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by Wendell Berry

The young woodland remembers
the old a dreamer, a dreamer dreaming

of an old holy book,
an old set of instructions,

and the soil under the grass 
is dreaming of a young forest,

and under the pavement of the soil
is dreaming of grass.

International Women’s Day: Herstory-Ourstory

My undergrad degree was in American Women’s History. In 1978, I was laughed at by my theatre history professor after I asked him if he would work with me on my senior thesis. My thesis addressed the subject of American 19^th century theatre history and how actress/managers had an impact on the development of theatre in the US. A formative memory, that moment of shaming by a white male academic. So, today I begin to honor the voices and stories of other women and some of mine too. To recognize women who write, sing, practice yoga, and lead. I begin with honoring my friend, Joanna Cazden. Joanna is a singer, voice teacher, speech-language pathologist, and writer. Her book, “Everyday Voice Care: The Lifestyle Guide for Singers and Talkers”, is one I have used in my classrooms and my life. Thank you, Joanna for honoring all rebel women, women’s stories, and our voices. Always, in friendship. 

Everybody Loves Ray Charles — (Travalanche)

I neither know nor care what polls or charts say, I know through a combination of instinct and experience that the musical performer with the most universal appeal of the late 20th century is Ray Charles (Ray Charles Robinson, 1930-2004). I know some people who don’t like Elvis or the Beatles or Sinatra. I don’t […]

Everybody Loves Ray Charles — (Travalanche)

Heliocentric Vs. Geocentric

via Heliocentric Vs. Geocentric

Love Stan Carey’s blog on words.

A selection of items and bite ’ems of linguistic interest found around the internet in recent weeks. Some are short, some long; all are good, or at any rate interesting. Three are from The Toast, because it’s toast . Nifty is a nifty word. The birth of a book cover. The linguistics of Black Lives […]

via Link love: language (67) — Sentence first

Endangered languages, i.e. music nearly lost

You’ve probably heard of the plight of the orang-utans and cries to “save the whales” but have you heard of Ixcatec or Tharkarri? They’re not cute and cuddly animals you can touch, but they’re still capable of living. They’re the vanishing mind-music of people: critically endangered languages. Ixcatec and Tharkarri are just two of the 2,465 languages […]

via Endangered tongues — Mother Tongues

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.

ART WITH A HEALING INTENTION

Art that heals being seen in places that too often forget that life is richest when science and art meet in service. Thank you, Pamela T.

art that supports the healing process

A colorful mosaic at St.Joseph Mercy Oakland by Jacqui Ridley and Morrine Maltzman.

“Original art done with a healing intention is transformative. It can shape shift the hospital environment; it changes the energy.” ~Annette Ridenour

Annette Ridenour is the president of Aesthetics Inc., an art consultancy firm specializing in the creation of art programs for hospitals. Her bio from the Aesthetics website describes her as “a pioneer in applying the arts to improve health and healthcare. She served as one of the original board members of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare, and she co-founded the Blair L. Sadler International Healing Arts Competition, which recognized exemplary arts projects that have measurably improved the quality of healthcare. Numerous articles by her, about her, and about Aesthetics have appeared in publications that include Healthcare Design, Health Facilities Management, Healthcare Building Ideas, and Spirituality & Health.

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Weekend miscellany

Someone texturized the ceiling of my bedroom with plaster.

Which color of ink would I use if I wrote this sentence by hand?

I read about healing and chakras today after a friend wrote me a note asking about chakras.

I intoned the vowel sounds, a, e, i, o, u….this is not IPA.

i did two loads of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, filled the dishwasher, scrubbed down the kitchen counters, listened to the birds and crickets, went out on the deck and admired the white wisp of clouds stretched out against blue azure, caught up on the weeks tv season premieres, and looked for books that I missed.

I thought about my health as I recovered from exercises for my underutilized legs and grieved for the ease of neck movement now of days nearly forgotten. My right shoulder decides to remind me that it still exists.

I listened to the CD my sister so thoughtfully sent to me for my bday.

i tried to listen to the news and then asked, why?

I read poems written by a friend of a friend and decided to make this list.

Goodnight, sweet William, wherever you are.

“Someone complimented me on my English last summer. This was my response.”

Always thinking about voice and identity… take a watch/listen of Amy Ginther performing in Central School of Speech and Drama in London at the Voice and Speech Trainer’s Association annual conference this past summer.

Vocal Context

This is a new performance piece I wrote for the VASTA Cabaret in London this summer at my alma mater, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. I workshopped it at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp, which I am quite proud to say that I am now summer faculty there, teaching Voice and Speech.

This piece has lived in me for over a year now, as the actual incident that opens the performance happened during the summer of 2013 in Brooklyn. I felt like it was important to highlight the idea that oppression does not come in only explicit, hateful forms but from the educated and millennial peers that I hang out and work with in my progressive circles.

When microaggressions happen, I don’t always want to confront the person and give them some diatribe about social justice; sometimes, I just want to drink my fucking cocktail…

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