The Ship of State is listing

Oh boy.. I just got a survey from REDCAT, the Music Center adjacent arts center hiding under the Disney Concert Hall. They want suggestions regarding our current state of affairs.. But! Before addressing that situation, I realized today that the Shoot from the Hip attitude that many folks I know when posting of Facebook often do can be rude and intrusive.  

Today, Amie Hill,  a friend from Renaissance Faire days, posted a memory that included a photo of some old pals: Sandey Grinn, William Barrett and Jeff Briar, fondly recalled as Cock and Feathers.  They enacted bawdy and some pretty amazing shows on the Main Stages of both the Northern and Southern Faires starting back in the early seventies or maybe even earlier.  Talented and audacious, they were!  Grinn and Barrett did their own routines later that were groundbreaking and gut busting. What I  forgot was that Amie Hill's memory was to heighten and celebrate Cock and Feathers contribution to the Faire. Another celebrated Faire guy, Robert Shields, the well known mime from Union Square in San Francisco, posted a tribute to the C&F boys that was heartfelt and kind.  I was surprised to see that he was even on FB and I followed his tribute with my fond recollection that it was Robert who first treated me to the Northern Faire. Of course, it was Cock and Feathers's time to shine in Amie Hill's memory and thoughtlessly, I just added my own memory.  

Having known Sandey, William and Jeff for many years and having contributed to one serious accident for Sandey and then, a boon.. and having enjoyed the friendship of Mr. Barrett and his family for a long time and appreciating Jeff Briar's work and his support for a fund raiser we cranked out several years ago.. these guys deserve their time in the spotlight..Amie's spotlight!And, though I had no intention of spotlight bombing them, I was brought to task by Sandey and though I've deleted my brief note to Robert Shields, the sting is still embarrassing and this is to apologize again.. in my own forum. Here. 

We are in the Hard Times now. It's a lousy excuse to remind us that we are all under the gun, classic confinement, no end in sight, depression.. but we are.. and I feel its weight every day a little like the addition of a pound or two that is more difficult to bear up day by day.. 

To that end.. I write.. because I have no theatre reviews to write..this personal stuff helps to lighten the load. There are other personal issues to discuss, but that's for later.

To  Jeff and Sandey and William: apologies.  I'd be happy to insult you to your faces in the spirit of good humor, but it was never my intention to be an interloper on Amie's sweet tribute to you on Facebook today.  And, I'm really, really sorry about the sliding glass door!

// 

If you are still with me?  Today I got a survey from REDCAT, the local arts venue. They are making efforts to bring back their art to Los Angeles. The survey is pretty standard.  They asked about our degrees of comfort should venues re-open. There was no real space for an expanded opinion about our current dampanic going on. So, I got some of my frustration out by sending the following letter to whomever composed the Redcat survey:

To REDCAT:

Your survey may be helpful.. but.. what human beings need right now is nourishment for the Spirit.  It won't come from streaming or any other E form of 'entertainment'.  The human experience comes from being with human beings.  

Entities like Redcat and The Broad and MoCA and the Music Center and LACMA and every playhouse, large and small, in the Los Angeles area ..must.. we must find a way to come together and reawaken. Our human element is dying.. literally.. Art understands  that the human spirit withers when confined or locked in solitary confinement.

We are all confined, even when with our bandanas pulled up and washing our hands.. we can no longer look at one another.. we are embarrassed and afraid.  We may smile with our eyes, but in some cultures to even make eye contact is forbidden or impolite, thus.. we are masked intruders: eyes widen as in the market an older Hispanic woman quickly sidles as far away as possible.  On the street a neighbor veers away and adjusts his mask.

It is the absolute duty of The Arts to find ways to bring humanity and the warmth of applause in an auditorium: the Sanctuary of Art..  again to life. It is the absolute duty of The Arts to find a way to usher patrons through an art museum where that amazing photo of two little girls in awe of a Rothko at MoCA was taken.. so that we can, once again observe each other stopped in our tracks by the art.. or stroll on by with that often asked question about how THAT got into the friggin' art museum.

