This I Love Lucy episode aired 55 years ago, and it's still hella funny.
Her reaction after taking the first spoonful is GENIUS.
11.29.2007
11.24.2007
Process vs. Product
I had a revelation late last night that I'd like to store here.
Process vs. Product.
I'm obsessed with process. I've carried Writing Down the Bones with me for almost ten years. Discovered Art & Fear last year and find a different truth every time I pick it up. Interviews, essays, blogs, videos about process are juicy treats. Coolhunting.com always posts great short videos (check out Tom Gallant). Coudal.com's Western State series is cool. It's how I found out about my latest crush Geoff McFetridge. In short, me like wrestling with process.
I don't think product and process are mutually exclusive. I can see each of my projects as individual statements; yet I consider each project a part of a larger puzzle. For instance, right now I'm wrestling with a particular set of questions and themes that will most likely live in several projects; but I'm quietly devoted to honing my chops for each piece. With each play I want to get better at telling stories. (I'm still figuring out what I mean by "better"). Product & process are sisters--parts of a whole.
The sticky part is the public isn't really interested in process unless you're Edward Albee or Adrienne Kennedy. The audience only responds to the matter at hand: a single play, short story, drawing. My latest quest is deciding how an audience participates in the growth of a product.
It's something I have to consider because the American theater, for several reasons, has embraced the workshop concept. It's a practice that varies from place to place, but essentially it ain't a production. The writer is expected to work on the play while doing table work with actors and a director. More likely than not these workshops end with a public presentation and a talk back with the audience. I've heard talk back horror stories, but I've also heard encouraging ones. Audience feedback is inevitable in workshop land.
As a writer who likes talking about my process, I have to figure out how to have constructive conversations about my product. Especially in the early stages. I have to be honest about my particular needs, my interests, what kind of feedback I'm looking for, and what I need to work out my own. I think feedback can be super helpful. It's nice to have a fresh set of ears and eyes, but I also think I need time to build a relationship with the piece.
I'm a process whore. I read about it. I can talk about it. It's a fun thing for me. I can crack a walnut with my process muscle. Now, I have to start flexing the product-ceps.
As in biceps.
That was a joke.
Process vs. Product.
I'm obsessed with process. I've carried Writing Down the Bones with me for almost ten years. Discovered Art & Fear last year and find a different truth every time I pick it up. Interviews, essays, blogs, videos about process are juicy treats. Coolhunting.com always posts great short videos (check out Tom Gallant). Coudal.com's Western State series is cool. It's how I found out about my latest crush Geoff McFetridge. In short, me like wrestling with process.
I don't think product and process are mutually exclusive. I can see each of my projects as individual statements; yet I consider each project a part of a larger puzzle. For instance, right now I'm wrestling with a particular set of questions and themes that will most likely live in several projects; but I'm quietly devoted to honing my chops for each piece. With each play I want to get better at telling stories. (I'm still figuring out what I mean by "better"). Product & process are sisters--parts of a whole.
The sticky part is the public isn't really interested in process unless you're Edward Albee or Adrienne Kennedy. The audience only responds to the matter at hand: a single play, short story, drawing. My latest quest is deciding how an audience participates in the growth of a product.
It's something I have to consider because the American theater, for several reasons, has embraced the workshop concept. It's a practice that varies from place to place, but essentially it ain't a production. The writer is expected to work on the play while doing table work with actors and a director. More likely than not these workshops end with a public presentation and a talk back with the audience. I've heard talk back horror stories, but I've also heard encouraging ones. Audience feedback is inevitable in workshop land.
As a writer who likes talking about my process, I have to figure out how to have constructive conversations about my product. Especially in the early stages. I have to be honest about my particular needs, my interests, what kind of feedback I'm looking for, and what I need to work out my own. I think feedback can be super helpful. It's nice to have a fresh set of ears and eyes, but I also think I need time to build a relationship with the piece.
I'm a process whore. I read about it. I can talk about it. It's a fun thing for me. I can crack a walnut with my process muscle. Now, I have to start flexing the product-ceps.
As in biceps.
That was a joke.
11.21.2007
Caravaggio
Out to dinner last night with a few friends, talked about making art. Caravaggio's name came up. He was a bad boy painter who died all mysterious like in 1610. I like his stuff a lot:
Supper at Emmaus, 1606, Oil on canvas.
