Posted: Oct 08, 2005 7:23:18 pm    

The new blog still has to be accessed through the home page... we are working on a link through this part of the site... I have posted a thought provoking article on Pat Tillman... you can access it through the home page table of contents under BLOG... Ellis

PotatoPicker

Posts: 26
Registered:
  2004-10-27


Posted: Oct 08, 2005 8:32:03 pm    

Great article Ellis. I admire your ability to balance the honoring of Pat Tillman's sacrifice (and that of countless less familiar names of our sons and daughters) with the ability to stay questioning about why we are there.

This past summer I was fortunate enough to visit Arlington National Cemetery. At the Memorial to Woemn in the Armed Services which is near the man ientrance gate, I stumbled across a fascinating exhibit called "Faces of the Fallen". I would highly recommend a visit to the exhibit for those in the area, or to their web site, www.facesofthefallen.org/ for those who are not. Regardless of where you stand on the war, I think we need to understand the price we are paying. Freedom is not free, and many fine men and women are daily paying our part. God bless them.


Jeff
ellispaul

Posts: 38
Registered:
  2003-11-10


Posted: Oct 08, 2005 9:44:37 pm    

Jeff--
I was picking up a fax one day at a flowershop near Quantico Miltary Base in Triangle, VA. A woman came in who was in charge of funeral services for the cemetary there, which is part of Arlington National Cemetary.

She said that the suicide rate among the soldiers was very high, and she was seeing these boys sent home among the fighting victims in high porportions. Many of the soldiers in Iraq are very young, and are facing incredible stresses there. Many of the soldiers are also losing their home lives to divorce because of the long stays. Many have also lost their jobs in the states because of the long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Family pressures, money pressures,pressure of an invisible enemy.

They sacrifice more than bodily harm by being there. God bless 'em... I hope there is a way for them to come home soon, that is somehow good for the Iraqi people too.
•-Ellis

SLAB

Posts: 3
Registered:
  2004-10-05


Posted: Oct 13, 2005 11:20:10 am    

Hey Yall,

Trying to make this discussion board do something it's maybe not designed to do. We are trying to move this discussion back to the main site. Things may look strange for a while while we are at it.

• Jim (SLAB)

•-----------------

"When I say SLAB what I mean is THAT HE SHOULD HAND ME A SLAB!" - Wittgenstein

Ellis Paul Web Site (not this bboard) powered by SLAB500 - custom designed, owner modifiable, modular dynamic web systems

http://slab500.com

Posted: Jul 18, 2004 9:27:33 pm      

Hey y'all,

I was sitting before a crowd of three hundred at a workshop in the New Bedford Folk Festival, it was July fourth and my yet-to-be-born daughter was five days past her due time. My thoughts were drifting from the Karen Savoca song being sung... My daughter's missed her first curfew... can I ground her for this? Many a missed curfews will follow, no doubt, if she has any of my dna...

Sharon had had ghost contractions late into the evening the night before, so I knew today could possible be the day, but here I was 300 miles from home, singing songs to pay for the hospital birthday costs... Poppa's gotta make the bread, and I couldn't cancel.... I asked Sharon to call only if she was slipping into labor, because the day before at the festival every time the phone rang I was stricken with panic. We agreed that I would leave my phone on, she wouldn't call unless it was clearly popping time, and I would check in every hour between performances.

When the phone beeped I was in the middle of a show with four other performers... The show stopped (everyone was told before hand that I might be called out)... Sharon wasn't calling.. she was instant messaging, The crowd laughed when I explained that she had found a loop hole in our arrangement to keep me calm today... The text message read; "no emergency, just call me...". Of course I was hyperventilating in mid panic attacking anyway and Scott Alarik and the other performers told me to go check in with her... I left the stage for the lobby of the Whaling Museum... Sharon was on a beach a half hour from our home in Maine... She said,- "I talked to the mid-wife and she told me crxcxaaaarcrxcrxcaaaarcxkxkxkxkkxx"

It was static... Maine cell phone coverage is like water in a desert. I have every reception oasis on I-95 memorized from here to Boston. She was in the crackle zone. After the show I called her again and she let me know the contractions were steady now and ten minutes apart. She said the mid-wife said it would probably happen late that night or the following day, so I should stay and finish my last set. She was just going to check into our hospital which was close to the beach, just for a brief observation.

