#poetry is the art of dancing in a box and I am intent on making mine ever smaller

[hmleughmyer]

Dear Soulmate,

I hope someday I bump into you, my eyes meet yours, and I drown in them. I hope when I see you smile at me my heart pounds like there isn’t enough room in my chest. I hope you take my hand, lace your fingers through mine, and we go walking, barefoot in the sand, under the stars, as we listen to the soft rhythm of rolling waves. I hope we get drunk on each other as we sip wine and tell each other our deepest, darkest secrets. I hope you gently touch my face and then tuck a strand of hair behind my ear before pulling me into you with intention, and kissing my lips with a primal passion. I hope we make love under the covers, by a crackling fire, as snow blankets the earth outside. I hope you make me laugh so hard I cry. I hope you will cry with me. I hope you are patient, compassionate, and kind, and you don’t mind sharing the bed with our 4-legged kids. I hope you think I’m beautiful, even on my worst days. I hope you hate seeing me sad, and I hope you like hugs. I hope you are sensual, cuddly, and adventurous in bed. I hope you like reading, art, and exploration. I hope that you try to write poetry or music, even if it’s bad. I hope you can laugh at yourself. I hope you like to dance and sing, and you aren’t afraid to get up and karaoke at some dive bar we stop at on our way to Sante Fe. I hope you love hearing me sing, even when I’m completely off key. I hope you dedicate some of your free time to mucking barns at a farm sanctuary or scooping poop at an animal shelter. I hope you are empathetic and giving. I hope we cook vegan food together and make up our own recipes and concoctions. I hope you love that I rescue rats and that I let them kiss me on the lips. I hope you love my constant antics and sarcasm. I hope when we argue it’s because you can think for yourself, and not because you were brainwashed by others. I hope after we have a good argument we can have makeup sex all night long. I hope that you challenge me and let me challenge you. I hope you can be present in the moment and that you have the curiosity of a child. I hope you like documentaries and dark history. I hope you love Halloween, and never miss out on finding the perfect costume. I hope you are creative, you love to create, and you think outside the box. I hope you’re a dreamer and have big dreams. I hope we go hiking together to remote waterfalls, and I hope you like rollerblading in the park. I hope we can walk our dogs together, and take them on vacations, and stay in mountain cabins with back deck hot tubs. I hope we can go camping together and roast vegan hot dogs and marshmallows while listening to music, getting high, and telling ghost stories. I hope that you like to try new things, and that you collect old things. I hope you like coffee and thrift stores and books. I hope that you love me because I would endanger my own life by stopping traffic to try and save a family of geese. I hope you think I’m funny when I thought I was being my own best audience. I hope you buy me slutty things to wear for you because you think I’m silly and sexy when I’m role playing one of my many personalities. I hope you love summer thunderstorms and autumn bon fires. I hope you like getting lost in the woods and lost in thought. I hope you’re a hopeless romantic. I hope you like candles and chocolate and bubble baths. I hope you like skinny dipping in the gulf at night. I hope you’re as crazy and as fearless as I am. I hope when I find you, you will love me for just little ol’ me, and I hope you will never let go.

[mielesis]

Hiya! Uhm so I believe Apollo is reaching out to me however he is the first ever deity to really reach out with me and I’m not sure where I should start or do and I was wondering if you had any tips or ideas?

[English is not my first language, I am a self-taught person, please understand this goes with my greatest effort from the bottom of my heart and will probably spend hours writing this very carefully for you, thank you <3]

Hi dear, of course, I will be pleased to help you

“I believe Apollo is reaching out to me”

I am deeply happy to hear that, I bet he is -for sure- trying to reach out to you and -I must say- it is truly wonderful to start recieving signs from deities, specially from Apollo as the first deity since he’s really sweet and caring for his children. 

“I’m not sure where I should start or do and I was wondering if you had any tips or ideas?” Of course, it is always a pleasure to help. 

So let’s start with the basics: 

Research ! I recommend you to research about him as much as you can (e.g stories, domains, symbols, offerings, etc.) with that done, it will be easier for you to spot more signs. Research sometimes is the best way to connect with a deity and also that allows you to let them know you are interested in them as well. 

Whenever you feel ready for the next step, I suggest you to tell him properly that you accept him in your life, this can be done by making a playlist, writing, playing an instrument, drawing, etc in his honor (e.g if you chose a playlist, set the intention that the playlist itself is going to be in Apollo’s honor, made with particular songs that reminded you of him or his energy only), I consider that it is important to present yourself as well ! he presented himself to you but you haven´t yet so you can talk to him mentally or out loud (or even when doing something in his honor) and tell him your name and about what you like to do, how you felt with the signs, etc. In my opinion that is a wonderful activity to do. 

Again, only when you feel ready and sure about it, you can begin to create his altar (it can be physical or digital, don´t worry) and it is not necessary to be aesthetically pleasing or buy super expensive things because your altar will be the place where you will leave offerings to Apollo, sincere offerings coming from the bottom of your heart (e.g play a song from spotify that reminded you of him, a flower you picked up from the park, a drawing you made thinking of him, etc.) Therefore every altar is unique, we all make the devotional acts we feel good with and we know that will connect us with Apollo in some way or another. In the case you don’t know where to start with the physical altar, I suggest you to choose a place you feel good with and clean it physically and spiritually, I always tend to choose the north but you can choose any other direction. After you have that done, you can place a table or use a desk, a box, whatever you want or already have that you can use. Choose the things you would like to fill your altar with, (e.g a yellow candle, statue/pictures of Apollo, an offering bowl or anything that could complete the same function, sun/lyre/sunflower imagery, etc.) and then you will be filling it with more offerings such as poetry, drawings, music pieces, medicinal plants, etc. because Apollo usually make his children re-connect with art, joy and self-care, medicine principally. 

About the devotional acts you can do for him, I will leave you a list:

- Say goodmorning/goodnight to him

- Sunflowers

- Bay leaves

- Humming/ singing a song you like (it doesn´t matter if you don´t sing on tune, he will be happy with you performing in his honor)

- Writing poetry or spoken word 

- Playing an instrument 

- Reading his myths to him

- Take care of yourself !! he loves when his children take their medicines or care about their health in general

- Take a walk under the sun

- Talk about him

- Make him a playlist

- Bake some lemon/orange/honey cookies

- Apples

- Honey

- Sun water

- Olive oil

- Lyre/archery imagery

- A swan decoration

- Donate to local artists

- Take a mini first aid kit with you

- Listen music you love next to his altar

- Dance in his honor !! (again, it doesn´t matter if you don´t know how to dance, just move, jump, move your hands, whatever you feel comfortable with but - feel the music, free your body- he will love that !!

- Leave him some sunstones and crystals related to him

- Read about him, research about him, talk about him, he loves when his children give him attention hehe

- Give him chocolate (other devotees agree he likes it)

- Hydratate yourself !!

- Always treat yourself with kindness

Now it´s time to list the ways deities can use to communicate with us:

- Thoughts, sometimes deities will reply to you through your own mind as crazy as it sounds !! you only have to trust your intuition as well

- Dreams, if you dream about Apollo or any symbol related to him, a message or something you feel it was from him, believe in it !!

- Meditations, some deities use meditation to communicate with us, as well as in dreams, they send us images, symbols, words, etc.

- Pendulum (I personally don´t practice it yet) but you can search here on tumblr

- Tarot, same as the pendulum, sorry I can´t provide you properly information about this one

- Candles flames, this was the second connection I had with him and how he told me to take care about my lungs, it is really easy to learn but also have to believe in your own intuition !!

- Animals/symbols/songs/etc, sometimes Apollo connects with his children through animals or songs, he usually sends crows

- Emotions, in my personal experience I had something called “emotional numbness”, I couldn´t feel any joy nor sadness, I was like a robot but since I connected with Apollo (and also did my shadow work !!) I feel happiness in everything, I go out and feel deeply happy under the sun, I re-connected with art and even overcomed my major depressive episode, so yes, Apollo is really caring and sweet with his children

- People, sometimes deities connect with us through other people, specially healing people, happy people, etc or even a stranger who feels the necessity to give or tell us something that can be considered as a message from Apollo

I think I wrote everything I wanted you to know !!

I hope this was helpful to you and as a final advice: do as you feel like it, everyone is unique and will recieve unique signs, at unique times. I wish you the best in this new journey !! and I’d for sure love to have an update from you ! 

With lots of love,

Miel <3

#apollo devotee #apollo devotion #apollo worship #apollo #apollo deity #deity worship #deity #hellenic worship #hellenic pantheon #hellenic devotion

[wolf-and-bard]

Proper Procedures for Wooing Witches

for @littoraly-art because you are amazing and I already said this, but I hope you have an awesome birthday <3

Pairing: Yennefer/Jaskier

Word Count: ~2.2k

Rating: T, some explicit language

„My darling Yennefer,“ Jaskier calls out as he swoops into his Oxenfurt apartment with a flat carton wedged under his arm. It already nicked the lavender mesh overlay of his newest doublet, but for once, he absolutely cannot be bothered by that. It’s too nice of a day. “Hello?” He kicks off his shoes.

High noon’s just gone by and Jaskier doesn’t expect Yen to be up yet – which means she will hex his ass if he wakes her. His giddiness outweighs his fears though, heart warming, as he takes in the cluttered entryway. Several pairs of shoes are strewn about, his and hers mixing on the ground. Yen’s all look like they could double as a lethal weapon and are some variation of black and white (though one pair is tinged brown from blood that crusts the bottom, he doesn’t want to know). It’s awfully domestic, a product of the temporary living situation they are in.

When Yen requested to use his rooms for a week or so, she explicitly asked for Jaskier not to be there, but, well, he is weak, he wants her, he couldn’t have stayed away if he tried. Yen’s been snippy from the moment he welcomed her with open arms and the prospect of sharing a bedroom, snippy to the point of grumpiness. That’s fair, Jaskier supposes. It’s also fair that she slips out at the most random times of day, coming back only when Jaskier’s gone to the academy for lectures or the pub for drinks with his colleagues. All fair and good. He catches her about once a day which is more than he can say for most of the year. Fair, yes. Nice, even though Yen is rarely, if at all, impressed with his affection for her. A bard can dream.

“Yenny,” he shouts again and whistles to himself as he slides through to the main room. To his surprise, she lounges at his dinner table by the window, one hand curled around a steaming mug, the other holding up one of his most beloved poetry collections (not only because he wrote several of the entries). Her hair falls in rich raven curls that cover her chest, barely concealed by the sheer black dressing gown she wears. It’s the only thing she wears, Jaskier notices, gulping heavily. Yen doesn’t look up from her reading, her lips are pursed and her tone clipped as she replies.

“For every time you call me that, bard, your balls will grow the tiniest fraction until, one day, they will explode, never to grow back.”

Jaskier considers it. Directs his attention downward. They do feel a bit strange, don’t they? But that’s only because he’s thinking about them. Right.

“I shall not be fooled,” Jaskier says, grinning. “But if you so insist, ‘beloved’ will do just as well. I brought you a gift.” Brushing past his dusty bookshelves and cluttered desk, he struts towards the table and drops the carton on it. It lands with a thud and swirls up more dust – how is it this dusty already, Jaskier could swear he cleaned the place, like, last month?

Yen licks her finger to turn the page which makes Jaskier laugh out loud. He rounds the table to glance over her shoulder, but immediately has to retch. There, catching Yen’s precise attention, is Valdo’s vomit-inducing sonnet about his first time taking a tumble with what Jaskier assumes was a professional. It has to be, no self-respecting person would bed the man free of his coin. Jaskier makes a mental note to spread another rumour about Valdo and various sexual diseases, then plucks the book from her hands and lets it drop to the table. She sighs softly under her breath and allows him to put a hand on her shoulder. Is that… does she lean into him? The tiniest bit? Oh, dear.

“That better not be a dress,” Yen says, reaching out. Her fingertips trace the edge of the carton as if she’s in deep debate on whether to pop it open. This is a game they’ve been playing excessively, him bringing her gifts, her making a show of whether to accept them or not. On the few occasions that Yen invites him for a drink or gives the acoustic properties of his lute a small magical boost, Jaskier fails to reciprocate her cool attitude. He’s too in love to feign indifference and it’s not like she would believe him either.

“If we’re using dress in terms of the precise cut it implies then no, no dress,” he replies, thumb rubbing her skin through the slippery material of the gown mostly to work through the tightness in his throat. It hurts sometimes because this farce makes him think she doesn’t want him. Hell, most things Yen does are aimed at making him think she doesn’t want him. But then there are fractions of admittance like this, like when her gravity shifts towards him or he finds her in his rooms, barely dressed, that make him think there might be more there. Jaskier simply has to practice patience.

“Julian, do I seem like a woman easily impressed with shallow gifts of clothes? In case you hadn’t noticed, I have a very particular style.”

“Oh, I noticed. Trust me, Yenny, you are very much one of a kind,” he replies, mesmerized by her fingers dancing on the cardboard. She loses no time in jabbing back.

“And yet you revert to common courting techniques? That’s pathetic and you know it.”

“Bold of you to assume I am courting you.”

“Bold of you to claim you are not. If I remember correctly, the last time Geralt was with us you got drunk off your ass and asked him for his permission to woo me. Which was sweet but not at all his place to allow. Then you continued to exert yourself into my life on every possible occasion with flowers and picnics and awful love songs. How else am I going to interpret all this?” Yen asks, craning her neck to look up at him from under dark lashes. Gods, she is gorgeous.

“Touché. But do not think I would waste the efforts of my best tailor on just anyone. This is advanced courting, dear.”

“I fail to see its distinguishing qualities.”

“The difference is that these clothes are hardly a gift and more a means to an end.” Jaskier winks which has her eyes narrow, fall back to the carton.

“You want to take me somewhere” Yen asks and, of course, she untangles his intentions immediately.

“Not just somewhere. My cousin’s forwarded me an invitation to a ball put on by some countryside nobleman or other. His work keeps him in Kerack so I’m to go in his stead. That is to say, I’d hoped you would go dancing with me.”

Yen looks up once more and Jaskier starts a little. He will never get used to the vibrance of her violet eyes, how they see through him. Once, she said it took no effort at all to pick at his thoughts, that she always feels as though he’s screaming them right at her. So, he does.

Please, he thinks, mouth twitching into a soft smile. Please, just this once. It would mean the world to me.

Yen huffs a small laugh and shakes her head, then draws the box towards her. Inside, she finds a slim-cut blouse made from the finest black cotton in the city, complete with white lace trim down the front and flaring out at the cuffs and collar. With it, Jaskier had the tailor make a white corset belt and a pair of deep black pants that have applications of the same lace. It would look precarious, almost edgy, on anyone else, but on Yen… the thought alone makes Jaskier’s chest tighten with adoration.

“Jules, this is beautiful,” Yen murmurs as her fingers trace the line of the seams on the blouse. Jaskier puts his other hand to her shoulder and holds on for dear life as his ear twitches. Was that? Did she just? Oh, how he itches to make a quip about the nickname. Because it’s funny, yes, but it also gives him palpitations. He feels like a lovesick puppy trying to befriend a wild cat. Which also means that any violation of trust can ruin what they have. It’s just so fucking precious, this whole affair, and if he were on the outside of it, he would squeal in delight and write a whole novel about it. He still might.

“I’m glad you like it. And it will look absolutely stunning on you. You will look stunning in it. Ah, not implying that you don’t usually look stunning. What I am saying is, the other attendees will be stunned.”

