commit no nusicance, opposition brings concord

Attack of the Evil Chi and Other Recent Events

A stunning chest-pulling, smile-giving evening at the Myer Music Bowl for the Yelling At Stars show (congratulations to all involved), surrounded by fog and concrete cold, we pumped our hams down to the Corner Hotel to see the Eddy Current Suppression Ring album launch, hard and loud and pulse-filled play. A warehouse of friends and fire-side burning. Misty-eyed morning.
And it is baby-blessings and engagement parties, such ADULT play, rinked with tea-lights in graters and patches for quilts.
And it is out for food, in a small well-lit delicacy that sits on your tongue.
And it is sewing and preparing and letting patterns play their own way out.
A drive in the country. Winery.Gallery.Lookout. Bathing in sparkling mineral water as the knots are kneaded out of the back.
And back. Blasted by the wind.
THERE'S NO FUN IN THIS. So ill. Poison in every muscle. Bedridden as the waking-dead. Fever dreams of soap-opera dramatic dying. Too many episodes of Arrested Development. The Bluth company will tear my head open.
Attack of the evil chi. Boo.

The Key

I am in the process of developing a creative arts teaching resource for The Song Room. Here is an example of one activity featured:

THE KEY

In a small bag or box, bring a key (I use an old over-sized metal key) in to the session. Begin by asking the children to guess what is in the bag to get their imaginations going.
Bring out the key and pass it around for them to feel, while asking the question ‘what do you think this key opens?’ Tease out their answers if necessary. For example, if they answer ‘a door’, ask ‘what colour is it?’, ‘is it a big door or a tiny door?’ etc.
Once the children have given a few ideas, a group story begins. The story is led by the facilitator but uses ideas that the kids have put forward so far. At each interval in the story, the facilitator can ask the children to name a character, or suggest what happens next. For example, if a child thought the key opened a large castle door, we might begin the story with:
‘Once upon a time there was a boy in a castle (what shall we call him?) who found a large key next to a very small door (what colour was the door?). He put the key into the lock and slowly opened the door to find… (what did he see?).
In this way, the story is being led but also incorporates the groups’ ideas. Finish the story with a definite ending. I usually do three claps, saying ‘and that was the end of that’.

This story can be expanded in three ways:

1. Assign sound effects (vocal or with instruments) to elements in the story. Ask them ‘what sound would the door make?’, ‘what sound could be used for a castle?’ etc. Groups or individuals are then designated the sound effect to a particular part of the story. Retell the story, adding the sounds for each part, as it is told.

2. Take the children on a dramatic re-enactment of the story. Standing in a group and led by the facilitator, move around the room acting out finding the key, opening the door etc. At points in the story, the facilitator may ask the children ‘then what happens?’ to see if they remembered the story, and make it as interactive as possible. If the story deviates from the first telling, go with the new ideas, bringing it back to the original storyline if their ideas falter.

3. Ask the children to then draw a picture from the story to solidify their recollection and understanding of the story. They can draw any part they like: the key, a character or a place. Stress that the picture is to remind them of the story and is not about how well they can draw. Once they have finished, place all pictures on the ground and have the group look at them together, commenting on the varied responses shown.

fridge play 2

porking

Avoidance, Beer and Cigarettes: The spaces in between.

I think I need
those spaces in between.
When the cleaning gets done,
or I walk and walk.
I can punctuate with cigarettes
and muse over ale.
Waiting for the welling
of something to happen.
An avoidance of what must be done
allows it to emerge in the end.

The Line

I wrote a kids book for my masters thesis. hand binding, illustrating and editing.

new eyes

“The real voyage of discovery consists not of seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”
(Marcel Proust)

one can but try...
so when I get that itch, continually, to just bail and let something new re-energize me...
which I have done so often, the aim is to create my own interest in what is already here.

Don't get me wrong, I will not stop travelling throughout my life (I hope) - for inspiration and perspective and knowledge.

But...blah.

curiosity killed the cat eh

opening lines

The work-a-day of yesteryear was gone. Born was self imposed poverty, a life of simple luxury. The adage read: work less, play harder...

The life of the artist, huh...

Here's a nice quote I read the other day:
"Poverty is a relatively mild disease for even a very flimsy American soul, but uselessness will kill strong and weak souls alike, and kill every time."

Kurt Vonnegut 'God Bless You, Mr Rosewater'