...I would be writing about my experiences. Briefly. In-depth. With humor or seriousness. I'd put it all down here and send it out into the world.
But I'm here. At home. In my office at the keyboard. I returned from work at 1:30 am; it's now after 3:00 am. I must get to bed so I can get up to go workout with the trainer and then to the chiropractor and then. Then, yes, back to work.
And write. Somewhere in here I have to write. I do write. I grab moments in the car when I arrive at a job early. Notes as I'm leaving my therapist's office so I remember the important thing we discussed because I will probably forget it by the time I reach my car. The note scribbled to myself as I was teaching; a note for them (the students) to remember to do or say or give them X and a note for me about something I want to remember or write about. Right now I've nearly done away with the neat journal with the strap, which I love to use (I use the Pentallic A La Modeskin, the less expensive version of the Moleskins), and have gone back to regular ol' spiral notebooks for now, because I'd rather carry one of those with a bit of everything tossed into it, than three or four different notebooks (one for teaching, one for writing, one for revising and I forget the fourth -- oh, yeah, nutrition and exercise).
The writing workshop I've been participating in ends this week. Except I did already sign up for the next round, which will start in April.
And I have submitted two more pieces of writing to publications and am looking for the most appropriate venue for two more. Things are moving!
Last night I also stepped into the visual artist role and made a little totem for me to carry with me. A reminder. I was going to make a collage to represent this image; but decided I needed something I could actually have with me since it came from one of those therapy session phrases that I kept forgetting.
There it is - a quick update. From the home office.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
stuck for a word
I came to the keyboard to post something. I didn't know what, but I hoped something would come to me. It didn't. So I decided to go in search of some art or film or writing by someone else to share, since I seem to be a little stuck right now.
I stopped by the website of one of my favorite spoken word and film artists, Queen Juliana
Luecking, of Brooklyn, NY, to see what she was up to. Last I checked, she was still working on her "People are a Trip" series, which I posted about last year. It's a wonderful series. She has other videos, as well, on a variety of political, art, and personal interests - wait, aren't those all the same? Unfortunately, the host of her primary site, Moli, was recently bought out and is under revision or reconstruction, or something. So I couldn't get into her main website.
But, you can go here to see some of her newest work on her YouTube channel: QueenJuliana. She seems to be working on a new project called, "Tell Me, Am I Crazy?" The first one up on the site right now is about homelessness and the economy. I wanted to embed one of her videos here, but that is not available. Here is a link to another video worth watching Bernie Madoff Threatened By Lesbian Mafia.
Check her out. Travel through some of the "People are a Trip" series.
Meanwhile, I'll go in search of some creative inspiration - I may have exerted it all on the writing workshop assignment this week (really?). Or maybe I'll sleep first, then go search. That's it.
Enjoy Queen Juliana's video!
I'll be back.
I stopped by the website of one of my favorite spoken word and film artists, Queen Juliana
Luecking, of Brooklyn, NY, to see what she was up to. Last I checked, she was still working on her "People are a Trip" series, which I posted about last year. It's a wonderful series. She has other videos, as well, on a variety of political, art, and personal interests - wait, aren't those all the same? Unfortunately, the host of her primary site, Moli, was recently bought out and is under revision or reconstruction, or something. So I couldn't get into her main website.But, you can go here to see some of her newest work on her YouTube channel: QueenJuliana. She seems to be working on a new project called, "Tell Me, Am I Crazy?" The first one up on the site right now is about homelessness and the economy. I wanted to embed one of her videos here, but that is not available. Here is a link to another video worth watching Bernie Madoff Threatened By Lesbian Mafia.
Check her out. Travel through some of the "People are a Trip" series.
Meanwhile, I'll go in search of some creative inspiration - I may have exerted it all on the writing workshop assignment this week (really?). Or maybe I'll sleep first, then go search. That's it.
Enjoy Queen Juliana's video!
I'll be back.
submission opportunity: playwriting
As announced by Mead Hunter:
Thank you, cynseattle, for letting us know that there's finally a submission
opportunity out there for those of us who are not {ahem} kids anymore. It's all thanks to those tireless folks on the other side o'th'pond at the National Theatre. The new program, entitled discover: playwriting, dares to ask the provocative question: "Are you can aspiring playwright over the age of 55?"
