some very wet winters - record breakers - and we may not be quite at that level this year, but we are getting up there. No hike today as a result, but soon - soon, I tell you! :) I can't wait to get out to Whitney Canyon and Rice Canyon to see what they look like now.
No movie tonight, just reading, about the psychotic LBJ in Phillip F. Nelson's second book on that madman. It is high time our country came clean and told the truth about the Kennedy Assassination, about which there is zero doubt anymore as to who caused it to happen. It was Lyndon Baines Johnson, the vice president under JFK, and because he (Johnson) took over as President, that means the USA suffered a coup d'etat, something we think only happens in "other" countries. But it happened to us, in 1963, and we got the Vietnam War as a result. In my lifetime, there was always a Big Mystery about JFK; who did it?
Well now we know who did it. The mystery is over and the truth must be told.
Because we have not told the truth, and have instead kept it secret for over 50 years, our karma has gotten progressively worse, and we now have Trump as a result. We used to gloat about the demise of the corrupt Soviet Union, but we need to get real about our own affairs and set the record straight, so that we can get the country back on the right track. It all has to do with karma and The Keeping Of Secrets.
Anyhow, the author Nelson ought to be awarded The Presidential Medal Of Freedom for his work, which one day will be recognised as a landmark and turning point in the resurrection of America.
Also reading "The Temple Of Man" by Schwaller and finishing up "Genesis, Creation And Early Man" by Fr. Seraphim Rose. Heavy philosophical stuff, and so just a few pages of each, to maintain full comprehension.
I saw a post earlier this eve, a pic from Stitched Up Heart, so maybe you are currently working on a Stitched Up project, or one is coming up! I know you must have a lot of stuff in the works, and also I saw that there is a Big Humongous Festival coming up in Wisconsin this Summer, that has some of your bands on the two-day bill : I Prevail, Starset......and maybe one or two more, can't remember now. You must know about it, though, I'm sure, and I hope you get to go and take pics! Soundgarden is headlining one day and Kid Rock the other.
I hope your bands are on the Soundgarden day, but you can leave early if not. :)
That's all for tonight, SB. I will see you in the morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope your day was good as always. For us, it was yet more rain - not a downpour but light and steady - and I am thinking that this has got to be our rainiest year in at least ten years. I know back in the 90s we had some very wet winters - record breakers - and we may not be quite at that level this year, but we are getting up there. No hike today as a result, but soon - soon, I tell you! :) I can't wait to get out to Whitney Canyon and Rice Canyon to see what they look like now.
No movie tonight, just reading, about the psychotic LBJ in Phillip F. Nelson's second book on that madman. It is high time our country came clean and told the truth about the Kennedy Assassination, about which there is zero doubt anymore as to who caused it to happen. It was Lyndon Baines Johnson, the vice president under JFK, and because he (Johnson) took over as President, that means the USA suffered a coup d'etat, something we think only happens in "other" countries. But it happened to us, in 1963, and we got the Vietnam War as a result. In my lifetime, there was always a Big Mystery about JFK; who did it?
Well now we know who did it. The mystery is over and the truth must be told.
Because we have not told the truth, and have instead kept it secret for over 50 years, our karma has gotten progressively worse, and we now have Trump as a result. We used to gloat about the demise of the corrupt Soviet Union, but we need to get real about our own affairs and set the record straight, so that we can get the country back on the right track. It all has to do with karma and The Keeping Of Secrets.
Anyhow, the author Nelson ought to be awarded The Presidential Medal Of Freedom for his work, which one day will be recognised as a landmark and turning point in the resurrection of America.
Also reading "The Temple Of Man" by Schwaller and finishing up "Genesis, Creation And Early Man" by Fr. Seraphim Rose. Heavy philosophical stuff, and so just a few pages of each, to maintain full comprehension.
I saw a post earlier this eve, a pic from Stitched Up Heart, so maybe you are currently working on a Stitched Up project, or one is coming up! I know you must have a lot of stuff in the works, and also I saw that there is a Big Humongous Festival coming up in Wisconsin this Summer, that has some of your bands on the two-day bill : I Prevail, Starset......and maybe one or two more, can't remember now. You must know about it, though, I'm sure, and I hope you get to go and take pics! Soundgarden is headlining one day and Kid Rock the other.
I hope your bands are on the Soundgarden day, but you can leave early if not. :)
That's all for tonight, SB. I will see you in the morning.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Friday, February 10, 2017
Cassavetes TV Shows + Sarah's Response + Noetics + Weddings
Happy Late Thursday Night, my Darling,
Tonight at CSUN we saw some of John Cassavetes' television work, including two episodes of "Johnny Staccato" (which he directed and starred in), an episode of "Rawhide" - which was the TV Western that Clint Eastwood got his start in, before he became a movie star - and also an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", in which Cassavetes played an escaped convict who takes a woman hostage in her home. He played a bad guy in the "Rawhide" show too, and he is really good at bad guys, but I like him even better as "Johnny Stacatto" a tough but good guy who just happens to be a Jazz Pianist Who Solves Crimes. Great stuff tonight, all episodes were 30 minutes except the "Rawhide" which was an hour. I am becoming a big John Cassavetes fan, as much for his acting as his directing. He was very handsome, and a really good actor, and I liked seeing those old TV shows (gotta get "Rawhide" on dvd, too!) :)
That was the main event for the day. We actually had a warm afternoon here, with temps in the low 80s, but by tomorrow morning it will be raining again, so they say. If there is a break in the rain, I will try to do an afternoon hike, maybe take some pix.
