s w e e t e m p l o y

waking dream

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:52:42 PST

Dear Blogger-friends, friends, acquaintances and followers,

I am retiring and privatizing, possibly permanently deleting my long-time blogs, sweetemploy and traipsingpele, in order to start a new project and conserve motivation/creative juice for said project. I'm not yet sure whether it will be a new site or if I will continue to work on either of the old ones, but I need free reign to approach any subject, and I need to do more personal writing. Also, the purpose of these blogs was as much, if not more in some ways, to get feedback/have conversations/get closer to other people and connect, as for documenting my inspirations and life. It's hard to put a ratio on the breakdown of that but I am 90% sure that I wouldn't have so orphaned these blogs if I felt the presence of people "out there" reading and engaging with me... I'm aware that this maybe my own oversight or forgetfulness, and if that is so, it doesn't change the feeling of something missing. That said, I am very glad if you have read and gained something from what I did, and thanks for the comments. If you wish to still have access to the archive of these entries and I haven't trashed the blogs, do let me know and give me an email address so I can add you. If you would like to subscribe to my upcoming project, I will say that there will be some ground rules. Right now I'm thinking along the lines of: subscribers write a response at least every other post, whether by commenting directly or emailing me, or talking to me in person within a week of that post. I plan to take more risks with the content, so it will be serving varied personal needs, of which, a very important one is to test and strengthen my connection with other people. I am pretty open to exploring that with anyone. So...lemme know.

Giant Fröbel Toys

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:10:15 PDT

I subscribe to an excellent blog on martial arts and you should too! In fact, I've added it to my "KIN" sidebar at right - it's called Weakness With a Twist. I have posted videos here on sweetemploy before that I discovered there, and now again I must point to this gem from the youtubes:

At about minute 04:55 you will see the giant Fröbel toys in action, and you can read about the history of its inventor and demonstrator here. From what I understand of the narration, and my active imagination, it seems that these geometrically pleasing instruments are used to practice Push Hands in the absence of a partner, and they seem to give a soothing, invigorating massage as well! I think the garden globe (by the way, the one shown weighed 25 lbs) has found its true calling in this apparatus.

For comparison, the inventor of kindergarten, Freidrich Fröbel's desktop toys:

choli?

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:37:39 PDT

Correct me if I am wrong: As far as I understand, these are sari blouses - ingenious garments that sometimes provide the support of a brassiere without the help of an extra contraption. This form-fitting element of the sari ensemble compliments the feminine silhouette without flaunting or hiding guiltily under the outfit. It's a great balance of fashion and function, and these bold patterns are pretty irresistable. Of course, similar to chipao/cheongsam, this normally works only if it is tailored to the individual form, and that form has to be pretty trim in the midsection. But maybe we should rediscover the beauty of variety in nature through fashion? I encourage you to contact Marilyn Ajju to inquire.

Deep Search

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:21:13 PDT

I was never one to fantasize about space travel, and never even bothered to remember the names or order of the planets orbiting the solar system. Much more pressing to me were the mysteries of the aqua-scape. The allure of the ocean world is as exotic as space-travel, yet more real for some of us because we know that life exists down there, and we know it's completely different. It's our world reflected and distorted in a dimensional watery mirror.

For example, this pikachu:

And the flying turkey in the Ted video below.

Since the BP atrocity of late, I've been having flashes of Miyazaki-esque visions every time I hear about "plugging the leak" - visions of warfare roughly 6 lǐ under the surface.
Oil booms do nothing for the critters that live in these depths, as we up here on the crust are barely aware they exist, and for many lacking imagination or research submarines, thinking of them may cause discomfort of mind or spirit. It's easier to assume nothing was lurking down there.

