Inspirational and simply correct. In the face of so much adversity in the form of office politics and some basic, simple, downright ignorance, one who can maintain his/her integrity while according all due respect, even to those promulgating the politics and victim to the ignorance. I find it admirable and worthy of the utmost respect. In my own, simple, lazy way, I try to emulate this most noble tack.
I fear however, that when more time is spent in discussing the aforementioned adversity that can be spent on pure, positive, pro-activity, sooner or later. . .
something's gotta give.
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(. . . From Hugo Schwyzer http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/why-does-it-matter-how-many-partners-shes-had/)
". . . It’s understandable to be curious about the sexual lives of our
peers. It makes sense to want to know what the averages are. (According
to the experts at the Kinsey Institute, the average number of lifetime
sexual partners for men aged 30 to 44 is around seven, while for women
in that same age group, it’s four—both lower than you might think).
But the number has different meanings for men and women. The old double standard is still alive and well: a man with more
sexual partners than his buddies may be teasingly called a “man whore,”
but the epithet is a compliment, not an insult. Ask a woman who has
dared reveal her number to someone who considers it too high, and she’ll
surely tell you a story of being “slut-shamed.”
It’s quite common for a guy to worry about a girlfriend’s sexual
past. Too many men are still raised to see sex as crude competition, in
which bedding a woman who has already had a lot of lovers counts less
than scoring with a woman who is “hard to get.” But I think the average
guy’s worry is simpler than that. The more men his girlfriend has slept
with, the greater number of lovers to which she can compare his skills. . . "
My question, "Who cares?"
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Robert considered himself a poet; an amateur poet, but no less a serious one. And Robert, by personality, allotted the proper amount of gravity to all that his poetry involved, as he did in everything he undertook.
Deep in his heart, Robert knew that criticism was truly beneficial to he who chooses to exploit it wisely. Wise exploitation, he had learned from his many years of devotion to the poetic art, included the option to dismiss, within reason and with good cause, criticism from which he could gain nothing or that which was clearly malicious, unfounded, or merely a self-promotional exercise by a critic. But still less-than-favorable criticism still rankled him; a least for a period of time.
At the Poetry Night gala event, Robert was still replaying the latest negative review in his mind, in spite of the fact that it had been published well over a month before. He was, for all practical purposes, over it. The critic had even stressed the unique, freshness that he found in Robert's work and that it contained such great potential. Still though, Robert clung to the dismissive, condescending snipes the critic had taken at the heart and soul that Robert had taken such pains to record on the printed page.
Through, what seemed to be a fuzzy, poorly-focused camera shot from an art film, Robert saw the emcee introducing the next reading and was able to just-barely decipher his own name in the garbled monologue that accompanied the vision. Always prepared and always the consummate artist and professional, Robert rarely had problems at readings. Today for some reason, he had no poem.
He simply had nothing to read. He had no book, no manuscript, no notes.
The room was silent. . .
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(From SAW Note, July 2012)
Doug Sedgwick is a widely-traveled poet, Army veteran, high-energy live performer and spiritual (Unitarian) musician based in Reston, Virginia. Doug is also a longtime Songwriters' Association of Washington (SAW) member and winner of 2 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest Honorable Mentions (Jazz/Blues/Instrumental 2005, World 2006). He hosts a monthly open mike at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reston every second Friday of the month. According to music critic / blogger Wildy Haskell, Doug has “tremendous songwriting talent and the ability to project different personalities/voices into his songs, like soliloquies in a one-man Broadway show. This folk/rock singer-songwriter might be one of the best of the genre, and you’ve probably never heard of him.”
As part of promoting his 2008 CD “Committed,” Doug was asked by the California-based “On Songwriting” blogger Rick Jamison for an interview – but instead of a Q & A, session, Rick ended up publishing a set of twenty insights Doug had put together and labeled as his songwriting“principles.” Here they are – slightly updated for your perusal and enjoyment.
(Paraphrased and edited for space)
1. If it works as a piece of art and doesn’t adhere to the “principles” - go for it! Never let anyone tell you what rules you should be following. Develop your own set of principles.
2. The basis must be emotion and the subconscious goal is movement of the listener. Move yourself emotionally and the listener will be moved.
3. The idea to get across should be simple. It should fit into 3 or 4 minutes - maybe longer if it requires a solo or extended bridge to help emphasize the point.
4. Stolen from Andrew McKnight: Your most favorite song in the entire world is the one you’re singing at the time you’re singing it. Put every ounce of your feeling into the performance.
5. A new song should begin with the words. The cadence of a phrase brushed against the cockles of your heart ought to get a back and forth rhythm going. Seek out the chords after the basis of the melody springs up from the motion of the words themselves.
6. Go to the musical fourth for the chorus. Get as much melody worked up from the words as possible – then see if you don’t naturally go the fourth for the chorus anyway. If not – see # 1.
7. [From “This is Your Brain on Music.”] Studying the brain waves of jazz musicians in the act of improvising shows a close correlation with the brain activity of dreaming. Dreaming and writing music are intertwined. Find where your intersection of the two activities helps you produce.
8. Even though the best songs are the usually the ones that seem to flow from a higher power, you should still attempt to work through and finish any song you start. Determination to solve musical challenges in lesser songs will help develop your songwriting skills.
