Ramblings of Someone who Loves Life

So, as I get older and wiser, I come to more conclusions and realizations about life and its fine mysteries. You might wonder, hmm, I also have aged well, but I haven't discovered life's fine secrets. The truth is that no matter how busy we get, and no matter how complicated life seems, we always need to make time to reflect, reflection brings perspective, and perspective brings wisdom.

So here are the top things I learned over the past year.

1. Never get too angry and jump to conclusions (deserved or not) because you ruin yourself.
2. Sleeping in on days when you're supposed to be doing work only hastens your decline.
3. Friendship with genuine people is the closet thing to happiness you will find.
4. When you forgive, you also have to forget, but you don't have to put yourself in that situation again.
5. Travel opens up your eyes, with open eyes you can see more, seeing more makes you learn more.

As you can defer from my list, the best things in life have to do with learning and being happy. The more you find ways to reduce your stress and just enjoy life for the beauty it has to offer, the better you can bypass the negativity from others. Here's to a full year of getting all our goals and achievements done so we can obtain the things we truly desire out of life. 

My Trip to Romania Proved More Fun than I thought

So after taking alot of time off from blogging i've decided to return and let you all know what i've been upto and where i've been. I've been moving around the world in an effort to see as many sites as I possibly could. Now, what's new and different to me from my original stints in just visiting U.S. cities, is the fact that this time I actually decided to take the plunge and go to a European country, but not just any European country, I actually decided to go to Eastern Europe and visit the small country of Romania.

Now, you may be wondering, what does that have to do with anything, why would I actually stop blogging, stop living my life as an independent artist who is on the up-and-coming, to go peruse fun adventures and and ride the wave of life. The simple and truthful answer is bordem. After working so many long and painful hours in the office, I needed a change, I needed something new, I needed to travel, I need to visit the land of dracula to see if he really does exist or if it was just a myth.

So I purchased my plane ticket about 24hrs after I made the decision to go, I couldn't stop thinking about all the amazing sites, beautiful nature, mountains, rivers, and even gypsies, that I would see all over Romania. For those of you who don't know, Romania is a country of about 20 million people. It is most famous for having castles, ancient forests, many rivers, and of course the Carpathian mountains. When I started to do my research on Romania I first found this blog on Romania, it had alot of information that seemed to be backed by extensive research. I found out that the country is split into different regions that each have their own sections and interesting sites and attractions.

Of course being me, I wanted to visit each of the 10 regions, I couldn't pick which one I wanted to visit first because they all had more to offer than the one before it. It  was actually a blessing in disguise not to know how much to see and how much to do. So of course I did it all and I saw it all, I will never have enough finding out about the revolution that took place in the country, how peasants wear traditional clothing, or how Romanian women are some of the most beautiful in all of the world. 

Michael Jacobs

Michael Jacobs visits to discuss his feature documentary debut, Audience of One in which a San Francisco Pentecostal minister, having received a vision from God, leads his small flock to make a sci-fi biblical epic titled "Gravity: The Shadow of Joseph."
http://www.myspace.com/audienceofonedoc

Duck Hunting with Dick

Ken Smith cohosts with Dorian for our frequent political update.
Comment away!

Cruel and Unusual (silent film) Comedy Night

Steve Massa, film historian and writer and Ben Model, film historian and accompanist, two of the organizers of the Museum of Modern Art's Cruel and Unusual (film) Comedy: Social Commentary in the American Slapstick Film, visit the show. Bruce Bennett cohosts.

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/948
http://www.silentfilmmusicblog.com/
http://www.cruelandunusualcomedy.info/

Kirsten Hoving and Antonio Ciacca

Art and architecture historian Kirsten Hoving talks about the enigmatic artist Joseph Cornell and his fascination with astronomy, then jazz pianist Antonio Ciacca talks about his music.

Kirsten Hoving has a new book, Joseph Cornell and Astronomy: A Case for the Stars. Antonio Ciacca's newest CD is called Rush Life. He can also be heard live in NYC on Tuesday evenings from 7-10 PM at Creole restaurant (118th Street and 3rd Ave) and on Thursdays fro 7-10 PM at Roth's Westside Steakhouse, 93rd Street and Columbus Ave.

Benny Golson and Mulgrew Miller

Two jazz greats visit the Speakeasy tonight...

Fist, the legendary saxman/composer Benny Golson joins us as the celebrations for his 80th birthday are in full swing. In addition to two brand new CD's beinfg released (New Time, New 'Tet and The Best of Benny Golson), Benny wikll be performing at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in NYC from Tuesday, Feb. 3 - Sunday Feb. 8.

Then pianist Mulgrew Miller talks about his upcoming celebration of two of the greatest jazz albums ever, Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's Giant Steps. Mulgrew is artist director of upcoming concerts reimagining and celebrating these two seminal albums. The concerts will be Feb. 12-14 at 8PM at the Rose Theater at the Frederick P. Rose Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center (Broadway/60th St, NYC).

Francisco Mela and Emily Hubley

Two Speakeasy faves return. First, drummer/dynamo Francisco Mela drops by for a brief update and celebrates his first run as a leader at the Village Vanguard, beginning Tuesday January 27- Sunday February 1,

then filmmaker Emily Hubley is back! Emily's first feature film, The Toe Tactic, will have its theatrical premiere at the Museum of Modern Art (NYC) on Wed., January28 at 6PM (and will be there other dates & times; see schedule)
Emily and Producer Jen Small (+ cast/crew pending availability) will attend.


http://villagevanguard.com/frames.htm
http://www.orchardpictures.com/toetactic.html
http://www.emilyhubley.com/

Duck Hunting with Dick - special AMF edition!

