Emma profile picture

Emma

Chi vuol' esse lieto sía, di doman non c'é certezza...

About Me

Playwright, dancer, drummer, make-up artist, historian, theologian. Life's too short to learn everything I want to learn, but I can try...

My Interests

Music, dancing, drumming, theatre, dogs (mine especially), cats (my dogs's cats in particular), architecture, Red Sox, watching Nadal beat Federer, making people look gorgeous and, of course, all those lovely effects-- scars, bullet holes, beards, aging, bald, penetrating spear wounds, blisters...And why isn't there a place here for favorite artists? Mine--Dali, Magritte, Bonnard, Erte, Dufy, Chagall, Chagall, Chagall, Monet (not the irritating flowers--his Houses of Parliament is awesome but doesn't get attention), Gorey, Calder (LOTS of Calder), some of Kandinsky, Matisse's rose window in Union Church in Pocantico Hills...

I'd like to meet:

Julie Taymor, Simon Rattle, Tom Twyker, Tommy Hayes, a whole bunch of other people...Music for the film "Pain and Sorrow" (the trailer below) composed and performed by Andre Danek

Music:

Andre Danek--a very sweet and sexy guy I love who has a stunningly beautiful voice, and is also a brilliant musician and an awesome producer; Arlo; Pete; Mozart--I wrote my thesis to Requiem...; Steve Reich; Kate Bush; Peter Gabriel; Louis; Ella; Duke; Dizzie; Bird; Thelonius; ..., JS Bach (especially WCW's); plainsong; Marvin Gaye; Altan; Silly Wizard; Joshua Nelson and the Kosher Gospel Singers; Mahaliah; Cat Stevens; Boriya; Ennio Morricone; Nino Rota; The Clash; David Broza; Paul Simon (with and without Ladysmith Black Mambazo); Mussorgsky; Verdi; Vivaldi; Holst; Chopin; niggunim; Chichester Psalms (Bernstein)...

Movies:

Run Lola Run, Branagh's Henry V, Othello (Fishburne and Branagh), Au Revoir les Enfants, Wit, Dogma (THE funniest theological film--the ONLY pop theological film ever made), The Bourne Identity, Spy Game, Snatch, Harold and Maude, Kelly's Heroes, anything with Denzel (American Gangster is incredible), Michael Caine, Sean Connery (especially Robin and Marion), Mr and Mrs Smith, Ocean's 11-13...

Television:

Spooks, Law and Order (LOVE those UTS scenes!)

Books:

The Once and Future King, Yehudah Amichai's poetry, Abba Kovner's poetry, Gus Edwards' plays, August Wilson's plays, Bill Bryson, Douglas Adams, Philip Pullman, Thomas Merton, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Alice Thomas Ellis, Alice Hoffman, Sarah Caudwell, The Phantom Tollbooth, Dick Francis...

Heroes:

Bridget Noujaim, Maryam Namazie, Nelson Mandela, Delores Williams, Larry Rasmussen, Robin Scroggs (z"l), James Alverson, Gus Edwards, Magill (z"l), Ben Vereen, Dr King, Daniel Berrigan, Jan Baker, Molly Ivins (z"l), Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola (Pico), the karma army

My Blog

reflecting

three years ago today, I was in my last concert.It was an interesting experience, for many reasons. I had been recruited to sing with a group by the music director of the group. He told me he direct...
Posted by Emma on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:43:00 PST

the blessings of disease

chemo sucks. Start with that. Chemo is the nastiest bit of being drunk with none of the fun of getting there. But...I was in my first year of seminary when I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. I ...
Posted by Emma on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:01:00 PST

for my love 2

congratulations!You are brilliant and amazing and awesome and you did a wonderful job.I'm proud of you!I wish I could be there to celebrate with you--you deserve celebrating!
Posted by Emma on Sat, 31 May 2008 06:50:00 PST

check it out..

Andre Danek is a brilliant musician, an amazing producer, a talented composer, a stunning vocalist, and a very sweet guy who I love very much.He's just produced a single for a pair of vocalists. The ...
Posted by Emma on Thu, 29 May 2008 10:26:00 PST

for my love

you are amazing and brilliant.Happy birthday--I wish I could be with you today...
Posted by Emma on Tue, 20 May 2008 01:14:00 PST

yarzeit

It is a beautiful day, and I have been thinking of a dead friend. That isn't morbid or random--the friend's yarzeit (death day) is around now, and I learned a lot from her. When I was in college, I ...
Posted by Emma on Wed, 14 May 2008 08:36:00 PST

verdict

There has been media commentary on the Sean Bell verdict, including comment on how "shocking" and 'surprising" and "outrageous" the verdict was. And there has been comment on the flaws of the legal s...
Posted by Emma on Sun, 27 Apr 2008 11:03:00 PST

disservice

American education is not very good. Particularly when placed alongside the educational systems and requirements of most of the rest of the developed world.This is not news.American education is espe...
Posted by Emma on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:07:00 PST

vayikra 19:34

that's the hebrew citation. the latin is, of course, lev 19:34--the command to love your neighbor (or "the alien") in your midst. And what the hell does it mean? And what is meant by "love"?It's a ...
Posted by Emma on Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:29:00 PST

pretense

There is a problem with engaging in pretense: you can get caught.That may not always be a big deal--depending on the size of the pretense. Some things can be explained away fairly easily. Some cann...
Posted by Emma on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:22:00 PST