the kickstarter project

i just launched my kickstarter project for my as-of-yet unnamed black americana album -- the one i've been working on since my last heartbreak. i don't know why this is making me feel so giddy. everything is rushing in all at once, all of a sudden. everything is converging. it feels like everything is happening, now.

once upon a time when i ran out of money, i'd just go get another crummy job somewhere downtown or whatever, and i'd work it until i got the cash i needed to make my art. but nyc doesn't work that way anymore -- and it hasn't for a very long time. there's crummy jobs but they don't pay enough to make a dent because the cost of living is so fracking high. that means instead of one crummy job, i'd need four crummy jobs. and i don't have it like that. i don't know how to split the space/time continuum to be in four different places at once. i'm batting a thousand when i show up awake and on time and on an even keel for the one crummy job i've got, whatever that is.

i didn't think that i needed kickstarter because that crummy job always came through for me. now that things have shifted, the idea of pre-selling the album makes perfect sense. actually, it always did. with kickstarter, i have a platform to do it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

this week's smartypants new yorker cover is by christoph niemann. gobble-gobble!

Happy Veteran's Day!

A teach-in?

here's the latest missive from moveon.org -- a teach-in! what a great idea. i think a teach-in is exactly what america needs, en masse. wouldn't it be great if teach-ins began to spring up all over the country?

actually, there are national teach-ins -- on everything from global warming to debt, austerity and corporate greed. it seems that more and more are happening every month -- something for everyone -- with social media making it so accessible, even a total shut in can actively participate. educating the public is one way to win the fight against "corporatocracy". occupy colleges (in solidarity with occupy wall street) organized a national student solidarity teach-in last week. to find a teach-in or host one through the afl-cio for jobs and economic justice, click here.

i can't make it to this one, but i'm going to make every effort to learn all about it...

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The economic collapse didn't happen by accident. It's the direct result of decisions made by Wall Street and our leaders in Washington to prioritize the 1% over everyone else.

If we want to rewrite the rules of our economy so it works for all of us, then understanding those decisions, and how we ended up here, is crucial.

This Wednesday, November 9, you can get answers and build your understanding at the "How the 1% Crashed the Economy" teach-in in Jersey City. An American Dream Movement volunteer is leading a discussion about how the economic collapse is impacting our communities, who caused it, and how we can turn things around.

Can you join the teach-in on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, at 7:00 PM in Jersey City?

Host: Dave S., a fellow MoveOn member
When: Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, at 7:00 PM in Jersey City.

The teach-in isn't going to be a dull list of facts and endless charts. You'll hear the story of exactly how the 1% wrecked our economy, the history behind it, and how we can reverse the damage they've done.

The Rebuild the Dream Innovation Fund has put together a presentation, with help from leading progressive economists, for teach-in hosts with information and key historical lessons. But the goal isn't just conveying information, it's bringing together people who want to get involved and
help fix our broken system.

Will you join in on Wednesday in Jersey City? Click here to RSVP.

Thanks for all you do,

--Lenore, Robin, Joan, Carrie, and the rest of the team

Today's Sermon

today's sermon -- accepting and giving forgiveness -- by pastor ben crandall -- comes to you from the october 18th evening service at times square church. click here for the mp3 and be blessed.

first glimpses of "the hobbit"

for the fall season, i've moved away from my usual diet of biographies, autobiographies and history books to sink my teeth into the hobbit. now that i'm almost done, mpb says i have to take a nosedive into the lord of the rings and then the silmarillion. anything after that -- and believe me, there's plenty -- is apochyphal, according to him.

it took a sec for me to get used to the rhythm of the language and the names of the characters are a bit clunky but everything was descriptive enough to explode onto my imagination and in no time at all, i was running through the rolling green hills to have tea and toast and good ol' english jam with the hobbit as i rode the subway.

so it was with a great deal of curiousity and some small sense of wonder that i watched the following clips -- glimpses into the creative process behind the film the hobbit: an unexpected journey. (it's in two parts, by the way. it's also in 3D.)