I saw several posts today, including just a little while ago Sarah's post about the sexist video. I applaud her response. The guy who made the request (don't know if he is the videographer or just a rep) must be a knucklehead - at the very least - not to have done any research to see that Sarah is an up-and-coming guitarist in her own right, and doesn't need to be an "accessory" in any video, let alone a cheesy, outdated one. At worst, the guy is just a dumbell. Don't ask me. And from my own point of view, lol - that of a huge fan of guitar going wayyyyy back - the last kind of video I wanna see (or hear) is of A Bunch Of Guys Shredding.
Shredding is One Big Snoozefest. Always has been. Add sexism to the mix and you've got a recipe for No Thank You. :)
I also saw your posts, via people I am not familiar with, about being happy that you picked up a camera, which was indeed one of the best decisions you ever made, and really was the only natural choice, because it was your destiny. I am reading a lot about something called Noetics in the obtuse (but very interesting) Schwaller book "The Temple Of Man". The "nous" is the consciousness of the soul that exists behind even your subconscious, and your Soul is The Real You That Exists In Infinity, Outside Of Time (and your Spirit is the part that can travel between Soul and Mind/Body, it is the part that communicates between your Soul and You). Anyhow, the Nous (the consciousness of your Soul) is always trying to influence your physical life on This Side Of Existence, and that is why you always feel impulses to "be yourself" and go for what will be fulfilling in your life. In your life, you are trying to express something, and that Something is coming to you through your Nous. If you tune into it, like a dial on a radio, it will always be your guide and steer you in the right direction.
But it's communication with you cannot be interpreted in word-images. It can only be interpreted in the kinds of indescribable Glimpses we used to talk about.
However, these millisecond glimpses, which come to you every day, will communicate volumes about your life and direction - and about Who You Are - if you make the Nous a part of your everyday life. To do that, you merely focus inward. This does not shut down your interaction with the world, but it just changes the emphasis from an Exoteric (outward or material sense reality) to an Esoteric one (inward, non material reality focused on The Real You).
Well, anyway, this is all stuff that your intuition tells you, but Schwaller wants to dissect the fine points.....
I also saw your post, via another FB friend, about his upcoming wedding. As you know, the only thing I can say about that is that I Am Very Much In Favor Of Weddings. :):)
And that's all I really know for this evening!
I will see you in the morning. Glad that everything seems to be going well.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tonight at CSUN we saw some of John Cassavetes' television work, including two episodes of "Johnny Staccato" (which he directed and starred in), an episode of "Rawhide" - which was the TV Western that Clint Eastwood got his start in, before he became a movie star - and also an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", in which Cassavetes played an escaped convict who takes a woman hostage in her home. He played a bad guy in the "Rawhide" show too, and he is really good at bad guys, but I like him even better as "Johnny Stacatto" a tough but good guy who just happens to be a Jazz Pianist Who Solves Crimes. Great stuff tonight, all episodes were 30 minutes except the "Rawhide" which was an hour. I am becoming a big John Cassavetes fan, as much for his acting as his directing. He was very handsome, and a really good actor, and I liked seeing those old TV shows (gotta get "Rawhide" on dvd, too!) :)
That was the main event for the day. We actually had a warm afternoon here, with temps in the low 80s, but by tomorrow morning it will be raining again, so they say. If there is a break in the rain, I will try to do an afternoon hike, maybe take some pix.
I saw several posts today, including just a little while ago Sarah's post about the sexist video. I applaud her response. The guy who made the request (don't know if he is the videographer or just a rep) must be a knucklehead - at the very least - not to have done any research to see that Sarah is an up-and-coming guitarist in her own right, and doesn't need to be an "accessory" in any video, let alone a cheesy, outdated one. At worst, the guy is just a dumbell. Don't ask me. And from my own point of view, lol - that of a huge fan of guitar going wayyyyy back - the last kind of video I wanna see (or hear) is of A Bunch Of Guys Shredding.
Shredding is One Big Snoozefest. Always has been. Add sexism to the mix and you've got a recipe for No Thank You. :)
I also saw your posts, via people I am not familiar with, about being happy that you picked up a camera, which was indeed one of the best decisions you ever made, and really was the only natural choice, because it was your destiny. I am reading a lot about something called Noetics in the obtuse (but very interesting) Schwaller book "The Temple Of Man". The "nous" is the consciousness of the soul that exists behind even your subconscious, and your Soul is The Real You That Exists In Infinity, Outside Of Time (and your Spirit is the part that can travel between Soul and Mind/Body, it is the part that communicates between your Soul and You). Anyhow, the Nous (the consciousness of your Soul) is always trying to influence your physical life on This Side Of Existence, and that is why you always feel impulses to "be yourself" and go for what will be fulfilling in your life. In your life, you are trying to express something, and that Something is coming to you through your Nous. If you tune into it, like a dial on a radio, it will always be your guide and steer you in the right direction.
But it's communication with you cannot be interpreted in word-images. It can only be interpreted in the kinds of indescribable Glimpses we used to talk about.
However, these millisecond glimpses, which come to you every day, will communicate volumes about your life and direction - and about Who You Are - if you make the Nous a part of your everyday life. To do that, you merely focus inward. This does not shut down your interaction with the world, but it just changes the emphasis from an Exoteric (outward or material sense reality) to an Esoteric one (inward, non material reality focused on The Real You).
