da blogs da thang

EDIT: Rearranging this post so ie reads a little easier.

ALL ABOUT DA COUNT!

THE IDEA: A weekly appreciation and celebration of what we have… and sharing that awareness. Perhaps just as a reminder to ourselves of how rich our lives really are… probably not in a Bill Gates kinda way but we all have things of value that no currency marker can be placed on.

WHAT COUNTS?: Any and everything… really, the possibilities are limitless. From “Hey, I got new shoes… and the ability to afford them.” to “I was drunk off my ass and a good friend gave me a ride home.”

HOW SHOULD IT BE POSTED?: It could be a story, poem, sentence, picture, song… any way you want. Sharing your own style and creativity will be your gift to us.

HOW DO I SHARE MY RICHES?: Postings will be on Friday. Just come by and leave a comment telling us you are up. If you are new here and want to tell us you are up… click “home” (top left) or just click HERE!

* I have moved my blog to http://marcelnunis.com/blog/.. and the count continues there.

CAN I GET ONE TO THOSE NIFTY LOGO THINGY’s?: Sure you can. Look below for the link to the code.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CODE!

I received an email yesterday… (cont.)

… from my friend Tricia. I very rarely repost emails on my blog but I thought this was worthy on many fronts. She gave me permission and I thought I would post it for DA COUNT on Friday. I thought again and decided to do it today. I’ll have something else for DA COUNT on Friday.

EDIT: I have decided to use this post as an example of what DA COUNT can be. (more details above.)

It’s been a year today. A year since I lost my home. A year since I’ve seen my New Orleans friends. A year since I watched in the slow motion of a horror film while my adopted city in a first world nation disintegrated into chaos and misery. A year since the shame of a government, at so many layers, and the Red Cross allowed so many to suffer and others to die. A year in which I lost a beloved aunt.

It’s been a year in which I’ve relied on the kindness of others. I’ve been fed by the Salvation Army, housed by family and friends, accepted clothing from strangers and furniture from neighbors. A dentist and a manicurist, among others, refused payment so they might feel they had made some positive difference. A woman in a grocery store insisted on paying for our groceries. My god-sister and my brother took time from their own lives and families to help salvage what we could from the remains of our home. A professional acquaintance helped me find a new job, sight unseen. We found a wonderful land-lady and place to live in Naples, FL.

Within that same year we decided FL was not for us. We took a break to explore Asheville, NC. I’ve taken a new position in Vail, CO, where there is a decided lack of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and most other major natural disasters. More importantly it’s between my sister and the rest of our family.

Because what has been most evident in this last year is that the ONLY things that are truly important are the love of family and friendship. No one and no thing can take that from you. Usually we only talk about that in terms of death, and perhaps part of us died a year ago.

Now the reason I’m writing you is that you are part of what is important to me. You are part of that love I take with me every step of everyday, part of what makes be a better and stronger person. Although I may not tell you directly, or stay in touch enough, you are in my thoughts and in my heart.

There is nothing more I can say than to offer my deepest thanks. Thank you for the ways in which you have touched my life. Thank you for being part of me.

I wish you peace and I wish you joy.

Tricia

For friends especially… email me for her new contact info.

… when the leisurely pace of the morning began steadily picking up steam and brought me 2 active full days. I began yesterday doing some graphic work on the computer.

At 3 PM I headed out to do a photoshoot at a friend’s art exhibit. I’m helping her create a mini-movie of her latest series of work for distribution to other galleries in hopes for an exhibit. This series of paintings is called “self-portraits” and are of chairs. It is the object that the artist sees herself. Quite interesting really.

Once that was done it was off to a buffet place to share a meal with Kamotion who is visiting from New Jersey. She had flown in for a wedding up in the mountains this weekend and set aside these last 2 days to visit and catch up with friends.

We were a mighty group of 20 at the buffet place… mostly Rogue folk as Kamotion was once our PR Goddess. As I looked around the room it warmed my soul to see a group of people that I have had the honor to know and work with over these years. Despite the craziness that we endure every year to mount the event this is still a happy crew with great hearts.