one day in the midst of a bustling tech rehearsal with george wolfe working on harlem song at the apollo -- when we were onstage and inside one of those moments when everything was coming together and falling apart at the same time -- he offhandedly remarked that directing musicals was like storming the beach at normandy. i surmised that this was especially true if you were originating work because you are creating it as you go along. (it takes 7 to 9 years to develop a musical if you're taking the conventional route. george put harlem song together in 7 to 9 weeks.) in this way, contemporary original musicals are a microcosm of what happens on the movie set, especially when it's this ginormous and ambitious and cool. they're basically setting up, feeding and moving a small army from one breathtaking expanse of new zealand after another. it's exhaustive, just thinking about it. and if you include pre-production and post-production, they've been at it for several years, now.



this clip gives a wonderful overview of what's happening on the set and lets the world see the hobbit's little home -- which looks exactly as i imagined it would.




this is director peter jackson's first video blog from the set.




this is the latest production diary/video. it's especially interesting because it delves into the technical aspects of the 3D camera work, what the equipment is like, the renderings and how complicated all of it is to shoot.

Mark Your Calendars

tomorrow -- november 5th -- is bank transfer day. endorsed but not started by occupy wall street, bank transfer day means exactly that: taking your checking or savings account out of a large corporate bank and putting it in a not-for-profit credit union, community bank, online situation -- whatever blows your hair back and suits your needs financially. actually, that date is more of a deadline, really. the organizers would like for everyone to do this before tomorrow because most big banks are closed on saturdays.

i think this is a pretty effective way to make a strong statement and speak truth to power. i can only imagine the seismic shift that would occur if most people in this country abandoned the likes of citibank and chase wholeheartedly.

i wish someone would sift through all of the banks and make a comprehensive list of the best ones. well, whaddya know -- someone already has.

what, what?

i had no idea that society, the coffee lounge on a tony section of harlem's frederick douglass blvd -- the one that served such tasty treats as chicken and red velvet waffles (!!!) -- was closed as of october 10th. oh, well. looks like i'll have to have brunch someplace else.

at least the "speakeasy" 67 orange street, its sister location up the block, is still open -- so those red velvet waffles remain an option. here's a note i found online:

Society Coffee…One Last Time… (A note from Karl)

“Dear Loyal Guests,

After seven years of serving the best coffee, red velvet waffles, and shrimp & grits in Harlem, I have made the difficult decision to close Society Coffee on Monday, October 10. A pioneer on Frederick Douglass Blvd, Society has been a true labor of love and a place I’ve called home. Over the years I have shared Society with thousands; I’ve watched people meet each other and fall in love, I’ve watched families begin and grow, deals get done, and business plans get written. I’ve watched college students work, friends hang out, and poets write. I’ve met so many great people who have changed and elevated my life.

Rooted in the richness of the Harlem community and the transformation on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Society Coffee leaves with a sense of pride and appreciation to all our friends who made each day unique and flavorful. Society has served its purpose and has set neighborhood standards for a new generation in historic Harlem. We were always very close and involved with the community and it remains in our hearts. 67 Orange Street will continue to operate and serve great cocktails.

I would like to personally thank you for all your support these past years. Thanks again for seven great years.

Sincerely,

Karl Franz Williams

Foreign Movies You Really Should See...

...and yes, they're all french. not that it matters. something in me tends to get giddy over things that intrigue me, and these trailers -- and the blurbs and the buzz that are trailing them in the press -- seem promising. art should excite you, shouldn't it? let's face it: if you and your date don't leave a movie talking about what you've seen, it probably wasn't worth watching.



house of tolerance is about a parisian brothel in the early 20th century. i have no idea what the plot is but here's an interesting tidbit: the soundtrack features the music of the moody blues. now that's ballsy, i'll admit -- especially if they tap into their earlier stuff -- but imagine what they would have had on their hands if they'd used muddy waters stuff instead. or lightnin' hopkins. or big momma thornton. or...



tomboy is about a prepubescent girl that pretends to be a boy. i'd love to see a movie about this. i was a tomboy -- and i still am, pretty much. it wasn't intentional. i was just being myself.

when do you ever see movies about this subject matter? i'm very curious to see how it's handled.



the artist -- a silent movie, shot in black and white, set in the 20s, and filled with foreign actors that most americans aren't familiar with in the least -- is getting a massive push from the bigwigs. it's about two artists and the trajectory of their careers as silent cinema diminishes in popularity and talkies become all the rage.

it's easy to forget that with movies, images are supposed to tell you the story -- not words. watching a modern-day silent movie that harkens back to hollywood's golden era should be a refreshing change of pace.

i wonder: outside of the usual major metropolitan areas, can most people in this country see these films? not that they'd want to but wouldn't it be nice to have the option?

