Remind yourself over and over again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbAM6dCWE58
Rave on!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbAM6dCWE58
Rave on!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Artistic Dung
My wacky office colleague and favourite fag hag Simone likes saying that when you do dung, you dung your life. Saint Julia says that creative growth is spasmodic in nature and you cannot guarantee you will do greatly everytime. 'Sometimes you will draw badly, dance badly, write badly, perform badly, and you need that to get to the Otherside', she wrote.
I'm currently trying to shove that into my stubborn, peacock-vain mind after performing so badly last night, in the second meeting of the storytellers' intermediate workshop. The assignment was to tell a story in three minutes. Because I had no time to prepare a short story over the weekend, I decided I'd pare down the rich details of the Irish traditional tale 'the Black Horse', a story I told very well last month (check the photos in my album) and squeeze the basic structure in a three-minute narrative. I ended up sounding anxious, insecure and too worried, and the story lost much of its brilliance because the riddles and the repetitions, so important to the rythmn, were left out.
I cannot have it all absolutely fantastic every time. Expecting that is just unfair with me. I deserve support from myself, and now I need to hang on, trusting the importance of my work.
Also, I need to cherish the fact that the Dung Beetles, the usual arseholes who just cum everytime you fail to meet useless 'standards', are back in Rio, far from me.
Image: Chris Ofili's 'Black Madonna'
I'm currently trying to shove that into my stubborn, peacock-vain mind after performing so badly last night, in the second meeting of the storytellers' intermediate workshop. The assignment was to tell a story in three minutes. Because I had no time to prepare a short story over the weekend, I decided I'd pare down the rich details of the Irish traditional tale 'the Black Horse', a story I told very well last month (check the photos in my album) and squeeze the basic structure in a three-minute narrative. I ended up sounding anxious, insecure and too worried, and the story lost much of its brilliance because the riddles and the repetitions, so important to the rythmn, were left out.
I cannot have it all absolutely fantastic every time. Expecting that is just unfair with me. I deserve support from myself, and now I need to hang on, trusting the importance of my work.
Also, I need to cherish the fact that the Dung Beetles, the usual arseholes who just cum everytime you fail to meet useless 'standards', are back in Rio, far from me.
Image: Chris Ofili's 'Black Madonna'
Monday, August 21, 2006
Twenty Questions
1. Do we know each other outside of Tribe?
2. What's your philosophy on life?
3. Would you have my back in a fight?
4. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
5. What is your favorite memory of us?
6. Would you give me a kidney?
7. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
8. Would you take care of me when I'm sick?
9. Can we get together and make a cake?
10. Have you heard any rumors of me lately?
11. Do you/have you talk(ed) crap about me?
12. Do you think I'm a good person?
13. Would you drive across country with me?
14. Do you think I'd get along with your family?
15. If you could change anything about me, would you?
16. What do you wear to sleep?
17. Would you come over for no reason just to hang out?
18. Would you go on a date with me if I asked you?
19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
20. Will you post this so I can fill it out for you?
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
It's not even nine a.m. yet and I'm deeply bored in this stupid day job. I still have one whole fucking day ahead and to think of that just mortifies me.
The plan is to work really hard and intense with the Law of Attraction and Creative Recovery and at some point get a life I love and crave to live.
The plan is to work really hard and intense with the Law of Attraction and Creative Recovery and at some point get a life I love and crave to live.
Possessions
I don't need to struggle for all the riches on Earth. It's all mine anyway, as long as I let it all free. All I need will come to me.
With my European Enchanted Prince, my Creative Toys and the right state of mind, I have it all.
