Everybody prays

When we were in Romania we went to church with our host family. They went to a Baptist church, a very common denomination in the country. We were still out of sorts when we went because it was right when we arrived, we basically went straight to church. As is common in any church in Romania, the women and men sit separately, men on one side, women on the other. For some reason the wife of our host family, Florica, brought me over so we two gals sat with all the men. I've been to many a church service, spanning countless denominations and persuasions. I've seen all sorts of healings, speaking in tongues, rituals, kneeling, liturgy, song singing, incense and the like. Nothing surprises me but every so often I get to see something that really moves me in a new way. The church building wasn't huge, inside it had maybe 70 people at service that day. At the beginning all the young kids went up to the front and each child, individually in front of everyone said a prayer. It was cute, there was some chuckling doubtlessly at the simple notions held in a child's prayer. Nothing exceptional. The kids got ushered out to Sunday school or the equivalent. Then, and this is what got me, every single person in the room prayed out loud one at a time! What?!?! Speaking four Romanian words meant that I didn't understand the exact words, but it was clear that there were earnest prayers of thanks, supplication and joy. Some people cried, some were really quiet and almost unintelligible. Some were boisterous like a mountain preacher. So many different prayers.

One at a time. Out loud. Everyone.

I still think about that time. I think about every single person no matter where they were at that moment, talking to their creator in such a public way.

This is Elin, he's one of the host family's sons. This is before church. You can see his Bible, his Tony the Tiger dress shirt and his smile. He was hilarious and playful. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with him during the week.

Playing Dress Up

I had my first meeting with my costume designer today! So fun! I could to attempt to physically articulate my style on my own or I can hire someone who's an expert in such things. To me the choice is obvious. This isn't really a full post as much as a wheeeee what fun marker.

thisisntJimmy's Top 10 artists of the decade

Roger Ebert did a Top Ten films of the decade... and rounded it out with another 10 (for a total of 20)... and he approached it not as the top ten of artistically and historically important film but rather the top 10 to affect him. So I decided to do a list of important artistic things to affect me this decade. And not ALL of this was created in this decade, but was made aware to me this decade. As you may notice, I was a late bloomer to many things of this world. The things that have made me who I am in this decade:

1. Sufjan Stevens - Perhaps it’s too obvious a choice. Maybe it makes me look like I’m trying too hard, but Sufjan’s music has meant an incredible amount to me on artistic and emotional levels. His albums are stellar, but his live shows are truly amazing. I’ve been fortunate to see him live three times. During a performance at NY’s Town Hall (with the amazing My Brightest Diamond opening), there came an incredible deafening squeal of feedback during what seemed to be freeform improvised noise from all 12 instruments on stage at the end of my favorite song, The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us. Everyone stopped playing, the feedback ended, and Sufjan was very professional and friendly in his apology. He did a quick count off and everyone jumped right back into the song/noise, proving every sound in this emotional build up of the song was intentional, written out, and well rehearsed. It just showed me that he has such a command on every aspect of his music, from the wonderful lyrics and melodies to the way the live shows (including costumes) are performed.

2. Emily Hubley - I was very familiar with her parents, Faith and John, as they were pioneers in the independent animation world, but this decade brought me Emily. Her short films take both visuals and story to a personal level that I never considered before. You can thank her for my personal narrative approach. In fact, I literally have thanked her as she was my thesis advisor in college. What I never told her was that the animations she provided for John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch was a connecting point for my (then future) wife and I, as it was a favorite film for both of us. (For music buffs, note her sister Georgia is the drummer/singer of Yo La Tengo.)

3. Robert Bresson - I don’t even remember now what exactly sparked my initial interest in Bresson’s films. I think the MoMA’s The Hidden God: Film and Faith series is where I first heard about him. How could I read “...a donkey is baptized...” in the description of Au hasard Balthazar and not want to see it? I drug the wife to that one... she was sweet enough to go. How many women will see B&W French films with non-professional actors just to encourage your interest? I admire much of Bresson’s process, but what intrigues me most is his focus on the spiritual and his attempt to avoid non-diegetic music in his films. His final film L’argent is by far my favorite that I have seen of his. Amazing to see a film end so violently yet carry the spiritual emotion it does.