The guidelines say nothing about limiting the call for submissions to Brits, so if you're of a certain age -- this op's for you. Download the application here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
event: Back Fence PDX
(Information taken from craigslist posting.)
On February 18th at 7 p.m. at the Mission Theater, Back Fence PDX will take the stage with local Portlanders, Jeff Baker, Anis Mojgani and others telling unmemorized, true eight-minute stories based on the theme, The Moment After.
Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. More info at www.backfencepdx.com.
Presenting our February storytellers:
Anis Mojgani is a former resident of the Oregon Literary Arts Writer's-In-The-Schools program and has appeared on HBO and NPR. Anis' work has appeared in Rattle and alongside the works of US Poet Laureates Ted Kooser and Billy Collins, in the anthology Spoken Word Revolution Redux. Originally from New Orleans, Anis currently lives in a white house in Portland, Oregon, with three guys and a cat named Ivan, whom Anis believes loves him.
Jeff Baker is The Oregonian's book editor. He is a University of Oregon graduate and has won awards for criticism, feature writing and sports journalism.
Ezra Caraeff is the owner of Slowdance Records, a pug enthusiast and the music editor for the Portland Mercury
Jordi Barnes writes and performs sketch comedy in the nationally acclaimed sketch group The 3rd Floor. She co-writes the blog Princess, was interviewed for the comedy site Hello Hilarious and a piece of hers will appear on mcsweeneys.net. She and her husband, fellow sketch comic Ted Douglass, have a five month old girl and eleven year old puppy.
Vanessa Veselka is a musician and writer living in Portland. Additionally, she has been a union organizer, an underage stripper, a student of Paleontology, a bartender in Vienna, and hitchhiked over 40,000 before the age of 22. Her work has been published in Tin House, YETI, Bust, Bitch and Maximum Rock 'n Roll. You can hear some of her music at www.myspace.com/vanessaveselka. She is also in the Goth band, Nitebrite.
Heather Strang is a writer, journalist and coach. At any given time you can find her buzzing around the kitchen cooking, shaking it to her favorite Beyonce song or single-handedly attempting to change the world. In that order. To learn more, visit: www.HeatherStrang.com.
Brad Fortier is the education director for the Brody Theater in PDX. He has performed improvised theater around town and around the world representing the US in numerous international performance festivals.
Intermission entertainment by Melody Jordan and her Gang of Hula Hoopers!
Back Fence PDX is an evening with people telling their true eight-minute stories based on the month's theme. The stories must not have been performed publicly prior to their Back Fence PDX telling. We are also a blog with a weekly story by a writer, blogger, or someone with an unusual story about the topic.
On February 18th at 7 p.m. at the Mission Theater, Back Fence PDX will take the stage with local Portlanders, Jeff Baker, Anis Mojgani and others telling unmemorized, true eight-minute stories based on the theme, The Moment After.
Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. More info at www.backfencepdx.com.
Presenting our February storytellers:
Anis Mojgani is a former resident of the Oregon Literary Arts Writer's-In-The-Schools program and has appeared on HBO and NPR. Anis' work has appeared in Rattle and alongside the works of US Poet Laureates Ted Kooser and Billy Collins, in the anthology Spoken Word Revolution Redux. Originally from New Orleans, Anis currently lives in a white house in Portland, Oregon, with three guys and a cat named Ivan, whom Anis believes loves him.
Jeff Baker is The Oregonian's book editor. He is a University of Oregon graduate and has won awards for criticism, feature writing and sports journalism.
Ezra Caraeff is the owner of Slowdance Records, a pug enthusiast and the music editor for the Portland Mercury
Jordi Barnes writes and performs sketch comedy in the nationally acclaimed sketch group The 3rd Floor. She co-writes the blog Princess, was interviewed for the comedy site Hello Hilarious and a piece of hers will appear on mcsweeneys.net. She and her husband, fellow sketch comic Ted Douglass, have a five month old girl and eleven year old puppy.