Well, anyway, this is all stuff that your intuition tells you, but Schwaller wants to dissect the fine points.....
I also saw your post, via another FB friend, about his upcoming wedding. As you know, the only thing I can say about that is that I Am Very Much In Favor Of Weddings. :):)
And that's all I really know for this evening!
I will see you in the morning. Glad that everything seems to be going well.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Happy Wednesday + "The Old Gun"
Happy Late Wednesday Night, my Darling,
I hope you had a nice day. As usual with me, nothing much to report. I did take The Kobester to the groomer and he came back looking super cute. She shaved a lot of his fur off cause it was getting too long, so now he looks all skinny and puppylike.
I watched a movie tonight called "The Old Gun". It was a French film, made in 1975 by a director I had never heard of named Robert Enrico. It is the story of a surgeon (played by famous French actor Phillipe Noiret) in Occupied France during WW2. He moves his wife (played by the tragic Romy Schneider) and daughter out to the countryside after he is threatened by a Nazi-complicit member of the French police. The surgeon owns an old run down castle and sequesters his family there in the hope that they will be safe til war's end. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out that way. There is a massacre in the local country town, and so the horrified and grief stricken Noiret goes on a rampage against the Waffen SS perpetrators, using an "Old Gun" (hence the title) that he remembers stashing in his castle.
I was expecting more of a "basic WW 2 film", which led me to order it from the Libe, and it was pretty good in all it's production values and Noiret, a great actor, carried the film well. But really it was more of a revenge movie, like the popular "Death Wish" films of the 70s, in which a horrific violent family tragedy is set up, and then avenged by the Surviving Male. You could call "The Old Gun" "Death Wish Goes To Nazi Germany" and it would be a fairly apt title, although it is nowhere near as cheesy. But it is super violent, with some scenes befitting a nightmarish horror film ala "Don't Go In The House".
Anyhow, to sum up : Had never heard of it. Ordered from the Libe cause of Always Googling for WW2 films. Solid direction/production values. Noiret is great throughout. Story is okay, but basically plays like a "Death Wish" revenge film, and is very graphic in places.
That was really all the news today.
I saw your post of the beautiful Labradoodle doggie - such a noble looking dog - and that is wonderful that it will be going into service for your friend. Dogs rule, and they can do so much and are so smart and honorable........I love 'em! :)
Still thinking about last night's concert, and kinda blown away by How Heavy Metal It Was.
I wasn't quite expecting that! :)
See you in the morn. Post if you can. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope you had a nice day. As usual with me, nothing much to report. I did take The Kobester to the groomer and he came back looking super cute. She shaved a lot of his fur off cause it was getting too long, so now he looks all skinny and puppylike.
I watched a movie tonight called "The Old Gun". It was a French film, made in 1975 by a director I had never heard of named Robert Enrico. It is the story of a surgeon (played by famous French actor Phillipe Noiret) in Occupied France during WW2. He moves his wife (played by the tragic Romy Schneider) and daughter out to the countryside after he is threatened by a Nazi-complicit member of the French police. The surgeon owns an old run down castle and sequesters his family there in the hope that they will be safe til war's end. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out that way. There is a massacre in the local country town, and so the horrified and grief stricken Noiret goes on a rampage against the Waffen SS perpetrators, using an "Old Gun" (hence the title) that he remembers stashing in his castle.
I was expecting more of a "basic WW 2 film", which led me to order it from the Libe, and it was pretty good in all it's production values and Noiret, a great actor, carried the film well. But really it was more of a revenge movie, like the popular "Death Wish" films of the 70s, in which a horrific violent family tragedy is set up, and then avenged by the Surviving Male. You could call "The Old Gun" "Death Wish Goes To Nazi Germany" and it would be a fairly apt title, although it is nowhere near as cheesy. But it is super violent, with some scenes befitting a nightmarish horror film ala "Don't Go In The House".
Anyhow, to sum up : Had never heard of it. Ordered from the Libe cause of Always Googling for WW2 films. Solid direction/production values. Noiret is great throughout. Story is okay, but basically plays like a "Death Wish" revenge film, and is very graphic in places.
That was really all the news today.
I saw your post of the beautiful Labradoodle doggie - such a noble looking dog - and that is wonderful that it will be going into service for your friend. Dogs rule, and they can do so much and are so smart and honorable........I love 'em! :)
Still thinking about last night's concert, and kinda blown away by How Heavy Metal It Was.
I wasn't quite expecting that! :)
See you in the morn. Post if you can. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Alcest at The Roxy (Holy Smokes)
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I just got back from the Alcest concert, and........oh, man. I sure hope you got to see 'em in Chicago. I am guessing you went - because you of all people would (probably) be there - but since you didn't post anything about it, I also thought "well, maybe she couldn't go because of work". But I hope you went, at any rate, and if you didn't go you will go next time for sure.
I got down to Sunset Boulevard (by myself, as usual), parked across from The Roxy and took a walk down The Strip because one of the opening bands was still playing and I didn't want to stand in a jam-packed club getting my ears blown out before Alcest played. They had the set times posted at the box office, which I really like and wish all venues would do, and so I timed my walk to return to The Roxy about 20 minutes before showtime. I figured the opening band would be off by then.