Contractions don't get you worried until they get under the six minute mark, then you start packing the car for the hospital, or calling taxis or ambulances. So feeling somewhat safe, I went to my main stage show and started warming up for the performance. There would be about thousand people there. My phone rang back stage. It was another instant message.

"7 minutes apart..."

Five minutes before I was supposed to go, I got another..

"6 minutes apart..."

I was in the middle of a crisis... a midwife crisis... I had heard about these somewhere...

Fortunately, Helene who runs the festival, with her husband Al, has had plenty of experience with this kind of thing... she was a maternity nurse. "It will happen tomorrow," she said.

I played completely out of my head and my fifty minute set was trimmed to 30-- by seven-thirty I was packing up, by 7:45 I was easing the accelerator up to eighty for the ride to Brunswick, Maine. I suddenly realized I had to get to through Boston before the 500,000 people watching the fireworks on the esplanade would be inching their way onto the highway. I eased the pedal up to ninety.

I know there are no land speed records between New Bedford and Boston. There shouldn't be. They should be illegal. It's dangerous to have records out there dangling before the competitive souls looking for a rush of adrenaline, the spark of danger, the race of a heart beat.

By 8:15 I had Boston's skyline in my view with the Blimps and copters flying above the crowd. Traffic was open and I flew through the Big Dig like it was worm hole in the sky. It spit me out across the bridge and I was sailing up to Maine. By the time I arrived in New Hampshire fireworks were popping on either side of the car. By Portland, Maine, huge displays of bright colors were exploding on both sides of the highway. It was as if they knew I was coming. I was hoping that I was going to be on time. Sharon was unable to get on the cell, so I was being informed of the progress through my sister--

"The contractions are three minutes apart... "

I was an hour away...

By the time I ran through the emergency doors, it was ten thirty. Fortunately Sharon had been given a little pain killer that slowed the process down enough for me to catch the last five hours of the labor.

Sharon was glad to see me. I was glad to see me. The thought of being reminded for the rest of my life that I missed the birth of my daughter's birth would have killed me... fortunately the worry worked it's way out through my gas pedal and there I was.

How can I help?

There is nothing more useless than a father in a birthing room. HEeeee-Hoooooo, Heeeee-HOOOO, Heeeeeee-HOooooo (that was my part, hers was blinding pain, mind numbing frustration, and agony). I played my role of cheerleader daddy with fierce courage and determination.

I'm glad I went to all those pre-natal classes, because I'm sure I would have fainted if I didn't know what was coming. Sharon couldn't have an epideral so she was going full out natural, except for a little pain killer to ease her along.

It wasn't working. She would sway against a giant birthing ball, gritting her teeth-- She got sick and lost everything inside her.

July fourth slipped away. There was relief that Ella would not have to share her birthday with cookouts, hotdogs, and drunk men lighting explosives.

By 2am Sharon was desperately in pain. She was literally begging for a c-section, and I was tempted to cave in, but she was remarkable and the three women- two nurses and a mid wife danced and swayed all around her contractions massaging and urging softly like a coven of gentle witches at a spa for pregnantly inclined. Sharon was so exhausted she slipped into sleep between the contractions.

At 3:05 the midwife check her dialation.

10cm.

Suddenly, the mood changed. The coven of witches were more like the marines on D-Day, storming into Normandy. Sharon turned into a Russian olympian about to lift 3,000 pounds, focusing and pushing with great vim and vigor with each contraction. I have no idea where she found the heart or energy for it.

The head was right there just under the surface.. It looked like an alien raisin. Within 45 minutes she had the head out, and the mid wife looked over at me--

"Would you like to pull the baby out?"

I hadn't really considered that before. But there I was pulling on my child, pulling her out cleaning her up with the nurses and placing it on Sharon's chest...

Sharon said a few "Oh my God, Oh my Gods" and our beautiful little one was introduced to the planet.

Some of you know I wrote "I've got Nine Months to Fix the World" as a song for Ella, and that the world is still about the same place as it was nine months ago. But someone came up to me today and said, You did your job-- the world is always short on good people who make a difference, and you just upped the count by one."

I hope you meet my little good'un. She'll be traveling with me whenever she can. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers, and I will see you soon out on the road...
Ellis

marty

Posts: 13
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Jul 18, 2004 11:28:36 pm    

Thank you for sharing Ellis!