“You’re ridiculous… and stupid too. Are you certain you want to take me to the ball? I’m not exactly popular with the local nobility.”

“Quite the tragedy,” Jaskier says and because he feels daring, he bends down and kisses the top of her head. Then, he saunters over to the stove, pours himself a mug of tea and takes the seat next to her. “And yes, I am certain. In fact, there is nothing I’d love more. Let the people talk.”

“I don’t give a shit,” Yen says on another sigh. “Not about what they say or think or do.”

“Which is part of what makes you so damn sexy.”

Yen rolls her eyes and folds the clothes back into the carton.

“These are lovely, but I will not wear them to the dance,” Yen says. Which means she will go with him at least. It’s not enough, Jaskier is dying to see her wear what he picked out, dying to show the world that such a brilliant woman would choose to spend the evening with him. Most of all, he wants to make her happy. “Trust me on this. You have a reputation to worry about and bringing me along already risks that. Bringing me along in that can and will mess with your career.”

“Trust me, when I say that it won’t matter. I’m already famous and folk love to gossip about famous people. Probably more than they love my songs. I could imagine worse truths to be spread about me. Besides, didn’t you just say you don’t care what people think about you? Why then would you worry about what people think about me?”

"Well I never," she says, but her lips soften into a smile and her hand rises to fiddle with her pendant. Jaskier gently pries it off and brings her knuckles to his lips.

"I don't care either," he whispers. "I just want to go dancing with you."

"I'll portal to my rooms in Kaedwen and get one of my old dresses.” Her face is all smiles, but an edge has stolen into her voice which makes her sound forlorn, sad even, and her eyes flicker over to the folded clothes in the box. Jaskier’s throat tightens.

"Why are you so stubborn? It’s obvious you want to wear them. You don’t need to start giving a fuck now.”

"I'm trying to do something for you here, Julian. I don't usually go out of my way to attend stuck-up parties with peacocks such as yourself."

“Please,” Jaskier says. He still holds her hands in both of his and because he has no shame, and because this really does mean the world to him, he sinks off his chair and onto his knees before her legs. Yen’s eyes widen a fraction. “For me.”

-----

They dance. Oh, how they dance. Jaskier always considered himself a great dancer, he has music in his veins and has flirted and whirled his way through every ball room and banquet hall on the Continent, and it’s clear that Yen is no stranger to this art either. They are exuberant, relentless, they laugh and pirouette and demand their ground, much to the detriment of those with lesser skills. The lack of a dress doesn’t subtract from their flair, if anything, it allows for a broader range of motion

"The only way we could draw more eyes is if we'd brought Geralt along,” Yen giggles. Fuck. She’s so carefree it brings tears to Jaskier’s eyes.

"Gods no," he laughs. "He would ruin all the fun with his growling and brooding. If you're looking for more attention however..."

"Jules-"

Jaskier twirls her and, in that motion, catches her around the waist and dips her low, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips which are parted on a yelp. Before he can tug her up again, her hands come forward to cup his face and she presses into him, grins into the kiss.

“You’re absolutely ridiculous,” she whispers.

“Admit it,” Jaskier drawls as he brings her back upright and they fall into an easy basic waltz, closer to each other than the dance strictly necessitates. “You love me.”

“That is awfully presumptuous of you.” But she laughs, and kisses his cheek, and Jaskier thinks that maybe one day, she will. “Don’t bet on it, bard.”  

#the witcher #witcher #jaskier #yennefer #yennefer of vengerberg #yennefer x jaskier #yenskier #I'll reblog with ao3 link later #ficlet #my writing #fluff

[d-a-anderson]

A Meditation on Writing Honestly

There’s an anecdote about James Joyce I remind myself of often when I think about writing—particularly when it comes to the pressure we put ourselves under to “produce” something.

Joyce walked into the pub one evening. Sitting next to one of his writing buddies, his buddy asked him:

“What did you write today, James?”

Joyce replied:

“I put in a comma… and then I took it out.”

I love that. In truth, the story may be apocryphal, or attributable instead to Oscar Wilde. But for me, it could be Joyce just as well—and the point sticks.

Joyce was able to twist language the way Dali could twist an otherwise realistic painting to its surrealistic breaking point. Joyce made language multi-dimensional. He wasn’t a pulp fiction writer. Sure, he produced work—some of the greatest work in the English language, arguably—but he did it on his own terms.

Look. I’m not here to say that you shouldn’t meet your goals. What I am saying is that quality isn’t necessarily quantity, and vice versa.

When I wrote my book, I had a rough draft that’d been stewing in me for years. I came back to it every so often and would rewrite a part. Life would happen, and I’d come back to it and rewrite another section. More life would happen. Critical events occurred in my world that fundamentally changed the novel and the characters, and I think for the better. If I hadn’t waited for those changes to happen, the “discoveries” I’d made during the writing process wouldn’t have happened—because there was nothing yet there to uncover.

Writing is a lot like any other kind of creative work; there’s a flow state that you can hit, where things just “feel right”. The pieces fall into place and things just make sense. That’s the number one thing I love about writing: I strike a nerve and I ride it; I get to entertain myself in a wholly different world, and I discover things about the world and myself along the way. It’s possible to catch lightning in a bottle that way sometimes. But it requires patience, too. Writing, like Zen, is a finger pointing at the moon. If you’re so intent, and thus, full of tension, at the idea of catching lightning in a bottle, you’ll be like the student looking at the tip of the finger instead of gazing at the moon. And then, as Bruce Lee admonishes: “you’ll miss all the heavenly glory.”

Writing is a natural thing. And like all natural things, it happens without force. I’m not saying it’s without effort—writing anything, from novels to poetry, is extraordinarily hard. But is it ”hard” to do anything in a flow state? Whether it’s dancing, playing music, or painting—the flow state lets us forget about the world and something that would be otherwise forced and contrived just occurs. The best writing happens like when the best sleep happens: when you’re relaxed and not thinking about it.

When I wrote the novel, I had a goal of two pages a day. That was a good goal. Even though the rough draft was stewing for years, the majority of the final draft was rendered in about six months. It felt right to me at the time. It might be different for someone else. Two pages wasn’t a quota I demanded of myself, though; it was a soft quota. That is, I wouldn’t beat myself up over whether I’d written a whole chapter or just a paragraph. Sometimes I wrote more, sometimes I wrote less—it depended on what the work was asking from me that day. I wasn’t writing to a quota—I was writing to write. And that made the writing better.

For Joyce—or Wilde, apocryphal anecdote or not—the craft came first. Add a comma, then take it out. The act of adding it and taking it out again improved what he was working on in whole, even though it sounds like just taking one step forward to take one step back. Because he learned that adding a comma there wasn’t right for that work. And that simple lesson probably informed him for every word he wrote afterward.

It’d be a damn shame if I started to twist my work into a box for the sake of a personal challenge, or god forbid, to start to hate the craft because I’m not “measuring up” to some arbitrary standard. I’ve never had a written project on contract, so maybe I’ve lived in luxury so far. I make promises to myself and go public sometimes to share with others the challenges I set for myself—but that’s a tactic for reinforcement. I know I’d be more disappointed if I read something that felt like the author was writing just to be completionist. Writing for the sake of completion alone is like a bad bonsai tree. It gets twisted and warped and never truly grows.

Good writing is always honest. It doesn’t try to “measure up”. It just is. By being honest, it gets better, and its potential is maximized—whatever that potential is. Sometimes it’s a spark, sometimes it’s an explosion—and either way is okay. Because it should be what it is—no more, no less.

It’s good to set goals as creative people and see how high we can jump. Navy SEALs have that forty percent rule: when you think you’re done, you’ve only reached forty percent of your potential. But burnout is a real thing, and sometimes we can, in fact, push ourselves too far—especially when we’re trying to measure up to a set of rules rather than the inner potential of the creative work itself.

There’s a story about King David from the Old Testament, and I keep it in the back of my mind when doing anything that requires inspiration or creativity. For me, the moral of the story can be stated simply: “rules made for the sake of the mission must not impede the mission.”

The story goes that David was on a mission before he was king, and he and his soldiers were hungry. He asked the priests of the tabernacle—the ancient Jewish temple of that time—for bread. They had no fresh bread on hand, but they did have special consecrated bread that was meant to be kept in the temple for God as a kind of ritual offering. Understanding that he and his men were starving, the priest gave him the ritual bread, which only priests were allowed to eat, technically breaking the Jewish law. Centuries later, Jesus used this example to explain that the Sabbath, the day of rest, was made for the sake of humanity—humanity was not made for the sake of the Sabbath.

It’d be like if you set up a special display with fresh food, a cornucopia, and more, all for decoration, and a starving person came by and asked if they could have some food because they’re hungry. How asinine would it be to deny that person food because the decoration was more important than their satiation?

Spoiler: in this parable, the starving person is you, the creative person, and your muse.

We get caught up in our rules and goals that we often miss the point. If the point of the Sabbath is to rest, but work must be done in order to live—by all means, work. It’s an ancient prescription for avoiding burnout. But we humans have a way of taking rule abiding to the ‘nth degree—and in so doing, we ruin the spirit of the rule. The rule, ironically, becomes an impediment to us enjoying that which the rule should enable us to do. We’re getting in our own way. Lots of fundamentalists, religious and non-religious, have this problem.

Writing is like this too. There’s hard work to be done—and sometimes you just have to push on through. Books like Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art is great for this—it’s one of my favorite books on writing. It’s near and dear to my heart, along with Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones.

But forced work is work without soul, and creative work without soul is always contrived. I’d rather write one single great book and never publish another word again if that was what the craft lead me to do. Some writers only publish once, and that’s okay.

(I do think I’ve got more work than that to publish, but sometimes you have to be open to the extremes to find where you truly are. It gives a sense of perspective.)

So if an idea isn’t quite coming through, let it percolate. Sleep on it. Write it out from different angles, or don’t write on it at all, and do something different. Explore it in a different medium. Sleep on it; watch a movie. Make a sandwich and watch the birds. The brain is a magical organ that does amazing things when we’re not looking. There’s a time to take a sledgehammer to the block. There’s also a time to sit in silence with an idea, and let it slowly whisper to you what its story really is.

And when it does whisper, all you’ll need to do is listen carefully. And write.

–

Photo: James Joyce

#daily #writing #nonfiction #writingonwriting

[havekiddoswilltravel]

Everyday Black History: Educational Guide to Incorporating Black History into your Homeschool Year-round

February is Black History Month and I would love to encourage all educators, parents and adults in general to incorporate these best practices into their daily lives throughout the year. My definition of educator is very broad. If you have a sphere of influence to speak into the lives of future generations, then you’re an educator as far as I’m concerned. I believe in intentional education and thus we should never limit an entire group’s history and contributions to 28 days.

- Be intentional in your read alouds, independent reading and book list choices. Make sure that you incorporate books that provide a well rounded perspective on history, literature, geography, language arts and even math. 

- Diversify your homeschool social media feed. Connect with, read works by and learn best practices from other homeschooling parents and educators of colors.

1. Follow My Reflections Matter and incorporate their diverse resources to your educational plans.

2. Check out Negra Bohemian a self described:  a free spirit redefining motherhood through a socially conscious, faith-led and wandering lifestyle.

3. Check out Trippin’ Momma to be inspired by a single mother who’s recovered from domestic violence and is exploring the world on her own terms.

4. Follow Dr. Kira Bank and her work on Raising Equity.

5. Follow my friend Sarah’s adventures in her blog and be inspired to take adventurous trips with your kids to destinations like Dubai, Hong Kong and Kenya.

6. Follow The Spring Break Family and be encouraged to take adventures with our kids even if they’re not homeschooled.

7. Check out Our Kitchen Classroom and learn how to connect food with culture - travel.

If your a Christian, read this: No Days Off...

“This February, lay down the burden of ambassadorship and let Black History Month be your swimming lessons. May it be a reminder that each stroke forward transforms our weaknesses into strengths, powerlessness into purpose. We’re not treading water. Kingdom ambassadors make new wave moves. Look back and see how God is moving us forward.”

Additional resources Click on bold sections for more information:

- Learn about Racial Identity from Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum. 

https://youtu.be/l_TFaS3KW6s

- Check out 100 Read Aloud Books for Black History and Beyond.

- 30 People from Around the World.

- Learn the truth about the Green Book by watching this documentary.

- Have your preconceived notions rocked by A blessed Heritage’s writings on faith and black history.

- Host a Black Living History Wax Musuem event at your school, home or community.

- Black History is American History.

- Race: The Power of Illusion.

- Read about why Martin Luther King JR. Day is not a day off and start planning your service project for next January.

- Why we shouldn’t forget that U.S. presidents owned slaves.

Published on Feb 2, 2017

"When you sing that this country was founded on freedom, don’t forget the duet of shackles dragging against the ground my entire life." This how poet Clint Smith begins his letter to past presidents who owned slaves. In honor of Black History Month, Smith offers his Brief But Spectacular take on the history of racial inequality in the U.S.

Learn about the musical, historical and African roots of Puerto Rico’s Bomba.

- Watch online Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement.

- 28 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month by the NAACP.

- Watch and be inspired by: Black Made That.

- Meet The Fearless Cook Who Secretly Fed — And Funded — The Civil Rights Movement.

- Watch Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History on Netflix.

- Check out Wu-Tang Clan's GZA shows his genius in Liquid Science on Netflix.

- Add diverse puzzles by Puzzle Huddle to your bookcases.

- Decolonize your family bookshelves and learn more about awareness by following The Consious Kid.

- 28 More Black Picture Books That Aren’t About Boycotts, Buses or Basketball (2018).

- 5 Reasons You Should Celebrate Black History Month.

- Beyond The Painful Chains Of Slavery: Phillis Wheatley, The First Published Female African-American Poet.

- Continue learning throughout the year with various subscription options of the Because of Them we Can boxes.

- Check out Black Then for a wealth of information.

- Check out Story Corps:

StoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.

- Diversify your podcasts. A friend sent me this pod cast and I had to share: Black and White: Racism in America.

Exposure to Black Theater and Arts.

- Check out my review of Hamilton. 

- Go watch Black Violin. 

- Go see Alvin Ailey - American Dance Theater.

- Diversify your holiday traditions and enjoy the Hip Hop Nutcracker or the Urban Nutcracker. 

- Exposure to the history and sounds of Gospel music.

- Singin’ Us to Glory: The Life and Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer.

- Black History Month is a chance for white parents to learn how to talk about racism.

Pin for later:

- Incorporate Black History Sites into your family travel. This has been a huge way for us to incorporate our story into our learning. These are some of our favorites or ones on our bucket list:

 1. National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

You can read more about my family’s trip to this history packed museum by clicking here.

2. The Tuskegee Airman National Historical Museum in Detroit, Michigan.

3. The National Underground Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

You can read more about my family’s road trip to the freedom center by clicking here. 

4. Frederick Douglass National Historical Park in Washington, DC.

5. International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, NC.

6. Martin Luther King, JR Memorial in Washington, DC.

7. Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, MO.

8. Museum of African American History in Boston, MA.

9. North Star Underground Railroad Museum in Ausable Chasm, NY.

10. Visit Martha’s Vineyard and learn about the Polar Bears.

- Check out this blog post with a large list of destinations to include in your Black History Travel Bucket List: Must See Destinations to Learn About Black History.

- Study the history of Soul Food and host a Soul Food Feast for family and friends. 

