Princess Haiku

another season of chrysanthemum begins, says Princess Haiku

2009-07-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

Follow the journey of these newborn chrysanthemum seedlings with me.

chrysanthemum shrine
offerings- a poet's gold
was this flower a dream?

Haiku Master Buson

2009-07-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

I found a little volume of Haiku by Master Buson which is perfect for this clear evening.

The going of spring!
The fading away of purple
from Tsukuba mountain.

world always leaving
spring,
the voice reflecting
a river.

Webster's word czar uploads new text

2009-07-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

photocredit

The mandala of language continues to fascinate and check out some of the new words listed in Webster's Dictionary. Every one of these words originated with one person. That's right! You, me or anyone can expand the lexicon.

Here is my new word. Zapeutopia. It refers to the mysterious world where those who are "zapped" dwell. Of course we all know what zapped means.

What's your new word?

Webster himself was a great believer in keeping things simple, and it was his idea to "Americanise" many of the spellings that now distinguish the American and English forms of the language. He dropped the "u" from colour and favour and turned centre into center.

That unashamed Americanisation is evident in this year's new words, which will have traditionalists squirming. They include "staycation" for a holiday spent at home and "frenemy" for one who pretends to be a friend but is in fact an enemy.

The green revolution also makes a strong showing, with "locavore" for a person who eats only locally-grown food; carbon footprint as a measure of one's carbon emmissions; and green-collar, referring to jobs designed to help the environment.
Other newcomers

Acai
The small, dark purple, berrylike fruit found in central and south
America has been known by this word since 1868 but its place in the
dictionary has been forced by a recent fad that claims it is an aid to
dieting

Goji
A big year for berries all round, with the dark red mildly tart bruit
of a mainly Asian shrub making its entry thanks to its new popularity as a
flavour in drinks

Haram
Items, usually foods, forbidden under Islamic law

Memory foam
Another recent fad, this time for a mattress that supposedly
remembers the shape of your back

Neuroprotective
One of several new words relating to health and medicine,
it refers to drugs that protect neurons from injury or degeneration

Reggaeton
Another fusion word, in this case relating to the union of rap
and Caribbean rhythms in popular Puerto Rican music

Cherry Blossoms is a film of great sensibility

2009-07-06T23:13:00.001-07:00

photocredit

I recently viewed the film, Cherry Blossom by Doris Dorrie, an independent German filmmaker. The film touched me so profoundly that I saw it three times and found it to be the equivalent of a "Buddhist slap." While it deals with the tragedy of human relationships and our blundering inability to be present with and for the ones we love, it is not depressing. It's final message is that by entering grief and journeying through it we can find spiritual insight to connect with selfless love. We are all condemned to the sorrows of temporal existence but ultimately aesthetic beauty and acceptance of natural cycles of life and death lead us to transcendence. The film is enhanced by gorgeous cinematography, music and Butoh dance.

After seeing the film I looked for reviews and was disappointed that by and large it's spiritual depth was overlooked and that it was panned as a "feminist" movie perhaps because in this misogynistic era a woman produced it. There were no polemics in what I would call the Buddhist perspective of the film.I saw every character in the film as representing a different aspect of myself. It's really quite remarkable and I encourage all of you to see it. I assure you, you will look more carefully at the ones you love after you see it.

This is a snippet of a review that I did like," With her newest Japan film, “Cherry Blossoms” (which has its New York theatrical premiere on Friday), Ms. Dörrie reconfigures the wrenching parent-child tensions of “Tokyo Story,” the 1953 masterpiece of Yasujiro Ozu. Departing from the formal rigors of Ozu’s postwar reconstruction drama, Ms. Dörrie brings her trademark empathy and humor to the plight of an elderly Bavarian couple. Trudi and Rudi (Hannelore Elsner and Elmar Wepper) visit a son and daughter in Berlin who are too distracted by family and work to give their parents their due. The indignities continue in Tokyo, where Rudi is ignored by an expatriate son and, as consolation, nurtures a surrogate relationship with a teenage Butoh dancer.

Doris Dorrie is a very gifted filmmaker and I look forward to seeing other films she has made and will follow her in the future.

Note: film trailer in my video bar on right side of blog

If you like this post than visit Japonisme.

urban flute player evokes Handel

2009-07-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

I have been practicing my flute with more ardor than usual. Perhaps because I love the warm summer weather. My next door neighbors swimming pool is reflecting moonlight tonight. The view on my balcony delights. Even as California devolves into bankruptcy there are these perfect moments to commune with nature. Amid the fear and panic there are quiet moments to collect. These are the days given to me.....

The small trees erupted into a flame of color

2009-07-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

What has been blooming under your nose?

