not down w FB

I swore I would never join Facebook or FB as I now know. My sister convinced me to do so immediately as a way to garner votes for my portfolio of photographs that I have entered into Art Takes Miami 2011. I certainly don’t claim to be an electronic guru but my goodness, navigating FB requires a manual! The time it takes to set up your page, find friends, post a message…it took me much longer to do all that than it took to send an email to my established address book that brought in more votes than my newly developed means of networking. Honestly, I've never had any interest in socializing via FB nor do I care to read streams of conversation that have no meaning to me. Sure, it’s a nice way to find people but only if you want to find them or them to find you but I’m not that hard to locate, just Google me. Perhaps I'll maintain a business page for exposure (which is what I thought I was setting up only to make one wrong entry and wella, a social page appeared, very confusing!). On another note, entering my photos into the Miami competition was quite easy to do but I realize it probably is a means to recruit artists to utilize a paid online service where we can show our work. Right now it’s free; I’ll decide in the very near future if I should become a subscriber or just go ahead and set up a new web site to showcase and sell my photographs. I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, my friends and family have gotten excited about the whole voting thing, me too! It has been fun. Even if I don’t win the $2500 people’s choice award, I’ve already won…I caught up with some folks I haven’t been in contact with for quite some time, have some new admirers AND yippee...buyers! If you care to vote, click on http://tscott.see.me/atm2011, do so daily until 10/14/11, and…

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a spoon full of funny

I found myself sitting in the dark again only this time not in a movie theatre by myself but in a huge room with hundreds of others who along with me came for the pain. Three hours later, I stumbled out of that room with cramps in my stomach, a raw throat and two black eyes...my mascara was running from laughing so hard that I cried while watching the comedian that is Paul Mooney. OMGoddess that man is a riot!

Comedy is an art form that I do admire. I couldn’t help but note as I snorted, hooted and fell out of my seat over and over again, that we as an audience provide a page on which to write line after line, weave story after story. Linking what was scribed into the air an hour before to the immediate madness without being able to actually go back and read what was said earlier is the mark of one who knows his craft. Sure I’ve seen a comedian at work before however, this was the first time I understood that stand-up comedy is a masterpiece created moment to moment inspired by both the times in which we live, political and otherwise, and the

audience. Unlike other artistic expressions, there can be no replication so you just have to be there for the unveiling that is continuous and in this case went on non-stop from 10:30 pm to 1:30 am; my throat is still in recovery.

The ability to bring humor to sensitive subjects, to be downright offensive while at the same time tickling our funny bone, to deliver one-liners that knock a heckler out yet leaves him doubled over in hysterical admiration is a creative talent that not all can master. And while the truth can hurt, some of its bitterness is better swallowed with a spoon full of funny so lighten up and…

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ps…happy birthday to that skinny little bitch…she’s the one who invited a group of us girls to join her for the riot @ the Riot! all the best to ya honey and in a word that is truly yours...CHEERS!

photo of paul mooney from www.riotactcomedy.com

longing

On the spur of an overcast Sunday moment, I decided to go to a 10:45 am showing of Midnight in Paris, which turned out to be my own private screening. As the story unfolded, I found myself thinking back to moments in my life when I felt as if I was born in the wrong era. Like the character in the movie, feeling misunderstood or out-of-step with the people and everything around me has sometimes made me long to be elsewhere connecting with those who need no explanations, who listen and don’t talk over me or ignore my contributions. Unlike the character in the movie, I have not time traveled physically to interact with creative individuals from the past. However, I have closed my eyes and journeyed while standing still imagining what it would be like to mingle amongst the writers, poets, musicians, photographers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance my favorite era.

I left the theatre wondering how we can be nostalgic for a period in time that we’ve never known. Maybe romanticized stories tap into empty spaces lined with some sense of familiarity filling them with a feeling of comfort or perhaps we did indeed live in another age that is stamped on our current DNA (if you happen to believe in reincarnation). More than likely, we are dissatisfied, unhappy, disillusioned and afraid to accept the truth and make the necessary changes believing that back whenever was better …but we know that’s not the case. Much like the character in the movie comes to realize, I am grateful to be living right now with all the advances and conveniences of these modern times. I am astounded by all that has happened since I arrived on the planet, can’t believe how what’s hip this second is already passé the next.  And much like keeping pace with the here and now, exposing our creative self can be both exhilarating and exhausting! Not all will get me, you or it and really, do we always want them to?

