Falling Apart

Dear Avant Garde,

Researchers here at the Dodo have found this interesting music for you; made by time and chance, you are going to love it, just as you love the peeling paint, the streaking rust, and the eroding cliffs.

Read about it here, and listen to it here.  Or, reverse the order if you are adventurous! 

Obel No. 3

Dear Falling in Love,

Here it is, your third Agnes Obel song, September Song.

coded & codes

 

 

 

 

 



A Zizzer-Zoof Seed salesman, as depicted by Dr. Seuss,

in The Sleep Book, RH Childrens Books, 2013.



Dear Language,

I have been trying to raise my awareness- I know, what else would I do with it: try to 'lower' it!?  My success or failure at raising my own awareness is not really possible to quantify at this point, but I found some things that I wasn't really aware of, so I think that is an indicator of being on the right track. 

You probably already know that people are calling out uses of language as coded, or codes.  This stuff is what I refer to as 'doublespeak;' as defined by Orwell's 1984.  This talk uses one or two words to mean a whole lot of specifics to certain groups of ears, and it takes time to establish the meaning across culture.  For example, here at the Dodo, useless things are 'Zizzer-Zoof Seeds' because nobody wants them and nobody needs them.  It is an example of what they call high context language. 

For my research on coded words, I wanted a list; I wanted something concrete, something now, and topical, so I looked it up on the Internet, of course.  I found a decent list and I offer you some of it here;  use these words with extreme caution!  They are saying more than you might intend.  To better know what your intentions might be, put your definition of these words in the blank space provided.  As a further exploration, consider how our culture and media defines these words and phrases.

Thug

Urban/Inner City

Radical Islam

Middle Class

Illegal Immigrant

Bossy/Sassy/Uppity

PS

If you'd like to read more about Zizzer-Zoof Seeds, visit the book online, or better yet, get The Sleep Book by Dr. Seuss from your local library.

Obel No. 2

Dear All,

Here it is, the second song from Agnes Obel in our appreciation series, your song of the day for today.

barstool

Dear Others,

I know you are out there, on a Saturday, trying to practice.  It's glacially slow, snails overtake me in my progress, I get nearly no where, and worse, I know the time when I could have improved is long gone.  I also suspect it isn't doing my knees any favors.  There is a barstool with a margarita or a beer on the counter that I could be sitting at, instead of facing my incremental improvements.

I know you could be doing stuff that needs doing, too, I mean, say, if you didn't just go and enjoy that drink at the bar.  You could be doing the taxes, or mopping the floor.  Yep, you could do a lot with this time.

Maybe though, you too are trying to do the Bunny Hop.  I am, and I think, just maybe, possibly, I have got it!  After nearly 12 years of skating and who knows how many tries.  It's a kind of a gallop step, where you jump off of one skate onto the toe stop of the other.  Sounds very simple, doesn't it? 
If you are working at it, study this and this instructional video as well.

Everything.

Dear Waking Dream,

Here is a song you need.  Note the descending, spiraling sound- isn't it grand?  I have been listening to it regularly; I want it in me for good. 

Discerning Listeners.

Dear Listener of Discernment,

Oh I expect you are even now listening to Agnes Obel, but in the very small chance that you are not, let's have a little series of her music.  Understand me now, I adore this music.  My ears have been waiting, preparing for this sound for years.  It sounds like my favorite choral, avant garde, folk, alternative, local, and contemporary classical, all in one sweet and beautiful package.  Enjoy this now, and stay tuned for more later....