Are you seriously going to eat all that Halloween candy?

when i was a kid, my brothers and i would go trick-or-treating on halloween and come home triumphantly with shopping bags full of candy. not surprisingly, my mother wouldn't let us eat any of it. and when i say any, what i really mean is none. i distinctly recall coming home from kindergarden to her snacking on quite a bit of it with her one of her girlfriends. the rest was in the trash. i distinctly remember thinking, wow -- adults can do whatever they want. i can also remember thinking that someday when i became an adult, i'd eat all my halloween candy because my mother wouldn't be there to throw it away. consequently, i couldn't wait to be an adult. frankly, i still can't.

it should be duly noted at this point that i've never had a cavity as an adult. on the other hand, one of my older brothers has a mouth that is so riddled with cavities, it looks like ants had a wild west shoot out up in there -- and then they went camping, hence the root canal. go figure.

so it was with genuine curiousity and some real interest that i absorbed an item on the local evening news tonight. get this: you can take your sweet treats to the halloween candy buy back program, sponsored by dentists. there's a little money involved but really, it's a creative exchange. you and/or your kids get hygiene kits, coupons and more. the candy goes to soldiers overseas through operation gratitude. it's a great way to give back.



of course, i'm an adult now -- so i have no intention of giving up my halloween candy, now or ever. i'm way too health conscious (and body conscious) to eat all of it -- but that won't stop me from melting down chocolate for cakes and pies (and mexican hot chocolate!), crushing candy bars for homemade ice cream and sticking whatever i don't use in the freezer. (did you know that unopened frozen dark chocolate will last indefinitely?)

Happy Halloween!

it's working!

my permanent boyfriend gave me the hobbit in paperback last christmas. i found it recently and remembered that i promised myself to read the entire series so i stuck it in my purse, to savor on the train. of course mpb as read all of j.r.r. tolkien's work. and george r.r. martin. and every other geek fantasy writer on the planet. clearly, i've got a lot of catching up to do.

this isn't a competition, you know. i just want to be able to keep up with him when he wanders further into the geek forest than i usually do.

somehow everything goes faster in the subway when i have something interesting to read. or maybe i'm so distracted, i don't care that i've had to wait 20 minutes for the train. all i know is, i opened my book and started reading about those filthy, filthy hobbitses, got on the local and the next thing i knew, i was at 42nd street/times square. the thing is, i was supposed to get out at 50th street -- i was on my way to a matinee for million dollar quartet at new world stages, meeting up with friends and everything, and i was running late. what to do?

as the train came to a stop, i looked out the window at the uptown track and saw the express arriving, and i guessed that the local wouldn't be far behind it. so i did the unthinkable: i sprinted out of the train like a starting gun went off -- down the stairs and through a corridor, around the corner and through a corridor, up a flight of stairs and straight into the local train as it arrived.

as the doors closed and i gathered my wits about me, i stopped short and realized that i wasn't out of breath. not even a little bit. how did that happen? i can remember when i wouldn't have even attempted something like that. or if i had, i would have barely made it to the bottom of the second staircase, holding my side and gasping for air. i actually felt the need to supress a grinn as i mulled all this over. maybe its true, what a workout pal told me some months ago -- that you can make the clock turn backwards and if you work hard enough, you can make it stop.

i made sure my bookmark was in place and made my grand exit at 50th street, bounding up the stairs effortlessly and into the snow, which was falling sideways. wheeeeee! i was happier than a kitten chasing a leaky cow.

can i do military pushups yet? nope. can i make it through a boxing conditioning class without crawling to the showers afterwards? nope. but for me to move with such speed and to move that way so abrubtly means that something is falling into place inside me physically. it was confirmation, however slight. all i could think was, its working. all this sweat and muscle ache and falling down and failing up. it's working...!