Unlike the character in the movie who loved walking in the rain and did so in the last scene, my preference is to stroll beneath a light drizzle, which I did until I stood still for a few, closing my eyes to take hold of the past, touch the future and long for nothing but my next breath.

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cowgirl booty

Not less than three days ago, I was wearing cotton or linen tops and dresses along with some form of sandals. The sudden appearance of cool crisp air this weekend sent me straight to my favorite apparel for this time of year -- a cashmere turtleneck sweater and boots! When the seasons shift into the cool and cold, I love roaming the city range in a pair of my Lucky Brand cowgirl kicks (I have two pairs in different colors they are just that comfortable) with whatever outfit I throw on. If summer is about the bangle (see June 5, 2011 blog cuff me), fall is definitely about the boot as another form of my fashion accessory declarations. In fact, I found the perfect combination of western sass and jeweled adornment last week while looking at boots online; I am too through this morning to discover that they are no longer available which tells me one of two things -- if you’re slow, you blow OR, better yet, less is already enough!

…but knowing me as I do, I will now be more determined than ever to find, rope and tie those dang cowgal boots that got away, so…

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twinkling like a star

Stars don't just twinkle in the sky, they also dazzle at our fingertips and beneath our feet in a full spectrum of colors and textures...

…take a moment as summer morphs into autumn to not only smell the roses but to star gaze at eye level which means you will need to…

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fragile

On the eve of 9/11, I was compelled to pull over on the highway to snap a shot of the Washington Monument. We were attacked on a day just like this one and a weird feeling about the Monument not standing tall as part of the DC panorama made me stop my car. It had sustained damage during the earthquake a few weeks ago showing just how fragile it is against natural causes; the thought of a deliberate attempt to destroy it gave me pause. I try not to get too emotional when this time of year comes again but there is something haunting about it being 10 years since the lives of Americans changed once again forever. The United States, particularly certain cities, is on high alert right now, which this year has left me feeling unsettled. I have no desire to be on Capitol Hill or near the White House and wonder if I will venture out onto the Mall for my morning walk. I hate feeling like this.

Americans bonded on the day of and for months following the attack a decade ago. Fragile, we cared about and for one another united by a tragedy that touched almost everyone; how quickly that desire to be one disappeared. It gives me chills thinking about how very un-united we really are, about the uncivilized way we treat each other moment to moment. I am far from naïve knowing all too well that this behavior is human nature for countless individuals but now on each 9/11 that reality becomes quite magnified for me.

So on this day as we reflect, perhaps we should also remember that a people united can never be defeated…a tall order when minds seem to opt for being small.

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let's eat cake!

When someone acknowledges my work as a source of inspiration for their creativity, I’m not only humbled, but am motivated to continue being creative. Recently, my profile appeared on Queen City Cake Studio, a blog that features cake creations by blogger Toni Johnson and others. One of the questions Toni sent me to ponder was about my favorite food. Part of my answer included the following, “Being equipped with a serious foundation for how food is prepared unleashed a desire to play in the kitchen that has never gotten old; learning how to make a palatable meal when I’ve messed something up became a metaphor for how to manage life’s messes.” As I reviewed my responses to all of her questions before I hit send, I did a double take when I read the above passage; I did not remember typing those words, but they made so much sense! The skills required to unscramble a scrambled mess of things comes with practice, a willingness to take a good look at what contributed to the mess and the patience to get it right sometimes through more attempts than we have ingredients for. But when it’s worth it, we keep working at it and isn’t it funny how things get infused into our being and where they originate.

Looking over the questions that focused on my love of being in the kitchen and my artistic creativity provided food for thought that made me sit down for a meal rather than a quick snack. I happen to know the woman who pens Queen City, have actually tasted Toni's confections and was delighted that photographs on my July 3rd blog that referenced July 4th challenged her to create this three-tiered sensation!

Makes me want to celebrate and eat some cake, which I have to go in search of so as I do...  

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photo courtesy of Toni Johnson

the happy fall

Wow! Where does the time go? Hard to believe it's September but September it is as we welcome in the next season. I love the shift of the sun in the sky, the smell of the wind as it changes temperature, and the autumnal colors across the landscape that each help paint the canvas for this time of year that we call fall. As much as I love spring, autumn is actually my favorite season. I was born in October so my birthday falls in the fall and I do celebrate the day of my arrival into this world with all the fanfare that accompanies the beauty of nature as she puts on new outfits for us to enjoy. September also signals a second celebration for me. It marks another year of creative thought, writing and pictures that is this blog, giving me one more thing to be oh so happy about.

Tomorrow I’m observing a non-laborious Labor Day, hope you are too.

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