so 2010
just around the bend
wow - interesting year
this last one
not quite clear
recession
depression
but alas
working for me
been pleasent
quite present
but for others
quite bleek
Sometimes I feel quite pathetic, lonely, out of shape, hungry, thirsty, passionate, tired, jittery, bright, dancey, hopeful, present, dizzy, passionate, lonely, inspired, hot, small, hungry, fat, dancey, enlightened, confused, in shape, stiff, perfect, achy, depressed, elated, hopeful, cynical, cynical, cynical, trusting, hopeful, stirred, passionate, fat, passionate, lonely, lonely, hot, hopeful, inspired, present, pathetic, lonely, out of shape, hungry, thirsty, passionate, tired, jittery, bright, dancey...
What about you?
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Work and Play this Holiday
We were a band of carolers for a night
and serenaded Melrose Heights!
Meems & Big Dad
Of course putting a bullhorn in my hands is a risky thing!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Things I've been up to...
Porch sitting...
Taping with Rudy Mancke for Little Mountain and for Furman University.
Kellane and art teacher from USC art class....
World War ll hero Moffatt Burris during interview. Moffatt is a humble man with incredible stories! Am honored to get to know him.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Rocumentarian
The video is set to a new Hot Lava Monster song and is themed around the Twilight series.
Check out the facebook page and become a fan.
Click title to go to video.
Wade Sellers and I shot it and Wade edited.
Some of the cast of the video -
It is ALWAYS a HOOT working with Jenn and we love it!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Nijmegen
My trip to Nijmegen in the Netherlands was interesting, challenging and sometimes overwhelmingly melancholy.
Jeff Wilkinson with The State along with Heidi Meltretter and I made up the team. We traveled to document SC WW II hero Moffatt Burriss and his pilgrimage back to a place that in 1944 was hell but today is lovely, idyllic and charming.
The highlight was Moffatt at 90 parachuting out of a plane to the delight of his family and a crowd commemorating Operation Market-Garden.
We spent 3 days following Moffatt and his entourage as part of a project for ETV Endowment.
We happened upon a reenactment group of Dutch, portraying American soldiers who were gracious enough to role play and be videotaped. They also gave us a ride to the commemoration ceremonies. Their knowledge and respect for the history of the area and events was amazing.
One of my tasks was to edit a short video for The State and get it uploaded the first full day we were there. Our contact Anton had put us in touch with a guy he'd met at a party, Henri at Hemusic media productions who had the same edit set up as me and had agreed to help get it done.
After we taped all day, Henri picked me up at the hotel and we traveled to an area he called "Seven Hills" in the Groesbeek area outside of Nijmegen.
Around 2am the edit was done and uploaded. Henri was fantastic, gracious and tenacious in his assistance. He and his girlfriend Monique fixed dinner and entertained me with some of his work - he does original music scores along with other media production.
We spent the next couple of days following Moffatt and his entourage around the area as he recounted his experiences of battle and survival.
Moffatt's grandsons climbed the bridge where the Americans had imprisoned German soldiers in the hallows of the support arches.
My last task was to board a boat with press from all over to get Moffatt crossing the Waal river to commemorate the daring assault of many years ago. Read Jeff's article for more details.
Moffatt was on the last boat and had his back to camera the whole time...but I got great video of these other guys....
Upon our return a tour boat pulled up next to us and handed us a stack of delicious pancakes that we happily accepted.
As I walked the streets and traveled the area I was overwhelmed with a sense of what my father who had also done battle in Holland must have gone through . Although I have yet to find specific details of where - I couldn't help but feel it must have been close by. He was just a kid - just a year or so older than my teenage daughter. How frightening, hellish and intense it must have been for all of those young men and women that risked and sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the area. The stories are too gruesome and almost unbelievable to even go into for me. How in the world they managed to have the courage to commit to their tasks is unimaginable for us privileged Americans. But they did. I exclaimed my astonishment to one of our guides that these events were something I rarely thought of and he said "they did it so you wouldn't have to think about it." There were so many moments over there that I did think about it and it was like a kick in the gut, an awareness I'd never felt...about my father and the thousands of others on both sides that lived and died in circumstances inconceivable.
