Inspiration's lineage: the discipline of play

To many teachers, this picture might well represent the ideal student that they have never before seen. Eager, empty and knowing it, friendly, waiting to be filled with knowledge. HAHAHAHA. Dream on teacher friends!

The figure in the painting represents a muse and the conceptual problem with it is the same as the basic conceptual problem with many folks notion of education. The muse has appeared at a light source, removed the top of his head, and is indicating to the unknown source to "Fill 'er up!" Presumably, the muse will the travel to artists and musicians etc  in need of inspiration.  Then the muse will pour off a bit of inspiration into their heads....

But the world really doesn't work this way nor does education. Getting inspired, getting an idea, and getting educated are not passive activities.  They require preparation and effort, though the spark may come at a moment when the prep has paused.....   You have to have been entertaining various notions for a new one to pop into your head.  Reading or looking or thinking or writing or painting or playing generally happens first, usually on a regular basis. So this is another way of saying that inspiration is often the result of that boring old thing: discipline, even if it is a discipline of regular mental play.....  (hmm some irony there)

ABOUT THE PAINTING: This painting of mine is an oil on canvas which went to Cape Coral Florida with Sharon and Jim Houston many years ago,  I don't know where they are now, or if some hurricane has destroyed the canvas or if they sold it in some weekend garage sale.  Or if they are even still alive or have moved to god knows what state. I was known as Misti in those days, and that is how I signed this painting. This picture was scanned in from an old snap-shot.

-- M.M. (Mar) Walker

"Glorious Dawn" from Symphony of Science

"Glorious Dawn" - I think this was the first music video posted at  http://SymphonyofScience.com which is a very cool site.  Check it out! You can find the Lyrics there as well. I have two other of their videos embedded here also.  You can see by watching their videos that outdated concepts of the supernatural are not needed for awe, wonder or mystery in this amazing universe of universes in which we live.

http://www.youtube.com/v/zSgiXGELjbc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0

Russian pianist, woodsman, rascal: Sergei Vladimiroff's 70th birthday recital

Sergei Vladimiroff is a man who likes to lead hikers into the woods. He also likes to take listeners on excursions into the hills of music - music of many kinds, from the careful weavings of Bach to the wry shtick of nightclub-style comedy at a party -- but he especially loves the high cliffs, dark woods and turbulent weather of the romantic composers. Saturday he gave a classical recital in Brookfield (at Valley Presbyterian). It was 70 minutes of music played from memory on his 70th birthday.

The first half of the program was all Bach: a partita, two preludes and two concertos. The second half was the pianist's favorites: the romantic era composers: Czerny, Liszt, Chopin, Scriabin and Rachmaninov. His love of this music, and his expertise in rendering its emotive breadth were evident. During his first encore,

Rachmaninoff’s 2nd piano concerto, Vladimiroff Sr. couldn't help himself and began to sing the cello part as he played,  surprising and enchanting his audience.  For a second encore he played and led recital-goers in singing America the Beautiful.

There were flowers and a birthday cake afterward along with a four-part rendition of Happy Birthday. 

See also: Memorial for Sergei & Concert, 2 Vladimiroffs

........... - MM Walker

Poetry & Music: Smypetalous & friends in sync for mind-flight!

  Wednesday (Jan 20, 2010): It was a wild and crowded night down at the Blue Z Coffeehouse in Newtown, CT.  Performance poet Sympetalous with his brand new backup band (called Be Here Now) took listeners on a drugless, trippy dip into the cool pool of the 1960s beat poetry mindspace!
     The players were:  Stan "Sympetalous" on the wild words, Martin C. Earley on electric guitar, Rob Dauphinais on acoustic bass guitar and finally Evan Foreman on percussion and special effects. Along with the low bass notes and the surreal electronic guitar sounds and smooth riffs, Evan's custom percussion tools included (but were not limited to) something that generated a thunder-like sound, a conch shell, zen bells and the hollow box he was sitting on which substituted for congas.
 

  Sympetalous gives a five star performance even without music -- but with this addition - I have one word for the totality: Wow!  The band created a time-warped, alternate reality mood that supported the poetry performance in an incredible way. These guys have really hit their stride!

     "They took me back 35 years," said Alex, a WNPS regular. Indeed.  It was old-style but it was also so present tense.  The open mic was a wild one too with performances by more than a dozen poets including J-Cherry in a performance piece about the Belly of the Beast, and Victoria Munoz with a historically funny piece spoofing the Bachelor.

For information about upcoming  Wednesday Night Poetry Series events, check its website at http://wedpoetry.wordpress.com

Stone Mountain, Georgia: Solitude (circa 1985?)

Sometimes you have to sit apart. There are times that being with the "group" distracts you from your tasks, clouds the mental air with static.  I took this photo many years ago on top of Stone Mountain in Georgia. It's fiddled with in Picnik.

Molten Java Jazz Jam - cool jazz, hot coffee!

What a great night. I ducked out a bit early from Wed Poetry at the Blue Z in Newtown, (where a cool and crowded "Found Poem" workshop was in progress) and stopped at our old venue Molten Java (102 Greenwood Ave, in Bethel) which now has a Jazz Jam every wednesday night.  The music was great. It made me forget my worries, kept me tapping my foot. There were lots and lots of very talented folks of varying ages who took their turns playing sax, guitar, standup bass, drums and a keyboard player too. The pics represent just a few of the many players who shared their musical gifts!