4. Synecdoche, New York - I love all of Charlie Kaufman’s work, but this film caught me at the right time. The ‘meta’ in the film is mind-blowing, but doesn’t become too out of control. Just what is happening? I think Roger Ebert says it best when he says this isn’t a film about story but rather about identity, specifically the categories of our lives we create.

5. Roger Ebert - Ebert is a perfect example of how you can be an artist, think artistically, but not provide an artistic result in the end. NOT to say that Ebert’s writing isn’t artistic! He’s an amazing writer. I just mean to note that you’re not going to walk into a gallery or go to the cinema to aquire his work, but his thought process and critique is completely that of an artist.

6. Stan Brakhage - If you’ve seen my film Self Portrait 1981-2009, (and you’re familiar with Brakhage), then you’re saying, “Duh.” But beyond his beautiful paintings on film stock, his writing about life and film are insightful. If you want to study a new way of seeing (or chuckle at a letter to a teacher about why it’s okay that his daughter doesn’t bathe regularly), read his essays.

7. My Wife - Selfish? Biased? Mayhaps. BUT honest. Her ability to write music surprised me. She tells stories about people with such vivid details while reaching an emotional state with her music, and it never fails to move me. I don’t know what inspired her to start creating music with the ukulele the way she has, but her voice is the greatest instrument she uses. Her interesting use of the uke pairs amazingly well with her voice. I’ve been fortunate enough to see her approaching this new creative outlet from the ground up and that’s been such an inspiring thing for me to watch. When she finishes her album (March?!?!) you will see why she was an important part of this list for me.

(For those who forget or didn't know, I choose not to post her name here as we try to keep this blog anonymous so our students don't find us online!)

8. Michael Chabon - How do I write about a writer? All I can say is that all of his work that I have read pulls me in. His worlds are so well thought out and believable and his characters fit so comfortably into them. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry... start with Wonder Boys or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

9. Tom Colicchio - Sometimes I regret not going into the culinary arts. Watching Bravo’s Top Chef brings those pangs of regret while allowing me to live vicariously through amazing artists that show me I would not have succeeded in that world. Colicchio is clearly a driving force of inspiring these new artists and a wonderful chef himself. I’ve only had the pleasure of eating at ‘wichcraft. It’s amazing. Perhaps my unwillingness to shell out the bucks to eat at the other craft family eateries makes you think it odd that I would include him in my top 10, but it’s more than just his food that makes him important to me.

10. Alfred Hitchcock - How did I not know Hitchcock was a master of film until my mid-20’s?! His precise filmmaking process allows me to draw clear lines to Bresson’s process, but their end results could not be further from each other. Hitchcock just wanted to tell a good story, and maybe scare you (at least involve you) along the way. Every frame of his films are intentional and he’s successful because of this.

Honorable Mentions:
Jonathan Lethem
Beirut / Zack Condon
Tim Hawkinson
Brent Green
Wilco

Appalachian Christmas

The pbf and I are in the hills of eastern Tennessee for Christmas. We're visiting his side of the fam, enjoying seeing his many sisters and bro's in law, his mom and our sweet, adorable, smart, perfect niece and nephew. Today was his mamaw and papaw's 65th--please reread--65TH(!) wedding anniversary. They got married at 4pm on Christmas eve many moons ago. Since then they have done a family dinner at that same time every year. Today was no exception. It was complete with delicious southern goods including banana puddin', cornbread dressing and string beans with potatoes and of course Mountain Dew! It's always fun to come down here and see where the pbf grew up. It's so easy for me to forget that my oh so city dwelling baby grew up with a wood burning stove as the only heat option, 60 acres of land to be perused while squirrel and rabbit hunting and having one high school for the whole county. Today, his cousin told him he had a Yankee accent which I found amusing. It is true, you would never know that my husband is genetically a hillbilly (his mother suggested that I say that, so don't be offended) but when he drinks he starts to sound like the country boy he actually is. I'm always proud of my husband for deciding to go to art school in NYC when he had such rural roots, but I also really appreciate those roots and I want to honor them. For my wedding present to my pbf I got him a banjo. Sadly he has yet to pick it up--baby, it's never too late!--here's to hoping.

