Poetic Play with "Water Found on the Moon"

The watered moon cries

it's deepened gust.

Winds, wind his maiden -

cratered deep and well.

The crystal ice-dream tears dance and settles, fine.

He reads to her once again from "Purest Love,

Devotion and Divine."

An exercise in Phenomenology.

Weaving a bunch of seemingly different things together can be a lot of lovin' fun... playing in the flexible, silly, rule breaking world of poetry.

Inspired by:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/science/14moon.html?_r=1&hp&emc=na

http://www.drhinternet.net/mw/display.php?M=1002983&C=e3dc899ad2bdc2fced77def1ff738477&L=6&N=1657

I like the word play with wind; as in air moving, and then as to tie or wrap and then using the word of the day/today - gust meaning keen delight (instead of a brief burst of wind). Placing the three in succession is a fun trick too forcing the reader to "redefine" the word in order to move on.

Layering definitions, this time with the word tear as in the crying and how the "...Lcross...slammed...carved out a hole...kicked up...impact...debris...” aka - tore into the moon is always enjoyable tactic as well.

I love the feel of water and the moon together, and twisting it a bit with a feeling of actually “watering the moon” I think this offers a unique, strange and funny feel. The moon has always seemed such a dry, barren but beautifully bright, deeply scarred “thing.” There is something yummy about blending the two words/worlds together.

The [earthly] maiden reference ties into the HevanLY song I sing to Evan sometimes at bed time also paralleling how the moon continues to wind around, dance and love the world.

The rhyme (or NLB: neat little bow) at the end is for Craig.

...even thought the moon is getting attacked, his deepest ache is his love for his lady. I'm such a romantic.

"Ho Hum, Oh Bother"

I LOVE this shot!

Why Are Aliens Naked?

I am a big fan of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe series and the other day I saw a qick glimpse from Spielberg's ET where ET is hiding in the little girl's closet posing as a stuffed animal...and I had a funny thought.

Why are aliens naked?

And knowing what a consumer culture we're in (cringe)...

I'm thinking these are some ripe, untapped business opportunities.

Perhaps grouping them all together under one glorious galactic mall, defining the -

The Roswell Design District

Featuring, but not limited to...

Haunt Couture

E.Tea Wig N' Biscuits

Z -ExTra : Unique Bonnet and Sun glass

A. LeeAnn's Boutique du Jour

Galactic Gowns and Pumps

Ramp it Up Runway Wear

Cloning Cloaks and Smocks (it's actually a nock-of brand)

The One-Stop Alien Sock Market

and the much needed, but definitely undersold...

Palatial, Too-Petite Panty Palace

(Now I'm thinking that I've played too much Toontown with my son - If you don't get the reference, your missing out :)

...
MAC Cosmetics could be invited to open a mega-store or something (they've been selling to them for yeeeeaarrrrs! and resolve to the fact that no one will EVER be able to compete with them within the ET Market Place.)

Perhaps, with todays high-speed technology, the mall could also include a kiosk The Millisecond - with a tagline like "Todays Special: Downloadable Dialects! Get the inside edge on what the locals are really saying at your favorite Earthly haunts - Only $2,569.02 USdollars per download! Take advantage of that great exchange rate NOW!"
...or something to that effect.

Anyway, I'm thinking of playing with the idea a bit more by doing a Pen and Oil Pastel-Stain Series - it, in itself, is a fun media-eshish process. But in the meantime here is a silly alien foot doodle.

A musician played Bach...

I just received this email, and I thought it was so wonderful that I wanted to share it here...

> Washington DC Metro Station on a cold morning in 2007. A musician played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.? After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
>
> 4 mins. later the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk.
>
> 6 minutes: a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then? looked at his watch and started to walk again.
>
> 10 mins: a 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.
>
> 45 minutes; the musician played? Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.
>
> 1 hour; he finished playing and silence took over? No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
>
> No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars? Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
>
> This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it?? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
>
> One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:
>
> If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments .... how many other things are we missing in life?

