My Blog
Courage According to the Cowardly Lion, courage is “what makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk.” John Wayne said, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” And the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.” Clearly, courage is a big subject. I think about it a lot. I have spent the better part of my life standing on the edge of a high dive…
“There are certain things that government does that gives people privileges in order to promote activity that are healthy for society and are best for society. And those things we promote would give people advantages or benefits, government benefits because we think that is healthy activity. Mothers and fathers coming together, forming healthy marriages, having children and raising those children. Every American child has the right, and the government should support the right to have and know their mother and father and be raised by…
As is sometimes prone to happen here on the bloggie, I sat down this morning with the intention of writing about one thing, but another subject kept pulling for my attention. The muse is funny like that. When she says, “jump,” I say “how high?” Next week, I will indeed resume with a new post for “Our Creative Lives,” but for the present moment, the muse and I are marching down another path. On Sunday night, I watched the Golden Globe Awards. From mutilation via…
The transition into the New Year usually has a certain ceremonious quality to it. We look back on the year behind us and reflect on whatever insights we've gained along the way. We usher in the year ahead with fresh resolve and robust optimism. At the stroke of midnight, we raise our glasses, shoot off fireworks and celebrate what has passed and what is yet to come. For me, however, there will be no fanfare this year. Instead, I am slipping quietly into the New…
Be grateful for all circumstances Because it is God’s will. This message appeared on the reader board of a Lutheran church in my neighborhood. I have driven past it several times over the past few weeks and every time I see it, it provokes me just a little. The question of God’s will, especially relative to faith, is a curious one to me. Given the climate of the world today, this seems like something worth poking at a little. And of course, any discussion of…
I’m sure that volumes have been written on the psychology of performing. My philosophy is this: It’s about the JOY We all work hard at perfecting our craft. Lord knows the myriad of things that we vocalists have to shed on: intonation, phrasing, expanding our scat vocabulary, tricky arrangements, eighth note triplets, Cole Porter changes, breath control, arpeggiating intervals and on and on and on. A performance is where our practice hours culminate and bear fruit. However, at the very heart of it, a performance…
Lately, I’ve been slammed: psycho slammed. I’m working on a sizable writing job that will pretty much go until the end of the year. I’ve got another big ass job for one of my regular freelance clients. On top of these demands, I’ve been gigging a lot and also just trying to stay on top the usual life stuff of being a mom, driving the carpool, feeding the teen animals and paying the bills on time. And of course, there’s the added frenzy…
I am grateful for gay kids. Their mere presence in the world makes it a better place. Gay kids are unique and effervescent spirits. Most have a wisdom beyond their years. Many are madly creative and unafraid to push the edge. Gay kids are old souls in young bodies. They infuse space and time with a special kind of magic. Coming of age is hard enough, but coming of age as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or trangender child is all the harder. In the…
OK, here it is: I hate to get dressed for a gig. I should probably be more specific. I intensely dislike the process of getting the glamour on for a performance. The business of hair, make-up and fashion is bewildering to me. I’ve said it many times before; I find the feminine arts to be, well, stressful. This has been a lifelong difficulty for me. I’ve always been too big and clunky to fit into our cultural ideal of beauty. I have broad shoulders, a…
Today’s post is about going the distance. Let’s face it: the universe does not always shower us with inspiration and flowers on a daily or, sometimes, even weekly basis. Every artist that I know occasionally goes through periods of seeming stagnation; long stretches of waiting for the phone to ring or the grant monies to come through; uncomfortable dry patches with no gigs in sight and no love from the club owners that are normally happy to book you; or an abysmally slow month…
