It’s a Black and White World
The world is changing and I find myself feeling old and hankering after the good old days….. and then, I don’t. Walking this morning I realized that sometimes I live in the past and I must make an effort to be in the present. I wrote a blog post once theorizing that perhaps aging is what happens when the volume of forward-looking thought is outweighed by the volume of backward-looking memories – I called it the tipping point. I still think there may be something to that idea but essentially, we have to live in the moment or we are not living at all rather we are dreaming our way through life. I struggle to explain some things and this idea that the world is increasingly black and white is one of
Read More »There is Magic…..
I believe in magic. Strange thing to say coming from a Ph.D. I guess. The thing is that these days I think many people do not believe in magic at all and it’s a shame. For me, magic is what happens when you just let it. It is that thing you feel when you observe things in a certain way – that moment when you catch a glimpse of eternity in the Universe in seeing the sky, that moment when you feel the oneness of the All, that moment when you are filled with a certain feeling of happiness and contentment despite everything (and everyone!). You know magic is alive in your life when things just happen. Coincidences and unexpected events that take you in an often unexpected direction. To
Read More »My Way
These days people are either one thing or another. Polar opposites. I find this peculiar and yet intriguing. I read somewhere that all people who are warming skeptics are Trump supporters. It was a good example of how polarized things have become and I do believe that people sometimes lose their ability to think. Rather they parrot what they have read in their little enclave of social media friends who all think as they do. Or maybe they would rather not think for themselves so as not to face the wrath of the political police? It’s everywhere. If you are not with us, you must be against us. Well, sorry but I do think. I don’t subscribe to any prevailing set of politically correct parrot thoughts. And I never will. It
Read More »Art for Art’s Sake?
For a while, I have been thinking that the walls of my rented place look a bit bare. I had a poke around IKEA and places like that but I’m not going to pay $50 for mass produced ‘art’. Then, my friend Walter Novak gave me a couple of his photographs – a beautiful shot of David Bowie, a ‘fan’ photo or two and a picture of my daughter he shot one evening recently. I framed them and hung them. But still – lot’s of white space. What to do? Over the Xmas holidays, my girlfriend and I were visiting Telc – a beautiful town here in the Czech Republic and we visited an art store. Suddenly, I realized you can actually buy real art for less than that mass-produced stuff
Read More »Other Eyes
Sometimes I see things. Its been that way all of my life. Now, when I say ‘see’, I’m not sure this is an accurate description yet it is the only word I can use. I see and feel all at the same time and the two ‘senses’ are somehow merged as if one. As an example, a few months ago, as two friends and I stood within a stone circle close by the Scottish border, I ‘saw’ a lady step out from behind one of the stones and smile. Her hair was loose and flowing in the wind and she wore a flowing gown of sheer simplicity. As I mentioned to my friends “Oh, we have a visitor!” They both looked down the approach path expecting someone, well, physical. Then,
Read More »An Immigrant and His Life – Walter Novak
Last week, I met my friend Walter Novak for a beer and a chat. Walter is a Czech-American that found fame in the US as a photographer and rightly so – he has a unique ability to find the photo. The topic of the conversation drifted to his life story and what he told me I think is very apt given the times that we live in. He left the former Czechoslovakia two-years after the velvet revolution. When he arrived in the USA, he could barely speak a word of English and he had to gain a green card of course. For a couple of years, he had two jobs mopping floors and he got up and demonstrated the movement that he perfected so well as he mopped for maximum efficiency.
Read More »Photo Shoots
Just recently, the celebrated Czech-American photographer – Walter Novak – shot some photographs for me to help me promote a better image around my music. Walter is an award winning photographer who has worked with the stars and so, honestly, it was an honor to work with him. The results I think are startling. His concept was to take the photos at dusk with a long shutter speed capturing a moving Brno tram in the background along with graffiti and so on. It gives a central-eastern European feel while also making me look quite the rocker! I am very pleased with the results. Last night, we completed the second part of the assignment – to take some closer stills of me for my book promotion work. He chose another location
Read More »How To Look At The World
I met Walter several years ago in Brno. He seemed a character and had good stories to tell. Unfortunately, he moved to Prague and from there back to the US. We kept in touch though via Facebook. Then, a few weeks ago I noticed him posting about returning to Brno so I reached out and we agreed to meet. Since then, we have shared a few evenings telling stories and laughing a lot. But Walter is no ordinary person. He sees life in a different way to many and his way of looking at the world is through the lens of a camera. He is also an artist framing what he sees within his lens. His vision captures the humanity of his subjects and casts them mostly in a way
Read More »Musical Declaration of Freedom
It’s been sometime coming. But, finally, I declare myself FREE. In the words of this latest song… It’s my life, It’s my life, It’s my life and I’m going to live it! In recent weeks, many things have changed and some very important people have entered my life. The Universe has been kicking my ass! So, here is my anthem – take a listen… Plainly, this moment was coming for as I wrote End of the World – It came to me in silence Came as if in a dream It was plain to see Nothing I could do That’s when I saw you Eyes met across the room Now I’m with you The end of things is coming It’s all a matter of time It’s plain to see Nothing
Read More »OK, OK,I get it!!!!
Recently, I wrote about being on the menu. It seems as if I still am. Over the weeks that have followed, so many strange things have occurred that defy really any logical explanation, that seem to be repeating the same message to me over and over. Yesterday, was quite bizarre and was a day in which I saw a friend connect with a girl in a rapid and strange way. My friend is a younger generation to me, and the girl he/we met, considerable younger – in her early twenties. Her English was not so good, but my friend was able to translate. So, let me repeat – met this girl for the first time at 9pm as a result of an event that took place with my friend and
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