The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers

I stumbled upon a great find recently, The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, a new online dance site featuring some of the best dance cinematography, music, and of course DANCE I've ever seen. Check out some of their clips, hinting at what is I'm sure to be a unique web feature experience. The adventure begins 07.07.10.

True Books

"Open any true book and you begin to see the world through someone else's eyes. Nothing's more redeeming than that or more dangerous" James Sallis
(shared by Jonathan Carroll)

Writer Jonathan Carroll came to my attention a few months back, I think when I read some complimentary remark by Hugo award winner, Neil Gaiman, or maybe it was photographer Kyle Cassidy. Anyway, I took a little time to read over some of Carroll's blog entries, some quotes he gathered, etc. I was stunned--in a good way. All this above is simply for context to how I found out about him. At the top is a sampling of his Twitter posts.

Seraphine de Senlis

Came across a wonderful review on Roger Ebert's site. Check out what he says about the French movie, Seraphine (2008). A small excerpt:

"Seraphine" is not a rags-to-riches story. The director, Martin Provost, who wrote it with Marc Abdelnour, focuses intently on Seraphine's delusions, on the manic state that overtakes her at the prospect of fame and fortune, about how she hides far inside so that Uhde cannot reach her. I've seen many films hoping to understand the nature of great artists; one that comes close is "Vincent" by Paul Cox. This is another. It "explains" nothing but feels everything. It reminds me of two other films: Bresson's "Mouchette," about a poor girl victimized by a village, and Karen Gehre's "Begging Naked," shown at Ebertfest this year, about a woman whose art is prized even as she lives in Central Park.

People like these are not entirely to be pitied. Their art is a refuge. All artists fall into a reverie state while working. Some experience a joy that obliterates their circumstances. The problem is that when they're not creating, they have to go right on living.

Your creativity . . .

Many have followed the recent events of the Iranian elections. I'm neither a political analyst nor someone greatly familiar with Middle-East politics. However, as in reading the recent headlines, a lot of people now know of opposition presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi. His entry in wikipedia sums up nicely the man.

"Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh (Persian: میرحسین موسوی خامنه; born 29 September 1941) is an Iranian reformist politician, painter and architect who served as the fifth and last Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1981 to 1989. Mousavi is currently the president of the Iranian Academy of Arts and was a candidate for the 2009 presidential election."

In a TIME article, by TONY KARON, Iran's Crisis, Mousavi states in this excerpt:

Mousavi on Sunday reiterated his supporters' right to peaceful protest, but urged them to show restraint and declared,"I will never allow this beautiful green wave to risk its life because of me." Acknowledging limited options available to him, he told them, "I believe your motivation and your creativity can still win your legitimate rights through civil ways."

Reading Your Work Aloud

Some times inspiration comes if you only walk outside your door, look around, and simply create that opportunity... Here is something I wrote for a writing class, back in 2005. Every time, reading the words take me back to that afternoon beside a nearby lake.

I saw the sunset this evening as I strolled along the lakeside. All was quiet as the day’s light and warmth slowly turned to twilight and coldness. Like watching the world gently draw up bed covers, prepare for a night’s rest, and close its eyes while stars twinkle in the growing darkness. How silent and beautiful.

But the sun hasn’t completely set--just yet. For where it sailed downward beyond the horizon, nearby clouds radiate golden yellows, bronze oranges, and ruby red hues--imagined as fire, flaring into the heavens, if for only a brief time.

But--darkness comes on, as sleep draws us all in its mysterious way. Shadows in the sky turn deep purples, with tinges of greens and blues. How silently magnificent. Dimmer and dimmer, the colors of day fade; and shadows grow, as the time of night arrives at last.

--B.T. Brasington, 2005

Guard My Heart

I have to watch myself and guard my heart.
Be it meandering in mountains, some forest, or along a beach,
Speaking with someone, enjoying conversation
Or reading the fruit of some writer I enjoy or someone newly found…

The way morning mist hangs suspended above a grassy glen,
A multihued sunrise, the morning rays beaming through
Evergreens, and their fragrance; the crack of a twig, the smell of dew.

The varied emotions of the sea: its whispers in the moonlight,
its lapping laughter against glistening pebbles, and its crashing crescendos
of brine spray as storm weary waves hit granite and barrier reefs.

The voice of a friend, moments of connected empathy.
A smile, a tear. Sharing dreams and hopes and visions for a better tomorrow.
A hand, a shoulder. Learning how to build bridges.

The smell of paper, binder’s glue and thread. The feel of fibrous pages smoothed by the loving crafts master. Illuminated and living words. Sleeping thoughts which open portals, vistas and times of long ago. Seeds for the mind and water for the spirit.

… all these things I must be mindful of, for I am an artist.

--B.T. Brasington, 2001

Susan Boyle's finale from Britian's Got Talent 2009

Most people have already heard Ms. Boyle got voted the #2 spot for BGT. Here's her finale performance, singing again I Dreamed a Dream. Simon gave the best summary of Boyle's last seven weeks. Pretty fantastic!