One moment everything was green and bud, said Princess Haiku

And suddenly this wild bloom.

in Summer, white poppies remember

2009-06-29T22:57:00.001-07:00

Princess Haiku was invited to a Midsummer Eve ball.

And went as a poppy of course.

How timeless your evening gown is said her friend, Astrid.

Her small nephew, Neptune was enchanted.

Why this dress and not another said her escort, Sir Virtue.

Princess Haiku smiled although she wouldn't answer, but I will tell you her secret reason.

Poppies remember.

time has slipped away

2009-06-03T22:51:00.000-07:00

Thank you all, for leaving comments on my blog and I will be around to visit in the next few days. I didn't mean to stay away so long. I became preoccupied with the crashing apart of my once beautiful state. Many of you no doubt know what is going on in California.

Blogging is a form of meditation for me and I have decided it's essential to focus on some positive things. As soon as I replace the upload cord on my Coolpix cam I will post a new post.

What will be the topic of my poetic reawakening?

Princess Haiku discovers the beauty of Susan Boyle's voice

2009-04-15T23:36:00.001-07:00

There are no words for the beauty and simplicity of this soul. Listen for yourself....

Just when you think the world is all despair and that dreams can't come true..

Susan comes along like a fragrant spring wind.

Enjoy.

You can also listen via my video player on left side of blog.

Bamboo Dream; the sadness that comes out at midnight... said Princess Haiku

2009-03-31T23:31:00.000-07:00

Waking dreams or Watching the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan.

A DVD of Bamboo Dream arrived from Netflix today and I have viewed it three times already. For those of you who pan netflix do be advised it has a superior collection of documentaries and performing arts films. Yes, I know that one waits forever to receive new releases, but high art awaits your summons.

I saw Wild Cursive at Cal Performance two years ago and would dearly like to see Bamboo Dream live. Artistic Director and Choreographer Lin Hwai-min's esthetic exploration of the bitter symbolism of the bamboo evokes pristine beauty and pathos. It speaks to the tragic and temporal nature of human life and the constant movement of the psyche.

The evergreen Chinese bamboo survives even the bitterest of winters thus symbolizing integrity and also representing elegance. Bamboo plays a role as metaphor in many ancient tales. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants and the delicate and constant movement of the dancers evokes this mysterious process.

Before even the lyrical dream sequences representing the seasons are over, an entire new forest of bamboo has arisen around heart and soul. In my Western interpretation it is difficult to decide if the rapid and amorphous movement is the protection or the dense forest that results. As spirits of a bamboo netherland, dancers create and recreate haunted landscape and ancient history before our eyes. The dancers of Cloud Gate benefit from the ideas and concepts of collectivity and perform as one breath. Arvo Part's paens to the mythology surrounding bamboo in Asia is perfectly expressive of Hwai=min's concept.

Each of the dancers in this ensemble are qualified to be a danseur/ballerina. Put them all together and voila. you have Cloud Gate Theater of Taiwan dancing for Princess Haiku. Of note also is the flute improvisations of Chinest flute player Huang Sheng-Kai. I am going to check youtube so check my video player, right side of blog.

Here is a great review:

From the initial strains of an unearthly Chinese flute, played by a solitary wanderer on a stage forested with bamboo trees, Bamboo Dream promises to be a mystical work of exquisite beauty. Using an intoxicating array of styles, choreographer Lin Hwai-min has created a piece which seamlessly marries the grace of classical ballet with the drama of traditional Asian gesture and the self-discipline of martial arts

Reviewer is Nina Miall.

the ghost bride reappears on a calm spring day and tells Princess Haiku that her name is, Henriette

2009-03-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

My name is Henriette, the ghost bride said to Princess Haiku.

I left Michel Nostradamus long ago with our two young boys.

And now we have descendants living in both Aix en Provence and San Francisco who have no idea of their psychic provenance.

Princess Haiku leaned closer for the story was fascinating.

However, just as suddenly Henriette disappeared leaving a storm of dandelion seeds behind.

I must know the real story said Princess Haiku.

Do you have any idea what really happened?

Marriage and healing work: In 1531 Nostredame was invited by Jules-César Scaliger, a leading Renaissance scholar, to come to Agen. There he married a woman of uncertain name (possibly Henriette d'Encausse), who bore him two children.

from
The Song the Orphan Sings

...
I have only this one dress,
and it's getting thin and bleached;
however, it will last an eternity
in the eyes of God.

Rainer Maria Rilke

the blush of Spring, said Princess Haiku

2009-03-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

The blush of Spring is a gentle color like no other.

this Flower of dream

2009-03-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

Spring dreams in its own shadows. Always, every year as the earth turns new possibility.

