After a full week of being down for the count (flu / head cold / chest cold / laryngitis), I ended up getting a burst of spring cleaning / home renewal this weekend. I'm a list maker, and the chore list got worked over pretty well, with a lot of added items as the spirit moved me.
Living room completely cleaned including carpet stains, carpet edges and corners, tore apart the leather couch with the vacuum and then treated the leather, and move, dusted and cleaned all the electronics (tv, stereo, cable box, DVD, etc.)
Kitchen cleaned, floor swept and mopped, and a new pendant lamp fixture and dimmer installed, replacing a never-used ceiling fan.
Bedroom and yoga room completely cleaned, including the dreaded flat surfaces atop dressers and bookshelves. Assembled a wire shelf for the bedroom, reorganized a linen cabinet.
A myriad of small projects - planted four pots of Pansies for the front stairs, bought a new doormat, moved a few pictures, organized CDs, bills, installed a digital thermostat in the bathroom.
Still a good sized list remains, which I will continue to pick off. But spring cleaning, yeah, I've got that covered.
April 14, 2013
April 01, 2013
I Can Do Anything Good!
For whatever reason, this has been the winter of my discontent. I've been sluggish, malaise-filled, depressed, down, dour, cranky, stuck - you name it, that's been me. There's a lot in there - financial stress, aging, feeling the loss of being childless in a community that is spilling over with infants and toddlers, feeling the lack of relationship amongst so many coupled friends, feeling the lack of a queer community.
And suddenly, April 1, for no good reason, I've felt my load lighten. Maybe the trickster spirit of April Fools has come along to give me a boost. Maybe the warmer weather, and promises of more to come, have freed up some space.
I've decided to make April a month of change and commitment - committing to tweeting 30 days of gratitude (and using that in my practice and meditation throughout the day), committing to 30 days of practice at the studio (starting with Barbara's power class this evening at 6:00 pm). I've opted out of directly and specifically changing my food / eating, because, frankly, I've done that, over and over. I think I'm too resistant, and too savvy to buy in to any sort of eating change - I've done weight watchers (multiple times), 21 day detox, fasting, mindfulness based eating awareness (an eight week series), a week retreat at Kripalu, six months of teacher training with a heavy whole food component. Nothing changes. So.....maybe it's time to distract myself, to look elsewhere for change, and hope the food / eating component comes along.
It's hard to say if things will stick, but it's been a good day. I've cleared up a few financial messes (having misplaced or lost a few key credit / debit cards, now replaced. I've got my April 1 billing out promptly. I've cleared out a whole laundry list of little website issues that have plagued my big web client: a drop down menu that was not touch / ipad friendly, a pile of little encoding issues, some CSS that was wonky across platforms, a couple of page features that clients wanted but I had not figured out until now.
So....looking ahead to a good month. I feel a lot like little Jessica!
And suddenly, April 1, for no good reason, I've felt my load lighten. Maybe the trickster spirit of April Fools has come along to give me a boost. Maybe the warmer weather, and promises of more to come, have freed up some space.
I've decided to make April a month of change and commitment - committing to tweeting 30 days of gratitude (and using that in my practice and meditation throughout the day), committing to 30 days of practice at the studio (starting with Barbara's power class this evening at 6:00 pm). I've opted out of directly and specifically changing my food / eating, because, frankly, I've done that, over and over. I think I'm too resistant, and too savvy to buy in to any sort of eating change - I've done weight watchers (multiple times), 21 day detox, fasting, mindfulness based eating awareness (an eight week series), a week retreat at Kripalu, six months of teacher training with a heavy whole food component. Nothing changes. So.....maybe it's time to distract myself, to look elsewhere for change, and hope the food / eating component comes along.
It's hard to say if things will stick, but it's been a good day. I've cleared up a few financial messes (having misplaced or lost a few key credit / debit cards, now replaced. I've got my April 1 billing out promptly. I've cleared out a whole laundry list of little website issues that have plagued my big web client: a drop down menu that was not touch / ipad friendly, a pile of little encoding issues, some CSS that was wonky across platforms, a couple of page features that clients wanted but I had not figured out until now.
So....looking ahead to a good month. I feel a lot like little Jessica!
March 23, 2013
Tell Me Your Name Again....
I have this issue with people. I'm pretty sure I have exceeded my mind's capacity to retain and remember all the people in my life.
Let's see - I teach yoga. There are perhaps 60-80 people I see each week, some weekly, some occasionally, some just once or a few times. I never really get to know their names; when a regular comes in early and I can sneak out to the desk I can match a name to a person, but I'm not all that good at keeping it all straight.
Then of course, there are all the yoga teacher trainees. 48 this year, 35 or so in 2010, 2011, 2012. That's a good 120 folks to remember - and I really do struggle with many.
I move through other worlds - music (my other members of my band, the Guinea Pigs, belong to the same UU church and many of our fans come from there), ballooning (probably 50-60 people), camp (250 or so, with a broader community of past campers), and my folk festival (perhaps a core of 40 key volunteers, with another 100 or so I ought to remember but usually do not). Add in musicians I meet, folks in the local arts, cultural and GLBT worlds, folks in the greater spiritual / yoga world. And of course, my extended family - a child of two roman catholics, I have close over 50 first cousins, and now they are breeding. It's way too much.
I have (as of this morning) 466 Facebook friends, and that's even a bit low, since I (a) almost never reach out to friend people myself and (b) accept friend invitations only from folks I have actually met in real life.
Last night, at our gig, a woman who clearly knows me came up, grabbed a hug. I had no idea. Turns out she is a friend of the other band members (goes to UU church), has a yogic name (shakti) and is on the merch crew at Falcon Ridge. I had no freaking idea.
This is a problem. Not sure how to deal with it, but it's annoying, inconsiderate, and kind of rude.
Let's see - I teach yoga. There are perhaps 60-80 people I see each week, some weekly, some occasionally, some just once or a few times. I never really get to know their names; when a regular comes in early and I can sneak out to the desk I can match a name to a person, but I'm not all that good at keeping it all straight.
Then of course, there are all the yoga teacher trainees. 48 this year, 35 or so in 2010, 2011, 2012. That's a good 120 folks to remember - and I really do struggle with many.
I move through other worlds - music (my other members of my band, the Guinea Pigs, belong to the same UU church and many of our fans come from there), ballooning (probably 50-60 people), camp (250 or so, with a broader community of past campers), and my folk festival (perhaps a core of 40 key volunteers, with another 100 or so I ought to remember but usually do not). Add in musicians I meet, folks in the local arts, cultural and GLBT worlds, folks in the greater spiritual / yoga world. And of course, my extended family - a child of two roman catholics, I have close over 50 first cousins, and now they are breeding. It's way too much.
I have (as of this morning) 466 Facebook friends, and that's even a bit low, since I (a) almost never reach out to friend people myself and (b) accept friend invitations only from folks I have actually met in real life.
Last night, at our gig, a woman who clearly knows me came up, grabbed a hug. I had no idea. Turns out she is a friend of the other band members (goes to UU church), has a yogic name (shakti) and is on the merch crew at Falcon Ridge. I had no freaking idea.
This is a problem. Not sure how to deal with it, but it's annoying, inconsiderate, and kind of rude.
Kumare: Fake Guru. Real Truth.
Casting about for something to watch on Netflix streaming, I stumbled across this 2011 gem. How I missed it when it came through theaters, I am not sure, but so happy I found it. Movie website here. Kumare (the guru, not the movie) website here. IMDB page here.
Finally, there is a "tribal council" type reveal - in a large room all the followers watch a farewell video from "Kumare" and then meet the newly shorn, shaved, and westernized Vikram. You watch one follower run to hug him, another sneak out the side door, never to return. Out of 14 followers, 10 have remained in contact and friendly.
It's such an amazing look at the world of yoga, of spiritual seekers, of gurus. And I loved the way the films focus shifted from the perspective of perhaps attempting to unpants the false gurus to respecting communities, belief, and the path. One comment I found on Facebook discusses "The Trickster" face of god, and yeah. Trickster energy, in spades.
Watch it if you can!
Was not sure what I would get. The premise - american born, Indian heritage film-maker Vikram Gandhi, who appears to have done a bit of searching (and yoga) in his life, decides to do a little social experiment. Creating a spiritual teacher or guru, Kumare, out of thin air - he begins to move through the world (and more specifically, through the Phoenix AZ area) as Kumare and see what happens. Along the way he encounters a fair number of yoga studios, seeker, followers.
Now, as a yoga teacher, I find myself surrounded by gurus and spiritual seekers who sit at their feet. It was *very* close to home on many fronts - the many yoga studios, the festivals and events, the various ashrams and communities. There's even a kirtan. Hey, that's me up there, playing guitar.And when a quite beautiful adherent in an unhappy marriage practically offers herself to him (he makes a reference to his bedroom) you can quite see how so many purportedly real gurus give in to the power. It's never quite stated, but one is left with the feeling that Vikram did not give in to this temptation.
And there is a lot of pretty sharp commentary and laughter here too - when one guru confesses that he sees nothing amiss with sleeping with beautiful young followers, yeah, we get that. When someone working with sound starts working over Kumare with a car buffer - it's a WTF moment. And yet, when Kumare visits a community of believers along the fringes (alien abduction and interplanetary channeling) he (Vikram) seems respectful.
Eventually, Kumare finds himself in the center of a circle of disciples or followers, and he begins (in earnest) the task of preparing his followers for his eventual "un-masking" - that is, to reveal himself and his deception.
It is a fascinating and amazing piece of legerdemain, and film-making. Abetted by two attractive assistants (and what guru does not have his/her close associates or confidants) and adopting an amazingly on target guru personna (simple clothing, long hair and beard, an ever-present staff, and a little woven suitcase that was adorable and ludicrous), "Kumare" teaches his truth - that he is not who he says he is, that there is an inner guru, that there is no guru, no buddha.
It's deep, metaphysical, and self-referential. It's funny, and sad, and heart-warming, and scary. I loved it. Loved it.
The most amazing thing was the transformation of Vikram himself - who begins to realize that he is a much happier, better person in his Kumare personna, and begins to truly care for and love his followers. He's not going to step out lightly - but agonizes over if and how to end his project. At one point he confesses that he actually sees and feels the "Blue Light" (a conceit he knows that he has invented). And when he orchestrates a "great unmasking" where he hopes to reveal his true identity, he's unable to do it.
Finally, there is a "tribal council" type reveal - in a large room all the followers watch a farewell video from "Kumare" and then meet the newly shorn, shaved, and westernized Vikram. You watch one follower run to hug him, another sneak out the side door, never to return. Out of 14 followers, 10 have remained in contact and friendly.
It's such an amazing look at the world of yoga, of spiritual seekers, of gurus. And I loved the way the films focus shifted from the perspective of perhaps attempting to unpants the false gurus to respecting communities, belief, and the path. One comment I found on Facebook discusses "The Trickster" face of god, and yeah. Trickster energy, in spades.
Watch it if you can!
March 21, 2013
Coupling and Relationships
A friend of mine posted recently on Facebook:
First off, I think that some folks are simply incomplete without a partner. That incompleteness may be emotional, may be psychological, may be financial. But some folks are simply unsuited to live alone - and that both raises the incentive to couple, partner, and perhaps lowers the standards. Not that the found partners are substandard, but that things that might be deal-breakers or barriers for some are overlooked or minimized.
