Birthday Wishes: 50 subscribers & 50,000 page views!
My birthday is next Sunday, 1/11… and I am hoping by that time to have 51 subscribers to this blog and 51,000 page views!
No, I’m not 50–it’s just a nice round number! So please subscribe! And please visit and throw links! I’m getting close–help me make 51,000 page views by January 11! (or close to it…! maybe for my birthday month?)
Coming soon: a trip report from Joshua Tree National Park! a poem on Monday! And then I’m off to Macworld–with lots of words to share I’m sure!
upsides of the downturn?
Yes, there is an upside to the economic downturn and record unemployment. Lots of us unemployed or underemployed and using our “free” time to explore creative options and ideas we didn’t have time to when we were working…
Kevin Kelleher writes at Gigaom:art predator › Edit Post — WordPress
I wonder what kind of creativity could be unleashed by workers who, though deprived of a steady paycheck, are freed from such tedious tasks. Some could come up with new ideas that help vault the web to a more advanced stage. Others may make micro-contributions that are equally powerful in aggregate. Such creativity could then foster an entirely new generation of startups, which would eventually lure away some of those who had remained at steady jobs all along.
Of course, money will be hard to come by for such labors of love. Some of the best ideas since the last downturn have failed to find a viable business model. A gift economy would be an especially profitless form of innovation. But that notion lies at the heart of the hacking ethic.
Or as Shirky put it, in distilling his notion of cognitive surplus into a general principle: “It’s better to do something than to do nothing.”
Here’s the rest on this subject.
Jason Calaconis talked about the future of start-ups Nov. 5 on his supposedly defunct blog. Here are some of the highlights for me: Read more…
book publishing: falling off a cliff or heading to new heights?
I wish I had more time to discuss this site here and now, including commenting on this article on publishing which I first read in the LA Times, or this one on Rebecca Solnit’s ”
The Grinning Skull
The Homicides You Didn’t Hear About in Hurricane Katrina
which includes an interview with Rebecca Solnit but I’m just going to make due with sending you to tomdispatch.com–and let you do the commenting in the comments section please!
This is a great site and I look forward to reading it more often in 2009!
Art Predator Heads to SF for Macworld 2009!
Indeed, the Art Predator starts the new year off by prowling the halls, and searching the corridors, and tracking down what’s of interest here, there and everywhere during Macworld 2009–rumoured to be the last! I am sooooo excited! The only thing that could make this more perfect is if I had my new iPhone in hand–the one the Big Monkey is getting me for Christmas…
I’ll arrive Monday night, Jan. 5 and stay with Burner Mom Toni (thanks Toni!!), and will do all of Macworld that can be done all day and all night Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday!
Thursday night late my dear Burner Mom friend Holly is flying in from Flagstaff and we will hang out together until I drive home Friday morning…
So if you have any tips about what I should do and see at Macworld next week, or if you have any party invites, please send this newbie a bone! I’d love to hook up with some other Mac WordPress types too! Or wine drinking Mac types!
And for those of you stuck at home and wishing you could be there, know that I will be live blogging away for you, just like I did at SF WordCamp 2008!
Hmmn, I wonder if Macworld has cool tattoos like WordCamp did…
Last Day of 2008: Saturn Retrograde until May 2009–what does it mean?
If you look out into the sky at sunset during the last night of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, Venus shines bright in the west as the evening star, and the new crescent moon smiles.
But it is unseen Saturn retrograde in Virgo that’s setting off fireworks, making us plan ahead for wide-ranging changes.
According to Astrology.com, Saturn goes retrograde Dec.31, the last day of 2008 (which means it appears to go in reverse from our perspective–if you were on Saturn, of course, it would continue forward on its 28 or so year cycle around the sun.)
It seems a bit ominous, yes, after the year we’ve had? Almost like we’re gonna have to do it again. But no–this is to PREVENT us from having to.
While most astrologers will say it’s NOT a good time to go forward with new plans while lesson-teaching Saturn is retrograde in dutiful, organized Virgo, it is a great time to reflect on what you have been up to, to finish what you’ve begun, and to set plans for the future in place.
Now isn’t that what New Years is about anyway? Setting aside some time to reflect on the past year, to and lay goals for the coming year? Is this perfect timing or what?
To quote Astrology.com:
Saturn turns retrograde on the last day of 2008 and all of us will feel the energy of Saturn retrograde in Virgo in one way or another. Saturn is charged with the duty of teaching us our lessons in life — giving us the ability to grow and persevere, granting us the will to succeed and the strength to accomplish the tasks at hand. As we learn, we are rewarded by Saturn when the lesson or job is done.
