Musings of a Mad Macedonian

Where do Architects get their Ideas, Anyway? An OC Architect's Own Quest

Sticks and stones (And other materials!) may make great homes (And Cat Caves! That's the sassy, sexy, Elvira Mistress of Felinity!), but it's the mind of Man who designs them! :-D

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of attending an interesting, and informative, presentation by my old High School classmate, Laguna Beach architect, David M. Parker.

It covered famous architect John Lautner's work and his unique approach to design, and how it has influenced Mr. Parker's own work.

John Lautner (1911 - 1984) studied under Frank Lloyd Wright and later began his own practice in Los Angeles.

 While known for his dramatic custom homes which push the envelope of design and technology, it was this same daring that led many folks to be quite critical, and cranky, about his work, for many years.

The homes he designed, even those built over 50 years ago, are daring and visionary even by today's standards and, in his later years, and since his death, his styles have influenced at least two generations of architects.

His homes have appeared in a number of films such as "Diamonds are Forever", "Lethal Weapon 2", and "The Big Lebowski",  and music videos, and at least two of his homes exist in Laguna Beach.

It was 630pm, and I found myself in the popular DeBilzan Gallery, on Forest Ave., just east of PCH, downtown.

To say that the Oil/Mixed Media artwork of William DeBilzan is unique, and interesting, is an understatement.

Oh, and expensive, too! No doubt some of the folks I found myself mingling with last night, before the presentation, and at the reception afterward, and half of the residents of fancy homes in the hills above, and around us, could afford these works, that cost thousands of dollars, but as for me, I'll just settle for looking, and enjoying. :-D

 

Your Rights as a Cat Blogger, Your Human's Right as a PJ Pundit, at Risk!

via www.opinionatedpussycat.com 

(Click on the Link to go to the story by my Cats, Nikita, and Elvira Mistress of Felinity! )

There Once was a Mad Macedonian on a Bicycle: 2012 Debut

Sort of Chaplinesque, wouldn't U agree? :-D

That picture was taken in August 2010, when I decided to retire The Cycling Dude Blog...

When Asked, The Reader of The North American Bicycle Atlas Shrugged, and Replied, "Who is The Cycling Dude?"

There was only one more post, after that, and it was done for a very special reason that made all the years of writing that blog well worth the effort.

Why The Cycling Dude Mattered, and Why I Am Damn Well PROUD OF IT!

Well, I didn't stop bike riding and, when Cleopatra got fixed, after her accident, I returned to blogging, but on THIS blog, including moving all my links over here, and putting a link to the old blog in the sidebar.

There are 7 previous entries in my current cycling home's category archive, which is called

There Once Was a Mad Macedonian on a Bicycle.....

The most recent pair of posts:

February 2010 =  Kids and Nature: Getting the Munchins Outdoors, on Foot, or on a Bike

March 2010 = 3 Feet Please Cycling Campaign Expands Effort & Remodels Website (Includes a bunch of photos from my last long bike ride before I broke my ankle the following May. :-D )

Yesterday marked a major step in my ankle recovery.

 

 

Yesterday evening I hopped on Cleopatra, and rode 8 miles along the Santa Ana Rive Trail, and nearby side streets around Angel Stadium.

It was the first time I've been on the bike since a few days before the injury in late May.

I set the camera on a boulder, set the timer, and took the photos for posterity. :-D

It was great to be on the trail again. :-D

 

 

A Mad Macedonian at the Opera

 

LATE NIGHT PORTRAIT OF AN OC WRITER

So, there I am sitting, nearly alone, in the Transit Center in Laguna Hills, at 11pm, on Friday the 13th, having just come from the Opera....

Oh, hi! I know, you are sitting there, scratching your head saying...

"He went WHERE? Opera? Him? What the hell???"

Let me explain. :-D

A year, or so, ago, I reconnected with an old High School classmate, and fellow violinist in the school orchestra, on Facebook. He helps promote the performance of music, dance, and theatre, in non-traditional venues in the OC, and nearby areas (more on that later), and I have been on the e-mail list, hoping to one day find an opportunity to attend.

That opportunity came Friday night.

The American Chamber Opera is a new group that was founded in 2011, and is based in Chicago, Il.

It was founded by the husband, and wife team of Jonathan Paul Cambry (Piano),  Karrah Marie Cambry (Soprano), with the goal of making Opera accessible to performers and audiences alike.

As they explained to us...

Their mission is to "perform full-length opera and oratorio in English, to convey a true sense of the composer’s intent in each piece, while making relative connections with their audiences." 

According to the website the company finds young artists with exceptional talent to perform the roles.

The larger company, and smaller portions of it, tour, performing in various locations, concert-style, using simple and minimal staging to allow the music to be the main focus of attention for the audience.

Four members of the La Boheme cast performed for us, last night, an abridged version of the opera, and you can learn more about all 4 performers by looking up their names, with photo, & bio, here.