And I think that, for folks who truly need a partner to survive, who are incomplete uncoupled, there's a subtle signaling (similar to pheromones or color attractants) that gets put out there in a way that others do not. I have another friend who has had multiple relationships in the years that I have known her - and she rides the roller coaster of attraction, pursuit, commitment, and dissolution. It makes me kind of nervous to watch or listen, not sure I have the stomach for that. Yet she puts out a very honest, heartfelt "I'm available, I'm approachable" vibe that gets her noticed and gets her attention (from both genders, even though she is straight)
On the other side, I think there are folks who are pretty much OK alone. I'm one of those folks. I fill my life - with work, with causes, with hobbies, with interests - in a way that does not leave a lot of room for another. And the life I have created is valuable to me - I'd have to think long and hard about picking up and moving (for a relationship) or clearing the decks of enough things to make room for a relationship. A potential partner is competing not so much with all the others out there, but with the busy, vibrant life I've crafted alone. My last counselor asked "...what are you prepared to give up to be in a relationship..." and I have to admit that more often than not, the answer is "nothing"
I have what I call the aircraft carrier model of relationship - wherein the partners travel together on the big boat, and each flies off to their own missions and tasks, returning to the ship to refuel, recharge, unwind. I do not think I could couple with someone who was not as busy and engaged as myself - I'd be less available than such a partner might want; I'd be bored by someone without a vibrant solo life. The downside of that is that neither of us is putting all that much effort into finding the other; and neither of us has a lot of time to hang out in spaces dedicated to meeting and mating.
So...I need to just chill out on the whole relationship thing. It will happen. Or it will not. But in the meantime, much life remains to be lived.
So, this is largely a rhetorical question without answer but I feel compelled to ask it anyway. Why are there so many people, myself included, with good hearts and souls who have so much trouble finding someone with whom to walk on this journey of life? I find it to be very frustrating.Instead of responding there, I decided to spend some time mulling this over on the blog - part of my conscious attempt to keep social media from sucking the life force out of the blog!
First off, I think that some folks are simply incomplete without a partner. That incompleteness may be emotional, may be psychological, may be financial. But some folks are simply unsuited to live alone - and that both raises the incentive to couple, partner, and perhaps lowers the standards. Not that the found partners are substandard, but that things that might be deal-breakers or barriers for some are overlooked or minimized.
And I think that, for folks who truly need a partner to survive, who are incomplete uncoupled, there's a subtle signaling (similar to pheromones or color attractants) that gets put out there in a way that others do not. I have another friend who has had multiple relationships in the years that I have known her - and she rides the roller coaster of attraction, pursuit, commitment, and dissolution. It makes me kind of nervous to watch or listen, not sure I have the stomach for that. Yet she puts out a very honest, heartfelt "I'm available, I'm approachable" vibe that gets her noticed and gets her attention (from both genders, even though she is straight)
On the other side, I think there are folks who are pretty much OK alone. I'm one of those folks. I fill my life - with work, with causes, with hobbies, with interests - in a way that does not leave a lot of room for another. And the life I have created is valuable to me - I'd have to think long and hard about picking up and moving (for a relationship) or clearing the decks of enough things to make room for a relationship. A potential partner is competing not so much with all the others out there, but with the busy, vibrant life I've crafted alone. My last counselor asked "...what are you prepared to give up to be in a relationship..." and I have to admit that more often than not, the answer is "nothing"
I have what I call the aircraft carrier model of relationship - wherein the partners travel together on the big boat, and each flies off to their own missions and tasks, returning to the ship to refuel, recharge, unwind. I do not think I could couple with someone who was not as busy and engaged as myself - I'd be less available than such a partner might want; I'd be bored by someone without a vibrant solo life. The downside of that is that neither of us is putting all that much effort into finding the other; and neither of us has a lot of time to hang out in spaces dedicated to meeting and mating.
So...I need to just chill out on the whole relationship thing. It will happen. Or it will not. But in the meantime, much life remains to be lived.
Help Kate Bornstein Stay Alive
Kate Bornstein has cancer. The good news, direct from the team of skilled doctors on her case, is that the cancer is curable. However, the treatment plan that gives Kate the best chance of beating cancer is incredibly expensive. Kate has spent the past thirty years helping the rest of us Stay Alive—now it’s our turn to give back. Let’s HELP KATE BORNSTEIN BEAT CANCER AND STAY ALIVE!
Kate has been a pretty formidable influence in my life, journey, and understanding of "the trans" - I, inexplicably and against all odds, went to see her reading from the newly released "Gender Outlaw" on Sept 29, 1994*. (who has a first edition hard cover version that Kate lovingly inscribed in crayon? This girl) It was the first time I met a trans person, in fact I was seated in a room filled with transfolk. It was terrifying and inspiring - I'd have to say that was the day I turned around and hugged the dragon that had been haunting and hunting me throughout my life.
I've gone to see Kate speak, read, perform perhaps a dozen times in the intervening years - and though I've occasionally disagreed with her on issues of tone as well as the details of traversing the world while trans - she's remained an inspiring and beloved figure in my life.
I could not give much, but I gave some. If Kate has touched your life, and you have a few bucks to spare, consider passing a few along.
* Where? Real Art Ways, in Hartford, of course. Is it any wonder this space remains one of my favorite places in the area?
March 14, 2013
In the Neighborhood: Starbucks and Chipotle
Kind of excited to have a better quality mexican food alternative so close (Taco Bell, right across Rowley Street, is probably less excited).
Being something of a lone wolf without a lot of local dining out companions, I tend not to frequent the myriad of sit-down restaurants that line the Berlin Turnpike. Despite driving by several times a week, I have never actually stepped in the doors of: TGI Friday, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, Ruby Tuesday, Plaza Azteca, Joey Garlics. I've eaten at Bertucci's, Puerto Vallerta, and the Olympia Diner in years past, but not in this recent memory.
But Chipotle is definitely some place I'll visit now and then. So yay!
New Pope
So, we have a new pope. Or rather, THEY have a new pope.
A little background. I'm a former Roman Catholic. And my family was not simply cafeteria catholics, we were in, deep. I spent 12 years in catholic school, I served alter, I taught CCD, I played folk mass for years. My father was a deacon whose bridge partner was the monsignor, I was a lay eucharistic minister. I met my ex on the altar (she was playing music, and noticed me singing in the congragation), I was married by a bishop. I spent my honeymoon in Medjugorje, stalking the Blessed Virgin Mary. So yeah - hard core.
More to the point, I was the sort of little kid that the catholic church targeted for priesthood - bullied, learned, fey, gender non-conforming. Over and over throughout my life, I was approached - by priests, nuns, adults - with the question "have you considered a vocation?". Which is what the catholic church did with little proto-queer kids back in the day. It explains a lot of the sex abuse scandals, IMHO, with a bunch of repressed gay men in positions of power and access to young men. On the other hand, I suspect had I been born in the gender I now inhabit, I probably would have made a fine nun...I had mad crushes on most of the nuns in my life.
So.....fast forward to today. I'm adamantly non-catholic; I've been officially uninvited from partaking in the sacraments (thanks to an annulment that my ex sought, which resulted in the church peering rather closely at my gender transition). My issues extend past my own stuff - I would support married priests, women priests, LGBT priests, LGBT marriage, birth control. Pretty much the full litany of women's issues (although I'm not a fan of abortion, if I ruled the world it would remain legal but we'd track and reduce the number through birth control, education, and support for unplanned / unwanted pregnancies. And truthfully, my own spiritual quest has taken me way beyond christianity - not sure I can or will ever believe in the "one god, one savior, one path" aspects of most christian sects.
However - I am quite delighted to see this pope elected. A humble, man of the people (reportedly, he got on the bus with the other cardinals last night, rather than take the papal limo / motorcade) - he's most recently lived in a humble flat, taken mass transit, cooked his own meals. And today's news, he swung by the residence / inn where he had been staying to settle the bill and pick up his luggage. There is something of the buddhist in this new pope....and humble spiritual seekers of all flavors are welcome in my world.
And to my facebook and twitter fans / friends wailing and gnashing teeth about women's issues, GLBT issues, etc. - well, what do you expect, he's a faithful Roman Catholic and that's the church's policy - they would never elect a pope who believed otherwise. If you identify as Roman Catholic and those issues are important to you, get out. I believe the church will change only if / when it loses all the cafeteria catholics whose hypocrisy allows them to pay lip service on sunday and then go vote and live the way they want. If you are not Roman Catholic, it's not your problem. Get over it.....
A little background. I'm a former Roman Catholic. And my family was not simply cafeteria catholics, we were in, deep. I spent 12 years in catholic school, I served alter, I taught CCD, I played folk mass for years. My father was a deacon whose bridge partner was the monsignor, I was a lay eucharistic minister. I met my ex on the altar (she was playing music, and noticed me singing in the congragation), I was married by a bishop. I spent my honeymoon in Medjugorje, stalking the Blessed Virgin Mary. So yeah - hard core.
More to the point, I was the sort of little kid that the catholic church targeted for priesthood - bullied, learned, fey, gender non-conforming. Over and over throughout my life, I was approached - by priests, nuns, adults - with the question "have you considered a vocation?". Which is what the catholic church did with little proto-queer kids back in the day. It explains a lot of the sex abuse scandals, IMHO, with a bunch of repressed gay men in positions of power and access to young men. On the other hand, I suspect had I been born in the gender I now inhabit, I probably would have made a fine nun...I had mad crushes on most of the nuns in my life.
So.....fast forward to today. I'm adamantly non-catholic; I've been officially uninvited from partaking in the sacraments (thanks to an annulment that my ex sought, which resulted in the church peering rather closely at my gender transition). My issues extend past my own stuff - I would support married priests, women priests, LGBT priests, LGBT marriage, birth control. Pretty much the full litany of women's issues (although I'm not a fan of abortion, if I ruled the world it would remain legal but we'd track and reduce the number through birth control, education, and support for unplanned / unwanted pregnancies. And truthfully, my own spiritual quest has taken me way beyond christianity - not sure I can or will ever believe in the "one god, one savior, one path" aspects of most christian sects.
However - I am quite delighted to see this pope elected. A humble, man of the people (reportedly, he got on the bus with the other cardinals last night, rather than take the papal limo / motorcade) - he's most recently lived in a humble flat, taken mass transit, cooked his own meals. And today's news, he swung by the residence / inn where he had been staying to settle the bill and pick up his luggage. There is something of the buddhist in this new pope....and humble spiritual seekers of all flavors are welcome in my world.
And to my facebook and twitter fans / friends wailing and gnashing teeth about women's issues, GLBT issues, etc. - well, what do you expect, he's a faithful Roman Catholic and that's the church's policy - they would never elect a pope who believed otherwise. If you identify as Roman Catholic and those issues are important to you, get out. I believe the church will change only if / when it loses all the cafeteria catholics whose hypocrisy allows them to pay lip service on sunday and then go vote and live the way they want. If you are not Roman Catholic, it's not your problem. Get over it.....
March 12, 2013
Knife Fight
OK, I'm a big West Wing geek, recently Netflixed the entire series, and kind of missed Rob Lowe - his character Sam Seaborn disappeared without a very satisfying plot explanation (yeah he ran for the house on the West Coast, yeah, he lost....did he lose his return ticket?)
So here he is, looking not a lot older, a bit funkier and frayed (Lowe's character Paul Turner has more of a Josh Lyman vibe here than a Sam Seaborn vibe, witness the knapsack over the shoulder, as well as a pair of worn sneakers rather than italian leather loafers) - as a shoot from the hip political strategist with a small staff. Icing on the cake - Richard Shiff as a darker political operative. I was happy to give it a whirl, just based on these two.
The trailer for the film was a bit scattered and confusing. What's not clear there is that Paul Turner is working with three politicos - a Kentucky governor (was that really Erik McCormack?) - with an intern problem, a California senator (less sleazy, but with a massage therapist problem), and a CA doctor (Carrie Anne Moss) running an outsider campaign for governor. Somehow one gets the idea via the trailer that at least two of these are running against each other and it's not clear which side Lowe's character is on.