The Soul Food Born of the Harlem Renaissance.

Read An Illustrated History of Soul Food with your kids. 

This is a great video of the celebrates African American food and chefs.

- Teach the history of the Harlem Globetrotters and then enjoy a  game. 

- Take a #foodies road trip to some of America’s top Soul Food Restaurants which are full of history, music and culture.

1. Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, NY.

2. Amy Ruth’s in NYC.

3. Luella’s Southern Kitchen in Chicago, IL.

4. The Coast Cafe in Cambridge, MA.

5. Roscoes Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles, CA.

6. Busy Bee Cafe in Atlanta, GA.

- Provide opportunities for your students to read, memorize and recite black poetry. Some of our favorites are. 

Let America Be America Again

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was America to me.) Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed— Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above. (It never was America to me.) O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. (There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”) Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars? I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek— And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak. I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one’s own greed! I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean— Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years. Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That’s made America the land it has become. O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home— For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore, And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came To build a “homeland of the free.” The free? Who said the free?  Not me? Surely not me?  The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we’ve dreamed And all the songs we’ve sung And all the hopes we’ve held And all the flags we’ve hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay— Except the dream that’s almost dead today. O, let America be America again— The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—the land where every man is free. The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME— Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again. Sure, call me any ugly name you choose— The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives, We must take back our land again, America! O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath— America will be! Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— All, all the stretch of these great green states— And make America again!

From The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Copyright © 1994 the Estate of Langston Hughes. Used with permission.

Still I Rise

Maya Angelou, 1928 - 2014

You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard ‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I’ve got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise.

From And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc

Lift Every Voice and Sing

James Weldon Johnson, 1871 - 1938

Lift every voice and sing, Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the list’ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won. Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chast’ning rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered. We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way; Thou who hast by Thy might, Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand, True to our God, True to our native land.

From Saint Peter Relates an Incident by James Weldon Johnson. Copyright © 1917, 1921, 1935 James Weldon Johnson, renewed 1963 by Grace Nail Johnson. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.

Dreams

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

From The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes published by Alfred A. Knopf/Vintage. Copyright © 1994 by the Estate of Langston Hughes. Reprinted by permission of Harold Ober Associates Incorporated. All rights reserved.

About Ruth: I’m a wife and mami of 4 active and globe-trotting kiddos. I’ve always loved a good adventure and truly believe that it’s possible to travel with kids. Join me, as I share our adventures and inspire you to get out of the house with your kiddos. Whether you’re planning a family vacation, a road trip or a trip of a lifetime to an exotic destination, I’ll share insights, trip reports and information that will inspire you. Check back often to stay up to date on things to do with kids at your next travel destination.

#blackhistory #blackhistorymonth #teachingkids #homeschool #bloggervibes #blackhistorymonthidea #parenting #raisingkids #intentionalparenting #homeschoolresources #myreflectionsmatter #blacktravel #familytravel #representationmatter #themomtrotter #negrabohemian #trippinmomma #thespringbreakfamily #stayathomemomyeahright #raisingequity #socialjustice #history #diversehomeschool #playwithyourfood

[theatredirectors]

Sammy Zeisel

Hometown?

Bethesda, MD.

Where are you now?

Chicago, IL.

What's your current project?

I just opened and closed The Late Wedding by Christopher Chen (one of my favorite contemporary playwrights) with a company called The Neighborhood. It was a strange, beautiful, and difficult play about Italo Calvino, heartbreak, and the transmigration of souls performed in the "Rummage Room" of a church. We sourced all of our props from the boxes of shit that were left in the space after the church rummage sale and got some great use out of the organ that happened to be there, too. The whole thing was kind of magical.

I also am in post production on a short film about a girl getting her period for the first time at her friend's birthday party titled The Care and Keeping of You.

Why and how did you get into theatre?

Well, my mom is the Associate Artistic Director of Imagination Stage, a children's theatre in Washington DC. I grew up in rehearsal rooms. As I'd imagine is the case for most of us, I started out acting at summer camps and in school plays. While I was playing Renfield in my high school production of Dracula, it occurred me that I might actually I want to do this for the rest of my life.

What is your directing dream project?

I always find this question difficult because I see myself as highly responsive to the people and places at my disposal. A piece of theatre does not make sense to me out of context.

THAT SAID I love me some Chekhov. Specifically, I've been on a bit of a Cherry Orchard kick recently. There are secrets contained in that play about the potential for (or futility of) human change that speak directly to this moment. The political and the personal are so beautifully intertwined. Plus, it’s goofy as hell.  Chekhov plays embrace the entire contradictory mess of being a human. How to not, as a director, deny those contradictions by providing easy answers? I see that as an ultimate directing challenge.

What kind of theatre excites you?

I like theatre that takes on the responsibility of its liveness. This can happen in so many different ways: virtuosic physicality (a tap dance?), engagement with the audience's imagination (a person becomes a bird?), direct engagement with the audience (playful meta-theatricality?), or--maybe my favorite--some sort of more subtle, silent communion (Annie Baker). A piece of theatre is not just a story, it is an event; a director is not just a storyteller, she is a coordinator of moments in real-time.

I like to see truthful characters interacting within strange theatrical forms. I think that is what we are: deeply human creatures inside of forms that we do not understand. I like theatre that embraces uncertainty and, in that way, coaxes us to into a more comfortable relationship with our own uncertainty. Violence (outward and inward) stems from a need for control within life, and so, theatre that makes us to sit in an uncomfortable state of unknowing has the capacity to make us gentler.

Finally, I seek out any art that contains a little hint of the inarticulable. A piece of art should contain secrets.

Also probably all theatre should be funny.

What do you want to change about theatre today?

We have a lot of conversations about the need for riskier choices when it comes to content. And we do need that. We should be constantly pushing the boundaries of content and honoring stories that have been neglected. But those stories should also be paired with riskier forms. From what I can tell, theatre companies are more frightened by experiments in theatrical form than almost anything else--probably because a challenging form has perhaps the highest potential of turning an audience off (audience members didn't walk out of The Flick because it is about three people who work at a movie theatre). In the age of Netflix, however, if we do not find forms that are inherently theatrical we will become obsolete. But if we find inherently theatrical forms that contain the electricity of live communion, we will be providing something that the world is desperately hungry for.

And obviously we have to figure out some way to make theatre more accessible. Theatre is basically a hobby for rich people. It's just true, and we all know it and are deeply embarrassed by it. But what can we do to combat this? I certainly don't know. But it might have something to do with returning to bare essentials. We need to be paying artists and we need to be lowering ticket prices, so what gives? What if we made our productions with fewer resources? What if we placed the storytelling weight firmly on the back of the actors and the imagination of the audience? After all--engagement, intimacy, communion--this is REALLY what we offer. Within greater constraints, we might cut costs and revive our medium in the meantime.

What is your opinion on getting a directing MFA?

Not sure. Probably right for some and not for others. I am personally intrigued. I would love some time to discover myself outside of the crucible of the "real world."

Who are your theatrical heroes?

Oof ok here are a couple that come to mind right now:

Anne Bogart (her discipline, her articulation, her curiosity),

Will Eno (his verbal playfulness, his sadness, the intimate communion of his plays),

Andre Gregory (his spiritual/minimalistic approach, Vanya on 42nd St.),

Mary Zimmerman (her theatrical imagination, her physicalization, her childlike wonder)

Annie Baker (her lessons in patience, restraint, yearning character),

Edward Albee (his social critique, his plea for honesty, his courage in the face of the void)

Sarah Ruhl (magic, poetry)

Charlie Kaufman (film director, a storytelling North Star)

My mom

Any advice for directors just starting out?

I am a director who is just starting out, so anything I say is also advice to myself. So here are a couple of things I have to tell myself over and over:

You are you. The more directors you watch, the more you see that no two directors do ANYTHING the same way. In fact, equally incredible directors do things in precisely opposite ways. What does that mean? What makes those directors good? They are good because they know themselves. They are working from a place of personal authenticity that no one could have possibly taught them. And so you cannot emulate them. Emulating a good director will make you a bad director. You can only work at getting closer and closer to the director that you were meant to be from the beginning.

Direct stuff. You can only discover who you are as a director by directing. Find cheap-as-shit spaces. Hold rehearsals in your apartment. Produce your own ten-minute play festivals. Do stuff that leads nowhere because it all leads somewhere.

Direct the kind of stuff you say you want to direct. I've had a tough time with this one. It can be scary to actually DO the work that you say you love. Because it's super vulnerable, I guess. But until you present the work that actually feels like your jam, no one will have any idea what your jam is. You probably won't even know. Be brave enough to do the work that turns you on.

Craft is generosity. It's not all about discovering who you are. Directing is a craft. And by that I mean, there are concrete skills involved: how do you create varied stage pictures? How do you make sure an audience hears important information? How do you stage compelling transitions? Maybe think of getting better at these things as acts of generosity. When you put work into these elements, you show an audience that you care about every second of their experience.

You will disappoint yourself. Making stuff comes at a price. You will feel inadequate, and you will make work that doesn't feel like you. Lean in. Hold on to faint glimmers of hope. Do better every time. Inch closer and closer.

Interrogate your privilege. If you are doing this, you are probably the beneficiary of a certain amount of privilege. I am the beneficiary of a massive amount. If this is true for you, acknowledge it. Interrogate the narratives you are drawn to. Think twice before putting yourself on stage. Doubt yourself and listen to the wisdom of the less privileged. Use the love and care you've enjoyed in your life to create loving, caring spaces for others.

Be kind. Be critical of the work you see, but be curious about where your criticism comes from. How would you like your own work to be seen? How can you approach other artist’s work with that same generosity? Separate intention from execution and acknowledge how terrifying it is just to be out here trying. Strive to be an enthusiast: you will learn more, people will want to work with you, and the inside of your own head will be a nicer place to live. (You will also be a better director if you are not driven by ego, insecurity, and a need to prove.)

Don't listen that hard to people's advice. Most people who are giving you advice are telling you what they need to hear, not what you need to hear. Nobody knows what they're doing, and no-one moves forward in the same way.

Read more books, listen to more music, watch more movies, think about things a lot

Plugs!

Rumple: Last year, I developed a children's musical adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin with Chicago folk band, Friends of the Bog. It's a feminist re-telling of the strange old tale, filled with stellar folk jams and tap dancing puppets. It's weird, theatrical, and full of heart (think Pig Pen Theatre Co. meets Spongebob). And we are looking for a home for it. Hit me up if this tickles you and you have a lead.

Beth Hyland: One of the best young playwrights in Chicago or probably the country. She's also my pal. If you don't know her, you should get on that.

Chicago: The reputation that Chicago has for community and authenticity is grounded firmly in reality. Artists are struggling in Chicago as much as they are anywhere else but they are surrounded by their friends. There is vital, community-building theatre happening out here in church rummage rooms and abandoned storefronts. Just saying.

My website. My email: [email protected]

#Sammy Zeisel #askadirector #theatre directors

[nigelgodrichproducer]

Ultraista-era Nigel interview

Magoo: I am curious about how the project came together before you met Laura, when it was just you and Joey. Were you just hanging out between schedules when you were in the same town?

Nigel: Exactly. He and I and another friend named Guss. So many times we just got together and we would be recording or jamming. Most of it we did in London but we are working all over the place. Guss and Joey both have little studios and I have a big studio. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, we just made a concerted effort to get a bunch of backing tracks together. We spoke about a certain aesthetic about electronics and a repetitive rhythm which is played. Obviously electronic music that is repeated is exactly the same. You get a human being in and they can repeat but it will sound different every time. Afrobeat was the reference point. So that’s how it started and then we had an intense 3 day session, like a right ol’ recording party and ended up with bits of music that we would then … essentially what I did was took all the music off and kept the rhythm and started again. That’s the basis of the record.

M: How much of this stuff did you have together before you thought you had to find yourself a singer?

N: Quite a lot actually because we’d done tiny snippets which might have been a minute long or three minutes or whatever. It would be a feeling, a little movement and we would leave it at that and move on to the next one. After a while we would go back and look at things and see how they could build and be structured.

M: Were you at any stage trying to do it without vocals?

N: Originally yeah, it could have been just instrumental. It was a bit of an experiment really just to see how substantial something could be like that.

M: Just to see how it evolves?

N: Yes, because it is always a terrifying prospect to say OK we are going to make some music and find a singer… you’d find a singer first and get them involved. I think it’s very hard to find a singer. With the peculiar relationships that we have… mine and Joeys is such a specific one, once in a lifetime, unique buddy becomes muse becomes .. you know!

M: You have worked with each other for years …

N: Yes, To get someone else in with that chemistry is terrifying. It’s something that is not taken lightly anyway. We only did it because we felt that we would be real pussies if we didn’t try. You know, let’s push this and I think we were very fortunate to meet Laura. She’s incredibly down to earth and rational. One of the most important things about relationships is about being able to communicate with that person.

M: I read about how you put up posters at an art college. You were trying to  find someone who was not even necessarily a musician to sing. Did you actually audition anyone form that process?

N: We actually got replies with music that they had made. We were trying to find someone who was an interesting character, who could sing but maybe hadn’t thought about taking it seriously.

M: An amateur?

N: Exactly. The last thing we wanted to do was have a singer songwriter with their chops together who had their version of what they wanted to do already sorted out. What we did end up finding in Laura, was someone who did have their own thing going, but it was very compatible and didn’t work against what we trying to do.

M: How much did the songs change when she came into the picture?

N: What would happen, is that I would write with her. There are a couple of tunes I wrote myself.

M: With lyrics and melodies?

N: Yeah, lyrics, melodies and me singing and she’d re-do it. We’d improve them and finish them off with her singing then there are things that she wrote over the top of what I’d done and we’d finesse that. Then there’s like a ping-pong thing where you are just throwing stuff at each other and putting it together as you go. There are all sorts of ways of doing it and lyrically it is the same thing. We’d play word puzzles.

M: So did you have that aesthetic before Laura joined, that historic Ultarist poetry movement  (The Ultraist movement was a Bohemian-style literary movement born in Spain in 1918)

N: That was already happening before that word came along. People have said you must have been sitting there with an Ultraista manifesto following the instructions. Well no, it was just a coincidence but it works very well. That word suggested what I was feeling, what I could see along with that music.

M: Do you ever have free time Nigel?

N: Oh I do. I have an awful lot of time to stare at the wall and think about what I am doing. I have a very unstructured life. It’s a blessing and a curse because it can actually drive me crazy but it allows me to drop anything and do something on a whim. I have this amazing studio. I can just run in if I have an idea. A lot of this record was collaborative in that we were all in the same room but quite a bit happened in isolation. I wrote a bit of stuff at home. Laura wrote stuff on her own.

M: Was there a lot of sending files over email?

N: Yes a lot of that. Exactly.

M: When you got to the stage of setting up your own studio, was this something that was ticking away at the back of your head?

N: No, this is not like a career move. I think what happened was that there was gap in the schedule. This stuff had been kicking  around a little bit. It was like let’s get this finished. Am I a man or a mouse?

M: You don’t seem like the kind of guy that is going to have a holiday sitting on a beach drinking cocktails?

N: I really wish I did. I think I really give myself a hard time with time! I have read about so many incredible people, incredibly productive people who describe themselves as lazy… and I think that I am lazy. One of my best friends, Nicholas Godin from Air, who is full of wisdom … says lazy people are the smartest because they always try to get the most using the least effort. I think I am one of those. I’m not like idiots who just work for nothing. There has to be a good economy of your effort. It is very important to being creative. You can’t waste your energy on something that is not really going to contribute to the end result. That goes for anything. If you are a recording engineer and producer, then you know what I am talking about. If something sounds, finished or good, you don’t need to take it apart and put it back together again.