Their fundraising partner, for this west coast trip, the Free Wheechair Mission, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs for the impoverished disabled in developing nations.

There were 2 representatives at the performance, with an example of the wheelchair, in tow, and they explained that the decade old group is headquartered in Irvine, Ca., and "works around the world in partnership with humanitarian, faith-based and government organizations, sending wheelchairs to hundreds of thousands of disabled people, providing not only the gift of mobility, but of dignity, independence, and hope."

Their website has a ton of fascinating information about their efforts, from photos, to videos, a great blog, and more, including how people can get involved in various ways.

A Free Will Offering was accepted from attendees of this event.

So, off to the Opera I went, arriving at beautiful Geneva Presbyterian Church, around 645pm, and walked in the door, and into the church, looking down the aisle...

 

Mad Macedonian is The Cat's Meow, at Two Idiots Open Mic!

The Ugly Mug is a wonderful, literary, independent coffee house in Historic Old Towne Orange, Ca. (Known for its Antique Shops, and restaurants, including Watsons Drug & Soda Fountain, established in 1899, it's the oldest drugstore in the OC, and the oldest on-going business in the city of Orange.)

They are nestled on Glassell, between Chapman University on the north, and the Traffic Circle, on the south, and, on Wednesday nights plays host to Steve Ramirez, & Ben Trigg, Two Idiots Pedaling Poetry, and their Open Mic.

I first read my poetry there in October 2010, a few days after my job layoff.

I had planned to return, and wish I had, at least before I started taking computer classes, and some were on Wednesday evening.

This week I made my triumphant return, at last! :-D

I was 3rd up, and read 3 pieces, 2 by me, and 1 by my Cat, Nikita. :-D

1. If Walt Whitman had been a Cat, and a Cranky One at That! 

Excerpt From Leaves Of Catnip by Walt Whitpuss

2. Twinkle, Twankle, My Poor Ankle

3. A Creative Writer's Prayer -- Something I wrote just last month, and am very proud of, and it seems to have affected several of those who have read it very deeply.

The featured poet was Michael Roberts, and when he came up, and mentioned he was going to be reading poems involving Cats, too, everyone laughed. :-D

Another guy, John Buckley, read some of his poetry, and one also had a Cat, in it.

One guy, Peter Lewis, read some poems, and while none involved Cats, his shirt had a Cat on the front, and these words: "Does Your Cat Make Too Much Noise?"

Hell, if I had known Cats were gonna be all the rage, this night, I would have left my 2 poems home, and brought 2 more by Nikita! :-D

Everyone reacted with appropriate laughter, and seriousness, depending on the piece, and gave me a nice round of applause when I was done.

During the intermission one young lady came up to me, and told me how much she liked my poems, especially the Cat poem.

A couple of others came up to me, after the readings were done, shook my hand, and said they liked my work, as well.

Very cool! :-D

Next week the remarkable, and prolific, Rick Lupert, of Poetry Super Highway, will be the guest poet, and I will be there, not only to read 3 of Nikita's Poems, and to hear Mr. Lupert, but to thank him personally, at last, for his very kind, and amusing, words about my Cat, Nikita, and his writing, and for accepting a link to this blog, in his List of Links, back in 2009.

He wrote me the following, on August 3, 2009: "Long Live Your Pussy!" :-D

After 2 years of building up a collection of Poetry, and Stories...

Creative Meowsings of a Poetic, and Storytelling, Pussycat

Creative Meowsings: 100 Word Cat Stories

I think it's time for Nikita, and Elvira Mistress of Felinity, to submit Meowsing of an Opinionated Pussycat to his collection of links. :-D

Air Poetry 3: It's Not Important

It's Not Important

Ever been to prison?

Yeah, back in the day.

Come on, just listen, please...

Oh boy!

I'm going to scatter his ashes all over her front lawn.

If you are willing to give up soda, for a while, I don't see a problem, do you?

I don't trust you!

It's not important.

( Overheard on his travels by Kiril Kundurazieff )

---------------------

Missed the first one? Wondering WTH is this? :-D

Air Poetry 1: I Swear, the Things One Overhears...

A Visit to Mission San Juan Capistrano, and Initial Thoughts on 2012, and I

What an afternoon!

I grew up around the Adobe de Palomares, in Pomona, Ca., and developed a love of history partly because of those experiences.

A few days before Christmas I visited Mission San Juan Capistrano, as well as walked along the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in all of Ca.

I always wanted to vist the mission, and was not disappointed!

It is as ancient as it is beautiful, and peaceful, and inspirational to ones personal, and creative, well-being.

Walking around the place, and viewing the old artifacts, treasures, artwork, sculptures, natural elements, and graveyard, opens ones mind to the possibilites of faith, and hard work, inspiring the creativity, and ingenuity, of those who lived, prayed, and died here.

I found plenty of reason to frequently just sit, rest, read, and write, amid the harmony, and beauty, of these sacred grounds.