But they weren't. My mistake. I went into the club, and I don't know if it was The Body or Creepers who were onstage, but I was hit with a high decibel wall of low-end white noise. Like somebody was trying to blow out the bass end of the house PA system. This was accompanied by a repeating, metallic percussive sound that was loud enough to pierce an eardrum. The overall effect was that it sounded like I was in Hell. I mean, I am pretty hardcore as you know, and I even raved about seeing Sunn0))) open for Celtic Frost in 2006. But whatever this was made Sunn0))) sound like Gordon Lightfoot. I don't know why I picked him, but he'll do. This wasn't music per se, just a wall of extremely loud distorted sound with a pounding beat. You couldn't see any band members, just images on a screen.
Thank God they were on their last "song" and I only had to endure 5 minutes worth.
Alcest did a very quick set up and were on just 15 minutes after the noise band finished. Well, girl, if you saw 'em you know; they blew the doors off the place. I have seen them four times now, beginning in 2011, and they have gotten better each time. The last two times were killer and this show in particular was just brutal. It's funny, because their records - awesome as they are - don't quite capture the live power of the band. Perhaps because they are produced to accentuate all the different textures involved : the vocal harmonies especially, and the highlights within the dense guitar chordings. On record, the guitars have to be pushed back a tad in the mix, for balance, but live it's just brutal.
It's Brutal I tell you! Simply Brutal!
Certain sections of music were some of the heaviest stuff I've ever heard live. And, Neige did more Black Metal vocals than ever before, probably in half the songs. In the other three Alcest concerts I've seen, he only did one or two songs worth, and he saved them til the end. This time he went all out.
I guess he decided he wanted to be extreme after all. The screams on "Eclosion" especially were of the pin-your-ears-back variety.
Of course, they are not a one trick pony of a band, and they have all that hypnotic, liquid Pink Floyd sounding arpeggiated guitar stuff with beautiful vocals over the top, with just Neige and Zero strumming away and trading vocals. I am too tired right now to check my spelling on the French song titles, but you know which ones I mean, especially Sur L'Ocean......
The sound system couldn't quite handle the complexity of the music, and some of the nuances were muddied at high volume - and we are talking L.O.U.D. - and it would be better if they played one of our Downtown L.A. theaters so that their sound can breathe a bit in a bigger room, but that is a minor complaint tonight because of the power of the show. In concert, Alcest has become like a heavyweight boxer, delivering a major knockout punch to the Hollywood crowd this evening.
The Roxy was packed to the hilt. Lucky for me I found a place to stand on some steps near the back of the club, so I could see over the crowd with clear sightlines, and I was still only about 25 feet away.
All in all, a great concert. Neige hardly spoke to the audience, but I like that because it keeps the momentum going. More and more bands are doing it that way, just sticking to the music - boom-boom-boom - and with Neige, his accent is heavy so it's kind of hard to understand him anyhow.
They ended the show playing with the lights out. No lights onstage, just a few soft green lights above, but you couldn't see the band. It was a very dramatic way to finish. /////
I saw your photo and comment this morning, and when you say that 2017 is shaping up to be your "fastest" year, I hope you mean it in the "time flies when you're having fun" way. :)
I know what you mean, though, and when you get to be my age (there I go with that cliche I swore I'd never use again!).......but when you do get to be my age (and please, take your time doing it), you will see that the years fly by no matter how much fun you are having. :) That's something we have talked about before, how time can fly in The Immediate and seem to last forever in The Aggregate, and that sometimes it can reverse those aspects. But when you are working hard, it sure does seem like days, weeks and months go by like that (snaps fingers).........
Just as long as you are enjoying yourself, that's what counts.
And that's all I know for tonight.
See you in the morn. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I just got back from the Alcest concert, and........oh, man. I sure hope you got to see 'em in Chicago. I am guessing you went - because you of all people would (probably) be there - but since you didn't post anything about it, I also thought "well, maybe she couldn't go because of work". But I hope you went, at any rate, and if you didn't go you will go next time for sure.
I got down to Sunset Boulevard (by myself, as usual), parked across from The Roxy and took a walk down The Strip because one of the opening bands was still playing and I didn't want to stand in a jam-packed club getting my ears blown out before Alcest played. They had the set times posted at the box office, which I really like and wish all venues would do, and so I timed my walk to return to The Roxy about 20 minutes before showtime. I figured the opening band would be off by then.
But they weren't. My mistake. I went into the club, and I don't know if it was The Body or Creepers who were onstage, but I was hit with a high decibel wall of low-end white noise. Like somebody was trying to blow out the bass end of the house PA system. This was accompanied by a repeating, metallic percussive sound that was loud enough to pierce an eardrum. The overall effect was that it sounded like I was in Hell. I mean, I am pretty hardcore as you know, and I even raved about seeing Sunn0))) open for Celtic Frost in 2006. But whatever this was made Sunn0))) sound like Gordon Lightfoot. I don't know why I picked him, but he'll do. This wasn't music per se, just a wall of extremely loud distorted sound with a pounding beat. You couldn't see any band members, just images on a screen.
Thank God they were on their last "song" and I only had to endure 5 minutes worth.
Alcest did a very quick set up and were on just 15 minutes after the noise band finished. Well, girl, if you saw 'em you know; they blew the doors off the place. I have seen them four times now, beginning in 2011, and they have gotten better each time. The last two times were killer and this show in particular was just brutal. It's funny, because their records - awesome as they are - don't quite capture the live power of the band. Perhaps because they are produced to accentuate all the different textures involved : the vocal harmonies especially, and the highlights within the dense guitar chordings. On record, the guitars have to be pushed back a tad in the mix, for balance, but live it's just brutal.
It's Brutal I tell you! Simply Brutal!
