Long time no blog

It's been almost four years since I last posted an update on this blog. In that time I've had two babies, proving the adage about small children that the days are long but the years are short. Almost four years! I have to admit that I've wanted to blog during that time but had forgotten my Blogger password. And what with taking care of little ones, blogging has taken a backseat along with a lot of other things -- it's a pretty crowded backseat at this point. Not that I regret putting any of those things aside in favor of what I've been doing, but I do miss certain things. Like theatre. And concerts. And art exhibits. And more than five hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Now that my littler little one is moving out of infancy and into toddlerhood and I'm gaining just a smidge more time to myself, the new year has brought with it feelings of wanting to move ahead and explore. We are still pretty broke with no change to our fortunes in the foreseeable future. Which is OK (I think) as long as we confront it and approach it creatively, not in a reactionary fashion as we have the past few years. It is possible to be broke and not be, think, or feel poor. There has to be a way to live a sparse financial life but a rich cultural life -- there are just too many of us who were impacted in the long-term by the recent (because it's supposed to be over, you know) recession to be permanently cut-off. If we -- the marginally middle class -- view ourselves as part of the disenfranchised underclass, then... well, I don't know enough about economics or sociology to be able to predict the impact that will have on U.S. society at large.

And here is where I should stop for the night. I can't count how many times I was interrupted just trying to write that much, and now I've lost my train of thought. Suffice it to say, here's to a lively, invigorating, creative and joy-filled 2013.

Don't let me down like this!

I just checked the SCFD Free Days webpage and was disappointed to see that next week's free performance of "Sunsets and Margaritas" at the Denver Center has been cancelled. I was really hoping to make it out for that, as work got in the way of getting out in time to see last week's "Radio Golf," and this week's busy-ness will likely keep me from "A Prayer for Owen Meaney." I don't have much time here, people! Don't do this to me!

recap 1/3/09 -- Keeping It Local

There's something about the new year that makes me itchy to get out of the house for some non-Christmas activities. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. We decorate our house, pull out our substantial CD & DVD collection, decorate sugar cookies -- I even sang at Midnight Mass at our local church. I love Christmas. But just as the lifestyle industry can't wait to dispense with holiday recipes and "sparkling decorating tips" and start talking about diets, gym memberships, and comforting one-pot meals at the stroke of Jan. 1st, I similarly am eager to stretch out beyond Rankin-Bass specials and and innumerable versions of "The Christmas Song" for my cultural fix as New Year's approaches. And so, on Saturday, January 3, I organized my itinerary, loaded my car up with items appropriate to my different stops, and bade the guitarhero "see ya' later" shortly before noon.

My first stop was Samadhi Yoga for a prenatal yoga class, my first. While Samadhi is not a budget-friendly location ($17/drop-in class), it was paid for out of Christmas money I received for that specific purpose so it didn't feel so much like money out of my pocket. I hadn't attended a class in, oh, a very long time and my home practice has been negligible, so the class was still challenging despite not being ass-kicking. A couple of times when Warrior pose got uncomfortable and I found myself looking forward to moving out of it, I thought, "Dude, you might as well get used to discomfort and then some." Find ease in the pose, indeed.

From Samadhi, I went down to Twist & Shout on Colfax to sell some CDs. While I haven't gone into full-on nesting mode, I have started to de-clutter where posible and get together enough inventory to warrant holding a garage sale in the spring. But in the meantime, I hoped that Twist & Shout might be interested in some of the CDs that no longer interest me. They didn't take all of them (what? no love for Dionne Farris?) but I got enough back in cash to finance the rest of my afternoon. Next stop was the Tattered Cover next door to buy a new calendar for the kitchen -- we tend toward nature scenes, so I opted for one featuring pictures of the Colorado landscape taken by a well-known local photographer.

I don't think I had a very substantial breakfast that morning, so by 3:00 p.m. or so I was starving. Well, let's be honest, I was hungry during yoga class. (I'm hungry as I write this, having just eaten. I was hungry at 4:00 this morning. I. Am. Hungry.) It was the perfect opportunity to give the SAME Cafe a try. I first heard about the Cafe a few months ago on NPR's The Splendid Table and had added it to the list of things to do. SAME stands for So All May Eat, and is strategically located on East Colfax, probably the area of Denver most similar to Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood for its mix of clubs, bars, and shops peopled by young hipsters, transients, and everyone in between. The founders believe strongly that everyone has a right and should have access to healthy food regardless of their means. They aim to use organic and locally sourced ingredients whenever possible; portions are small but you may have as many servings as you like; and you pay what you can by slipping cash into a little envelope and putting it in the donation box when you're finished. If you can't pay you may volunteer for an hour or so, but I can't imagine that they'd refuse food to anyone for any reason. It all seems too good and idealistic to succeed, like the Amsterdam White Bicycle program back in the 1960s. I sincerely hope SAME Cafe doesn't suffer the same fate, but the owners claim to come out even at the end of each day, so perhaps there's hope after all.

