Things I Learned This Week

Sisters with Transistors, Emmet Otter, Pottery Cringe, David Byrne, and My Husband

The goose is getting fat y’all. My son comes home in two and a half weeks, I only have a few classes left. I’ve had the absolute best time this semester! I’ve eased into it, and I am gearing up for the spring to be way more packed with an extra class and more grading. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. That said, you know the drill…

One of my professors turned me on to this doc last week, and I immediately went home and watched it: Sisters with Transistors: Electronic Music’s Unsung Heroes. What a powerhouse movie covering the careers of legendary female sound pioneers: the theremin’s muse Clara Rockmore who performed with orchestras around the world in the 1920s; Daphne Oram, the BBC’s engineering genius from the 1950s; Bebe Barron who created the world’s first electronic film score for Forbidden Planet; my favorite Pauline Oliveros who was probably a sound savant; Delia Derbyshire, composer of the theme song to Dr. Who in the 1963; and Maryanee Amacher who’s famous for experimenting with psychoacoustic phenomena in which the ears themselves produce audible sound; and in the 1970s, Elaine Radigue who revolutionized the tape feedback technique. Can not recommend this movie enough for any audiophiles out there.

While my books for next semester are slowly trickling in (of which there are almost 30), I’m winding down with On Beauty by Zadie Smith, and man-oh-man, it’s been my favorite read from the entire semester. I can’t believe I’m late to the Zadie Smith party. I spent the better part of brunch yesterday trying to get my girlfriends to forgive her first novel and power through to this one. Great read and a real masterclass in all the form and theory we’ve been learning. Brilliant and she’s gorgeous. What a life.

Participated in my first art show with my pottery this weekend, I really had to power through the cringe. I’m just getting to where I’m not embarrassed to show people my stuff, but seeing it next to all these real works of art made my skin crawl. Creating stuff—whether art or words—and having other people ogle it is one of the most uncomfortable things in the world. At the gallery, they are selling each piece for $35, but online, they are selling as a single unit in case anyone wants to own weird early works by me. LOL. If you’re in San Marcos, I’ll also be selling basically everything I’ve ever made at Eye of the Dog’s Holiday Popup Sale on December 13 from 10 to 6. This will probably be the one and only time I do this (until maybe next Christmas, ha!) There will be 30+ artists shilling their wares, plus free refreshments, music, and merriment for all. Get into the holiday spirit, you guys!

And speaking of the holidays, it’s almost time to watch the best movie of the year, Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. My son and his lovely girlfriend stopped by the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta when they went there for the Geese show a few weeks back, and my son immediately texted me the above picture. My heart just about exploded. Based on the wonderful book by Russell Hoban, it’s really the most glorious thing I’ve ever watched on television EVER. Thought it was produced in 1977, but I never saw it until I was eight years old, and it aired on network TV in the U.S. I remember that night like it was yesterday. It was set to be updated pre-COVID, and I hope that’s a horror that never sees the light of day. And how come no one told me they staged it at The New Victory Theater in New York a few years back!?! WTF!?!

This last bit is a shoutout to my husband of 22 years. Every moment of this opportunity here at graduate school has been brought to you/me by him. He hosts parties for my classmates. He builds chicken coops. He drives me to and from class. He makes dinner and lunch and cleans up and bakes freaking bread AND makes pasta. He plants/waters the garden and washes the car, and listens to me whine/wax poetic/gossip/effuse/cry/laugh all day long without complaint. He’s basically a miracle. Every day when I think I could not love him more, somehow I do. Like the Grinch, my heart grows ten sizes every single day just to be able to house the adoration I feel for this man. So tune in today to our song—This Must Be the Place by the Talking Heads (I know, not very original, but who cares)—and feel the love. I’ll never be able to thank him enough, but this is a start. ❤️

Quote of the day?

“It can often seem that those in power don’t want us to enjoy making things for ourselves—they’d prefer to establish a cultural hierarchy that devalues our amateur efforts and encourages consumption rather than creation.” ― David Byrne

‘Til Tuesday kids.

Burgin

(An MFA grad student at 50+… follow along and read my story here.