January 18, 2015 at 6:21 pm (Artists and Writers, Links, Recommended)
Tags: art, music, Sundays, websites
Listen to Mercy Bell sing: She’s the daughter of dear friends Kathleen Burkhalter Bell and David Bell.
Kathleen was born and raised in Baguio in the Philippines and now lives in New Bedford, MA with husband David Bell: prouder parents could never be.
Kathleen has her own blog, here.
Shiver. Shiver. Shiver.
Stay tuned.
October 16, 2014 at 5:27 pm (Links, Women Writers, Writing)
Tags: advice, documentaries, inspiration, memories, music, Stanford, websites, writing process
Self is reminded of this again when she reads Diane Gilliam’s essay on “Working in Silence,” on A Room of Her Own Foundation’s website.
The full quote is: Silence is your treasure. Do not exchange it for an easy life.
Walking to Annenberg from Littlefield, you pass this meadow. Self doesn’t know the name of the artist who made this sculpture, but right in front of the Cummings Art Building is a Henry Moore.
Last night, self found herself back in Stanford. Self enjoyed the walk through the still campus. She remembers thinking: How quiet it is here. How peaceful. And that’s what Stanford gave her: four years of peace. Two years in the East Asian Studies Program, with a concentration in Chinese, two years as a Creative Writing Program Fellow. What an unimaginable luxury.
Self originally meant this post to be about the Rolling Stones. Specifically, the Rolling Stones as they were in 1972, when Robert Frank made the documentary “Cxxxxsucker Blues” (Self blushes to admit that the x’s are her own. The early 1970s were still the 1960s. What self means by that is that drug use was still rampant, and so was free love. And Mick wore velvet jumpsuits spangled with sequins and looked vaguely reminiscent of Elvis, only much thinner). They showed it in Annenberg, last night. Amazingly, the theater was packed, even though at that very moment, the San Francisco Giants were facing off against the Saint Louis Cardinals.
Frankly, it was just painful to see the way women were treated in this movie (like pieces of meat — yes, exactly. Thank you Jennifer Lawrence or whoever): they were either in bed or shooting up or sewing. Yes, sewing.
With one exception: Bianca Jagger. Who was in no way a groupie. Who Mick treated with affection.
Thank God for Bianca Jagger.
The album “Exile on Main Street” was self’s first ever Rolling Stones album. And the Robert Frank documentary was about the 1972 tour for that album. If for nothing else, self had to see the documentary.
And Mick had this amazing, amazing diffidence (Keith Richards had it too, to a lesser degree). At one point, he stares straight at the camera (presumably being held by Robert Frank) and says, casually contemptuous, “Fuck you.” And it’s not as if Frank caught him in an intimate moment, either. He’s just standing there, and he decides to turn his head, look at Frank, and without his face changing expression, says “Fuck you.”
Now, that’s a moment.
And now, before self gets too carried away with this post, she needs to get moving. She realizes she hasn’t even connected the dots between the quote “Silence is your treasure” to the Stones documentary.
But, ta-ta, dear ones! To be continued.
September 7, 2014 at 2:01 am (Books, Links, Places, Recommended)
Tags: Berlin, discoveries, Home, music, novel, praise, Saturdays, weekends
Yesterday, while standing at the check-out line in Whole Foods on Jefferson, self saw a CD by Ed Sheeran. She was curious, as apparently he is a great favorite of the writers on fanfiction.net So she bought his CD and listened to it at home and, you know, it reminds her of old rock. But it’s pleasant. Something new to listen to while driving!
Today was peaceful. She mostly watered.
She’s very much enjoying Dark Star, by Alan Furst. He writes ridiculously well, for someone who writes spy thrillers.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
On p. 52, the hero of the story, Szara, lands in Berlin (after a particularly nasty encounter with some hired assassins — he escapes by the skin of hist teeth). This is what he sees of the city from his hotel room:
Szara stared out a high window, watching umbrellas moving down the street like phantoms. It seemed to him the city’s very own, private weather, for Berliners lived deep inside themselves — it could be felt — where they nourished old insults and humiliated ambitions of every sort, all of it locked up within a courtesy like forged metal and an acid wit that never seemed meant to hurt — it just, apparently by accident, left a little bruise.
Lovely writing, isn’t it?
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
July 31, 2014 at 6:23 am (postaday)
Tags: concerts, Events, music, postaday, postaweek, summer, Wordpress
Why yes, dear blog readers. Self was able to tear herself away from Miguel Hernandez’s poetry to take her regular Wednesday evening stroll to Stafford Park, two blocks down the street, to listen to the free summer concert.
Self keeps forgetting to note the name of the band.
Such a thrill to have a policeman stop traffic while she crosses the street.
She buys a hot dog with chips and a can of orange soda.
Listens for a while.
Walks back to the house. Resumes reading poetry.
In the Philippines, they would describe her thus: Ang babaw ng kaligayahan.
Which means: Cheap. Thrills.
But that’s why she loves summer. Because cheap thrills abound.
Stafford Park, Redwood City: There are free concerts every Wednesday throughout the summer, starting at 6 p.m.
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
July 5, 2014 at 3:59 am (Food and Drink, Holidays, postaday)
Tags: Fridays, music, parades, photography, postaday, postaweek, restaurants, Stanford, summer, Wordpress
Citi Pub, Broadway Ave., downtown Redwood City: Self and The Man always wind up here after the Fourth of July Parade is over.
