You Gotta Have a Gimmick

It all started with an e-mail from my friend a couple of weeks ago.

"A Friend of mine will be performing at the Triple Door on April 28th. Want to come?"

How innocuous is that?  Sure, I want to help support her friend.  and The Triple door is a nice venue.  So I said "yes".

About a week later, I asked what kind of performer her friend was.  "I think she's a Dancer",she  replied.

OK.  cool.

Friday night, we had dinner together.  I asked for more information about her friend's dancing.  Was it a troupe?  Was it a solo performance?  Was it part of a dance series?

Then came the reply: "She's a contortionist." 

A WHAT?????  

OK, Let's be open-minded here.  So she's a little bend-y.  How strange could that be?    OK.  I'm there.

So tonight, I was there.   And THIS was not what I expected.  

I was prepared for a pleasant evening's entertainment.  I arrived late, so I missed all the pre-show hoopla, the introductions.  When I was escorted to my seat, I saw a 6-foot drag queen swearing at the crowd and introducing a stripper.

Not what I was expecting on a Tuesday night.  I asked if that was her friend.  She nodded "no".  

Next came a break dancer.  He was followed by a bad magician, an acrobatic team, two more strippers, some decent jugglers, a guy with a big Velcro circle on his face upon which he stuck big felt eyes and lips and hopped around the stage, another stripper, and FINALLY, my friend's contortionist.

Pretty impressive.  She could put her head through her legs, backwards, twist her shoulders and arms in ways I've never seen before, and do it all with the elegance of a dancer.

Then, finally, it was time to close the evening's entertainment.

When the two women appeared in black leather corsets with bits of metal attached, and turned on power grinders to create sparks on themselves and each other, I LOST IT.

I started laughing hysterically.  WHAT SICK FUCK THOUGHT OF DOING THAT TO THEIR BODY?????   I couldn't get the thought out of my mind.  Jesus.  Somebody had to come up with that idea!

The 6-foot drag queen MC gave me a dirty look.  I couldn't help it.  Somebody, please, stop me now. 

I really wasn't ready for this.    

Allegory of Time Governed by Prudence

A painting to contemplate today, even though it was created in 1585 by Titian.  It hangs in the National Gallery in London and the art history books will tell you it's an oil painting on canvas.

But what else does it tell you?  Art of this period is very realistic in nature or focused on religion.

As an "allegory of time", it also shows the passage from one state of life into another.  And perhaps of one state of being into another.

Where is the Prudence in this painting?  Is it in the tempering of moods and emotions to keep from transitioning into the beast?  Or is the transition inevitable and the prudence keeps the transition's fury at bay?

And the use of light and shadows seems to echo the moods of the stages of the man's life and the animal's moods.

I want to see this painting in person some day.  It's very advanced for the period in which it was created, and a groundbreaking depiction of humanity.  

And one....... Perfect Tree.

For just a couple of weeks every year, this tree looks this way.    The pattern of the leaves will remain until the fall.

But it's the color that makes me stir inside.   This shade of green, like no other, which says "It's SPRING, dammit!  Pay attention!".

The color means the leaves are soft and pliant.  It means things have just begun.  

There is hope.

There is hope.

A Day for the Earth

One tulip says it all.  Yesterday was glorious.  

Today, not so pretty, but at least it's SPRING!

Happy Earth Day, everyone.

What a Freaking JOKE

Why did I even bother?  I signed up a month ago, and the minute they read my profile, they close communication.

I tell you, this is getting ridiculous.  

What a waste of money.

A Different Take on the "Teabagger" Protest

Yeah, this kind of put that whole tea-bag protest thing into perspective for me.

It's from a story on the anti-tax rally at Westlake Center yesterday, published on "The Weekly"'s website.

There were signs condemning the President, the tax code, anybody who was not a Republican,...

.....and these two.

I think that about says it all.

Somehow, I Thought it would be Different

There are no real primers for middle age. And it feels very strange to even write those words, "middle age".

But it's hard to deny, that I am no longer a kid.

It's funny. I was always the youngest one in the newsroom. People would marvel at my abilities "at such a young age". I thought it was weird that I was working with people all the way "in their 40's", while I was just "in my 20's".

How the heck did I get HERE?