We wish you, Sharon, & Ella the best!!

Take care,
Marty, Dianne, Alex & Leighann

wendy

Posts: 94
Registered:
  2003-10-21


Posted: Jul 19, 2004 11:14:31 am    

Amen.


•wendy
Jen

Posts: 23
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Jul 19, 2004 2:24:10 pm    

Well done, Ellis--made me cry at work. Will have to blame red eyes on luckily ever-present Houston allergies.

What a wonderful story, though, and congratulations again.

Jen


There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can't do better. --John Kerry
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Jul 24, 2004 10:07:58 am    

What a beautiful story, fireworks and all....no doubt there will be many more beautiful moments for you and your family....Hmmm...I have to wonder if Sharon and Ella are going to think being compared to a Russian Olympian and alien raisin were the most beautiful metaphors you could have used!! Congratulations and best wishes for a healthy happy life to you all.


Patti
JohnAndMimi

Posts: 1
Registered:
  2004-07-28


Posted: Jul 28, 2004 12:43:36 pm    

Welcome to the world Ella.

Let the Games begin!!!!


John, Mimi, Ben, Leah and Thomas
alittleditty1

Posts: 2
Registered:
  2004-08-05


Posted: Aug 05, 2004 7:47:21 pm    

The first steps a baby makes, are into your heart! Good job.
Now you might soon need a binky guitar.


Hey,don't worry... it's not a total wash out. It can always be used as a worst example! :)
TakeItEasyTim

Posts: 24
Registered:
  2003-10-21


Posted: Aug 15, 2004 1:05:16 pm    

Ellis,

Thanks for sharing! It brings back the memory of when I first saw my son. I remember this feeling that came over me, I had never been with someone that needed me so much. How unselfish I would have to be and that this beautiful child had now become my #1 priority. I eventually made up a song that I would sing to him at night. I don't remember all of the words (I hear there better written down) but the idea was that I had thought I knew what love was, but I never really knew love until I saw you (my son).

As a freshman in college I had to do a value speech, after a while I decided to do it on love. The love of a lover, family, friends, pets etc. I did a lot of research but in the end it was really easy to write because it just flowed from the heart. It was an amazing experience, I ended getting a standing ovation from the class. So in the song when I said I thought I knew what love was I really did. I have been fortunate to be blessed with a great family, good friends and a wonderful wife but when I saw my son a whole new type of emotion swept over me.

Anyways, I am looking forward to hearing more songs about your experience as a parent. CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of Ella, your in for a wonderful ride.



Take It Easy
Tim
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
  2003-10-13


Posted: Aug 19, 2004 10:07:30 am    

What a story...

Karen


"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Admin

Posts: 114
Registered:
 


Posted: Nov 02, 2004 11:13:16 am    

test


"Never trust a prophet in a party dress" -- Ellis Paul
LuanneMaguire

Posts: 1
Registered:
  2004-11-08


Posted: Nov 08, 2004 6:59:20 pm    

It is nice to know the end of the story that you began last night. Ella is a beautiful name and there is nothing like being a parent. Good Luck Luanne PS Dont forget to check out those "Paul" relatives in Louisville


Luanne (not the first)
Jupiter

Posts: 1
Registered:
  2004-12-08


Posted: Dec 08, 2004 2:12:43 am    

I don't think you will read this, but when I finished reading the story of Ella's arrival I realized she had missed the 4th and was born on the 5th of July. That was my father's birthday. He passed a few years back, but if she becomes half the individual my father was, you and Ella's mom can rest assured she is blessed with a kindness, and gentleness of spirit that few people possess. (Also a pretty good sense of humor from the sounds of it.)
Best to all of you. Maine is a great state to raise a family. I know, I'm raising mine here too.

bkh3296

Posts: 1
Registered:
  2005-03-07


Posted: Mar 07, 2005 4:38:05 pm    

A belated though heartfelt congratulations on the arrival of Ella!! What a grand and auspicious entrance! Thanks for sharing her story. Our son, Phineas, was born 8 days after Ella and we hope he will get to hear you in person soon!!

