Yes, there were missteps. Yes, there were some ill considered choices, aesthetically, technically, and narratively. I rolled my eyes at a few of them with amusement and let most of them roll off my back at the same time. But ultimately I must applaud vigorously. With the risks of spicy big art being reduced by commercial tendencies into a tasteless pablum, this particular show asked a global audience to stretch in so many exciting and invigorating ways.
Read MoreA FEW WORDS, AFTERWARDS
No matter how big the movie, the stage play, the broadcast, or book release, work is always ephemeral, like life itself. The play’s the thing precisely because the action of life only struts and frets for a moment upon the stage. It’s like a love affair; it’s like a perfectly prepared meal; it’s like a long-planned vacation, or even time spent growing up in one’s family home. The feelings may run deep, but the only thing that lasts are shared memories.
Read MoreALL PERFORMANCE IS LIVE
All media jobs are about live performance.
Read MoreTHE MINOR FALL, THE MAJOR LIFT
Alas, nothing lasts. Nothing lasts, but we try anyway. We try and we persevere and some of us wouldn’t have it any other way.
Read MoreHOTEL ROOMS
On the road I am reminded of what matters to me, and I am often surprised with what I rediscover.
Read MoreSAVING THE WORLD
Science is an endless process. It builds on itself. But just like life, science means nothing if the fruits of its efforts aren’t shared with others.
Read MoreDAYS AT SEA
The goals of these explorers are to advance scientific knowledge about life on earth, but the silent by-product is to prove that they’re actually alive themselves.
Read MoreON THE ROAD
You’re not going anywhere if your road simply goes around the same old block again and again. You don’t have to court bad days; they’ll find you anyway. But you can make great, good efforts at good days, and those efforts count. Stack the deck: you can help insure that your journey will add to your overall experience in a way that matters.
Read MoreTHE ESSENCE OF PLACE
Sound makes sights real. A movie with the sound turned off is not only inert, but slightly disturbing. Something substantial feels out of balance, and mere intellectual understanding of the problem does not satisfy our need to fix the context. The barest whisper of wind solidifies the clear air of Autumn, moving crispy, auburn leaves through space and into our senses. Autumn colors tell us what’s happening; Autumn sounds saturate our senses.
Read MoreART WITHOUT ART
Here at the edge of the world creative souls still stir. With almost no time for anything but work and essential labors necessary to maintain life and limb, literature and accomplished music and modern dance will not grow. It’s a simple statement and it’s true, just like tomato plants to not yield fruit in the desert. But here and there, in nuanced ways, I see expressions of individual expression, of ways to remake the world.
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