louise on the left (coast)

We've all heard it before:  "Less is more."  But what does that mean regarding movement? "Less is more" is the mantra every actor and writer is hit over the head with, nearly hourly, by every teacher, choreograper or director they'll ever work with.    And as they'll all tell you, it is mu ch easier said than done.  Below's video, "World Order," by Genki Sudo puts this deceptively complicated artistic theory to practice in the medium of dance.    *Note:  You will NEVER see ensemble work performed ANY more exquisitely than you see here.  This is the gold standard for ensemble work.  Period.  And, note, you will never see a performance of our beating heart performed any more beautifully and powerfully than you see starting in about Minute 3:48.  Moving and gorgeous.  I'm in awe. Okay, I'll admit I'd never heard of Genki Sudo, before, but by minute 3:48 I was a complete goner and had completely fallen under the m

Yesterday topped 110 degrees. Even the birds were silent.   The air, a steady bake, quietly hovered over the surface of our lives.  On an otherwise normal day in Southern California, lawns singed.  Tires burst.  People withered.   If, indeed, geography is personal, then climate is even more so. Here in coastal elementary schools, meccas of mid-century architecture blithely shaded scores of limp children in classrooms untouched by scientific concepts such as Global Warming, let alone one air conditioner.  Not in the budget.  Yet. There were no extra fans, and no school AC.  Perhaps, the (wise and loving) occasional homeroom teacher managed to provide, one or two fans of their own, for their classroom.  But, generally, the schools were all left wide open.   Open and welcoming to the friendly skies of 1957, when they were built.   The only catch is, it isn't mid-century any longer.  It is now 2010. School budgets no longer contain enough for books, teachers, or ev

In case you missed the amazing "Jessica's Daily Affirmation" Part One, here it is, again. It never fails to cheer me up.

This kid loves Bowie. No, this kid really, really, really loves David Bowie... Hey, Mom! -- Guess what?  You, too,  can cure this child of her obsession with just one listen of Bowie's "The Laughing Gnome." Even Bowie can't handle it. David Bowie 'Requiem For A Laughing Gnome' 1999

What.  Is.  Luck? "Your lucky number is 32345543423225. Watch for it everywhere." Compilation of close calls footage of various people cheating death Watch:

I learned at least three things tonight: One:  Apparently "This is so smooth" is a bullshit compliment.   (That's what she said.) And, Two;  Apparently artists see things that aren't there anyway, so the rest of us are free to drink Absinthe without any risk to our ears. And, three:  This will not make you hallucinate, you will just be more aware that you are drunk. See for yourself:

This is my all time favorite song of this summer:  LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great." Has some controversy about the meaning of it:  Don't really care.  It's my favorite song of the year.

I have to tell you,  I know people did a fair amount of bitching and moaning about lines and alleged chaos at last week's FYF, but I didn't notice anything different from any other big concert event. Seriously, have any of these complaining 20 something-year-olds ever tried to survive a PTA funded ice cream social in 100 degree weather?  Give me a break. Sorry, but I thought the event was amazing.  Loved the light rail running behind the bands as the sun set over LA.  Chinatown's lights growing stronger as dusk faded into one rocking night. And then there were the bands.  The only one that I can think about was a new group out of Sacramento called !!! (or Chk Chk Chk) God, these guys were hot and the concert dancing was, maybe, some of the best concert dancing, ever . Here's a  Black Dice video of "AmFm" from their album "Strange Weather, Isn't It?"

Last night I made my way up and out of Orange County to go see " Mysterious Skin ," a play written by my friend and blogger pal, Prince Gomolvilas, which is now enjoying its Los Angeles premiere at East West Players. I have to say, I was in a hurry last night, so while flying up the 110 freeway, I worked to make my mind an empty slate about what I t hought  the play was going to be like.  I knew only that it was going to be shocking. True, I had heard the play (based on Scott Heim's novel) was "adult" and gay-themed, but other than this, I attempted to keep my understanding of what to expect last night as spoiler-free as possible. I wanted to absorb as much as possible last night completely free of preconceptions.   Luckily,  I actually made it to my seat just in time to hear a lovely introduction by the play's director, Tim Dang, before the show began.  And I'm so grateful I was there for the first night of the run.   " Mysterious Skin &quo