Yours,

Brian


Sophia, Thaddeus, Phineas, Melissa, & Brian

Posted: Nov 13, 2003 10:01:38 pm      



11-13-03
Edgecomb, Maine

Sometimes when I am stuck for something to write about, I will start doing this deconstruction on people I'd like to use in songs, or sometimes they are fictional, or famous people I don't know. I let my imagination fill in the details...

It is a way to see someone under a microscope and helps pull details out of their lives to use in songs, or stories... It is like background research on a character... and it shows your audience who they are thru details rather then just telling them directly...

instead of saying someone "is depressed", you show them thru details... the shades are pulled, they are wearing dark clothing, etc... but because they details are specific, you create a sharp picture...

Details are important to driving character traits and plot points and this excercise helps pull them some of them out. If you have someone you would like to write about, try this one using them as the source. Hopefully some interesting things will emerge that you can use within the song or story...

The steps--

1) Name your character-- Do you use the real name, just their first name, or something suggestive that perhaps adds some
anonymity, or color to the story... Your choice, but be careful, you don't want someone to get mad at you...

Jimmy Aberdeen

is the character I will use to demonstrate how I do this... He is a character from the song "Eighteen" on the Speed of Trees. Though this is based roughly on events from my childhood, I used the name because it suggested James Dean-- a tragic figure and known risk taker. I wanted to connect that with the character in the song, and it provided anonymity to the real character.

2) Describe five items in the persons bedroom


1) empty beer can in the closet
2) graduation cap and gown thrown on the floor
3) blue spray paint cans
4) tv set in the corner with Beavus and Butthead tapes on top
5) dirty football uniform

what do these items tell you about the character?
How old is the character? what does he like to do? How does he live?


3) The Character looks into a mirror, what does he see? name five things...

a) Blood shot eyes
b) ruddy skin
c) a shit eating grin
d) beer belly, he's gently rubbin it...
e) bed head

what do these things shoe us about Jimmy? how does he take care of his appearance. Is he proud of himself? Shy? Disappointed? Where is his ego?

4) Assign the character two colors... colors literally paint a scene or a person... you might only use a color in passing, but it helps create mood and understanding.

a) bright blue
b) dark red

what do these suggest?



5) assign the character a non human twin... this creates a metaphor, for the person-- solid as an oak tree-- wise as an owl... that type of thing-- don't be afraid of feeling like you are reaching when writing this one down, you can disguise and smarten it up when you frame it in a sentence or song lyric... so it looks less like Disney when it's edited...

a) Jimmy Aberdean is... a thunder cloud

what does this say about the character?
Unpredictabe? Loud? powerful?

6) Give your character a voice-- what does he sound like-- what might he say?

"Will you please pick me up a six at the packie?"

what does this reveal about your character?

My Jimmy Aberdean only showed up in the second verse of "EIGHTEEN" but played a crucial role in the song...
only some of the excercise came into play, but I feel like I know him well enough to write about him now...

The voice of Jimmy Aberdean
still washes over me
he had a laugh
like a thunder cloud
He's holding blue spray paint
Jimmy was no saint
but he could always draw a crowd

That night
We climbed the watertower in Walker's field
That night
above the lights of town
our fates were sealed
That night
Jimmy fell down through the darkness
an ambulance brought silence to the scene
and carried off the life
and broken dreams
of Jimmy Aberdean

I hope you do this excercise-- it has been very fun at workshops to teach to other songwriters...

see you soon, y'all--
Ellis

• Edited by Admin on: Nov 15, 2003 9:02:28 am

KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
  2003-10-13


Posted: Nov 14, 2003 8:35:08 am    

Ellis,

Were you interested in having folks share their replies/results here?

Karen


"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
ellispaul

Posts: 38
Registered:
  2003-11-10


Posted: Nov 14, 2003 3:48:17 pm    

Yup Karen--
if you all want to try it, I would use someone famous, but don't tell us who it is, see if we can guess based on details, then let us know at the bottom...

Here's one...

5 things in the room...
1) A stack of white t-shirts
2) box of ammunition
3) empty box for a rifle
4) The biography of Karl Marx on his night stand
5) A copy of the Dallas Morning Star

5 things he sees in the mirror
1) a gunslinger
2) white t-shirt brown slacks
3) short hair, neatly combed to the side
4) a short man, pale complexion
5) stance is casual but defiant

Color
dark brown
red


Non human analogy

a vipor
hawk eyed

Something he might say....