There's a lot going on here - perhaps too much for one film. The sleazy but on the right side of the issues KY governor's "stand by your man" wife is an old friend of Paul Turner, the CA senator is "the real thing" - a war hero and family man who is flawed but solid. The doctor / wanna-be CA governor spends 1/2 the film on the outside, pleading for a shot until Turner has a "come to Jesus" moment around a political strategy that went too far, and suddenly she's right up front. And Chung's character is in a lesbian relationship - there's a scene or two of her with her GF, it's clear she's in the closet professionally, and that little plot is left hanging out there unresolved. Why fold that in to an already thick and interwoven plot?
At the end, things wrap up, the spin doctor is back in business, albeit a little humbled and perhaps less sketchy in terms of tactics, and Chung's character decides she's gonna stay in the business. The resolution seemed a little unsatisfying. The lessons learned were slight, the repercussions as well, and whatever lines got crossed in this film will probably be crossed at some future election cycle.
Worth seeing? Definitely, with enough West Wing vibe to satisfy - but I'm kind of sad to say it looks like a short run - stopped by Real Art Ways for a short week and there were only a handful in the house on a Tuesday night.
High School Dream
One of my recurring dreams has been of high school. Invariably, I am walking the halls, struggling with my locker (unable to find it, forgetting the combination), struggling to remember the schedule (one of those "different class times every weekday kind of things"). A recurring element is that I have been skipping religion class (Catholic school) all year.
Last night's version was different. I seemed to be heading into Junior year, and I had transitioned over the summer. Found my locker, I had a green lock on it (a bleed over from my waking life) and I was putting a sticker on the front with my present name. I considered putting the trans symbol on the sticker, but thought better of it. The locker was unusual, larger size and configuration, and I had a pile of yoga blocks stashed in the bottom. The previous owner had been well organized and left me a small organized case with pens, binder clips, paper clips, etc.
Other parts of the dream included walking the halls, a little bit of flying (or rather, the ability to move by taking long, floating leaps that took me to the ceiling of the gym and auditorium). I recall meeting a few individuals, not sure if from high school or not, we were older and they had some struggles. And I remember it was the start of the year and I vowed to never miss a religion class.
Not sure what it all means, but it felt positive, as if I were making some changes, getting a chance to do things over again, correcting some past mistakes.
Last night's version was different. I seemed to be heading into Junior year, and I had transitioned over the summer. Found my locker, I had a green lock on it (a bleed over from my waking life) and I was putting a sticker on the front with my present name. I considered putting the trans symbol on the sticker, but thought better of it. The locker was unusual, larger size and configuration, and I had a pile of yoga blocks stashed in the bottom. The previous owner had been well organized and left me a small organized case with pens, binder clips, paper clips, etc.
Other parts of the dream included walking the halls, a little bit of flying (or rather, the ability to move by taking long, floating leaps that took me to the ceiling of the gym and auditorium). I recall meeting a few individuals, not sure if from high school or not, we were older and they had some struggles. And I remember it was the start of the year and I vowed to never miss a religion class.
Not sure what it all means, but it felt positive, as if I were making some changes, getting a chance to do things over again, correcting some past mistakes.
March 10, 2013
Kate Callahan at West Hartford Yoga
I had one such moment back in 2005. I was a bit adrift - having completed my Big Life Project, and looking for the next thing. My then partner, Zippy, and I were bike-riding through the industrial back roads of Hartford, West Hartford, and Newington, and I stumbled across a small building on Jansen Court - West Hartford Yoga. I was never particularly drawn to yoga; although several friends had suggested it over the years. And I had seen ads for West Hartford Yoga in the Hartford Advocate and other publications; but I had assumed it was somewhere over by the center, and way too toney for me. But here's this little building, a shack really, that was closed but seemed very approachable.
I picked up two pieces of paper that afternoon. First, a brochure for The Enlightenment Intensive (led by Shankara Newton) - I was drawn to a quote from the gnostic Gospel of Thomas (I had been reading Elaine Pagels) and eventually I made my way to an Intensive (well, to be honest, six) led by Shankara and others. The other piece of paper I picked up that day was the West Hartford Yoga brochure and schedule. And I noticed an Intro to Yoga series led by Kate Callahan.
Now, I had run into Kate in the acoustic music world - I think Colin McEnroe had her on his afternoon show on WTIC 1080; and I had gone to see her at the Pine Loft Cafe in Berlin. Her beautiful spirit and gentleness was enough to get me to my first yoga class.
Kate did not end up completing the series; she had to step back and my friend Carissa picked it up. But I did not need more than one practice to get it - I was hooked. So in a lot of ways - my yoga practice, my community, my spiritual growth, the many teachers, friends, and students I have encountered, and the many lives I have touched, are rooted in the seed planted by Kate.
So yeah, I was there last night when Kate and Friends played a special concert at West Hartford Yoga, now relocated to new digs on Brook Street.
Kate was joined by others. First, singers Cynthia Wolcott and Michelle Begley (also on drums), who were truly amazing. Cynthia and Michelle provided delicate and supportive harmonies for many of Kate's songs - not so much backing up as supporting and lifting Kate with each harmony. Kate's originals, so often reflective of her spiritual journey with themes of spirit, soul, choices, blessing, and struggle, were perfectly suited the beautiful yoga studio. But as wonderful as her originals were fleshed out with harmony, the trio really shined when then sang in more traditional choral harmony - CSN's "Helplessy Hoping" and the Wailin' Jennys "One Voice" were particularly powerful and beautiful. Here's a video of the latter:
In addition to Cynthia and Michelle, Kate was joined by WHY fixture (and Little Ugly starlet) Kaia Pazdersky on violin, and percussionist Damon Honeycut, who was Kate's musical partner many years back. So it was a homecoming on multiple fronts.
It was such a beautiful evening of music. The room was filled with family, friends, and fans, many of whom have known Kate or shared her journey over many years. The music was exceptional (Kate has recently invested in a great sound system, run well by her beloved David) which saved me from being the audio engineer. I sat between my Kirtan friends Sharon and Virginia - and just soaked in the music.
March 07, 2013
Telling Stories in Connecticut
Seems like spoken word performance / story telling is all the rage in these parts.
I attended the inaugural "The Mouth" at the Mark Twain House this past month; anything carrying Chion Wolf's imprimateur has got to be good. (and it was....) You can keep up with "The Mouth" on Facebook.
A quick web search also uncovered The Connecticut Storytelling Center, which hosts an annual Connecticut Story Telling Festival at Connecticut College, April 26-27.
In addition, there's a weekly Urban Storytellers series at MCC on Main, Manchester. This is a great space (and not just because my beloved Guinea Pigs have a gig coming up, March 22.
And a last minute addition, the ongoing Other People's Stories series, held irregularly at La Paloma Sabanera in Hartford.
Finally, the twitter reveals a new series, Speak Up, to be held at Real Art Ways. The inaugural date for this event is Saturday. May 4, at 7:00 pm.
I'm a big fan of The Moth and Snap Judgement - so hopefully these things will do well. The quality of stories told at The Mouth was just steller, IMHO, so hopefully that is a harbinger of some good talent in the area.
I attended the inaugural "The Mouth" at the Mark Twain House this past month; anything carrying Chion Wolf's imprimateur has got to be good. (and it was....) You can keep up with "The Mouth" on Facebook.
A quick web search also uncovered The Connecticut Storytelling Center, which hosts an annual Connecticut Story Telling Festival at Connecticut College, April 26-27.
In addition, there's a weekly Urban Storytellers series at MCC on Main, Manchester. This is a great space (and not just because my beloved Guinea Pigs have a gig coming up, March 22.
And a last minute addition, the ongoing Other People's Stories series, held irregularly at La Paloma Sabanera in Hartford.
Finally, the twitter reveals a new series, Speak Up, to be held at Real Art Ways. The inaugural date for this event is Saturday. May 4, at 7:00 pm.
I'm a big fan of The Moth and Snap Judgement - so hopefully these things will do well. The quality of stories told at The Mouth was just steller, IMHO, so hopefully that is a harbinger of some good talent in the area.
March 06, 2013
American Veda, April 12-14 at Wisdom House
Long before the Beatles met the Maharishi and the practice of yoga became a lifestyle choice, the spirituality of India influenced Western culture and thought. It already had made its way into the libraries of John Adams and Ralph Waldo Emerson and forever changed how artists, intellectuals and scientists viewed our world, our minds and our bodies.
This dynamic program, “American Veda” presented by author, spiritual counselor, and meditation teacher Philip Goldberg of Los Angeles, CA will explore this spiritual legacy with the help of videos of leading historical figures. Participants will experience spiritual practices they can take home with them to enrich their spiritual lives. This workshop will take place from April 12-14 and is for anyone intrigued by or interested in Vedic wisdom.
For fees and further information please call: (860)567-3163, email programs@wisdomhouse.org or visit: www.wisdomhouse.org/program/calendar.html
Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center is an interfaith center which presents programs in spirituality, education and the arts and offers hospitality to the not-for-profit community. The center is rooted in Judaeo-Christian Wisdom tradition which supports the center’s commitment to sustainability and concern for contemporary issues. The Center is a ministry of the Daughters of Wisdom.
This dynamic program, “American Veda” presented by author, spiritual counselor, and meditation teacher Philip Goldberg of Los Angeles, CA will explore this spiritual legacy with the help of videos of leading historical figures. Participants will experience spiritual practices they can take home with them to enrich their spiritual lives. This workshop will take place from April 12-14 and is for anyone intrigued by or interested in Vedic wisdom.
For fees and further information please call: (860)567-3163, email programs@wisdomhouse.org or visit: www.wisdomhouse.org/program/calendar.html
Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center is an interfaith center which presents programs in spirituality, education and the arts and offers hospitality to the not-for-profit community. The center is rooted in Judaeo-Christian Wisdom tradition which supports the center’s commitment to sustainability and concern for contemporary issues. The Center is a ministry of the Daughters of Wisdom.
Justice O'Conner on Fresh Air: Meh
I listened to Terri Gross interviewing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor yesterday on Fresh Air. Justice O'Connor is making the rounds to support her book "Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court"
While Justice O'Connor's place in history as the first woman supreme court justice is secure, I found the interview to be mostly unsatisfying. Not sure if it's age or personality or what - but Terri was pulling teeth trying to get anything out of Justice O' Connor. There were some interesting bits about restrooms (it always seems to come down to the bathroom for all sorts of social movements), but there were so many opportunities to expound and expand upon historical cases, current issues, the dynamics of a court that has been quite polarized that Justice O'Connor just refused to entertain, could not or would not recount.
Why? She seemed as if she were still in "don't let anything slip out" mode required during the vetting and approval process for the court. Maybe she's got a "circle the wagons" attitude regarding the court. Or perhaps there is a political bias here, with the reliably liberal Ms. Gross (although she is an amazing, unbiased interviewer) pushing Justice O'Connor into a taciturn corner.
I was particularly cranky when Terri, broaching the period on the court when Justice O'Connor was arguably the swing vote, was reproached - Justice O'Connor's take on the phrase "swing vote" was that she "swung back and forth" and she most adamantly did not do that. Terri tried (mostly in vain) to explain the concept and draw her out before moving on. Are the justices (or specifically, this justice) so out of touch that such a fundamental concept of the intersection of politics and law on the Supreme Court is lost to her?
Compare and contrast to Terri's 2010 interview with Justice Stephen Breyer - which I still recall, several years later, as engaging, informative, and forthright in terms of opinion and historical perspective.