M: I am curious about what kind of hours you work. Will you bash your head against a wall trying to get something done, keep at it. Or are you more … let’s take a break, come back tomorrow and this idea will come to fruition.

N: I think I would answer that question by saying I would probably stop.  Generally what would happen is that I would say stop, this isn’t working and at that moment, something will happen.

M: I always find that I have my best ideas on the toilet. You have that break and have that golden moment, pardon the pun

N: It’s like when people started using Pro Tools, they’d say I miss pushing rewind. When you used to rewind you had this moment to think about things. You don’t get that space any more. I think that I work better at night when everybody else is asleep. The world is quiet, there are no distractions. I am terrible in the mornings as a human being. I am just not a good morning guy. Nothing really good happens until after dinner. That’s fine when it is just me. When I  am working with other people, it’s hard because people don’t all keep the same schedule. Generally the work that I do which is good and happens very quickly is between the hours of 11 and 4 in the morning.

M: I hear quite a bit of Brian Eno in his David Byrne type phase in your work. Is he a bit of an influence?

N: I guess so. I am a big fan of that era Talking Heads

M: The Remain in Light period?

N: Yeah, that was huge to me. It was an incredible piece of work but I’m not a fan of Heroes. There are things I am a fan of and things I am not. Obviously there is an idea behind Music For Airports, the ambient moments which I totally understand and love. I have an enormous amount of respect for the guy but I don’t try to emulate anything he has done and never would. Whereas I would try and emulate Trevor Horn. This is a good example of how things happen actualIy. I try to do Trevor Horn and it sounds like Brian Eno. I understand why you say that. He thinks outside the box. He is not hemmed in by a set of rules he thinks he has to follow. At times he has done things in his career that changed the way that everybody does things.

M: Have you met Brian Eno?

N: I have met him a few times. He is very gracious, a very nice man. The thing that I like about Trevor Horn is … even if it is too pop for me, like Frankie Goes To Hollywood or something, even within this mainstream pop thing, he is incredibly obtuse and bold. Such big, bold things happen that go against the grain and you can feel that intention. That’s the thing I really do try to emulate as an idea, rather than a sonic palate. With Brian Eno … I like the sound of space, the ambience and echo and reverb. I like to see big spaces when I listen to things because I see things when I hear things.

M: Getting back to the Ultraista album … without getting too technical … is that just the way Joey plays, or is there a bit of manipulation going on or a bit of both? To me it sounds like there are a few layers of drums in the way that dance music has multiple loops or some sort of loop and a bit of programming underneath. It feels like you’ve gone for that aesthetic but done it live …

N: That’s exactly right. Basically there are electronics going on that he is playing to which is woven into his sound. Sometimes the drums are being processed through a piece of electronics that is making a rhythm that he is playing to. It’s like they’re rubbing against each other.

M: I just wanted to ask how you go  being on the other side of the glass so to speak, promoting an album?

N: It’s fine. It feels a little bit like uncomfortable but I think that is good. It’s a nice change and it is important to make yourself vulnerable. It’s important not to be afraid of things… and it’s important to just do … stuff! I mean the nature of the business is changing. I think producers are more artists now anyway. I’m not going to just find a band and make a record with them anymore. It’s just not that much fun. I would rather work with people that are my friends, have my input, be upfront and be able to write music. It is stuff I have always done. I don’t know what I will do next. I enjoy the playing, that’s fun.

#nigel godrich #ultraista #femme #joey waronker #afrobeat #electronic music #radiohead #trevor horn #brian eno

[coldlipsmag]

PHONELESS IN BERLIN

Words: Kirsty Allison

All photographs by Martyn Goodacre, except images of Danielle De Picciotto’s art, and Alexander Hacke’s studio…and the portrait of Morgan, by Kirsty.

Clouds’ shadows camouflage the sea. Sardine boats dodge the lifeboat wind farms. I jet-trash over last night’s cab, and the phone left on the back seat.

SCHONEFIELD AIRPORT

“Yes,” with an ‘of course’-face, “It has all the streets on it.” The tourist board office give me a map with the VisitBerlin travel card – 41E for 6 days, generous. I like free travel, and I like maps. Not Maps that rhyme with apps. I see the island of West Berlin – I put all the streets in my long black woollen notebook pocket.

U-BAHN/S-BAHN

Map in a glass cage – no index – I’ll take a photo – look at it when I’m moving – I can’t take a photo. My cogs shift from the cybernet dimension.

Alone. Letting go of my infatuation with being monitored, I feel an analogue glitch, a slip of fortune as I enter the low-rise city, uninterrupted with pings.

A watch. I could buy a watch – to tell the time.

I could walk rather than do the connection.

THE HORRORS / Synästhesie Festival / Volksbühne

“The people putting this festival together told me this granite floor was from Hitler’s Bunker,” says Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and A Records, DJing in the green room, two floors of sweeping staircases up in the People’s Theatre of Mitte’s Rosa-Luxemburg Platz – once the centre of East Berlin’s GDR.

“Do you believe them?” I ask, of the 8MM Bar promoters who put the festival together. We consider the plausibility, the Nazi star, in dirty creams and blood reds.

Mark Reeder later confirms it to be from the Nazi Vice Chancellor office. And of the cenotaphs stashed beneath the KuDamm – the Nazi spikes. Close enough. Anton is a hero – DIG! the film he stars in aside spars, The Dandy Warhols – an essential on the rock n roll rites-of-passage Reading List. Between his selection of classic psychedelia: “I was born in 1967, in California, of course I’m psychedelic”, with highlights such as Fabio Viscollios 7”, he sets the record straight on all kindsa connections that zip around my references of the night – the stars that guide us, the magnets who form us.

Arrival in Neukölln

So 90s, no blue arrow locator. Without the digital psychographic veils of my screen, the meaning of wrong direction changes – I love to travel, to feel on top of the globe, wherever you walk, with only the weight of the identifiers you carry.

Natural order leads me to Stroke Order – my faux-god-sista, of the Sacred Sound Club – her haus is pink. Y3 shoes, high ceilings, dribble shower, CK mirror. She’s a costume designer for films, but has been hiding out here for a year. Making minimal techno – using autonomous sensory meridian response samples – sounds that turn us on.

Our mothers are pretend godmothers to me and her. She grew up in Vancouver. Dad is a motorcycle racer and ballet dancer in Japan.

Synästhesie Festival / Volksbühne

CAMERA take to the main stage of seated theatre hall. Brutalist fractal collage films of matrix shifting cities, juddering with intent. Projections of you watching me watching you – perhaps being shot live in the auditorium – full scope. Beaming around the physical force of a standing drummer triballing out for a 20 minute set on a bass drum, snare and cymbal. The centre-piece. Astral simulacrum to The Egg who I played with earlier this year. The standing drummer keels in sweat, throws a death white sheet over the drums as though he has beaten them dead, only to dampen their noise, and continue hitting and hitting. Keys, 2 x guitar, sitar bass, different genereration radical on sax – elf dancing.

I’m reminded of the need for parameters – the ones we invent to live inside. The significance of numbers plays on the screens – another hallucination. A replacement for seeing everything through snapshot Insagram lens. Abandoning our digital religion – is so FKK (freikörperkultur – the GDR East Berliners act of rebellion was to strip on Sundays around the lakes – to rip off the communist soaked nylons of identikit clothing*). So naked.

TANGERINE DREAM

A violinist in black – modular synth Memotron on one side – a bank of other buttons on the other side. One life. One nerve shatters and then rest follow. First they twitch, and glitch the matrix…

I catch a bit of THE PINS – all girls – superhot, riot grrrrl electronica.

THE HORRORS

Violent Lenin Uber Alles track shatters across the increased scale of the stage for this headline performance – punk anger of East Berlin, red deco chandeliers of alles Ku-damm Cabaret glory. Waiting for Faris Badwan, the singer who I first interviewed for Dazed and Confused, making a film about his illustration – and exhibition, I wonder about the symbolism of genre/sound/music/art as signs of the times – about resonance – of what we are creating and producing – of X Factor sounds as the capitalist panacea – of our art resonating our environment – or us gravitating towards it. Stroke Order making techno in Berlin.

The futurism of white noise perfection – the dystopian values, four albums in from when I first met Faris – he was maybe 23 then. Unsure if he was going to carry on at St Martins art school. By the time I interviewed him again for Vogue, he was not going back.

And here, seated in the very front row – I witness the evocation of destiny – he’s become less of the shy frontman, but someone who is commanding the respect of the universe – he violently whips the mic lead – he hails the pulses of front row screamers, bonding their necks with rubber wire – he in black PVC – guitarist in red lipstick – beautiful rockstar boys. Lyrics are lost in the Elritch reverb – Faris is crown stealing. Volatile black energy of goth industrial – contemporised by Tom Furse – and his techno pyramid synths. Ice sweat dripping Hackney vampire bassist Rhys Webb. Faris has become storming iconic balearic, striding over theatre seats, in smart city shoes. It’s cosmic goth, it is power – it is owning the depth of Poe hell to Blakean heavens. From voyeurs to submission, the audience leave satisfied.

WEDDING/NW multi-cultural reaches of the city.

Fire station studio. Danielle De Picciotto walks us across a courtyard in twilight. Pyramid of flowers, split by stairs to a below-sea-level, waiting buddha, draped with beads. Left and right basement of Californian security doors, co-joined studios, His and Hers. Drums on the male side, Alexander Hacke, Einsturzende Neubatten – poles of metal to hit. Next door: paintings of black and white folklore S+M dolls with tripped out wings, and photograph reflections. Hers. With tea. Laughter. Discussion. Love. She is love.

***

Lost – ghetto kid guides me and Stroke Order to the ambient dinner in a bar beneath a block in Wedding: soundproof triangles of three-tone pastel shaved hardwood. Clean vegetables, and a series of performances from three post-Akai-ists. Poetry, soundscapes layering paranoic schizophrenic voices – a DJ girl in from Seattle. The residents, ex-pats, from across Germany, and the world – carrying less ego than London. A wholesome intellect carries through, it gets lost in the whirl of London survival. I think back to hanging with the man commonly known as Rodent, the Sex Pistols’ sound tech – he was saying everything is lost in our digital times – the lack of ability to hang out together, they had to live frugally, himself in the studio of The Clash. The intensity of art. It’s easier here. To get involved in your creativity – away from the grab.

SUNDAY

Home jukebox, coffee, and Okay Cafe cinnamon swirls at Jason McGlade and Anne-Cathrin Saure’s (the art director/photographer, and designer of Cold Lips II, and co-createurs of the Shedville font). They moved back here recently – but Jason’s back and forth to London, working on an incredible analogue Polaroid project.

Stroke Order and I head out to Berghain – but instead collide with a very old friend who’s been living in Thailand for 14 years – Martyn Goodacre. He took the most iconic picture of Kurt Cobain, and many more. We tried doing music together when we worked on magazines. We go to a bar, meet with a midwife – talk about the horror show of birth, the guidance into the world, policed by the womb and the channel to birth and the rejection from the vulvic eye. The propulsion.

MONDAY MORNING COMING DOWN FROM AN EMAIL THAT IS CHANGING MY LIFE

Space, China – coffee with Mark Reeder. His vinyl of Mauderstadt is out now. I’ve just run a trilogy of stories on him in DJ Mag, explaining his part in Berlin, from being the Factory rep in Berlin in Joy Division days, through to putting on punk gigs in East Berlin, recording the music in gay bars to play to New Order – thus Blue Monday – and since, from inventing trance music with his label MfS – getting Paul van Dyk on the map – he’s the man. His uniforms. Rare light.

“Danielle [De Picciotto] and Katia – Love Parade would never have started without them.”

[Love Parade was the street party that began in the ecstatic reunification of East and West Berlin. The wall came down in 1990. The old GDR was a wild land. Read Danielle De Picciotto’s Beauty of Transgression for more…or watch Mark Reeder’s B-Movie…and his forthcoming E-Movie.]

He realises he’s late for his lunch…

Alone, back on the Neukölln streets, I look into the door of a Moroccan cafe – get called in by a round-faced Muslim woman, grey jumper, jeans – trainers – Tangiers market vibes, enter – beans – good – no English – point at a box – I don’t know if she knows I don’t want a tagine but takeaway – they waterfall me mint tea – the door slams shut. There are stickers on the wall tiles – plastic table cloths. Am I about to be drugged? Locked in – I have few Euros and no phone to be stolen.

I sit, read the Unspoken Berlin I’ve picked up – and wait for either the drugs to kick in, or to relax. Oh, some brot on the table – no it ain’t Gucci Bloom sea hedgehog fennel and jerusalem artichoke, chestnut puree and scallop, purple watercress like the exquisite experience of Lokal where local ingredients will dance on plates for us later – nor is is it as refined as the Techno sauna we’ll meditate in around the bar – but it is E2.50 and beautifully wholesome – the chickpeas are larger than London.

—-

Neurotitan have taken Cold Lips and my last 3 copies of Unedited. Stefi there is lovely. It’s somewhere that’s always called me on previous trips to Berlin. Many putting a film together that became impossible, about Manuel Gottching, of Ash Ra Tempel – and E2:E4 – the most sampled record – inventor of ambient – before Eno, before the HANSA recordings of Iggy and Bowie. I tell Stefi of my gig last night with Whisky and Words at the Keith bar – where Stroke Order – her pals – and Jason McGlade come by – and Mark Reeder. And Rasp Thorne [post coming to Cold Lips soon, or buy the second edition for total spread]- the consumate performer – lighter over here – my lips are still red from the wine. Stephen Crane. Rasp’s performance of Crane. He’s so good.

Everytime I get on a train here the stasi black jacket ticket checkers are on the same carriage. It’s happened to Morgan 3 times in her year here – and 3 times with me in as many days. I am able to fight my usual paranoias from the top of my Maslow pyramid – the email from a publisher – saying he wants to publish my novel – the one I have had two agents hawk around in 11 years – during which time, I have changed, and so has the story. It is the best email I’ve ever had. Here, lying in bed on the Monday morning after meeting with Anton Newcombe and front row for Faris – Faris frow.Two days later, I’m still flying, as I hit EchoBucher, back in Wedding – they’re taking some Cold Lips…I drop into Potsdamer – meeting… No fucking way. Ticket checkers.

Zug Fallt aus!

You have amazing eyes – you look like Madonna said the guy from Milano – I’m hoping he means old skool hot Madz. En route to the airport – delays – nerves shot / triggering towards Parkinsons and spiked dreams. He calmed me – so did the guy who was also travelling to Stansted – as we ran for the plane, and vice versa. Detoxed from the phone, train home, to the temple – travelling with Alice A Bailey. Nanobotic karmic overide. More ticket inspectors – haunted by the stasi – on plane now – could do with some extra O2 from the overhead locker after running in a coat I just bought which I think I may be allergic to. But it’s so warm.

*German born LA-resident, Benedikt Taschen, the art collector and publisher, has directed the content of the new EAST GERMAN HANDBOOK. An encyclopedic collab with Wende Museum, a place of Cold War artefacts in Culver City. It’s a compendium of communist porn – picture-led, masonically-charged graphics of the whole nine yards of life behind the wall – from ideal weaponary to food, fags, appalling vodka, and the requisite communist shit shoes. It’s got 50s utopian vision written all over it.