With my European Enchanted Prince, my Creative Toys and the right state of mind, I have it all.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
The Workshop
Just a quick note to say that last night the Storytelling workshop meeting was really like water on parched lips!
we talked about what defines a storyteller, the presence, immediate contact, artistry, how each storyteller interferes and recreates the original story and how far can the spoken word go within the listener's core. We had fun games to learn each other's names and each of us introduced ourselves as storytellers in one minute. Quite a challenge! I managed to tell them about my work with the Pagan Community, the tellings at Trianon, my previous basic-level workshops and my struggles with the fiddle. After the one-minute bell rang, I cheated and told them I'm a singer. :)
I've got six more meetings ahead, and I'm sure as one can be that this workshop will catapult me to another level. Everybody there was a professional, so I'll get to do lots of networking too.
Photo: Dan 'the Divo' Yashinsky telling stories.
we talked about what defines a storyteller, the presence, immediate contact, artistry, how each storyteller interferes and recreates the original story and how far can the spoken word go within the listener's core. We had fun games to learn each other's names and each of us introduced ourselves as storytellers in one minute. Quite a challenge! I managed to tell them about my work with the Pagan Community, the tellings at Trianon, my previous basic-level workshops and my struggles with the fiddle. After the one-minute bell rang, I cheated and told them I'm a singer. :)
I've got six more meetings ahead, and I'm sure as one can be that this workshop will catapult me to another level. Everybody there was a professional, so I'll get to do lots of networking too.
Photo: Dan 'the Divo' Yashinsky telling stories.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Oh the movies
I am enlisting Johnny Depp in my Hall of Creative Champions. What is it that none of the films this guy works in is bad? It's official, now, he'll serve as an inspiration for my career.
Last Saturday I finally managed to watch 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2'. Much better than the first, which was already a blast. Highly recommended. Yesterday, I watched 'Breakfast on Pluto', an Irish-British 2005 independent production telling the story of an transvestite who moves to London to find his mother and origins. Very moving, with a great message and an even greater soundtrack.
I'm slowly recovering my cinephile habits. For some times in my late teens I used to go to the cinema about four times a week. And tonight, I'm starting on my intermediate level storytelling workshop!
Way to go, Awen!!
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Nine Years Later
I apologise for the second blog entry in a day, but I have the best news one could have: Lady Brighid of the Fire's Avatar is back. Loreena McKennitt is releasing a new album with inedit songs this year!!
See this: www.quinlanroad.com/ecard/ecard-eng.html
Now share the joyful news!
(Photo: Loreena performing live last year @Edmonton Folk Fest)
See this: www.quinlanroad.com/ecard/ecard-eng.html
Now share the joyful news!
(Photo: Loreena performing live last year @Edmonton Folk Fest)
Samba de Roda
Last night I attended a Samba de Roda session. Samba de Roda is very different to what I had in my native land, although it is also very Brazilian in flavour. People who do Samba de Roda, which is usually from Bahia, call carioca Samba 'Samba Urbano', which I am not quite familiar with or a fan of, either. So, it was an entirely novel experience for me.
In Samba de Roda, there is a circle of people with one bass drum improvising (like in Italian Renaissance Music style called 'Basso Ostinato') and a tambourine (a very Gallician instrument that became a symbol of Brazilian folk music), but participants mainly clap their hands in a syncopated 2/2 or 4/4 rythmn and one lead singer sings a line and everybody else 'responds'-- all lyrics and melody are already previously rehearsed and memorized, though. We had a traditional Samba de Roda leader coming all the way from Bahia (the Recôncavo Baiano area, a buried treasure chest of African-American Folklore), Nêga, with a powerful contralto voice and that exquisite coloratura typical of black people. In every song, one person steps forward to the centre of the circle and dances, waves, mimes somebody, do something with their bodies. There is still a very strong focus on spontaneity, which is made possible by very strict ettiquete and standards everybody is expected to meet.
For example, one lead singer leads alone the whole song and everybody else only responds, and most of the time only one person is allowed in the center of the circle, and if two people go, it must be a heterosexual couple. I can imagine the sexiest women in the circle could all go together, but the Samba scene is naturally very homophobic, and two men together for them is a fight. This is the most heterosexist continent on Earth, after all.