While Justice O'Connor's place in history as the first woman supreme court justice is secure, I found the interview to be mostly unsatisfying. Not sure if it's age or personality or what - but Terri was pulling teeth trying to get anything out of Justice O' Connor. There were some interesting bits about restrooms (it always seems to come down to the bathroom for all sorts of social movements), but there were so many opportunities to expound and expand upon historical cases, current issues, the dynamics of a court that has been quite polarized that Justice O'Connor just refused to entertain, could not or would not recount.
Why? She seemed as if she were still in "don't let anything slip out" mode required during the vetting and approval process for the court. Maybe she's got a "circle the wagons" attitude regarding the court. Or perhaps there is a political bias here, with the reliably liberal Ms. Gross (although she is an amazing, unbiased interviewer) pushing Justice O'Connor into a taciturn corner.
I was particularly cranky when Terri, broaching the period on the court when Justice O'Connor was arguably the swing vote, was reproached - Justice O'Connor's take on the phrase "swing vote" was that she "swung back and forth" and she most adamantly did not do that. Terri tried (mostly in vain) to explain the concept and draw her out before moving on. Are the justices (or specifically, this justice) so out of touch that such a fundamental concept of the intersection of politics and law on the Supreme Court is lost to her?
Compare and contrast to Terri's 2010 interview with Justice Stephen Breyer - which I still recall, several years later, as engaging, informative, and forthright in terms of opinion and historical perspective.
March 01, 2013
Life Hack: Electric Heat and Digital Thermostats
When I purchased my condo in the lovely city of New Britain, one of my big concerns was the heating system - specifically, electric baseboard heat. I've been living with gas heat for years - hot water baseboard in Waterbury, forced air in Hartford. I was concerned about comfort, of course, but mostly I've heard much about the high cost of electric heat.
Balancing the cost issues, electric heat brings one big benefit - it's
inherently zoned. Which means, instead of one thermostat for the whole
condo, or at best two (upstairs / downstairs) I have seven thermostats
in the place: living room, kitchen, master bedroom, spare bedroom (my
yoga room), two bathrooms, and the basement. So there's a lot of
possibility for fine tuning the heat - to heat just the spaces I
commonly use, and perhaps save some money.
When I moved in, all of the thermostats in the place were old-school electro-mechanical devices. There was no visible thermostat or feedback, the rotary dial was exceptionally coarse (with a resolution of 10ºF) , the calibration was highly suspect, and the heat control was simply ON / OFF. If the temperature dropped below a set point, the device turned on 100%, the space heated, and the device eventually turned off.
So my first thought was: Digital Thermostat. I found these Honeywell Thermostats at Lowes for about $25 a shot (cheap!) and replaced five of the seven thermostats (I left the bathroom thermostats in place, they are permanently switched off).
An aphorism I picked up in the corporate quality world was "If you measure something, it gets better" and the digital thermostats have a thermometer on them. So instead of simply "feeling cold" I can look and see the actual temperature. It's amazing how much things like my own health / energy / activity, as well as the ambient humidity and outdoor light level, affects my perception of temperature. So with a digital thermostat, I can now see that the room temp is 65 F (my usual occupied setting) and put on a sweater or sweatshirt. I think a lot of "heat creep" in electric systems comes from this lack of feedback.
In addition, the digital thermostats have a much finer resolution (1ºF) which means even if I decide to "crank the heat" I can restrict that to a few degrees. Finally, the digital thermostats use proportionate triac controls - which means that the heat is not simply ON / OFF, but appears to have four setting: ON / LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH. So as the temperature drops, the heat turns on LOW - and if that's enough to warm the space, it never gets past that. So the heat is a lot more even and therefore comfortable.
The electrical installation was pretty simple - easier than changing a light switch IMHO. The only complexity is that the older thermostats are DPST (Double Pole, Single Throw) - which is to say they break both lines (in my case, the heat is 240 VAC, two hot lines). The digital device is SPST - so one of the lines needs to be connected directly.
Now, simply adding digital thermostats still leaves a lot of room for energy waste - if I forget to turn the thermostats down. In addition, when I turn the thermostats down at night, I wake to a cold home. So I added programmable thermostats to key areas: the living room, the master bedroom, and the basement (where I have my office). This device is a bit more expensive: $50 at Loews. It has the same general functions as the digital thermostat, but adds a programmable function. This particular device permits four different timed settings (typically WAKE / LEAVE / RETURN / SLEEP) and can be programmed differently for weekdays (Mon-Fri) and weekends (Sat-Sun).
So I drop the house down to 58ºF at night (I tend to like a cool house to sleep; flannel sheets, blankets, and a bed dog keep me warm) and just prior to my normal wake-up, I heat the house up to 65ºF. During the day, I drop things down to 62ºF (I'm either in the basement working, teaching yoga, or out and about). I pop it back to 65ºF in the late afternoon, and back down at bed time. If I want it a little warmer, or happen to be hanging in the living spaces during the day, I bump the thermostat up confident that it will reset at the next timed change.
In hindsite, I'm retrofitting all the digital thermostats with programmable ones - I often leave the kitchen up at 65ºF by accident, and on more than one occasion, I've heated up the yoga room to 80ºF (for a warmer practice) and left it on for a day or more. So now the yoga room is permanently set to 55ºF and if I accidentally leave the temperature up, it will reset within a few hours. I'm transferring the old digital thermostats to the bathrooms.
Does it work? I think so. My electric bills (which include dryer, hot water, and range, as well as lights and heat) range from $80 (summer) to $250 (winter) - which is not too bad, especially considering there is no gas or oil bill coming. The total retrofit costs ($250 to go 100% programmable digital) - minimal really and I'm guessing the energy savings have covered that in a single heating season. And with electric heat, I do not need to maintain (and consider replacing) a much more finicky gas or oil furnace, fan, pumps, etc.
The downside - need to program the thermostats (not really that difficult, as compared to the timer on my front door light) and maintain the clocks (daylight savings time). But so far no real issues with power outages causing resets - I guess these things have some internal capacitor or battery backup, or store the program in non-volatile memory.
When I moved in, all of the thermostats in the place were old-school electro-mechanical devices. There was no visible thermostat or feedback, the rotary dial was exceptionally coarse (with a resolution of 10ºF) , the calibration was highly suspect, and the heat control was simply ON / OFF. If the temperature dropped below a set point, the device turned on 100%, the space heated, and the device eventually turned off.
So my first thought was: Digital Thermostat. I found these Honeywell Thermostats at Lowes for about $25 a shot (cheap!) and replaced five of the seven thermostats (I left the bathroom thermostats in place, they are permanently switched off).
In addition, the digital thermostats have a much finer resolution (1ºF) which means even if I decide to "crank the heat" I can restrict that to a few degrees. Finally, the digital thermostats use proportionate triac controls - which means that the heat is not simply ON / OFF, but appears to have four setting: ON / LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH. So as the temperature drops, the heat turns on LOW - and if that's enough to warm the space, it never gets past that. So the heat is a lot more even and therefore comfortable.
The electrical installation was pretty simple - easier than changing a light switch IMHO. The only complexity is that the older thermostats are DPST (Double Pole, Single Throw) - which is to say they break both lines (in my case, the heat is 240 VAC, two hot lines). The digital device is SPST - so one of the lines needs to be connected directly.
So I drop the house down to 58ºF at night (I tend to like a cool house to sleep; flannel sheets, blankets, and a bed dog keep me warm) and just prior to my normal wake-up, I heat the house up to 65ºF. During the day, I drop things down to 62ºF (I'm either in the basement working, teaching yoga, or out and about). I pop it back to 65ºF in the late afternoon, and back down at bed time. If I want it a little warmer, or happen to be hanging in the living spaces during the day, I bump the thermostat up confident that it will reset at the next timed change.
In hindsite, I'm retrofitting all the digital thermostats with programmable ones - I often leave the kitchen up at 65ºF by accident, and on more than one occasion, I've heated up the yoga room to 80ºF (for a warmer practice) and left it on for a day or more. So now the yoga room is permanently set to 55ºF and if I accidentally leave the temperature up, it will reset within a few hours. I'm transferring the old digital thermostats to the bathrooms.
Does it work? I think so. My electric bills (which include dryer, hot water, and range, as well as lights and heat) range from $80 (summer) to $250 (winter) - which is not too bad, especially considering there is no gas or oil bill coming. The total retrofit costs ($250 to go 100% programmable digital) - minimal really and I'm guessing the energy savings have covered that in a single heating season. And with electric heat, I do not need to maintain (and consider replacing) a much more finicky gas or oil furnace, fan, pumps, etc.
The downside - need to program the thermostats (not really that difficult, as compared to the timer on my front door light) and maintain the clocks (daylight savings time). But so far no real issues with power outages causing resets - I guess these things have some internal capacitor or battery backup, or store the program in non-volatile memory.
February 25, 2013
Camp Camp: Best Time Ever
I've headed north near the end of the summer the past two years for a week in the Maine woods at Camp Camp: A summer camp for GLBT adults.
I never had the opportunity (or sentence) of spending a week at summer camp - the closest I got was day camp through the local YMCA or churches. I was a kind of quiet, bookish, and therefore bullied, stick close to the walls kind of kid. Camp as a kid was akin to torture; and my parents were wise enough to recognize that it was not a good fit. And yet, everything that happens at camp - sports, crafts, campfires, music, swimming, nature - are some of my favorite things.
Camp Camp's motto is "Best Time Ever!" - but a secondary one might be "It's never too late to have a happy childhood!" If you are interested, follow the links. There are often opportunities to work off part of your fees - I teach yoga at camp, if you have a skill or craft that might be valuable at camp (or are simply willing to wash dishes!) it is surpisingly affordable. And, if you are (or have, or know of) a younger person (8 - 15) dealing with the trans, try Camp Aranutiq
I never had the opportunity (or sentence) of spending a week at summer camp - the closest I got was day camp through the local YMCA or churches. I was a kind of quiet, bookish, and therefore bullied, stick close to the walls kind of kid. Camp as a kid was akin to torture; and my parents were wise enough to recognize that it was not a good fit. And yet, everything that happens at camp - sports, crafts, campfires, music, swimming, nature - are some of my favorite things.
Camp Camp's motto is "Best Time Ever!" - but a secondary one might be "It's never too late to have a happy childhood!" If you are interested, follow the links. There are often opportunities to work off part of your fees - I teach yoga at camp, if you have a skill or craft that might be valuable at camp (or are simply willing to wash dishes!) it is surpisingly affordable. And, if you are (or have, or know of) a younger person (8 - 15) dealing with the trans, try Camp Aranutiq
Yoga Studios: Open to Everyone
A friend passed along this link via Facebook, from the Moonlitmoth blog: yoga and social justice.
Yoga Studios: Open to Everyone
It's a good read, thought provoking. I thought I'd do a little self examination of some of her recommendations / suggestions with regard to my own home studio.
Offer by-donation classes: I'll give us partial credit here. While we've never had a strictly "by donation" class, we do host a monthly "Free Intro to Yoga" class, we've had a weekly "Community Yoga" class ($6 suggested donation, all proceeds to charity), and we host a dozen $6 classes during the week.
We also offer work-study positions - cover a 4-5 hour shift per week and you get unlimited yoga. It's an awesome deal for a student, un or underemployed, etc. - I did work-study myself for a while before I started teaching. So, lots of low cost / no cost options.
Make your studio an LGBTQ safe space: Again, partial credit. We're not flying the rainbow flag, and not a lot of queer signifiers on the doors / windows. To be fair, there are *no* signifiers (yogic, political, etc.) on the doors / windows - more of an aesthetic choice, I think. On the other hand, the lot is filled with queerish bumper stickers, there are a number of out teachers / staff / work-study and visible relationships. I suspect we're also the only studio in the state with a trans teacher on staff ::she said, whistling and looking around innocently::
The studio makes generous donations (financial and items for silent auctions / raffles) to many of the local GLBT causes (CT Aids Oscar Night, G/L Film Fest are two I am aware of) which raises the LGBTQ footprint.