St. Jerome, 1605, oil on canvas
David with the Head of Goliath, 1610, oil on canvas
Supper at Emmaus, 1606, Oil on canvas.
St. Jerome, 1605, oil on canvas
David with the Head of Goliath, 1610, oil on canvas
11.20.2007
Turkey-lurkey
Hey peeps,
Happy Turkey Week!
Just renewed my site/domain. Headquarters will be up and running for another year.
As for the design, I plan to sketch out a new set-up this week. The site will continue to have a simple and clean look. Possible themes:
-DO BIG THINGS
-practice makes perfect...or better
-growth
Still pondering colors, shapes, images, etc.
Happy Turkey Week!
Just renewed my site/domain. Headquarters will be up and running for another year.
As for the design, I plan to sketch out a new set-up this week. The site will continue to have a simple and clean look. Possible themes:
-DO BIG THINGS
-practice makes perfect...or better
-growth
Still pondering colors, shapes, images, etc.
11.15.2007
Speaking of sketching...
coudal.com posted a link to Elizabeth Perry's Museum Drawing Project. From Oct '06 to June '07 Perry went to the Carnegie Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Natural History everyday the museums were open. She drew a response for each visit. The sketches are pretty good, but after watching a video about Perry's other projects I was SHOCKED to find out she's only been drawing for a year and a half. Crazy. Stuff.
So, as you can imagine, I was inspired after expressing my own desire to start sketching. Perry sketches something everyday. I checked out some of her early pieces, and I can really see the progress. It's exciting to see the "practice makes perfect" play out.
I was doubly inspired (yes, there is such a thing) to discover that she's older. It's nice to know that she continues to push, create, stretch and grow in all sorts of mediums.
I don't think I can sketch everyday, considering the workload I'm carrying now, but I want to go to the pen and paper as much as possible. Discipline, eh?
Checking out Perry's work, and also Tom Judd's Everyday project, makes me consider activities that I do everyday. Then I think, it'd be great to transfer the "umph" that drives those everyday activities and transfer it into sketching everyday, writing everyday.
Something to think about, indeed.
UPDATE: Okay, so the video is a lil' old. Perry's been sketching since 2004, which means the video was posted in '05/'06. Ha! Well, she's still tops in my book.
So, as you can imagine, I was inspired after expressing my own desire to start sketching. Perry sketches something everyday. I checked out some of her early pieces, and I can really see the progress. It's exciting to see the "practice makes perfect" play out.
I was doubly inspired (yes, there is such a thing) to discover that she's older. It's nice to know that she continues to push, create, stretch and grow in all sorts of mediums.
I don't think I can sketch everyday, considering the workload I'm carrying now, but I want to go to the pen and paper as much as possible. Discipline, eh?
Checking out Perry's work, and also Tom Judd's Everyday project, makes me consider activities that I do everyday. Then I think, it'd be great to transfer the "umph" that drives those everyday activities and transfer it into sketching everyday, writing everyday.
Something to think about, indeed.
UPDATE: Okay, so the video is a lil' old. Perry's been sketching since 2004, which means the video was posted in '05/'06. Ha! Well, she's still tops in my book.
Hands
It's raining where I am. Very dark. Heavy down pour. Windy.
I wanted to go to the art store and buy pencils, a sketchbook.
But that ain't happening. Not in this weather.
I'm on the hunt for other means of expression.
Balance my bouts with words.
Explore images, designs, drawings.
Something visual.
So.
I'll buy a few pencils and a sketchpad when it's not raining.
On a dry day.
I wanted to go to the art store and buy pencils, a sketchbook.
But that ain't happening. Not in this weather.
I'm on the hunt for other means of expression.
Balance my bouts with words.
Explore images, designs, drawings.
Something visual.
So.
I'll buy a few pencils and a sketchpad when it's not raining.
On a dry day.
11.14.2007
Da 1st draft
The new play is officially out in the world. Well, the first draft at least.
I typed "end of play" last week, and it felt damn good for about 20 minutes, then I started working on other assignments/projects. I'm trying to train myself to be a cyclical writer, meaning always having something in the oven, on the finishing table, and out in the world. Maintain several projects at different stages. Sounds batty. A lil' crazy. I mean, I do want to sleep, have friends and family, but I also want to keep the work pumping.