It is the duty of established arts institutions like Redcat to sit down and bring us back to sanity... because these days ..each day.. is more and more insane as the Fear Factor is crammed down our throats with  telecasts interrupted by public officials.  What they might be doing is encouraging us to be practical and responsible. The statistics are so vague. The threat of death.. the Plague.. is on us, when..in fact, as serious as it is,  it is a situation that will find its way and leading the way should fall to the Arts.

This is not to casually dismiss the seriousness of our sad state, but finding a way to not condemn the naysayers, and either just avoid them, or ease them back to the fold may be done with Art.

As reasonable folks we must find a way to elect an intelligent and thoughtful president.. move forward to #46 who may still have time to begin to make us care enough about one another and  to bring our whole culture back to an even keel.  

The Ship of State is listing. 

Art must find a way, and shall, when we respond to the challenge and behave again like human beings. 

 

Michael Sheehan

 

 

 

X is for X Ray

For years I've hoped to find a facility to X Ray three ukuleles that I've had ... for years.  

Today, I visited Andre Shakh at his imaging facility in Glendale where I was greeted and treated to new experiences! 

Blatant Plug:  

Andrey Shakhbandaryan, BSRT (R)(MR)

Co-founder /Technical Director

Glenoaks Imaging Professionals

1731 W. Glenoaks Blvd. Suite 101

Glendale, CA 91201

P: 818-230-3400

F: 818-937-9182

The three ukes that Andre was kind enough to xray for me are not unique, but important in the evolution of the instrument in modern culture. 

The Martin

The first is a legacy from a dear friend, a  Martin Style O soprano uke: the basic one. Mahogany all around. No frills. Great sound.  The Style O was introduced in 1922 and discontinued in 1970. This little guy was probably made in the 1930s. 

There were two options for the X Ray: One was a straight forward shot with a device that looked a bit like a photo enlarger. The ukuleles were slightly larger than comfortable for a full body shot, so we repaired to the scanning device that shoots not only straight down, but from the side as well. 

The Martin was loaded onto the bed the scanner looking a little small. 

This Martin is about ninety years of age. 

Nancy Williams Stanford and her Century Graphic w/ The Martin

The Leonardo Nunes and the Herman Weissenborn are from the 1920s. I estimate each of them to be about a hundred years old. The Weissenborn was a gift from the lady who sold my friend, Tom Hayden (Not THAT Tom) his home in Greeley, Colorado. Weissenborn was a Los Angeles builder of ukuleles and hollow neck lap guitars. The lap guitar was unique in that the hollow neck created a rich tone that was a signature sound for Hawaiian music popular in the early part of the twentieth century.

The Nunes was a thrift store find that I love to tell the story of:

My habit is to cruise any thrift store at any opportunity.  The Nunes was badly damaged and at the time I'd not heard of the Nunes family (story to follow).. but the price was only $3.50!  "I'll take it!" (I did not shout.. ) but, the clerk pointed out that it was "half off day" so.. reluctantly I shelled out $1.75 and cuddled the Nunes in my arms.  Months later, Cary Char in Portland restored the Nunes with some really wonderful binding replacements and it's now in great shape.

Leonardo Nunes was the son of Manuel Nunes, an immigrant who migrated to Hawaii in 1879 from Portugal having built 'taropatch fiddles' and progressed to invent the modern ukulele.  Leonardo kept the business going for forty years. The Nunes is solid koa with the distinctive coat of arms on the peg head.  

These are the X Rays of the three old ukuleles I had made.

Click on an image to get a larger version of the X Ray. 

