Preparing for the Back End of Beyond

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Well, so Dan Franek, tall of build, blond of hair and fast of foot, is moving back out West for family reasons and we're all sorry to see him go. He has a gracious, affable air and is a formidable tanguero ... and a very nice guy.

So saying Matt Duvenick, his roomy (shown left) threw a little "affair" for him. A small crowd showed up, friends, well-wishers, camp followers, the like.

It turn out to be surprisingly pleasant. Ordinarily such events tax my ability to stay socially focussed - but for a while this seemed entirely pleasant and fun.

More fun came when Matt demonstrated his technique - almost one could say "passion" - for using a vacuum pump to prep toilet paper for his trip. It was observed that it might be the first time such necessities were vacuum packed inthe hsitory of SoPo.

The paper in question is a physical requirement, though why one couldn't just use the Snake River as one of the largest bidet in the world is beyond me. Maybe I'm just slow.

If you click on the Facebook link you can see the whole progression from start to finish. It was really fascinating and led to all sorts of comments.

Hmmmm.

Flamenco Tuesday

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Well alright, people.

Flamenco in the hot July sun. Very welcome, I must say - both the flamenco and the sun.

This is the first of two days off. I've been working in the Orchard pretty much full on since the new iPhone came out. I don't think I've had two contiguous days off in a month.

I will admit that work has been fun.

Apple Camp was a riot. I had the best colleagues and the format came off brilliantly.

And today?

Today there was flamenco in Congo Square, just around the corner from Doctor's Row. I had seen a Facebook posting about it - Facebook is occasionally good for SOMEthing - and wandered by just in time to catch the activity.

Three string players - one playing oud and flute. One percussionist. Three singer/dancers helping keep the beat.

Each dancer would take a turn on the plywood sheets laid on the concrete of the platform. Either that or help add to the energy of the performance by sitting and keeping time with her hands.

There was a very spotty crowd. I suspect the heat was discouraging folks from being out and about. For myself I need to be a little overheated as a way to stave of bronchitis which is my annual summertime bane.

I love the energy, the seriousness and the sheer presence that flamenco presents.

There is a grace and focus to the relationship between music and dance. There is not a single wasted movement, not a gesture out of place. Same with the notes - both guitar and percussion interleave, mix, each driving the other, each musician almost daring the his/her partners to drive the energy along.

So now I have something to use when I finish the tango I'm currently working on. Now it almost seems de riguer to do a slideshow of somekind so I can upload it along with the music. Not sure which is wagging which.

Oh well.

I think the air conditioning here at JavaNet is messing me up - back to Doctor's Row so I can get this tango scored and recorded: then I can use the pics to some really dramatic effect.

I love this town ....

Wheels Within Wheels with Cat

And here we have My Lord Sebastian surveying his kingdom.

Anyone else would probably have incredibly cute pics - or even video - of him playing with the ring/ball toy - maybe even write a song.

Sadly I was too involved with eating breakfast - and getting the camera out took too long.

Oh well.

And here we have Jim, living his life.

C. and I went over to Manchester NH to watch the arena version of Cirque du Soliel's "Alegria". The chapiteau that used to house it is now being used for the new show, "Ovo" - at some point I'll h have to go see that one, but "Alegria" serves in the meantime.

The acts themselves were wonderful - I always love aerial acts, both strap acts and trapeze. When I was a boy my Dad took me to the American Airlines Christmas party, where the Engineering Center would hire a damn circus and take over the Fairgrounds Pavilion to host it.

It was at one of those where I saw a young single-bar trapeze artist blow a turnaround an fall 30 feet to the chairs below - it had been rigged right up against the seats (with the ones directly below being cleared out).

Needless to say I didn't go to a circus again until I was in my 30's. Now I have recovered my love of them and hope someday to audition to the Cirque as a counter-tenor (which is the only way I can possibly think of a somewhat physically thick 50-year-old man could have a shot a joining).

The show - separate from the acts - made more sense after we had looked up the wiki on my iPhone and got a handle on what the characters meant. Even the set had a relationship to the meaning of the show. My only problem was with my inability to figure it out just by looking.

Oh well.

Yesterday was another hoop event. I biked over to the Farmer's Market - the strawberries, of course, were all gone by the time I got my act together - but there was Adira and a couple of friends just hooping.