We fall down on the bathrooms - our changing areas are non-gendered, curtained off spaces - but we've only got two gendered bathrooms. I lobbied, hard, to take part of the three-stall women's room and make it a non-gendered, accessible bath / shower (would have also taken some of the load off the single men's room stall, which gets a bit of a line at times). Did not happen.
Multi-language posters/teachers: No points for this one. We're English only. Not sure how much of an audience there is for other languages, but we're certainly not chasing ESL populations. Interestingly, we do get a number of hearing impaired students, and we're talking about offering a sign language interpreted class.
Celebrate fat bodies and body diversity: Partial credit here. There's a lot of talk about healthy eating and nutrition - and I can see that getting a bit oppressive to some. On the other hand, several teachers fall outside of the "Size 2 yoga bod" - we've got diversity in size and in age on the staff. And the style of yoga at the studio is very diverse - ranging from restorative, gentle, yin, all levels, hot, power, pre-natal, post-natal, kids, tweens. There are a lot of options.
We did try to offer a "Yoga for Larger Bodies" class - and just not enough interest to make it fly - but hopefully that population can find a home in other classes. I know my classes are always modification and prop friendly!
Offer meditation classes: Double credit here. We've held a weekly meditation class since the studio has opened. And it's free. We also offer workshops in mindfulness, pranayama, savasana, yogic wisdom.
Make your studio accessible to people with non-normative physical abilities: This is a hard one. The main studio entrance has stairs - we've got an accessible ramp into the back of the studio (unfortunately, passing through our main studio) and we've got a portable ramp we can put out front. But we're really not set up for special needs yoga (chair yoga, etc.) in terms of teachers, facilities, etc. Our restrooms and showers are ADA compliant however, and once inside the studio, it's all on one floor.
Offer trauma sensitive classes: Again, a tough one. I'd like to think that I and my fellow teachers are sensitive to trauma, that our intuitive skills are honed enough to recognize an issue and to work compassionately. But we could do better. It really comes down to the teacher - some teachers have a bit more loud, assertive teaching style, others are a lot more low key. But we don't offer special classes designed specifically for trauma survivors - no.
Don’t set up in a gentrified neighbourhood: Well, we're in toney West Hartford, and since that's embedded in the name / branding of the studio, it's hard to move out of town. On the other hand, we've always been in the least trendy, most industrial corner of the town. I'll give us partial credit here. In addition, the studio has been working with a local organization (with financial assistance and teachers) to bring yoga to underserved communities
Offer YTT scholarships: A significant number of teacher trainees receive assistance, either through work-study slots, outright assistance, or agreement to work with under-served communities once they graduate.
One big problem that we face is success. We're the biggest studio in the area, and we've got two studios that are larger than most. But with the larger studio comes higher overhead - so there is a need to put yogis on the mat for every available class time. A class that draws 5-6 people, regardless of focus, is not going to last. As a result, a lot of specialty classes (larger body, trauma, glbt, chair, ESL, etc.) never get off the ground, or are offered and fail, because the population just is not there to support that. I personally feel that our studio vibe is safe and flexible enough that folks who might otherwise fit into such specialty classes often opt for a regular class - find a teacher or class that works for them. Alternately, I know many of our teachers (and training grads) teach specialty classes in the community.
A smaller studio, with a lower overhead and smaller studio, might find it easier to make niche classes work.
So - all in all, I think we're doing reasonably well. We could always do better. And this article was a good chance to step back take a look.
Yoga Studios: Open to Everyone
It's a good read, thought provoking. I thought I'd do a little self examination of some of her recommendations / suggestions with regard to my own home studio.
Offer by-donation classes: I'll give us partial credit here. While we've never had a strictly "by donation" class, we do host a monthly "Free Intro to Yoga" class, we've had a weekly "Community Yoga" class ($6 suggested donation, all proceeds to charity), and we host a dozen $6 classes during the week.
We also offer work-study positions - cover a 4-5 hour shift per week and you get unlimited yoga. It's an awesome deal for a student, un or underemployed, etc. - I did work-study myself for a while before I started teaching. So, lots of low cost / no cost options.
Make your studio an LGBTQ safe space: Again, partial credit. We're not flying the rainbow flag, and not a lot of queer signifiers on the doors / windows. To be fair, there are *no* signifiers (yogic, political, etc.) on the doors / windows - more of an aesthetic choice, I think. On the other hand, the lot is filled with queerish bumper stickers, there are a number of out teachers / staff / work-study and visible relationships. I suspect we're also the only studio in the state with a trans teacher on staff ::she said, whistling and looking around innocently::
The studio makes generous donations (financial and items for silent auctions / raffles) to many of the local GLBT causes (CT Aids Oscar Night, G/L Film Fest are two I am aware of) which raises the LGBTQ footprint.
We fall down on the bathrooms - our changing areas are non-gendered, curtained off spaces - but we've only got two gendered bathrooms. I lobbied, hard, to take part of the three-stall women's room and make it a non-gendered, accessible bath / shower (would have also taken some of the load off the single men's room stall, which gets a bit of a line at times). Did not happen.
Multi-language posters/teachers: No points for this one. We're English only. Not sure how much of an audience there is for other languages, but we're certainly not chasing ESL populations. Interestingly, we do get a number of hearing impaired students, and we're talking about offering a sign language interpreted class.
Celebrate fat bodies and body diversity: Partial credit here. There's a lot of talk about healthy eating and nutrition - and I can see that getting a bit oppressive to some. On the other hand, several teachers fall outside of the "Size 2 yoga bod" - we've got diversity in size and in age on the staff. And the style of yoga at the studio is very diverse - ranging from restorative, gentle, yin, all levels, hot, power, pre-natal, post-natal, kids, tweens. There are a lot of options.
We did try to offer a "Yoga for Larger Bodies" class - and just not enough interest to make it fly - but hopefully that population can find a home in other classes. I know my classes are always modification and prop friendly!
Offer meditation classes: Double credit here. We've held a weekly meditation class since the studio has opened. And it's free. We also offer workshops in mindfulness, pranayama, savasana, yogic wisdom.
Make your studio accessible to people with non-normative physical abilities: This is a hard one. The main studio entrance has stairs - we've got an accessible ramp into the back of the studio (unfortunately, passing through our main studio) and we've got a portable ramp we can put out front. But we're really not set up for special needs yoga (chair yoga, etc.) in terms of teachers, facilities, etc. Our restrooms and showers are ADA compliant however, and once inside the studio, it's all on one floor.
Offer trauma sensitive classes: Again, a tough one. I'd like to think that I and my fellow teachers are sensitive to trauma, that our intuitive skills are honed enough to recognize an issue and to work compassionately. But we could do better. It really comes down to the teacher - some teachers have a bit more loud, assertive teaching style, others are a lot more low key. But we don't offer special classes designed specifically for trauma survivors - no.
Don’t set up in a gentrified neighbourhood: Well, we're in toney West Hartford, and since that's embedded in the name / branding of the studio, it's hard to move out of town. On the other hand, we've always been in the least trendy, most industrial corner of the town. I'll give us partial credit here. In addition, the studio has been working with a local organization (with financial assistance and teachers) to bring yoga to underserved communities
Offer YTT scholarships: A significant number of teacher trainees receive assistance, either through work-study slots, outright assistance, or agreement to work with under-served communities once they graduate.
One big problem that we face is success. We're the biggest studio in the area, and we've got two studios that are larger than most. But with the larger studio comes higher overhead - so there is a need to put yogis on the mat for every available class time. A class that draws 5-6 people, regardless of focus, is not going to last. As a result, a lot of specialty classes (larger body, trauma, glbt, chair, ESL, etc.) never get off the ground, or are offered and fail, because the population just is not there to support that. I personally feel that our studio vibe is safe and flexible enough that folks who might otherwise fit into such specialty classes often opt for a regular class - find a teacher or class that works for them. Alternately, I know many of our teachers (and training grads) teach specialty classes in the community.
A smaller studio, with a lower overhead and smaller studio, might find it easier to make niche classes work.
So - all in all, I think we're doing reasonably well. We could always do better. And this article was a good chance to step back take a look.
February 23, 2013
Midnight Radio
Woke early this morning; a fortuitous opportunity to listen to a friend DJ on WWUH 91.3. You can follow her on twitter (and witness our shameless "we're the only ones up at this time" lovefest on twitter @punkrockcabaret and @scenicroot)
Reminds me of other days. During ballooning season, I'd stumble across her show while getting dressed, and heading to the early morning launch site. And back in high school, working the 11-7 "close open" shift at McD's (when McD's actually closed) I'd listen Boston's progressive rock WBCN. I love that in these days of iTunes and Pandora and Spotify, someone is out there sharing music the old fashioned way - over the air.
Reminds me of other days. During ballooning season, I'd stumble across her show while getting dressed, and heading to the early morning launch site. And back in high school, working the 11-7 "close open" shift at McD's (when McD's actually closed) I'd listen Boston's progressive rock WBCN. I love that in these days of iTunes and Pandora and Spotify, someone is out there sharing music the old fashioned way - over the air.
February 19, 2013
Ellis Paul: The Day After Everything Changed
Ellis Paul is coming through - visiting nearby Northampton for an evening at the Iron Horse, Saturday, March 2nd.
I've been listening to Ellis' 2010 release The Day After Everything Changed, with many tracks co-written by Ellis and Kristian Bush (1/2 of the duo Sugarland) - it's been an interesting listen.
The album has a good kick to it - with the opening tracks punched up with the combination of power, instrumentation, and production that would feel right at home on the local country station. Annalee, a bit sparse in the Youtube clip above, rocks out on the album with a full band. And yet, woven in through the power country are plenty of quieter, more accessible tracks. Dragonfly, Waking Up To Me and Once Upon a Summertime feel much more personal, sweet and a little painful. The piano in Once Upon a Summertime was particularly winsome - hearkening back to classic Jackson Brown; I suspect the long past summer Ellis is singing of was a summer from my own high school days.
I smiled through River Road, as snippets of the imagery and language of Springsteen's Thunder Road sneaks into a song (...would you like to know how it feels? To trade your wings in on some wheels...) that is less desperate, and more joyful than Springsteen's ode to a summer's drive into a risky unknown, and more at peace with the ride. Bruce's screen door slams; Ellis's screen door is a window into his love's eyes. It's not "do or die" for Ellis (and co-writer Kristian), it's a happy ride on a summer's evening, with a rolling banjo laying low in the mix.
Other songs charmed. An uptempo, nearly rockabilly version of Walking After Midnight morphs into Sam Baker's Change without missing a beat. The Cotton's Burning brought to mind The Band's Night They Drove Old Dixie Down with a bit more funk. Paper Dolls, banged out on a piano that feels like it's been sitting in the back of a bar for years, soaking in the loneliness and ever so slightly out of tune - as Kristian Bush folds in a countermelody and harmonies. And the closing track, Nothing Left to Take, brings it all back home - just a singer with his guitar - sitting down at a microphone at any coffeehouse, open mike, or rural bar on folk night. Beautiful, simple, and powerful.
It might be a chilly late winter in terms of temperature here in New England, but I suspect that the Ellis Paul Band is going to bring a balmy summer warmth to the Iron Horse next weekend. Definitely worth a ride up I-91.
Ellis has been keeping the folk tradition alive for a lot of years; I've caught him at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival many times over the past many years. If you know the year Ellis Paul stepped up to the Falcon Ridge showcase stage (and walked away with one of the coveted Most Wanted spots for the following year), drop me an email. First one with the right answer wins a copy of The Day After Everything Changed...
