Spirit of The Holiday

On this day, remembering my father - 

a compassionate man, and talented musician/visual art 

(the apple did not fall far from the tree).

Thank you for the love and example you set for us 

- in essence, the spirit of Christmas. 

Laughing...Until It Hurts

Learning about Robin William's death yesterday was unnerving... to say the least. I was already feeling down, trying to figure out an ongoing challenge at work, and here was news that this actor/comedian, who seemed to have the best job and opportunities, had taken his own life. They say that laughter is the best medicine, so how to reconcile the fact that this comedic genius, who brought a smile to so many faces over the years, had been suffering? 

Good Night, Robin:
Promo photo from Touchstone Pictures'
"Good Morning, Vietnam," 1987

Of course I knew about Williams' past troubles with substance abuse; I am familiar with the darker demons that many artistic individuals struggle with. It's just one of those moments that makes you think about the bigger picture—echoing words from A.O. Scott's appraisal in today's New York Times, Williams was one of those gifted entertainers "we sometimes took for granted or allowed ourselves to tire of."  Someone who, regrettably, we always thought we'd have around.

I feel like I grew up right alongside Robin Williams' career. I remember his debut as the alien Mork (from Ork), first on Happy Days and then in the series Mork & Mindy. It was hard to ignore his manic energy... his zany, "all things go" style. His comedy specials made us think he was "fearless."

Later, it was interesting to see this intensity displayed on the big screen—in both successful comedic and dramatic roles. Some of my favorites include Good Morning, Vietnam (1987); Awakenings (1990); Aladdin (1992); Good Will Hunting (1997); the remarkable One Hour Photo (2002); and, of course, Dead Poet's Society (1989), where he playing the unconventional teacher, standing on his desk, inspiring his students to "seize the day."

Photo courtesy Ellen Mazzer. Los Angeles, CA, August 2014.

Sometimes he could be a bit much, but you can't say he never "went for it" as a performer (even in media interviews). Having done my own share of improvisational acting, I admired and recognized his rare talent—I don't recall watching any of his performances thinking, oh that's Robin WIlliams the comedian doing "Teddy Roosevelt" or a doctor, or what have you. He was a comforting presence on the screen (almost like a family friend), and still delivering the goods after all these years. It's heartbreaking to think that there will be no more.


On a human level, it's hard to hear about another individual who battled and lost out to depression. For the sensitive soul, it can seem especially challenging to find people to relate to and ask for support... if you are reading this and feel that way, I urge you to reach out anyway... to friends, family, acquaintances, or professionals. Life is hard, and I have felt that darkness... we all have at one time or another.

Related Links:

"Robin Williams, an Improvisational Genius, Forever Present in the Moment," New York Times, August 11, 2014

"Remembering Robin Williams," WTF with Marc Maron Podcast, August 11, 2014

U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK

A Norman Rockwell Moment

Well, this certainly was a memorable day... 

A Japanese TV crew visited the Museum today to begin filming a segment on the work of Norman Rockwell. Today was devoted to recreating the scenes depicted in two of Rockwell's most famous paintings−The Marriage License and The Runaway. My friend Mas, the producer, asked me ahead of time if I knew of anyone who could play the part of certain figures in the illustrations...

My friend/Museum volunteer Carlton agreed to play the part of the clerk in The Marriage License. By the time I got to the shoot (held in the Stockbridge Town Hall) he was already suited up and doing several takes, as if he was waiting on the couple stopping in to get their license. He even got a couple lines... it will be interesting to see if they are dubbed over in Japanese! 

Later in the afternoon, my nephew Sam joined us to play the "title character" in Rockwell's 1958 Saturday Evening Post cover illustration, The Runaway. The crew set the scene in Elm Street Market, where I had actually once interviewed the original models for the painting. The production company, Robin/Tani Media Factory, always has a great eye for detail, and they had my nephew fitted with an old-style knapsack (like the boy in the painting), and found a real-life Massachusetts State Trooper to play the kindly cop. They also went beyond the illustration, filming the little runaway walking outside on his journey... Sam did a great job, and we were even greeted unexpectedly by Ed Locke, the original model for the little boy, who just happened to be driving down the street where we were filming!