#berlin #Travel #Writing #New Writing #Kirsty Allison #Zine #Magazine #Art #Music #Fashion #Film #Video #Poetry #Culture #Counterculture #Subculture #Punk #Grunge #Underground #Literature #Photography #Independent #Indie #London #COLD LIPS

[wineanddinosaur]

Llama San Sommelier Rachael Madori Is Most Excited About Wines of the Canary Islands and Mexico

Rachael Madori is the sommelier and service director of Llama San, an upscale Nikkei restaurant in Manhattan that serves a combination of Peruvian and Japanese cuisine. At Llama San, Madori has cultivated a wine program focused on coastal regions, showcasing coastal flavors of Japan and Peru through mineral and saline wines.

As a sommelier, Madori aims to create a wine experience that is both unpretentious and impressive. In her eyes, the wine choices at Llama San are intended to dance alongside each dish, unleashing an adventurous window into history, art, and exploration.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Madori misses bringing the stories and excitement of wine to guests. From the chateaux wines grown in reverent tradition, to the funky rollercoaster wines that take one’s palate on twists and turns, Madori loves delighting guests. Below, Madori delves into her passion for wine, sharing thoughts on what she describes as poetry in a bottle.

1. What is your current favorite wine?

There is a wine named Un Garçon au Pays du Soleil (“The Boy Who Plays in the Sun”) by the producer La Cave des Nomades (“The Cave of the Nomads”). I will never get it off my mind, and I pour it every day. Technically speaking it’s a rosé, but I promise it hits you like a wild orange wine just blushing in disguise. A blend of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Merlot, this wine dances across all the sweet spots! It’s my favorite because it’s got finesse, but it’s feral. It has a sour cherry nose that you would expect to follow through to the palate, but it’s surprisingly nutty and effervescent. Hazelnuts, strawberries and a delicate mushroom make me feel like I’m sipping a glass on a warm autumn afternoon with a pie in the oven. That’s what wine is to me: a portal to a time and place in your own imagination.

2. What is the most memorable bottle you’ve opened?

The most memorable bottle I’ve ever opened was a blanc de noir on Jan. 1, 2019. Story time! This was André Clouet Champagne Brut Grand Cru Cuvée 1911. The name sounds fancy, but it’s not a break-the-bank bottle. It’ll make perfect sense why it is one of the most memorable ones I’ve opened. I’ve enjoyed wine in a lot of different places including California, Washington, Bolivia, Peru, Thailand, and others. They were all delicious. Some were more memorable than the next. However, this Cuvée 1911 was a bottle I got from a local wine shop in Brooklyn. The shop, Bed-Vyne Wine & Spirits, is truly doing my community in Bed-Stuy a great justice. This begins explaining why the wine is special, even before the bottle opens.

Obviously, it was midnight on New Year’s when I popped this baby open. Not a lot of people know what a struggle the lifestyle of a hospitality industry worker is. If you have a partner, you rarely see them. If your friends have day jobs, you rarely see them, either. Your days are nights, and your nights are days. Holidays are not just to celebrate, they’re to help others celebrate. But we do it because we love it, and there’s something I cherish inside those of us who choose to serve.

It was the first New Year’s Eve that I had to celebrate in 10 years. I got this beautiful bottle of Champagne, and I waited for my partner to get home. We popped it open “properly” (not properly at all) on our unofficial Brooklyn rooftop that we snuck onto. The notes of baked peaches and toasted brioche were delicious and the bubbles were divine. But what was even more memorable was that that bottle was being enjoyed in my city, on our rooftop, while the fireworks exploded around us. We cheered to our neighbors, to the tiny people walking below, and poured a splash out for what we lost that past year. I will never forget that bottle. Wine is an experience, not a drink.

3. How do you make guests feel comfortable if they seem intimidated by you (in a restaurant)?

I believe it’s a natural feeling to feel intimidated by anyone that studies a field you’re about to question. I still feel that myself when I dine out and speak to a fellow sommelier! I remember that anxiety from before I began in the wine industry. It’s not a feeling I ever want my guest to experience.

Of course, I approach the situation the way any hospitality worker would, with a bright smile and the attitude that it’s time to make your guest’s day. But, it’s all about your intention. If you go in wanting to sell the “best” bottle or the most expensive bottle, you’re going to validate their intimidation for no good reason. I always immediately ask the guests what they love, to tell me about a wine they’ve had before that stood out to them, or to let me know what kinds of flavors they enjoy that aren’t wine-related. I get them excited about what we can do together — making the conversation about them (which it is!) right off the bat lets them know that I’m there for them.

I work with intent to remind myself the definition of a sommelier: a wine steward. When I’m tableside with you, I’m there to make you and your guests’ night amazing. Any other reason is fueled by ego.

4. What’s the best wine you can get at the grocery or discount store?

I haven’t bought wine from the grocery store in a while, but I think it’s truly important to touch on because that’s where most people get their vino! In my opinion, if you’re getting wine from a general store, I would go with something that is delicious no matter what. For my palate that means Gewürztraminer or Champagne. Champagne is my favorite color, food, wine, drink, place and probably will be my next dog’s name — you get the point. So even if I’m in the grocery store, I’m going to pick up a bottle of sparkling wine. Most likely, it isn’t real Champagne, but there’s Cava, which is equal if not better; or just a good old-fashioned grocery sparkling. (Like I said, pick something you think is yummy no matter what). When you’re steeped in mass producers and you’re not sure what to pull off the shelf, go for a classic that you just love. It’s that simple.

5. What regions and styles of wines are you most interested in?

The two wine-growing regions I’m most excited about right now are the Canary Islands and Mexico! The Canary Islands will be my next travel destination once the world is safe again. This area fascinates me. Simply looking at a photo of the moon-like surface and volcanic black soil gives me goosebumps. I want to walk around the vineyards for hours. (When I visit vineyards, I enjoy walking through the rows chatting with the grapes!) To be honest, I didn’t know much at all about Canary Island wines until our team opened Llama San. Once I tasted my first saline-driven, fresh-but-smoky glass, I was hooked.

Mexico doesn’t jump to a lot of peoples’ minds, but they’re producing so many different varieties down there! It’s always cool to see a region in which you would think the climate doesn’t work for wine, but turns out Mother Nature has other plans. Producers are mixing varieties that aren’t commonly seen together and I am a sucker for anything that “breaks rules.”

6. What’s the best way to ask for a budget-friendly bottle at a restaurant?

The best way to ask for a budget friendly bottle at a restaurant can go two ways, and it all depends on your evening and comfort level. There are some nights I go out, and I’m OK with letting my friends know we aren’t getting a bottle over $60 because I had to pay rent that day. However, sometimes I want things to be more organic and not bother my guests with budgets and numbers. But, how do I get the sommelier to know? How do I let this complete stranger know that I want to love a wine, but I also want to love my bank account in the morning?

I always tell my friends it’s a sly idea when you ask for the sommelier to simply pick out two or three wines from the list that are within your budget and just ask about them. Then proceed to tell the sommelier what styles you really like and what you’re eating as well. As a sommelier, we will immediately recognize you’ve formed a budget, and we’ll guide you towards your best value and best experience. Like I have mentioned many times, it’s not about money, prestige, or showing off. Wine is about enjoying yourself.

7. Which regions offer the best value?

Personally, I find it impossible to decide on a region that has the “best value” due to the fact that every area of the world that is producing wine will have something for everyone. I think it’s really important for people to experiment with every region, find out what they love, find out what they don’t like, and find out what they’re not sure about. Then, focus their selections on those experiences. It’s difficult to place true value on wine when not everyone likes the same thing.

I like to step away from the idea that there’s a perfect wine or the best wine. It’s less about the region you’re choosing and more about the producer. Get more intimate with your selection! If you want to know about true value, look at who (yes, the person!) makes that wine you’re about to drink. It’s like anything else I buy: I didn’t buy it because of its name, I bought the wine because it was made by a creative.

8. Where do you like to buy wine online (or which clubs do you recommend)?

Buying wine online is great, especially when you can’t find what you’re looking for in a wine shop. There’s something I truly enjoy about going into a shop I’m unfamiliar with and picking the brain of the associates on what they like or recommend for my preferred style. However, I’m desperate to try monthly wine boxes, specifically Vinebox. I love the idea because with this company you get nine different wines by the glass in vials. Not only do you get to try nine different wines, you get to buy the bottle of whichever you like at a discount. It’s such an approachable and fun way to explore your palate.

Ed note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Llama San Sommelier Rachael Madori Is Most Excited About Wines of the Canary Islands and Mexico appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/text-somm-rachael-madori/

[johnboothus]

Llama San Sommelier Rachael Madori Is Most Excited About Wines of the Canary Islands and Mexico

Rachael Madori is the sommelier and service director of Llama San, an upscale Nikkei restaurant in Manhattan that serves a combination of Peruvian and Japanese cuisine. At Llama San, Madori has cultivated a wine program focused on coastal regions, showcasing coastal flavors of Japan and Peru through mineral and saline wines.

As a sommelier, Madori aims to create a wine experience that is both unpretentious and impressive. In her eyes, the wine choices at Llama San are intended to dance alongside each dish, unleashing an adventurous window into history, art, and exploration.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Madori misses bringing the stories and excitement of wine to guests. From the chateaux wines grown in reverent tradition, to the funky rollercoaster wines that take one’s palate on twists and turns, Madori loves delighting guests. Below, Madori delves into her passion for wine, sharing thoughts on what she describes as poetry in a bottle.

1. What is your current favorite wine?

There is a wine named Un Garçon au Pays du Soleil (“The Boy Who Plays in the Sun”) by the producer La Cave des Nomades (“The Cave of the Nomads”). I will never get it off my mind, and I pour it every day. Technically speaking it’s a rosé, but I promise it hits you like a wild orange wine just blushing in disguise. A blend of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Merlot, this wine dances across all the sweet spots! It’s my favorite because it’s got finesse, but it’s feral. It has a sour cherry nose that you would expect to follow through to the palate, but it’s surprisingly nutty and effervescent. Hazelnuts, strawberries and a delicate mushroom make me feel like I’m sipping a glass on a warm autumn afternoon with a pie in the oven. That’s what wine is to me: a portal to a time and place in your own imagination.

2. What is the most memorable bottle you’ve opened?

The most memorable bottle I’ve ever opened was a blanc de noir on Jan. 1, 2019. Story time! This was André Clouet Champagne Brut Grand Cru Cuvée 1911. The name sounds fancy, but it’s not a break-the-bank bottle. It’ll make perfect sense why it is one of the most memorable ones I’ve opened. I’ve enjoyed wine in a lot of different places including California, Washington, Bolivia, Peru, Thailand, and others. They were all delicious. Some were more memorable than the next. However, this Cuvée 1911 was a bottle I got from a local wine shop in Brooklyn. The shop, Bed-Vyne Wine & Spirits, is truly doing my community in Bed-Stuy a great justice. This begins explaining why the wine is special, even before the bottle opens.

Obviously, it was midnight on New Year’s when I popped this baby open. Not a lot of people know what a struggle the lifestyle of a hospitality industry worker is. If you have a partner, you rarely see them. If your friends have day jobs, you rarely see them, either. Your days are nights, and your nights are days. Holidays are not just to celebrate, they’re to help others celebrate. But we do it because we love it, and there’s something I cherish inside those of us who choose to serve.

It was the first New Year’s Eve that I had to celebrate in 10 years. I got this beautiful bottle of Champagne, and I waited for my partner to get home. We popped it open “properly” (not properly at all) on our unofficial Brooklyn rooftop that we snuck onto. The notes of baked peaches and toasted brioche were delicious and the bubbles were divine. But what was even more memorable was that that bottle was being enjoyed in my city, on our rooftop, while the fireworks exploded around us. We cheered to our neighbors, to the tiny people walking below, and poured a splash out for what we lost that past year. I will never forget that bottle. Wine is an experience, not a drink.

3. How do you make guests feel comfortable if they seem intimidated by you (in a restaurant)?

I believe it’s a natural feeling to feel intimidated by anyone that studies a field you’re about to question. I still feel that myself when I dine out and speak to a fellow sommelier! I remember that anxiety from before I began in the wine industry. It’s not a feeling I ever want my guest to experience.

Of course, I approach the situation the way any hospitality worker would, with a bright smile and the attitude that it’s time to make your guest’s day. But, it’s all about your intention. If you go in wanting to sell the “best” bottle or the most expensive bottle, you’re going to validate their intimidation for no good reason. I always immediately ask the guests what they love, to tell me about a wine they’ve had before that stood out to them, or to let me know what kinds of flavors they enjoy that aren’t wine-related. I get them excited about what we can do together — making the conversation about them (which it is!) right off the bat lets them know that I’m there for them.

I work with intent to remind myself the definition of a sommelier: a wine steward. When I’m tableside with you, I’m there to make you and your guests’ night amazing. Any other reason is fueled by ego.

4. What’s the best wine you can get at the grocery or discount store?

I haven’t bought wine from the grocery store in a while, but I think it’s truly important to touch on because that’s where most people get their vino! In my opinion, if you’re getting wine from a general store, I would go with something that is delicious no matter what. For my palate that means Gewürztraminer or Champagne. Champagne is my favorite color, food, wine, drink, place and probably will be my next dog’s name — you get the point. So even if I’m in the grocery store, I’m going to pick up a bottle of sparkling wine. Most likely, it isn’t real Champagne, but there’s Cava, which is equal if not better; or just a good old-fashioned grocery sparkling. (Like I said, pick something you think is yummy no matter what). When you’re steeped in mass producers and you’re not sure what to pull off the shelf, go for a classic that you just love. It’s that simple.

5. What regions and styles of wines are you most interested in?

The two wine-growing regions I’m most excited about right now are the Canary Islands and Mexico! The Canary Islands will be my next travel destination once the world is safe again. This area fascinates me. Simply looking at a photo of the moon-like surface and volcanic black soil gives me goosebumps. I want to walk around the vineyards for hours. (When I visit vineyards, I enjoy walking through the rows chatting with the grapes!) To be honest, I didn’t know much at all about Canary Island wines until our team opened Llama San. Once I tasted my first saline-driven, fresh-but-smoky glass, I was hooked.

Mexico doesn’t jump to a lot of peoples’ minds, but they’re producing so many different varieties down there! It’s always cool to see a region in which you would think the climate doesn’t work for wine, but turns out Mother Nature has other plans. Producers are mixing varieties that aren’t commonly seen together and I am a sucker for anything that “breaks rules.”

6. What’s the best way to ask for a budget-friendly bottle at a restaurant?

The best way to ask for a budget friendly bottle at a restaurant can go two ways, and it all depends on your evening and comfort level. There are some nights I go out, and I’m OK with letting my friends know we aren’t getting a bottle over $60 because I had to pay rent that day. However, sometimes I want things to be more organic and not bother my guests with budgets and numbers. But, how do I get the sommelier to know? How do I let this complete stranger know that I want to love a wine, but I also want to love my bank account in the morning?

I always tell my friends it’s a sly idea when you ask for the sommelier to simply pick out two or three wines from the list that are within your budget and just ask about them. Then proceed to tell the sommelier what styles you really like and what you’re eating as well. As a sommelier, we will immediately recognize you’ve formed a budget, and we’ll guide you towards your best value and best experience. Like I have mentioned many times, it’s not about money, prestige, or showing off. Wine is about enjoying yourself.