Nevertheless! Doubtless we are all inventing our own images of the gaping rupture, spewing dark volleys of oil, rushing and unfurling among the deep ocean waves. This post is my attempt to both inform your imagination and feed your subconscious, because so far it looks like anything goes down there! And listen up, my fellow aquatic apes, life as we know it may have actually evolved from it, as the original Hawaiians knew:

The drama of creation, according to the Hawaiian account, is divided into a series of stages, and in the very first of these life springs from the shadowy abyss and dark night. There is here, however, no long series of antecedent, vaguely personified entities ranged in genealogical sequence, but the immediate appearance of living things. At first the lowly zoophytes and corals come into being, and these are followed by worms and shellfish, each type being declared to conquer and destroy its predecessor, a struggle for existence in which the strongest survive. Parallel with this evolution of animal forms, plant life begins on land and in the sea--at first with the algae, followed by seaweeds and rushes. As type follows type, the accumulating slime of their decay raises the land above the waters, in which, as spectator of all, swims the octopus, the lone survivor from an earlier world.

Mythology of All Races, vol. ix ("Oceanic"), R.B. Dixon.

What's going on with our alien origins? Will they be swallowed in oily clouds of greed?

Ya Know What Was Right Wasn't Wrong

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:33:53 PDT

Double Drawing

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:25:48 PDT

I found this wonderful tutorial today on youtube and it relates to my recent podcasting post. I encourage you to watch the tutorial and then listen to the Double Portions Podcasts here on sweetemploy while you explore the art of Double-Fist Drawing.

Double Portions Rice

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:27:21 PDT

Rice Carving

This “double portions” playlist series, served in several courses on this post in the near future, includes the following essential ingredients from my sonic countertop:

1. Endless songs that have a complex blend of ecstatic boredom and mellow concentration which can enhance the flavor of daily routine if allowed to marinate in the consciousness.

2. Balkan, Mediterranean and Asian traditional spices and modern interpretations of them.

3. Androgynous voices and diddling

4. And pairs or echoes of songs, song “doubles” and songs sandwiched within another song of similar melody.

First Serving:
~Sekar Gaduang Naik Cikaoo (Jemblung, From Banyumas, Central Java) 8:33 Grup Jemblung Sari Budaya 14: Lomkok, Kalimantan, Banyumas: Little-Known Forms Of Gamelan And Wayang
~Lamma Bada 4:12 Radio Tarifa Rumba Argelina
~Lamma Badah 3:17 Oren Bloedow and Jennifer Charles La Mar Enfortuna
~Pencereden Kar Geliyor 5:34 Erkan Oğur
~Penceresi Yola Karsi 4:20 Selim Sesler Brenna Mac Crimmon Karsilamalar
&Karamicko oro 3:42 Boban Markovic Orkestar Srce Cigansko

Second Serving:
~Graovsko 6:57 Bodurov Trio Stamps from Bulgaria
~Graovsko - Gergana 2:36 Demko Kurtov's Zurna Group
~khon roi et 3:52 khwanchai phetroiet chot mai pen man
~Louisa Tounsia /Ya Ourda 2:45 TheSecretMuseumOfMankind: Music Of North Africa
~turtles 1:39 C. Saint-Saens/Ogden Nash Mix from charley
~13 Verkvlisse Tsikhe 1:11 Idjassi Songs and Music of Georgia
& Verkvlisse Tsikhe 1:17 Aurelia Shrenker aurelia panduri songs
~mumtaz mahal 13:02 kudsi erguner taj mahal
~Special ne prishtin 3:31 Bekim Kumanova

(A liner note about Khon Roi Et, courtesy of Mr. Tarukachon
"he's talking about how this roi et girl used to love him, now she's loving someone else

he says something like if his life is a ring, then khon roi et is the diamond

and someone jacked his diamond; ...he keeps using metaphors like these

...i could be wrong")

Rice Painting

Also, related to these ingredients: The Mythic Realm of S.K. Thoth

Hundun for Panoramic Sirens

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:16:40 PDT

混沌
Hundun is a personification of primoridial chaos in Chinese mythology dating to 600 B.C. This miniature is inspired by Richard Strassberg’s translation of ancient texts, in which hundun “resembles a yellow sack with…six legs and four wings and exists in a state of confusion with no face or eyes….He knows how to sing and dance.” 5x5, acrylic and seaweed on canvas, signed by artist Paula Peng.