"I am nothing but a Patsy..."


scroll down for answer...





I could have dated the Dallas Morning Star to November 1963
for an extra clue...






the answer is....



Lee Harvey Oswald...

thats it!
ellis

KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
  2003-10-13


Posted: Nov 14, 2003 5:30:42 pm    

Okey Dokey. I get it. :-) I'm gonna have to think about this....and right now I'm writing from the business center of the beautiful Doubletree Hotel in downtown Dayton, Ohio.....me and Smokey decided to do another quick road trip....heading up the street to hear Bill Deasy, my 2nd favorite singer-songwriter....this is Smokey's first live BD show and I don't know who's more excited....

Karen


"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Smokey

Posts: 24
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Nov 14, 2003 5:42:39 pm    

>this is Smokey's first live BD show and I don't know who's more excited....<

Ummmm....*I* know who's more excited. ;-) Now if I could just drag Karen away from this damned hotel computer!! :-)



SMOKEY
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
  2003-10-13


Posted: Nov 15, 2003 9:28:04 am    

Where is everybody? [Smokey's still sleepeing so I have to do *something* to amuse myself!] I guess I gotta be the guinea pig and go first.....c'mon folks!

Here goes:

Five things in the room:

1. porcelain wash basin
2. bottle of Irish whiskey
3. copy fo the Atlanta Southern Confederacy dated Feb.1865
4. closet full of ball gowns
5. lace-up corset lying on the bed

Five things he/she sees in the mirror:

1. defiant green eyes
2. long thick red hair
3. green velvet dress
4. black bow in her hair
5. smooth white complexion

Two colors:

1. green
2. black

Non human twin:
a whirlwind

A voice:

"I'll think about that tomorrow..."

OK...that's it. Scroll down to see who she is....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Scarlett O'Hara


"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Danna

Posts: 14
Registered:
  2003-11-10


Posted: Nov 16, 2003 7:27:18 pm    

Oh fiddle dee dee, Karen and Ellis, I didn't have to scroll down to know either of those!! Great exercise. I'm gonna have to think about this one for awhile. Plus I've got other homework (job related) I need to do right now. Thinking in Norman....


:D
Becky

Posts: 67
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Nov 16, 2003 8:31:20 pm    

Okay, Danna....see if you can get this one. (oh, you probably will!)

5 things in the room...

1. car keys
2. closet of 3/4 length sleeve tailored dresses
3. membership card to country club
4. plane tickets, rail tickets, circus tickets
5. strapped stilleto heels

5 things seen in the mirror....

1. rosy cheeks blushing from praise received from her accomplishments.
2. beret on her wavy shoulder length blonde hair
3. blue determined eyes
4. blue frock suitable for afternoon tea
5. young rich girl

colors;
blue
yellow

Non-human analogy
tiger

what she would say:
If I don't panic, I know I'll get out of this alive....


Answer:
Nancy Drew



"Life is always and never the same." Ellis Paul
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
  2003-10-13


Posted: Nov 16, 2003 9:56:29 pm    

Becky,

Damn, you're good!

Karen

   quote:
   Answer:
   Nancy Drew




"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Danna

Posts: 14
Registered:
  2003-11-10


Posted: Nov 17, 2003 5:13:33 pm    

Becky, You are good. I didn't have a clue. I didn't really read Nancy Drew?? Isn't that awful? It's either work on this writing assignment or one for school. Oh well, still thinking. OK, say we get a really good lyric, where and how does the musical inspiration come in?


:D
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Nov 18, 2003 11:39:28 pm    

Great job on the writing assignments, I still have to gather a little more info for my character.
Scarlett Ohara and Nancy Drew , two of my favorite characters... I have two daughters and they both know Nancy Drew quite well. She is still popular today, via computer games, updated story lines and paperback books. I think she is still a good influence. And come to think of it I think it is about time for me to watch Gone With the Wind with my 12 year old. I was probably about that age when I saw it for the first time. I remember being so disappointed when I found out Clark Cable had died YEARS before I even saw the movie!!!


Patti
wendy

Posts: 94
Registered:
  2003-10-21


Posted: Nov 19, 2003 7:38:23 am    

Maybe even before the movie, I suggest you have her read Gone with the Wind, followed by Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Jubilee. Those different views are a grand exposure to the various politics and thinking of the Civil War era.