Black People CAN and DO Swim, Part 2: African-American Firsts

African-American firsts in competitive swimming history:

• ◆ The first African- American swimmer to score in an NCAA final was Nate Clark of Ohio State, in 1962.
  
• ◆ The first swimmer of African descent to win an Olympic medal was Enith Brigitha of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. Enith won two individual bronze medals in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. The only swimmers to beat her have since been proven to have used performance enhancing drugs.
  
• ◆ In 1981 Charles Chapman became the first African American to swim across the English Channel.
  
• ◆ The first African American swimmer to make a US National Team was Chris Silva of UCLA, in 1982.
  
• ◆ In 1988, Anthony Nesty, of Surinam and the University of Florida upset favored Matt Biondi to become the first swimmer of African heritage to set an Olympic record and win an Olympic Gold medal.
  
• ◆ In 1997 Stanford’s Sabir Muhammad became the first African- American to break an American record.
  
• ◆ In 1999 Alison Terry became the first African- American female swimmer to make a US National Team.
  
• ◆ In 2000, Anthony Ervin became the first American swimmer of African descent to make the USA Olympic Swimming Team and win an Olympic gold medal.
  
• ◆ In 2004, Maritza Corriea became the first woman to make a USA Olympic Team.
  
• ◆ In 2005, Genai Kerr and Omar Amr become the first African-American men to make the USA Olympic Water Polo Team.

occupy wall street #4 - one month and one day

initiated by the canadian activist group adbusters and inspired by the arab spring movement, occupy wall street began in zuccotti park 31 days ago. although political pundits were dismissive initially, occupy wall street has proven to be a well-organized, well-funded machine, global and gaining in momentum and impossible to ignore. everyone that is anyone in washington, dc and the media is being forced to weigh in and assess the situation -- and hardly anyone is getting it right.

one thing is certain: anyone who doesn't know or understand what this movement is about or what they want isn't paying attention.

consider this: on saturday october 15, there were over 1,500 events in 82 countries -- over 100 events in this country alone. if they've managed to do this in a month, what do you think they'll accomplish in a year?



this is a small slice of what happened in times square the other night. question: who is the supergenius that thought it was a great idea to have police on horseback in a crowd of thousands? what if the horse gets excited and rears up or falls or tramples someone?

i especially love the fact that there are so many cameras floating around all over the place. something happens and everyone whips out whatever they've got, even if it's just the one on their phones. they swarm around the action and pow! everyone's got a mini-documentary film going on.



God bless this brother right here -- u.s. marine sargeant shemar thomas. in this video, he verbally castigates the nypd after watching them assault unarmed protesters. sargeant thomas even went so far as to boldly approach them and continue to chew them out. that ballsy move in and of itself alone would have been enough to earn him a beat-down of epic proportions from the blue line. maybe the army of cameras -- and knowing that whatever they did would be on youtube.com the next day -- kept them from wilding out.

stay tuned. clearly, this is only the beginning.

Happy Bosses Day!

instant hibernation

i hit a snag and hibernated for most of this week. gathering stuff for graduate school applications, working on this ever blossoming libretto for spring 2012 performances, working with blood on a new idea, decluttering the love nest and throwing stuff away, digging into billie's blues: the billie holiday story 1933 - 1959 by john chilton, watching a new movie every day, auditioning and auditioning and auditioning, mentally preparing for several rounds of oral surgery that begin next week, and editing my closets and refining my personal style for the cold weather season. getting my favorite combination cowboy/motorcycle boots resoled. finding business cards and old letters and keys for doors long forgotten all over the place. everything must be sifted through carefully and assessed, and then everything must go. well. almost everything.

everything is shifting slowly and yet ever so drastically, and i'm not ready. i haven't been to boxing conditioning class in days -- and i can feel it. i should get my piano tuned, practice the guitar more. what happened to my beautiful uptown songwriting circle?