Bid on my art and other items of rare value while sipping Bulgarian Rakia and sampling Tzvetanka's banitsa at the Panoramic Sirens Auction, April 3, generously hosted by the Velaslavasay Panorama, between performances of Superdevoiche Bulgarian Polyphony, and help us raise money to go to Bulgaria!

dream house

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:35:28 PDT

Twenty Fourty-?

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:44:13 PST

Name-That-Sultry-Futuristic-Cinematic-Eyecandy

Wanting to Know More

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:19:46 PST

...about Fado. Especially about this singer.

Revolutionary Motions

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:21:43 PST

This guy is a miracle.

I think this is what I wanted to do as a kid, but he has really pushed the boundary. I was so honored that he accepted me as his FB friend a few months ago.

Also of note:

This I am less convinced about.

Graovsko

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:43:28 PDT

Graovsko is....I don't know anything about it. Someone please tell us. Music Theorists, Folklore Scholars, Natives - why does the melody sound like bragging or telling someone off? Why does incite beatboxing in those who possess the skillz? The music and costumes from Shop always seem to me the wildest and most pagan.

My first digital presciption: rice with herbs

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:00:08 PDT

Bessarabian-Moldovan-Manele-Shopska-Thai-Mauritanian-Iberian-Anatolian-Vidinska-
with Western music "to taste"

Enjoy!

Rambling On About Belly Button Funk, Seadragon Drool

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:30:35 PDT

Everyone knows what musk is, so you would think. Marco Polo apparently knew enough to spot a grain of it here and there on the forest floor.

Why do I spend so much time in search of beauty, its myriad forms? Many people need the rituals of costume. I tend to think of mine as recreation. When I participate, I feel better, even though I'm alone, knowing I am the same. When I'm listless, it all seems shallow, and I usually feel shitty on my high horse.

Constantly praised for her beautiful voice, an excellent singer was inspired to hear that "It's not always about being beautiful." It is, but it isn't. For example, what strangeness of beauty is putting bat poo on your eyes and going all lengths to smell like the funk of a deer's navel & whale's bile?

"Collecting 'Anbar-gris" ->

What is the role of Art or Beauty in this practical game of survival? Sexual selection. A landscape painting that will hold the gaze of time itself has the most protein per square mile. So why is everyone on these vegetarian, low-fat diets when life is a fine cocktail of oils.

Hafiz would agree - what is human life without our precious animal products? Blood from the heart, marinating in the stomach, musk caught up by the breeze from wispy hairline locks.

The B&W Pele Channel

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:46:10 PDT

My grandparents used to have multiple tv's going on in the house, sometimes as many as 4, usually in different rooms. There was a tiny, black and white one that Grandpa would sometimes have on sports while he watched something else on the big color tv, and if not that one would be in the kitchen so that when fixing a snack (say, toast) you could keep up, or Gramma could watch her soap.

They didn't watch stuff like this. But I wish I could have a little tv that would play only beautiful, black and white youtubes, such as these.

Fisherwomen of Songs

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:35:25 PDT

They cast their nets wide,
willingly swimming in.

I bought this old postcard in Plovdiv last summer, meaning to do something with it for Æ.
The collage includes a photo by Laura Mae Noble.

Cackling Merlin's Pass

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Sat, 02 May 2009 13:01:06 PDT

Google translated:
原歌歌詞有五百多段，人們經常演唱的四段歌詞是由作曲家安波整理譯配的。 The original song the lyrics are more than 500 paragraphs, it has often been performed by the composer four lyrics Bo finishing with the translation.