As a teenager, I remember being very much impressed by the different takes on that time (e.g. the "Truth" was not necessarily as easy as what you read in your history books!).


•wendy
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Nov 19, 2003 11:54:05 am    



Okay here it goes, maybe I should have chosen a more sinister character!!


5 things in the bedroom....

A book of Who's Who in America' Symphony Orchestras

A collection of Hoagy Carmichael 78's

An article in Parents magazine opened to "Raising Young Children in the new century"

A ferry schedule

Scattered sheet music and musical instruments


5 things in the mirror...

A "very" receding hair line

Deep set blue eyes

A smiling face

Mock turtle necks and blazers where there
used to be t-shirts and baggy pants.


2 Colors

Deep greens

Blue

Metaphor

Built like a "string bean"

Phrase

"Don't worry the new ones are the just like the old "


James Taylor


Patti
Smokey

Posts: 24
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Nov 21, 2003 8:48:48 am    

Patti, good job! I have to admit that absolutely nothing in the bedroom said "James Taylor" to me, but the mirror just shouted it. :-) And then the "deep greens" and "blues" clinched it. Good job!

And I think he looks great with or without hair. ;-)



SMOKEY
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Nov 22, 2003 12:15:24 pm    

Yeah, After I posted that I thought is it suppose to be a real person or a fictional character... Since JT "used" to be my favorite singer I guess I know a few not so common things about him.. Such as.. His wife has something to do with the Boston Symphany Orchrestra, I think in administration, but I assume she probably has musical ability so the scattered music and instruments...About a year or two ago they had twin boys...Harry and Logan, hence the Parent magazine..I happen to know he likes Hoagy Carmichael as a singer... He has a home on Marthas Vineyard so he needs the ferry schedule!! I have alot of old articles about him and in one of them he refers to himself as a string bean.
And you're right he does look good with or with out hair!!!

Hey did I ever mention, (probably a few times.. lol) I met him at LIVESTOCK the reunion concert with him and Carly... Next to anything I've done with my family that had to be the best night of my life

• Edited by Patti on: Nov 22, 2003 12:17:51 pm

Patti
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
  2003-10-13


Posted: Nov 22, 2003 1:01:53 pm    

Patti,

You met JT????!!! Holy moly!!

Karen

   quote: Hey did I ever mention, (probably a few times.. lol) I met him at LIVESTOCK the reunion concert with him and Carly... Next to anything I've done with my family that had to be the best night of my life

• Edited by KarenZ on: Nov 22, 2003 1:05:44 pm

"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Dec 01, 2003 9:44:57 pm    

Hey Karen yes I did met him and it really was a great special moment. The whole nite was incredible.. I'll share the details with you some time!!

UNTIL then I was thinking about the writing exercise that Ellis mentioned. How he came up with the name Jimmy Aberdeen to envoke a feeling of James Dean...Well I have been listening to my Translucent Soul Cd alot again and think the same thing in the song Did I Ever Know You, when he says "I lost you outside on Montague Street"... Like in Romeo   Juliet. I've always thought that's what he meant, but really "never" thought about it!! Isn't he just so clever!!!


Patti
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
  2003-10-13


Posted: Dec 04, 2003 8:10:37 am    

Patti,

I never thought of the Romeo and Juliet connection! Interesting! I have to think about this....

Karen


"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
TallManinOregon

Posts: 16
Registered:
  2003-11-22


Posted: Dec 04, 2003 1:52:48 pm    

5 things in the room...

1. Lava lamp
2. Bookshelf overflowing
3. Pictures adorn the wall of worldly escapades
4. Thunder machine
5. blotter paper

5 things seen in the mirror....

1. a devious grin
2. a large man with a gleam in his eyes
3. face paint
4. A Red white and blue top hat
5. white hair

Colors
Day-glo swirls

Non-human analogy
Cuckoo

What he would say:
You can't really be strong until you see a funny side to things

Ken Kesey


TMiO
http://www.writeherenow.com
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Dec 04, 2003 7:32:24 pm    

Hi TMIO

Great descriptions, but I have no idea who Ken Kesey is??!!

Well the Dynamic Duo is coming your way, how many shows are you going to make it to on the west coast?? When is baby TMIO due??