I've been listening to Ellis' 2010 release The Day After Everything Changed, with many tracks co-written by Ellis and Kristian Bush (1/2 of the duo Sugarland) - it's been an interesting listen.
The album has a good kick to it - with the opening tracks punched up with the combination of power, instrumentation, and production that would feel right at home on the local country station. Annalee, a bit sparse in the Youtube clip above, rocks out on the album with a full band. And yet, woven in through the power country are plenty of quieter, more accessible tracks. Dragonfly, Waking Up To Me and Once Upon a Summertime feel much more personal, sweet and a little painful. The piano in Once Upon a Summertime was particularly winsome - hearkening back to classic Jackson Brown; I suspect the long past summer Ellis is singing of was a summer from my own high school days.
I smiled through River Road, as snippets of the imagery and language of Springsteen's Thunder Road sneaks into a song (...would you like to know how it feels? To trade your wings in on some wheels...) that is less desperate, and more joyful than Springsteen's ode to a summer's drive into a risky unknown, and more at peace with the ride. Bruce's screen door slams; Ellis's screen door is a window into his love's eyes. It's not "do or die" for Ellis (and co-writer Kristian), it's a happy ride on a summer's evening, with a rolling banjo laying low in the mix.
Other songs charmed. An uptempo, nearly rockabilly version of Walking After Midnight morphs into Sam Baker's Change without missing a beat. The Cotton's Burning brought to mind The Band's Night They Drove Old Dixie Down with a bit more funk. Paper Dolls, banged out on a piano that feels like it's been sitting in the back of a bar for years, soaking in the loneliness and ever so slightly out of tune - as Kristian Bush folds in a countermelody and harmonies. And the closing track, Nothing Left to Take, brings it all back home - just a singer with his guitar - sitting down at a microphone at any coffeehouse, open mike, or rural bar on folk night. Beautiful, simple, and powerful.
It might be a chilly late winter in terms of temperature here in New England, but I suspect that the Ellis Paul Band is going to bring a balmy summer warmth to the Iron Horse next weekend. Definitely worth a ride up I-91.
Ellis has been keeping the folk tradition alive for a lot of years; I've caught him at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival many times over the past many years. If you know the year Ellis Paul stepped up to the Falcon Ridge showcase stage (and walked away with one of the coveted Most Wanted spots for the following year), drop me an email. First one with the right answer wins a copy of The Day After Everything Changed...
February 18, 2013
Last Night's Dream
A long and fairly exhausting weekend left me with a vivid dream last night. In the dream, I was in a new apartment in a big city (presumably NYC). It was a 1 bedroom, but was spacious - with a rather large and ornately furnished living room, a semi hidden dining area and big kitchen, there was a big bathtub (more of a small pool) in the living room.
Seemed like an artist lived there previously, I kept finding small pieces, postcards, signs in the place. I recall thinking that it was amazing that it was so affordable ($700) for just Elo and I, that I ought to have friends come stay over, that Elo would have to get used to going out in the city.
And the odd part, when I found the kitchen, there was a meal all cooked - as if the previous tenants had left in a rush.
One of those dreams that will sit with me all day....
Seemed like an artist lived there previously, I kept finding small pieces, postcards, signs in the place. I recall thinking that it was amazing that it was so affordable ($700) for just Elo and I, that I ought to have friends come stay over, that Elo would have to get used to going out in the city.
And the odd part, when I found the kitchen, there was a meal all cooked - as if the previous tenants had left in a rush.
One of those dreams that will sit with me all day....
February 15, 2013
Music and Arts Update
There's a bunch of music, social and arts events coming up on my personal horizon:
- February 21 - Little Ugly and Paper Hill Casket Company at Black Eyed Sally's
- February 22 - The Inaugural Mouth at Mark Twain House
- February 23 - CT Lighter Than Air Society Annual Dinner (postponed due to the Blizzard)
- February 24 - Oscar Night Hartford at Mark Twain House
- March 2 - Ellis Paul up at the Iron Horse
- March 7 - CT Forum / A Meaningful Life
- March 8 - Guinea Pigs gig at the CT Audubon Society, Glastonbury (come!)
- March 9 - Kate Callahan and Friends at West Hartford Yoga
Blogger App for iPad
This could be trouble. Just saying.
I have not blogged from bed in many years.....
I have not blogged from bed in many years.....
February 13, 2013
Why I Love Southwest Airlines
As if the fares, free checked bags, flights that leave on time, cheery attendants, and as egalitarian a seating policy as one might hope for we're not enough....Southwest now offers WIFI on many flights.
All four segments this trip had wifi, for a very reasonable $8 per day (not per segment) - permitting me to get some work done, listen to a streaming radio show, and muck around on social media. I am impressed and thrilled.
Plus, the flight tracker (which is free!) so I can watch our progress across the country.
All four segments this trip had wifi, for a very reasonable $8 per day (not per segment) - permitting me to get some work done, listen to a streaming radio show, and muck around on social media. I am impressed and thrilled.
Plus, the flight tracker (which is free!) so I can watch our progress across the country.
February 10, 2013
Community Project
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| They are plowing the apartment building across the street; with a bit of a community effort. |
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| Our recently plowed parking lot is the holding area / overflow for the apartment complex while they clear the lot. Can't complain, the apartment complex plow dude took care of us after he got the main area of his parking lot opened up and while he waited for the residents to come move cars. |
New Britain Plow Update
Still no sign of a city plow, since early this morning when a plow came through just to make a path for emergency vehicles....here's a street by street neighborhood update as of 2:00 pm on Sunday 2/10.
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| Roosevelt St looking north from Edgewood |
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| Edgewood Ave, looking east from Roosevelt |
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| Kennedy Drive, looking North from Edgewood. Nary a tire tread, but someone with a snow blower cut a walking path |
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| Benson Street, looking north from Edgewood |
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| Fulton Street is driveable (with caution), single lane |
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| Hudson Place, looking east from Fulton. Not plowed, sorry Dattco.... |
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| Astor Place, looking east from Fulton. Suspect someone on the (dead-end) street had a plow truck. |
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| Parker Control Systems on Edgewood. Lot is nice and clear, has been since yesterday. |
New Britain Neighborhood Update
Here's the present state of the roads in my New Britain neighborhood:
Fulton Street has been nominally plowed with a single lane. Someone ran a plow down Edgewood (and backed it up) - limited access and not really what I'd call plowed. Fulton, Kennedy, Roosevelt, and Crescent have not been touched.
I walked the dog up Edgewood and all the way up Fulton - folks are digging out. While the snow plow owners were pretty quick to get out and clean up, it was pretty amazing to see the shovelers also doing a decent job of digging out.
No sign of street plow today, nor anyone to clean up our condo lot, although there are signs of life - a pickup did a first pass on the apartment lot across the street.
I suspect today will be a day of waiting - and hoping that those with transportation do not get out and about too early. Already there's a pickup parked on the street (visiting? resident who parked off site and came back?) that was in the way of the lot plow dude, and will obstruct the town plows if they show. And another dude rolled through in a Pontiac Sunfire (a shitbox in any weather, but particularly unsuited for the snow) and got stuck on Edgewood Ave - five of us out cleaning up pushed him out.
February 06, 2013
Life Hack: Rebate Division
I recently received a rebate from Pep Boys for some things I bought over the holidays. In the past, the rebate shows up as a check, which I eventually deposited into my account. But this time (and more frequently, of late) rebates are coming in the form of a debit card.
Now, these things are kind of annoying. They are rarely sufficient to buy much (in this case, $10), and it's a hassle to pay for something with multiple cards, card / cash, etc. On more than one occasion, I put the card in a pile with my unused gift cards, and promptly forgot about it. Or I rang up a small purchase, and left a buck or two on the card. In either case, the card expires, I lose my money.
But now, I have a new Square account / swiper. I simply charged myself $10 and ran it through my Square account - and within a day, $9.72 was deposited in my bank account. The small Square fee (in this case, 28 cents) is less than the gas it would cost to run down to a bank or ATM, less than a first class stamp. And I can dispose of the card promptly.
Now, these things are kind of annoying. They are rarely sufficient to buy much (in this case, $10), and it's a hassle to pay for something with multiple cards, card / cash, etc. On more than one occasion, I put the card in a pile with my unused gift cards, and promptly forgot about it. Or I rang up a small purchase, and left a buck or two on the card. In either case, the card expires, I lose my money.
But now, I have a new Square account / swiper. I simply charged myself $10 and ran it through my Square account - and within a day, $9.72 was deposited in my bank account. The small Square fee (in this case, 28 cents) is less than the gas it would cost to run down to a bank or ATM, less than a first class stamp. And I can dispose of the card promptly.
February 05, 2013
Knife Fight
Having just plowed through seven seasons of The West Wing (my January binge), I was delighted to see Rob Lowe featured as a political consultant in the upcoming film Knife Fight.
West Wing's Richard Schiff has a supporting role, juicing up the West Wing vibe.
Coming to Real Art Ways March 10th for a short run. I plan to catch it....
West Wing's Richard Schiff has a supporting role, juicing up the West Wing vibe.
Coming to Real Art Ways March 10th for a short run. I plan to catch it....
Oscar Nominated Short Films
Stole away for the evening tonight, to watch the Oscar Nominated Short Films - Live Action and Animation - over at Real Art Ways. The Live Action and Animated films are playing now through Feb 14th, the Documentary films arrive Feb 15th. Click through to find out more about the films and see the trailers.
First off, apologies to Real Art Ways. My membership expired in September - and I have just tarried on signing back up. I wrote a check out and everything, but figured I'd drop it off the next time I was there. And I've been horribly anti-social (and also a big underfunded) since then; this was my first foray back in months. But I'm back on the member roles and hope to show up in the real world occasionally as we start to move towards spring.
Now, on to the films. First, up, the Animated Shorts, in order of viewing:
OK, maybe it's the dog owner in me, maybe watching the Genesis story from a different perspective and fleshed out, made human, was enough. But I was sobbing. Beautiful old-school animation, sweet, substantial. My vote for the Oscar, hands down.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, although a bit less magical. I liked it, did not love it.
Between the films, there were some bits by Morris Lessmore's William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg who were funny, smart, and magnanimous in telling their story. Nicely done!
Now, on to the Live Action films, again, in order of viewing:
This one gets my vote for the Oscar, in a very strong field. The Kabul cinematography is stark, gorgeous, and so very sad - shot amidst burned out buildings, palaces, and rubble. The story is amazingly simple and yet so well told. I am sure there was a lot of money behind this (including the US Dept of State) and it shows - normally I'd discount that but for this one time, it does not matter. There is no sign of ongoing war here - just the charred remains of decades of war, poverty, and a beautiful, up close and personal, and so very sad story set in that backdrop.
As with the Animated Shorts film, the between film patter was handled by last year's winner, Luke Methany. Not as effective - partly because there was just him, with no partner or foil to bounce memories off. And partly because, dark horse that God of Love was, he's not quite as seasoned as Mssrs. Joyce and Oldenburg - so a bit more of the "gee whiz, I won" and a bit less of the "we've been at this for 15 years, we've done a lot of grunt work, so keep hold of your dreams no matter what" that made the Animated segments work so well.
First off, apologies to Real Art Ways. My membership expired in September - and I have just tarried on signing back up. I wrote a check out and everything, but figured I'd drop it off the next time I was there. And I've been horribly anti-social (and also a big underfunded) since then; this was my first foray back in months. But I'm back on the member roles and hope to show up in the real world occasionally as we start to move towards spring.
