All the Love for Anthony

I think as far as the business of art goes, Amanda Palmer has created something incredible that all artists need to take note of. And you're probably sick of me talking about her, but too bad. I'm going to. Because she's doing something amazing that we need to acknowledge.

Art on a mass quantity can go around the world, yes. Everyone is singing that same song, and that's great for that artist. But art on a smaller quantity with better quality and more connection to the individual fans can do more. It can change the way people think.

I have had a few conversations with writer and artist friends recently about wanting to have a best seller and wanting to get national or international recognition. One person asked me, "How do I make this book universal enough so everyone can relate?"

My answer is you don't. You don't make it that universal. You can't make every single reader/viewer of your art love your art. But you can develop a beautiful relationship with people who are influenced by your art, touched by your art. Write what you want to write, create the art you love. Somewhere someone else needs that art. And you don't have to be famous to be successful. You don't have to be universal enough for every single person on the planet to want to read your book. You have to be speaking to the people who NEED your book. The people who need your art.

Stop trying to be famous and stick with trying to be the artist you need to be for the world.

Below is Amanda Palmer's Facebook post from this morning. I'd like you to click the link and see the comments. I want you to see the way she is loved by her fans. If you click on the comments for any other musician you see a bunch of people who obviously don't think their post will be seen. A bunch of "you suck" or "I love you Rihanna!" or whatever. At least half the comments are off topic for the post.

Amanda's fans are on topic. They are on topic because they feel like they know her and she knows them. They are commenting on the post of a friend.

She does know them. She's taken the time to connect and build an artistic relationship and community, which in my opinion is infinitely more important than advertising your art.

My love to Anthony at this horrible announcement. I'll be thinking of you.

some aching news from london.please send love. https://www.patreon.com/posts/2690011
Posted by Amanda Palmer on Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

I'm torn. Part of me is delighted that these two authors came to me at this era in my own writing, because I feel like I need them. Part of me is infuriated that I didn't discover them earlier in my life. It feels like lost time. Why did it take me so long?

Alright, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophesies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. First of all, I listened to this on an audiobook. I'll be re-reading it at some point in a book form.

Let me tell you how audiobooks work for me: I hear three sentences. My head starts spinning. Suddenly, like Alice down a rabbit hole, I'm somehow back in my own work in progress, forgetting that I was listening to someone else's book because the faeries in my own novel are calling. And I have to rewind and refocus. Every time. Regardless of the audiobook.

Good Omens

Even with a great audiobook like this one, read by Martin Jarvis. I'm very much a visual learner. Things I see on paper stick more than things I hear.

I'm intrigued by authors who can co-author a book. When I write the stories are so in my head, so deeply a part of me, that I can't imagine attempting to work with another author in the process. Not in fiction, anyway. I admire it.

An attempt at a summary (which may or may not give spoilers): The world is going to end on Saturday, but due to a mixup with the intentional switched at birth attempt of the child anti-christ, he has been misplaced. Meanwhile there are demons flying through phone lines and fish in the streets. The four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have been joined by four bikers. Also, a woman who pretends to be psychic has found herself in touch with a spirit she didn't necessarily want, and a man who loves to complain to newspapers finds himself in situations so outlandish even he can't write them. If it can happen in the book of Revelations, or if you can imagine it happening in some new version of Revelations, it can happen in this satyrical novel of the future of the world.

This is a really funny book. I laughed out loud and got weird looks from other drivers at stop lights, but there is also a deeper thread of questioning religion and society that tends to be in most of Gaiman and Pratchett's work. When you have Angels of the Apocalypse who are naming themselves "Grievous Bodily Harm" and "Things Not Working Properly Even After You've Given Them A Good Thumping but secretly No Alcohol Lager" you can't help but laugh, but there is also this interesting dialogue being hinted at about what we value, and what we hate. And where those values will take us in the future.

But mostly, with this book, you'll laugh.

Also, note what is next for Good Omens and the BBC4 event coming up.