Here is a link to the video:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

Creative Process

For me the creative process works form the inside out, not from an attempt to duplicate what is already outside of me – when working from copycat mode, I inevitably catch a bad case of the yawns.
Focusing on the visual aesthetics of a piece distracts me from working with the essence of a particular topic or idea. To me technical study, though valuable, is best left in the classroom. For instance, when drawing a simple line I like to focus/experience the drawing of the line - feeling the line as it expresses, manifest; experience the creation of the line even if it’s a line of frustration or confusion. What does the line feel like inside me when it is manifesting? Not focusing on what the line needs to look like, where it needs to go or what it needs to do visually for the piece. Working from awe and discovery is a heck of a lot more fun, not to mention a lot more interesting.
An artist’s job is not to reproduce the visible, but to explore the possible.
I enjoy studying technique (this has not always been the case) purely as an exploration into a certain discipline. Afterward, I try to just forget it and trust that through the concentrated act of interacting with a particular discipline that it has integrated itself into my awareness and abilities. From there I just have to trust it, and let is express when appropriate to do so.

Clear

pure love houses no opposition

Exploring Possibilities

When approaching an idea or opinion about something, sometimes I like to take time to examine for my self how my five (six) senses and the five elements play out/inneract with the particular topic.
If I choose to work with the concept artistically, first I will get a feel for which medium(s) i.e. prose, poetry, visual art, photography, culinary chemistry, dance, vocally... to work with. Then, I focus on my unique interpretation of the sensory information, and how it expresses through my inneraction with the medium(s).
The work can be can be condensed and translated into one creative expression or explored individually by diving into each aspect – revealing a separate idea or topic of it's own to be explored at whatever depth I am willing to go to (and can handle! :).

I appreciate individuals who are willing to go through the process with me - humanity is a wonderful medium.

Stadium Libraries and Neighborhood Short Stack Stations

Incorporating a Stadium Library into a sports arena could enhance the public's use of the space as well as create an inviting and profitable atmosphere. Other amenities could offer their services including galleries, museums and cultural event space into the stadium’s environment.

Restaurants now in these facilities are open only during an event, but could be open year round and serve the public in a cultural mall type atmosphere.

A city’s government is responsible for its neighborhood libraries and may be the majority owner in their local stadium(s) or sports arena(s). The stadium within that town which that is built solely for a professional baseball team may be used as little as 40 times a year -- and during that time for only a few hours.  A basketball season is a little longer, but stadiums and arenas are not useful to the public except for those attending occasional sporting events and concerts. 

There is an abundance of untapped potential here, through these facilities, that could be a great asset to their community.

Many of the public libraries in communities all over the country are finding their funding continuing to dwindle and many local governments are closing branches due to economic hardship.

The cost for running the stadium’s library could be part of the sports team(s) contractual responsibility and perhaps offer a tax deduction as a nonprofit contribution to their home field neighborhood.

Another benefit is that there is a large parking lot in relationship to the building. The city could raise money and provide a community service through renting the parking lot out for farmers markets, street fairs and regular events for the public to enjoy.

For the neighborhoods that house a stadium the marriage is ideal - it offers a positive urban renewal opportunity that would bring jobs, educational resources and a core meeting place for the community to gather. All of this would be of great economic benefit to the city’s government as well as providing its citizens a harmonious balance between their cities commerce and the public's cultural welfare.

Moreover, a city could offer a tax break or some other benefit to its private industry for hosting a small library branch (or a Neighborhood Short Stack). These could be located within a lobby of a downtown commercial building or dedicate to a floor or two within a high rise; space within a business park or retail mall -- any leased or rental business property located in a convenient location for the public's use could be utilized.

These businesses could enter into an agreement with the city in regards to hours of operation, parking requirements and other necessary service agreements in exchange for exemptions.

A Neighborhood Short Stack could cater specifically to its local demographic while still being connected to the greater public library as a whole, all the while providing a valuable community space, unique for its area within the city.

Any community could blend their businesses with nonprofits services, and entertainment with cultural resources. The result being, not only success for the partners in regards to economics, but expanding a city's ability to provide greater public service to its community.

Creating Stadium Libraries and

Neighborhood Short Stacks could be a great place for a city to start.