9. Seek inspiration wherever you find it. If listening to Dylan gets your juices flowing – don’t be afraid to take in chunks from YouTube or your old vinyl. There’s no infringement in stealing an IDEA for a song that came from listening to another song.
10. Learn to let go and not judge what starts to happen when moments of inspiration kick in. Follow your instincts. Ignore your reason. (Paraphrased from songwriter friend Philip DeStefano, I believe.)
11. Rhythm rules. The beat trumps the melody. Greater is the sin to play offbeat than to play off-key. Develop rhythm EVERYWHERE in everything.
12. Learn to believe completely in your own magic. If Spielberg doesn’t put his own faith on the line, the audience will sense it the same way a dog senses fear. Your FAITH in YOU is what carries.
13. Your unique view is valuable. Your experiences and views are no less important than the 'virtuosi' - your execution and expression is just different - but must be here to satisfy SOME need in the universe. Revel in your ability to express yourself in a manner unlike any other.
14. Pitch matters - but not the way you hear it. No two people hear the same. No single person hears the same their entire life.
15. Zoom out. A painter with his nose inches from the canvas sweating the texture of a cloud may have lost sight of the true focus of his own painting. As the song develops, keep trying to step back from the easel a few feet occasionally.
16. Take all criticisms with a grain of salt. What if Tom Waits (or Bob Dylan or Neil Young) - attending song circles had been told he really needed to learn a new way to sing? Part of that which makes them truly unique would have been lost. But be polite and not vengeful.
17. Keep the child inside alive. If your musical knowledge and depth of understanding have grown SO VAST that you have lost the sense of wonder and the willingness to be fooled into believing in magic (see #12) - you should give up the craft.
18. Never stop learning. There is something to be learned from everybody you encounter – both inside and outside the realm of songwriting.
19. Give of yourself by listening to people. Especially in these times when we’re bombarded by the media talking at us, there is a deep hunger in the population at large to just be heard anymore. Lend a sympathetic ear.
20. Practice self-discovery and self-improvement. Take a spiritual path, and let your own self-awakening surprise you with songs inside you never knew were there.
You can reach Doug (who enjoys both writing AND talking about himself in the third person) via email through bugsunplugged (at) comcast.net. . . "
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This piece was written well over twenty years ago. My performance of it has evolved quite a bit. This is my latest recording of it. It may appear on an upcoming solo piano release, but alas there is a serious flaw in the execution and will have to be re-recorded. Can you find it? (let me know.)
(from brainyquotes.com)
"Education is the investment our generation makes in the future."
"America cannot continue to lead the family of nations around the world if we suffer the collapse of the family here at home."
"And the American people are the greatest people in the world. What makes America the greatest nation in the world is the heart of the American people: hardworking, innovative, risk-taking, God- loving, family-oriented American people."
"I feel very deeply about the need to respect and tolerate people of different social - or sexual orientation. But at the same time, I believe marriage should be preserved as an institution for one man and one woman."
Now, let me be clear. The path I lay out is not one paved with ever increasing government checks and cradle to grave assurance that government will always be the solution. If this election is a bidding war for who can promise the most goodies and the most benefits, I'm not your president. You have that president today."
"I spent my whole life in the private sector, 25 years in the private sector. I understand that when government takes more money out of the hands of people, it makes it more difficult for them to buy things. If they can't buy things, the economy doesn't grow. If the economy doesn't grow, we don't put Americans to work."
If you guessed George W. Bush, guess again. Mitt Romney.
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[When reading this, please do not interpret words like god, grace, divine, spirit and salvation as their archaic, pre-scientific definitions]
Glossary: God = one universal mind (not 'Santa')
(from The Science of Mind by Earnest Holmes)
"As the fall of man was brought about through his own act, so the rise of man will be accomplished through his own act. God already Is. Salvation is not a thing but a Way; the way of salvation is through the realization of man's unity with the Whole. Grace is the givingness of the Spirit to Its Creation and is not a special law, but is a specialized one. In other words, Grace Is, but we need to recognize It. It is not something that God imposed upon us, but is the logical result of the correct acceptance of life and of a correct relationship to the Spirit.
We are saved by Grace to the extent that we believe in, accept and seek to embody , the Law of Good; for the Law of Good is ever a Law of Liberty and never one of limitation. Limitation is not a thing, but is a belief. Freedom is a Divine Reality while limitation is an illusion, a false belief.
Salvation is an act of man and not an act of God. Man damned himself and man must save himself, if he ever is saved. He will save himself to the exact degree that he stops damning himself. He will live in Heaven when he stops living in hell. He will be healed when he stops being sick. He will become rich just as soon as he sops being poor. He will become as God when he stops masquerading as the devil. He will be happy when he stops being miserable. He will be at peace when he stops becoming confused. He will be filled with joy when he stops thinking sadness. He will live when he stops dying. He will be perfect when he stops looking upon imperfection; and he will be saved when he stops damning himself. HE WILL BE ONE WHEN HE STOPS BEING TWO. MAN, MAN, MAN, MAN, MAN, MAN, MAN; "The great Thou--I--and the great I--Thou.""
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