But the biggest surprise was yet to come. My sister-in-law's boyfriend had confided in me and Sarah the previous week that he had planned to propose to her... however, he was having a tough time figuring out a time when someone could watch after their own separate children, and make it happen. I suggested that he head out to Stockbridge during the shoot, where she would be present with her son. I told him I would figure out some way to get her back to where we had staged The Marriage License earlier in the day (have to thank the production company for their willingness to help us pull it off). After the Runaway shoot, we all walked back over to the town hall, under the pretense that she needed to sign a couple extra appearance forms for her son... When she got there, her guy was waiting for her at the makeshift set that the TV crew had constructed (even Carlton agreed to "reprise" his role as the clerk). It was here that he popped the question (surrounded by members of her family)... luckily, she said yes! 

As I said, it was a fun, memorable day... I truly cherish when I have the opportunity to help make others happy... when I have the chance to do so in a creative way, that's even more satisfying!

All photos ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Bundled Up

Ok, I admit... I did indeed do some shopping on Black Friday... finally picking up JD McPherson's Signs & Signifiers and The Lumineers' self-titled album... both essential purchases! Easily two of the best albums of the year, and this song is absolutely stuck in our heads:



Can't wait to see these guys perform next month... until then, "keep your head up... my love..."

http://thelumineers.com

Seventh Heaven

I know, I've been blogging an awful lot about my marriage. Well, I can't help it... here's another...

On this date seven years ago I met a beautiful girl out dancing... and this year we celebrated our first dance as husband and wife! Here's to many, many more!

Photo by John Whipple. All rights reserved.

The Love

Arrgh... here's another one. I was so tempted to check out Florence + The Machine's concert in Saratoga last night... she's got a great sound, and appears to be a great performer.... oh well. I would have gone, but it is Rosh Hashanah, so Sarah couldn't go... at sundown it was time for her services. After considering, I decided that I didn't fancy sitting on the lawn by myself, and thought the $70 tickets were a little too steep for an artist I'm still getting to know (had some car repairs to take care of as well). So, I decided to join Sarah and her family for dinner and services (hopefully I'll have another chance to see the Machine).

The food at the holiday dinner was good and plentiful (with apples and honey... straight from Sarah's father's beehive!), the company great, and the service rather long, but interesting... I'm still getting used to the Jewish traditions, but I enjoyed the music... and one reading, in particular, that talked about life's journey, written by someone named Josh Liebman--it was quite poetic, using some beautiful metaphors-- I'll have to find that, and repost. 

I can't believe it was last year at this time that Sarah and I took off for Canada, and I popped the question... it's been a wonderful year, and appropriate time to now say: "L'Shana Tovah!"... may the love continue...

Sunday

Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Please Stand By...

Please forgive me dear blog reader, while I catch my bearings. 

I didn't expect that after the wedding and honeymoon I would find myself crashing so fast, but here's where I could use a vacation... or at least another day off. I know... there's a lot of work to be done... get back on track with my original mission for the year (besides getting married), but I'd rather just kick back right now, watch the Olympics, and drink some red wine... at least I'm doing the latter while I type this.

We're still finding the brilliant surprise around the corner... a thoughtful card and gift... another birthday celebration... many more well-wishes for our new life together. Trying to find your way back into regular day life is a bit of a challenge... buy who wants an "everyday" life?

I was surprised to hear Adam Ant's 1995 song "Wonderful" on the drive into work today... I remember doing a whole radio tribute to the guy around that same time on WBER... brought back a memory or two... I thought I remember the song being slightly better. I'm actually gearing up to do another radio tribute show... for another 80s artist... but hey, before you think I'm stuck in the decade of greed, look at my post from yesterday-- Frank Turner is an exciting new artist from the UK that has caught my ear... sounding like a young Billy Bragg (ok, maybe I am rooted somewhat in the 1980s). But rest assured that I am looking forward... 