the rest of the year will find me elegantly well-appointed, dressed mostly in vintage, up to my neck in rewrites and in a great deal of physical pain, eschewing most if not all of my daily boxing rituals and drinking my meals through a straw. i'll have to cut back on the excercise. i won't have the energy for it. i have no intention of giving up occasional jaunts to speakeasies, burlesque shows, pie contests, korean day spas or teatime. because fun isn't overrated, no matter how broke you are.

looking forward to wandering through the new york city comic con tomorrow afternoon before evening services at tsc, a long walk afterwards and of course, tea.

occupy wall street #3 - another moveon.org missive

there are over 1,500 cities participating in occupy events. find one at http://www.occupytogether.org or http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether

i'm not sure that i'll make it to the wall street protests tomorrow -- i'd like to go and take pictures, at least -- but for those who'd like to know what's up, here's some interesting information from moveon.org.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have you heard the incredible news?

Thanks to the unflinching commitment of the Occupy Wall Street protesters, and support from New Yorkers and hundreds of thousands of people across the country, they won their fight this morning to continue the occupation of Zuccotti Park . ¹

Mayor Bloomberg and Brookfield Properties, the real estate conglomerate that owns Zuccotti Park, backed down on their threat to evict the protesters in the face of massive public opposition.

This morning, we saw what happens when hundreds of thousands of us mobilize. So now, Occupy Wall Street is calling for a global day of action tomorrow against Wall Street greed , with events in more than 950 cities and 82 countries. ²

But New York is the flagship city for this growing movement, so it's crucial that we show up tomorrow. There are two main occupation solidarity events in New York—come to either, or both!

Stand for the Dream Against Chase Bank
When: Saturday, October 15, 11 a.m.
Where: Liberty Plaza, Church St. and Cedar St.
What: A day of action against Chase Bank

The Occupation Party
When: Saturday, October 15, 5 p.m.
Where: Times Square
What: A stunning moment of hope and solidarity (wear white)

After the news hit that the Occupy Wall Street protesters would be effectively evicted from Zuccotti Park, the call went out across the country.

300,000 MoveOn members signed an emergency petition to Mayor Bloomberg in less than 24 hours , which was delivered to the park and City Hall last night. Tens of thousands of people across the country put in calls to the city, demanding that the protesters be allowed to stay.

And at 6 this morning, thousands of MoveOn members, union workers, community organizers, and other brave New Yorkers swelled the ranks of the protesters, standing with them shoulder-to-shoulder against their impending eviction.

Most incredible were the 99% protesters themselves. They stood their ground, in the best traditions of nonviolent resistance. And in an amazing show of organization and action, they undertook a full-scale cleaning of the park, taking away the false pretext of a "cleaning operation" under which Brookfield and the city were threatening to evict them.

It will only get better, so join one of Saturday's solidarity actions in New York tomorrow.

Stand for the Dream Against Chase Bank
When: Saturday, October 15, 11 a.m.
Where: Liberty Plaza, Church St. and Cedar St.
What: A day of action against Chase Bank

The Occupation Party
When: Saturday, October 15, 5 p.m.
Where: Times Square
What: A stunning moment of hope and solidarity (wear white)

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin, Sarah, Elena, Stefanie, and the rest of the team

P.S. To make sure you're kept up-to-date on urgent Occupy actions, like the threatened eviction this morning, click here to sign up for SMS alerts on Occupy Wall Street.

Sources:

1. "Occupy Wall Street Protesters Hold On To Zuccotti Park For Another Day," Huffington Post, October 14, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=265350&id=32008-1286937-xULSkpx&t=7

2. "#OWS VICTORY: The people have prevailed, gear up for the global day of action," OccupyWallStreet, October 14, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=265351&id=32008-1286937-xULSkpx&t=8

occupy wall street #2: the live feed!

according to gil-scott heron, the revolution will not be televised, will not be televised, will not be televised - but that doesn't mean it won't be on the internet. now you can be in the thick of it all, whether you're all the way across the country or all the way across town.

i hope the whole world is watching when the cops clear everyone out of the park tomorrow morning, so it can be cleaned. i suppose it doesn't matter that everyone is cleaning it now. it's surprisingly organized down there.

