I remember meeting him, and how lonely he seemed. And shy. And fragile. I'm not sure there is much to say. I've been playing his music, and reflecting on the price of fame and celebrity. The way public people often mask a horrific private reality. The toll of it all. The way we consume the gifted ones, exalt them, imprison them. Why I think Angelina and Brad take the kids to Kmart. If they don't try to live outside of it, they will grow up trapped in the gilded cage.

Of course, "Rock with You" provided the soundtrack for my first kiss, alongside all the other MJ moments. But the cost! I could have lived without the songs. I think Michael could have, too. 

When I listen to this song, to the refrain, What about us? I have to ask the question--What about him? 

So of course I'm always looking at books. The copy on the jacket, the blurbs, trim-size, and overall design. Though I'm not completely sold on the color combo, I'd definitely pick this one up.

Would you?

Inspired to look for some video on these two after a meeting in the Time Life building yesterday. Mid-century modern is a little later than Time Life, but still...

Love the note about the successful man and woman "helper." And then Ray's smart responses. 

LOVE.

Happy Sunday!

Just a few spots left for the writing retreat. 

Come write your heart out...and then go wade in the ocean blue.

Register. 

“Direct inspiration for ‘Journey In Satchidananda’ comes from my meeting and association with someone who is near and dear to me. I am speaking of my own beloved spiritual preceptor, Swami Satchidananda. Swamiji is the first example I have seen in recent years of Universal Love or God in action. He expresses an impersonal love which encompasses thousands of people. Anyone listening to this selection should try to envision himself floating on an ocean of Satchidanandaji’s love, which is literally carrying countless devotees across the vicissitudes and stormy blasts of life to the other shore. Satchidananda means knowledge, existence, bliss."

"None of us can ever retrieve that innocence before all theory when art knew no need to justify itself, when one did not ask of a work what it said because one knew (or thought one knew) what it did. From now to the end of consciousness, we are stuck with the task of defending art."

Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation

And, of course, painting by Mark Rothko.

I like to visit the Campaign for Love and Forgiveness from time to time. This piece especially spoke to me today. The online ritual of forgiveness is a favorite aspect of this ongoing project. 

From their site:

Celebrate the Happiness of Another
In The Kabbalah of Envy, Rabbi Nilton Bonder explains a practice that will reinforce love in any situation. "Yiddish has a very special verb, unknown to most other languages: farginen. It means to open space, to share pleasure; it is the exact opposite of the verb to envy. While envy means disliking or resenting the happiness of others, farginen means making a pact with another individual's pleasure or happiness."

The next time you hear about someone else's good fortune, notice your reaction. Do you find yourself having to force a smile and giving rather insincere congratulations? Do you ask, "Why didn't this happen to me?" It is in such moments that many relationships start to deteriorate, so it is important to be able to practice farginen with another person instead.

Show Simple Affection
Do you shy away from hugging family or friends? From putting an arm around someone's shoulder or showing affection to your husband, wife or partner in front of your children? Many of us like to receive affection. A pat on the back, a smile and squeeze of a hand can generate good feelings. Still, social conventions and fear of what people may think can stop us from expressing our feelings in simple physical gestures. Perhaps we need more of that. Over the next week, try showing more affection to your family and friends. Note how it makes you feel and whether you detect any shifts in your relationships because of it.

Lakshmi Menon’s editorial in Vogue India’s March 2009 issue inspires. Shot by one of my favorite contemporary photographers Prabuddha Das Gupta and styled by Edward Lalrempuia.

I'm really loving this Op-ed by Mark Taylor in yesterday's Times, here's a section:

2. Abolish permanent departments, even for undergraduate education, and create problem-focused programs. These constantly evolving programs would have sunset clauses, and every seven years each one should be evaluated and either abolished, continued or significantly changed. It is possible to imagine a broad range of topics around which such zones of inquiry could be organized: Mind, Body, Law, Information, Networks, Language, Space, Time, Media, Money, Life and Water.

Consider, for example, a Water program. In the coming decades, water will become a more pressing problem than oil, and the quantity, quality and distribution of water will pose significant scientific, technological and ecological difficulties as well as serious political and economic challenges. These vexing practical problems cannot be adequately addressed without also considering important philosophical, religious and ethical issues. After all, beliefs shape practices as much as practices shape beliefs.

A Water program would bring together people in the humanities, arts, social and natural sciences with representatives from professional schools like medicine, law, business, engineering, social work, theology and architecture. Through the intersection of multiple perspectives and approaches, new theoretical insights will develop and unexpected practical solutions will emerge.

More

Interesting piece in the Times today on the Kindle. 

I miss the jacket art (note to Amazon: color images of book jackets on K3), but the K2 has definitely gotten me reading again. Not that I stopped, but reading on K2 feels like reading used to--fresh, exciting, immediate. 

I'm not sure where it's going, but I read two more books this week than I would have without my K2. And I read them voraciously. 

Anyone else have thoughts on the phenom?