Here is a cute, quick video from my Blackberry (excuse the quality). It’s one of the cutest things, and it shows the wonderful creativity of my sister, Heidi. This is her version of “This little piggy…” Brooklyn Style with my 11 month old nephew, Carter.
She’s working on versions for Alabama and Illinois, where both sets of grandparents reside. “This little piggy ate venison…?” Looking forward to the next incarnations soon!
This is an interesting article written by the editor of Newsweek International, Fareed Zakaria. He follows capitalism in the 20th Century all the way to present day and breaks down how it seems to keep getting worse, but some things are actually getting better because we learn from our mistakes. There needs to be a fundamental shift in ourselves as human beings that ends the madness that we’re currently experiencing (and re-experiencing). Those who do not learn from history…yadda, yadda, yadda…
“…there needs to be a deeper fix within all of us, a simple gut check. If it doesn’t feel right, we shouldn’t be doing it. That’s not going to restore growth or mend globalization or save capitalism, but it might be a small start to sanity.”
– Fareed Zakaria | Editor, Newsweek International
A great side experience that came out of this article is that Newsweek chose to use the work of a Brooklyn collage artist, Mark Wagner, who’s website is www.smokeinmydreams.com. He uses the dollar bill as his primary subject/medium when creating his work.
He is intense and amazing. He also is on the board of Booklyn Artists Alliance, an organization in Greenpoint, Brooklyn dedicated to the art of making books and printing. More on them here at www.booklyn.org
This is a beautiful site called facesinplaces.blogspot.com of found pictures, mostly on Flickr, of found faces in inanimate objects. Pretty cool. Found it on the Huffington Post with other fun websites.
I have great friends. My friends Aaron & Gayla and their beautiful daughter, Zaeda, fill my life with love and warmth. They are also huge cheerleaders when it comes to encouraging my artistic journey. They made a wonderful gift of pesto and bbq sauce for a closing present for soloNOVA, and I thought I’d share the quote they put into the note attached to the gift:
“Have you ever risked economic security? Have you ever risked a belief? I see nothing particularly courageous about risking one’s life. So you lose it, you go to your hero’s heaven and everything is milk and honey ’til the end of time. Right? You get your reward and suffer no earthly consequences. That’s not courage. Real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness.”
– Tom Robbins, Another Roadside Attraction
soloNOVA’s coming to a close, and it’s been a looooong haul this year. It’s more than we’ve ever done (almost 5 full weeks of programming). We’ve produced more shows than ever before – 60, when all’s said and done (including the Breakthrough Performer week with Martin Dockery next week), as opposed to 32 shows last year. We’re in residence at one of the most wonderful places you could reside – the DR2 Theatre and D-Lounge. So many publications have given us great reviews. From The New York Times to NYTheatre.com, there has been great praise for the festival’s participants. And Mike Daisey opened the festival with a rousing speech on “Why Solo Performance Matters.”
The other day, someone was asking me how the festival is going, and I said to them, “You know some days you have 20 people in the house, and the next day you have 80. It’s like life – you can freak out and beat your chest on the bad days and cheer the good days, but in the end…all I want to be able to do is say, ‘I’m proud of what I did.’ That’s how I feel about the festival. We’ve had downs, but we’ve certainly had more ups.”
It means so much that so many people are excited about what terraNOVA does. I know there’s still those out there who aren’t on the solo band wagon. And that’s fine, for it’s not for everybody. However, when the craft of solo performance is done well – and I have to say how well I think it was done this year – there’s nothing like it.
Many blessings…and if anyone’s reading this before we close on Saturday, come through and check it out. Or, come and see Martin next weekend. They’re great shows, and I’m not just saying that because I’m producing them. I’m very proud.
james carter 