I even sat in the very same spot that a famous resident priest, and author, of the first 2 decades of the last century, sat, and contemplated his work.

I emded up visiting the little side chapel attatched to the main one, and leaving, a thoughtful little prayer for a new beginning, and a bright future, in a logbook for that purpose.

With the new year arriving on my doorstep I began to contemplate the future.

On a lark, I looked up my 2012 Horoscope (Or Horrorscope, hee, hee!), though I'm not one to put much stock in such things, despite their always proving quite interesting, and thoughtful.

This one, though, caught my attention, because of the reading, and thinking, I myself have been doing the last couple of months or so, along some of these lines.

Being a Pisces I'm, of course, all wet. :-D

Apparently I'll be blissfully full of inspiration, oneness and compassion.

I'll come home to my true self.

As a creative artist/writer I will have no choice but to move toward fulfilling the deeper longings of what passes for my soul.

No longer will I be able to deny how truly empathic and sensitive I supposedly am.

It's about damn time I channel those special qualities into proper use! Harrumph!!!

 

100 Word Musings 3 (A Revival): New Year's Resolution

Good Morning friends, and fans, of Musings of a Mad Macedonian.

Yappy Hew Near, one and all! :-D

How do ya like my portrait?

This caricature was done by a wonderful young artist named Oscar, at Knott's Berry Farm, in a 1/2 hour sitting, earlier this month, based on my telling him about my creative writing/journalism work, with Nikita & Elvira Mistress of Felinity, at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat. :-D

I went to Knott's to relax, and be inspired creatively, and this image now hangs next to my desk as a reminder of who I am, and of my creative talent, and potential, as I head into 2012.

 Reviving 100 Word Musings as part of a more creative 2012.

In July 2010 I was inspired by the 100 Word Stories Series to try my hand at the form, and so wrote a piece called "What Thanks Do I Get?" :-D

Nearly 2 months later I became voluntarily unemployed when I accepted the Downsizing Buyout at my last job.

Somewhat distracted, for a while, I didn't attempt another one until last January: The Golden String.

Then I was distracted again, especially by something that happened at the end of May. :-D

It's been an eventful year, and yesterday I went for a walk in Clark Regional Park, to think, and write.

I soon find myself sitting at a picnic table, clipboard, and notebook, before me, pen in hand...

New Year's Resolution

In a quiet corner of the park the writer, unemployed, recovering from a broken ankle, contemplates the idea of change, and new beginnings, at the mid point of his life.

After starting the year learning new skills, reading for inspiration, and creating on his blogs, a summer of fear, and doubt, affected his life.

Turning to reading for faith, now, as well as creative inspiration, the writer began to think in new ways about the future, and where he wanted to go, and what he wanted to do.

He resolved that 2012 would be the best year of his life.

An occasional car rolled by on a road near where I sat, and I could hear children playing on the park playground, and ducks expressing their opinions in a nearby lake....

 

Musings at Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone!

This scene, from my visit to Mission San Juan Capistrano, a few days ago, captures perfectly what the Season is really all about.

I bought this wonderful plaque while I was there...

 

As well as this pin that will be stuck on my hat as a reminder of my Cats, & our mutual love for each other, and for creative inspiration.

Speaking of Nikita, and Elvira Mistress of Felinity, here is their Christmas Eve entry, with photos, and remarks about their gifts.

I'll have more on my visit to the Mission, soon.

 

 

I Went to Knott's Berry Farm and All I Got was...

Creative Inspiration! :-D

I had not been to Knott's Berry Farm at least since some time in the 90's, maybe much earlier, and with the opportunity of free admission, with a $20 New Toy purchase & donation, I decided now was as good a time as any for a return engagement.

I have old photos of my Mom, and her brothers, visiting the place in the 1950's, playing dress up, and having a blast.

Last Saturday began clear, and a little breezy, but by the time I got there it had clouded up, and was sprinkling. It soon stopped, however, and held off until I was headed home in the evening.

It was a much needed, very special, day.

I went not to go on any of the rides (Roller Coasters, & I, are not compatable, hee, hee!), but to soak in the atmosphere, & take in the performances of fellow creative artists performing in the stage shows, and working various booths, and in the Christmas parade.

It was a fun, relaxing, afternoon, that sparked my creativity in several ways...one voluntarily, & one where I found myself "Drafted" into performing.

( And of course poetically...

Here Lies The Mad Macedonian

Writer, Poet, Humorist, Storyteller

He Lived to Tell Tales

With More than a Little Baloney In!

Hee, hee! )

I walked around the Ghost Town, and Old West Village, sitting, & resting my ankle often.

I experienced the hilarious Wild West Stunt Show, and the amusing, yet contemplative, Mystery Lodge Indian Storyteller Show, and the entertaining Aztec Dance Trio performance.

Oh, and there was the Calico Saloon Show, and my being "Drafted" into the performance... :-D