L is for Lists

 Blogging from A to Z  6 Responses »
Apr 122012
 

I used to make lists all the time. To-do lists, book lists, lists of writing topics, etc. I’ve gotten better in my old age, but I still do like a good list. And so, since today is L-day, here’s a post full of lists, starting with a list of reasons for posting lists.

5 Reasons for Posting a List of Lists
  1. It could be fun.
  2. It’s silly.
  3. It’s L-day and L is for Lists. Duh.
  4. Lists are supposed to be good for you.
  5. Because.

It might be helpful to make a list of things people might make lists of.

10 Things People Make Lists Of
  1. Favorite movies
  2. Favorite books
  3. Favorite bands
  4. Favorite TV shows
  5. Favorite other stuff
  6. Things to do
  7. Places to go
  8. Famous people it’s okay to sleep with even though you’re married
  9. Reasons for things
  10. Things people make lists of

Just because I listed something there doesn’t mean I’ll necessary include that here. My lists are not the boss of me. So:

10 Things You Can Do With a Stone
  1. Convoluted rockThrow it
  2. Skip it
  3. Rub it
  4. Contemplate it
  5. Balance it on another stone
  6. Use it to scratch something
  7. Weigh something down
  8. Break it
  9. Roll it
  10. Turn it into a pet

Well now, that’s just absurd. Let’s try something more philosophical.

10 Questions About Jim Croce’s lyric, “If I could save time in a bottle”
  1. Would the time in the bottle have an expiration date?
  2. Where would the time come from?
  3. What would the time look like?
  4. Could the time be used by anyone who opened the bottle?
  5. How much time can a typical bottle hold?
  6. Are there any special storage requirements for time?
  7. What would happen if some time leaked out?
  8. Would the saved time be “generic” time to be used as desired? (Or would it contain specific experiences?)
  9. What effect would the containing, storing, selling and buying of time have on the world economy?
  10. Why save time?

I think we can all agree that is a much more useful list. Of course, many lists showcase someone’s favorites. I’ve always found it hard to come up with favorites because any favorites I could name change over time (or even from day to day), and I am indecisive and answering would require, well, deciding. But, for the sake of L-day, I’ll make the effort to come up with a list of some favorites.

If nothing else, these might give you good reason to scoff at me.

Top-ish 20 Movies (in no particular order)
  1. Go movieGo
  2. House of Yes
  3. Hero
  4. Groundhog Day
  5. The Incredibles
  6. 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould
  7. Princess Bride
  8. Serial Mom
  9. Grosse Pointe Blank
  10. Inglourious Basterds
  11. That Thing You Do
  12. Pulp Fiction
  13. Raising Arizona
  14. The Red Violin
  15. Run Lola Run
  16. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  17. This is Spinal Tap
  18. Shrek
  19. The Man Who Knew Too Little
  20. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

I almost feel a need to justify my choices. After all, a lot of those movies aren’t exactly highbrow. But all of these movies stuck with me either because they were fun (like “That Thing You Do”), clever (like “Go”), hilarious (like “Raising Arizona”), deliciously twisted (like “House of Yes”) or beautiful (like “Hero”).

Then again “favorite” lists are subjective. To each their own. Agree to disagree. Etcetera etcetera, etcetera. Maybe I should have included “The King and I.”

Top-ish 10 TV Shows

Dexter

  1. Dexter
  2. Frasier
  3. Big Bang Theory
  4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  5. Arrested Development
  6. Twin Peaks
  7. Modern Family
  8. Parks and Recreation
  9. Scrubs
  10. Veronica Mars

Limiting the list to ten is hard. The trouble with TV shows is that many that are really entertaining aren’t necessarily that good but still sucked me in. (i.e. “Warehouse 13″ or “Fringe”) Others that were well done aren’t ones I’d necessarily watch over again. (i.e. “The United States of Tara”)

Top-ish 10 Fiction Books

Queen of the Damned

  1. Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
  2. Nine Princes in Amber (series) by Roger Zelazny
  3. Titan (trilogy) by John Varley
  4. Ghost Story by Peter Straub
  5. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
  6. A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
  7. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
  8. Every Dead Thing by John Connolly
  9. Harry Potter books by J.K. Rawling
  10. You Suck by Christopher Moore

Holy crap, that’s even harder to do! I know I could have done a list of twenty. Still. Maybe because books take longer to read, and because “favorites” are spread out over a longer span of time,  I had to rack my brains more for this list than any other. Even as I’m writing this, more books are popping into my head, like Lord of the Rings, Ringworld, etc.

Maybe this listing of “favorites” wasn’t a good idea. Okay, just one more.

Top-ish 10 Bands

Die So Fluid The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime

  1. Die So Fluid
  2. Animal Alpha
  3. Paatos
  4. The Crest
  5. This Ascension
  6. Riverside
  7. Concrete Blonde
  8. String Cheese Incident
  9. Fluttr (Fluttr Effect)
  10. 4 Non Blondes

This is one of the more volatile lists since I’m constantly finding new bands.  In fact, all the groups on this list are bands I didn’t come across until long after college. A lot of times when I hear people name their favorite music, they come up with an old band I suspect was their favorite back in their teens or twenties. If I were to list my old favorites, I’d have a list of music I can still appreciate or that is very nostalgic, but that I almost never listen to anymore. Is that sad?

