Canadian billionaire Quebec-born philanthropist Guy Laliberte, jokes as he puts on a clown nose as he speaks through the glass wall with his family and friends at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
Stephen Sondheim on Writing for Musicals
“Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.”
– Stephen Sondheim
A dwarf can see farther than a giant if the dwarf stands on the giant’s shoulders. With that idea I turn to the mind of Stephen Sondheim for insights into creating new works for musical theater.
I also have the great gift that one of my current co-workers has worked with Sondheim and will purportedly give me more insight into his work habits and ideas.
Here are my favorite excerpts from the Stephen Sondheim interview posted at:
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/son0int-1
Hong Kong Disneyland Halloween
Hong Kong Disneyland turns to a Halloween theme for the evenings of September 18-October 31, 2009. I’ll try to check it out and let you know if it compares to the Knott’s Berry Farm Halloween themes back in California.
Check out Disney’s previews at:
http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/html/Halloween/en_US/
Penn and Teller: World Peace
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ID_8syE4Pc
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AQN6FCOJXI
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed4t8yC6uR0
Penn & Teller talk about how the only way they feel world peace is to be achieved. From the Penn and Teller show “Bullshit”.
Penn and Teller Money Trick
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8lsSPshxJ4
Oh man. I had to watch this a couple times to see what was happening. I got duped too! Penn and Teller showing a classic money changing con trick.
Penn and Teller: Creationism
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BncRhS3NBfk
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCWEpaLBa6U
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDDxF3j4Q4g
The Creationism segment from Penn and Teller’s “Bullshit” show.
Includes footage of Duane Gish from the Insitute of Creation Research and also the Cobb County school board in their voting process to include creationism as part of the school science curriculum.
One of the other websites I run is a bible discussion website. The Creation vs. Evolution debate section of that website is located at:
http://forum.bible-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17
You can spend many hours there reading debates between “creationists” and “evolutionists”. The debates include specific points of biology and geology. I have been literally amazed to see the amount of effort and research members put into their posts. For me, the most telling element of these debates is to see which side consistently posts documented information to support their side; and to see which side consistently changes the argument mid-stream.
Many US residents are not aware that the creation vs evolution “debates” are primarily an issue solely in the United States. There is not such widespread conversation on this subject outside the USA; although it has begun to spread to Australia.
Penn and Teller are magicians from Las Vegas. They devote a lot of their time to bring up subjects they consider “Bullshit”. If you search their other videos on YouTube you might be surprised to see some of the other subjects they cover.
Elizabeth Gilbert: A new way to think about creativity
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA
This really hits home. Recommended viewing for artists and creators.
“Eat, Pray, Love” Author Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses — and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person “being” a genius, all of us “have” a genius. It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.
**Update 092909 – I have gone back to incorporating the concept of a Daemon in my creative process and have found it to be incredibly productive.**
Continue reading “Elizabeth Gilbert: A new way to think about creativity”
Bach Improvisation, Bobby McFerrin
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duZhnbjris8
A friend told me about the Bach improvisations by Bobby McFerrin. Here’s one of them.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYIIhis6jfI
And here’s McFerrin doing the Gound/Bach Ave Maria.
Going ‘Gaga’ in Macau
Lady Gaga performed in Macau at the Sands Venetian Casino (where I work with Cirque Du Soleil’s ZAIA show) as the final concert of her tour. There is an interview released by CNN here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/25/lady.gaga/index.html?iref=intlOnlyonCNN
Lady Gaga attended our Cirque ZAIA show the night before her performance.
Stormtroopers reminisce about death star
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfDEyLbUSxo
In a parody of the 9/11 attacks a group of stormtroopers talk about that fateful day the death star exploded.