YOGA AND PHOTOGRAPHY - BOTH PREFERABELY IN THE TROPICSWorld travel is my passion, as it's a learning experience and an excercize in ridding oneself of ethnocentrism: CLICK HERE to see my full travel photography portfolio: The Humane Society of the United States and sponsoring a little girl in Guatemala through Children International Other interests including reading, enjoying the great outdoors, eating vegetarian food, practicing yoga, learning German & Spanish, viewing independent movies, appreciating music to it's fullest, including dancing, et al.
It would have been George Harrison, in fact I got kicked out of the backstage at Madison Square Garden back in 1992, trying to meet George. Never found him, but saw some other musicians. This was at the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. There were tons of great musicians there, but George was the reason I rode a Greyhound bus all the way from Maine. I stayed for Bob to come out for the encore at the concert, so missed my bus and had to spend the night, by myself, in the Port Authority. It was all worth it! Anyway, I guess the next person I'd like to meet is Bob Dylan, after reading his recent autobiography. The closest I got to George is visiting Friar Park in England, and his estate in Switzerland that used to be owned by Herman Hesse, one of my favorite authors.As far as meeting people on MySpace, well, I'm not here looking for a relationship. I love to travel the world, and I usually do it alone, so I love meeting up with local people to see their city/country through their eyes.
THE BEATLES - What can I say? George was/is my favorite! The Traveling Wilburys (the only real super-group) make me feel happy inside. George's slide quitar makes me weak in the knees and if I could hear his voice simply reading the phone book, it would still make my heart melt.Laura Kay crossing Abbey Road 2004. Laura Kay at the gates of Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames, England, paying her respects to George:I dig any early American rock 'n' roll, rock-a-billy, and/or blues music that influenced the British Invasion.I LOVE going to concerts, and especially getting backstage and getting close to the musicians. "Brainwashed" Ray Davies, of the band, THE KINKS, is a genius - no kidding. He's a latter day Byron and underappreciated in the U.S. because he never sold-out to the man! His lyrics are Orwellian - very deep, very introspective, very much a misfit of society. His book "X-Ray" is brilliant. Check him out, and his upcoming tour dates at: www.raydavies.info To order his long-awaited solo album: CLICK HERECheck this out, below: This is the first Neil Diamond album I've ever owned, and it's exquisite - here he is with the producer of his album "12 Songs", Rick Rubin (famous producer of JayZ's "99 Problems" song/video). Neil Diamond and Rick Rubin are by appearances what seems to be an odd pairing, but it's match that only dreams are made of, and the result is phenonmenal! This album literally changed my life - for the better. Considering Neil's tendency to be a bit cheesy in the past, it's even that much more of an accomplishment that he created this emotionally-wrenching, deep, life-affirming, honest, sincere, raw album. Gone are the sparkly shirts and hairspray - all that's left is a real man. Something major must've occured in his life to make this happen. CLICK HERE to order "12 Songs". The only radio I listen to is the community station here in Tucson, KXCI - 91.3. You can listen via a live stream at www.kxci.orgI love the streaming station Classic Underground Radio at www.3wk.com I can't travel without it, and also Sirius Sattelite Radio (channels 16 & 17 are my favorites) - just plug in my notebook computer into the hotel's line in my room and I'm all set with groovy tunes.
Hedwig
and the Angry Inch
You'd be surprised to realize how much you may have in common with this misfit. Must know all of the song lyrics by heart, after many viewings and studying the soundtrack on CD to really fully appreciate it.
Spirited
Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi)
- Another movie I identify with strongly, brilliantly directed and written. The art-work is too stunning to describe! Academy Award winner 2002 "Best Animated Feature".
Return
to Waterloo Written and directed by Master Ray Davies, and it's fucking brilliant, takes a few viewings to really notice all the things it has to offer - one must really study the lyrics of all of the songs, and know them by heart to truly appreciate it. An young Tim Roth plays a great crazy role in it.Laura Kay enjoying a Waterloo Sunset, London 2003.
What the Bleep
do we Know?! Quantum mechanics allows for the intangible phenomenon of freedom to be woven into human nature. How far down the rabbit hole of mysteriousness are YOU willing to go?
GandhiThis movie changed my life, when I saw it in the theatre, by myself, when I was 13 years old. Made me read up on him and have been a strict lacto-vegetarian ever since. Ravi Shankar did the astounding soundtrack too - just beautiful all the way around.
"Californication" "The IT Crowd"
"1984" & "Animal Farm", by George Orwell."Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors", "Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark", & "The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence", by Carl Sagan."Ballad of Peckham Rye", by Muriel Sparks."Steppenwolf", & "Demian" by Herman Hesse."X-Ray", by Ray Davies."Diary of a Nobody", by George and Weedon Grossmith."I Me Mine", by George Harrison."Confederacy of Dunces", by John Kennedy Toole."One Hundred Years of Solitude" & "Love in the Time of Cholera", by Gabriel Garcia Marquez."Into Thin Air" & "Into the Wild", by Jon Krakauer"I Know This Much is True" & "She's Come Undone", by Wally Lamb."The Corrections", by Jonathan Franzen."A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius", by Dave Eggers."Henry IV part 2" and "Henry V" by William Shakespeare.Too many others to mention. I worked in the bookstore industry for a decade, eventually managing stores. My garage is filled with boxes of books! I love the smell of new books, mixed with the smell of coffee."We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special." - Stephen Hawking. Above is a photo of Stephen Hawking understanding the goings-on inside of the London strip-club, Stringfellows!
Hmmmm, I learned not to have heroes other than myself. I had a hero, and got to meet him, sleep with him, and see how he lives, but heroes are just real people who can't possibly live up to expectations that strangers set for them. One can not help but want this genius' attention to validate one's existence, which is bullshit. It took me too long to realize that. We are all geniuses in our own right, if we choose to live creatively. Idol worship is dangerous, something one can easily be burned by, so it's best to be one's own hero - just don't expect anyone to worship you! Laura Kay in Barcelona 2004. "A friend of the devil is a friend of mine, if I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight...." Hey, check out my passport photo from when I was a child! Good one! Here's one from when I was 16-years old. Here's a shot that was taken in 2005 at a studio in Okinawa. My Okinawan sister-in-law set this up for me.