The energy of Saturn retrograde is a fairly powerful force. Read more…
New Year’s Eve: Fire & Ice & other delights
Looking for something unusual for New Year’s Eve instead of the same old same old run of the mill yada yada yada? Consider one of the following “Burning Man” esque adventures! These events are organized in large part by Burners and people who have been inspired by the Burning Man aesthetic.
If we weren’t heading for Joshua Tree to camp and climb and hike and star gaze and dance beside the fire and under the smiling moon and winking Venus, I’d be tempted to head to San Francisco to see one of my favorite bands, Thievery Corporation perform at Sea Change/Sea of Dreams.
In Santa Barbara, Fishbon presents “Fire & Ice.” Fellow Burning Mom and friend Jenessa has performed and starred in numerous Fishbon extravaganzas; this time she’s been feverishly constructing marvelous, sexy costumes galore using fabulous fabrics and will be a “Tray Girl.”
Since Dr. Megavolt decided to take a break from his bigBurning Manshow a couple of years ago, he’s been sighted often a thePescadrome and performed with his table top setup this year. But, it’s been several years since he’s done his major show for any audience. Well, hang on to your headgear, because he’ll be breaking out the big coil, an 8 foot mega tesla coil forFIRE + ICE, Fishbon’s New Year’s Eve event. Performing with his wfe Victoria for one show only, Dr. Megavolt will bring in the New Year with his own special brand of man-made lightning craziness.Be There!
Tickets for Fishbon New Year’s Eve are available on the Fishbon Ticket website: http://tickets.fishbon.com/ TICKETS ARE LIMITED AND THERE WILL BE NO TICKETS SOLD AT THE DOOR. BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW. This event always sells out, so don’t wait until the last minute on this one. TICKETS $50, such a deal.
In LA, the Do Lab and Lucent Dossier are organizing parties in two performance spaces: at the incredible Edison Hotel in downtown, and in Beverly Hills. See below.
Be sure to get tickets as soon as possible so you won’t be disappointed like we were last year when we left Montana de Oro State Beach for Santa Barbara–only to discover the event was completely sold out. (So figuring we were going to drop some dough on tickets, we bought $100 worth of Chandon champagne and crab legs and went back to the beach to join our friends!)
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Where ever you are, when ever you are, what ever you are–I toast to you!
3:15 Experiment Poem August 26, 2003: open to the sky
The fog is back.
I drove into it last night
coming home from work
coming down the Conejo grade.
I could see it blotting
the sun and anything coastal.
the air tonight is deep thick
the sounds outside more echoing
it makes it cooler the dampness
we get more sticky
our skin connected, touching
In Lima Peru it is foggy like this
almost every day and night of the year.
It never rains.
In summer in January they
may get a few days when
it burns off sooner.
The rest of the year this fog
their only moisture.
You don’t have to worry
about it raining on your parade
your picnic your construction site–
roofs all over town unfinished
buildings open to sky to potential
to move floors ceilings guests.
Why bother with a roof when a
ceiling is enough to keep out
bird droppings and air pollution?
Happy New Year, everyone! Who needs a roof over your head? Don’t block your chakras energy from connecting with the sky! Step out of the fog, keep your mind open to the stars–our ancestors– and the unexpected potential of the New Year!
I was in Lima Peru for my 39th birthday, a day which is rolling around again in two weeks. My secret wish is to have 50,000 page views on my blog and 50 subscribers (and no, I am NOT turning 50–it’s just a nice round number!) So if it’s crossed your mind, subscribe! Do it as a birthday gift to me! And send people to check out the site and subscribe also! You never know what will show up on this blog, and you don’t want to miss anything in 2009 do you?
Ride the Poetry Train! Check out what’s happening at Read Write Poem! Experience the world at 3:15 am via other 3:15 Experiment poems!
And have a great time this weekend ringing in the New Year with whatever rituals you enjoy and appreciate!
Four Sonnets for Brian Barker: 1961-2008
Here is a sonnet for Brian Barker.
Brian sat behind me in school to look
over my shoulder and get the answers.
He always managed to be in my group.
That was okay. He was nice, and funny.
He wasn’t stupid. He just didn’t care
about Spanish or Math or English. He
reminded me not to take everything
so seriously, it didn’t really
matter, even though I thought it did. He
was popular; I ran the school paper.
He called me Mrs. Presidente. When
we were juniors, a girl died in a car
crash. He was in the car. He found her body.