Thanks to my Tennessee family for a wonderful Christmas!

Death in London

The last leg of our Summer '09 Europe trip was London. Two days before we left to go home Michael Jackson died. I remember very clearly sitting on the toilet in the bathroom with no door in our tiny (and I'm a New Yorker people) hotel room. The pbf tells me, "Michael Jackson died!" The next day in Trafalgar Square there was a whole mess of memorials, flowers, impersonators and mourners. I just wanted to keep being a tourist and in all honesty I was selfishly annoyed with MJ for dying when he did and not waiting til we were stateside. Again--I acknowledge that as an unbelievably shallow and selfish thought! On that same day I bought blue Roman sandals that got a serious wearing-with many compliments-when I came home but will likely be out of style next season.

Oh Queen of England!
Oh King of Pop!

A Superficial Christmas Miracle

I've been waiting for six months for my new ukulele, the ukulele that will subsequently have a pick-up installed so I can plug into sound systems and move around rock 'n roll style. Ok, patiently is maybe not the right word. I have called every week since I ordered to check on the status. Each Monday afternoon a new detail would unfold, the delay, the new headstock logo, different design, when it was shipped from Indonesia, when it was stuck in customs, when it arrived in Indiana, when it shipped from Indiana and when they gave it to me FOR FREE for waiting so long. It's a beautiful instrument, I may post a picture. I changed the strings, added the humidifier and have been playing it like crazy to break it in so it will be ready to share with the world! I take such tremendous joy in playing and singing that's it's difficult to describe. During the work day I think to myself-if only I was playing my ukulele right now. When I travel, it travels. I took it on our three week Europe trip over the summer. I took it on a two days work trip later in the summer. If I leave the city, it has to come with me because if I can't pkay and sing then I feel like I can't express myself. I say, "it" but I actually have multiple ukes, the one that currently travels with me is a soprano meaning it's about 20 inches long and weighs less than three pounds. This has been a full two years leading up to doing the album and doing the music thing. I feel so grateful to have music back in my life and find amusement in the ukulele being the catalyst for this. Ok and Jimmy. Also God. Three different sized catalysts.

Again I acknowledge this is a crappy, generic blog post but I refuse to let facebook eat my blogging so crappy generic it will be until inspiration bubbles.

Time after time after time after time

The semester is almost finished! In two weeks I will have a month long break that will be productive and relaxing (hopefully). The album is coming along, it's probably about 75% done so that's good. It has been a really interesting process, parts of it exactly how I would imagine other aspects very different. My producer has really challenged me and I know this album would not have happened if not for him, so I'm feeling blessed by his presence in my life. Hopefully the album's gonna have 13 songs, one hymn and the rest original. The pbf is doing the cover art, he has a really awesome concept that I shan't speak of here-but it's really great. We moved upstairs into our dream apartment, well ok, that's a bit much but it feels as close to a dream as we can get in our price range-two bedrooms, washer & dryer, dishwasher!! For those of you from out of NYC these last two are luxuries that seldom folks get so we are thrilled. Also the renovation on the apartment is newer and feels more homey. Our Christmas tree is up and we are basically settled. We need to get new blinds but that's going to take time because they are pricey little mofos. We've got skylights which are a nice treat to be able to look up and see the clouds moving is a taste of heaven for me. My Mom, in an unbelievably generous early Christmas gift got us a new TV! We are total movie geeks and it has really made watching movies even more fun. The TV came with a Blu-Ray player and we got a few--whoa, it's so clear! Having the TV in HD has made for some interesting moments of holy crap that person looks terrrrrible! I see Ann Curry in a new and more blotchy light! Poor woman. In other news we are thinking about taking our summer trip to Iceland. We were both just thinking it could be a neat place to go. We'll see if it ends up happening, I hope so.

I know that this was an unbelievably generic post but I am bound and determined to not let my facebook completely stop my blogging so this was an attempt.