Vanessa Veselka is a musician and writer living in Portland. Additionally, she has been a union organizer, an underage stripper, a student of Paleontology, a bartender in Vienna, and hitchhiked over 40,000 before the age of 22. Her work has been published in Tin House, YETI, Bust, Bitch and Maximum Rock 'n Roll. You can hear some of her music at www.myspace.com/vanessaveselka. She is also in the Goth band, Nitebrite.
Heather Strang is a writer, journalist and coach. At any given time you can find her buzzing around the kitchen cooking, shaking it to her favorite Beyonce song or single-handedly attempting to change the world. In that order. To learn more, visit: www.HeatherStrang.com.
Brad Fortier is the education director for the Brody Theater in PDX. He has performed improvised theater around town and around the world representing the US in numerous international performance festivals.
Intermission entertainment by Melody Jordan and her Gang of Hula Hoopers!
Back Fence PDX is an evening with people telling their true eight-minute stories based on the month's theme. The stories must not have been performed publicly prior to their Back Fence PDX telling. We are also a blog with a weekly story by a writer, blogger, or someone with an unusual story about the topic.
photograph by David Beaulieu
on About.com "Fence Pictures"
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
where's dot?
Working. Proctoring certification exams. Teaching. Dragon Boats training and the gym for the home routine; next month we go on the water - yay. The gym for cardio workouts. Getting chiropractic treatments for an ulnar nerve issue which was being aggravated by my part-time non-teaching job (it's much better now!); I will be following up with acupuncture treatment for it this week. More working. And a massage later this week.
And trying to sleep. Not enough, but getting some.
Oh - and doing the online writing workshop I'm taking. I'm writing at least two new things a week. And this previous weekend I submitted pieces to three publications. And I'm editing another one for a February 25th deadline.
And trying to read here and there. I'm in book three of a (so far) four book series; I hear the author is working on the next book.
I did manage to go on a date with my partner to a movie last Friday. It's been a long time and it's hard for us to find compatible time to do something. But we did and it was nice. I need more of that.
And trying to sleep. Not enough, but getting some.
Oh - and doing the online writing workshop I'm taking. I'm writing at least two new things a week. And this previous weekend I submitted pieces to three publications. And I'm editing another one for a February 25th deadline.
And trying to read here and there. I'm in book three of a (so far) four book series; I hear the author is working on the next book.
I did manage to go on a date with my partner to a movie last Friday. It's been a long time and it's hard for us to find compatible time to do something. But we did and it was nice. I need more of that.
Monday, February 16, 2009
found video: "Fidelity": Don't Divorce
Ken Starr is back at it, again, in California. He and his group have already started the process of collecting money to defend Prop 8 and filed to force the 18,000 couples who married to be divorced. The following video is from the Courage Campaign.
"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.
Show your support for Fidelity and the Courage Campaign by sending a letter of support here.
Friday, February 13, 2009
workshop: Lit Star Training
It’s time to register for the Springtime Lit Star Training--the online writing class will go from April Gore 4th through May 31st.
These classes tend to fill up pretty fast, so sign up now if you’re interested.
$275 for the 8-week class
$90 deposit saves your spot (the balance is due when the class starts)
I am a couple weeks from completing my first round of Lit Star Training with Ariel and a wonderful group of writers. It has been an excellent experience and ... I have already signed up for round number two!
You will also see links to Ariel's book, How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead: Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights, which is not required for the class, but it's a great resource and worth reading. Regardless of whether you take the online workshop or not.
These classes tend to fill up pretty fast, so sign up now if you’re interested.
$275 for the 8-week class
$90 deposit saves your spot (the balance is due when the class starts)
I am a couple weeks from completing my first round of Lit Star Training with Ariel and a wonderful group of writers. It has been an excellent experience and ... I have already signed up for round number two!
You will also see links to Ariel's book, How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead: Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights, which is not required for the class, but it's a great resource and worth reading. Regardless of whether you take the online workshop or not.
update: Economic Recovery and the Arts
From: Americans for the Arts
February 13, 2009
Just moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives approved their final version of the Economic Recovery bill by a vote of 246-183. We can now confirm that the package DOES include $50 million in direct support for arts jobs through National Endowment for the Arts grants. We are also happy to report that the exclusionary Coburn Amendment language banning certain arts groups from receiving any other economic recovery funds has also been successfully removed. Tonight the Senate is scheduled to have their final vote, and President Obama plans to sign the bill on Monday - President's Day.