The cold, damp weather made the Cafe particularly welcoming that day. I got myself a glass of iced tea and ordered up a cup of butternut squash soup, spinach and pear salad, and vegetarian pizza. I didn't linger over my lunch too long as I still had a couple stops left on my schedule, but I savored every bite of the homey and tasty meal, topped off by a frosted sugar cookie for dessert. As I noted above, I Am Hungry most of the time and probably could have eaten more, but since my cash was limited and I didn't want to be a complete mooch, I thought it best to quit before I was stuffed. So I moved along.

With barely 90 minutes to spare before closing time, I headed over to the Denver Art Museum for Free First Saturday admission. Because the parking garage was charging a flat rate higher than my cash on hand, I sought out meter-free parking a few blocks away -- it made me wish I'd known that in advance so I could have eaten more at the Cafe. Once inside the museum I headed straight for the temporary exhibits, of which I saw four. The disadvantage of having planned such a busy day meant that I felt rushed to consume as much art as possible -- to get the most bang for my non-existent buck if you will. The first exhibit I visited, The Art of Ernest l. Blumenschein , was the largest and would have benefitted from a more leisurely pace. I also apparently picked the wrong side of the room to start viewing the collection and ended up seeing the 66 works in reverse chronological order. I was immediately engaged in a short conversation with a woman who seemed eager to talk about what she'd just seen -- I think she compared Blumenschein to Thomas Hart Benton and also gave me a short history of artists' pigments. (Whether it was a function of the free admission, the cold and overcast day, or the late hour, the entire museum was packed. Conversations, intentional or overheard, were inevitable.) The enormous contemporary paintings by Daniel Richter left me relying a bit too much on the curator's descriptions to inform my own reactions to the work -- perhaps I could have understood it better had I seen it back in high school when I was still studying art history, but I'm not as smart now as I was then. The small gallery hosting a handful of abstract expressionist works by Clyfford Still functioned mainly as a teaser for the Still Museum set to open next year. And last but certainly not least, I caught the Houdon sculpture exhibit the day before it closed. The familiar medium of realistic, Enlightenment-era sculptures of mythological and towering historical figures, such as Voltaire and Washington, made this the most accessible collection for my harried mindset. I probably should have gone to the February First Saturday if only to give the Blumenschein another shot before it closed.

My very last stop was decidedly unlocal and non-cultural, but a co-worker had given me a Kohl's $10 coupon and I was in dire need of another pair of maternity pants (which are not as comfortable as you might think but are better than trying to wear your regular jeans with the help of a rubber band holding them closed). Luckily there was a nice pair of cords that fit well and were on sale to boot. Not a thrilling end to an otherwise varied and busy day, but considering that free time as I've known it will soon be a thing of the past, I have absolutely no complaints.

We'll drink a cup of kindness yet...

But before the weekend arrives, I guess we should actually ring in the new year, right? If I were back in the LaLa Land of my birth today, I would be heading down to M & L's house for their New Year's extravaganza (read: copious amounts of vin rouge from Trader Joe's and snax consumed in the company of a few handfuls of friends). But since we're here in Denver and still have yet to forge any new friendships strong enough to warrant venturing out on New Year's Eve, and since I am Not Drinking* these days, we will observe the most overplayed holiday of the year in our own quiet way.

But hey! If you're the type who likes to get out and revel amongst anonymous revelers, you've got choices. There will be fireworks downtown, not to mention free bus and light rail service from 7:00 tonight until 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. It's sad that I'm tempted to leave the house if only to take advantage of free public transport.

So Happy New Year, y'all! Even if 2009 doesn't spring back from this recession with the elasticity of Nellie Oleson's curls, let's just act as if it has (perhaps with less borrowing and spending).


* Although I have discovered that St. Pauli Girl makes a rather respectable non-alcoholic malt beverage.