Note: All pics were taken with my iphone - most of my images are on videotape and will be edited for an ETV segment on SC WW II heros.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Random Writing
Some random things ...
I have a new roommate, Rocio, originally from Madrid who has been working in Colombia, South America for the UN the past 6 years. She is in Columbia, SC studying English for a year. We weren't really looking for a house guest but things just fell into place and I LOVE HER. The first day she said in broken English "I ...like...to organize. Is this ok?" Oh YES. She then proceeded to clean out my upstairs closets, organize them, clean the upstairs bathroom - even under the sink and had all of her things neatly stacked, shelved and arranged. I exclaimed to Kellane - "Have you seen what Rocio did with the closets upstairs!?" She said "Have you seen what she did to the pantry?!" A couple of days later she did the refrigerator. (Next is my clothes closet which she says "is a disaster") It is clear that Rocio was meant to be with us even if for a few months. We adore her and in just the past few weeks she has become part of our family, a welcome companion and a lovely friend. I am thrilled to have another hermana in the house.
We are teaching each other things and enjoying the camaraderie of single women pushing 50 but loving life.
Last night she taught me a few Salsa and Tango steps in the kitchen with the music from her ipod. We traded skirts cause I was admiring her "hippie" tie dyed skirt and she said "Its yours!" We were sweating and laughing by the end of the lesson as Kellane and Van watched her twirl me, get my hips moving correctly and finally attempt a not so graceful dip. She says I am a "very modern woman".
Her presence made me think about all the people that have passed through this house.
I spoke to one of those friends, Abou Sylla last night while I sat on the porch and tried to work through a balafon melody that I've heard a thousand times but never played. Abou is a master balafonist from Guinea, West Africa who has been in the states for years and has played and taught us while here. He gave me a lesson over the phone which was pretty cool - he was very patient.
He has stayed at this house on many occasions sometimes with other West Africans, playing their ancient melodies and rhythms, comfortably melting into the spirit of my space and sharing their musical gifts. I'm sure it is quite curious for my neighbors to see and hear Africans coming in and out of my house but I have always felt completely comfortable with my friends of many years from the mother Continent. Some of my favorite times have been relishing the sweetness of the wooden keys of the balafon or the magical lightness of the plucked strings of a kora or the irresistible percussive drive of drums.
"I want to come play with the "Next Corner Drummers!" Abou said. We are actually called the "Next Door Drummers" so we laughed really hard about that for a long time.
"Is hhhaarrd wurk" he says but I think it would be cool to have him here for a while so we can explore the music more in depth and be challenged to take it up a notch....
One of our drummers Bob moved to Illinois but is taking lessons and playing with another W. African musician that stayed at my house one night. Bolocada. He is also a world renowned drummer and was featured in the imax movie that "Stomp" produced called "Pulse". On one of my trips to Guinea I spent some time at Bolocada's compound, where I met his children and his wife. He had made costumes for the guys in our now defunct group "Djoliba Don".
They costumes had pink fringe on them which our director Faisal was not aware of cause he is color blind. (we changed the fringe when we got them here) West Africans can wear pink and still look bad ass but the white boys in Cola. - not so much.
Bolocada gave me a traditional belt that day as a gift. Bright orange with cowlrey shells and white fringe. I cherish it.
Random Work
I've been blessed with good work this year and a plethora of interesting projects. USC and DSS, Heathwood Hall, Eau Claire, Furman University, Little Mountain, Woodrow Wilson Restoration, political figures and SC World War II heros, music videos and the happenings at 701 Whaley.
Gracious! Just writing those out makes my brain hurt a little and leads me to wonder if there will always be such variety and rich diversity in the work I have.
