11/26/2015

words and music....

....

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creative people such as writers, poets, 
artists, film makers but particularly lyricists,
Theresa playing js bach's composition

composers and musicians 
make this world go 'round.
musicians in session



take for instance, the lyrics 
of the song
" I ONLY MISS HER
WHEN I THINK OF HER"



"I'll only miss her when 
I think of her
And I'll think of her 
all the time
Likely I'll spend my days 
hearing her turn 
of a phrase
Things I found hard to praise 
right now 
would seem sublime"......

"....I'll bet I forget her completely 
in about a hundred years"

it's a profound expression of
enchantment...
it could be your song,
for all we know.

but the point is ...
it makes the world 
go 'round.

Oliver Sacks
a  British neurologist,
who migrated to USA,
 ventured to explore
the function of music particularly for
those stricken with central nervous
disorders due to stroke...
and made contributions to the
understanding of these patients
ability to exhibit responses to
certain music and sounds
despite their seemingly
almost lack of
responsiveness.

Unfortunately, Oliver passed
away in September. I was
in LA, at the time, visiting
friends, when I heard of the news
broadcasted on NPR.
I've started reading his
"musicophilia," about 3
years ago, and still have
not finished...
too many intervening
circumstances, you know...
but i'll get to finish it
somehow.

At any rate,
do check lyrics of
songs, specially,
the standards,

and it's amazing
how the writers' imaginativeness
and creativity seems
very expansive and
without borders.

Go through the exercise
of analyzing the songwriters'
carefully chosen words
and perhaps, might uncover for
 yourself....
ways on
how to keep the flame 
of sweet-errr romance...


lands end look out fogged in.....br.r.r.r.
that's all folks!
raccoons at lake merced

jt


10/18/2015

TURNER at the DE YOUNG ....

...finally found the time to see the...

Turner paintings on Friday,
2 days shy of the exhibit
 closing on Sunday.

As usual the last few days
of the exhibit is crowded...


Turner did a lot of glazing 
to achieve the light effects
which were principal
elements in his
artworks.

I heard someone made a comment
about him being ahead of his 
time....
it's not easy not to agree
as we've not seen any of 
his effects in the contemporary
art scene.
However, artists like Homer, Eakins,
Delacroix, Constable, Raeburn
and other masters are equally
capable...

I might venture to say that he has seen
stuff that contemporary painters
would be dumbfounded to admit
can only see under the 
influence of LSD...


which for all we know,
may have been existing 
during Turner's time 
but just were not simply
called LSD...
until the Beatles
era...

suffice it to say this
is British creativity ...

Turner was crazy enough to tie himself
to the ship's mast in order to 
experience the power of the 
sea storm...
all the physical energies
nature unleashes
and the bravery as well
as the overcoming of
fear necessary for
a mortal to face legitimately
and squarely what nature has got.
Now then Turner can
claim, " He's seen
and experienced it",
and therefore can share it
visually via his
pictures which do
give the viewer
the idea of such a
harrowing experience....

I did something almost similar
to this where i made an attempt 
to paint the storm looming
so i went to the hill
an hour before the storm...
the gusts of the wind
knocked my easel and canvas 
to the ground and the 
howling wind
made me feel like a
scared rat....
as i was 
up on the hill by myself
amidst the darkening sky 
and the freezing cold
wind....
sure, you might say, 
i'm easy to cower...
but remember ,
he who runs and lives,,,
lives to paint another day.

so when I say, 
Turner was crazy...
to tie himself to the mast
in the middle of the storm...
folks! I tell you...
he was!....
though, I must admit,
dismally, that he was 
extra brave
and i am half a coward.

that's all folks!


jt









10/17/2015

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD...

.... it's one of the intriguing lines in the movie....

the BIRDS by Alfred Hitchcock...
count the birds if you can...

The countless pelicans and sea gulls
at Montara's lighthouse on highway 1,


just a few miles south of San Francisco,
and the presence of 
 whales not too far from the shore,
not to mention the flooding in Europe
and earthquakes in Chile and elsewhere,
gives one the sense to wonder
if these are signs of doomsday nearing...

some preachers are cautious not to say so...
but they are equally fearful that it might
be so....

but on further investigation...
rocks below the lighthouse
i noted the birds are out there
feasting on the marine life
surfacing and going to the
shallow warm waters...
it's the el nino effect,,,

further south
in Half Moon Bay,
the pumpkin festival is 
on going...
Main Street sidewalk with festival signs
hanging on lamp posts
participants are getting ready
with their entries...
some of these 
giant pumpkins can
weigh up to a ton...
weighing station for the pumpkins

back in the city,
things are looking normal...
California St looking east
friends find time to chat
while walking their dogs...



that's all folks!


jt







8/22/2015

BEING GREEN


SF PEBS has a new member...

Kayli
Kayli is our gorgeous new artist.
she likes figurative works...
yes.... there's no mistaking...
it's not your set folks,
she has beautiful green hair...
beautiful smile and
charming personality...
a total beauty...
She just graduated from SF State.


.....meanwhile...
as opposed to the weather 
in the early part of the week where we 
had near ...

a biker before noontime at the Westlake area...
let's- go- naked -temperature....

8/16/2015

Stern Grove

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the concerts at the grove is about to
 

culminate for the summer...

but there's always time to be foot loose and fancy free...


Dad, mom  and daughter going to
the hawaiian concert ...

As usual a large audience
are out here, sun or fog...



and the snack and refreshment kiosks 
serve everyone's favorite grill food...

hot dogs, burgers, chicken...

the Hawaiians
brought music from the
early 1900s to present...
for sure a noticeable difference
is reflected on the pacing ...
the mellow and slow rhythm of
the earlier years
had been changed to 
 faster pace by the
new generation of composers
in the last few decades...


Nonetheless, San Franciscan are not 
really particular about that. A concert on
a Sunday is an opportunity to relax
and listen to good live music...


that's all folks!


see you at the concert!!!


jt



8/15/2015

HOW TIME FLIES....

......when you're having fun....

and that's exactly what it is today
at the Saturday Farmers Market
in Serramonte...

It is rather warm at 74 degrees with hardly a 
cool breeze to give one a relief....
but nevertheless the market
is packed with shoppers....

I get my organic salad from 
Roger 

Erica shops for carrots...


but the highlight of the day is the music that's provided, 
particularly , 
by Bill and Stephanie.
They caught my attention from a distance 
with "Moon river", a Henry Mancini composition for 
the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's".
Their guitar and flute combination is great
for easy listening and relaxation.
As they're jazz performers, we happened to talk about
the Marian McPartland KQED jazz on Wednesdays.
Though Marian passed away not too recently, there is
still a big audience listening to her on-going
Wednesday night radio program and I'm just
happy listening to it myself.
She's a long life typical to a lot of people 
in the arts.
Bill thinks it's on account of musicians, artists, actors, writers
able to touch the space of joy, almost devoid
of worries and able to do what you love to do. Something
Joseph Campbell spews about in finding time
for yourself and not for anybody else.
Even the Journal of American Medicine credits
longevity to the absence of tension and stress along
with great exercise and healthy diet.

Bill and Stephanie will have their gig in September
at the Southwest terminal arrival/baggage area
at the Oakland airport,
to bring joy via their sweet and soothing
music to airline passengers
while waiting to collect their luggages.



that's all folks!

Au revoir!
Hasta la vista!

jt