I was called to the centre of the circle, the third person to be called, and I was really appalled, and couldn't think of anything to do. I was embarassed for not being able to clap in the rythmn, but I couldn't put my hands down either, so I just clapped in the second beat of the compass and the rest of the time I would wave my hands in front of my chili-red face, protecting it from all those strangers full of expertise. A 'Pulp Fiction' reference. Thanks again, Tarantino! Then, when the circle was already hot and everybody felt more at ease, I was called again and I did things with my arms I learnt from Michael Flatley and my Odissi lesson last month. I'm sure I looked pretty gringo, but I had a good time, anyway.
It was a kind of Artist Date, the solitary expedition to unknown lands without expectations. I failed to clap my hands in the steady rythmn they had for each song during most of the 2-hour session, and by the end I was honestly tired of the repetitive themes and melodic lines. Too many descendant thirds and references to sea tides and fishing.
I can't help imagining my boyfriend there, all excited. He's a huge enthusiast of Samba, and those two hours would be a taste of Heaven for him.
In time: I was approved for a VERY important Intermediate Storytellers' Workshop yesterday!! I'm very excited about this, and can't wait for Monday, when the classes start. The workshop (which comprises four evening meetings) is taught by Meninas do Conto, an awesome storytelling group who taught me my first basic storytelling workshop last year. They rock, and so do I (especially one month from here)!
Storytellingwise, things are flowing so smooth that I can't help concluding that I was born to do this and a Higher Power wants me to walk that Path!
In Samba de Roda, there is a circle of people with one bass drum improvising (like in Italian Renaissance Music style called 'Basso Ostinato') and a tambourine (a very Gallician instrument that became a symbol of Brazilian folk music), but participants mainly clap their hands in a syncopated 2/2 or 4/4 rythmn and one lead singer sings a line and everybody else 'responds'-- all lyrics and melody are already previously rehearsed and memorized, though. We had a traditional Samba de Roda leader coming all the way from Bahia (the Recôncavo Baiano area, a buried treasure chest of African-American Folklore), Nêga, with a powerful contralto voice and that exquisite coloratura typical of black people. In every song, one person steps forward to the centre of the circle and dances, waves, mimes somebody, do something with their bodies. There is still a very strong focus on spontaneity, which is made possible by very strict ettiquete and standards everybody is expected to meet.
For example, one lead singer leads alone the whole song and everybody else only responds, and most of the time only one person is allowed in the center of the circle, and if two people go, it must be a heterosexual couple. I can imagine the sexiest women in the circle could all go together, but the Samba scene is naturally very homophobic, and two men together for them is a fight. This is the most heterosexist continent on Earth, after all.
I was called to the centre of the circle, the third person to be called, and I was really appalled, and couldn't think of anything to do. I was embarassed for not being able to clap in the rythmn, but I couldn't put my hands down either, so I just clapped in the second beat of the compass and the rest of the time I would wave my hands in front of my chili-red face, protecting it from all those strangers full of expertise. A 'Pulp Fiction' reference. Thanks again, Tarantino! Then, when the circle was already hot and everybody felt more at ease, I was called again and I did things with my arms I learnt from Michael Flatley and my Odissi lesson last month. I'm sure I looked pretty gringo, but I had a good time, anyway.
It was a kind of Artist Date, the solitary expedition to unknown lands without expectations. I failed to clap my hands in the steady rythmn they had for each song during most of the 2-hour session, and by the end I was honestly tired of the repetitive themes and melodic lines. Too many descendant thirds and references to sea tides and fishing.
I can't help imagining my boyfriend there, all excited. He's a huge enthusiast of Samba, and those two hours would be a taste of Heaven for him.
In time: I was approved for a VERY important Intermediate Storytellers' Workshop yesterday!! I'm very excited about this, and can't wait for Monday, when the classes start. The workshop (which comprises four evening meetings) is taught by Meninas do Conto, an awesome storytelling group who taught me my first basic storytelling workshop last year. They rock, and so do I (especially one month from here)!