Certain sections of music were some of the heaviest stuff I've ever heard live. And, Neige did more Black Metal vocals than ever before, probably in half the songs. In the other three Alcest concerts I've seen, he only did one or two songs worth, and he saved them til the end. This time he went all out.
I guess he decided he wanted to be extreme after all. The screams on "Eclosion" especially were of the pin-your-ears-back variety.
Of course, they are not a one trick pony of a band, and they have all that hypnotic, liquid Pink Floyd sounding arpeggiated guitar stuff with beautiful vocals over the top, with just Neige and Zero strumming away and trading vocals. I am too tired right now to check my spelling on the French song titles, but you know which ones I mean, especially Sur L'Ocean......
The sound system couldn't quite handle the complexity of the music, and some of the nuances were muddied at high volume - and we are talking L.O.U.D. - and it would be better if they played one of our Downtown L.A. theaters so that their sound can breathe a bit in a bigger room, but that is a minor complaint tonight because of the power of the show. In concert, Alcest has become like a heavyweight boxer, delivering a major knockout punch to the Hollywood crowd this evening.
The Roxy was packed to the hilt. Lucky for me I found a place to stand on some steps near the back of the club, so I could see over the crowd with clear sightlines, and I was still only about 25 feet away.
All in all, a great concert. Neige hardly spoke to the audience, but I like that because it keeps the momentum going. More and more bands are doing it that way, just sticking to the music - boom-boom-boom - and with Neige, his accent is heavy so it's kind of hard to understand him anyhow.
They ended the show playing with the lights out. No lights onstage, just a few soft green lights above, but you couldn't see the band. It was a very dramatic way to finish. /////
I saw your photo and comment this morning, and when you say that 2017 is shaping up to be your "fastest" year, I hope you mean it in the "time flies when you're having fun" way. :)
I know what you mean, though, and when you get to be my age (there I go with that cliche I swore I'd never use again!).......but when you do get to be my age (and please, take your time doing it), you will see that the years fly by no matter how much fun you are having. :) That's something we have talked about before, how time can fly in The Immediate and seem to last forever in The Aggregate, and that sometimes it can reverse those aspects. But when you are working hard, it sure does seem like days, weeks and months go by like that (snaps fingers).........
Just as long as you are enjoying yourself, that's what counts.
And that's all I know for tonight.
See you in the morn. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Monday, February 6, 2017
Hope All Is Well + Two Types Of Blogging + I Called The Super Bowl
Hi Elizabeth,
Happy Sunday night. I hope you had a nice weekend, and that all is well. I'm just checking in to say hi. It seems like you aren't on FB much anymore, but I know you are working all the time these days. I guess I will write when you are around, and I will even try to write when you aren't, but as you can see I haven't been very successful in that regard. It's funny - in an interesting way, when I analyse it - because, over the many years of my blogging, starting in 1999 or so, I have had two ways (methods) of writing. The first one was when I was merely "writing to myself" about whatever crossed my mind. Even though I knew people were reading, it felt, while I wrote, like I was just ruminating on my own thoughts about any given subject. A big subject was of course 1989, but even so, the "feel" when writing was of me just thinking aloud to myself and typing it out. So I did not have many off days, because I did not feel the need to communicate.
Writing to you is different, because it's psychically (for me at least) a two-way thing. It's almost like a phone call. When you make a phone call, and nobody is there, you don't start talking; you just hang up. So the feel is different for me in these blogs since 2013, because I am writing to you specifically, and when you aren't around.........well, it's like the phone call analogy. :)
So that's a more specific reason why I've skipped a lot of days recently. If I was just writing "to myself" (and it would have to feel as if I were writing to myself), then I would probably write every single day because I always have thoughts about one thing or another. The problem there is that many of those things would be of interest only to me. That was what consisted of my blogging pre-2013, just mostly Weird Stuff that interested me alone.
At any rate, please take all of this with a grain of salt. I know 100% how hard you are working on things, and that should always be your focus and priority. I am only trying to explain why it's become harder for me to write a nightly blog, and that's because in my mind, as I write, I am treating it as a "two-way phone call", which in the past was easier to do.
It's still all good, and I will keep trying. Just please excuse "days that I miss a blog" if you are not around, simply because of the Age Old Reason that My Workday Life Is Not Very Interesting and also the missing element in the Two-Way Phone Call Factor mentioned earlier.
Well anyhow, that was some Super Bowl. I didn't like the outcome, naturally, but I knew it was gonna happen and I even called it, to my friends over at the KX board. Even when the Pats were down 25 points, I told one New England fan "have no fear", and when they closed the gap to 8 points in the 4th quarter, I posted that "Brady will win it in overtime". It's a weird thing, part "feel" and part experience of watching Brady for years, but there are certain things (and people) that you just get a feeling about, and he is one of them. I don't like him, much as I don't like Serena Williams, because I think both (great as they are) are prima donnas and sore losers when they lose. Neither is humble, both are egomaniacs. But it's almost because I dislike their sportsmanship so much, that I can tune in to any Serena match or, especially Brady game, and tell you if either one is gonna win or not. Even when it looks like they are gonna get killed. I can't stand Tom Brady, but he probably is the greatest QB of all time, and I am somehow tuned into his vibe because he bugs me so much, lol.