Leonardo Nunes Circa 1920

Herman Weissenborn Circa 1920

C.F. Martin Circa 1930

The staff at Glenoaks Imaging is eclectic, engaged and friendly. The work they do is important to give medical professionals and clients themselves, literal insights into what's going on with their bodies. Everyone was helpful!  I had to laugh a little, though, because I had not really considered that the clients in the the waiting room for their appointment to be scanned might think it a bit strange for a guy with an armload of ukuleles emerging from the inner sanctum. So.. Andre ushered me out the back door!  

Thank you, Andre! 

michael sheehan

june 10, 2020

Christo dies

May 31, 2020
From CNN the sad announcement that Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, 84, has died. 

My love of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work goes back for many years. My correspondences with them were infrequent, but always personal and supportive.  One of my pieces of art is in their collection, to my humble pride. 
For folks who were in Southern California in the eighties, you may recall The Umbrellas dotting the landscape up along the I-5 Freeway.. Videos of The Running Fence and The Rifle Gap Curtain are available and for anyone who doubts the power of Art, they are a must see.  We see lives changed.

Credit: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images/Serpentine Galleries

The artists never accepted volunteers. Every person who worked on any of their many installations was paid.  The installations were financed from the sale of Christo's preparatory  works of art that sold to museums as well as to collectors. They donated artwork to be sold to benefit institutions like Pepperdine University where I bought my lithograph of The Umbrellas.

The CNN article below is fairly thorough. If you are outside the art world and have not been exposed to these installations, take a moment. Find the videos. Come back to the analog world and send a note of appreciation and condolences to the artists' son, 
 Cyril Christo 
48 Howard Street
NYC, NY 10013 USA

I am a fan.  Unabashedly so..  and sad for this passing. Make art now!!!  That's most likely what both Jeanne-Claude and Christo would say if asked for advice. Make Art now. Yes.

Michael Sheehan
May 31, 2020 
Please copy and paste the link below or do a search for CNN Christo dies at 84.




https://www.cnn.com/style/article/christo-artist-dead/index.html?fbclid=IwAR26PqJcJAq9ZS9neywb5OJaMeZoRCmyP2xFtlwwmeMZAKNGdXiAUocHwKE

The Typewriter

I've always had a typewriter.. 

The one I really like is an old Royal portable.. It's green.

It's reliable. 

Recently, I sent a typed letter to a guy I admire who also may be enthrall with the analog way we used to communicate.  He is a busy guy, but I admire his work and how he's good at seemingly everything.  I was going to send him a typewritten letter, but he's busy. So... I've decided that I'll post the scans of my typewritten note here and send him the link/address. That way, if he's on line one of these days, he can take a look.  It's Art. 

Most visitors are here by a broader invitation. I won't be publishing this anywhere.  However!! If you wander in?  Hello! You are also welcome. 

** Of course, that should be 'whoM'.. 

 In tYpe.. Michael Sheehan

TOO MUCH TIME?

Tom Paine starts The Crisis with "These are the Times that try mens' souls..." The world is up against it, but I have faith that the dumb people will maybe die a little and the smart people will stay away from the dumb people and life will go on. Recently, I realized that creativity is also under the quarantine.   We are all tired and a little loopy.. loopier than we were before, being confronted with a brand new terror.  Make no mistake, the television news wants us to tune in to see the results of the terror.  Statistics that list recoveries I have not stuck around long enough to hear.  I do know personally of friends who are victims and getting better every single day. Good news.. 

As our souls are tried and found flagging a bit, I had something happen recently that could have been damaging.  Negativity.  Practicality. What if?? What about??  

When a creative person has an idea, that idea needs to be nurtured.  No matter that smart adults can see the many holes in the idea.. unless there is a death at the end of the idea, shut up.. Ask questions and make positive suggestions. or, please, Just Shut UP!  Shut up.. 

Spinning from an idea that was almost derailed by a well meaning pal, this true story came back to me. Take from it what you will.  I like my story. It has a happy ending.. 

New Artwork that has only a little to do with this story

// 

This then is about practicality.. 

Years ago, I was cleaning the gutters on the back of my house.; walking on the aluminum patio cover when, all of a sudden.. the patio released from the edge of the house.. and down we fell!  I rode it down, so it was  sort of like a slide.. Bam!