Sorry this post is so long. Maybe I should make a list of reasons not to have such long blog posts…

Do you have any favorites? Do you wonder about any of mine? What do you like to make lists of?

Blogging from A to Z Challenge banner

J is for Justify

 Blogging from A to Z, Improv  4 Responses »
Apr 112012
 
Timothy Olyphant in Justified

Timothy Olyphant in Justified (from buddytv.com)

I thought of justify for today’s word not because of the TV series “Justified” (though I do like the show), but because it’s a term that comes up often in improv.

I think justification often implies some action that needs to be justified. In other words, there seems to be an element of guilt, wrongdoing or at least some action outside the norm that requires a reason for it being acceptable.

In improv, justify is used more in the sense of adjusting to make sense of things. For example, one game we used to play where two people enter a scene, each with their first line predetermined. The game is to somehow justify the two disconnected lines.

Player 1: “Purple is my favorite color.”

Player 2: “I want a divorce.”

Player 1: “What!? We don’t have to paint the living room purple.”

Silly, I know, but the principle comes into play a lot in improv. What I like about it is that it’s about saying “Yes” to whatever comes and cooperating with your partner to make it work. One of the joys of improv is having two (or more) people pulling offers from wherever such things come and seeing what can be made from them.

One aspect of justifying that may not be obvious is radical acceptance. In improv, we adopt an attitude that every offer is valid, even if the offer seems completely random and unjustifiable. Of course, sometimes our attempt to justify fails, but if we tried sincerely and good-naturedly, chances are we had fun in the process of creating a complete mess of a scene.

In a way, justifying is about tapping into our creativity to solve a problem. I can almost hear Tim Gunn saying, “Make it work.”

—–

J is also for Juxtaposition and Joy. I rarely, if ever, relate to or have anything to do with joy, but I came across these two, very different takes on the word, and thought I’d juxtapose them (sort of). Just because.

Can you guess which one I identify with more?

Blogging from A to Z Challenge banner

A is for Awesome

 Blogging from A to Z  9 Responses »
Apr 012012
 

Mount Baker, Heliotrope RidgeThere are many things in the world to inspire awe, so selecting a handful for this post is a challenge. Of course, I could go with something in nature. I’ve been on hikes where I’ve been awestruck by the view of a mountain peak so close it felt like I could reach out and touch it.

Or, I could go with one of the feats of strength, balance and skill some are capable of. The first time I saw Cirque du Soleil was on their Quidam video. I remember thinking what they were doing seemed impossible. Here’s a segment from that video.

When I was in college, my favorite band was Rush. Their musicianship struck me — especially that of Neil Peart, their drummer and main lyricist. While I was always deeply impressed by Peart’s playing, it was this solo that made me realize how awesome he really is.

Then there’s an expression of creativity that blows the mind, like this sketch by Cody Rivers, one of my favorite Bellingham duos.

The Cody Rivers Show from ENW with Deb Slater on Vimeo.

Yeah, the awe-inspiring is all around us if we notice it.

And, since I was just informed that April is also National Poetry Month (and, since putting together words just so, in a perfect way that sends shivers down my spine is awesome), here’s a poem for you:

love is a place… (58) by E. E. Cummings

love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places

yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds

 

A musical prelude to the A to Z Challenge

 Random  6 Responses »
Mar 312012
 

This post really has very little to do with the A to Z Challenge aside from reminding you that it begins tomorrow. My total preparation at this point is to acknowledge that tomorrow is all about the letter ‘A’. Compare that to some of the people who have already chosen themes for their month of letters.

In other news, I’m now up to 99.98% sure I’ll also try my hand at ScriptFrenzy. I figure that’s certain enough to justify adding the badge onto my sidebar. (Ergo its presence.)

Now, let’s talk about music, shall we? Originally I was going to write about my disappointment with Loreena McKennitt. Actually, I am going to write about that.

Years ago, a friend took me to see Loreena McKennitt perform in Seattle. Though her music was not my cup of tea, I didn’t dislike it, and often the energy of live music transcends the liking or not liking of a musical style.

I quickly realized that McKennitt was performing the music to closely match her CDs. In fact, at one point she described her band as “idling Porsches,” an apt term because the musicians she had with her were excellent and they were just coasting through her music.

What pissed me off was the fact that these great musicians were being hobbled by a need to stay true to the studio recording. What good is an idling Porsche if all that amazing potential is left unrealized? I longed for a jam where those guys were allowed to really play.

But then I remembered seeing Andreas Vollenweider in concert years before. It was awesome. He had a percussionist with him whose playing truly sang. And Vollenweider himself let loose on his harp beyond what I had heard on his recordings. I left the concert buzzing with the wonderful music. But, from that day forward, I found listening to his CDs unsatisfying and I stopped listening to his recorded music.