Now, on to the films. First, up, the Animated Shorts, in order of viewing:
Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" - Maggie Simpson attends the Ayn Rand Daycare Center, where she finds a caterpillar and faces off against her nemesis.I'm a huge Simpsons fan, have been for years, and the creative team has kept me amused for over two decades. But I just do not get this (or any other animated franchise) in this category. Yeah, cute story, yeah, nice to see an underused character fleshed out, yeah nice to see the show animated in a bit more detail and texture. But....not really what I want to see.
Adam and Dog - A playful dog exploring the newly created world comes upon the first man.
OK, maybe it's the dog owner in me, maybe watching the Genesis story from a different perspective and fleshed out, made human, was enough. But I was sobbing. Beautiful old-school animation, sweet, substantial. My vote for the Oscar, hands down.
Fresh Guacamole- An unseen cook uses a series of unusual ingredients to prepare a bowl of guacamole.Totally charming, very short (2 minutes) and a little bit of a one joke wonder that sustains and amuses for the lentgh of the short.
Head over Heels - The emotional distance between a long-married husband and wife has resulted in an unusual living arrangement.Very sweet, and little weepy, done with puppets. It has a little bit of the cleverness of last year's winner
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, although a bit less magical. I liked it, did not love it.
Paperman - A young man working in an office tries desperately to attract the attention of a girl in the building across the street.Very clever animation and story, and aiming for the same turf as Mossis Lessmore. But a little too perfect and Disneyfied for my taste. Suffers a bit too much from "me too" flying paper, sweet romance, wind all hearken back to last year's winner.
Between the films, there were some bits by Morris Lessmore's William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg who were funny, smart, and magnanimous in telling their story. Nicely done!
Now, on to the Live Action films, again, in order of viewing:
Death of a Shadow - A soldier attempts to ransom his soul from Death and return to the girl he loves.Beautiful, creepy, dark, romantic, steam-punk. All of this and more. It was a really engaging, creative, beautiful film. Not my favorite, but the competition was fierce in this category.
Henry - Henry, an elderly concert pianist, undergoes a series of confusing experiences as he searches for his wife.And...more tears. Having a friend's mother struggle with Alzheimer's, this film was especially poignant. Again, not my fave, but a real winner.
Buzkashi Boys - Two boys in Afghanistan, a blacksmith's son and an orphan living on the streets, dream of winning a popular and fierce polo match.
This one gets my vote for the Oscar, in a very strong field. The Kabul cinematography is stark, gorgeous, and so very sad - shot amidst burned out buildings, palaces, and rubble. The story is amazingly simple and yet so well told. I am sure there was a lot of money behind this (including the US Dept of State) and it shows - normally I'd discount that but for this one time, it does not matter. There is no sign of ongoing war here - just the charred remains of decades of war, poverty, and a beautiful, up close and personal, and so very sad story set in that backdrop.
Curfew - A young man on the verge of committing suicide receives a call from his sister asking him to babysit his niece.Like Paperman, this film has a similar vibe to last year's winner (in this case, God of Love) - albeit darker. It was very sweet, had it's whimsical moments, and a precocious and lovely child actress. It all worked, totally worth the watch - just not my winner.
Asad - A boy from a poor Somali village must decide between piracy and life as a fisherman.And...this must be the year of putting boys in ravaged landscapes and telling a story. The heart of this film is in the right place (almost all the actors are Samoli refugees or asylum seekers) and the story has it's moments. But the darkness and horror are neither fully explored nor completely redeemed. The ending / resolution seemed a little off - fantastic, impractical, unsatisfying. Tore at my heart strings, but something lacking in the storycraft here.
As with the Animated Shorts film, the between film patter was handled by last year's winner, Luke Methany. Not as effective - partly because there was just him, with no partner or foil to bounce memories off. And partly because, dark horse that God of Love was, he's not quite as seasoned as Mssrs. Joyce and Oldenburg - so a bit more of the "gee whiz, I won" and a bit less of the "we've been at this for 15 years, we've done a lot of grunt work, so keep hold of your dreams no matter what" that made the Animated segments work so well.
Reblog
So my last blog post was Dec 2012; on the day of the tragic Newtown shooting. Much has happened since.
I've been pretty quiet - a combination of seasonal blahs (winter and holiday), busy work life (especially since the first of the year), and just that slow, sad erosion of the blogosphere in favor of social media platforms. Facebook, yes. Twitter, just a bit. But my poor, unattended blog - not much.
Hope to correct that. I'm feeling a bit more like writing, I need to get my creative, social, and cultural mojo engaged, and I'm overdue for a commitment.
I've been pretty quiet - a combination of seasonal blahs (winter and holiday), busy work life (especially since the first of the year), and just that slow, sad erosion of the blogosphere in favor of social media platforms. Facebook, yes. Twitter, just a bit. But my poor, unattended blog - not much.
Hope to correct that. I'm feeling a bit more like writing, I need to get my creative, social, and cultural mojo engaged, and I'm overdue for a commitment.
December 17, 2012
I Know the Whole Truth There is Horrible
It's everybodies worst nightmare. And my heart and thoughts go out to the families - of the lost children, the lost teachers, and everyone impacted by these murders - students, teachers, family, first responders.
But I'm not going to blog about it, editorialize, memorialize. There is enough pain in the world. I'm just sitting with it.
But I'm not going to blog about it, editorialize, memorialize. There is enough pain in the world. I'm just sitting with it.
December 05, 2012
Neil Young: Still Rocking
Way back in 2006, I saw Jonathon Demme's Neil Young biopic Heart of Gold. I blogged about it back then:
Now, Neil Young and I go way back. I thing I wore the grooves down on my Life Rust album (remember double albums?). I owned an erratic sampling of his works on album and cassette: his self titled first, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, American Star and Bars, Re*actor, Trans, Landing on Water, Freedom. And when I made the jump to CD, I've picked up a bit over the years: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Rust Never Sleeps, Decade, Life Rust, Sleeps with Angels, Mirror Ball, Ragged Glory. Not canonical by any means, but a good sampling.
And as an angry young rocker, Neil Young was an icon. Needle and the Damage Done was part of the walking D acoustic trilogy (also, Willin' by Lowell George and Friend of the Devil by the Grateful Dead). A guitar, and amp, and the right effects pedal, and one could blast out the riffs to Hey Hey, My My. Every band I've ever played in had some Neil Young in the set list - Powderfinger, Hey Hey My My, Like a Hurricane. Even today, the Guinea Pigs play Cinnamon Girl. Neil Young's music is nothing if not messy, emotional, heartfelt.
First thought: Is that the set from Rust Never Sleeps? Indeed it was. No idea if Crazy Horse gigs have had this set all along, but dude - that album came out in 1979, the year I graduated from high school. And yet, here it still is, 30+ years later. It was both reassuring (some things never change....they stay the way they are....) and kind of sad.
Similarly, the intro to Needle and the Damage Done (with the lightning graphics and sound, and the Woodstock "please get off those towers...no rain" recording) was straight out of Live Rust. For someone who often obstinantly refuses to play the greatest hits (the folks behind us were kvetching about previous concerts where he did nothing old or classic), Mr Young is awfully faithful to the past.
And there were Greatest Hits - Mr. Soul, Hey Hey My My, Cinnamon Girl, Powderfinger, Needle and the Damage Done were all woven into newer material. It felt a little polarized - old FM classics or brand new material. Not a lot of middle ground, mining the many albums of material out there.
I was struck by a certain level of goofiness, bordering on surrealism, that infused the concert. The big amps and microphone, and the video monitors (trimmed out to look like 60's TV sets hung in the arena) reminded me of a bunch of kids playing in the basement - Neil and the band (with the exception of the keyboard player) hugged the center of the stage, facing inward towards each other as if avoiding eye contact with the audience. This was their fun time playing, and we got to watch and listen, if we dared.
Their set opened with the National Anthem (dude, you are Canadian, right?) complete with flag unfurled behind the band - serious or making fun? Hard to say. During one song, an old pump organ was rolled out on stage, and when the short organ instrumental rolled around (played by the keyboardist on a more modern instrument) the old pump organ was spotlit, unplayed. At one point, the roadies crumpled papers and bags in front of a fan, blowing across the stage for no real reason other than perhaps the joy of watching things blow across the stage. You get the feeling that maybe back in '75, someone decided to screw with Neil and send stuff blowing across the stage via a cooling fan, and they decided to keep the bit. There was a lot of that going on. Like some weirdly serious, weirdly comic ritual that has evolved over 40 years - nobody knows why they are doing all these things, they made sense once upon a time.
Me at 51 is a far different person than me at 18. I grew tired of the endless guitar riffing, and the prolonged (10 minutes maybe?) of messing around with feedback and sonic blasting. I wanted a little more song and a little less riffing. But, 35 years down the road Neil Young is still rocking it out. He was up there amusing himself in 79, and he's still up there amusing himself today. We can choose to come along.
The second song in was the anthem Powderfinger - and it was like I was scratching a 35 year old itch to hear the song played live, after playing it so often in my own basement rock past. It did not disappoint.
Jonathon Demme has a follow-up film (Journeys) - part of an accidental Trilogy - and I need to see that. 2006's Heart of Gold was amazingly moving. But for now, I'll let the ears ring and the energy settle. Glad I finally got to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
I thought how blessed Neil Young was to go toe to toe with mortality, to survive, and to be wise enough to throw his own goodbye party / concert and to film it. May we all be so fortunate.Little did I know that Neil Young would survive his aneurysm survey, and keep right on rocking. And I was fortunate enough to see him as he came through Bridgeport (Webster Arena) last evening.
Now, Neil Young and I go way back. I thing I wore the grooves down on my Life Rust album (remember double albums?). I owned an erratic sampling of his works on album and cassette: his self titled first, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, American Star and Bars, Re*actor, Trans, Landing on Water, Freedom. And when I made the jump to CD, I've picked up a bit over the years: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Rust Never Sleeps, Decade, Life Rust, Sleeps with Angels, Mirror Ball, Ragged Glory. Not canonical by any means, but a good sampling.
And as an angry young rocker, Neil Young was an icon. Needle and the Damage Done was part of the walking D acoustic trilogy (also, Willin' by Lowell George and Friend of the Devil by the Grateful Dead). A guitar, and amp, and the right effects pedal, and one could blast out the riffs to Hey Hey, My My. Every band I've ever played in had some Neil Young in the set list - Powderfinger, Hey Hey My My, Like a Hurricane. Even today, the Guinea Pigs play Cinnamon Girl. Neil Young's music is nothing if not messy, emotional, heartfelt.
Similarly, the intro to Needle and the Damage Done (with the lightning graphics and sound, and the Woodstock "please get off those towers...no rain" recording) was straight out of Live Rust. For someone who often obstinantly refuses to play the greatest hits (the folks behind us were kvetching about previous concerts where he did nothing old or classic), Mr Young is awfully faithful to the past.
And there were Greatest Hits - Mr. Soul, Hey Hey My My, Cinnamon Girl, Powderfinger, Needle and the Damage Done were all woven into newer material. It felt a little polarized - old FM classics or brand new material. Not a lot of middle ground, mining the many albums of material out there.
I was struck by a certain level of goofiness, bordering on surrealism, that infused the concert. The big amps and microphone, and the video monitors (trimmed out to look like 60's TV sets hung in the arena) reminded me of a bunch of kids playing in the basement - Neil and the band (with the exception of the keyboard player) hugged the center of the stage, facing inward towards each other as if avoiding eye contact with the audience. This was their fun time playing, and we got to watch and listen, if we dared.