Jan. 2-3 "First Weekend" Art Galleries & Museums

Just because I've taken a long break from tracking this stuff doesn't mean that much has changed. There are still plenty of arts to see this coming First Friday and First Saturday to ring in the New Year!

First Friday Art Walk @ RiNo

First Friday Art Walk @ Santa Fe Arts District

Free First Saturday @ Denver Art Museum

Penny Saturday @ Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

Oct. 20 Free Day @ Denver Zoo

Saturday, October 20 is an SCFD-funded day of free admission to the Denver Zoo.

June 1 Art Walk @ RiNo

The RiNo Arts District is billing the June First Friday as an evening in rino , featuring quite a few opening receptions. The weather should be great, so why not get out for a walk?

Just say No! to summer replacements

We are again officially a two-income household. My new place of employment is so close to home it's almost annoying. If nothing else, my utter lack of a commute means that I have no excuse not to do anything I've ever said I wanted to do with my spare time. Including getting out more often. With the pop culture summer season having just started a few days ago, there will be countless outdoor concerts, festivals, art walks, and performances every single weekend for the next few months. All I can say is, Bring it!

April 22 Free Day @ Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Sunday, April 22 is an SCFD-funded day of free admission to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming

All I can say is that life is never boring around here. Just as it seemed that things (e.g., income, finances) might be picking up, we found ourselves unexpectedly still a one-income household [Note: I am writing this from my home computer in the middle of a workday]. Plus ça change...

So here I am, still broke, with more time on my hands than is proper, and it's time to get back to this blog despite not needing it to react against my daily grind. Posts may not be quite as frequent, but there will be posts.

March 14 João Junqueira @ Broomfield Auditorium

The CU in Broomfield World Music series continues this Wednesday, March 14 with João Junqueira and the CU Brazilian Ensemble. The show starts at 7:00 at the Broomfield Auditorium.

Guitarist, performer, composer, arranger, and CU lecturer, João Junqueira, brings his unique style of improvisational music-weaving guitar, voice, and percussive sounds influenced by Brazilian, Jazz, and World Music. Join him and the CU Brazilian Ensemble for an evening that transcends the boundaries between beings, spirits, and cultures.

March 14 Mrs. Warren's Profession @ DCTC

The final round of plays in the Denver Center Theatre Company's season gets started this month. There will be an SCFD-funded free performance of Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession on Wednesday, March 14 at the Bonfils Theatre. Box office opens at 4:30, and curtain is at 6:30.

March 13 Opera 101 @ DPL

On Tuesday, March 13, the Opera 101 program will focus on La Traviata (Central City Opera) and Un Ballo in Maschera (Opera Colorado), both by Verdi. As always, there will be excerpts performed live. Go if only for the Traviata excerpts -- it's a fabulous opera.

March 12 Young Dubliners in-store @ Twist & Shout

Bring on St. Patty's Day! The Young Dubliners will do an in-store at Twist & Shout on Monday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. I don't think they'll be serving any Guiness, unfortunately...

March 8 is International Women's Day

Although art that is purely agenda-driven doesn't usually do it for me, I believe that the arts do have tremendous power to impact society at large. I like to think that sometimes just hearing diverse voices telling diverse stories will help us all see things in new ways, which may in turn help us see each other in new ways, which may someday lead to global, everlasting peace. I appreciated Forest Whitaker's Oscar acceptance speech, and think his sentiment can be applied to any creative effort:

Because when I first started acting, it was because of my desire to connect to everyone. To that thing inside each of us. That light that I believe exists in all of us. Because acting for me is about believing in that connection and it's a connection so strong, it's a connection so deep, that we feel it. And through our combined belief, we can create a new reality.

Hey, a chicksinger can dream, can't she?

So today, in honor of International Women's Day, I'm going to blog against sexism and highlight some women's artistic ventures in the Denver and Boulder area. And also, because the personal is political, I just might be engaging in some self-promotion with this post.

If you -- that is, if there is a "you" out there reading this -- know of something I overlooked that you think should be included in this list, please leave a comment for me. Thanks.