7. Which regions offer the best value?

Personally, I find it impossible to decide on a region that has the “best value” due to the fact that every area of the world that is producing wine will have something for everyone. I think it’s really important for people to experiment with every region, find out what they love, find out what they don’t like, and find out what they’re not sure about. Then, focus their selections on those experiences. It’s difficult to place true value on wine when not everyone likes the same thing.

I like to step away from the idea that there’s a perfect wine or the best wine. It’s less about the region you’re choosing and more about the producer. Get more intimate with your selection! If you want to know about true value, look at who (yes, the person!) makes that wine you’re about to drink. It’s like anything else I buy: I didn’t buy it because of its name, I bought the wine because it was made by a creative.

8. Where do you like to buy wine online (or which clubs do you recommend)?

Buying wine online is great, especially when you can’t find what you’re looking for in a wine shop. There’s something I truly enjoy about going into a shop I’m unfamiliar with and picking the brain of the associates on what they like or recommend for my preferred style. However, I’m desperate to try monthly wine boxes, specifically Vinebox. I love the idea because with this company you get nine different wines by the glass in vials. Not only do you get to try nine different wines, you get to buy the bottle of whichever you like at a discount. It’s such an approachable and fun way to explore your palate.

Ed note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Llama San Sommelier Rachael Madori Is Most Excited About Wines of the Canary Islands and Mexico appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/text-somm-rachael-madori/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/llama-san-sommelier-rachael-madori-is-most-excited-about-wines-of-the-canary-islands-and-mexico

[isaiahrippinus]

Llama San Sommelier Rachael Madori Is Most Excited About Wines of the Canary Islands and Mexico

Rachael Madori is the sommelier and service director of Llama San, an upscale Nikkei restaurant in Manhattan that serves a combination of Peruvian and Japanese cuisine. At Llama San, Madori has cultivated a wine program focused on coastal regions, showcasing coastal flavors of Japan and Peru through mineral and saline wines.

As a sommelier, Madori aims to create a wine experience that is both unpretentious and impressive. In her eyes, the wine choices at Llama San are intended to dance alongside each dish, unleashing an adventurous window into history, art, and exploration.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Madori misses bringing the stories and excitement of wine to guests. From the chateaux wines grown in reverent tradition, to the funky rollercoaster wines that take one’s palate on twists and turns, Madori loves delighting guests. Below, Madori delves into her passion for wine, sharing thoughts on what she describes as poetry in a bottle.

1. What is your current favorite wine?

There is a wine named Un Garçon au Pays du Soleil (“The Boy Who Plays in the Sun”) by the producer La Cave des Nomades (“The Cave of the Nomads”). I will never get it off my mind, and I pour it every day. Technically speaking it’s a rosé, but I promise it hits you like a wild orange wine just blushing in disguise. A blend of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Merlot, this wine dances across all the sweet spots! It’s my favorite because it’s got finesse, but it’s feral. It has a sour cherry nose that you would expect to follow through to the palate, but it’s surprisingly nutty and effervescent. Hazelnuts, strawberries and a delicate mushroom make me feel like I’m sipping a glass on a warm autumn afternoon with a pie in the oven. That’s what wine is to me: a portal to a time and place in your own imagination.

2. What is the most memorable bottle you’ve opened?

The most memorable bottle I’ve ever opened was a blanc de noir on Jan. 1, 2019. Story time! This was André Clouet Champagne Brut Grand Cru Cuvée 1911. The name sounds fancy, but it’s not a break-the-bank bottle. It’ll make perfect sense why it is one of the most memorable ones I’ve opened. I’ve enjoyed wine in a lot of different places including California, Washington, Bolivia, Peru, Thailand, and others. They were all delicious. Some were more memorable than the next. However, this Cuvée 1911 was a bottle I got from a local wine shop in Brooklyn. The shop, Bed-Vyne Wine & Spirits, is truly doing my community in Bed-Stuy a great justice. This begins explaining why the wine is special, even before the bottle opens.

Obviously, it was midnight on New Year’s when I popped this baby open. Not a lot of people know what a struggle the lifestyle of a hospitality industry worker is. If you have a partner, you rarely see them. If your friends have day jobs, you rarely see them, either. Your days are nights, and your nights are days. Holidays are not just to celebrate, they’re to help others celebrate. But we do it because we love it, and there’s something I cherish inside those of us who choose to serve.

It was the first New Year’s Eve that I had to celebrate in 10 years. I got this beautiful bottle of Champagne, and I waited for my partner to get home. We popped it open “properly” (not properly at all) on our unofficial Brooklyn rooftop that we snuck onto. The notes of baked peaches and toasted brioche were delicious and the bubbles were divine. But what was even more memorable was that that bottle was being enjoyed in my city, on our rooftop, while the fireworks exploded around us. We cheered to our neighbors, to the tiny people walking below, and poured a splash out for what we lost that past year. I will never forget that bottle. Wine is an experience, not a drink.

3. How do you make guests feel comfortable if they seem intimidated by you (in a restaurant)?

I believe it’s a natural feeling to feel intimidated by anyone that studies a field you’re about to question. I still feel that myself when I dine out and speak to a fellow sommelier! I remember that anxiety from before I began in the wine industry. It’s not a feeling I ever want my guest to experience.

Of course, I approach the situation the way any hospitality worker would, with a bright smile and the attitude that it’s time to make your guest’s day. But, it’s all about your intention. If you go in wanting to sell the “best” bottle or the most expensive bottle, you’re going to validate their intimidation for no good reason. I always immediately ask the guests what they love, to tell me about a wine they’ve had before that stood out to them, or to let me know what kinds of flavors they enjoy that aren’t wine-related. I get them excited about what we can do together — making the conversation about them (which it is!) right off the bat lets them know that I’m there for them.

I work with intent to remind myself the definition of a sommelier: a wine steward. When I’m tableside with you, I’m there to make you and your guests’ night amazing. Any other reason is fueled by ego.

4. What’s the best wine you can get at the grocery or discount store?

I haven’t bought wine from the grocery store in a while, but I think it’s truly important to touch on because that’s where most people get their vino! In my opinion, if you’re getting wine from a general store, I would go with something that is delicious no matter what. For my palate that means Gewürztraminer or Champagne. Champagne is my favorite color, food, wine, drink, place and probably will be my next dog’s name — you get the point. So even if I’m in the grocery store, I’m going to pick up a bottle of sparkling wine. Most likely, it isn’t real Champagne, but there’s Cava, which is equal if not better; or just a good old-fashioned grocery sparkling. (Like I said, pick something you think is yummy no matter what). When you’re steeped in mass producers and you’re not sure what to pull off the shelf, go for a classic that you just love. It’s that simple.

5. What regions and styles of wines are you most interested in?

The two wine-growing regions I’m most excited about right now are the Canary Islands and Mexico! The Canary Islands will be my next travel destination once the world is safe again. This area fascinates me. Simply looking at a photo of the moon-like surface and volcanic black soil gives me goosebumps. I want to walk around the vineyards for hours. (When I visit vineyards, I enjoy walking through the rows chatting with the grapes!) To be honest, I didn’t know much at all about Canary Island wines until our team opened Llama San. Once I tasted my first saline-driven, fresh-but-smoky glass, I was hooked.

Mexico doesn’t jump to a lot of peoples’ minds, but they’re producing so many different varieties down there! It’s always cool to see a region in which you would think the climate doesn’t work for wine, but turns out Mother Nature has other plans. Producers are mixing varieties that aren’t commonly seen together and I am a sucker for anything that “breaks rules.”

6. What’s the best way to ask for a budget-friendly bottle at a restaurant?

The best way to ask for a budget friendly bottle at a restaurant can go two ways, and it all depends on your evening and comfort level. There are some nights I go out, and I’m OK with letting my friends know we aren’t getting a bottle over $60 because I had to pay rent that day. However, sometimes I want things to be more organic and not bother my guests with budgets and numbers. But, how do I get the sommelier to know? How do I let this complete stranger know that I want to love a wine, but I also want to love my bank account in the morning?

I always tell my friends it’s a sly idea when you ask for the sommelier to simply pick out two or three wines from the list that are within your budget and just ask about them. Then proceed to tell the sommelier what styles you really like and what you’re eating as well. As a sommelier, we will immediately recognize you’ve formed a budget, and we’ll guide you towards your best value and best experience. Like I have mentioned many times, it’s not about money, prestige, or showing off. Wine is about enjoying yourself.

7. Which regions offer the best value?

Personally, I find it impossible to decide on a region that has the “best value” due to the fact that every area of the world that is producing wine will have something for everyone. I think it’s really important for people to experiment with every region, find out what they love, find out what they don’t like, and find out what they’re not sure about. Then, focus their selections on those experiences. It’s difficult to place true value on wine when not everyone likes the same thing.

I like to step away from the idea that there’s a perfect wine or the best wine. It���s less about the region you’re choosing and more about the producer. Get more intimate with your selection! If you want to know about true value, look at who (yes, the person!) makes that wine you’re about to drink. It’s like anything else I buy: I didn’t buy it because of its name, I bought the wine because it was made by a creative.

8. Where do you like to buy wine online (or which clubs do you recommend)?

Buying wine online is great, especially when you can’t find what you’re looking for in a wine shop. There’s something I truly enjoy about going into a shop I’m unfamiliar with and picking the brain of the associates on what they like or recommend for my preferred style. However, I’m desperate to try monthly wine boxes, specifically Vinebox. I love the idea because with this company you get nine different wines by the glass in vials. Not only do you get to try nine different wines, you get to buy the bottle of whichever you like at a discount. It’s such an approachable and fun way to explore your palate.

Ed note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Llama San Sommelier Rachael Madori Is Most Excited About Wines of the Canary Islands and Mexico appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/text-somm-rachael-madori/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/618466660798562304

[joneswilliam72]

Finding Empowerment at Treefort Music Fest

Last year, I had the privilege of flying out to Boise, Idaho for the first time to cover a rising festival called Treefort. A brief but inescapable romance with the festival ensured I would cover it again- now the festival’s eighth year running. The quickest comparison is a SXSW shrunk down and placed in an artsy Midwest city. With not just musical performances but panels, poetry/ prose workshops, large-scale yoga classes, tech seminars, live radio interviews, a beer garden - Treefort, on the surface, ticks the major boxes for a springtime festival that takes over downtown Boise at the end of March.

But this view is reductionist. What sets Treefort apart is not always what they do, but the intent and work behind every event scheduled. Treefort, even with the corporate sponsorships it gets to pay the bills, was and is not designed with a capitalistic approach. Events and panels aren’t built to sell tickets and prove trendiness among peers, but they are structured to engage with the attendants. Many of the shows had established artists playing small clubs, getting right in the faces of the fans. And with over 400 bands/ artists, musicians at all stages in the industry got a chance to showcase their art and garner new fans in an active and genuinely fun setting.

All of this allows Treefort to bring something to the table that other festivals can’t- empowerment. The team running the show isn’t a boardroom assigned by big donors. The showrunners are women, POC, queer folks who know that with intersectionality we all win. And this isn’t rooted in some misguided sense of duty. The world is diverse. Their dream is to capture that, to hopefully let those marginalized voices have the floor in some fashion. And what you wind up with is Treefort- a beautiful congregation of those deserving to be heard and those ready to listen.

Empowerment takes its first form with the interactive panels. These aren’t forums in large auditoriums designed to for the audience to be talked at. A Treefort panel is a discussion. Yes, the speakers do the majority of the talking- but you are right there in the action. Before showtime people are walking around talking, exchanging contact info. The panels are geared towards the audience but allow the speakers to truly bring a human side to an industry that often touts cynicism over earnestness. I attended three talks: one relating to music supervision/ selling music for commercial use, one on mental health and touring, and a songwriting seminar conducted by Laura Veirs.

The energy in those rooms. At the first panel, you have music supervisors providing direct steps and proactive tips to bands, managers, publicists in the audience. You had a fun and brief consideration of selling out vs. cashing in when it comes to supplemental income and selling tracks for digital/TV ad use. But most importantly, after the panel, the speakers were eagerly speaking with those in attendance- resource links being shared, contact info being provided, laughs being traded. At the second panel, a needed discussion on touring and its effect on mental health. Terra Lopez of Rituals of Mine, Jax Anderson of Flint Eastwood, and Laura, a former tour production manager spoke of the tolls being on the road. They also spoke of the effects once tour has ended. But for what could have been a sombre subject, the speakers approached it with deft hands, allowing for humour and a heartfelt discussion. It’s amazing what destigmatizing mental health can do! Jax burst from her chair as she told everyone how the first person she sees after tour is her therapist. It's this energy that slows the message to get to those who need it most.

The last talk I attended was a songwriting workshop by the legendary Laura Veirs. She opened up about her process; more importantly, she opened up about what she does to keep fresh and keep going. She described a card system she uses where she has 3 categories, takes a card from each category (music, lyric, inspiration) and writes a song based on those terms. What sets this apart- not just the fact the panel was the size of a small private university class or that she spoke directly with songwriters of all levels- is that, for all who attended, she provided a sample sheet for this card system. At the bottom of the sheet? Contact info for her team so you can let them know how her process worked for you. Art is for everyone. An established artist ignoring barriers and reaching out directly to empower those who need it- that’s Treefort.

Treefort also presents a plethora of artists for listeners to discover. With so many, scheduling conflicts are always going to happen. But there were so many shows that stood out because of the crowd interactions and how the artists handled their performances. You had Illuminati Hotties playing a raucous, late-night set, opening the pit at 1:00 am on Wednesday night. But with all the DIY antics shone a band that knows how to control that chaos and make something wonderful. You had Laura Veirs following a classical 4-piece. She played an acoustic set spanning her whole career; a reprieve from the urban and return to the sublime. She also revealed her limitations with playing her keyboard live- a call to those young artists in attendance that even your heroes are still human.

Or look at Cherry Glazer- a band that keeps progressing in its sound and line up in pursuit of art. Everything about their performance is precise to the point of being free. I had never seen so many smiles in a mosh pit. The show was all ages and you had tweens crowd surfing with 40-year-olds. You had Mt. Joy where fans were singing to every song at the packed main stage. They even brought up a couple so a young man could propose to his shocked and ecstatic partner. Her surprise and delight only added to their set. Tigers Jaw brought dynamics to the rock show. With solid vocals and no one blocking the drummer, its clear their performance was all about the fans. That enthusiasm for the fans was highlighted in my favourite performance of the festival, CHAI’s main stage show. Punk influenced by city pop; playful choreography by musicians who all fucking shred; a brief Japanese a capella rendition of ‘Dancing Queen’. The crowd reciprocated by having an all-out dance party in the rain. Closing out the festival was Toro Y Moi, bringing funk, pop, and soul to a Sunday night celebration. Brittney Parks of Sudan Archives was having a ball in the photo pit as everyone danced around. Everyone was free. On the other side of this coin, you had Low put on a show that gripped like a Midwest winter but promised the relief of spring. A late-night show, the music was the star and it offered to take you to another plane.