Sarah and I are starting to consider where we will move. It's a complicated matter that I won't get into here. It's all good, just takes some consideration....

In the meantime, we are planning another party... this upcoming Sunday. It will be another celebration of music, love, and peace... oh, and it's a potluck... nice to have more things to look forward to!

Watch this space...

Olde Songs

Our honeymoon begins in... Montreal! What a beautiful city. Today we enjoyed crepes and a walk around Olde Montreal... felt like we were in Paris.

We stopped into the Basilque Notre-Dame, an absolutely stunning church. I have included a photo of the sanctuary... we just sat and soaked it all in... must have been sitting there close to an hour, and were treated to a beautiful organ performance... my father, a church organist himself, would have loved it.

Tonight we're going to check out some African music festival taking place right on the streets of the city.

Looking forward to a week of adventure, and getting lost in Canada...

Love + Happiness

It's official... presenting Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Clowe! 

Thank you to all of our friends and family for joining us on our special day... so many special (and emotional) moments... we are very happy, and excited to start our new life together.


The reception was a blast, and brought us back to the dance floor... can't wait to see the video. The DJ did a great job, but I regret that a few of my favorites did not get played, including this one... (sigh... I'm definitely going to get cracking on that a-ha tribute show for WEXT):





That pretty much sums it up. Thank you again. All I want you to know... WE LOVE YOU!


On to the honeymoon... xo

Love Is All You Need

Feeling much better, thank you. Finally got a good night's sleep, and enjoying some green drinks and healthy fruit and veggies today. 


Most of the day has been spent working on our wedding program--I'm really happy with the way it turned out! Again, I feel a certain calling to be a graphic designer... it was also fun to collaborate with Sarah again. The programs reveal a secret that we won't share until the wedding. Good fun.


We're off to a graduation/birthday party... there are several celebrations happening this weekend and through the week... it seems only fitting.

The Knot

Morrissey tickets and a marriage license. Not a bad day...

The Marriage License, Norman Rockwell, 1955.
Oil on canvas. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections.
©1955 SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN

Yes, these two documents made me a happy man today. Sarah and I ran down to Schenectady City Hall to make it official. It is a beautiful building downtown, and so we took lots of photos. Funny enough, the last time we stopped down there was to pick up information on recycling--I took lots of photos then too, and a woman passed by us with a huge smile... I said to her, "It's a special day!" If only she could see us now...


Of course, right there in the city clerk's office was a print of Norman Rockwell's The Marriage License. It seems I cannot escape the man. The original painting is part of the collection at Norman Rockwell Museum and yes,we have had a few proposals in front of it (at least one I filmed). It really is a beautiful painting, when you see it in person.

Photo ©Jeremy Clowe.
All rights reserved.

Equally stunning is my fiancee Sarah. She was beaming this time, and even though it was still on the hot side, we were keeping cool. Later today we traveled to downtown Albany's Washington Park to take some engagement photos with our wedding photographer. It's a beautiful park, and he had us try all manner of romantic poses... I think I liked to the ones best that he just observed instead of directed. Stopping down at this location made a lot of sense, because just a street over is the club where Sarah and I met. Yes, we stopped over there too to take some photos... this time I twirled her around outside! We followed this up with another Indian food dinner. How could the day get any better?

Get Up Offa That Thing

Tonight Sarah and I started a month-long swing dance class. We had taken classes in the past, but it has been awhile since we have practiced it regularly. We thought it couldn't hurt to brush up on our moves in time for next month's festivities.

Sarah and I met out dancing, so it feels nice to bring it full-circle. The instructor was good, and broke down the steps in an easy-to-understand manner. He also had us switch partners throughout the class, so in reality we didn't dance together that much tonight... but it's not a bad way to learn from those of varying skill sets and styles.

