Reality TV, a poem by John Jeffrey

Many of you know this from a refrigerator magnet on the fridge. Below the author reads it. I have more of this reading, which took place at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, CT as a part of the Riverwood Poetry Series to post when I can.

PAINTING: Cityline, a little mildew, but not on the photo

This is oil on a board, a painting of mine from years ago. Unfortunately I left it in the cellar which flooded, then in the cold/hot garage. It acquired mildew on the surface, and with the extremes of temperature is beginning to splinter. I took a photo to try to preserve the idea but the thing itself is not something you want in your home really. In fact I have thrown it out in self-defense, so the mildew doesn't spread.

What I like so much is the exaggerated, angular juxtaposition of the lines of each building with its shadow, and how they frame the clock tower in the moonlight. The colors of course had nothing to do with reality to begin with, and with a little digital enhancement, even less. I might have to do a new painting based on this idea.

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.