Thursday, December 31, 2015

the 100 blogs war...

so here it is..blog entry #100!...what started as a lark to keep me writing in may of 2012...still lives as we cross into 2016...and the cliché of mental resolutions continues as well...to write more...read more...and most importantly...listen more...to publish that second book...although as life kicks me around since that first book was published late 2010...isn't it always like that?...i stop and think about intent and result...and realize that trying to conform to the restrictions of small press agents and contests...well, that compromises intent too much...and so i will probably go it alone and self-publish one way or another...and that's fine...when i think about art and expression...all art...the most important result is not the sale (although some dollars would be nice)...it is striking a chord in the viewer...the listener...or reader...and making that tenuous connection...this year brought two performances in film that shook me to the core...and i suppose neither will get the recognition so deserved...blythe danner in "i'll see you in my dreams" and nina hoss in "phoenix"...the subtle power...love and survival...raw and ugly and beautiful...and affirming...and so we go on...maybe more focused for a few weeks...we try to keep our footing on life's slippery curves...wishing everyone the new year they wish for...and the life they deserve

Friday, December 18, 2015

oh, come, all ye faithful

so, again, in penn...and, once again, that wonderful violinist...and this time he was playing "oh, come, all ye faithful"...and it was quite beautiful...and haunting...and got me thinking as i swiped, and rushed for the 1 train...i thought about all those thin lines that separate...faith from fear...compassion from cynicism...those same lines that often divide us and swallow us whole...i marvel at those so steadfast and sure in their faith...sure enough that it is part of who they are...the very fabric of their being...we may agree on very little...but they will be the first to offer a hand in crisis...and then those who feel that differences compromise their faith...and go to great lengths to erase the difference...and lose the core of belief in the process...and i hear the strains of that song in my head...reminding me of a time so far back...in a crisp white blouse and black skirt...singing with a staten island chorus...oh, yes, way back when singing was part of my life...and the chorus was performing Christmas classics...songs that brought a pause of peace to my teenaged Jewish soul...and the memory reminded me of a core belief...we may pray to different gods...in very different holy houses...and quiet rooms...but we all hope to get to the same place...and that in itself should be enough...Happy Chanukah (a little late)...Merry Christmas...and most important...peace within

Friday, December 4, 2015

imagine...

so yesterday i was walking through penn station...lirr side...truly disgusting...am i telling you anything you don't already know?...and then i heard it...a violinist who plays for the masses who rush by ignoring him on a daily basis...he was playing "imagine"...and i felt a catch in my throat...the news these days is unimaginable...we shield ourselves with posts from the left and right and argue hoping to hide the anger and fear brewing at the surface...and please if you're reading this...then just read...the place for your political views is on your social media...but let's agree on one thing...this is not the world we want for our children...our nieces and nephews...our godchildren...this is not the world our grandparents envisioned for us in their final thoughts before they passed...and so i listened to that violinist...i should have stopped and lingered...but i raced on...raced towards what, really?...john lennon...would have been 75...brilliant and troubled...and all in between...maligned for his love for a woman many saw as the cause of the break-up of our beloved beatles...really?...life ended what was the beatles...and went on in four distinct separate paths...but music lives on...and those lovely violin strings reminded me of that...and i am wiping the tears because these days i can't imagine...and for that, mr. lennon, my heart breaks