Facebook ate my blog

...at least my ability to blog. It used to be that if there was a spark of suggestion I would blog about it, now I just make it my status update without elaborating. Here are my last 10 status updates:

-just scratched the floor with the Antietam bullet I dropped! I can't begin to imagine getting shot by one of those bad boys!
-how did my plate get so full? Sheesh.
-so proud of my baby who has illustrations in the new DK book 109 Forgotten American Heroes!
-apple picking today!
-chords.
-is movin' on up(stairs).
-can anybody recommend an audiologist in the city/bklyn?
-otalgia.
-"It's the day of the show, y'all!"
-The Importance of Being Earnest-ing!

I do want to get back to blogging because I think it could be fun to look back on when I'm older. That seems like a strange reason to do something. My pbf kept a xanga years ago and it's a nice trip down Old Memory Lane to read about when we met. We are moving upstairs soon. it will be great but as I started packing yesterday I got a bit teary eyed. I'm working on my album, I think it will be good. Shall I say, I feel confident you won't hate it. I shall. You mightn't love it but that's another story. I'm re-rewatching the X-Files. I don't know what it is, it's just part of my life cycle I suppose. So is blogging dead? Hmm...

Big Ship

I saw a Titanic artifact exhibit today. It was really great. I have always been into the Titanic. When I was little there was a series of beginner reading books on all sorts of subjects including King Tut's Tomb and the Titanic that I read and re-read. To this day my interest in said subjects remain. My favorite part of the exhibit was a huge block of ice that was the same temperature as the water the Titanic sunk in. Actually it was a few degrees warmer because salt water freezes at a lower temp than fresh water and for whatever reason this exhibit used fresh water. I pressed my palm to the ice and truly could stand only 5 seconds of palmery until my hand was in pain. This portion of the exhibit pointed out how the majority of the victims died not from drowning but from hypothermia. The exhibit was really moving and I'm really glad I went. In the gift shop portion, which the exhibit naturally funnels into, there were the standard souvenirs-shirts, postcards, books even coal from the actual ship! I resisted that purchase. One souvenir in particular struck me as unbelievably tacky and not in the spirit of the exhibit. "Gin and Titonic: Sink One in your Drink" ice trays. Am I crazy or did you finish with a wall of names of the victims Mr. Titanic exhibit? I bought a coloring book.

how do fish swim

how do fish swim, standing still in water from thisisntjimmy on Vimeo.

The Trip

I've been avoiding posting anything to the blog... I started to post about the trip a few weeks ago and then the computer ate it. So I've not taken the time to come back and start over. I can't go into the massive awesome details here, so we should really talk in person if you're interested, but I can point out some highlights.

Our time in Romania started out at Caminul Felix... an orphanage for lack of a better term... but it's really set up like two communities of foster homes... 2 parents and 12 to 20 kids per house. They were beautiful happy children that warm up to guests quickly. We made fast friends with some of them, and we got to do a few art workshops with lots of them. They had a wonderful time drawing and coloring and just being all-in-all creative. We met some Americans that were there too and that was super helpful for us because two of them work there months at a time so they were able to show us around the town of Oradea and tell us more about the work that they do and the needs that the people have.

One great conversation we got to have with two of the house parents was telling them about being in NYC during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11th and having them tell us about living in Romania during the rule of communism and watching it fall. I think it's always tough for us to talk to people about Sept. 11th, but it was easier to open up to them as they were opening up to us.

Beyond drawing and playing with the kids, we also painted some doors and attempted to help level the volley ball court with sand, but this group of little boys came to "help" with that and so it really just turned into them playing in dirt and us getting nothing done. Also, we went to a cookout one night and I had Romanian sausage called Meech... I was sick for 2.5 days and am eternally grateful to Nancy for sending antibiotics with us!

So after the week with them we went to Cluj-Napoca to spend a couple of days with Heifer International. If you don't know about Heifer Int., look them up! They do wonderful things and this trip confirmed to us that it's an organization that we want to continuing supporting. This was definitely our favorite time in Romania. On the first day we went to a Roma village that had a goat farm... beautiful people and beautiful goats. They made us lunch right next to their barn... frying up some meat they'd slaughtered and some potatoes they'd grown over fires, and serving goat cheese they'd made. I was sure to drink the cherry liqueur they served so I didn't get sick again! It was a wonderful time. And the next day was just as wonderful when we were taken to another village that has heifers! Heifer heifers! As part of the rules of receiving gifts from Heifer, they gift their first born heifers to another family, but they also gift part of their milk to a children's hospital. We had a really wonderful time meeting these people and seeing Heifer's work up close.