Treefort is also about empowering the artist. Many of the artists and bands spoke out to the audience directly, challenging them with their performances. Vince Staples was the big act the first night. A line wrapped around the block. A venue packed full of mostly Boise natives boppin’ along to a rapper who only speaks truth. He ended his live performance earlier than billed- but on the on-stage screen, he played a video of Mac Miller’s Tiny Desk performance and walked off. Truly digging into this choice requires a whole separate piece, but its this direct action and message to the audience that can’t be ignored. Sudan Archives blew minds with her performance. A one-person show, she combined loop pedals and perfectly timed backing tracks with her electric violin and midi. Her performance, her compositions, all stunning. But when you listened to the lyrics, she sang of colonization, embracing what is being stripped away. A black entertainer singing this to a mostly white, young, suburban audience living on stolen land- an open call for allies to start the real discussion.

With Rituals of Mine, you have Terra who uses the stage as her canvas and her body the paint. She’s a queer POC who embraces that not just in the music but in physical manifestations in her stage presence. The show is a statement. It’s the same with The Suffers. With a main stage upgrade from last year, they brought their Gulf Coast soul. And they make sure the audience knows where they are from, what sound they make- its about representation. They even through in some cumbia, showcasing the Latin roots in their sound. And of course, you had headliner Liz Phair. Listening to her, you hear so many of your favourite artists that came after. A songwriter that’s never been truly given her due, she played a career spanning set that truly is timeless. She’s brazen, witty, and a natural storyteller who deserved that packed main stage audience.

When a music festival is approached as a public good, not a money making/ funneling project, an urgency occurs, and new life is breathed into those in attendance. That’s empowerment. It's in every facet of this festival- even for press! Enthusiastic press contacts, an inviting press room, and lodging a stone’s throw from the action- it's these actions that proves there’s an understanding we’re all in this industry together. This isn’t something that’s immediately learned and implemented. The Treefort staff have a vision where the festival is the vessel; their goals are rooted in empathy. That can’t be taught like a business 101 course. But the hope is that eyes and ears are opening. That’s the first step to understanding. As Treefort grows, there will be new challenges. But with this team at the helm, there is only excitement about where things go from here.

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2GnAQ9T

[storytellerraveena]

Hush little baby, listen promptly as I tell you a story, it’s got various faces, various phases, so much shabbiness yet so much glory.

Hush little baby, don’t say a word, I was born without a name. I became my mother’s angel and my father’s wealth, in abundance also became my sister’s heart. Titles after titles, that’s what I am, yet you want to know who I am..

Hush little baby, don’t say a word, I was told right from that start, what’s right and what’s not, blue for boys, pink for girls, cars for boys and Barbies for girls, the good touch, the bad touch, the black the white, boys like girls, girls like boys, the toppers the failures, conversations in English over those in Hindi, so much grasped over so little time, Where is the scope to find out what whether like black or white?

And you want to know who I am..

Hush little baby, don’t day a word, 8 subjects divided into further sub-parts, History to math, English 1 or English 2? Civics over Geography?, Physics over Chemistry, I’ll nail it in French, Kill it in Hindi, yet my greatest challenge being the that mind boggling section of filling in the least important tiny little box in that frivolous slam book I will never look back at that reads “Introduce yourself”[Said in a mocking manner] ! And you want to know who I am..

Hush little baby, don’t say a word, Year after year, I grow up to the belief that says “Use the creative process, singing, writing, art, dance, whatever, to get to know yourself better. And I try, I really do. I have my share of creative outbursts, intellectually uplifting conversations, social media approvals in the form of sharing trending posts, following campaigns, Hashtag Yolo, Hashtag Fomo, Hashtag solace [Mocking], Hashtag I’m really just trying to find out what’s my hashtag, and you want to know who I am..

Hush little baby, don’t say a word, That social circle I go to for relief at the end of a rough day, some highly outspoken extroverts, some shy away but are good listeners. Some like to take vacations on the hills, some are simply beach people. Some like to party, while some are simply the Netflix and chill people, some get drunk, some hold your hair back while you are drunk, some are loud, Some motivate you, some don’t. While I’m out and I think I’ve fit in just right, each one of them seem to have made a space for themselves defining who they are, what they like, who they like, who they don’t,I’m very much involved in the very conversation, answering as promptly, but a voice inside me in constantly asking me, Do you really mean what you say? So many questions unanswered, and yet you want to know who I am.

Hush little baby, don’t say a word. They say you are your true self, when you’re all alone. And so I tried that too, Solo trips to the grocery store going up a notch becoming solo dates to the movies, to valuable solo dinner dates. Huge dinner portions and zero sharing involved, the joys of eating in the utmost tacky manner, FTW, I love myself, Solo time, Quality time, Solace, Solitude, I’m my best friend, realizations in the form of poetry, later shared on my all girls Whatsapp groups, and later on Facebook with a slight, SLIGHT hope that, that insensitive ex-boyfriend, intolerable rival or that betraying friend, takes a glance at it and goes into though for at least a moment. [Pause] I will still say I love being alone, Yes I do, But my biggest fear remains, being left alone. So many contradictions, yet you want to know, Who I am..

Hush little baby, don’t say a word, A social gathering, over a dozen of people, Some think I’m funny, Some say I’m intimidating, Some say I’m cool and some simply feel I’m a bore. So many people, each one solely responsible, yet I feel responsible to wear different masks and make sure each one is impressed, not by me, not by the people. Just impressed, just content. So facades, yet you want to know who I am..

Hush little baby don’t say a word, I promise this shall be the last, As I sit here and pour my heart out, I think of everyone who can connect to me, to what I say, to what I feel. I do it with the intention of letting out what I feel, in my head I’m really in a place wherein I’ve impressed a set of people who hammer themselves in the category of people who suffer from what society has termed as “Identity Crisis”. Yet again, I’m in two different places, one being where I assume I want to go and the latter being where I really want to go. I doubt I’ll ever know which one is which, and you want to know who I am..

For all I know is that I’m a series of faces and phases, I’m like that condiment that goes well with every dish. I’m that party animal that will dance away to glory with you because it’s your birthday, and that patient listener who will listen to you rant about your epiphanies, I’m the adventurous companion who will accompany you to the most impromptu scenarios, that sensible friend who will bring you to the ground when you’re flying too high and that clown who will turn boring day-ins to hilarious encounters. Sometimes I’m reserved Sometimes I’m blustering. For all I know, is I’m one of the plenty who face the same all day and that’s okay.

#identitycrisis

[pinkspen]

As a part of Self-care September, I have been actively incorporating self-care activities into my daily routine. It is not always easy to make the time for myself with my busy schedule. Trying to balance mommyhood, work, and building my blog and biz, all keep me very busy. In order for me to give my best to my daughter and my followers, I have to show myself the best form of care.

Making time for myself seems impossible, often times, but by slowly incorporating small self-care activities into my daily routine, I have found ways to help myself relax and focus on body love. I am finding that when I make the time for self-care, even if it is only for 15 minutes within a day, I feel better because I did something for just me.

A Bit About Self-Care September

Self-Care Awareness Month, was founded by Evolve to Live, “transition through self-care,” in order to shine a light on the importance and the emotional, social and economic benefits when self-care becomes a priority for individuals. Throughout the month of September, you can participate in multiple #SelfcareSeptember Challenges that are all designed to help you to incorporate body-love, being body positive, and prioritizing self-love.

Self-Care September Challenges

There are so many amazing bloggers that are tackling self-care in September in order to help their followers and readers to find the balance between everyday responsibilities and having adequate “me time.” Here are a few of my favorite challenges and resources that are taking place now; it is never too late to start your self-care journey:

Takeia Cage, founder of Unashamed Queens is hosting a course, “The Journey of Self-care and Love,” a three week workshop that helps you answer the following questions:

“Are you ready to commit to finding the best ways to replenish yourself?

Are you ready to commit to being gentle with yourself?

Are you ready to commit to loving yourself without conditions? if so, this is the workshop you don’t want to miss.” –Takeia Cage

To participate and create learn to create a “self-care vision board,” you can email Takeia [email protected].

Cori Spieker, The Reset Girl, started sharing her love of planners and arts & crafts and now hosts workshops, events, and offers crafty planner products, beautiful decorating kits and washi rings on her online store to incorporate creativity and self-care.

The Reset Girl’s monthly Self-Care Photo Challenge provides you with a list of daily photo prompts that you can share on Instagram and Facebook using the hashtag #TRGSelfCareChallenge

There is no right or wrong way to participate in this challenge.

To make self-care a priority, and to participate in this photo challenge, email Cori HERE.

Jenny, the creator of Women With Intention seeks to help women simplify and achieve their goals in every part of their life.

Each month, Jenny provides a monthly self-care calendar to help women prioritize taking care of themselves a little every day.  This is a FREE resource and printout that is available on her website HERE.

Self-care and Body love Tips for beginners

I can honestly say that I did not start to incorporate self-care into my daily routine on a consistent basis until November 2016. I am a firm believer that in order for anything to become habitual, you have to start slow and take minor steps to reach your massive goals.

For those of you who are looking to enhance your self-love journey by incorporating self-care and body love activities into your daily routine, but do not know where or how to begin, I was there and I am here for you. Here are 50 self-care and body love tips that can guide your new journey: 

1. Take a Detox Bath 

Detox Bath for one

Ingredients: Epsom Salt, Baking Soda, Lavender Oil

How To: Begin to fill tub with water that is as hot as you can stand it. While tub is filling up, add 1 cup of Espom Salt, 2 cups of Baking Soda, and 10 drops of Lavender Oil (you can substitute the Lavender Oil with Espom Salt with Lavender in it). Mix the ingredients in the bath water. Soak for at least 1 hour.

2. Light Aromatherapy Candles

3. Learn Something New (something related to body love and self-care)

a song

a dance

how to make a new dish/meal

a positive affirmation or quote

a new yoga pose or circuit workout, etc.

4.Write in a journal – it doesn’t have to be some fancy journal; just grab a notebook and start writing

5. Take a walk outside and enjoy nature

6. Create a Self-care Vision Board as provided by Jesalyn Eatchel, LCSW

I am using all recycled materials for my self-care vision board

self-care vision board process

7. Focus on one thing for 5 minutes (don’t forget to blink)

8. Color in an Adult Coloring Book

If you are a mom like me, coloring books are all over my house and is an activity my daughter and I do together all the time, but this tip is for you, so get an adult coloring book for you to use only, and some colored pencils, markers, or crayons and let the image take you away.

9. Stretch Your Body for 10-15 minutes

10. Listen to Calming Music

Here are three of my favorite songs to listen to when I want to be empowered and one to help me relax:

Sabrina Claudio – Confidently Lost

Jhene Aiko – Spotless Mind

Daniel Caesar feat. H.E.R. – Best Part

Johnnie Lawson – Relaxing Nature Sounds “The calming sounds of nature help insomnia suffers as a sleep aid, they help concentration for study and relaxing.”

11. Elevate your Legs 6-12 inches above the heart (lay flat on the floor with your legs up and against the wall, sit in a chair with your legs elevated, prop your legs up on a pillow in bed)

According to the Vein Institute, elevating your legs, 

“…you’ll notice, feels good immediately. It takes the pressure off your leg veins first and foremost, encouraging the blood to flow out of your leg veins emptying them, and undoes the pressure of the day by giving your veins a break for a few hours as blood flow moves away from the legs and courses through the rest of your body.”

12. Read or Listen to Audio Books

13. Mediate for 15-30 minutes

14. While looking in a mirror, say 5 things you love about your yourself (I talk about ways to have a healthy mind in my article A Healthy Mind: the story of a thick girl)

15. Sing a song (loud and proud)

16. Turn your phone off for 30 minutes a day

17. Take a drive to a new destination (it does not have to be long distance; just drive somewhere you have never been)

18. Make music (you do not have to be a musician to make music – use boxes, pot & pans, spoons, your body, etc.)

19. Paint on something other than paper

20. Take a nap for 1 hour

21. Drink more water

Cucumber in Spring Water

(add fruits and veggies for taste and other health benefits; my fav is cucumber water)

22. Ride a bike

23. Go to the park and play like a child (swing on the swings, slide down the slide, play on the monkey bars, etc.)

24. Climb a Tree

25.Write a poem

26. Visit a body of water and watch the movement of the waves and the current

27. Fly a kite

28. Play with a pet

29. Go to the Farmers Market and buy some fresh produce

30. Read poetry

31. Put on some music and dance

32. Donate the things you don’t need or use to a charity or Goodwill

33. Watch the stars

34. Sit in nature and just listen

35. Call your friend(s)

36. Buy or go pick yourself some flowers

37. Drink Matcha

Please check out an article by Precious Frazier, Professional Blogger and Certified Wellness Expert, Why Matcha Has Become A Key Part of my Morning Self-Care Routine

38. Forgive someone (this is a tough one, but make the call, reach out to them on social media, do whatever you must to make the verbal affirmation that you have forgiven them)

39. Write a love letter to yourself

40. Do Yoga

41. Watch the sunrise

42. Go to an Art Exhibit

43. Read or watch a comedy (at times laughter is the best medicine)

44. Volunteer your time

45. Watch the sunset

46. Start a Gratitude Journal (you can check out my 7-day Gratitude Journal by reading the following, My Gratitude Journal: Day 1, My Gratitude Journal: Day 2, My Gratitude Journal: Day 3, My Gratitude Journal: Day 4, My Gratitude Journal: Day 5, My Gratitude Journal: Day 6, My Gratitude Journal: Day 7)

47. Do deep breathing exercises (to view my favorite deep breathing exercise, read my article The 4-7-8 (Relaxing) Deep Breathing Exercise)

48. Give yourself a manicure and pedicure

49. Get a massage

50. Write down positive affirmations on post-it notes, and put them in the places (work, home, your car) to remind yourself of how awesome you are!

I hope these self-care and body love tips assist you as you begin your self-love journey. Self-love is more than vanity and selfishness; it is enhancing self-care, self-esteem, and showing your body some love, a little bit more every day.

-Pinkspen

Talking about #bullying is painful and difficult to discuss. #selfcare is a requirement. As a part of Self-care September, I have been actively incorporating self-care activities into my daily routine.

#Advice #body love #body positive #health #lifestyle #self-care September #self-esteem #self-love #wellness

[riting]

Hi, Solo / Gala, Honey (Pieter Fundraiser)

Carmela Hermann Dietrich on Hi, Solo

Hi, Solo, a series inspired by Mark Haim, is curated by Alexx Shilling and Devika Wickremesinghe. This particular evening was a fundraiser for Pieter Performance Space. Inspired by Hi, Solo I set a timer for three minutes two times; during each writing session, I wrote whatever came to mind, first about Hi Solo, and then Pieter and the fundraiser.  And….go!

1.

I love Hi, Solo. I love the idea of it. That within three minutes you can make something that is a complete idea. That is the assignment. To create a 3-minute solo specifically for Hi, Solo. Someone I admire once told me, “when you’ve got something important to communicate, say it in three sentences”. I’ve used this when I want to run on at the mouth in an email, a text, in conversation. How often as choreographers do we run on at the body-mouth? Simone Forti, one of my primary artistic mentors, once told me that in the 60’s Robert Dunn gave his (now historic) composition class the assignment, “make something that’s three minutes long and don’t work on it for longer than three minutes”.

What was most interesting to me, was watching how the artists took on this challenge. I saw choreographed ideas that had a set beginning, middle and end; I saw works that weren’t set, but followed a strategic trajectory; some artists improvised, allowing their endings to be arbitrarily decided by the timer.  I saw some that drew me in, and some that didn’t. There were some that made my nine-year-old son laugh. And one that made him sad. I can’t get into specifics about all ten piece because … I only have three minutes to write.