Watch live streaming video from occupywallstnyc at livestream.com

too bad i missed tom morello's performance in liberty park as his acoustic guitar-slingin' alter ego the nightwatchman but i had an audition that wouldn't wait.

i leave you with a few powerful remarks from gil-scott heron -- because there's just way too many intelligent, educated and supposedly well-informed people in this country who don't know who he is.

stuff that happens before a legit audition

in today's audition, i must use my legit (otherwise known as legitimate) voice -- something that traditional musical theater requires. this voice is operatic, open and full.



that's a little sticky for me today because i've got some mucus rattling around in my throat, and it won't leave. maybe it's the cheese i had yesterday. maybe it's the milk in my tea. maybe it's the fact that i left the bedroom window open the other night when the temperature dropped so abrubtly. i don't want to wait for an agent submission for this one. i want to make sure my hat is in the ring, now.

according to aea audition rules, this is an open call. that's cool. no one (that i know of, anyway) is born with an equity card. we were all non-union once upon a time. they start seeing women at 10am. that means they call names and numbers from the sign-in sheet by 9:30am. that means i should leave home by 8:30am to be sure that i get there by 9:30am. that means i should get up by 7:30am to give me and my voice time to wake up and warm up before i leave the house.



it's gray, damp and raining, and it's so early, it's still dark outside. i've already put the kettle on. i'm starting to vocalize and move around to loosen up physically. i give myself an hour to sink into things and let my voice wake up. i showered and shaved last night, so i can have this gigantic cup of tea and not think about anything. unfortunately, i can't stop thinking. i've laid out what i'm going to wear but i don't like it anymore. momentary panic ensues. all of a sudden, i have no clothes.

if it weren't so soggy outside, i'd go for a quick run in riverbank state park. nothing gets rid of that nervous edgy feeling like physical exhaustion. after a few miles, i'm quite literally too tired to care. but that can't happen today. there's no time for a quick pit-stop at the gym, either. i have to pack a bag. usually it's a small suitcase. it's basically as many outfits that i need for all of my auditions. this is all that's happening for today, so i pack heels, wear flats and dress appropriately. i also pack sheet music (sometimes that means bringing my book), headshot, makeup and whatever else i can think of. like breath mints.

i get out by 9am and somehow magically, i get there before 10am. and that's where the rubber hits the road...

more la baker

i've read a bio or two about josephine baker. i know the trajectory of her life, stateside and in paris -- her poverty stricken childhood in east st. louis, her initial successes, her delusions, her children, that bombastic ego, her downfall, her triumphant return -- but whenever i see her take the stage, it shakes me to my core. in the clips from the 60s and 70s, she is clearly not a young woman by any far stretch of the imagination. and yet, she is gorgeous, she is vibrant, she is sexy, with this lean, toned body that's so full of energy and vim, it's absolutely astonishing. as a performer, she's even more of a powerhouse than eartha kitt -- and that's saying quite a lot.

some time ago, someone told me that i reminded them of josephine baker. i didn't really get it at the time. they said that it's because i like to talk to the audience spontaneously, especially when things go wrong onstage. apparently, miss baker was a regular chatty cathy, too. i can't stand the idea of a dead mic. if something goes wrong, it's my job to deal with it head-on -- not walk off-stage until it gets fixed. if people got off the couch and paid good hard earned money to come and see me perform, the least i can do is give them a show.

they said that like la baker, i tend to drift towards elegance when i sing onstage. who doesn't look pulled together in a gown? i'm not so sure how far i delve into fantasy, though. clearly, she's a showgirl of the highest order, at all times. sylvester is definitely the male embodiment of that aspect of her performance. he actually met her before she died and she told him, it's all about the fantasy, give them the fantasy.

i'm kind of annoyed that she's wearing pants in the first clip because her legs are kind of fantastic.

there is something buoyant about all the charm she displays in these clips. so highbrow and yet so accessible and real. she looks like someone who should hold themselves away from you and yet she reaches out to you warmly, wanting to hold onto you, wide-eyed and friendly and smiling incessantly.






i know the following video says it's from the 50s but it was actually shot in the 60s. la baker was nearly 60 years old. (!!!)