It was then time to adjourn to our favorite watering-hole for libations and more chat. By the evenings end 4 of us were sitting at a table in my yard under the stars talking untill the wee hours.

This morning I chauffeured Kamotion around town. I dropped her off at a lunch date with another friend and headed for a business meeting. Details are still being worked out but the project is a go. However, I still do not want to jinx it so I will only reveal details next week.

Then it was back to the gallery for some reshoots, more chauffeur service and then headed to the Starline to continue working on their lighting system. I finally got done… hence this post. So, as a result of all this, I haven’t really had time to blog, etc. I will catch-up in the morning. I’ll have some pictures on this post sometime tomorrow.

A change of pace for sure… but a welcomed one. Hope you enjoyed the videos posted in lieu of writing the last couple of days.

… so, there’ll be a longer post later tonight. in the meantime, enjoy this from Ella Fitzgerald.

This was a quickie… there may be a nicer one as the week goes by. I’ll publish the code later.

Whenever I begin writing a play the idea of connecting with an audience at large is the last thing on my mind. It didn’t always use to be this way. Though I did learn pretty early on that trying to guess what an audience wants only produced mediocrity. So, I quit doing that. Since then, I create pieces that I would pay for and want to see on stage myself. I apply the same rule when directing a play. When the show opens I will usually sneak in and sit in among the audience to feel out what and how they respond to the piece. I do not expect everyone to respond the same way… as long as they respond… and if they do, I know that I still belong to the human race.

I bring this up because as an audience member experiencing a work on stage I will open myself up to connecting with the piece that is being presented. It took me years to re-learn becoming an audience member because I once was one of the people described below.

::warning – I’m about to make a damning generalization::

The trouble with most theatre folk… by virtue of the fact that they have received some training and have had some experience… they end up being the worst audience members you will ever want at your show. The reasons are really quite simple – the need to impose a narrow personal aesthetic and the arrogant notion that there is nothing they can learn from their peers. Many will walk into a theater insulated with the snobby attitude of being an “expert” and that they are doing their friends in a “favor” with their presence in the audience. They will then watch a play armed with the defensive focus of how differently they would have handled the piece or a character. Some carry this attitude in from being passed over in the casting of the play… or never even trying out. Others simply out of a (sick) neediness to feel important. Then, at drinks after the show they will get all pseudo-interllectual and tear into the production and say things like, “I can’t believe the audience ate that shit up!” Oy vey! One can learn as much (and sometimes more) from a bad show as a good show. Now I’m all for a constructive critique as a means to improve a show… but that’s not what most of these people do. To these folk I sometimes want to scream “If you’re not getting paid to do this (and you’re not)… IT’S A HOBBY!”

:: damning generalization over::

Now, on to more pleasant matters on the same topic. Last night I chose to re-watch “Shakespeare in Love“. I thought (and still do) that it is an excellent movie. Clever, witty, bawdy and unabashedly romantic. Lots of “in jokes” for theatre nerds and Shakespeare scholars but also totally accessible for a general audience to enjoy.

When the movie was over I was thinking about how I related with a lot of it. In general I find that a connection is either found by something that triggers a similar personal memory or a desire for a similar situation being portrayed… or simply empathy. So, phrases like “I remember… ” or “I wish… ” play out within the inner conversation we have with ourselves while watching something.

My “I remember…” list from the movie includes:

• The madness and insanity surrounding the mounting of a production.
• The intensity and passion that explodes with a new lover.
• The pain in having to lose that love.

My “I wish… ” list includes:

• That episodes in life had neat and tidy resolves like they do in the movies. LOL!
• I had written that script and made tons of money from it.

So, what movie (or play) did you have those “I remember…” or “I wish… ” moments that have stayed with you even until today?

EDIT: 10:30 AM
Here’s something you can slow-dance to. I think all Mondays should start off with a slow dance or 2, don’t you? Sinead O’Conner doing Cole Porter’s “You do something to me”. I first saw this years ago as part of the Red, Hot & Blue project and still own the CD. My favorite track though is KD Lang doing “So In Love”.