I was supposed to write about it but couldn’t.
Here is a found sonnet for Brian.
Brian Kent Turecek Barker, longtime
Santa Barbara resident, passed away
November 26, 2008.
The fourth child of Eldon and Lucy Barker,
Brian was born on December 5, 1961.
He grew up in Ventura, California,
graduating in 1980 from
Ventura High. A talented artist
at an early age, he studied art at
UCSB, graduating in 1987.
He worked as a draftsman with architects
and engineers. Brian was a kind,
generous, and loving man with a keen
intellect. Passionate about his
creative endeavors, he shared his art
with friends and family. He had a unique
sense of humor, a warm smile, an easy laugh.
Here is another sonnet for Brian.
Brian is the father of my nephew.
Was. Is. Not. Brian fathered my nephew.
That’s not it. Brian and my sister made
a baby. She kept the baby. He went
to college. She dropped out. She married Dave.
Brian discovered heroin. He fell
in love. Loving heroin made it hard
to love anyone or anything else.
There is more to it of course but the fact
of the matter is for Thanksgiving this
year, a week before his birthday, Brian
………………………………………overdosed
…………………………………………and died.
Here is a final sonnet for Brian.
When I tell them about Brian, people
ask me if it was suicide, do I
think it was suicide. The question shocks
me. I say no, he OD’d, and lacking
a note, how could anyone ever know.
What I do know is, when I saw him last
September, he had been sober since May
of the previous year. We made plans to
have dinner, maybe with my nephew next
time he came home. I asked him what he was
up to, what he was doing. He told me
his job was to stay sober. Sometimes all
we can ask of a person is to be
in this world as long as he or she can.
They say it is a selfish act, to commit suicide, to choose death over life, to choose drugs over sobriety, to leave, to abandon loved ones. Last week, on the last day of fall, a room full of people gathered to celebrate Brian’s life: his creativity, his passion–a room full of people who will miss him. His friends, his sister, my sister, his brother, his nephews told stories about good times, about sneaking on to the golf course to play, about going to an art museum together. What makes me saddest is that while we all knew him, some better than others, my nephew never got to know his father. Fortunately, Brian’s friends and family are embracing my nephew and filling him with the stories and love they had for his dad.
One last story: when we were on a trip to the LA County Museum of Art and hung up in traffic, Brian said, “Theoretically, you never have to brake on a freeway.” Every time I stop, I remember you, Brian, I smile, and sometimes I laugh.
Poet Nanao Sakaki: 1923-2008–Congratulations, Nanao!
In the morning
After taking cold shower
—–what a mistake—–
I look at the mirror.
There, a funny guy,
Grey hair, white beard, wrinkled skin,
—–what a pity—–
Poor, dirty, old man!
He is not me, absolutely not.
Land and life
Fishing in the ocean
Sleeping in the desert with stars
Building a shelter in the mountains
Farming the ancient way
Singing with coyotes
Singing against nuclear war–
I’ll never be tired of life.
Now I’m seventeen years old,
Very charming young man.
I sit down quietly in lotus position,
Meditating, meditating for nothing.
Suddenly a voice comes to me:
“To stay young,
To save the world,
Break the mirror.”
I love this poem, “Break the Mirror” by Nanao Sakaki, from his book of the same name published in 1996 and translated by his frien
d Gary Snyder. This poem inspires me every time I read it, moves me so much I put it on the syllabus of the classes I teach, as much to inspire me daily as for my students. We even read it aloud the first day of class.
I remember hearing Nanao read at the Taos Poetry Circus. Read more…
Eartha Kitt: no longer of this earth
Here’s the new York Times obituary about the legendary singer Eartha Kitt. She died today, Chirstmas Day, at 81 years old of colon cancer.
When I told my father in law tonight, as he and the Big Monkey sat at the table visiting, he said he was sitting in a cafe having breakfast after a late night on the town in New York City in 1946 and she came in with her husband, one of the Nicholas brothers. “They were good dancers, the Nicholas Brothers,” he said, “and they sat down next to me.”
“She really was like a kitten, purring all the time. She was real pretty,” he said. “She could sing but not great.”
I disagree. I think her voice gorgeously expressive, as exhibited in the clip above.
Here’s a brief interview with her from 1955:
The Santa Baby video here is one of my favorites. Here’s another favorite, a variation of the 1920’s song I grew up singing on our player piano, “The Sheik of Araby” with Nat King Cole”:
And “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” is too wonderful not to be included here:
What’s your favorite memory of this versatile performer? As catwoman? Which song?
art predator 