南方飛來的小鴻雁呀，不落長江不呀不起飛。 Southern flying small Hongyan you, not down the Yangtze River do not you do not take off.
要說起義的嘎達梅林，是為了蒙古人民的土地。嘎达梅林to say the uprising is to the Mongolian People's land.
北方飛來的小鴻雁呀，不落長江不呀不起飛。 Northern flying small Hongyan you do not do not you do not drop off the Yangtze River.
要說起義的嘎達梅林，是為了蒙古人民的土地。嘎达梅林to say the uprising is to the Mongolian People's land.
天上的鴻雁從南往北飛，是為了追求太陽的溫暖呦。 Hongyan heaven flying from south to north, is the warmth of the sun in pursuit of Yo.
反抗王爺的嘎達梅林，是為了蒙古人民的利益。 Wangyeh嘎达梅林of resistance is to the interests of the people of Mongolia.
天上的鴻雁從北往南飛，是為了躲避北海的寒冷呦。 Hongyan sky to fly from north to south in order to avoid the North Sea Yo cold.
造反起義的嘎達梅林，是為了蒙古人民的利益。嘎达梅林rebel uprising is to the interests of the people of Mongolia.

1960年代，作曲家辛滬光根據這首民歌創作了交響詩《嘎達梅林》。

Isle of Penglai in 3D

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:34:27 PDT

Put your nose near the screen at the midline of the image and use the cross-eye method. To see details, click on the image to view it larger.

This is a vue d'optique in progress.

Finished: Tang Ao's Fart & The White Gibbon Manuscript

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:33:20 PDT

[There] appeared a white gibbon with red eyes and red spots all over its fur, which stood two feet tall, and was holding some rock fungus in its hands.
'Look,' said Old Tuo. 'That must be a magic plant the gibbon is holding. Why don't we try to get it from him?'
He chased the gibbon down the road back, and Tang Ao followed. Soon, the gibbon disappeared into a cave, Tang Ao crawled in after it, and discovered that it was a very shallow one. Without much difficulty, he grabbed the gibbon and took the fungus from its hands and gave it to Old Tuo, who devoured it with great relish."

I think I can continue on this series forever, new compositions and reworkings. Especially at this pace...

all images © 2009 Paula Peng

More Beauty of Taiwan, Less Sweatiness

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:43:07 PDT

Anping Tree House in Tainan

混沌, Primordial Chaos

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:28:03 PDT

Space Kids

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:33:47 PDT

The Typing Machines We Have Loved

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:01:19 PST

Back when I didn't believe in owning computers, I foolishly pawned my hermes rocket, on which I wrote my first college essay. It was a 250 ft long page.

Bulgarian Typewriter?

Amargosa Haunting

noreply@blogger.com (pele) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:10:51 PST

Almost a year ago, a dear friend and I made a pilgrimage to the Amargosa Opera House.

Marta Beckett is no longer the the dancer she was in this photograph, though her spirit still commands the stage with graceful gestures. Her performance that night was profoundly stirring for the audience members of a packed and dim theater.
Of her life and discovery of the hall where we sat, she said,

Peering through the tiny hole, I had the distinct feeling that I was looking at the other half of myself.

She spoke with the concentration of a spirit medium, from some distance down the tunnel of her vivid memories. In the first few sentences it seemed that her mind expanded to encompass the entire house, and we had all turned to spellbound listeners, painted into our chairs.

Her excerpts from the musicals she and her collaborators had produced in earlier days retained the flavor of an unassuming sense of humor, and a former vaudevillian self emerged before us, observing and interacting with Grand Junction residents.

Her ability to create characters which interact and mimic real life, merging with the local culture and landscape, and keeping herself somewhat apart from her surroundings - this paradoxical life reminds me of something I read recently by Orhan Pamuk about his habits as a writer. There is some kind of magic that happens in between our interactions with other people and what we make out it. We all do this, and are conscious of it in very different ways. To see how Ms. Beckett has done this, and continues living with these characters after 40 years, is truly astonishing and mysterious. Forget the red carpets! She winks and dances there with the desert stars.

Go to Death Valley and see for yourself.