Side Note: I don't normally music reviews, however, as I was writing this I was listening to Pink Floyd's new album, "The Endless River." This is some good meditative and calming stuff. I agree with a friend of mine's analysis that it somehow feels like you're always on the precipice of lyrics (it's primarily instrumental) but it's really interesting, and will likely be a common soundtrack for my writing. And perhaps yoga. 

First Test
Feminists who like fantasy,
take note, if you don't know Tamora Pierce!

Ireland
Dubbed "the most eloquent man in the world.
I believe it.

The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer: Book Review

I hate asking for help. I don't like asking for someone to loan me money. I don't like asking to borrow a vehicle. I don't like bumming a ride. I don't like asking for a shoulder to cry on. I am a chronically independent person.

I think it was kismet that while I was reading this book I was also moving into a new apartment with almost no notice and no money. In the last week I've asked to borrow vehicles, washing machines, time, hugs and muscle power. I've had to ask for more favors than I ever cared to ask for. Luckily, I had Amanda Palmer's love of the world to help me in humbling myself and trusting my amazing family and friends, my personal network, in this process. (By the way, thank you to our friends and family who helped!)            

The Art of Asking

I've been a fan of Amanda Palmer, indie rock star turned author in this memoir/self-help-book/business-guide, since her Dresden Dolls days. I performed as the "Coin-Operated Boy" in a drag show performance of her popular song just months after I turned twenty-one and could legally go to bars. She has inspired me to put my art out there, to be true to who I am and to be okay with exposing my darkest and deepest self to the world in the way an artist must. Many people have discovered her through her endlessly inspirational TED Talk.

Amanda Palmer loves. She has an ongoing love affair with her fans, her husband, the world itself. She loves people. She loves life, even when she hates it. She loves the entire human family. And her love of the human family, the things we are capable of and the things we sometimes fail at, seeps out of every line of this book. This book will make you want to trust, want to love, want to feel comfortable relying on people, even in moments when you are making yourself incredibly vulnerable.

Palmer details her controversial experiences with media and social media. She describes some of her big mistakes in life, and some incredibly difficult positions she's been put in. But throughout the whole thing she is telling a story about how to rewrite our relationship with artists, and our relationships with fan if we are artists. She is allowing us, as a society, to entertain the idea of returning to embracing our artists, welcoming them back into the arms of society and off the pedestal, off the red carpet and from behind the velvet rope. She is telling a story about embracing the Indie artist as valid and real without a label or publishing house or art review telling us they are valid and real. She is telling artists to rely on their fans to help them, financially, emotionally and in building a rewarding career. To build a rewarding network of fans and followers that can catch the artist when she falls and boost her up when she succeeds.

Palmer is validating the artist who only sells a few hundred prints as just as important to the world as the one showing in art galleries in New York or Paris. She is validating the musician who performs for free at their friend's birthday parties as just as much a musician as the one topping the best-sellers lists. She is validating the self-published blogger who is just as much a writer as the one being reviewed in the New York Times.

This book is going to be a part of a collection of books that I return to often when I need a social and moral boost. Palmer reminds the reader that we are all human, we are all connected and we all need to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be flawed. To be exactly what we are and to be proud of that.

The Art of Asking, like so many books, came to me exactly when I needed it, and I'll forever be grateful for it. I can't wait to finish unpacking my new apartment and place it in its rightful place beside the other books that inspire me to love life.

Next I'm reading:

Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World

Calendar of Regrets

Thug - A Darker Side to Vivid Motion

I have laughed so hard my ribs ached at Vivid Motion's Annual "Nutcracker Burlesque." I gasped and giggled along with the rest of the audience at "The Seven Voyages of Sinbad" last spring. But last night I saw a different side to Vivid Motion. I sat in on the final dress rehearsal of "Thug." And this is a whole different, emotional and beautiful world of dance.

"Thug" is a dramatic dance performance that explores bullying, depression, alcoholism, abuse, addiction... well, the list goes on... And this all occurs through the life of its protagonist, Jacob. With music ranging from classical to country to a fascinating percussion bit performed on binders and textbooks, the music has the variety that only an examination of true life can warrant.