Wishing you much success on all projects current and future. I will keep trying with the blog.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Happy Sunday night. I hope you had a nice weekend, and that all is well. I'm just checking in to say hi. It seems like you aren't on FB much anymore, but I know you are working all the time these days. I guess I will write when you are around, and I will even try to write when you aren't, but as you can see I haven't been very successful in that regard. It's funny - in an interesting way, when I analyse it - because, over the many years of my blogging, starting in 1999 or so, I have had two ways (methods) of writing. The first one was when I was merely "writing to myself" about whatever crossed my mind. Even though I knew people were reading, it felt, while I wrote, like I was just ruminating on my own thoughts about any given subject. A big subject was of course 1989, but even so, the "feel" when writing was of me just thinking aloud to myself and typing it out. So I did not have many off days, because I did not feel the need to communicate.
Writing to you is different, because it's psychically (for me at least) a two-way thing. It's almost like a phone call. When you make a phone call, and nobody is there, you don't start talking; you just hang up. So the feel is different for me in these blogs since 2013, because I am writing to you specifically, and when you aren't around.........well, it's like the phone call analogy. :)
So that's a more specific reason why I've skipped a lot of days recently. If I was just writing "to myself" (and it would have to feel as if I were writing to myself), then I would probably write every single day because I always have thoughts about one thing or another. The problem there is that many of those things would be of interest only to me. That was what consisted of my blogging pre-2013, just mostly Weird Stuff that interested me alone.
At any rate, please take all of this with a grain of salt. I know 100% how hard you are working on things, and that should always be your focus and priority. I am only trying to explain why it's become harder for me to write a nightly blog, and that's because in my mind, as I write, I am treating it as a "two-way phone call", which in the past was easier to do.
It's still all good, and I will keep trying. Just please excuse "days that I miss a blog" if you are not around, simply because of the Age Old Reason that My Workday Life Is Not Very Interesting and also the missing element in the Two-Way Phone Call Factor mentioned earlier.
Well anyhow, that was some Super Bowl. I didn't like the outcome, naturally, but I knew it was gonna happen and I even called it, to my friends over at the KX board. Even when the Pats were down 25 points, I told one New England fan "have no fear", and when they closed the gap to 8 points in the 4th quarter, I posted that "Brady will win it in overtime". It's a weird thing, part "feel" and part experience of watching Brady for years, but there are certain things (and people) that you just get a feeling about, and he is one of them. I don't like him, much as I don't like Serena Williams, because I think both (great as they are) are prima donnas and sore losers when they lose. Neither is humble, both are egomaniacs. But it's almost because I dislike their sportsmanship so much, that I can tune in to any Serena match or, especially Brady game, and tell you if either one is gonna win or not. Even when it looks like they are gonna get killed. I can't stand Tom Brady, but he probably is the greatest QB of all time, and I am somehow tuned into his vibe because he bugs me so much, lol.
Wishing you much success on all projects current and future. I will keep trying with the blog.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Happy Friday + Misty Muddy Hike at O'Melveney + "Too Late Blues"
Happy Late Night, my Darling,
I hope you had a nice day today and also yesterday. I finally went on a hike, a drizzly, muddy slog up at O'Melveney, and while the conditions weren't great for the actual hiking part (I had to watch my step to avoid sinking my boots in the mud), they were excellent for picture taking and I got several good shots. I have probably mentioned before that O'Melveney Park is situated directly in the gap between the Santa Susana and San Gabriel mountains, and while the Santa Susanas are wide and soft, with rounded tops, the San Gabriels are sharp and jagged with pointed tops. When you get back about a mile into the very large park, you are right next to the western San Gabriel peaks, and today they were shrouded in mist, which looked really cool and the tones of the newly green slopes were set off by the diffused light from the overcast sky. It was fun to get up there, and I hope to get out to Whitney Canyon and Rice Canyon soon, as well. Placerita Canyon, which is one of my very favorites as you know, is still closed due to damage from that horrible fire last July. I haven't been there in almost a year; I hope the rains haven't damaged it further.
Well anyway it was great to get out. :)
Last night at CSUN we saw John Cassavettes' "Too Late Blues" (1962) starring the famous pop singer Bobby Darin as a jazz pianist who is frustrated with the machinations of show biz. His band mates are all focused on "making it big", while he sees the reality behind that desire, which in his mind equals selling out. Besides that, he is pursuing a female singer (Stella Stevens) who is being handled by his own manager, who out of jealousy begins to undermine him.
It's Cassavettes, so it's very, very wordy and very emotional. Chaotic. Cassavettes is all about characters expressing themselves - laughing, loving, fighting, soul searching - and nothing is held back, so his films have an explosive feel. It takes some getting used to because there isn't much rest, or calm, but as I said last week, the payoff comes in the professionalism, and John Cassavettes was a total pro as a director, actor and founder of an acting school in which he created his freewheeling style. "Too Late Blues" is shot in beautiful black and white in (I believe) Los Angeles, though not many outdoor locations are shown. It's set in L.A. at any rate, though it's possible they could've filmed in N.Y.
That was really all the news for the past two days. I saw your post this morning of Ola Gjeilo. I thought once that you used him to signify that you were recording your own music, and if so then that is of course awesome, and if it was just an ordinary FB "like" then that is awesome too, because his music is very beautiful.