Their set opened with the National Anthem (dude, you are Canadian, right?) complete with flag unfurled behind the band - serious or making fun? Hard to say. During one song, an old pump organ was rolled out on stage, and when the short organ instrumental rolled around (played by the keyboardist on a more modern instrument) the old pump organ was spotlit, unplayed. At one point, the roadies crumpled papers and bags in front of a fan, blowing across the stage for no real reason other than perhaps the joy of watching things blow across the stage. You get the feeling that maybe back in '75, someone decided to screw with Neil and send stuff blowing across the stage via a cooling fan, and they decided to keep the bit. There was a lot of that going on. Like some weirdly serious, weirdly comic ritual that has evolved over 40 years - nobody knows why they are doing all these things, they made sense once upon a time.
Me at 51 is a far different person than me at 18. I grew tired of the endless guitar riffing, and the prolonged (10 minutes maybe?) of messing around with feedback and sonic blasting. I wanted a little more song and a little less riffing. But, 35 years down the road Neil Young is still rocking it out. He was up there amusing himself in 79, and he's still up there amusing himself today. We can choose to come along.
The second song in was the anthem Powderfinger - and it was like I was scratching a 35 year old itch to hear the song played live, after playing it so often in my own basement rock past. It did not disappoint.
Jonathon Demme has a follow-up film (Journeys) - part of an accidental Trilogy - and I need to see that. 2006's Heart of Gold was amazingly moving. But for now, I'll let the ears ring and the energy settle. Glad I finally got to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
November 06, 2012
Private Sector vs. Public Sector
So I got a letter a few weeks back from TaxServ Capital Services. The gist of it was that I owed some back property taxes on my cars, stemming from the time I lived in Hartford. It basically amounted to one half tax year ($240), plus minor amounts $25 for other years - although by the time interest and fees were tacked on it was $400.
I paid up, not happily, but without rancor. I owed the taxes, the bills probably got lost in the mail forwarding / moving process when I relocated to New Britain. No idea why I underpaid two years of bills $12 (perhaps late fees or interest or something). I'm happy enough to be free and clear - that sort of thing tends to catch up with you at registration time, which usually involves a trip down to City Hall (where they have odd rules like cash only and even odder business hours) to make things right. So here's my credit card number, I'm all set, right?
But it struck me that this was clearly a place where the local tax collector (looking at you, City of Hartford) had not the interest, time, aptitude, or motivation to go out and get this money. And some wizard in the private sector figured out how to make it work, collect debts that Hartford probably had tossed into the uncollectable bin, and make a few bucks on it. I not a scofflaw, the tax bills just got lost in the shuffle.
Stuff like this reminds me that not EVERYTHING the Republicans stand for is bogus. I'd love to see a political movement that is socially liberal and fiscally moderate / conservative. Northeast Republicans used to hold that ground - perhaps these days the Democratic Leadership Council (which both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both play nice with) are seeking the same ground.
I paid up, not happily, but without rancor. I owed the taxes, the bills probably got lost in the mail forwarding / moving process when I relocated to New Britain. No idea why I underpaid two years of bills $12 (perhaps late fees or interest or something). I'm happy enough to be free and clear - that sort of thing tends to catch up with you at registration time, which usually involves a trip down to City Hall (where they have odd rules like cash only and even odder business hours) to make things right. So here's my credit card number, I'm all set, right?
But it struck me that this was clearly a place where the local tax collector (looking at you, City of Hartford) had not the interest, time, aptitude, or motivation to go out and get this money. And some wizard in the private sector figured out how to make it work, collect debts that Hartford probably had tossed into the uncollectable bin, and make a few bucks on it. I not a scofflaw, the tax bills just got lost in the shuffle.
Stuff like this reminds me that not EVERYTHING the Republicans stand for is bogus. I'd love to see a political movement that is socially liberal and fiscally moderate / conservative. Northeast Republicans used to hold that ground - perhaps these days the Democratic Leadership Council (which both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both play nice with) are seeking the same ground.
October 30, 2012
Hurricane Sandy
I know the mess is still happening - and thoughts go out to those on the CT coastline, to the folks in New York City, and those who remain without power.
Sandy was a lot like last year's Irene for me - never lost power then or now, never lost cable / internet. The UPS kicked on a few times due to sags / instability but otherwise, no problems. The upside of living in / near a city.
I have to believe that this is going to help out President Obama. Even though he'll have to suspend his campaign, and turnout in the northeast states (mostly safely in Obama's pocket anyway) will be impacted, he'll have a week of lookign and acting presidential (don't blow it!)
And after an event like this, I would think that the candidate who accepts the concept of global warming and climate change, and who supports the federal role in emergency preparedness, disaster relief, and things like strong building and zoning regulations might have a bit of a leg up.
But we shall see. In the meantime, stay safe everyone!
Sandy was a lot like last year's Irene for me - never lost power then or now, never lost cable / internet. The UPS kicked on a few times due to sags / instability but otherwise, no problems. The upside of living in / near a city.
I have to believe that this is going to help out President Obama. Even though he'll have to suspend his campaign, and turnout in the northeast states (mostly safely in Obama's pocket anyway) will be impacted, he'll have a week of lookign and acting presidential (don't blow it!)
And after an event like this, I would think that the candidate who accepts the concept of global warming and climate change, and who supports the federal role in emergency preparedness, disaster relief, and things like strong building and zoning regulations might have a bit of a leg up.
But we shall see. In the meantime, stay safe everyone!
October 26, 2012
Springsteen in Hartford
Made my occasional pilgrimage to see the high priest of Rock N' Roll, Mr. Bruce Springsteen, last night at the XL Center. I went with Robert and Kristen (my frequent Bruce companions) and Robert's daughter Devon, for her first arena show and her first Springsteen show.
Anne Haines did us the solid of recording the set list; I've been a twitter follower of hers for a while (and have been keeping up with the tour as a result) - wonderful to have the list in front of me as I recall the show.
Mostly, it felt a little like hanging out with old friends who kept pulling oldies but goodies out of theur hats and giving them a whirl. Songs I never expected to hear live again included Held Up Without a Gun (the opener), Spirits in the Night, Incident on 57th Street (a request), For You (a request, solo on piano). Lot of stuff from Wrecking Ball, a whole lot from The River, and a healthy dose of the classics - Badlands, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Born to Run. No Rosalita, no Jungleland, no Thunder Road.
I think my favorite song pairing was Point Blank and Because the Night - I go back far enough to remember when Point Blank was unrecorded and Because the Night's Patti Smith bona fides made it a real treat (although I kind of would prefer her take on it, I'm liking it a little darker)
I only cried a few times - Wrecking Ball (that whole coming to the end of the road thing), the Rising (with it's 9-11 imagery and energy), and Land of Hope and Dreams (gotta love a little come to Jesus revival moment!)
I was surprised that Bruce said not a word about the election - not even a "get out and vote" message - maybe he knew that with the aging frat boys in the house, the hall might go for Romney. He did plug Foodshare Hartford, though, so I will too!
Not much else to say. Was an awesome show, as they all are. We were in some reasonably bad seats - halfway up the second level on the side. Sometimes ludicrously bad seats (behind stage, or last row, all the way back) are more fun.Once upon a time Bruce could take an arena down int silence with just a gesture - but there were a lot of not-so-true-believers in the house (the couple next to me sat through most of the show and left after Born to Run) - so there was a lot of chit-chat through the quiet songs (come on dudes, it's Bruce and a piano playing For You - when are you ever gonna hear that?).
There was a nice tribute to Clarence (mostly) and Danny (a bit) in the middle of 10th Avenue Freeze Out that was very sweet, and Clarence's nephew Jake Clemons did an amazing job of filling his late Uncle's shoes - both technically and energetically.
Mostly though, I am thankful that my self-employed lifestyle means I could sleep in a bit today - unlike my fellow travelers (teacher, student, and corporate gig). Need to gargle a bit before I teach today - my throat is a bit raw from the singing, the yelling, the beers, and the hours.
Anne Haines did us the solid of recording the set list; I've been a twitter follower of hers for a while (and have been keeping up with the tour as a result) - wonderful to have the list in front of me as I recall the show.
Mostly, it felt a little like hanging out with old friends who kept pulling oldies but goodies out of theur hats and giving them a whirl. Songs I never expected to hear live again included Held Up Without a Gun (the opener), Spirits in the Night, Incident on 57th Street (a request), For You (a request, solo on piano). Lot of stuff from Wrecking Ball, a whole lot from The River, and a healthy dose of the classics - Badlands, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Born to Run. No Rosalita, no Jungleland, no Thunder Road.
I think my favorite song pairing was Point Blank and Because the Night - I go back far enough to remember when Point Blank was unrecorded and Because the Night's Patti Smith bona fides made it a real treat (although I kind of would prefer her take on it, I'm liking it a little darker)
I only cried a few times - Wrecking Ball (that whole coming to the end of the road thing), the Rising (with it's 9-11 imagery and energy), and Land of Hope and Dreams (gotta love a little come to Jesus revival moment!)
I was surprised that Bruce said not a word about the election - not even a "get out and vote" message - maybe he knew that with the aging frat boys in the house, the hall might go for Romney. He did plug Foodshare Hartford, though, so I will too!
Not much else to say. Was an awesome show, as they all are. We were in some reasonably bad seats - halfway up the second level on the side. Sometimes ludicrously bad seats (behind stage, or last row, all the way back) are more fun.Once upon a time Bruce could take an arena down int silence with just a gesture - but there were a lot of not-so-true-believers in the house (the couple next to me sat through most of the show and left after Born to Run) - so there was a lot of chit-chat through the quiet songs (come on dudes, it's Bruce and a piano playing For You - when are you ever gonna hear that?).
There was a nice tribute to Clarence (mostly) and Danny (a bit) in the middle of 10th Avenue Freeze Out that was very sweet, and Clarence's nephew Jake Clemons did an amazing job of filling his late Uncle's shoes - both technically and energetically.
Mostly though, I am thankful that my self-employed lifestyle means I could sleep in a bit today - unlike my fellow travelers (teacher, student, and corporate gig). Need to gargle a bit before I teach today - my throat is a bit raw from the singing, the yelling, the beers, and the hours.
October 12, 2012
Thanks, Obamacare
I have a high deductible, HSA based health insurance plan; it really does not pay for much. But the other day I received this letter - women's health coverage is increasing significantly. And even though I'm not going to need most of these services, getting coverage for an annual trip to the gyno is a good benefit. (Not to mention the colonoscopy that got covered 100% in the past year, also thanks to the Affordable Care Act).
But for other women, women who are in their reproductive years and considering having kids, this is great news.
Thanks, President Obama. One more reason I am voting Dem in 2012.
************************************************************
As a result of the Health Care Reform law (Jude notes - aka "Obamacare), the following preventive services are included in your plan. Preventive services are covered with no cost share when provided by a network provider. No cost share means that your deductible, coinsurance and/or copay do not apply to these services.
• Well-woman visits (this includes prenatal visits)
• Screening for gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy)
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing
• Counseling for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
• Counseling and screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence
• Breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling
• Contraceptive methods and counseling (when prescribed by a physician)
Some of these services are already benefits under your plan. These changes go into effect on January 1, 2013.
But for other women, women who are in their reproductive years and considering having kids, this is great news.
Thanks, President Obama. One more reason I am voting Dem in 2012.
************************************************************
As a result of the Health Care Reform law (Jude notes - aka "Obamacare), the following preventive services are included in your plan. Preventive services are covered with no cost share when provided by a network provider. No cost share means that your deductible, coinsurance and/or copay do not apply to these services.
• Well-woman visits (this includes prenatal visits)
• Screening for gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy)
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing
• Counseling for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
• Counseling and screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence
• Breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling
• Contraceptive methods and counseling (when prescribed by a physician)
Some of these services are already benefits under your plan. These changes go into effect on January 1, 2013.
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