Then it was on to our "vacation" portion of the trip! Rome, Paris and London.
Highlights include:
-Sweating at the Colosseum in Rome and having to tear myself away from the Sistine Chapel.
-Our little hotel with the shared shower in Paris overbooked and they had to move us to a beautiful studio apt. one block away from Notre Dame. We could hear it's bells while we relaxed on our bed. Paris was my favorite city we went to... Notre Dame and Musée d'Orsay would compete for my favorite parts about it.
-Seeing the chopping block and crown jewels at the London Tower... Big Ben is really cool... "London swings like a pendulum do..." As You Like It at the Globe... Tate, Tate Mondern, British National Museum...
-Getting bumped up to first class in on Virgin-Atlantic on our flight home. We had our own pods with seats and footstools that turned into beds...

I've not put pictures up in a public place online yet... if you want, you can friend me on facebook and see pictures there... or just wait til I get around to posting them on flickr or something.

Here come we...

Tomorrow we leave for our trip. We fly to Zurich and then catch a flight to Budapest. We get picked up in Budapest and drive 4 hours into the western Romanian town of Oradea, just inside the Romanian border. We will be at Caminul Felix for a week then we move further east into Romania to Cluj in Transylvania for two days with the Heifer Romania folk to visit a more rural Romania and see some Heifer projects at work. 10 days in Romania. Cluj to Budapest to Rome. A few days in Roma and the seeing of sights. Plane up to Paris, a few more days for the seeing of sights and working on our French accents. Chunnel to London, more sightage then fly home. There are a million last minute things that we are doing but I feel confident it will all work out. We will basically be out of touch until we get back, we decided not to bring the laptop after all and we won't be using our phones. Thus, see you in a few weeks!!!

Tripsy

We have 9 days until we leave! Obviously we are both incredibly excited. Since the first 10 days of our trip will be sort us just going along for the ride, my mind doesn't quite comprehend that portion of the trip yet. If you have any must see or must do's in Rome, Paris or London, let us know in the comments!

lost in the facebook

Because Facebook seems to be the metablog, who needs to do long blog posts about everyday life? Well, our blog has missed us. Probably to the point that no one is really reading it anymore.

3 more Monday classes for me (counting today) and 2 more Thursday classes. Working on finals and what not. Then I'll only have one class left which I'll take in the fall!

We're still excited about Europe in June. Anybody want to help us buy art supplies for Romanian Orphans? Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you more info!

bird/angel

Artist statements are whack, but check this out:


Bird in my house, Angel in my heart from thisisntjimmy on Vimeo.

artist's statement

I have to write an artist's statement for myself for a class... so far all I've managed to do is drink 1.5 beers and chew on the stem of my new estate pipe (a bent style The Everyman London Pipe).

Also I've been looking up artist's statements from my favorite artists... not much help. Do people even really read these things? They most often seem thinly veiled ways to sound hoity toity while saying nothing.

While I'm doing this, the wife is editing a song that she's been recording... a new one she wrote. So I've been hearing this beautiful voice coming from the next room, repeating the same words over and over and stopping in the middle of a word, then moving to another section of the song and repeating again and so on. The repetition and abrupt stopping... the cycles and multiple sound tracks are entertaining. The new song has a simple beauty.

Also, I've almost finished a new film and she did a nice simple music accompaniment for it. I'll put that up soon. I think I've got to get a vimeo account... youtube doesn't quite cut it for full resolution video.

Oooh... I just got to listen to the song... before you... neener neener ha ha. I do think it's the type of song you have to hear a couple of times. I believe this is the first original song of her's she's putting on on the myspace. You'll like it...