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope you had a nice day today and also yesterday. I finally went on a hike, a drizzly, muddy slog up at O'Melveney, and while the conditions weren't great for the actual hiking part (I had to watch my step to avoid sinking my boots in the mud), they were excellent for picture taking and I got several good shots. I have probably mentioned before that O'Melveney Park is situated directly in the gap between the Santa Susana and San Gabriel mountains, and while the Santa Susanas are wide and soft, with rounded tops, the San Gabriels are sharp and jagged with pointed tops. When you get back about a mile into the very large park, you are right next to the western San Gabriel peaks, and today they were shrouded in mist, which looked really cool and the tones of the newly green slopes were set off by the diffused light from the overcast sky. It was fun to get up there, and I hope to get out to Whitney Canyon and Rice Canyon soon, as well. Placerita Canyon, which is one of my very favorites as you know, is still closed due to damage from that horrible fire last July. I haven't been there in almost a year; I hope the rains haven't damaged it further.
Well anyway it was great to get out. :)
Last night at CSUN we saw John Cassavettes' "Too Late Blues" (1962) starring the famous pop singer Bobby Darin as a jazz pianist who is frustrated with the machinations of show biz. His band mates are all focused on "making it big", while he sees the reality behind that desire, which in his mind equals selling out. Besides that, he is pursuing a female singer (Stella Stevens) who is being handled by his own manager, who out of jealousy begins to undermine him.
It's Cassavettes, so it's very, very wordy and very emotional. Chaotic. Cassavettes is all about characters expressing themselves - laughing, loving, fighting, soul searching - and nothing is held back, so his films have an explosive feel. It takes some getting used to because there isn't much rest, or calm, but as I said last week, the payoff comes in the professionalism, and John Cassavettes was a total pro as a director, actor and founder of an acting school in which he created his freewheeling style. "Too Late Blues" is shot in beautiful black and white in (I believe) Los Angeles, though not many outdoor locations are shown. It's set in L.A. at any rate, though it's possible they could've filmed in N.Y.
That was really all the news for the past two days. I saw your post this morning of Ola Gjeilo. I thought once that you used him to signify that you were recording your own music, and if so then that is of course awesome, and if it was just an ordinary FB "like" then that is awesome too, because his music is very beautiful.
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Happy Wednesday (not much news)
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
Today was just your basic workday, mostly occupied with getting Pearl's cable working again. This morning the box was kaput (the Time Warner guy on the phone could not fix it) so we drove out to Chatsworth to get a new one. Brought the Koberman Pinscher along to make it a party. By the time we got back and I got the new cable box hooked up, it was 3pm, so no time for a hike. Perhaps Friday, tomorrow being hair salon day.
I hope you had a good day and that all projects are coming along well. I guess you are basically working full time these days and that is awesome! You must have to juggle different projects and prioritize some over others, in order to get everything done. Client videos no doubt take precedence over everything. I hope you are still getting an opportunity to work on your own album and other personal projects, though. Well anyhow, just a short post tonight because of Nothing To Report. I saw one post, via Steve, about how everyone likes Nickelback now, or that it's suddenly cool to like them. That one is beyond me, I'm afraid, because although I am certain I've heard a Nickleback song before, it was probably back in the 90s, and I could not tell you the title nor hum the melody. I never knew anything about them except that everybody thought they were awful, lol. So now it's okay to like them, I guess, or I am just plain not in on the latest trends. :) I've gotta get hip.
That's all I know for tonight. I have been watching episodes of "Fear The Walking Dead", but as it has progressed I'm not finding it to be much better than the original series, which has pretty much fallen apart in the past two years. Oh well : time to order an old Western series on dvd, or maybe the short lived John Cassavettes TV series from the late 50s, called "Johnny Stacatto", about a jazz pianist who also happens to be a private detective. Now that sounds like a great series! :)
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Today was just your basic workday, mostly occupied with getting Pearl's cable working again. This morning the box was kaput (the Time Warner guy on the phone could not fix it) so we drove out to Chatsworth to get a new one. Brought the Koberman Pinscher along to make it a party. By the time we got back and I got the new cable box hooked up, it was 3pm, so no time for a hike. Perhaps Friday, tomorrow being hair salon day.
I hope you had a good day and that all projects are coming along well. I guess you are basically working full time these days and that is awesome! You must have to juggle different projects and prioritize some over others, in order to get everything done. Client videos no doubt take precedence over everything. I hope you are still getting an opportunity to work on your own album and other personal projects, though. Well anyhow, just a short post tonight because of Nothing To Report. I saw one post, via Steve, about how everyone likes Nickelback now, or that it's suddenly cool to like them. That one is beyond me, I'm afraid, because although I am certain I've heard a Nickleback song before, it was probably back in the 90s, and I could not tell you the title nor hum the melody. I never knew anything about them except that everybody thought they were awful, lol. So now it's okay to like them, I guess, or I am just plain not in on the latest trends. :) I've gotta get hip.
That's all I know for tonight. I have been watching episodes of "Fear The Walking Dead", but as it has progressed I'm not finding it to be much better than the original series, which has pretty much fallen apart in the past two years. Oh well : time to order an old Western series on dvd, or maybe the short lived John Cassavettes TV series from the late 50s, called "Johnny Stacatto", about a jazz pianist who also happens to be a private detective. Now that sounds like a great series! :)
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
"Phantom" + "West" + John Wetton
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I hope you had a great time tonight, seeing "Phantom Of The Opera"! That is a beautiful theater, the Overture. How nice to have such a venue fairly close to home. I am glad you got to go, and I'll bet you will now want to go to more shows in the future. Musicals, opera and live theater are very addictive, as I have found out myself. Tickets usually aren't cheap, but it's fun to splurge once in a while and go. :)
I also saw the teaser video for "West", posted by your collaborator Kate. Wow - that is some very expressive dancing with camerawork by you to match. It's like "talking with the body" and I will use a word I've used before to describe the overall effect of your camera and editing : kinetic. Every image of motion leads directly to and connects into the next one. I guess the project is completed or near completion, and I look forward to seeing the whole thing. :) And, I expect you and Kate will be trying to get it placed in festivals and screenings, etc.
