Emonome

Crossroads

2009-10-28T05:10:42Z

Like Robert Johnson, I too am at the crossroads…of life.

Nah. But I do know that I seem to be harvesting more ideas in my head than the farm will allow. Does not help in getting things done. Doesn’t help that opportunity comes to tell knock knock jokes. Doesn’t help that freeing the mind can only get you so far unless the body isn’t along with it. Too many tiny pleasures of life blooming in the garden.

I’d write a poem but I take pleasure in rhyming a little too much. The substance I don’t sweat over because substance is itself heavy with sweat. All I do is let it be.

Ya feel?

It’s 1:07. AM.

And it’s…just I am, in the AM, happier than I usually am.

The alarm is set for 7:30. Looking out for looking forward.

The Raven on BBC 4 Americana

2009-10-24T13:36:35Z

BBC 4 Radio show Americana will be broadcasting an excerpt of my production of The Raven tomorrow (Sunday October 25) at 7:15p, right after The Archers. This is a new weekly show (1/2 hour) with host Matt Frei. I believe the excerpt will play during the opening minutes of this episode, followed by guests such as Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone. As Larry David would say, “pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty…” And on.

Episode details here, and come over and join the Hassberry Theatre Company Facebook Page. Hit me up on Twitter as well.

Visiting Sandy Hook. Saving Sandy Hook.

2009-10-20T21:56:13Z

Why visit. Conserving of our historic site/landmarks is important to us all. Or at least, should be. I just posted a series of photos from my recent visit to Sandy Hook [Part One] [Part Two]. The PBS video is how I found out about this place.

However, didn’t know that there’s an active campaign to commercialize that place. Meeting some of the Park Rangers, esp. Tom Minton, at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, informed me that the campaign needs a lot more participation.

Take a moment and find out how you can help. At the least, sign the petition which currently has a little over 7000 names. Click on the image below and see what Sandy Hook is all about. If you look through this set of binoculars, you can see Coney Island – the wonder wheel, the parachute tower etc. If enough of us don’t step up – bye bye binoculars. Bye bye Sandy Hook.

New York, New York

2009-10-19T00:37:35Z

A few weeks ago I decided to embark on a journey to create a photo archive of New York as I see it. My love for this city is unmeasurable and I don’t see why I shouldn’t be another person to contribute to its pictorial history. However, I do have one mission: to focus on helping preserve some of the city’s and state’s neglected sites and locations.

When the Ken Burns doc aired a couple of weeks ago this urge to document intensified. Since it’s almost impossible to venture out West to photograph the Yosemites and the Yellow Stones, I decided to look up places nearby in the meantime. I tell you, I’ve been blind. New York City alone, forget New York State, has so much to be explored that it will keep me occupied for some time.

So this video from TED Talks has to be a sign of sort to have dropped in on me. As if I didn’t have enough juice to pump me up and make me go out and document. The Mannahatta Project is the kind of thing I love.

I have not been sitting idle these past weeks. So far, I’ve visited Governor’s Island, Sandy Hook Island, Roosevelt Island, and Ellis Island to kick things off. Pretty sure one trip is not enough and I’ll find myself back there again. There’s so much more to see, experience, photograph, and record. And so few years allowed to a human being. I’m sure it will be an ongoing project that will spin off into other projects, but I’m not going to wait for a good time to start doing this. Thank heavens for Metrocards and friends who care about what you do!! But if I do want to do it at a larger scale I’ll need to find a way to fund this project. We’ll see.

An Ad Man Speaks

2009-10-18T19:22:15Z

The biggest misconception people have about marketing is that they never bothered to look up its definition. I think the basic role of marketing should be to help consumers understand what’s missing in their wants, not needs. Pretty simple and obvious you might say. If so, there wouldn’t be so many shitty products and services out there would there?

Reverse Nostalgia

2009-09-28T06:23:13Z

Why do people travel, I wonder sometimes, to explore the unknown, or to find the familiar?

It’s one of those nights for me. A reverse nostalgia about being places I’ve never been to and remembering things I’ve yet to experience. It’s like I’ve traveled places, lived it, came back, and woke up with memories. Damn you, Ken Burns’s documentary! I see those parks on screen and keep dreaming of already being there.

