I Love Flamenco - Part 2: Mastery of Rhythm

Contemporary flamenco is most famous for its mastery of rhythm.  Since the 1970s, rhythm in all of its variations and varieties has been intensely explored by flamenco guitarists and dancers (and, to a lesser extent, by singers).

The basic rhythm instruments of flamenco are the following:

pitos--finger snapping

taconeo--percussive footwork by the dancer

palmas--rhythmic hand clapping used as accompaniment

nudillos--knuckle rapping on a wooden table top

cañas--wooden ...Read more

Poem of remembrance--Sichuan Earthquake

Sichuan Earthquake

imagine the innocent wonder of those who

watch the ground moving

like a giant bolt of silk

agitated by unseen hands.

a few seconds of amazement--

then the meaning of this mysterious movement

burns its way deep into their consciousness--

and survival trumps beauty.

the voices coming from the radio

speak a heavily accented dialect

that sounds alien to these ears,

but the language of grief and loss

is...Read more

A great art blog on Time.com

I keep stumbling across this great blog by Time correspondent Richard Lacayo.  He is a savy, opinionated guy, with some pretty decent art history credentials, and he really gets around and looks at a lot of art.  He manages to cover a large cross-section of what is happening in the art world with his almost daily blogs.  He discusses art of all periods and media, always laced with his own strong views on the subject.  The pictures are great, the writing is top drawer and the coverage is diverse enough so that there is something f...Read more

Cantopop Karaoke: Introducing the Leslie Cheung Method for Learning Chinese

Why do people choose to do some of the things they do?  I have to ask myself this question when I think about what I have done.  In February, I made the decision to take some of the money I got from the sale of my deceased father’s car to purchase a conversational Cantonese course, Pimsleur Cantonese 1, to be more exact.  This was the course that, in the course of my internet research, received the highest consumer ratings.  It was also the most expensive.  So, with cash burning a h...Read more

I Love Flamenco - Part 1

Flamenco is one of the great gifts of Andalucia, Spain to the world.  In this melting pot of Christian, Islamic and Jewish musical antecedents, with the unique traditions of the Gypsies thrown in for good measure, this unique and emotionally powerful musical art was born during the 18th century.

Flamenco came of age in the last half of the 19th century, where it became all the rage at music halls all over Spain and, finally in the 20th century, in other parts of Europe, North and South America, even as far away as Japan.

Desire

skin that tastes of honey;

warm—

exuding its pollen

to entrap the tongue

hair, faintly scented,

a hint of lavender,

cool against warm skin.

fingers, entangled—

snared

deep kisses.

tongues like fishes,

darting—

swimming before the gates of desire

fingers tracing the surface of the body—

like a blind man--

trying to discover the contours

of desire

where is love in all of this?

The Age of Invisibility

A funny things happens to women in Western society as they approach 50:  they become invisible.  Now when I walk into a room filled with people, no matter how confidently I carry myself, no matter how fine I look (for my age—always the kicker), I might just as well have painted myself with invisible paint.  The few eyes that do turn my direction to see who has entered the room end up looking right past me as if I am not there, scanning the doorway to see who might be coming in, yet all the while not seeing me standing right there.

A poem for Tino di Geraldo

Tino di Geraldo is a Spanish producer, percussionist, drummer, composer and general wild man.  This poem was inspired by some of the tracks on his latest album, Tino.  Sadly, the album is now out of print, but I am the happy owner of one of the few copies that made it to the US.

flamenco funk fuck

my man Tino

escuchando a su música

funky funk

heavy speed metal

jazz flamenco rap

breaking down the doors

blank walls crying for slash graffiti

dark light

st...Read more

New Poem

the past demands its due

and, if not paid in full,

will mortgage the future

you want to turn your face away,

tired of the pain and constriction

imposed on you by experience.

your soul is free,

but struggles to bring your heart along;

a thing of the air,

it is wrapped in unfulfilled expectations

that turn heavy

and force you down to earth,

grounding hopes and desires

that long to soar skywards

on soft wings

that gently whir as they ...Read more

Diptych

I.

the only way not to love you

is to make myself despise you—

and thus despise myself even more.

to generate white hot anger

and so fool myself into believing

that I no longer love you.

by filling the outer chambers of my heart with rage

and loosening the hold of any tender feelings

I see clearly how much I am still bound to you,

you

who no longer has a use for me,

you

who used me as you saw fit—

and conveniently discarded me

wh...Read more