Independent guy that I am.. I decided that I had to put that thing back up by myself.   What I needed was a 'sky hook!'.. a hook that would be in the sky to attach a block and tackle to to lift the 200 pounds or so up and reattach it to the house. Of course there is no such a thing as an actual 'sky hook' barring a giant crane or a helicopter to send down a line to pull the patio cover back up.. I also had to redo the ledge that the thing rested on. 

Days pass.  The outer edge of the cover is in place and holding. 

Days pass. And, without telling the whole story.. I "invented" a sky hook, attached it to the fallen patio cover, used a block and tackle to raise it to the new ledge that I'd installed and with some luck and patience, I screwed the thing back together!

This is, of course.. bragging on my silly independence.  With someone who actually knew what they were doing, it would have been a one day job, Zip Zap.. but. the satisfaction of doing it myself was the pay off.

This essay all turns on "Practicality."  Had I been practical, I'd have hired the job done.  But, with no one to deter me, the practicality took a back seat to a "project" that still gives me great pleasure to recall to memory.

And, this is as much to say, When someone has an idea.. That's the kernel of any project.  To nay say or offer ideas that may deter the idea is wrong.  It's okay to chime in with ways to make it work, even offer to help.. but to deter an idea that may not seem practical.. is to stifle creativity and the opportunity to witness a miracle.

We'll be needing more than one miracle in the coming days not only in the USA.. but in the World.  This little story ends with a plea to find a middle of the road person who might have thought that this president was okay or voted for him to vote against Mrs. Clinton..  I was among millions who thought our country could never elect a person with no qualifications but bluster.  We were wrong.  Don't stifle creativity by bringing up stuff that won't help the Blue Candidate. Find a way to recruit intelligent folks and even those whom we may have dismissed in the past.  Do this to save our United States. Do this to save our lives.  Do this deliberately and consciously and, of course, with care.  With love even.. Take them to lunch.  Just hope that enough smart folks see what's happening and has happened and might happen. and will move to put our country back on the road to kindness and consideration and success. 

Okay?

Okay. 

May 2, 2020

michaelsheehan

NAME CALLING IN THE TIME OF PLAGUE

Taylor James Brown (Irenaios) is a person on Face Book who called me a troll! Why.. the nerve!  Ow!

In this time of plague I can tell when it's really getting to me.  My neck hurts.  I flush a bit and realize that guys like this guy. probably a very conservative guy, from his FB profile.. is up against it, too.  I wonder if I really AM what he claims??? Well, I have lived under a bridge for a while in the sixties.

"Why don’t you get over yourself and go suck on your privilege, Michael Sheehan." (sic) He then backs off a bit.

"Probably a little harsh but I have lost all patience with self-righteous sanctimonious internet trolls who descend from their ivory towers of isolation from reality to judge people on topics in which they themselves are completely uneducated."

Of course, Mr. Brown is right. I do go off on rich folks.  Walmart (which this back and forth is all about)  is a pariah, to me.  The billions of dollars that they take in daily with so called 'bargains' don't go to the workers.  Here's what I found:
May 9, 2019

Including benefits and bonuses, the average wage for a full-time, hourly worker at Walmart is $14.26 an hour. Walmart's department managers can also earn up to $24.70 per hour.  

 

 So.. I am not Totally uneducated! Hah! Do the math. Can one support him/herself independently on fifteen bucks an hour?

 

Not that this guy, Mr. Taylor Brown.. will see this. And, would still be critical if he did.. 