At this point it’s probably going to be a movie night for me. Probably a little celluloid marathon. Haven’t had one of those in a while… figured I was due. Have I decided what I’m going to watch? Nope. I’ll just go through my library and revisit something that fits my mood… though I’m not exactly sure what that is at the moment.
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Was watching “Walking The Bible” documentary earlier on PBS… finally completed all three episodes. It was fascinating. Anything with history and archeology gets me instantly hooked… plus the scenery… especially of the desert was just spectacular. While watching, it also struck me how the continual search for meaning never ends. Whether we are looking for it through religion, history, philosophy, science, etc… the search never stops. It’s as if life is one huge detective story that provides clues that we may choose to chase or not. Personally, I think when we stop chasing and think we have figured it out, that is exactly the moment we get into trouble.
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OBSERVATION: Is it just me and the immediate world around me or has this year been one of major and sometimes extreme transitions?
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EDIT: Here is a musical interlude from Terra Naomi. (There is also a great live version here.) Enjoy.

… will come later in the day. Be prepared to count your blessings.

EDIT: Noon
I’m starting a new weekly feature on my Friday postings called DA COUNT. The idea is to celebrate, appreciate, and remind myself of what I have. Part of this was inspired by a recent chat with Cosima and something a character in one of my plays said. “It’s what you got that counts… not what you don’t have. If you count what you don’t have… then you always got nothing.” (From Bundle Of Wishes – circa 1989) And the answer is YES… if you so desire you may join in.

So, here goes…

I did something today I hadn’t done in years… get out of bed at 11 AM. And because this was such an unusual occurrence I have to admit that it was also quite a glorious luxury. Even in the days when I pulled late theatre nights I would always be up no later than 8 AM. It is just something about wasting the opportunities that a new day presents that gets me up early. Now mind you it wasn’t always this way. When I was much younger and didn’t quite appreciate the fleetingness of time and was under the delusion that physical life was forever… I was a time waster extrodinaire.

So, today I am blessed by the opportunities that life and each day presents as well as an awareness of mortality “to make it count.”
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Had a grand time with the chat thingy yesterday. Those that came by included Tricia, KFarmer, Lime, Cosima and Kien. The latter 3 were all on at the same time and it was quite the party! Thanks to all of you! It was a grand pleasure… lets do it again soon!
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And now the…

“Elizabeth” is one of those films that comes along every so often that just continues to leave an impression years after you’ve experienced it. It tells the story of the young princess and her eventual transformation into one of the most powerful monarchs England has ever known.
The title part is played brilliantly by the amazing Cate Blanchett and supported by equally brilliant performances by a stellar cast including Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush and Richard Attenborough.

Of course there is a fair amount of dramatic license with the script and facts are twisted and rearranged to accommodate the plot. However, one has to realize that this is a movie and not a documentary of history… the same can be said for any of Shakespeare’s “history” plays. Yet I do not doubt for one second that the intrigue and treachery that surrounded the court life in the film was any less venomous in real life.

Brilliantly filmed this movie is quite the feast for the eyes as well. Perfect for a late night watch accompanied with a good bottle of red wine.

Here are some quotes:

Elizabeth: I do not like wars. They have uncertain outcomes.
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Queen Mary: When I look at you I see nothing of the king, only that whore, your mother. My father never did anything so good as to cut off her head.
Elizabeth: Your majesty forgets he was also my father.
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Elizabeth: I have rid England of her enemies. What do I do now? ——————————————–
I hear too that a sequel is currently being filmed.
Cheers and have a great weekend!

… so the gang met up for drinks. (When do we not?) There will be pictures later in the day. The connection over here is slower than snails.

Anyway, there was quite a bit of catch-up and drinks… and with Rogue Year Round tonight I strongly suspect it’s happening again.

EDIT: 1:35 PM
So, here is a pic. (We’re not entirely sure if kamotion is praising the lord or heiling.) SSM will have more since he was the uber shutterbug last night.
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