Nine Lives

I know that it's been a while since posting but sometimes life gets in the way- family stuff, work stuff (or lack there of), stuff stuff.

I decided on posting "Nine Lives" for a few reasons. 1) After an overnight trip to Las Vegas to take care of my mom I returned home to find the cat nearly comatose. I made an appointment at the vets to put her down but on the day of the visit E.V. perked up and found that she wasn't exactly "dead yet".  A few weeks later necessitated another visit and possible injection. But again she wasn't exactly "dead yet". Nine Lives? Yeah.

2) My mother has been given a chance for several lives after surviving cancer.  I think it was more than luck that we discovered the cancer so early and though she had to make hard choices she made the correct ones.

3) "Nine Lives" features the last radio recording of my dear friend Leona Jacobs White. She wasn't as fortunate as my mom in finding her cancer at an early stage and died back in 2001. Leona lived more than nine lives and her spirit still inspires me today.

So here's to living Nine Plus Lives. And living each to the fullest.

Click on the above title to listen or visit iTunes One Thousand Hertz.

In Spirit

Mortality has been on my mind lately. Parents getting older. Memories of friends who died too soon. So many commercials about increasing insurance so that funeral costs are down for survivors. There seems to be a sense a dread around death. A fear of the unknown- the idea of not knowing what's on the other side when we die. Yet few ponder what existence there is prior to birth.

Religion plays a large part in how we consider death. Some believe there is a heaven. Others believe the paradise with virgins waiting (where they come from, I don't know). And there is the one where you get your own planet!!! Still there are those who believe redemption in ones life is the ultimate salvation.  And if Karma is what you hold true, we return in a seemingly endless loop until we achieve pure grace.

Of course there are those who see the grave as the final exit- nothing more.

For me? That's a discussion for another time.

"In Spirit" focus in not on death but the idea of living ones life and how accepting the inevitable brings a certain amount of comfort. It's not an answer to any questions about what happens after death. There's nothing profound. It's a radio play that may open up a discussion but hopefully entertains.

Click on the above title to listen. Podcast also available on iTunes (One Thousand Hertz).

Breakdown

I believe we all at one time or another reach a point when thinks just shutdown. It could be financial or emotional or physical- something happens and for a moment there is a BREAKDOWN.

This blog and podcast is about an actress who reaches a point in her career where she concludes that all that rewards aren't enough to provide fulfillment. Click on the above title or visit iTunes (One Thousand Hertz) to listen .

I thought that this would be a good piece to post the day of Obama's jobs speech.  It seems that many in this country are reaching the point of a breakdown. Opportunities that were thought to always be around aren't. Yeah, the constitution does say we have the right to the pursuit of happiness but doesn't mention that we have the right to happiness. Let's face it, whatever is said by Obama and done by the nation's leaders it will not be a cure all. Really, if it helps some people many more will remain to struggle on.

In the pursuit of happiness there are no guarantees.  I think that we can have moments of contentment in our lives then we are doing pretty well. Being one of the millions who are in the struggle I would like to say that even when there doesn't seem to be a positive conclusion at least we have this moment to pursue a moment of contentment. Perhaps that moment will allow us to venture on through the Valley of Uncertainty- groping along in the darkness towards a the light of clarity. Brothers and Sisters stay strong.

Breakdown was recorded in front of a live audience with the radio production group Pagliacci's Fools.

About Face(Book)

I had just turned 50. I don't know what is it about birthdays, especially benchmark birthdays (21, 30, 40 etc) but there is somehow an expectation for that birthday. My 50 had me reflecting about old friends and wondering where they were and what they were doing. So I joined Facebook.

Simply joining Facebook reconnected me with friends from high school and college- people I realized were very important to making me the person I was at 50.  Looking at my friends list I noticed that the common thread- though they are diverse in their beliefs, race, sex, sexual orientations, social status- the common thread was that all these folks are good people. This is may be my opinion but I believe others would agree if they knew them as I do.

Good ordinary people with families, doing the day to day the best way they can. They are all surviving challenges the world throws at them. Good People.

So this a long way of saying that a bunch of my high school friends and I got together to go to a Dodger's game last night. Last night was my first Dodger's game. Last night was my first Dodger's dog. Last night was the first time seeing some of these folks in over thirty years. But it wasn't about the game (Dodgers won) or the food but it was about reconnecting with some good people.

John A. brought all together via Facebook (thanks John). One of my last productions for KPFA was this piece called "About Face(book) featuring my Facebook friends Pat, Alan, Molly, Vince and Valerie and the music of Flynn. Good people all.

Empress Niger

"Empress Niger" is an old piece I originally wrote for a couple of friends/students when I was a Forensics coach in Los Angeles. When I first started doing radio plays I naturally went to old material as a source for the productions- just to get my feet wet as it were.

The original inspiration were two very talented people who could pull off the characters and bring out the sense of loneliness and hope at the center of the piece.

I was lucky enough to find two more talented people to meet the task and really launch Pagliacci's Fools.

It's kinda funny that I am posting this particular piece. This was written right out of college and I had a sense of hope in the future great things were to come. And now- well- I just turned 52 and I am living that future but it's not exactly what I had hoped for back then. The future is uncertain but I think one must continue forward. Looking back doesn't give you much insight. Just a stiff neck.

Phoebe Snow 1950-2011

I was in high school when Phoebe Snow released her self titled debut album.  I can't explain it but there was something unique about it.  Others like Carol King, James Taylor, Bread- they had a similar sound but Phoebe Snow was different in a way I couldn't explain then or now.

You have to remember that this was an era before MTV, auto-tune, American Idol, huge stadium shows and what all has become the norm for the modern music industry. It was the time of the singer craftsman (or woman) and Phoebe Snow was a master.

She died today at the age of 60. Immediately on hearing the news "Poetry Man" started playing in my head and has been in a continuous loop. I guess it will be for a few days to come. But unlike other songs that become annoying after a while (Afternoon Delight, anyone?) the haunting quality of "Poetry Man" is a bit comforting. It takes me back to when I was a young man and the music and lyrics to songs created images in my mind.

I'm thinking that we will probably not hear another artist like Phoebe Snow. I'm not saying this because she is/was one of a kind (although she is/was) but because of the what the music industry is today. Artifice instead of art; consumption instead of content; marketing before craft. We live in an age when a video on You Tube can turn a kid into a superstar (for a while).  I sure there are others out there as skilled if not more so than Phoebe Snow but for some reason that don't fit the "Idol" format and will remain performing in the local cafes with local followings all the while doing a day to day just to get by. This is our lost.

So the voice of Phoebe Snow is silent but not forgotten. Though she is gone her music continues to live and for this I am grateful. Thank you Phoebe Snow for showing a young boy so many years ago magic and majesty in a song.

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