But back to my art and my statement of it. Blah. I think much of my art has an entry point from real-life experience and emotions. In fact, much of it is straight up facts from life (not facts... of life... don't make the joke). Personal narrative. There may be elements of exaggeration or minor changes, often for anonymity or humour (British pipe in mouth mean British spellings), but there's only honesty in my work. And simplicity. I fall on simplicity and hope it doesn't come off as "an easy way out" because my intent is to avoid the mess of over worked crap. I used to keep "Simplicity is key" written on my sketch book covers. But it's just the aesthetic that's important to keep simple. I hope the meaning is something that needs repeated viewings to uncover. Not because I want you to think I'm deep but because I don't want to be blunt. Much meaning can be found in the small objects. Of course, there's some stuff I do with no specific meaning pre-determined. The new film I'm almost done with came from pure enjoyment of playing with the elements the film is made from. I had fun and I think there's a meaning in it, but I couldn't tell you specifically what it is.

Anyway, I've had two beers at this point and I'm rambling and at some point I have to turn this drivel into something I can hand in. The wife's almost done with some final mixings and will be putting up the song. Take a few listens. There's a lovely story to be heard.

A Sampling

Here's a sampling of the chat messages the wife gets from me when I'm in my experimental media class:

Man: Kisses to my baby
Man: Love yiu
Man: You
Man: I'm watching david bowie dance with a tranny
Man: He's creepy in a good way
Man: Now he's speaking japanese
Man: You're not getting my messages are you
Man: Now I'm watching really old merce cunningham dance

the end is sucking

I'm kind of frustrated with this semester.  I'm taking two classes this semester and then I'll only have 1 class left, so it sort of feels like the end and the classes aren't living up to what I would want the end to be.  The postmodern film theory class has really just become a film theory class with a large focus on Lacan.  The teacher makes lame jokes and repeats them... and he likes the lamest movies.  His favorite film last year was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and he hated Slumdog Millionaire.  To me that reads as someone who is much more interested in modernity than postmodernity... at least someone more interested in themselves that things greater than them.

My experimental media making class is very interesting and I'm having a lot of fun with the work but the teacher is a nervous fellow and he's been in the hospital.  This will be the 3rd week in a row he's missing.  Of course I hope he's okay.  It's just adding to my disjointedness.  

Hey... I just got a TON of Daniel Johnston music and am working my way through it... yes, I'm late on the bandwagon.  I actually experienced Daniel as a visual artist first... anyway, does anybody have a favorite album?  I'm working my way chronologically at the moment.

I shaved the entire beard off last night on a dare from the wife.

They didn't like me?

What a beautiful spring like day smack in the middle of our winter.  I used to say winter was my favorite, but I think I've decided I prefer spring... falls fun too...  summer remains my least favorite.  I've got our windows open!

I sat in a jury box today and was questioned about my ability to jury a medical malpractice case.  In the end, they told 10 of the 12 in the box we could go and they called up the rest...  I got to leave the court house by 3:30!  I'm not sure if it was that my wife's family are all doctors or if it's because I said "I don't sympathize with people easily", but for some reason, I wasn't good enough for them.  And it's true that I don't sympathize easily...  but I'm not saying I'm proud of that.  Also, I didn't even get to talk about my opinions of malpractice suits...

I got to head to the city and pick up my developed 8mm film for class tomorrow night, and was home by 5pm!  What to do with all this extra time!  Actually, I've got plenty of reading for class to do and I'm exhausted too.  Reading about my man Stan Brakhage.  His thoughts on sight, representation, and art as worship are intriguing me.

SOOOoooo.... If you didn't know, the wife and I are going to Romania!  We bought our tickets last night to get there.  We're flying to Zurich then to Budapest and then being picked up and driven to the small town in Romania where we will be volunteering at an orphanage for a week.  This is thanks to a generous gift from the wife's dad to let us effect humanity.  Of course since we're going to be in Europe, we're not going to stop there!  After a week at the orphanage, we're going to travel around on the train for 2 weeks.  Perhaps Bucharest since we'll be in Romania, then backtrack trough some other countries and ending in London to fly back.  I think we'll definitely make Italy happen, and likely France, but not sure where else we'll spend time or just ride through.  TBD... but suggestions are welcome!

Yes Please!