Soon I'll be leaving for Nijmegen in the Netherlands to videotape WWll hero Moffet Burris parachuting out of a plane! The movie A Brige too Far was based on some of his experiences in WWll. Not a bad gig! I'll be on the ground with Jeff Wilkerson from The State and fellow filmmaker Heidi Sneath will be in the plane.
That project is funded by the ETV Endowment.
Random Parenting
Kellane is a high school senior this year. It is sometimes amusing,enthralling and painful for sure being a single parent of a beautiful girl who thankfully has done really well in school and has for the most part stayed out of big trouble or at least has been smart enough to avoid being caught at more than the usual teenage fare.
Don't get me wrong - the challenges are there and I find myself wondering and sometimes regretting certain choices I've made in raising a child. But the satisfaction of seeing her saunter into adulthood is lovely at times.
It is a little strange having her graduate from the same high school I went to and witness her life experiences in the same physical environment that I had. Her home life is quite a contrast from what I had though. Mine very traditional, two parent, Christian upbringing with siblings, hers pretty liberal (with rules of course but I get tired of being the only one to say "no" all the time) single working mom bringing home the bacon and frying it up or more accurately paying the bills eating out....all kinds of artists, musicians, good friends and internationals coming and going...My parents did have a very open door policy though in terms of having people from other cultures invited to our family home but Kellane has been exposed to far more than I was at her age for sure.
All of these things help to shape and shake our experiences and
when I think about it these things are really not so random....
I have a new roommate, Rocio, originally from Madrid who has been working in Colombia, South America for the UN the past 6 years. She is in Columbia, SC studying English for a year. We weren't really looking for a house guest but things just fell into place and I LOVE HER. The first day she said in broken English "I ...like...to organize. Is this ok?" Oh YES. She then proceeded to clean out my upstairs closets, organize them, clean the upstairs bathroom - even under the sink and had all of her things neatly stacked, shelved and arranged. I exclaimed to Kellane - "Have you seen what Rocio did with the closets upstairs!?" She said "Have you seen what she did to the pantry?!" A couple of days later she did the refrigerator. (Next is my clothes closet which she says "is a disaster") It is clear that Rocio was meant to be with us even if for a few months. We adore her and in just the past few weeks she has become part of our family, a welcome companion and a lovely friend. I am thrilled to have another hermana in the house.
We are teaching each other things and enjoying the camaraderie of single women pushing 50 but loving life.
Last night she taught me a few Salsa and Tango steps in the kitchen with the music from her ipod. We traded skirts cause I was admiring her "hippie" tie dyed skirt and she said "Its yours!" We were sweating and laughing by the end of the lesson as Kellane and Van watched her twirl me, get my hips moving correctly and finally attempt a not so graceful dip. She says I am a "very modern woman".
Her presence made me think about all the people that have passed through this house.
I spoke to one of those friends, Abou Sylla last night while I sat on the porch and tried to work through a balafon melody that I've heard a thousand times but never played. Abou is a master balafonist from Guinea, West Africa who has been in the states for years and has played and taught us while here. He gave me a lesson over the phone which was pretty cool - he was very patient.
He has stayed at this house on many occasions sometimes with other West Africans, playing their ancient melodies and rhythms, comfortably melting into the spirit of my space and sharing their musical gifts. I'm sure it is quite curious for my neighbors to see and hear Africans coming in and out of my house but I have always felt completely comfortable with my friends of many years from the mother Continent. Some of my favorite times have been relishing the sweetness of the wooden keys of the balafon or the magical lightness of the plucked strings of a kora or the irresistible percussive drive of drums.
"I want to come play with the "Next Corner Drummers!" Abou said. We are actually called the "Next Door Drummers" so we laughed really hard about that for a long time.
"Is hhhaarrd wurk" he says but I think it would be cool to have him here for a while so we can explore the music more in depth and be challenged to take it up a notch....