A United Voice
This is an important victory for all of you as arts advocates. More than 85,000 letters were sent to Congress, thousands of calls were made, and hundreds of op-eds, letters to the editor, news stories, and blog entries were generated in print and online media about the role of the arts in the economy. Artists, business leaders, mayors, governors, and a full range of national, state, and local arts groups all united together on this advocacy issue. This outcome marks a stunning turnaround of events and exemplifies the power of grassroots arts advocacy.
We would like to also thank some key leaders on Capitol Hill who really carried our voices into the conference negotiation room and throughout the halls of Congress: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI), House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA), and Congressional Arts Caucus Co-Chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY). We also want to publicly thank President Obama for taking the early lead in recognizing the role of the arts in economic development. These leaders were able to convincingly make the case that protecting jobs in the creative sector is integral to the U.S. economy.
What's Next
As we wrap up our work on the Economic Recovery legislation, we wanted to share with you other upcoming legislative action that we are tracking:
February 13, 2009
Just moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives approved their final version of the Economic Recovery bill by a vote of 246-183. We can now confirm that the package DOES include $50 million in direct support for arts jobs through National Endowment for the Arts grants. We are also happy to report that the exclusionary Coburn Amendment language banning certain arts groups from receiving any other economic recovery funds has also been successfully removed. Tonight the Senate is scheduled to have their final vote, and President Obama plans to sign the bill on Monday - President's Day.
A United Voice
This is an important victory for all of you as arts advocates. More than 85,000 letters were sent to Congress, thousands of calls were made, and hundreds of op-eds, letters to the editor, news stories, and blog entries were generated in print and online media about the role of the arts in the economy. Artists, business leaders, mayors, governors, and a full range of national, state, and local arts groups all united together on this advocacy issue. This outcome marks a stunning turnaround of events and exemplifies the power of grassroots arts advocacy.
We would like to also thank some key leaders on Capitol Hill who really carried our voices into the conference negotiation room and throughout the halls of Congress: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI), House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA), and Congressional Arts Caucus Co-Chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY). We also want to publicly thank President Obama for taking the early lead in recognizing the role of the arts in economic development. These leaders were able to convincingly make the case that protecting jobs in the creative sector is integral to the U.S. economy.
What's Next
As we wrap up our work on the Economic Recovery legislation, we wanted to share with you other upcoming legislative action that we are tracking:
- Finalization by early March of the FY 2009 appropriations, which has been operating under a continuing resolution for the last five months.
- Release of President Obama's first federal budget for FY 2010 is expected in late March/early April.
- Hearings in the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee on the FY 2010 budget.
- Hearings in the House Education & Labor Committee on arts in the workforce and arts education.
- The 22nd Annual National Arts Advocacy Day conference on Capitol Hill on March 30-31, 2009.
Webinar on Federal Funding Announced, NEA Officials to Join
There is further good news for the arts and arts education in the other sections of this $789 billion economic recovery legislation -- but we're still reading through the 1000+ pages. Americans for the Arts will give an update on the economic stimulus package as well as other federal sources of arts funding in a webinar on Wednesday, February 18, 2:00-3:30pm EST. The webinar presentation will include remarks by Acting National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Patrice Walker Powell and newly appointed Director of Government Affairs Anita Decker. The webinar is free to Americans for the Arts professional members. Not a Member? Join Today.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
pieces of a life
I will have much more to write about this. But, for now, a simple comment.
My aunt sent me a package whoch arrived yesterday. It contains letters to my grandmother, to whom I was very close (she died in 1985). There is also one of her aprons, another little surprise I will write about and include a picture, and a box of applets and cotlets. A story goes with the candies, which I will share very soon as well
Most of the letters have sticky notes with more information about the senders.
I can't wait to have a little time and start going through them.
My aunt sent me a package whoch arrived yesterday. It contains letters to my grandmother, to whom I was very close (she died in 1985). There is also one of her aprons, another little surprise I will write about and include a picture, and a box of applets and cotlets. A story goes with the candies, which I will share very soon as well
Most of the letters have sticky notes with more information about the senders.
I can't wait to have a little time and start going through them.
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