There’s more of the light-and-shadow thing going on in the next two shots. In the one just below, self focused on the feet of the members of the Leland Stanford, Jr. University Marching Band. They participate in the Redwood City Fourth of July Parade, every year.
Self loves when the Stanford Band plays “All Right Now,” their signature song. Compared to the other bands, they sport VERY casual attire. She once heard someone describe them as “a bunch of hooligans.”
Another parade regular are the horses. These are city officials, self thinks.
Self is having so much fun with “Contrasts.” Turns out that’s what summer light is all about. In summer, and particularly in mid-day, the difference between sunlight and shade is very dramatic.
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
June 28, 2014 at 1:36 am (Food and Drink, postaday, Traveling)
Tags: concerts, Dublin, Events, Fridays, Ireland, music, postaday, postaweek, summer, travel, Wordpress
The theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is CONTRASTS.
Red and yellow are contrasting colors, aren’t they?
The Optimists Club of Redwood City sells chips and franks at the weekly concerts that run all summer in Stafford Park, two blocks from self’s humble abode.
These were the back-up singers for one of the bands at Ozzfest, June 10, at the Button Factory in Dublin’s Temple Bar (held, appropriately enough, on what would have been Judy Garland’s 92nd birthday). There are all sorts of contrasts in play here: one signer is dark-haired, the other is a platinum blonde. The women are illuminated, the stage behind them is shadowy. While one woman sings, the other waits for her cue.
At the Button Factory in Dublin’s Temple Bar: June 10
And another shot self took at the Button Factory. The contrast lies in the use of red and green spotlights —
The Audience at Ozzfest in the Button Factory, Temple Bar: June 10, 2014
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
June 16, 2014 at 9:00 pm (Artists and Writers, Places, postaday)
Tags: concerts, Dublin, Events, music, photography, postaday, postaweek, summer, travel, Wordpress
All these shots were taken at the Button Factory in Dublin, Tuesday, 10 June 2014:
Jaime Nanci Barron & the Blue Boys at the Button Factory in Dublin’s Temple Bar District: June 10, 2014. The “Extra” in the shot is the lone photographer at one side of the stage.
The “Extra” that makes the shot “different” — at least in self’s humble opinion — are the two people standing and speaking casually in front of the stage. Jaime’s band was just starting to do warm-ups.
The “Extra” here is the way the lighting throws individual members of the audience’s silhouettes into sharp relief.
Self had a blast at the concert last week. The occasion was the launch of a fund-raising CD, on what would have been screen legend Judy Garland’s 92nd birthday.
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
June 14, 2014 at 6:23 am (Artists and Writers, postaday, Traveling)
Tags: artists residency, concerts, Dublin, Events, Ireland, music, postaday, postaweek, Saturdays, travel, Wordpress
The photo challenge says:
Draw us in with a humorous detail — a lone carrot in a sea of peas — or find a photo with an added element that only you could capture.
Last night at the Odessa Club on Dame Street Jaime dedicated a song to Morgan (in the striped shirt, facing with his back to the cmaera); they have been friends forever.
Self doesn’t exactly knows what drew her in — perhaps the mutual affection and respect between the two men?
Jaime dedicated a song to Morgan, who is collaborating with him on a musical. Self met them both at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annamaghkerrig.
Jaime Barron, bandmate in the background, sings scorching blues in a Dublin club. One of his last songs, a Dionne Warwick/Richard Bacharach composition, KILLED.
Table Lamp, the Red Room in Café Paradiso, Cork. The Red Room provided self with so many opportunities to experiment, photographically.
Stay tuned,
June 12, 2014 at 7:19 pm (Food and Drink, Places, postaday, Traveling)
Tags: discoveries, Dublin, Ireland, music, photography, postaday, postaweek, restaurants, travel, Wordpress
Self just can’t get enough of the smoky, moody interior of the Button Factory in Dublin. She would probably have found a way to post her photos, no matter what the WordPress Photo Challenge was for the week. One-Second Story? Twist? It’s all there!
The last picture is not of the Button Factory, but was taken in her room at the Café Paradiso in Cork, where she spent one night last week. She was lucky to get to spend a night and have dinner at this tiny place, whose vegetarian dishes are divine.
The Red Room in Café Paradiso, city of Cork
Stay tuned.
June 11, 2014 at 8:46 pm (Places, postaday, Traveling)
Tags: concerts, discoveries, Dublin, music, photography, postaday, postaweek, travel, Wordpress
The music space in the Button Factory is basically one warehouse-like room. Most of the audience stands, up by the stage. There are a few seats at the very back — lounge-type couches, mostly.
Again, in the shots below, self was keeping everything deliberately soft-focus.
She never uses flash, never.
Destroys the mood.
Before Midnight: Button Factory in Temple Bar
Self loved the moody colors on the stage of the Button Factory!
Stay tuned.
 | anthropologist on Roberto Bolaño: 2666 |
 | sofialabellavita on Surrounding Oneself with Posit… |
| sofialabellavita on Roberto Bolaño: 2666 |
 | Liza Saenz-Bernard on “Place, Memoir, Journey… |
