That was another great photo this morning, Elizabeth. And it's also great that you are getting the fashion jobs mixed in with your music work and other stuff, and it looks like your friend Cory the designer is very up-and-coming, so that's yet again another great connection for you. You have your models well posed as always. And the soft colors of the clothing stand out well against the grey, linear bulwark of the building. I am glad you are aware of Brutalist architecture! For about 30 years, we had a Brutalist building almost right across the street from where I live : The Northridge Medical Arts Building. It was designed by Richard Neutra; I went there as a small child to see my pediatrician. However, unlike the Brutalist building in your photograph, The Northridge Medical Arts Building is no longer standing in it's original form. After the earthquake in 1994, it was unconscionably and disgustingly covered over in a beige/pink stucco facade that looks like something out of Miami Vice. Mr. Neutra must have rolled in his grave. And my late friend Mr. D was mighty pissed at the time, he being very artistic and aware of the various schools of architectural design. I had not heard of Brutalism until he mentioned it. Dave figured that the bland, conservative housewives of the Northridge Women's Club were behind the demise of the Medical Arts Building facade. I don't know why he singled them out, but perhaps he had inside info. He claimed that with all the rebuilding going on all over town after the quake, that the non-art appreciating group saw their opportunity to "make over" a building they had long considered an eyesore, the mentality of the average middle-class bourgeosie. More likely the building was sold to some dumbell who had no clue about it's history, and figured an extremely gauche refacing was in order. Regardless of the culprit (and the local Chamber Of Commerce sure didn't stand up for the building, nor did any politician), I admired Dave's attitude of outrage at the time. It was as if someone had just willy-nilly repainted and put a false front on a Frank Lloyd Wright house, or another building of that status, simply out of lowbrow ignorance.
One good thing is that the original structure is still intact, somewhere under the cheesy makeover, so maybe one day it will be restored. I am glad to see that the building in your city did not receive similar treatment. :)
I was of course very sorry to hear about Chester Bennington. I was not a fan of his music, but I have the first Linkin Park CD, and I have had it since it came out in 2000. I played it a few times back then, and it didn't work for me, because......well, the rap and the electronica and the nu-metal and the beats. That's just not my thing. It wasn't horrible, like Limp Bizkit or other bottom-of-the-barrel rap-metal bands, and in fact - for that style - it was probably a cut above, because the songs had some melody, and also the singer was very good.
But the reason I still have it, even when I pared down my CD collection a few years ago, is because it was given to me.
The gift was from my friend Mr. D. He was a fan of Nu-Metal bands like Korn, and he was very excited about Linkin Park when they came out. In the 80s, we liked mostly the same stuff (regular metal & glam). We both were huge fans of Celtic Frost. In the late 90s, Dave moved on to Nu-Metal and I did not. But he was so enthusiastic about the Linkin Park debut that I was enthused myself when he gave me a copy. And that's why I never traded it when I pared down my CD collection. It's not just because the CD was a gift. That was part of the reason, but the main reason was Dave's enthusiasm about his latest "find".
I love it when a person is really into something. I should add as a disclaimer that it helps if the "something", and the person involved, are both on the same general wavelength as me. I mean, can't say, for instance, that I "love it" when a person is really into Kid Rock, or Rap, or Donald Trump.
But if it is a person I have a lot of respect for, and especially a friend like Mr. D, then some leeway is allowed for. He did not like Bad Music, just maybe some stuff I didn't care for.
And I kept the CD because of his enthusiasm. The guy, Chester, had a big set of pipes also.
I think we are seeing that material success in no way equates to happiness, or even being on an Even Keel. Rock Stars used to die of drug overdoses; now they commit suicide.
I know mental illness is involved, but the problem is that, in these cases, no one really knows what that is. What is mental illness when you have a wife and six kids? When you have a band, who are your musical brothers? When you have fans who look forward to everything you release?
What exactly is the mental illness?
A lot of doctors and specialists might try to prognosticate. People like me might blame prescription drugs. And there is zero doubt that all of those drugs are toxic and deadly.
But I still don't get it.
My Dad suffered through some fairly serious depression for about a decade. He drank, and was on meds. I had to fight with his doctors to get him off the toxic cocktail they had prescribed to him in the 90s, because those drugs caused him to fall down and hit his head at least a dozen times over the years.
Those drugs suck, and in my opinion, so do most doctors. I don't go to 'em.
I haven't been to a doctor in twenty years, because what can they tell me that I don't already know?
The answer is "nothing".
That is for me only. I do not advocate it for anyone else. Do as you will with the medical profession.
My Dad was Hard Core, because he was WW2 Generation. A tougher lot there has never been. He had big-time addictions, mostly to alcohol, but also to toxic prescription pills, because of the doctors who prescribed those to him. Dad didn't commit suicide though. He lived to be 88, and he lived life to the fullest, right down to the last minute, even though he suffered from depression, on and off, for a long time.
My friend Dave was not so lucky. He only made it to 47. He was drinking heavily and taking those poisonous prescription drugs also. To this day I don't know if his death was accidental or on purpose. Even though I was his best friend, his family would not tell me much.
I just wish there was a way that people wouldn't give up so easily. I don't doubt the pain of those who are suicidal, and it's fair to say that in each of our lives we have all experienced a degree of that pain.
But I think of kids, and wives, and friends, and even fans and just the world in general.
I know that the very talented are often of bipolar disposition. I am not bipolar, but have experienced what I will call Blackout Depression in years past. I have gotten past it, thank God, and it was never a constant feeling anyhow.
And yet, still, even having felt a similarity to what these guys feel, I could never in a million years have done what they have done, and especially if I had a family, and children.
But then, I am just me. I am non-materialist. I am non-ambitious, in the societal sense. The idea of "acheivement" as it applies in corporate America makes zero sense to me. I am not, and never have been, on The Ladder Of Success. If I was, it would have killed me quicker than it killed Chester Bennington.
I am grateful to have always been connected to God, all my life, and to nature. To the World, and not to the world as defined by people. That connection has made me unbreakable, and at this stage of my life I am content and mostly happy. And I haven't taken a drug in twenty years. I don't go to doctors. I am aware of my own body and don't need them, so long as I don't break a bone or need surgery. My health is my own, as is my life.
I wish the same for everyone, especially for very sensitive people, and people under pressure. I have been there myself, and I steered clear - very, very clear of that route - a long time ago.
I just hope that more people, and especially our artistic guiding lights (whomever you're a fan of), will try hard to stabilise themselves. Mental illness is not final, and really it is being used as a "catch-all" to try and account for these tragedies which seem so inexplicable.
They aren't inexplicable.
It's just that a lot of steps need to be taken, by the suicidal, and those close to them who, even in the slightest, may suspect something is wrong. ////
No comments:
Post a Comment