2.

This particular Hi, Solo was a fundraiser to raise money for Pieter. Pieter needs a new floor. I love Pieter’s floor. I can see any inch of it on instagram and remember, “oh, yeah, that’s that spot where my hair always gets caught in the tape”. It’s a well loved floor. But as Jmy James Kidd, Pieter Protector, said, it’s also a bit dangerous. She revealed during the fundraiser pitch at Intermission, that she has a splinter “permanently lodged in her ass.” That’s not good. Pieter has been a radical dance space for creativity, safe expression, innovation, and exploration for seven years. I am there regularly. What’s so amazing about Pieter is not just the mix of people drawn to it’s community, but the welcoming attitude of the entire space. This is the vision of Pieter; a place where artists and people who want to be themselves and feel accepted are welcome. Yes, Pieter has some badass choreographers, but at Pieter the newbie who has never danced or performed is just as welcomed and accepted. Pieter supports Los Angeles’ people like no other. 

Carmela Hermann Dietrich is an L.A. based choreographer and improviser whose work has been performed nationally and internationally since 1995. Her last dance theater work, "In Plain Sight", featuring four real-life people grappling with compulsive behaviors, premiered at the Bootleg Theater. Carmela is also an Upledger Certified CranioSacral Therapist.

Maya Gingery on Hi, Solo

PIETER IS A PLACE

Names either stick or they don’t, and this one did.  It’s called Pieter and only Jmy knows why.

Pieter is a place that was created for community and a community has formed around this dance studio in Lincoln Heights.  After 7 years of pounding feet and rolling bodies, the past-its-prime flooring needs replacing, and so on April 15th Pieter held an evening of performance as a fundraiser for a brand new floor.

Hi, Solo was an evening of 3-minute works by a roster of local artists, some dancers, some performance artists, and a few that fall between the cracks. It’s an eclectic mix, a diversity of styles and forms that serve well LA’s appetite for inclusivity. And so it was, for this benefit show that also included a sweet testimonial from the hosts and board of directors about how Pieter has become the heart center for so many in the local dance and performance scene.

Here’s a short synopsis of what I experienced:

The show began with a work titled Emergency Landing choreographed by Dorothy Dubrule, and danced by P. Jason Black, a non-dancer as he explained it to me.  It could have been called an Ode to Aluminum Foil, as the rotund Jason was indelibly and fashionably wrapped in it, toga-style. To the tinklings of a piano sonata (Schumann perhaps?), Jason expressed as willingly as Isadora Duncan his interpretation of the classical poses of the gods, and just as willingly descended and rolled like a boulder on the ground, the kinetic antithesis to the greek statue. The contrasts worked.

LA-based Carol McDowell, dressed in summery turquoise, danced her own solo titled, Noetic Gestures No. 3.  There was a Latin aesthetic in her choice of music, and a lot of shifting directions and gestural use of space. Later I learned the dance was based on Hermeneutics, or the philosophy of interpretation. Since dance is a non-verbal form of communication, this seemed apropos. One could interpret it however one wished.

Wilfred Souly danced his solo Trapped to a live talking drum played by Magatte Sow. His movements suggested possession by something outside himself, as seen in African spiritualism. There were contrasts of up and down, side to side, in and out. It was a powerful male performance and it’s political intent was the driving force.

Performance/visual artist Luis Lera Malvacias presented a work that was both literally and figuratively dark and subversively visual. Covered in black clothing that completely obfuscated his body, his spine however was visually articulated with a row of white lightbulbs. On the stage lay a mysterious angular black object, also illuminated, a parallel to the objectification of his own body. The artist, bent over like the hunchback of literary fame, moaned and cried as he mysteriously hovered near the box, only his voice penetrating the sphere of this dark perverse world. It was weird and striking.

Maybe it was the psychological resonance from the previous piece, but I can’t remember a thing about dancer Maria Maea’s I choose here.  If that sounds harsh, one can be forgiven for not remembering everything in such a long and diverse program.  I do remember some video, some sound, some dance. However, it’s title couldn’t have been more perfect. Possibly the dance was perfect too. I hope Maria performs it again, when I will be ready to remember it well.

In the second half of the show Doran George presented Aid and Abet, a sexually-loaded interpretation of scholarship. Seemingly naked underneath a trenchcoat casually draped over them, they lay on piles of books and played dead, as Gillian Cameron recited gay poetry. Give me Love, she read in a monotone, as we waited for her to revive him with bon mots.  In the end Doran was resurrected, and rose to reveal themselves wearing a loincloth and a plaster-of-paris penis, fully-erect natch.  Some good ideas there.

Valerie McCann is not a dancer. She’s an actor, she explained to me, but she wanted to make a dance.  So she did.  It was called Helplessness Makes Patients Hard to Please, with the subtitle Love Hurts.  Based on the title I’m going to assume she has some experience with this.  She wore a terrific white robe that was a costume from a play she had been in.  She took that costume with her (who was wearing whom?) and made a dance play about gestures and trajectory that ended at the wall. She used the space well, and I never would have guessed it was her first choreography.  Loads of stage presence.

Dancer/Choreographer Kevin Williamson did an exquisite arm dance.  Feet planted firmly like the roots of a tree, he chose to be in profile as he manipulated his two upper limbs in every possible configuration that profile will allow.  It was a search for reason in an unstable world. To me it’s always within limitations that imagination has room to grow and I was in continual wonder as he took me on his bodily journeying.  He also chose to accentuate the oddness of the Pieter stage, a rectangle interrupted in the center by a square of four large pillars, by standing off-center and far upstage, inviting us to think about the scale and boundaries of human existence. Beautiful.

Dancer Alexsa Durrans wore red and black.  On first impression I perceived her flowing movement as a watery flamenco, though “weighted like water, this will happen again” turned out to be more motivated by fluidity than Spanish passions.  Not sure what would “happen again”, but when water is concerned it’s certain something will.  That’s the beauty of dance, it’s poetry in motion, it ebbs and flows like water, and what’s not seen is often just as important as what is.

Finally dancer Alexa Weir honored us with a wistful, idyllic ode to new motherhood. She filled her stage with potted plants and moved with delicate grace among them. Glass chimes tinkled in the background.  She called it Day Moon.  She choreographed it in a closet.  It was a lovely and calming conclusion to a Nabokovian program.

One problem I’ve encountered as both artist and audience is that no one is writing about independent experimental dance in LA. So naturally no one expects to be reviewed. I had a hard time finding and talking to the artists amid the din of chips, dips and beer-fueled conversations, but I persevered. (Sorry Maria, I couldn't find you!).  Let's be grateful for the creation of Riting.LA, an online place to bring focus to LA independent performing arts and the thousands of artists who make this city such a vibrantly growing creative space.

In conclusion, Pieter raised some money. We got to watch some dance and support the artists.  As always, the after-party was fun and the community communed.  LA is great.

Maya Gingery is a maker-dancer-choreographer-musician-educator-writer, lifelong creative and fellow human. She makes dances and other performative events, collects musical instruments, grows vegetables and sings a song every day. Her best friend Mimi is a deer. She was last seen on stage as Demeter, in the Four Larks development project of  ὕμνος/hymns at the Getty Villa.

Hi, Solo / Gala, Honey (Pieter needs a new floor!) happened on Saturday, April 15th, 2017. The night was curated by Alexx Shilling and Devika Wickremesinghe.

Pieter has since reached their goal to raise $10,000 for a new floor and cosmetic repairs. Pieter’s YouCaring campaign will be live through May 31st. Metabolic Studio will match all funds raised up to $15,000. Please consider donating to such a special space.  

photos by Amanda Bjorn

#Performance Riting #Pieter

[pinkspen]

As a part of Self-care September, I have been actively incorporating self-care activities into my daily routine. It is not always easy to make the time for myself with my busy schedule. Trying to balance mommyhood, work, and building my blog and biz, all keep me very busy. In order for me to give my best to my daughter and my followers, I have to show myself the best form of care.

Making time for myself seems impossible, often times, but by slowly incorporating small self-care activities into my daily routine, I have found ways to help myself relax and focus on body love. I am finding that when I make the time for self-care, even if it is only for 15 minutes within a day, I feel better because I did something for just me.

A Bit About Self-Care September

Self-Care Awareness Month, was founded by Evolve to Live, “transition through self-care,” in order to shine a light on the importance and the emotional, social and economic benefits when self-care becomes a priority for individuals. Throughout the month of September, you can participate in multiple #SelfcareSeptember Challenges that are all designed to help you to incorporate body-love, being body positive, and prioritizing self-love.

Self-Care September Challenges

There are so many amazing bloggers that are tackling self-care in September in order to help their followers and readers to find the balance between everyday responsibilities and having adequate “me time.” Here are a few of my favorite challenges and resources that are taking place now; it is never too late to start your self-care journey:

Takeia Cage, founder of Unashamed Queens is hosting a course, “The Journey of Self-care and Love,” a three week workshop that helps you answer the following questions:

“Are you ready to commit to finding the best ways to replenish yourself?

Are you ready to commit to being gentle with yourself?

Are you ready to commit to loving yourself without conditions? if so, this is the workshop you don’t want to miss.” –Takeia Cage

To participate and create learn to create a “self-care vision board,” you can email Takeia [email protected].

Cori Spieker, The Reset Girl, started sharing her love of planners and arts & crafts and now hosts workshops, events, and offers crafty planner products, beautiful decorating kits and washi rings on her online store to incorporate creativity and self-care.

The Reset Girl’s monthly Self-Care Photo Challenge provides you with a list of daily photo prompts that you can share on Instagram and Facebook using the hashtag #TRGSelfCareChallenge

There is no right or wrong way to participate in this challenge.

To make self-care a priority, and to participate in this photo challenge, email Cori HERE.

Jenny, the creator of Women With Intention seeks to help women simplify and achieve their goals in every part of their life.

Each month, Jenny provides a monthly self-care calendar to help women prioritize taking care of themselves a little every day.  This is a FREE resource and printout that is available on her website HERE.

Self-care and Body love Tips for beginners

I can honestly say that I did not start to incorporate self-care into my daily routine on a consistent basis until November 2016. I am a firm believer that in order for anything to become habitual, you have to start slow and take minor steps to reach your massive goals.

For those of you who are looking to enhance your self-love journey by incorporating self-care and body love activities into your daily routine, but do not know where or how to begin, I was there and I am here for you. Here are 50 self-care and body love tips that can guide your new journey: 

1. Take a Detox Bath 

Detox Bath for one 

      Ingredients: Epsom Salt, Baking Soda, Lavender Oil

  How To: Begin to fill tub with water that is as hot as you can stand it. While tub is filling up, add 1 cup of Espom Salt, 2 cups of Baking Soda, and 10 drops of Lavender Oil (you can substitute the Lavender Oil with Espom Salt with Lavender in it). Mix the ingredients in the bath water. Soak for at least 1 hour.

2. Light Aromatherapy Candles

3. Learn Something New (something related to body love and self-care)

a song

a dance

how to make a new dish/meal

a positive affirmation or quote

a new yoga pose or circuit workout, etc.

4.Write in a journal – it doesn’t have to be some fancy journal; just grab a notebook and start writing

5. Take a walk outside and enjoy nature

    6.Create a Self-care Vision Board as provided by Jesalyn Eatchel, LCSW

I am using all recycled materials for my self-care vision board

self-care vision board process

  7. Focus on one thing for 5 minutes (don’t forget to blink)

8. Color in an Adult Coloring Book

If you are a mom like me, coloring books are all over my house and is an activity my daughter and I do together all the time, but this tip is for you, so get an adult coloring book for you to use only, and some colored pencils, markers, or crayons and let the image take you away.

9. Stretch Your Body for 10-15 minutes

10. Listen to Calming Music

Here are three of my favorite songs to listen to when I want to be empowered and one to help me relax:

Sabrina Claudio – Confidently Lost

Jhene Aiko – Spotless Mind

Daniel Caesar feat. H.E.R. – Best Part

Johnnie Lawson – Relaxing Nature Sounds “The calming sounds of nature help insomnia suffers as a sleep aid, they help concentration for study and relaxing.”

11. Elevate your Legs 6-12 inches above the heart (lay flat on the floor with your legs up and against the wall, sit in a chair with your legs elevated, prop your legs up on a pillow in bed)

According to the Vein Institute, elevating your legs, 

“…you’ll notice, feels good immediately. It takes the pressure off your leg veins first and foremost, encouraging the blood to flow out of your leg veins emptying them, and undoes the pressure of the day by giving your veins a break for a few hours as blood flow moves away from the legs and courses through the rest of your body.”

12. Read or Listen to Audio Books

13. Mediate for 15-30 minutes

14. While looking in a mirror, say 5 things you love about your yourself (I talk about ways to have a healthy mind in my article A Healthy Mind: the story of a thick girl)

15. Sing a song (loud and proud)

16.Turn your phone off for 30 minutes a day

17. Take a drive to a new destination (it does not have to be long distance; just drive somewhere you have never been)

18. Make music (you do not have to be a musician to make music – use boxes, pot & pans, spoons, your body, etc.)

19. Paint on something other than paper

20. Take a nap for 1 hour

21. Drink more water

cucumber water

(add fruits and veggies for taste and other health benefits; my fav is cucumber water)

  22. Ride a bike

23. Go to the park and play like a child (swing on the swings, slide down the slide, play on the monkey bars, etc.)

24. Climb a Tree

25.Write a poem

26. Visit a body of water and watch the movement of the waves and the current

27. Fly a kite

28. Play with a pet

29. Go to the Farmers Market and buy some fresh produce

30. Read poetry

31. Put on some music and dance

32.Donate the things you don’t need or use to a charity or Goodwill

33. Watch the stars

34. Sit in nature and just listen

35. Call your friend(s)

36. Buy or go pick yourself some flowers

37. Drink Matcha

Please check out an article by Precious Frazier, Professional Blogger and Certified Wellness Expert, Why Matcha Has Become A Key Part of my Morning Self-Care Routine

38. Forgive someone (this is a tough one, but make the call, reach out to them on social media, do whatever you must to make the verbal affirmation that you have forgiven them)

39. Write a love letter to yourself

40. Do Yoga

41. Watch the sunrise

42. Go to an Art Exhibit

43. Read or watch a comedy (at times laughter is the best medicine)

44. Volunteer your time

45. Watch the sunset

46. Start a Gratitude Journal (you can check out my 7-day Gratitude Journal by reading the following, My Gratitude Journal: Day 1, My Gratitude Journal: Day 2, My Gratitude Journal: Day 3, My Gratitude Journal: Day 4, My Gratitude Journal: Day 5, My Gratitude Journal: Day 6, My Gratitude Journal: Day 7)

47. Do deep breathing exercises (to view my favorite deep breathing exercise, read my article The 4-7-8 (Relaxing) Deep Breathing Exercise)

48. Give yourself a manicure and pedicure

49.Get a massage

50. Write down positive affirmations on post-it notes, and put them in the places (work, home, your car) to remind yourself of how awesome you are!

  I hope these self-care and body love tips assist you as you begin your self-love journey. Self-love is more than vanity and selfishness; it is enhancing self-care, self-esteem, and showing your body some love, a little bit more every day.

-Pinkspen

50 Self-Care & Body Love Tips for Beginners As a part of Self-care September, I have been actively incorporating self-care activities into my daily routine.

#Advice #body love #body positive #health #lifestyle #self-care September #self-esteem #self-love #wellness