And has to deal with GA tickets! The horror!
This neo-benshi like video nails planning to attend a Springsteen concert…if you’re a Springsteen fan, especially if you’ve been to shows for “Dream” or “Magic,” you’ll laugh. Enjoy. (I say kind of like a new-benshi–see previous post–except it’s not live and it’s not dubbed…)
“Neo-benshi at its best mashes up subversive written scripts, deft acting, and acrobatic mind-eye coordination.” Steve Dickinson, The Poetry Center, SFSU.
Last December 2007, I attended my first Neo Benshi event. It wowed me in a way that few events do, and in fact was probably one of my favorite arts events of the last 10 years.
So when I heard from Jen Hofer that another event was in the works, it made the top of my “To DO” list. This Neo Benshi event “The Cinema Cabaret: Live Film Narration” co-curated by Jen Hofer and Konrad Steiner on Wednesday April 29th, 8:30 p.m. at the REDCAT Theater 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles promises to once again take attendees on a fantastic journey through familiar territory with new narration.
http://www.redcat.org/season/0809/fv/cabaret.php <http://www.redcat.org/season/0809/fv/cabaret.php>
“Everyone talks about the movies,” writes neo-benshi instigator, curator and performer Konrad Steiner in Camerawork. “Why not talk back to the movies? Make speech graffiti.”
The Cinema Cabaret showcases Read more…
Grow Food Party Crew: Food Forest Workshop May 15-17
Devin writes to invite you and I to:
Create an Edible Oasis Course – May 15-17
Ventura, CA
This is a practical course on how to design and implement edible forest gardens – a way of growing food that provides year-round abundance that lets nature do the work. We will be creating a food forest in a front yard in Ventura!
Food Forests are of the most resilient and productive cultivated ecosystems on the planet. They are a model for regenerative living that will allow us to thrive into the future. Learn the essentials now so you can go out and do it on your own or with friends!
A couple highlights about this course: Read more…
Wine Blogging Wednesday 56–Wine by Herzog: Kosher & Green
Until my visit yesterday to Herzog Winery’s Tasting Room, I had no idea that Kosher wine could be so fine and so green at the same time!
The ten year old facility looks brand new; it’s impressive, state of the art, and well laid out to serve a variety of functions from small, intimate tastings and classes to inside and outside hosted meetings. The public rooms have high ceilings, possibly 30 feet or more, but it’s well sound proofed with inviting lighting and nice appointments throughout–not overly done and decorated but classy and comfortable. How green the building is will be a question for my next visit.
When we walked in, we were greeted by receptionists at the counter as if we were at a major business–which we were! To the right is the business side of the winery and to the left the eating and drinking side–where we were headed. A self guided tour takes visitors upstairs where fine art hangs and to see the rest of the facility. Guided tours are also available.
The wine store is well stocked with jams, mustard, wine stuff, and lots and lots of wine which they are more than happy to sell. We were surprised by the international wines on display; the tasting room host told us that Herzog is the biggest importer and distributor of Kosher wines in the world. Amazing–we had no idea that the business was so big. They also import and distribute Kosher Cognac and other spirits.
Our host, David, was friendly, personable, and knowledgeable Read more…
Weaver Wines: Green Tips Benefit VCCool!
Thursday, April 23
6pm to 8pm
Weaver Wines
14 S. California St., Ventura
Join us for a glass of wine at Weaver Wines and heckle the Celeb Wine-Tender Rachel Morris. All the tips collected by Rachel will be donated to VCCool for our huge annual Kids Bicycle Safety Rodeo. Join us Thursday April 23rd from 6-8pm and we can drink wines together and discuss “Green Tips for Changing the World.”
Seana Weaver IS the Hostess with the Mostest! There will be door prizes including baskets of goodies, and great organic and local wines. Family style seating and standing at the bar and two tables of fun! So bring your checkbooks and enjoy a meet-and-greet. Your tips will help fund our annual kid’s bicycle safety rodeo!
Happy Earth Day!
National Global Warming Bill – Petition
Please Sign NOW–TODAY!!
