Malibu morning picture of the day - Friday, February 26, 2016

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

It's Friday and relatively warm and clear conditions persist in the Southland.

We have some killer waves here right now in So Cal, but not in the Bu. West facing beaches are big right now (this is a south-facing beach)--apparently a fisherman was captured by a wave off a jetty in Redondo. Lots of water moving at once is very powerful, so respect it.

Here's a 2nd look for today. Did you know that palm trees put out "flowers?" You can see those orange growths among the fronds in the foreground. They're very intricate. I'll try to remember to go over and take some close-ups for you all.




A fundraiser I have been working with has had to deal with old, grey guys wanting to put a pithy allusion into various messages, and they insisted on, but later got rid of a reference to "dream the impossible dream."  This was partly due to my advice as well. Man of La Mancha is a great, inspirational theatre production, but it's fallen out of the public the eye for some time, and a lot of people below a certain age have no idea what show it's from.

It was a big hit when I was in high school of Phantom of the Opera proportions, and it seemed every school choir had to do it. I was wondering why this show has disappeared. I think perhaps it's a little to earnest for current times. Right now it's a little too sweet, a little too hopeful. We're in a time of de-struction; the phoenix is flaming up, old structures are crumbling. I think La Mancha's songs resonate in a time when good ideas have become strong and powerful and maybe are a bit too sure of themselves? The story of a weak, little guy battling the entrenched establishment was great in the 1970s, even if he lost, the struggle was the main thing.

I was looking for something that suited my fundraiser's purposes, and I find I rather like the words from a song from Wicked:

"For Good" by Stephen Schwartz

GLINDA

I'VE HEARD IT SAID

THAT PEOPLE COME INTO OUR LIVES FOR A REASON
BRINGING SOMETHING WE MUST LEARN
AND WE ARE LED
TO THOSE WHO HELP US MOST TO GROW
IF WE LET THEM
AND WE HELP THEM IN RETURN
WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF I BELIEVE THAT'S TRUE
BUT I KNOW I'M WHO I AM TODAY
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

LIKE A COMET PULLED FROM ORBIT
AS IT PASSES A SUN

LIKE A STREAM THAT MEETS A BOULDER
HALFWAY THROUGH THE WOOD
WHO CAN SAY IF I'VE BEEN CHANGED FOR THE BETTER?
BUT BECAUSE I KNEW YOU
I HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR GOOD …

ELPHABA
IT WELL MAY BE
THAT WE WILL NEVER MEET AGAIN
IN THIS LIFETIME
SO LET ME SAY BEFORE WE PART
SO MUCH OF ME
IS MADE OF WHAT I LEARNED FROM YOU
YOU'LL BE WITH ME
LIKE A HANDPRINT ON MY HEART
AND NOW WHATEVER WAY OUR STORIES END
I KNOW YOU HAVE RE-WRITTEN MINE
BY BEING MY FRIEND...

LIKE A SHIP BLOWN FROM ITS MOORING
BY A WIND OFF THE SEA
LIKE A SEED DROPPED BY A SKYBIRD
IN A DISTANT WOOD
WHO CAN SAY IF I'VE BEEN CHANGED FOR THE BETTER?
BUT BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

GLINDA
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

BOTH
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU
I HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR GOOD...

ELPHABA
AND JUST TO CLEAR THE AIR
I ASK FORGIVENESS
FOR THE THINGS I'VE DONE YOU BLAME ME FOR

GLINDA
BUT THEN, I GUESS WE KNOW
THERE'S BLAME TO SHARE

BOTH
AND NONE OF IT SEEMS TO MATTER ANYMORE

___

[They sing simultaneously]

GLINDA

LIKE A COMET PULLED FROM
ORBIT/AS IT PASSES A SUN/
LIKE A STREAM THAT MEETS A
BOULDER/ HALF-WAY
THROUGH THE WOOD

ELPHABA

LIKE A SHIP BLOWN OFF ITS
MOORING/BY A WIND OFF THE
SEA/ LIKE A SEED DROPPED BY A
BIRD IN
THE WOOD

___

BOTH
WHO CAN SAY IF I'VE BEEN CHANGED FOR THE BETTER?
I DO BELIEVE I HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR THE BETTER

GLINDA
AND BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

ELPHABA
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...

BOTH
BECAUSE I KNEW YOU...
I HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR GOOD.

Just in case you're one of the few people in the US who don't know, these are the two witches that you know from The Wizard of Oz whom Gregory Maguire has riffed into a great backstory which was adapted into a musical. The witches were schoolchums back in the day. But it's a perfect statement that all of your relationships have an effect on you and you on them. I don't need to tie this up for you as you can think about why songs like this are currently resonant.

I read the book Wicked, but I have not seen a production of the play. I have read the script and plot summaries of the play and trust me they are two very different works in tone and content, at least to me. The main thing to me is Wicked is a personal work, while something like La Mancha and maybe Don Quixote are grandiose. Oh gosh, the clock shows I'm out of time. But who the hell cares what I think? Just enjoy the poetry above and find the YouTube of it...

Have a great weekend.

Love,
Pops