Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started

Month: November 2010

Mind Over Mirror

tyranny

We started shooting on a rainy day in January. I had just found out I was pregnant, so I wanted to hurry up and shoot my vignette before I got as big as a barn.

My goal was to finish the entire thing before the baby arrived. But “The Tyranny of the Mirror” was our most ambitious cinépoem to date, and it took a bit longer to complete than I planned.

One cinépoem with eight parts — eight different scenes, eight different women, eight different voices. The poem, as a whole, explores our obsession with our mirror image. It takes a look at a bunch of different ways that the mirror, and how we see ourselves in it, affects us, no matter who we are.

Because I’ve never met any woman who is entirely satisfied with the way she looks. As the poem goes, ...I am not satisfied/I could always be thinner/Mind over mirror.

So I have several people to thank for this one.

My fearless partner in cinépoetry, Michelle Brown, who is usually behind the camera but lent her face and her voice to this project, and starts the whole cinépoem out with a bang in “earth suit.”

Lani Alo, making her cinépoem debut in “thick around the middle” and flawlessly delivering that muffin tops line.

Lisa Sims, also a cinépoem virgin, looking good under a pink-hued sky in “grande y bonita.”

Kathy Azada, cinépoem veteran, holding her own in “dressing room.”

Johanna Baldwin, another first timer, looking fine in “skinny jeans.”

Melissa Fondakowski marks her second cinépoem appearance by eating on camera in “zaftig.”

Annie Leuenberger, also new to cinépoetry, did an amazing job in “cell memory” getting up on pointe.

And Aaron Purvis returns for the third time with an original score that he composed just for us. It’s gorgeous.

So a huge thanks to all of you, and also to my man Bruce, who shot “earth suit,” as well as all our fabulous assistants. This wouldn’t have happened without you!

Now, go see our biggest cinépoem ever, “The Tyranny of the Mirror,” now playing on the cinépoems page and also on YouTube.

-Lo, who can’t believe we finally finished it!

The Speed of Light

spped-of-light

The clock is a tyrant who will stay his hand for no one,
not even you, whose smile should stop time
as it stops this heart of mine.

Each day flies faster than the last,
mornings blur too soon to evening,
every minute closer to the day you take your leaving.

I wish for moments that last a thousand years.

-Lo, mourning the impending end of maternity leave.

Must-See Fotographie

somarts

If you live in or near San Francisco, there’s an art exhibition that’s up for the month of November that you simply must see.

It’s Julie Michelle’s i live here:sf retrospective, and it’s at SomArts on Brannan Street.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because I’ve spoken about Julie before. She took some gorgeous photos of Bruce and I, when we were expecting (which I need to add to the gallery here, and soon!), and, about a year ago, she let me be a part of her fabulous i live here:sf project… see here.

The show is amazing, lots and lots of fun things to look at. The opening reception is over (it was last night), but the show will be up for the rest of the month, so go see it!

In other news, The Tyranny of the Mirror, a cinépoem that Michelle Brown and I have been working on ALL YEAR LONG, is *this* close to being finished. You should be seeing it soon.

I also have another cinépoem in the works that a few people in Illinois have been very patiently waiting for, and I’m hoping that I will get that completed this year, as well, new baby or no!

Speaking of babies, my niece Josette is still in the NICU and has now had two surgeries because of an intestinal defect. She is currently stable and doing well as surgeons wait to see if the latest operation was a success. I just saw her a couple of days ago and she’s getting bigger and is cute as a button. Your continued thoughts and prayers for the little gal are welcome and appreciated.

-Lo, over and out