However, "Thug" is not just dance. It's experimental theater mixed with memoir and topped with an intricate smattering of digital art that could be a show all in itself. This is no surprise coming from its multi-talented director, creator and writer, Shea Murphy. Shea is an experienced videographer and digital artist with an ever-growing list of creative endeavors on his plate. It's quite obvious he poured his heart and soul into this show.

Will Ballou in the role of young Jacob is both endearing and heartbreaking. His pained expressions during some of the more tragic moments pull at the audience. There is also an interesting parallel between him and John Larson, the older Jacob. A fascinating exploration of inner child, and the haunting ways our childhood selves never leave us.

Bet Black plays the role of Nadia, tearing her way across the stage converting easily from badass protector of Jacob to a perfect contrasting mother figure to his own flawed mother. Venus Murphy is both comedy and frustration as she moves from a comical dance into being yet another injustice dropped on our troubled Jacob.

Meanwhile the two women playing Jacob and Nadia's mothers in the show (Lynn Knowlton and Becca Skolnik, respectively) each demonstrate the impact of both the torturous events of childhood and the horror that can lurk in the gene pool. Depending on your own experience you may walk away wanting to hug your mother or tell her off. But either way, you'll walk away thinking about her.

There is no way to see everything in a show as busy as this. There are times when halfway through a scene I realized there were words floating on the screen behind the dancers and I wished I'd had a chance to read them all. And a few moments I wished the choreographers had slowed down and let the viewer savor the moment, the pain, the emotion. For that it might even be worth seeing this show twice, so you can catch every beautiful moment and emotion. Because this is a show that will make you feel. Everything.



But, even with its moments of whiplash (perhaps because of them?) it's easily worth more than the $12 admission.

"Thug" runs August 7-10th at the St. Lawrence Arts Center.

Attraction Shadow Theater

I am totally hooked on these videos so while we are buried in snow and not going very far anyway, I figured I'd share a few with you.

As you all know I have a thing for theater. I also have a thing for dance.

 

...And puppetry. This is the most beautiful combination of the three that I've seen in a long time. So even though I'm easily distractible and all my writing energy has been focused on my novel (which is keeping me from blogging much) I figured I'd share something beautiful with you.

 

Like their Facebook Page cause these folks have a lot of beautiful art to share with the world!

Notting Hill On Writing (and a little on life)

I'll admit it, I've watched "Notting Hill" more times than I can count. Although I'm not a huge fan of romantic comedies there are a few here and there that have caught me and I have a bit of a thing for Julia Roberts. The other Julia Roberts movie that tops my list is "Mona Lisa Smile" but that's a post for a different day.

Nothing Hill. The fruitarian, the blue door, the orange juice, the guy with the book down his trousers. Horse and Hound Magazine. It's just so fun. Oh, and that soundtrack. I love it even though my wife insists it is elevator music. I hate elevators but I just might be okay in the one that plays this:




But honestly the biggest reason I've watched this movie so many times is the character development. It's important for a writer to know more about their characters than the reader does. After years of hearing this I've finally caught on and begun to use it in my own writing. I've taken to writing backstories, even for characters that are only in one scene. It's amazing what you can learn about someone this way. For instance, a character in my book who is only introduced in his death I realized had a special relationship with the protagonist. Because of this I was able to include a few little details, for instance a penchant for peppermint tea, which later develop into...  well, that would be spoilers. Let's just say, it might be important.

Richard Curtis, the author of "Notting Hill" obviously knows this technique. He also wrote for "French and Saunders" and "The Black Adder." Oh and one more... The episode of Doctor Who that has spawned a thousand pieces of Van Gogh/Tardis fan art... He wrote "Vincent and the Doctor."

I know, right?!

Anyway, back to "Notting Hill."