One of our drummers Bob moved to Illinois but is taking lessons and playing with another W. African musician that stayed at my house one night. Bolocada. He is also a world renowned drummer and was featured in the imax movie that "Stomp" produced called "Pulse". On one of my trips to Guinea I spent some time at Bolocada's compound, where I met his children and his wife. He had made costumes for the guys in our now defunct group "Djoliba Don".
They costumes had pink fringe on them which our director Faisal was not aware of cause he is color blind. (we changed the fringe when we got them here) West Africans can wear pink and still look bad ass but the white boys in Cola. - not so much.
Bolocada gave me a traditional belt that day as a gift. Bright orange with cowlrey shells and white fringe. I cherish it.
Random Work
I've been blessed with good work this year and a plethora of interesting projects. USC and DSS, Heathwood Hall, Eau Claire, Furman University, Little Mountain, Woodrow Wilson Restoration, political figures and SC World War II heros, music videos and the happenings at 701 Whaley.
Gracious! Just writing those out makes my brain hurt a little and leads me to wonder if there will always be such variety and rich diversity in the work I have.
Soon I'll be leaving for Nijmegen in the Netherlands to videotape WWll hero Moffet Burris parachuting out of a plane! The movie A Brige too Far was based on some of his experiences in WWll. Not a bad gig! I'll be on the ground with Jeff Wilkerson from The State and fellow filmmaker Heidi Sneath will be in the plane.
That project is funded by the ETV Endowment.
Random Parenting
Kellane is a high school senior this year. It is sometimes amusing,enthralling and painful for sure being a single parent of a beautiful girl who thankfully has done really well in school and has for the most part stayed out of big trouble or at least has been smart enough to avoid being caught at more than the usual teenage fare.
Don't get me wrong - the challenges are there and I find myself wondering and sometimes regretting certain choices I've made in raising a child. But the satisfaction of seeing her saunter into adulthood is lovely at times.
It is a little strange having her graduate from the same high school I went to and witness her life experiences in the same physical environment that I had. Her home life is quite a contrast from what I had though. Mine very traditional, two parent, Christian upbringing with siblings, hers pretty liberal (with rules of course but I get tired of being the only one to say "no" all the time) single working mom bringing home the bacon and frying it up or more accurately paying the bills eating out....all kinds of artists, musicians, good friends and internationals coming and going...My parents did have a very open door policy though in terms of having people from other cultures invited to our family home but Kellane has been exposed to far more than I was at her age for sure.
All of these things help to shape and shake our experiences and
when I think about it these things are really not so random....
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Drumming at Whaley
We had the best time drumming with Luke!
Great crowd, great participation.
(BTW - that's Tom Mosley playing with NDD???)
I had a little post birthday surprise from my mom with the help of Next Door Drummers.
Luke was a great teacher. He got everyone playing a pretty complicated break. It was challenging but he made it fun and entertaining as well.
The students ranged from Margaret, a blind 18 year old who was totally into it, to a couple of kids as well as Luke's dad, men & women from 20s to 60s.
It was great having the guys from Charlotte & Fort Mill.
Not only is Luke a phenomenal percussionist and outstanding instructor, he's also got a wonderful spirit and authenticity about him. Can't you tell?
MAN! That was so much fun!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Luke Quaranta!
I'm so excited!
Luke Quaranta from Toubab Krewe is coming to town (July 30) to do a workshop and perform with Next Door Drummers!
Read about it in Free Times.
I met Luke many years ago when he played with a group called Common Ground.
I was playing with Djoliba Don, West African Music and Dance and we did similar musical performances with drummers and dancers.
I reconnected with him a couple of years ago when I found he was playing with Toubab Krewe out of Asheville.
I fell in love with their music and was fortunate to be asked to videotape a couple of their performances.
They have traveled to some of the same places as I have in West Africa - Guinea, Ivory Coast and studied with some of the same teachers.
This is a treat for this community!
LA Birthday
Celebrated my 49th birthday with some friends at 701 Office.