It’s also one of those nights for me where I think I have a grasp on things that make my life fulfilling, yet they are no where near me. If I weren’t so sensitive about things that ache, I’d be enjoying the world a lot more. I don’t allow myself to enjoy things.

Perhaps the emotional baggage I carry all the time. Perhaps that’s why I have the urge to travel. So I could find a place to bury that emotional baggage.

I’m picturing myself now, at a train station. Standing there waiting for a train that will take me to new places, meet new faces. I have tons of bags and suitcases that I have dragged all the way to the platform because I told myself I need them all. Then the train comes along, filled with people like myself.

When it whistles to leave – yes, it’s one of those – I get on board. And watch the platform, and my baggages, disappear behind me.

Only if it were that easy to move on. In our real world, we mourn our losses before getting on that train. The baggage just gets lighter. And lighter.

I’m waiting on that.

Ken Burns’s The National Parks

2009-09-28T04:05:40Z

I’ve been waiting a long time to see this documentary, as I have to visit parks around the country and travel. Can’t say I have much else to say except that I now hopelessly want to leave home and travel. Sigh. Can’t.

But now I know that I need to plan, earn, save, then leave to make that come true. Some of my wishes for this year came through because I’d paid my dues, sacrificed my daily hours, and worked towards a goal. Many months ago I took a baby step towards saving up for good photo equipment. Perhaps it was best I didn’t travel to those parks or other great places here within the States because I can now say I’m well equipped and prepared to document my travels. After all, if I can’t share what I’ve experienced I’d be half happy.

All said, it won’t be too long, I hope, before you’ll hear from me as I embark on that trip. I haven’t explored much of this American land I love and call home. I intend to change that fact.

Here’s a preview of the episodes from the 12-hour documentary. The whole thing will be streaming online starting today so if you’ve missed it, go here.

Mailer vs. Vidal on Cavett

2009-09-27T20:58:24Z

Stumbled upon it this morning, two years after Cavett wrote about it; Mailer had died a few days prior to article. I’ll confess and say I’ve never read anything by either Mailer or Vidal but just because of this will hit the library. It’s a perverted way to find an interest in writers but it goes to show that TV, after all, does provoke good intentions.

I thought appropriate to follow this up with this:

Flashforward and Modern Family: Two Shows You Shouldn’t Miss

2009-09-17T03:14:35Z

Had the opportunity to go see a bunch of shows at the Paley Center tonight. I’ll be honest and say that 3 out of the 4 comedies we saw did not do it for me. I don’t like it when a show tries too hard to make you laugh.

Modern Family, I promise you, will make you laugh non-stop. This is one of the funniest comedies I’ve seen in recent years. I’m picky about my comedies. My advice, avoid the promo and just watch it the night of. If there’s one new comedy show you see this Fall on ABC, make it this one. You won’t regret it.

Flashforward. This I’d been waiting to watch since I found out about it. And not because I wrote a radio drama many years ago with the same title (yes, it was mainly because of that). It won’t disappoint. Show starts off with a bang and doesn’t let go. I watched it without commercial breaks so it was kinda awesome, but being a big ‘fan’ of LOST, this show packs the right punch to be a knockout new show. Wasn’t expecting a funny man known for animation to be in the show, but he was there. When you see it, you’ll know who I’m talking about.

I think Flashforward has enormous possibilities to expand and play on the premise, just like LOST has – and there’s a reference to the that show during the opening minutes. If you catch it, a thousand points to you!

Hope you catch both shows.

Betty Draper’s ‘Dream’ Sequence

2009-09-15T19:14:29Z

I was going crazy trying to think of where I’d heard that music from the dream sequence in Mad Men’s ‘The Fog’ episode. Turns out I wasn’t the only one. I had been wrongly guessing Tchaikovsky. It turns out to be from one of my favorite films, Sex and Lucia (up there with Cinema Paradiso), by one of my favorite film composers, Alberto Iglesias. Why couldn’t I remember that!? If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out big time.