California Rep. Henry Waxman and Massachusetts Rep. Markey have crafted a bill called the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. ” This bill has the support of an incredible list of Heavy Hitters in the environmental movement (see this partial list)!! A petition is being circulated to let Congress know that we want them to pass this bill.
Sign the Petition. Please. Sign the Petition Here.
 |
 This Earth Day, take action to save your planet by calling YOUR member of Congress at 202-224-3121 and asking them to support the Markey-Waxman climate bill!
The Markey-Waxman climate bill is a reasonable measure that moves the US toward a green energy future and new economy based on renewable energy. It will go a long way toward pollution reduction requirements that help SAVE OUR PLANET! Earth Day Network looks forward to working with Chairmen Markey and Waxman on strengthening the bill even further – but we need your help and support first! Call 202-224-3121 and ensure a cleaner, greener future for us all! Sincerely, |
While individual actions like bike riding instead of driving, recycling and using recycled materials, eating less, and living creatively on the earth DO add up and DO make a difference, it is minute compared to getting the government to change laws and policies and getting companies to change their business practices which support living resiliently and sustainably on the earth.
It does add up: drops in a bucket will eventually fill the bucket. For example, it takes 6 gallons of water to produce a head of lettuce, but it takes over 1,000 to produce a cheeseburger with lettuce, because the feed for the cows is so inefficient to grow, plus the emissions for the tractors is very high, according to GREENandSAVE, a leading “green” resource for anyone who wants to save money and the environment, as well as create a healthier home and overall lifestyle. They’re offering a FREE download of their Eco Family Guide, a 12 page guide with tips for kids and parents – http://tinyurl.com/harogreen1
A British study claims that staying slim can help the planet. Lean populations, such as that in Vietnam, the researchers say, consume 20% less food and produce less greenhouse gas emissions than populations in which 40% of people are obese (close to the U.S. figure). The researchers also say that slimmer people are more likely to avoid using cars because their bodies are healthier, and that transport-related emissions are lower because it takes less energy to transport slim people. This makes me wonder: What kind of diet is best for getting and staying slim and saving the planet? (Smoothies using local fruits and not imported bananas?) How can we best encourage Americans to eat figure- and earth-friendly? Is there a consistent correlation between slim populations and healthier environments? Here is a link to the press release on the study: http://tinyurl.com/cfbvh7
Another recent study advocates that a return to a 1970s lifestyle would also address climate change; that study also mentions Americans increased obesity.
Moms Rising wrote to point out that: children ages 6-11 are four times more likely to be obese than children were a generation ago. That’s according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Statement Regarding Release of Estimates of Obesity Prevalence Among U.S. Children and Teens, http://www.rwjf.org/childhoodobesity/product.jsp?id=31611, Beyond Health Care – New Directions to a Healthier America, Robert Wood Johnson Commission to Build a Healthier America, p. 7. http://www.commissiononhealth.org/Report.aspx?Publication=64498
Today, nearly one-third of all children are overweight or obese, placing them at heightened risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and many other serious diseases. Tell Congress to strengthen the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) so that more children in child care settings can benefit from nutritious meals and snacks.
http://momsrisingaction.org/t/1546/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27119
Tell Congress to act now to provide nutritious food to our most vulnerable children and prevent lifelong health problems due to poor childhood nutrition. Please take a minute to forward this message on to friends and family so we can build pressure on Congress to take action now to protect the nutrition and health of children.
And the health of the planet!
Changing your diet and your life does help. Adding your voice to others clamoring for change, and participating in actions which encourage business to change, is the BIGGEST thing you can do for the Earth today and every day.
Al Gore writes,
In order to solve the climate crisis, we can’t just change light bulbs — we need to change laws. Read more…
Making May Day Prom Ride Posters at Lettre Sauvage
For the May Day Prom Ride & Bike Prom on the Promenade, I wanted a special poster to plaster the town with, so I contacted Fiona Spring at Lettre Sauvage to see if she would help me in her Santa Paula studio.
And she answered yes! I packed up the small boy, some snacks, some text, and we off we went.
To get
started, we wandered the studio, exploring possible papers, ink colors, fonts, and graphics.