Patti
Smokey

Posts: 24
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Dec 05, 2003 8:57:49 am    

Tall Man....I thought it was Charles Manson! :-)



SMOKEY
TallManinOregon

Posts: 16
Registered:
  2003-11-22


Posted: Dec 07, 2003 1:57:29 am    

Smokey... I am sure Ken's spirit is laughing right there with us on that one!

Patti... ummm, errr...

Can someone else help me out here! I have no idea where to begin... okay here's an idea, but if you don't know ANY of the back story this may not be helpful... but read on...
www.writeherenow.com/WHN_otherwriting_too.htm

... as for the Wonder Twins west coast appearances, I will only be doing the one show in Eugene, but I have ensouoraged friends all up and down the I-5 corridor to check it out! A Tall Man's gotta do his part...

Mama is into the 33rd week, so the babe could really come any old day s/he decides to! I will be sure to keep you all posted!

• Edited by TallManinOregon on: Dec 07, 2003 2:00:28 am

TMiO
http://www.writeherenow.com
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
  2003-10-13


Posted: Dec 07, 2003 9:56:56 am    

TallMan,

Isn't Ken Kesey the guy who wrote 'one flew over the cuckoo's nest"?

karen


"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Danna

Posts: 14
Registered:
  2003-11-10


Posted: Dec 07, 2003 5:27:38 pm    

Yes, Karen. A great writer and major 60's acid head.


:D
Patti

Posts: 124
Registered:
  2003-10-20


Posted: Dec 07, 2003 9:10:52 pm    

Well I tried to get to the link, but the "graphic something or other" wouldn't download. I did see his poster on the site, I like the quote with it about mystery..
You know I just could never get into OFOTCN... there is just something about Jack N. that I don't care for.

Hmm.. 33 weeks... will seem like an eternity!! Oh and I swear by this..the baby will recognize the music you are playing before it was born, after it was born.. I remember listening to Carly Simon's Film Noir...over and over again when I was about 7 months pregnant.. When my baby was about 9 months old I put it back in the cd to listen to again. Lindsay was laying down on her stomach and when the music started she leaned up on her elows and looked right at the stereo... Since I always play music that didn't surprise her, she def. recognized the songs!!!!


Patti
kadyogrady

Posts: 2
Registered:
  2003-11-04


Posted: Dec 10, 2003 8:47:52 pm    

I love writing exercises! MORE MORE!!

five things in her bedroom:

1. an empty flask
2. a hat, a coat and platform shoes
3. pencils and a notepad
4. an empty martini glass
5. copy of a New Yorker magazine

what she sees in a mirror:

1. disheveled dark hair
2. a tiny body

in

1. a dress with shoulder pads
2. riviting eyes full of intelligence and pain
3. a red lips framing a sarcastic, quick mouth

colors:

flat black
vermillion


Non-human entity

a fox


Something she might say:

"I'd rather be a liver than have one."


Dorothy Parker

(The quote is one of the few clever one-liners that's NOT hers!)



Kady O'Grady
kadyogrady

Posts: 2
Registered:
  2003-11-04


Posted: Dec 10, 2003 8:52:39 pm    

Ken Keasy = Electric Acid Koolaid Test

try it *wink*


Kady O'Grady
KarenZ

Posts: 644
Registered:
  2003-10-13


Posted: Dec 10, 2003 10:15:41 pm    

Patti,

'cuckoo's nest' is one of my all-time favorite movies and I love Jack Nicholson! I wonder what that says about me?

Karen


"Back in school I found the only written truths in bathroom stalls and telephone booths" -- Ellis Paul
Menkaure

Posts: 7
Registered:
  2003-12-06


Posted: Dec 12, 2003 6:10:39 am    

Writing Excercise

Room:

1. Slightly dulled worn pencil
2. Copy of Emerson's "Self Reliance"
3. Pinewood rickety rocking chair
4. Fogged tri-pane window
5. Curtains that never close

Mirror:

1. Mangled grey beard
2. Tired but humbled feet
3. Deep set blue eyes
4. Drooping brow
5. Skillfull toolsmen

Colors:

1. Orange
2. Forest Green

Non-human:

Loon

Voice:

"Above all that is desired, give me truth..."

•Henry David Thoreau

I felt alive with Chris McCandless, I was wide awake in a dream.