This technique Curtis uses is demonstrated best in the scene with the last brownie. In this scene William and his friends agree that the "saddest act" at the birthday party will get the last brownie. One friend reveals that she and her husband can't have children and talks about what it's like to be stuck in a wheelchair for life in a house of ramps. Another laments his job and how much he sucks at it. The birthday girl stresses over her feather hair and shrinking boosies. In this scene the spotlight is taken off of the leading man and leading lady and shared by the supporting cast.
(It was reading that this was someone else's favorite scene on Facebook tonight that prompted this post.)

Not only does this make for good character development, I feel it makes reading more natural as well. Life is supported by a full cast, and even when we feel the most self-centered, the most focused on ourselves, we are never alone in the spotlight.

When Songs Come Back

This song has been running through my head for the last few days. 


"Some people think I am rich but I am mostly poor

And I cover it up to get you to fight in my war"

  

Sad Songs Say So Much

The six year old bounced in front of me on the balls of his feet while loudly exclaiming "French fries are my fa-a-avorites," over and over. Behind him an older woman stepped up, waved hello to me silently and tapped him on the head. She grunted a little to be sure he knew she was there before squeezing past him to her table with her big mac and fries.

"Why did she do that?" he asked.

"She wanted to be sure you saw her and didn't run into her."

"But why did she make that noise and touch me?"

"Well," I said, "she is deaf, which means she can't hear and communicates with sign language. She tapped you to make sure you knew she was there so you didn't bounce into her."

"Oh."

He was quiet as he meticulously chewed each chicken nugget, his little Asperger's brain working through this new experience, fitting it into his world.

Half an hour later I was buckling his seatbelt when he said, "I'm really smart with science."

"Yes you are," I said.

"I bet when I grow up I can find a way to make it so she can hear again. She should be able to hear the world."

~*~

I was sitting on the floor of my client's bedroom with case notes spread out around me. Five years old, blind and diagnosed with Autism, he was in the other room listening to his mp3 player. Caught up in my paperwork, I didn't realize he was in the doorway until he let out a small, "Katrina?" 

I looked up at him and saw tears rolling down his cheeks.

"What's the matter honey?" I abandoned all professional boundaries and pulled him into my lap in a hug, wiping away his tears. I strongly believe professional boundaries go out the window when a small child cries.

"It's really said," he said between sobs. "The people in the song. They have problems in their love."

I took his mp3 player from his small, chubby fist and turned it toward me. He was listening to Sheryl Crow. 

~*~

When you read an article claiming that the Connecticut shooter had Aspergers please do not believe that this diagnosis made him a killer. Aspergers and Autism do not mean a person has no empathy. In fact, I strongly believe it is the exact opposite. I believe they have so much empathy that it is overwhelming and they don't know how to express it. Or they shut it down, stifle it, in order to function in the world the way we expect them to.

My Summer in Photographs

Orr's Island

My brother and niece enjoying some big Maine coast waves.

My brother-in-law with one of my nephews.

My oldest nephew also known as Monkey-Child

Trisha... being Trisha in Salem, Mass.

Salem, Mass

Aine

Butterbeer from the new Harry Potter store in Salem, Mass.

Three beautiful children at a wedding in Aroostook County

Trisha fishing while I read a Linda Greenlaw book nearby

Ani Difranco and Melissa Ferrick

Orr's Island

Somewhere in Mid-Maine

Making a Life

My sister Kymmy went to Jamaica.
My brother to Egypt.
My other two sisters have done their share of traveling.
My dad has been everywhere.

I have never left New England.

I was asked recently why this is. I am an ambitious person. I love to be busy, so it doesn't make sense. I should have seen the world by now. Last night I came up with the answer. I have been making a living and forgot to make a life.

I moved out of my parents house ten years ago and I have spent the last ten years working. I have taken only two real vacations. I spent both of them in the state of Maine or in Boston. I have been successful at every job, but have been so busy earning a paycheck I forgot to take time for myself.

That's not to say I haven't done some amazing things. Maine I know well. I have traveled every inch - from Fort Kent to Kittery - and I love Maine. I have been on puffin watches and whale watches. I have hand fed baby bats and held reticulated pythons. I have pulled lobster traps and climbed mountains. I have seen Elton John in concert and been to nearly every museum in Maine. But all of this has been done within New England, without the need to get a hotel or a passport. With appropriate plans made ahead of time. Never last minute and rarely with much financial risk.