It was sad today to hear about the passing of John Wetton, though not entirely unexpected because he had been ill for some time and had just pulled out of the Asia tour that was scheduled this month.
He wasn't as well known, by name, as a guy like Greg Lake, but like Greg, he was an integral part of some of the greatest records ever made, including "Red" by King Crimson, which many consider to be their best album, and which is without a doubt the progenitor of all progressive metal. I would count it in the 25 Greatest Records Ever Made, and a big part of that reason is the vocal and bass of John Wetton. He was actually on more Crimson records then Greg Lake, and was the only guy who could have replaced him. He sang in a choirboy tenor not far removed from that of Greg, although a bit higher in register. I have always wanted to sing like Greg Lake, and if I had to pick another singer to try for, it would be John Wetton. His voice had so much feeling in it, and so much Englishness, and on top of that he wrote great lyrics too.
I was fortunate to see him play live with UK, a band I mentioned in a recent blog, when I compared an arpeggio Sarah played in the HeadRush video to a line that might have fit in to the music of UK.
I also saw John Wetton on the first Asia tour in 1982. That band had Steve Howe from Yes, and Carl Palmer, and we had expected it to be ultra-progressive, but it was actually a calculated commercial group, and I didn't like it as much, except for a few songs. But it still showed what Wetton could do : he could excel in the most progressive of bands and help create some of the greatest albums of all-time, and he could also write and play a "pop" version of the same style of music and have a Number One Record. Asia was huge in the early 80s, and in 1982 they had the biggest selling album of the year. So he could do it all.
These rock n' rollers, at least the ones from the "old days", they all smoked and drank a lot. Many took a lot of drugs, too. That's why they don't live real long. But man, do they ever give of themselves. When I think of the music these people have given, and the dedication it took to do so, and to tour and tour......
All I can do is say thanks. Because the music has meant so much to me, much more than I could ever describe in words.
That's all for tonight, SB. Everything else is usual, reading about LBJ and this very, very, extremely obtuse Schwaller book. Listening to Lipatti and the new Van Der Graaf Generator album which just came in the mail and sounds great after one listen. Now there are some guys in their late 60s who are still going strong and hopefully won't die anytime soon. :)
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope you had a great time tonight, seeing "Phantom Of The Opera"! That is a beautiful theater, the Overture. How nice to have such a venue fairly close to home. I am glad you got to go, and I'll bet you will now want to go to more shows in the future. Musicals, opera and live theater are very addictive, as I have found out myself. Tickets usually aren't cheap, but it's fun to splurge once in a while and go. :)
I also saw the teaser video for "West", posted by your collaborator Kate. Wow - that is some very expressive dancing with camerawork by you to match. It's like "talking with the body" and I will use a word I've used before to describe the overall effect of your camera and editing : kinetic. Every image of motion leads directly to and connects into the next one. I guess the project is completed or near completion, and I look forward to seeing the whole thing. :) And, I expect you and Kate will be trying to get it placed in festivals and screenings, etc.
It was sad today to hear about the passing of John Wetton, though not entirely unexpected because he had been ill for some time and had just pulled out of the Asia tour that was scheduled this month.
He wasn't as well known, by name, as a guy like Greg Lake, but like Greg, he was an integral part of some of the greatest records ever made, including "Red" by King Crimson, which many consider to be their best album, and which is without a doubt the progenitor of all progressive metal. I would count it in the 25 Greatest Records Ever Made, and a big part of that reason is the vocal and bass of John Wetton. He was actually on more Crimson records then Greg Lake, and was the only guy who could have replaced him. He sang in a choirboy tenor not far removed from that of Greg, although a bit higher in register. I have always wanted to sing like Greg Lake, and if I had to pick another singer to try for, it would be John Wetton. His voice had so much feeling in it, and so much Englishness, and on top of that he wrote great lyrics too.
I was fortunate to see him play live with UK, a band I mentioned in a recent blog, when I compared an arpeggio Sarah played in the HeadRush video to a line that might have fit in to the music of UK.
I also saw John Wetton on the first Asia tour in 1982. That band had Steve Howe from Yes, and Carl Palmer, and we had expected it to be ultra-progressive, but it was actually a calculated commercial group, and I didn't like it as much, except for a few songs. But it still showed what Wetton could do : he could excel in the most progressive of bands and help create some of the greatest albums of all-time, and he could also write and play a "pop" version of the same style of music and have a Number One Record. Asia was huge in the early 80s, and in 1982 they had the biggest selling album of the year. So he could do it all.
These rock n' rollers, at least the ones from the "old days", they all smoked and drank a lot. Many took a lot of drugs, too. That's why they don't live real long. But man, do they ever give of themselves. When I think of the music these people have given, and the dedication it took to do so, and to tour and tour......
All I can do is say thanks. Because the music has meant so much to me, much more than I could ever describe in words.
That's all for tonight, SB. Everything else is usual, reading about LBJ and this very, very, extremely obtuse Schwaller book. Listening to Lipatti and the new Van Der Graaf Generator album which just came in the mail and sounds great after one listen. Now there are some guys in their late 60s who are still going strong and hopefully won't die anytime soon. :)
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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