Vox Feminista is a "multi-media, multi-passionate performance tribe of womyn" that is presenting an event this Saturday, March 10. From their website:

VOX RISING! proudly presents their first show "Closet Traumas" Saturday, March 10 @ Nomad Theater1410 Quince Ave, North Boulder at 8:00 pm --- $5-$500 sliding scale --- no one turned away
VOX RISING! is a safe-space theater for passionate youth to speak out on political issues. Through music, spoken-word, and group skits, young people will create dialogue on issues meaningful to them and their future. "Closet Traumas" is more than young people deciding what to wear. It is an exploration into the many dilemmas youth face in their possible futures.

Marin Alsop, Conductor Laureate of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, founded the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship to "foster and encourage women who are studying or training to be orchestral conductors in orchestras or ensembles.” Rei Hotoda, the 2006 fellowship recipient, will be appearing with the CSO and Maestra Alsop in concerts March 9-11.

The Denver Women's Chorus is a lesbian community choir that will be presenting a joint concert with the Denver Gay Men's Chorus on April 13 entitled "A Night of Dark Music" at St. John's Cathedral.

The chorale Safonia is a "women's ensemble dedicated to the synergy of music, passion and excellence." They have concerts coming up April 14 & 15 in Denver based on the theme "The Poet Sings," featuring many works by women composers.

The ASTER Women's Chamber Choir is also presenting a spring concert entitled "The Poet Sings" (April is National Poetry Month) on April 14 & 21 in Broomfield and Boulder. Donations accepted, but tickets are free.

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts has created the Women’s Voices Fund, an endowment fund "designed to foster the work of women playwrights in the American theatre." There don't seem to be any upcoming events scheduled in the immediate future, but keep your eye on the website for premieres and receptions.

March 11 Kids for Bach concert @ BPL

From the Boulder Bach Fest website:

Sunday, March 11, 2007 — 2:00 & 4:00 PM
Kids for Bach — A Concert for Children, by Children
Boulder Public Library
FREE!

“Kids for Bach” gives students of all ages an opportunity to perform in an excellent small concert hall, the auditorium at the Boulder Public Library. The two concerts, free and open to the public, take place Sunday, March 11, 2007 at 2:00 and 4:00 pm at the Boulder Public Library Auditorium, 1000 Canyon Boulevard. Student performers are selected from taped auditions submitted in January.
Each program includes a mix of ages from 6-18 years old, with some 30 soloists and small ensembles performing on a variety of instruments, such as piano, violin, cello, guitar, voice and recorders. Children’s choirs and string groups often appear as well. All the pieces performed are works of J.S. Bach or one of his sons, most in the range of 2-4 minutes. The student participants are residents of Boulder County.

March 11 Meditate with a Master @ Samadhi Center

From the Samadhi Center for Yoga website:

Sunday March 11th, 2-4:30pm By donation.

Shivabalananda, a long-term, very close and direct disciple of Sri Sri Sri Shiva Bala Yogi Maharaj for thirty years, blessed with the yogic powers of his Master, Shiva Bala Yogi, will be offering Shiva Bala Yogi Meditation Programs on the 2007 International Visit.

All programs are free and open to the public. Shiva Bala Yogi Maharaj (Swamiji) attained God-realization through Tapas, meditating in God-consciousness for twelve years, traveled for thirty-three years offering initiation into dhyan meditation and left the body in the spring of 1994, attaining Mahasamadhi. Sri Swamiji's meditation mission continues through several disciples and devotees, such as Shivabalananda, who travel internationally. Shivabalananda/R. B. Singh, scientist and engineer, soon to retire from the Indian Space Research Organization in Sriharikota, India, will be traveling with his wife, Vidyawati Singh, on this fourth visit. His first international visit was in the fall of 1994 with 24 programs in 9 US cities and 21 programs in Germany and the United Kingdom.

For information on Shivabalayogi's Meditation Mission and Tours, please click here.

March 10 "Barbie Fairytopia" @ Starz FilmCenter

On Saturday, March 10, the Denver Film Society Kids First! series will feature "Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow" at 10:30 and 1:30. I think that's 'nuff said about that.

March 9 "Cat People" @ BPL

On Friday, March 9 at 7:00, the Boulder Public Library will show the 1942 film "Cat People," starring Simone Simon and Kent Smith. The blurb from the website describes it as such: "A beautiful, mysterious fashion artist believes that when she is emotionally aroused, she will turn into a panther and kill." Yowza!

Location: Canyon Theater, main library

March 8 "Grand Hotel" @ BPL

On Thursday, March 8, the Boulder Public Library will show "Grand Hotel" starring Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford. They've updated the website, btw.