Well, I did get some good new potatoes so with business done I got a chance to practice.

It's all starting to make more sense and I have to take my calendar and try something new - namely to plan out every minute of the next week.

By which I mean providing my days with enough structure - outside of work, like the imminent Apple Camp - to write, practice tango, hooping, write, bike, maybe do some Pilates.

Oh, and write.

Today, Eckardt and I - and, apparently, some of his German visitors - are going up to Lisbon Falls to check out the Pow Wow there. I've not been to one in over a year.

It's been quite a year and I'm not really sure the man who enters the ring to dance will be the same one who did so last year.

The synchronicity - the ring of Sebastian's toy, the hula hoop, the Cirque (even the word "cirque") is very moving. I'm supported by it, affirmed by it, I see my beginning and present and future in one moment.

I've said before that Cherokees have a fifth verb tense, an eternal tense. This is how I experience my Mother now - no one, nothing is ever truly lost.

Go beyond that - everything is always old and new, raw and comfortable, sad and joyous, fresh and nostalgic.

Everything is a circle.

FridayCirque

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It didn't take much.

It didn't take much at all.

The sun came out for about an hour - maybe two, depending on where you were at.

But that was enough.

There was a palpable lifting of spirits throughout the town - starting at the Orchard where we could see light streaming from the skylights in the ceiling in the Mall.

I got home and promptly fell asleep - we've been going like mad for a solid two weeks - the new phones hit and then the cloudy weather insured the entire Eastern Seaboard hit the Orchard. It's been fun (pretty much) but starting to get a little wearing.

The return of some semblance of Summer was a great release. You can see where everyone's Facebook page catches the moment.

So, once up from my nap - and an impromptu counting of blessings for the day - I grabbed my camera and wandered down Doctor's Row to the Eastland, where another applet, James, was having some charcoal pieces on display. They were in an intricate triptych, rich and detailed. I hope he sells them - I wish I could afford them.

Ian was next, one of the famous pair of DJ's from the late lamented Party More. He's got work across the street, an ironic triptych of drawings the skewered contemporary media and thought. Quick work, a rapier thrust of commentary.

There were other folks from the Orchard out as well - I saw or heard of at least 6 - I'm sure more were out - we're a pretty artsy/craftsy bunch.

Still, my attention was caught by a crowd in front of the Portland Museum of Art intersection, by Starbucks. A show was in progress, the kind of street performance that brings so much fun and community interest to the city.

The group called itself the "Excuse me SirCus" and they were street performers of a particularly daring bent.

Anyone that can successfully pull off a flea circus in this day and age has an audacity sorely missed in contemporary entertainment.

It was a home-grown mix of fire-juggling, the aforementioned flea circus, pie throwing, glass walking, concrete block breaking and other feats. The Blue Man Group has a mantra - always try to open with something the audience just can't (or won't be bothered to learn to) do - no matter what, such a approach immediately sets you apart as a performer and it's easier to get an audience to go with you.

I can say for a fact that the percentage of folks on the street watching who regularly have cinder blocks sledgehammered to pieces on their chests is probably quite low.

All told it was a hoot - even more so when my friend and concierge Melissa took my camera to shoot pics of me as I answered a call for volunteers to hula-hoop (see last post).

I actually got applause.

This was followed by more fire juggling and conversation after the performance.

I heard about another show in Monument Square. This provided a good excuse to head down and have dessert at David's - though it was obvious the lowering clouds might close in again.

The Monument Show was put on by the local Goth community, a cheerful crowd of belly dancers and fire-twirlers. A story-teller/performance artist was shut down by the Fire Department over confusion as to how his fire would be handled - no need to have the course of true art go smoothly, after all.

Still the belly dancers were nice and the fire-twirler was first rate.

The organizer and I had a chance to chat about the provenance of this show - we shared a coffee at David's, she parked her fire extinguisher, billy clubs, megaphone and fire pikes in a chair. Apparently the local Goths had been sharing impromptu performances for some time. First Fridays this Summer had been invested with a commitment to share these performances with the City at large.

So it was a very pleasant evening. Of course the fog has closed back in and God only knows what the rest of the day will bring.

Still, after all is said and done First Friday was full of incident and fun. Things could have been a lot more boring - and how often do I get a chance to hula-hoop and share with the town?

Hmmm?