Last night at 4:45 Trisha called me at work and said "Ani Difranco is doing a free concert in New Hampshire tonight. Let's go." I said "you're crazy." the apartment we were counting on fell through so we are not sure where we will live in two months. We are transferring to a new school and will be going to New Hampshire on Friday for that. It was completely irresponsible and crazy to go to this concert.

So we picked up a friend and the three of us hit the road.

And I am so glad we did. The concert was amazing. The drive was fun. And it was an eye-opener for me. I have missed similar opportunities because of responsibilities and obligation and now I am wishing I hadn't.

And ya know what? The boxes I need to pack are still here. I am headed to work this morning, but I can pack later. There is something to be said for responsibility, but sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and live. Life is going on today even though I wasn't home last night.

The paperwork for my passport is in my backpack. It's time to fill it out.

The Pit Orchestra

If "all the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players", as the Shakespeare quote goes, who is in your pit orchestra? Who has created the soundtrack to your life?

I started thinking about this question while listening to a podcast today on my way to work. I began to break my life down into sections and name the musicians who were part of the soundtrack of each portion.

As a child my father was it. My mother usually sang along with him and my grandmother never stopped singing, no matter how hard we tried to stop her. They were dad's background musicians in that pit. For the first twelve years of my life my father headlined, though. Whether he was singing or playing drums or some other instrument he got his hands on, he was all I heard. "Daisy a Day" and "One Tin Soldier" come to mind easily, though hundreds of other songs are right behind those two.

Then I became a teenager. Teenagers tend to love pop. I don't know why that is, because I can't listen to the local pop radio stations for more than a few minutes now without wanting to throw a guitar at that Kei$ha chick. But as a teenager I probably would have loved her. I, like nearly every other teenage girl in the late nineties, loved boy bands.

I claim brainwashing.

And quietly mention that I still listen to some of The Backstreet Boys European releases when I'm alone in my car. Shhh.

Over the last ten years my list of musicians has grown exponentially. The deaths of my grandmother and my uncle made huge contributions. Gram's death put a lot of gospel on my soundtrack. I've discovered one does not need to be Christian to find religion in Santana performing "Amazing Grace" or Amy Grant doing "It Is Well With My Soul". My uncle's death brought on a whole different genre. With his passing came AC/DC, Alice Cooper and Aerosmith. Though I had been a fan of all three bands for years, his death created an obsession. And a tattoo of "Back in Black" lyrics.

There are a few sections of my soundtrack that are all my own, though. Not influenced by others. Music that has spoken to my soul since the moment I first heard it. The music that I listen to alone, when I write or paint. Elton John, Billy Joel, Beatles, Ellis Paul, Fleetwood Mac. This music is the closest to who I am. And there is so much of it I can't find one lyric, or even one song that truly describes me.

What music is on your soundtrack? Who plays in your orchestra?

The Internet: The Land Of Opportunity

Have you heard of Meghan Tonjes? She is a beautiful singer who was on The Ellen Show last week.



Meghan fascinates me. She has a beautiful voice but that isn't what amazes me. Meghan created a career out of youtube. She is 23 years old and in 2005 she began to play guitar. In 2006 she started posting videos of herself on youtube. Her youtube channel had around 5,000,000 views as of when she was on Ellen, and I'm sure it grew after that. She is releasing a cd on itunes soon.

The ability to market yourself, create your own corner of the internet and build a career off of it absolutely fascinates me. Julie Powell is another one that has done this. She created a blog to cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook and it became a book and a movie. The internet holds these amazing possibilities for all of us. You don't need to find someone with money to support your career. You can create your own life on the internet. In the case of Meghan Tonjes, she didn't even have to leave her bedroom!

So I figure I can do this right? All I need is to come up with a brilliant and original idea and build it into a blog that could create my entire career.

I'll keep you posted...