It is time to bid farewell to our favorite evildoers as the Speakeasy takes a walk down memory lane with a special edition of Duck Hunting with Dick. Ken Smith joins Dorian... get your hankies out!

John Walter and Marian McPartland

Filmmaker John Walter visits to talk about his new film, Theater of War. In it, he examines Bertolt Brecht’s motives and politics through the lens of a Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival production of Mother Courage in Central Park during summer 2006. The production was adapted by Tony Kushner’s and starred Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline.'

Later, jazz (and radio!) legend Marian McPartland returns to the program to talk about a special piece she composed to commemorate environmentalist Rachel Carson.

Carl Hart

Carl Hart is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. He studies the behavioral and neuropharmacological effects of psychoactive drugs in humans and heads an innovative lab which investigates effect of methamphetamine use and abuse. He is also the author of numerous influential papers as well as the text book Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior


http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/fac-bios/HartC/faculty.html
http://catalogs.mhhe.com/mhhe/viewProductDetails.do?isbn=0073380792

From his lab: "Do You Use Crystal Meth? The Substance Use Research Center at
Columbia University seeks medically healthy meth users between the
ages of 21 and 49 to participate in a 10-session study evaluating
stimulant effects. For more information, please call: (212) 543-6013 or (212) 543-6545. All personal and identifying information will be kept confidential."

Upcoming Guests

Monday January 21
Pianist Eliane Elias on her new CD Something for You, a tribute to Bill Evans. Elias also can be heard performing this material at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in Manhattan Jan. 22-27.
then, artist/author Maira Kalman talks about her latest book, The Principles of Uncertainty.
http://www.jalc.org/dccc/d_calendar.asp
http://www.mairakalman.com/

Monday January 28
Film critic and Film Society of Lincoln Center programmer Kent Jones and author, critic, and Library of America's Editor in Chief Geoffrey O'Brien return to The Speakeasy with their picks for favorite and worst films of 2007.

Bob DeAngelis and Margaret Krug

Juno Award-winning clarinetist Bob DeAngelis talks about his Bennie Goodman tribute concert at Carnegie Hall on Jan. 16. The Coronation of a King: A Tribute to Benny Goodman will be performed with his 50-piece big band, the Champagne Symphony, exactly 70 years to the date after the legendary Goodman concert at Carnegie Hall.

then, Margaret Krug, painter and Senior Lecturer at the Whitney Museum of American Art, talks about art history, techniques, and more. She is the author of of An Artist's Handbook: Materials and Techniques.

Foster Hirsch and Keir Dullea

As the Otto Preminger restrospective rolls out at the Film Forum in Manhattan, Preminger biographer Foster Hirsch and actor Keir Dullea visit the Speakeasy to talk about this maverick fimmaker. Dullea starred in Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, and
Hirsh's book is OTTO PREMINGER: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING.

http://www.filmforum.org/films/preminger.html

Stacey Kent

Singer Stacey Kent talks about her new CD, Breakfast on the Morning Tram. Stacey will be performing In New York at Birdland from November 27 through December 2.

http://www.staceykent.com/

Luc Sante

Luc Sante Guggenheim Fellow, frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books, and author of the classic Low Life, talks about his work from 1990-2005 and his new collection of pieces from that time, Kill All Your Darlings.

Henry Petroski and Marilyn Maye

Professor of civil engineering (Duke) /author Henry Petroski returns to the program to talk about his latest book, The Toothpick: Technology and Culture.
plus
Singer Marilyn Maye visits to talk about her tribute to Johnny Carson (she was on the Tonight Show 70+ times). Marilyn will be performing at the Metropolitan Room in Manhattan from Nov. 7 - 19. Don't miss this entertainment powerhouse!!
The Metropolitan Room is at 34 West 22nd St between 5th & 6th Ave. - New York, NY 10010 - Tel: 212 206 0440

http://metropolitanroom.com/index.php?Itemid=111&id=77&option=com_content&task=view
http://metropolitanroom.com/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=98&extmode=cal&date=2007-11-01

Daniel J. Levitin

Daniel J. Levitin is at McGill University,where he studies studies the science of musical sound, using a broad spectrum of approaches from low-levels (genes, neuroanatomy) to higher level processes such as the acquisition of musical expertise and the perception of musical emotion.

He discusses his work and his new book This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (now in paperback).

Bell Chair in the Psychology of Electronic Communication
Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition, and Expertise
Department of Psychology, McGill University

His research http://www.psych.mcgill.ca/levitin/

Jason Moran and Rodolphe Marconi

Jazz pianist Jason Moran returns to the program to discuss IN MY MIND: Monk at Town Hall 1959. IN MY MIND is multi-media performance co-commissioned by Duke Univ., The San Francisco Jazz Festival, Chicago Symphony Hall, and the Washington Perf. Arts Society.
October 27, 2007 will be the world premire at the Page Auditorium in Durham, NC.
October 28, 2007 at the Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC
November 2, 2007, at the Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
November 16, 2007, at the Symphony Hall in Chicago, IL

Then Rodolphe Marconi, the the director of Lagerfeld Confidential, a profile of "the Bismarck of Fashion,"(Vanity Fair) Karl Lagerfeld, visits to talk about the making of his film. Lagerfeld Confidential premieres the Film Forum in Manhattan on Wednesday, Oct. 24.

http://www.jasonmoran.com/home.html
http://www.filmforum.org/films/lagerfeld.html

Ben Ratliff

New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff returns to the program to talk about his new book, Coltrane:The Story of a Sound.

COME MEET BEN AND HEAR HIM READ FROM THE BOOK!
Thursday, Oct.4 at . 7:00 PM. 192 Books, 192 Tenth Ave. betw. 21st and 22nd Sts. 212.255.4022.Reservations requested.