I'm not sure if I'm the kind of writer who works like that, but I figure I should at least try. I guess the root of it deals with not resting on my laurels. Maintain a push towards creativity and exploring. Fun. Fun.
The new play is called:
I typed "end of play" last week, and it felt damn good for about 20 minutes, then I started working on other assignments/projects. I'm trying to train myself to be a cyclical writer, meaning always having something in the oven, on the finishing table, and out in the world. Maintain several projects at different stages. Sounds batty. A lil' crazy. I mean, I do want to sleep, have friends and family, but I also want to keep the work pumping.
I'm not sure if I'm the kind of writer who works like that, but I figure I should at least try. I guess the root of it deals with not resting on my laurels. Maintain a push towards creativity and exploring. Fun. Fun.
The new play is called:
Inked Baby
It's about Black folks, pollution, reproduction, and soil. That's all I can offer now.
I like the play, and I like the people in it. So....there you go.
Over Thanksgiving I plan to eat some turkey and plow through the first draft of my first screenplay. It's an action movie with a heart. No. Really. The project is still very new so I won't go into details. Just know lots of work is going into figuring this thing out. I'm really interested in screenplays, because it's SO formulaic. Certain things have to fit just so, in order to play around / experiment with other things. I like the challenge of wrestling with plot in a visual way. And I'm super curious to see how I can apply my voice, my style to film. It's frustrating but fun.
Also,
I'd like to research for the next play I wanna write.
And,
I was thinking about redesigning the site for 2008 (frickin' crazy!).
Oh boy.
I like the play, and I like the people in it. So....there you go.
Over Thanksgiving I plan to eat some turkey and plow through the first draft of my first screenplay. It's an action movie with a heart. No. Really. The project is still very new so I won't go into details. Just know lots of work is going into figuring this thing out. I'm really interested in screenplays, because it's SO formulaic. Certain things have to fit just so, in order to play around / experiment with other things. I like the challenge of wrestling with plot in a visual way. And I'm super curious to see how I can apply my voice, my style to film. It's frustrating but fun.
Also,
I'd like to research for the next play I wanna write.
And,
I was thinking about redesigning the site for 2008 (frickin' crazy!).
Oh boy.
11.12.2007
11.08.2007
11.07.2007
Family Guy
The only thing I like about Family Guy is the musical numbers. I get giddy when they reference MGM musicals from back in the day. As you can imagine, I was excited when the nytimes wrote a feature about Walter Murphy and Ron Jones who compose said songs.
Funny stuff.
Funny stuff.
11.06.2007
Interview with BOOGIE
I came across BOOGIE's photography book It's All Good a few months ago, and talked about it here. The photos sit with me to this day, and I'm quietly finding inspiration for my writing in his images.
A half-hearted Google search at the time wrought no pictures of the photographer or even an interview.
Until Now.
Boogie talks with Dante Ross about how he ended up taking pictures of drug addicts and gang bangers in Bushwick.
A half-hearted Google search at the time wrought no pictures of the photographer or even an interview.
Until Now.
Boogie talks with Dante Ross about how he ended up taking pictures of drug addicts and gang bangers in Bushwick.
11.03.2007
Nash - Training Day; Sufjan - BQE
A new Nike commercial featuring Steve Nash. Isn't that the soccer field by Grand Street in Chinatown?
And completely forgot Sufjan Stevens is playing at BAM tonight. Well...it's sold out any way.
And completely forgot Sufjan Stevens is playing at BAM tonight. Well...it's sold out any way.
11.02.2007
splitting musical hairs via Imeem
Oh
and
by
the
way...
If you haven't noticed, there's a new category along the left column unofficially titled: Songs I Hum While I Walk. I'll announce any and all additions and rotations.
Thanks imeem.
and
by
the
way...
If you haven't noticed, there's a new category along the left column unofficially titled: Songs I Hum While I Walk. I'll announce any and all additions and rotations.
Thanks imeem.
Carl Carlton
I had a dream last week that I was belting Carl Carlton's version of Everlasting Love song while riding on a trolley.
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