Could psychic powers could help find the injured in Haiti? (if psychicpowers existed)

Ben Radford - a paranormal investigator who says he has yet to find a "real" psychic, has issued a plea for psychics to step forward and help find the injured in earthquak-stricken Haiti.

You would think some would have made news already doing this. After all, we see psychics and mediums constantly both on talk shows and TV dramas. This would be show so much "love" to the world and they seem to talk about this a lot. What better way to help the helpless, prove your claims are true and save lives in the process.

 So, if you are a "real" psychic, please read this article. Ben's story is at:

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/entry/a_plea_for_any_real_psychics_to_help_haiti/

Perhaps a financial contribution to Doctors without Borders would be a bit more realistic....

"Our Place in the Cosmos" a music remix from Symphony of Science.com

I am hooked on the concept of setting science to a beat with gorgeous pictures. Here is another video "remix" from http://SymphonyofScience.com 

"We Are All Connected" - a music remix from SymphonyofScience.com

This is a part of a series of videos from http://SymphonyofScience.com - watch the video and checkout their website. I will post more of this series here also.

Poetry: Polly Brody's latest arcs with the trajectory of living

After hearing a reading from Polly Brody's new book, Stirring Shadows, (from Antrim House), you would never conclude there was anything remotely Pollyanna-ish about her views.  This excellent book looks at the darkness of human nature, seguays to the rich beauty and ferocity of nature, then to  the ultimate leveler of mortality, and to the hope of new generations.  The works are gorgeous, and her well-attended reading last Sunday at the Cyrus Booth Library in Newtown, was evocative. Click to read some sample poems.

U.S. has class system: Bankers are sacred. Soldiers are ignored.

You can tell there is an unspoken caste system in the United States. Here is how you can tell: When the economy took a dive and the feds had to bail out so many giant financial corporations, the lobbies and lawyers screamed that contracts including big bonuses had to be honored. Start breaking contracts and Western civilization would crumble, according to the bankers and their lackies in government.  When the fed finally got busy and put some restrictions on bonuses - the banks couldn't pay the TARP back fast enough.

WHAT ABOUT OUR SOLDIERS WHO SIGN A ONE YEAR CONTRACT for military service - but then the U.S. engages its "STOP LOSS" program and they aren't allowed to leave, sometimes having to serve a second or third term against their will. Their contracts are broken, and they have no legal recourse. So a contract with a banker is sacred. A contract between the Federal Government and a soldier isn't worth the paper its written on..... Of course the Indians could have told us this.....

So according to U.S. practice -- If you are a well-connected banker the government will go broke to protect you and your contracts are sacred.(Unless of course there is a populist outcry of VOTE THE BUMS OUT!) If you are just a foot soldier, or an Indian Tribe, historically the government says, screw you. Obama may have fixed the first part - but he hasn't gotten around to the second part yet....

Check out this NPR story about a  soldier the army wouldn't let go --  who is going to get a court marshal because he wrote and sang a song protesting the Stoploss program. The military actions against this soldier are unAmerican.

Case of the disappearing O's & quote for the day

"Have you ever tried to CRUSH a Cheerio?"

This was  not Genghis Khan nor Sally Sour speaking. It was not a sardonic Brit, who couldn't get the last word as an opponent left the argument.  It was a hungry, white-haired elder trying out a Stop and Shop muffin recipe that called for this odd ingredient: X amount of crushed Cheerios.   A Cheerio, being so little and round, and good-natured, might sound like an easy target. Guess not.  She said  that when a large spoon was applied, the little buggers just leaped out from between the spoon and the breadboard.  I suggested a paper bag and a sledge hammer or the hopelessly modern device: the food processor. Both suggestions were booed.

The baker, not to be derailed from baking, put the Cheerios in the muffin batter whole. Guess what? Not one whole or partial Cheerio was found in the tasty finished muffins.  Despite the ignored instructions of the marketing department, the laws of physics triumph once again.....

Sound Clips for Walden

I have been doing a little web stuff this week – added a sample audio file to http://vladimiroffmusic.net The clip is on the About Walden page. Walden is a 20 minute musical composition by Maxim Vladimiroff for chorus, string orchestra and piano. The clip, which the composer prepared, contains a short bit from each of the six movements.

A Song by Markella Hatziano

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klpjjFf9fL8&w=560&h=349]
‪You can really tap your feet or dance all around to this one..... Well, I could. The words are very powerful and enhanced by the grim and very real pictures of violence done in the real world to real people in the name of god. Her words describe a joyful determination to be done with all this cruelty. The refrain says this:

"All I see around me are the casualties of god delusion
Everyone bamboozled with the certainties of god delusion
Why cant we have freedom from the cruelties of god delusion
Save us all from god delusion" - Markella Hatziano

Click through - and watch it on its own YouTube page where you can see the rest of the words (just click "show more" in the box under the video.)

Visit the song-writer's website: http://www.markella.com/‬
or  http://www.newageofreason.com/‬