Spring, with its gold allure

2009-03-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

I searched for the white, ballerina poppies that I saw last year. Sadly, they have disappeared from my neighborhood. Instead I found flowers belonging to the gold heart of Spring.

Helene Grimaud on playing Bach

2009-03-27T00:12:00.000-07:00

"Bach's music goes straight to the very core of the human soul," Grimaud says. "Playing Bach allows you to mark your spiritual growth, as well as your technical growth as an instrumentalist."

Listen to Helene Grimaud discuss Bach with Fred Child on NPR'S EXCLUSIVE FIRST LISTEN.

This discussion is an enticement for me to work on some Bach sonatas for flute. I haven't been practicing as much lately as I wish. Perhaps it is the feeling of confinement that always follows winter.

street music fills the air in spring, said Princess Haiku

2009-03-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

I happened upon some street musicians playing in front of the bookstore. I am not a bluegrass fan in particular but anything this well done deserves an encore. You just never know what the day will give you if you ears are open and your heart listening. Be attentive said Princess Haiku, life is happening all around.

Opera Chic has interesting new post on La belle Helene

2009-03-25T19:46:00.001-07:00

Daniel Harding Dances with Hélène Grimaud In Parma!

photo via Deutsche Grammophon/Mat Hennek)

Opera Chic offers interesting reading for the classical music enthusiast.

Some time ago I mentioned in a post that Helene Grimaud was a poet's musician and indeed she is. I am working on a special project to be unveiled in the near future. Also, I must dash out for Grimaud's Bach CD. I always shop local even though the internet is tempting, so that small shops survive. -That goes for books as well..

In a white spring garden with Octavio Paz

2009-03-25T00:12:00.000-07:00

On the whitewashed wall
a play written by the wind and light
the shadows of the vine
greener than the word March
the mask of the afternoon
absorbed in the calligraphy of birds
between the quivering grates of reflections

I am in love with this world
stumble lost in myself
craving wholeness craving indifference
to open my eyes
impeccable evidence
among the clarities that dispute it
Not the abolition of images
the incarnation of pronouns
the world we invent among us
a community of signs
and at its center
the recluse
Perpetua encarnata
half-woman
half spring in the rocks...

from "A Tale of Two Gardens" by Octavio Paz
translated by Eliot Weinberger

Princess Haiku spent the day in a blur of a spring garden with Octavio Paz and poetry so exquisite it went perfectly with chilled champagne.

Magenta musing

2009-03-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

It's a spring moment in March and once again the magenta blooms.

Seeking me out this world of beauty.

Transcendent moments are often as subtle as fragrant blossoms.

the beauty of a tree, said Princess Haiku

2009-03-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

I love trees, said Princess Haiku and all that they evoke.

For example this poem "Tree" by Jane Hirshfield.

It is foolish
to let a young redwood.

Even in this
one lifetime,
you will have to choose.

That great calm being
this clutter of soup pots and books-

Already the first branch-tips brush at the window,
Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.

exit: Lost Boys of Phoenix Theater, said Princess Haiku

2009-03-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

Vandal Canvas 594 these bricKs

painted hyacinth ghosts;
a Vanished
artwork, cold pieces

FORM today,
regenerated AM into
crylon, Scarlatti

remorseless Voice-overs
of hello world, rich plum
textured away Camus

stone washed boys and
une fille 3-D melt into
painted, spiked ice,

on the outer territory of
TRAIN world
sunset eyes peer through

the sherbet blizt
of a garbage can; motif
of a Phoenix spiral

wonder... the
men from Hamburg
willing catalina mist

to leave impressions
dripping bauhaus gold teeth
view

of their travel into the
territories of the
US

vandal art
outlaw ghosts on balcony
requiem for HIST>RY performances

stage inside
a Hornet left tangerine molecues
turned dust;

behind the age of global blue
velvet curtain
rip the GRAF veil

you are invited to attend
Houdini Seance with\
...Jade

....................Princess Haiku

poem inspired by the grafitti artists of the Phoenix Theater

with an eye towards the beautiful, said Princess Haiku

2009-03-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

I woke up this early spring day, in one of my "aesthetic moods" and went searching for the extraordinary amidst the ordinary.

What did the mysterious Princess Haiku discover? Well for a preview: German graffitti artists from Hamburg in the very act of spraying up a wall, rare books, superb white flower buds, church altars, trees in bloom, laughing toddlers with curls, street musicians and more....

First, I need to upload and sort the zillion photos and of course lunch. The intent of finding beauty is as important as the view.

a marvelous project; the Youtube Orchestra, said the elusive Princss Haiku

2009-03-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

I first heard about the youtube orchestra that was forming a few months ago and now it a reality. Discover for yourself. Follow the link, hear a wonderful video of Lang Lang playing with the Berlin Phil and dream of a world without borders. Artists always lead the way.