But maybe I should celebrate the fact that I've MADE IT HERE.

Every day I read news stories about a 46-year-old-woman, a 47-year-old-woman, a 48-year-old-woman who has been involved in a fatal car crash, a terrible diving accident, a house fire.....those designations used to seem so impersonal. Now, they're ME! Wow.

They tell me that drug and alcohol abuse is rampant in people in their mid-40's. I think lots of people have a hard time dealing with this time. Bodies change, reproduction systems slow or shut down, and I don't even recognize myself in the mirror. Inside, I'm still me. But outside? Wow. wow.

wow.

But the "middle" of anything is a transition.

When I was doing counseling, my therapist always used to ask me to visualize the 75 year old Lisa looking back on my life and reflecting on the issues I was spending so much time dealing with in the present. The 75 year old Lisa could always use love and compassion to see the situation, admire the much younger Lisa and see beyond the problem.

I'm gonna be really cool when I'm 75.

Getting Lost

This is a trailer for "Riven", the sequel to "Myst". These games came out in the late 1990's and took over my imagination. I remember spending many hours lost in the story, the mystery, and the beautiful and very advanced (at the time) graphics.

I never had to shoot and kill anyone or do anything violent. I had to search my brain to solve the many puzzles, but there was never any blood.

LOVED these games! Did you ever play them?

Going Home

This is a portion of a fresco owned by the J Paul Getty Museum which the museum is returning to Italy.

The AP describes it thus:

"The 35-by-31-inch fragment showing a landscape was donated to the museum in 1996. Spokeswoman Rebecca Taylor says the museum noticed last year that it matched another piece of a wall painting that a private collector was returning to Italy.

Taylor says experts decided the two fragments came from the same fresco and Getty officials decided to return their piece.

Taylor says the piece had been on display but wasn't a highlight of the collection.
The Getty has returned more than three dozen ancient artifacts that Italy claimed were looted from archaeological sites. But Taylor says the wall fragment is not believed to have been looted."

There are also 3 other works of art, including a stunning black-figure Grecian urn that will be returned.

We're seeing many works of art returned to their home countries these days as goodwill gestures.

It's interesting to see, and important for classic collections. But I also wonder about the practice because often, these antiquities in America are the first exposures of young people to tangible history.

I hope some stay in their current homes.

Really, I WOULD Make My Bed....

......if it weren't so cluttered with sleeping pooches!

By the way, the blue and white quilt was an acquisition from Ohio Amish country.  It's so well made, hand-stitched, and I probably should be displaying it rather than keeping it on my bed.

But, the Amish are all about using their art in their daily lives, so I guess I'm being true to that mission by doing so.

Plus, the dogs seem to like it so much!

THIS is a Movie Theater?

A couple of months ago, I received an invitation to "Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas" at Redmond Town Center.

I didn't have time that weekend to go to this plush, new theater to see a movie, so I just forgot about it.

Friday, I received another e-mail, saying I could visit ANY time, so I bit. I went to see Duplicity at 2:15 Saturday afternoon.

Tickets are more than $25 each, and food and liquor are extras. ( think later shows cost more than earlier shows---the website is EXTREMELY elusive)

But THIS is what greets you in the lobby:



The service is impeccable. And the artwork on the walls is beautiful. There are sculptures everywhere, servers who cater to your every whim, bag check, very nice private restrooms, and elegance everywhere.

This is the menu. If you click on it, you can enlarge it. I had the Chinois Asian Chicken rolls or whatever they were, and this amazing 3-serving dessert with carrot cake, banana cream pie and chocolate mouse in tall shotglasses. WOW! They also had Coke Zero...and a full bar. Didn't take advantage of that.



And, THESE are the seats:


They recline electronically, the table in the center of each two chairs has a "call" button for the servers. They gave me a blanket, in case I got cold. And there was a big storage bin underneath the arm rests of each chair.

So how was the move? Fantastic! And it was great being served with my feet up.

Would I pay those prices for it?

Well.....maybe if it was a VERY special occasion with a VERY special someone.....

Sure was fun!

High M-pact Players

The vocal group M-Pact formed in Seattle a number of years ago. They now tour around the world. Today they returned to The Center for Spiritual Living, where the group began.

I loved them!!! This is a performance late last year.