 And, it's pretty boring to debate this kind of thing on Facebook, with 'facts' from the internet. AND.. Obviously, this guy has a decent vocabulary.  But. it's a little funny to see the way some conservative behave that is stereotypical:  

Call people whom they don't know names and disrespect them out of hand.  The worst I can do for this guy is call him a republican.  If he's not!?  I'll publicly apologize because it's just about the worst 'name'   I can lay on anyone. (Uh oh.. here's his last post to shut me up on FB. He writes:
"Most likely voting against both parties again. (so, he helped to elect 45!)   The only Democrats worth considering were Yang and Gabbard. And yup, full supporter of the 2nd amendment, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights. I actually think the entire federal government should be abolished and states should be able to do whatever they want." Yikes.. he's worse than a republican!  He's ready to divorce from the union!  He's a  separatist. All for me and mine and forget the rest? A California guy?  Yikes.. Oh well.. There goes the neighborhood!  I asked to join his militia, but am done with the back and forth. This guy is scary. I know when to quit! He's got guns!

 

Take a breath!  Ahhhh.. 

 

This is doubly troubling especially because as I awakened this morning I had the feeling that this plague is leaching away our humanity!

 

We need to be reminded that we are Human beings.  So.. this guy gets my goat! And, that's a good thing in that it brings back to the center that our entire world is under attack and when I get my neck in a sling because of a criticism on Facebook, (friggin' Facebook!) that's a sign that this poor guy and his ilk are right!  They are probably religious. They may believe that the plague is a hoax.  It's beating the crap out of us: Left and Right!  The psychological toll is mounting! Ow.

 

Fact is that there's no equal time for the good news these days.    TV News focuses on the notion of 'if it bleeds, it leads,' their marching song! 

The fact is that this plague is curable. 

The fact is that every single day, folks (even people whom I know personally) are getting better, getting over it! Not dying! 

Survival is Good News. 

 

Why does TV news continue to show huge enlargements of this microscopic virus, accompanied by swirling masses of little tiny viruses that are waiting to kill us? "If It Bleeds, It Leads!" Keep people in Fear and Fear wins. Be cautious! Please don't let Fear dominate your thoughts.. my thoughts.. the world's thoughts.  Be kind.

 

This is a plea for Humanity and that's the truth. 

Take a deep breath. Brush your teeth! Eat your vegetables!  Be kind.

 

Friday April 24, 2020 

michael sheehan

 

 

RESPECTFUL DISTANCE / Five Smooth Stones

April 13, 2020

Here we are.  We is the nominative idea and hopefully, 'we' will move forward to something new.  Bernie Sanders says he's now for Joe Biden. Earlier today, Joe appeared on ABC's The View and sounded like a human being.  Direct. No bluster. Human. 

Choosing this image of David is just to remind us that the good guys can win, even in the face of difficult odds. If you don't know the story of David and Goliath, that's okay. Suffice it to say that it applies to what's happening today and it seems to me that winning is what will happen. This photo is from a few years ago at Forest Lawn Glendale. I took it.

The idea of our basic humanity is what's on my mind today.  How to remain human. How to get back to the essence of ourselves.  Humanity is on the line.

To this end, the following idea was first proposed by the son of my dearest friend.  He suggested that we must become Socially Connected..not socially distanced. 

  

We've been schooled to use the term "Social Distancing," which is NOT what we need now.  What we need is Social Engagement: phone calls, snail mail, even texts and email that engage us.. 

I've proposed that we adopt the term "Respectful Distance" with a non-gesture of standing still instead of throwing up 'THE HAND.'  There are all kinds of physical movements that are insulting or rude, The Hand is, to me, one of them.   The last thing we need right this minute is rudeness. Respect is the answer.

Let's be Respectful at a distance and stop rejecting one another with a rude gesture.

 

Let's call what we are doing "Respectful Distancing." Say it or write it a couple of times. Can a semantic shift help us? What's in a name?

We Americans are.. mostly..  a social society.  When we Embrace one another... respectfully distant for the time being; with Love, this trial by loneliness must be, we hope, a little more bearable.  

Call a friend. Send a snail mail. Reach out.  

Michael Sheehan

Glendale, California

4/13/2020  How many days until Sharon Doubiago's birthday? Thirteen! Let's hear it for Taurus!