California Fever

Thirsty Ear

One last poem for August here.  Missed a couple of days, but made them up by posting two the next day.  So, all in all, 31 poems for August.  I really enjoyed the discipline of writing a daily morning poem.  Maybe I'll keep it up...maybe not.  ;)  I loved most the freedom of it.  Of not writing to prompts or preconceived ideas--just sitting down and letting myself be surprised about where the words went.

Poetry Thursday is ending, but you can still share one last poem there today and through the weekend.  Details are here. 

We've got a crazy 24 hours ahead of us...  J went to work today (his alarm goes off at 3:30!)...when he gets home this afternoon, he'll be loading his drums into the car and packing a suitcase...picking me up at 3:30 from work...we'll be heading straight into S.F. to get to his rehearsal by 6:00 (and before they close the Bay Bridge for the Labor Day weekend!)...he's playing a jazz gig at Biscuits and Blues with Sweet Baby J'ai (jazz singer from L.A.) tonight...we'll have to drive home via the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin County...catch (hopefully) a few hours of sleep...head to the Sacramento airport by 8:00 tomorrow morning so he can fly to Albuquerque with Joe Louis Walker's band to play the Thirsty Ear Festival at Eaves Movie Ranch in Santa Fe (anyone like The Be Good Tanyas?...they play the set before them)...spend the night...and then he flies out early Sunday morning and lands back in Sacramento 24 hours after he took off.

But the highlight for me?  I get to meet Linda tonight!  (She and her hubby are coming to the early show.)

Agenda for Sunday and Monday?  NOTHING!  :)

August was CRAZY busy for me at work.  Yesterday (the second day of classes) was the first day I could work at a 'normal' pace.  I am SO ready for this 3-day weekend!  Have a good one!

Goodbye to Poetry Thursday

It's the last Thursday at Poetry Thursday.  My last PT post is here.

Katrina...2 years later

Sorry, I forgot to post a poem yesterday.  (Work's been crazy.  Glad school is starting today so I can get back to a more normal pace.)  :)  I wrote two poems this morning to make up for it.  Here's August poem #28...and in honor of the Katrina anniversary, here's August poem #29.

There's nothing I could say about Katrina and those who lived through it that would begin to match the eloquence expressed by the New Orleans musicians in the video clip below.  They're not speaking...but they're speaking volumes with their music.  I encourage you to listen.  You may recognize a couple of the musicians, but I'm not going to name any of them because they're all equals...they're all peers...they're all from New Orleans. 

Many New Orleans musicians were deeply affected by Katrina.  And because our government didn't do what many of us thought was its job in any natural disaster, musicians stepped in to help each other.  If you'd like to help them continue that work, you can go here or here or here.  To contribute to the efforts of Habitat for Humanity in the entire Gulf region, please go here.  To read the coverage in today's Times-Picayune, go here.

This video is about 16 minutes long.  If you don't have time to watch it in its entirety, I encourage you to fast forward to get a flavor of all three songs.

animal dreams

Can't get YouTube to come up, so no music today.  But there is a poem for the 27th...here.

Hugh

How 'bout some Hugh Masekela today?  "Grazing in the Grass" was one of my all-time favorite tunes when I was a kid.  (This video has no direct relation to the music, but lovely scenes nonetheless.) 

Sunday Scribblings' prompt today is a phrase, "I get that sinking feeling..."  My entry (also August poem #26) is here.

And now some beautiful trumpet playing from Hugh...and ya gotta love the cowbell...

I'm easy.

In 1975, Robert Altman released his classic film, Nashville.  I have always loved his filmmaking, and Nashville remains one of my favorites.  This scene made a lot of women weak-kneed back then...including me.  ;)  Not too long after I saw the film, Keith Carradine came to S.F. to play what was a great venue back then, the Boarding House.  I was there to see that show...sitting in the front row.  I've had a soft spot for Keith Carradine ever since.

I wonder what ever became of Cristina Raines?  She was beautiful.  Anyone remember Sunshine?

August poem #25 is here.

quiet

August poem #24 is here.

Ani

August poem #23...you know where...here.

Here's some Ani DiFranco for you today...at The Congress House...

Before the Music Dies

I could explain why I didn't get a poem posted yesterday...but you know the drill.  My sleeping habits are bizarre to say the least, and if I miss a day, you can pretty much figure that somehow they were involved.  So two for the price of one today--August poem #21 is here, and August poem #22 (about coffee) is here.  Which leads me to this...if you don't already know about delocator (I didn't), please check it out.  Support your local, non-corporate coffee houses, bookstores and indie movie theatres!  I found a coffee house listed I've never even seen before, yet have driven right by it dozens dozens of times.

By the way, are any other TypePad users experiencing this?  I've noticed for the last month or so that I'm not getting all of my comment emails.  I don't remember how I first discovered it--because I typically don't read comments on my blog, I read them via the emails--but discover it I did.  Just now I went back through the last week or so of posts and found it's still happening.  Bummer!  What's up with that, TypePad?!

Okay, on to today's music...  If you love music, I urge you to DOWNLOAD/BUY/WATCH this movie!  It's a documentary called Before the Music Dies and it's excellent.  You can download it for as little as $2.99 (viewable on any portable device...come on, that's less than a latte!)  For $7.99 you can download a version you can burn to a DVD.  For $16.99 you can own the DVD which includes all of the special features.  And best of all, the purchase price of any of those goes toward the purchase of the others--can't beat that!  Details are here.

I have no vested interest in this film other than that of a long-time fan of real American music.  The kind made by musicians, not studio wizardry.  And, yes, it's personal to me--but music was very personal to me long before I met Jeffrey. The film was directed by Andrew Shapter (who seems like a genuinely nice guy).  If you're on MySpace, go friend him.  Friend the film here.  Find a screening of the film near you here.  Even better, maybe you'll be so inspired after watching the film that you'll want to partner with the filmmakers to host a screening yourself.  Yep, that's how it's being released--in the best sort of grassroots way.  Details are here.   

Wow, you must be thinking, she's really pushing this thing.  And if you think that, it's only because you're hearing the passion I feel about honoring and preserving American music. 

Andrew's next film is called The Greener Side, about the pursuit of happiness.

Now here's a trailer for Before the Music Dies...

sewing machine

Forgot to post this morning!  :)  Here's a clip I linked to on Twitter this morning.  It's Steve Poltz doing his song, "Sewing Machine."

August poem #20 is here.