No, she didn’t have any bicycles around. Or prom queens we could ink up. Or…hmmn, what about this wonderful spiraling, wheeling graphic that her husband Cameron made and Fiona had turned into a plate to make into cards and journals?
Perfect! The center reminds me of dahlias, then bicycle spokes reeling and wheeling out toward the world! And that’s what we’re trying to do with these rid
es–keep the world a green and healthy place for flowers and other living beings while we bike our way around! We ran that in fuschia, of course, and I cranked the machine while Fiona kept me in ink and set type.
Setting the type was a challenge–finding all the right letter in the right sizes. We loved the 50’s flourishy May Day (that’s a W for the M in May! Isn’t it fun? but we didn’t have a big P for Prom until Fiona realized we could take a large wooden lower case “d” and turn it upside down! Voila!
We ran the text in turquiose over the fuschia; back at home, I laid out the rest of the text, printed it, and copied it onto the letterpress broadsides.
Join the “Prom Ride to the Promenade” May Day Prom May 1 2009 any time from 5-9pm in your prom dress & dance with us at our portable prom! All Prom Ride Times Approximate; follow ArtPredator on twitter for updates! Read more…
Paul Jenkin, Environmental Director, for Surfrider Foundation, Ventura County Chapter sent me an email today letting me know that the Ventura City Council will be making a decision on the Embassy Suites hotel proposal tonight; he encourages people to come out to speak against the proposal which you can read about here: http://venturaecosystem.blogspot.com/2009/03/coastal-development-at-c-st.html
The Surfrider Foundation concludes that the project should undergo further environmental review based on the information below.
Tonight is an opportunity to tell elected representatives that you are concerned about the impact of coastal development and climate change to our coast.
City Council meets at 6pm – this is Item 5 and will likely not be heard until after 7:00 pm http://www.cityofventura.net/publicmeetings/councilagendas
Here’s Paul’s letter to the Council. You can use it to help frame your own thoughts about the proposal. You can email your words to Council “ventura council”<council@ci.ventura.ca.us> (you don’t have to be a resident or local–let them know that people beyond the city limits care about what goes down (and up!) on the coastline.
Or even better, come to the meeting and speak your mind! (They have wifi so bring your laptop!) Read more…
Digging by Seamus Heaney
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; as snug as a gun.
Under my window a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down
Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.
The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.
By God, the old man could handle a spade,
Just like his old man.
My grandfather could cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner’s bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, digging down and down
For the good turf. Digging.
The cold smell of potato mold, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.
by Seamus Heaney (1939-)
– from Death of a Naturalist (1966)
Here him read this poem with images from his life:
Tim Rutten of the LA Times writes about how:
The poetry, and wisdom, of Seamus Heaney, The Irish Nobel laureate may be on to something with his notion that the arts can help people through troubled economic times.
In a recent interview, Heaney said he was often asked what the value of poetry was during times of economic recession. The answer, he explained, is that it is at just such moments of crisis that people realize that they do not live by economics alone.
“If poetry and the arts do anything, they can fortify your inner life, your inwardness,” Heaney said.
Poetry: We Must Be Cowboys Dodging Speeding Tickets
My small boy map gazes adventure
his fingers criss cross the country
on a large illustrated puzzle
of America on the floor.
“These sharks and alligators
and no crab pinchers
next to Shamu has to go
under the house
instead of the ocean
because of this homer whale.
The flag has to go upside
down down
down.
This is where we went
yesterday
where the dot is.”
He is three and some change:
we visited the dot in Florida
when he was 18 months.
“Tomorrow we have to go see
the mouse eating cheeses in this planet
where I’m pointing to tomorrow.
We have to go slow. We have to go
under very quiet to see
the dolphins and baby beluga.
We can see cowboys
driving along on back roads
without getting a speeding ticket.”
He sings it as a song,
the cowboys on the back roads
dodging speeding tickets.
“I need to go
that way
please.”
He is 5 now, and together
we must be cowboys
traveling the map on back roads
dodging speeding tickets.
c. Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator April 20, 2009
For more poetry, ride the train!
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