Storytellingwise, things are flowing so smooth that I can't help concluding that I was born to do this and a Higher Power wants me to walk that Path!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Brighid
Again, a fabulous weekend. Why do we have to come back to the office on Monday? Not fair.
Casa das Rosas is active again after the midyear break. I am taking a course on composing and translating poetry, and the Saturday afternoon workshop called 'Poetic Drafts'. Very cool, because I really missed the habit of writing without the conditioning and the castration of corporate duties I have to meet here at the office. Also back from holidays came my asskicking vocal coach, and to our excitement my voice did not get rusty after the break and for yet another class, I surprised her singing the Renaissance air 'Caro Mio Ben'.
At Saturday night, I managed to attend to this year's Catalan Art show here in Sampa. I watched two films, the comedy 'Seres Queridos' and the teen homoerotic drama 'Krámpak'. Both were really intense, as Catalan stuff usually is. I especially love when I get the chance to watch films about gay relationships. I don't have to make extra efforts to get involved with the plot, and I absorb the story better. Too bad I couldn't get to this year's poetry recital. Well, there's always next year, and next year I'll be in Madrid by August!
On Sunday I was late for a choir concert downtown, and went to the grocery. You know, we can't feed only the Spirit. An artist also eats. I also went roaming over my area to check which films were in theatres, and I planned to watch 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' later on that evening. Then I went to the lan-house to talk to my European Enchanted Prince, and by some Divine Providence my pagan buddy DeLeo was online at MSn messenger. were it not for him, I'd have missed a powerful Brighid ritual by Claudiney Prietto, a fervorous Brighidine. The climax of the weekend happened there: when we were greeting each other for the occasion, Clau told me, 'May you be inspired, because if you are inpired, we will all be'. How cool is that? The High Priest of São Paulo pagan community greeting me as the bard of the community.
And I remembered how the whole Wheel Year comes back to Midwinter. In my experience.
May I be strong, wise and humble to keep the flame burning.
PS> The photos of my last month's performance at PnT are already in my photo album. Check them, and leave a comment!
Casa das Rosas is active again after the midyear break. I am taking a course on composing and translating poetry, and the Saturday afternoon workshop called 'Poetic Drafts'. Very cool, because I really missed the habit of writing without the conditioning and the castration of corporate duties I have to meet here at the office. Also back from holidays came my asskicking vocal coach, and to our excitement my voice did not get rusty after the break and for yet another class, I surprised her singing the Renaissance air 'Caro Mio Ben'.
At Saturday night, I managed to attend to this year's Catalan Art show here in Sampa. I watched two films, the comedy 'Seres Queridos' and the teen homoerotic drama 'Krámpak'. Both were really intense, as Catalan stuff usually is. I especially love when I get the chance to watch films about gay relationships. I don't have to make extra efforts to get involved with the plot, and I absorb the story better. Too bad I couldn't get to this year's poetry recital. Well, there's always next year, and next year I'll be in Madrid by August!
On Sunday I was late for a choir concert downtown, and went to the grocery. You know, we can't feed only the Spirit. An artist also eats. I also went roaming over my area to check which films were in theatres, and I planned to watch 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' later on that evening. Then I went to the lan-house to talk to my European Enchanted Prince, and by some Divine Providence my pagan buddy DeLeo was online at MSn messenger. were it not for him, I'd have missed a powerful Brighid ritual by Claudiney Prietto, a fervorous Brighidine. The climax of the weekend happened there: when we were greeting each other for the occasion, Clau told me, 'May you be inspired, because if you are inpired, we will all be'. How cool is that? The High Priest of São Paulo pagan community greeting me as the bard of the community.
And I remembered how the whole Wheel Year comes back to Midwinter. In my experience.
May I be strong, wise and humble to keep the flame burning.
PS> The photos of my last month's performance at PnT are already in my photo album. Check them, and leave a comment!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
As my ECP suggested
Last night I started my fiddle classes again after the midyear holidays. On my way!!
Photo: a Riverdance moment.
Photo: a Riverdance moment.
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