So, maybe McKennitt was onto something by reining in her band.

Have you ever had the experience of being turned off of a band’s recorded music after seeing them play live?

Though I couldn’t find a satisfying video illustrating my point, here’s a nice example of Andreas Vollenweider.

Postscripts:

  1. Musical taste is obviously subjective, so please don’t take my comments about Loreena McKennitt as a condemnation of her music.
  2. I find myself slightly addicted to viewing performances and long-forgotten videos on YouTube, so I have a feeling you may be seeing an occasional video embedded in my upcoming posts. Consider yourself warned.

Haunting music, zombie crypts and cats

 Random  No Responses »
Oct 282011
 

Have you ever listened to a song that made you shiver? Or that made you feel something you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but that was both compelling and uncomfortable at the same time?

Here are some songs that I find haunting. Now, for me, the hauntingness comes from the music itself. If the lyrics contribute, that’s great, but music has rarely (if ever) been about the lyrics.

I doubt I’ll post music often because I know how subjective music can be. I have no reason to believe you’ll like any of these songs. Then again, I’ve discovered some awesome music by stumbling upon someone else’s selection, so…

These videos are all on YouTube. Most of them are just recordings of the track with some image for the “video” part. In other words, they’re for listening not watching.

I’ll list these in chronological order, not of the recording date, but of when it was current in my playlists. This first one is Under Ice by Kate Bush. In this case, the lyrics are part of the hauntingness, so I’m already violating my earlier point. Sheesh!

Next up, Sandman by This Ascension. This band was one of my favorites for a long time. There’s something deliciously creepy about their music.

This one may be a little obvious given the title is Ghost (by Lunasect), but the title of a song doesn’t necessarily say what the music itself evokes. I don’t know if this song makes me think “ghost” but I do find it haunting.

This next one, Buried Alive by Unwoman, features the cello, one of the most beautiful and haunting instruments ever created.

If you like dark, moody music, Katatonia might be up your alley. This is Soil’s Song.

Another group that serves up some consistently dark music is Trance to the Sun. I really wanted to post their song,  Reach for the Throat, but I couldn’t find an online source, so here instead is Homewrecker.

Finally, Red Water by Type O Negative.

Do you have any songs that haunt you?

Other Tidbits — zombie crypts and cats

Awhile back, I posted about a zombie crypt in the Mt. View Cemetery. Well, I’ve been informed that the crypt has since been removed! That means two things:

  1. I may have taken the very last photo ever of that monstrous structure.
  2. The city clearly removed the crypt in response to my previous post. You’re welcome, Ashland.

I have reason to believe our cats are possessed. I’m not sure why I think that.

Possessed cats

In Books: A Romance on Three Legs

 Random  3 Responses »
Sep 252011
 

I recently read A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould’s Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano by Katie Hafner. Glenn Gould was one of the most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He is especially known for his performances of Bach and his incredible technique.

Romance On Three Legs bookcoverThe book itself was well-written and easy to read. It is certainly not a biography of Gould, but rather a story illustrating some of the eccentric genius of the man as his life intersects with one very specific piano, Steinway CD 318.

In the process of telling the tale, Hafner sketches in Gould’s background, and then introduces other threads that weave through the rest of the book. Those threads include the history of the Steinway & Sons Co. and of the concert grand pianos they built. I learned something of the process of building pianos and why each piano has its own unique personality — especially when pianos were hand-built in a process that took months or years.

Another character in the book is Charles Verne Edquist, the man who for years tuned and voiced CD 318 in the attempt to satisfy Gould’s quest for perfection. Edquist’s own background story is told and is interesting in itself given he was nearly blind from childhood, and grew up in 1940s Canada.

So, would this book be of interest to someone who is not a musician or a classical music buff? Since I can’t erase my own background as a piano player, I can’t say for sure, but I believe so and here’s why:

  • It’s the story of an eccentric and interesting man.
  • The book includes tidbits of history and its effects, for instance:
    • The history of Steinway & Sons and their relationship with concert pianists
    • A bit about growing up blind in the early-to-mid 20th century
    • How World War II affected the making of pianos — especially CD 318
    • How changing attitudes during the 20th century affected live performance and even how pianos are manufactured
  • The Steinway CD 318 is itself a fascinating character in the story, beginning with its unique birth during WWII, and ending with its purchase by the National Library of Canada.
  • There’s even a mystery of sorts, involving the dropping of CD 318 during transport.

I’m (obviously) not a book reviewer, but this is my take. 

Gould has special significance for me. In the 1990s, my piano teacher, Marilyn Pennington, referred to him as a pianist whose interpretation of classical music was based on his own inner ear rather than on a strict or pure interpretation of the music as intended by the composer. In the context of our conversation, she was essentially using Gould as an example showing that my own way of playing classical piano had some precedence.

Of course, Marilyn’s heart really belonged to jazz, so taking a more laid back approach to the drier world of classical music was natural.

That has nothing to do with the book, really, but it helps explain how it even got on my radar.