YT Symphony Orchestra

symphony
Style: Classical
Joined: November 16, 2005
Last Sign In: 10 hours ago
Subscribers: 23,386
Channel Views: 4,394,534
Play your part in music history.

We called for professionals and amateur musicians of all ages, locations and instruments to audition for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra by submitting a video performance of a new piece written for the occasion by the renowned Chinese composer Tan Dun.

Finalists are selected by a judging panel comprised of the world's most renowned orchestras. Vote for your favorite instrumentalists on YouTube from February 14-22.

Winners are announced on March 2nd and will be invited to travel to New York in April 2009, to participate in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra summit, and play at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.

All the Tan Dun submissions will be compiled into a mashup video which will be premiered at Carnegie Hall on April 15th and then hosted on this channel on April 16th.

a Gary Snyder poem on the Equinox, said Princess Haiku

2009-03-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

And miniature trees in bloom...

Walking Through Myoshin-ji

Straight stone walks
up lanes between mud walls

...the sailors who handled the ships
from Korea and China,
the carpenters, chisel like razors,

young monks working on mu,

and the pine trees
that surrounded this city.
the Ancient Ones, each one
anonymous.
green needles,
lumber
ash.

VII, 81, Kyoto
from POEMS BY GARY SNYDER
Axe Handles

Retrospective on Sea Change of Helene Grimaud

2009-03-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

photo credit

I have been thinking about Helene Grimaud lately and hope that she is playing in the San Francisco Bay Area this next season. If anyone hears anything do let me know. I reread my post about la belle Helene's CD "Reflections" and decided to post it again. Based on her elusive personality, love of solitude and delicate health don't think she will have a long performing career. She is forever having to cancel performances for one reason or another (all of them valid as far as I know) but this will not deter me. I am willing to take my chances. The San Francisco Symphony's 09-10 schedule is out and she isn't on it. Disappointing but there are other venues in the Bay Area so I am still hopeful.

Retrospective on "Reflections

Helene Grimaud, has always been recognized as a gifted pianist and recently gone through a sea change, transforming into a virtuoso of legendary ability. The phrase "sea change" derives from a quotation in Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest," suggesting a profound transformation caused by a remarkable agency or energy.

I had the pleasure of hearing Helene Grimaud's new CD "Reflection" a musical dialog between Robert & Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. Grimaud plays with a lightness and subtlety belonging to sea-foam with the force and passion of the ocean beneath. Her interpretation incarnates the spirit of these composers. As I listened to Robert Schumann's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor, waves parted with color as they did for Marc Chagall. I listened with a poetic mind, as consciousness spilled forth from a keyboard; auditory moonlight reflecting upon minnows darting in and out of the sky's eye.

So intimately, does Grimaud understand Brahms in his Sonata for Piano and Violoncello no. 1 in E minor, that she evokes him as one would a beloved; effortlessly and without self-consciousness. In the music of- Brahms Two Rhapsodies for Piano, Helene Grimaud removes herself so completely as pianist, as an intermediary, that she becomes the music.

"Reflections" is for everyone; the consummate music professional seeking extreme virtuosity, a poet such as myself seeking music to awaken the spirit or anyone who enjoys beautiful music. I suggest that you add this CD to your collection for Helene Grimaud will soon be recognized as a legendary artist.

Here is another interesting review from her web site.

"English:

. . . a vibrant new CD . . .
Interview / Anne Underwood, Newsweek / 13 October 2006
Hélène Grimaud presents us with a second lovingly themed gift, this time mirroring the entwined love of Robert and Clara Schumann and their adored protégé, Johannes Brahms. Sumptuously presented . . . and recorded . . . Brilliantly partnered by Esa-Pekka Salonen, who conducts with all the joy of first discovery, she launches the work with fierce authority before playing the principal theme with a rare sense of its expressivo and affetuoso character. The cadenza is a full-blooded as even the most ardent lover of the Concerto could wish . . . this is certainly among the most highly charged of Schumann piano concerto recordings. She is no less bold and impassioned partnering Anne Sofie von Otter, an ideal match for a singer whose intensity and vision leave you in no doubt that Clara was a more-than-gifted composer as well as a great pianist. Grimaud ends with Brahms's . . . two Op 79 Rhapsodies, playing with thrilling immediacy in the first and a welcome grandeur in the second . . . This is an exceptional disc, highlighting a young pianist who, imperiously and audaciously, lives for the moment.
Record Review / Bryce Morrison, Gramophone (London) / 01 January 2006
Love is the "leitmotiv". Very classy.
Record Review / Independent (London) / 07 January 2006"