We also enjoy watching dance. One of our favorite TV shows, So You Think You Can Dance, has just returned for a new season. I'm not usually a fan of these reality/competition shows, but feel that SYTYCD is a little classier and serious about the subject than others. We have seen some amazing dancers on this program over the years that we have watched it faithfully... pretty much every one since we met! Hip-hop, modern, latin... they do it all! I think our favorite is still season two... we couldn't get enough, and even drove out to Buffalo, New York, in 2006 to see the top ten dancers perform at the Shea's Theatre--it was great! The winner of that season, Benji Schwimmer, and his very charming cousin Heidi, were actually trained in swing dance--here is Benji's audition:

There is also a great dance festival called Jacob's Pillow that runs through the summer in the Berkshires. We have seen great performances there as well. That's how I originally discovered the Berkshires (good and bad, I guess), but it brought me to my current path, and forever sweetheart, who I am more than happy to lead.

Related Links:

www.fox.com/dance

www.jacobspillow.org

You're Mine Now, But You're Not...

It's been another exhausting week... but as I drove into work, I heard this long forgotten song on the radio, and it sure did give me a kick!




Once again, the power of music−this one takes me back to late high school... memories of skateboarding, alternative music, and a growing fascination for California (I had just visited the West Coast for the first time with my family, and fell in love with the "exotic" land of palm trees and surf). Oingo Boingo was one of those bands that just fit my tastes perfectly at the time: quirky, offbeat, and leaning towards the theatrical/scary (I was a big monster fan as a kid). They made music perfectly tailored for Halloween, but also some sparkling pop songs as well... including this one: 1987's "Not My Slave" was an infectious, endearing look at maintaining a healthy relationship, backed up by a great chorus. The band was huge on the West Coast, but never quite caught on beyond sort of a cult status nationally... maybe they were just a little too quirky. Of course lead singer Danny Elfman would go on to become a hugely successful scorer of motion picture soundtracks, including Batman and Edward Scissorhands. It's interesting to see how an artist can fall into a parallel line of work that might better share their talents... but I still have fond memories of Boingo's energy, and these lines:


"You're missing the whole point, you're not my little pet
Don't throw away your life, the game's not over yet
I do not own your soul, don't want you in a cage
I only want your heart to find a special place..."

Slave to fashion, for sure. Photo by SK for JC.
All rights reserved.

In a way these lyrics became relevant to me again later in the day, as Sarah and I spoke with my friend Tom on the phone for our first pre-marriage counseling session. Separately, we had both filled out an online relationship assessment called Prepare & Enrich, and after tabulating the responses, Tom (one of our co-officiants) would discuss the results. I found it both healthy and revealing, pinpointing some of our strengths as a couple, and areas that could use some work. Overall, it seems to encourage listening and assertiveness, which will be good for both of us in different ways. 


So the wedding planning continues−I also looked at tuxes and photographers today, and we have some other things lined up for this weekend. Above all, I think I could use some more down time with Sarah... to recharge, renew, revisit some new wave love songs... 

Desert Rose in Bloom!

Ok, Coachella is officially the coolest music festival ever. I just learned today that they are streaming ALL of the concerts this weekend and next on YouTube. The quality is great--tonight I tuned in to see reggae legend Jimmy Cliff (he did an awesome cover of "Ruby Soho" with Rancid's Tim Armstrong), and am currently watching one of my all time faves, Madness... keeping that sweet ska vibe happening (oh man, even David Hasselhoff is in the audience!). And up next is Pulp-- thank you-- makes me feel better about not making it to NYC (need car $ anyway). This festival has an amazing lineup... I'll definitely be tuning in here and there (and possibly driving Sarah mad).

I had the day off today (working tomorrow at the Museum), so Sarah and I spent it working on more wedding stuff. A couple of times I looked over at her and it sunk in... my God, I'm getting married! To a gorgeous woman! Wow.

I'm not sure this is going to be the most substantial blog entry... I'm trying to type this while "House of Fun" by Madness is blasting live in the background. All I can say is that for a year with three (count 'em three) Friday the 13ths, 2012 is doing alright... I have had off for both of them, spending time with my gal, and the next one will be two days before my wedding. Wow. Surreal year... like an indie rock fest in the desert... it's happening. 

Related Links:  

www.youtube.com/coachella

http://www.coachella.com