I share the office with Melissa Ligon, Crecendo Advertising.
It was a fun time for a last minute gathering!
I made them sing happy birthday to me.
(shot with my new iphone)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Testing the new iphone
Yeah! I got a new iphone for my birthday!
My other had a cracked face and still worked but was a bummer to look at...
The new G3 S has video capability which makes me extremely happy!
Wanna see how the iphone video looks...
This is just a clip from the drum circle on Fri. at the river.
Not bad sound either!
My other had a cracked face and still worked but was a bummer to look at...
The new G3 S has video capability which makes me extremely happy!
Wanna see how the iphone video looks...
This is just a clip from the drum circle on Fri. at the river.
Not bad sound either!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Whats going on
I don't know what people mean when they say that there is nothing to do in Cola. Town.
Just a few things I've hit in the last couple of months...
Caught Unbound's performance Les Femmes at CMFA.
It was one of the best modern dance shows I've seen in Cola. It was hot, sexy, fun, and only a dance or two too long.
Very cool with Dell crooning in between numbers and Steven playing sax and singing Summertime. I loved it.
Urban Tour downtown was another fun night out. The most people I've seen on Main St since uh....forever.
The Nick had an event at it's new site and burned it's mortgage.
We ended up on the rooftop of the Sheraton Hotel.
Speaking of The Nickelodeon, their recent fundraiser, "Larry's Family Reunion" was hilarious! It was also my first time in the historic jewel that is being transformed.
Love the space.
It is already a treat to be in.
Who knew Larry was a hula hoop champion?
Mr. Sketchy was another adventure that I enjoyed...knew nothing about this facebook invitation but said "what the heck" and showed up anyways. My friend Ashley Rivers was the host of the funky drawing party. Ashley Bennett was the model and we sketched her for different timed sessions and then voted on the best sketches.
I actually won the first round and my prize was a shot of Goldschlagger with Ashley. First time sketching in about 40 years I think.
The Crane Wife and Junk Palace puppet show was a wonderful night out of entertainment.
Hopefully those guys at the Marionette Theatre will be doing more adult shows like that.
Took a tool around the block in Ted's new Sentreon(sp?). Ted is Alejandro & Britt's neighbor. We were the envy of the uptown historic district for about 8 minutes.
Dick Moons has started a drum circle at the Riverfront amphitheater, every Friday at 7pm.
Lots of things going on.
Just a few things I've hit in the last couple of months...
Caught Unbound's performance Les Femmes at CMFA.
It was one of the best modern dance shows I've seen in Cola. It was hot, sexy, fun, and only a dance or two too long.Very cool with Dell crooning in between numbers and Steven playing sax and singing Summertime. I loved it.
Urban Tour downtown was another fun night out. The most people I've seen on Main St since uh....forever.
The Nick had an event at it's new site and burned it's mortgage.
We ended up on the rooftop of the Sheraton Hotel.
Speaking of The Nickelodeon, their recent fundraiser, "Larry's Family Reunion" was hilarious! It was also my first time in the historic jewel that is being transformed.
Love the space.
It is already a treat to be in.
Who knew Larry was a hula hoop champion?
Mr. Sketchy was another adventure that I enjoyed...knew nothing about this facebook invitation but said "what the heck" and showed up anyways. My friend Ashley Rivers was the host of the funky drawing party. Ashley Bennett was the model and we sketched her for different timed sessions and then voted on the best sketches.
I actually won the first round and my prize was a shot of Goldschlagger with Ashley. First time sketching in about 40 years I think.
The Crane Wife and Junk Palace puppet show was a wonderful night out of entertainment.
Hopefully those guys at the Marionette Theatre will be doing more adult shows like that.
Took a tool around the block in Ted's new Sentreon(sp?). Ted is Alejandro & Britt's neighbor. We were the envy of the uptown historic district for about 8 minutes.
Dick Moons has started a drum circle at the Riverfront amphitheater, every Friday at 7pm.
Lots of things going on.
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