J'ai de la chance.

"I went to Paris a couple of times..."

Alyssandra Nighswonger sings a French classic at Gatsby Books to celebrate The Bastille no.2.  She was so very Spoken Word Paris, if you ask me.

Watch the video here: "Oh, Champs Elysées !"

I must admit, I never much paid attention to the lyrics of this song, until now.  I don't think I really even liked it until this... I still don't like that particular avenue any more than before, but the sentiment is sweet and true enough.  Paris is a city of strangers and chance encounters.

And apparently, so is Long Beach!  Thank you, Alyssandra Nighswonger, for coming out to Gatsby Books and sharing your amazing self like this.  Nice to meet you <3 p="">

Vlogosophy

Hassle-free Home Movies and Video Archival

Amateurs have been filming since always, but never before has video archival been so prevalent and accessible, and never before have our time and attention been in such high demand.

Born and raised on a Panasonic point-n-shoot, my service is for anyone who wants to capture and share the moments and movement of life without having to spend an eternity in front of the computer, and without having to pay the high price of “professional” videography.

Video Scrapbook Sample:

Birthday Afternoon in Balboa Beach, CA

No occasion is too small.

Baby showers, family get-togethers and reunions,

day-in-the-life montage, travel... 

Try a video scrapbook of your family photo shoot!

Or in addition to, throughout the year.

Perfect for birthday parties, parties of all kinds, actually. We love to party! 

If you want to remember it, I can film and edit it.

(No weddings.  Sorry.)

For easy sharing with friends and loved ones, videos can be posted on line

and/or purchased on DVD as the ultimate personalized gift. 

Filming:

• $50 session fee, up to two hours
• In a hurry?  Scrapbooks can be filmed in less than 30 minutes!
• $20 each additional hour (plus travel expenses if beyond 30 miles from Long Beach, CA.)

Note: The actual number of minutes filmed will vary depending on the event and the intended purpose of the footage.

Archival

• Video Scrapbooks on DVD: $150 up to 4 minutes (you provide the music)
• Additional DVDs: $10 each
• Custom soundtracks: $100 and up
• On-line sharing: free on YouTube, with your permission...
• Raw video clips on CD: $25

"A Valentine for You" from Paris


Got footage but no time to review and edit? 
We can do that.  Contact us at Vlogosophy at gmail dot com.

*Are you a poet, musician or some other kind of performer?  Let's collaborate!

See previously featured artists here:  Vlogosophy on YouTube



Anti Bio

A 300-word poem I wrote for Cecilia Woloch's Paris Poetry Workshop last May.

Suzanne (Allen) never knows if she’s coming or going. She used to think this was only a statement about emotions or where she stood with certain friends or family, but now she understands that things like jet lag, weather, and living in a second language can keep one quite off balance. So she craves sleep, sleep like a princess sleeps, especially in the afternoon. With the washing machine humming along in the next room like a train softly going. Her home is a place of linens and paper, creaking chairs and bread crumbs, sunlight and socks, where she dare not sit too long. So much to do. There are draperies and dresses to sew, decorative pillows to fluff and throw. Dishes to wash and old truths to unknow. She likes pink and white roses and is also rather prickly—like so many of her favorite women. She never wanted more than an old convertible and a back house, still doesn’t really, though she has so much more. Cats and Long Beach, a Filou in Paris. A man with Mediterranean eyes. Lucky. She’s just lucky. Her kindergarten teacher, Miss Able, sent prayers and Christian love—enough to last a lifetime—home in every report card; and at naptime, she moved about in the cool of the blue-green-gray classroom, putting it back in order, backlit by the wide wall of windows. Suzanne began playing teacher after that, lined up her dolls and stuffed animals in attentive rows, took attendance. By the time she was nine, she was dragging and pushing her Sears Roebucks, Country French bedroom furniture around in her room, which ultimately lead to a whirlwind career in interior design. She can space-plan any room out of a conundrum, and she makes a mean omelet, but her favorite projects are always the poems.

Catch up

I know this is not a vlog, but...


Well, well, well. An embarrassing hiatus to say the least, mostly because I can't believe it's been SEVEN MONTHS!!!

It feels more like two. What have I been up to? The usual back and forth, winter, spring, and now all of the sudden it's summer. The sun came out in Paris right on schedule. Time to shop for my summer flight back home.

I've certainly been relying too heavily on the short cut that is Facebook, but ask any of my friends and they'll tell you: Even Facebook is no guarantee that you'll find me.

I've been planning workshops, writing poems, attending readings and other events. And, I've been filming. Not everything, but enough to tap out the memory on my external hard drive. I can't make the videos fast enough, but I have made quite a few since we last talked.

Most recently, my youngest sister Lisa came to town for my 40th birthday! Watch here.

I got to see Shaun and Eric (all the way from New Zealand!) in LA in April. Watch here.

And did I mention that WE MOVED?! This is a video of me killing a winter morning in our new hood just after we moved in in February.

I made this video when the brothers in-law and their families came to visit us here for the first time. And the last, so far. Apparently, Mehdi watches this video repeatedly and has learned the song by heart. Stay tuned for another video from his recent performance in his school's Diversity Dance Program last week.

And before all that happened, the man joined me for Christmas and New Year's in LA. We road tripped all over--this video almost captures that. And we made it to Cayucos for their annual Polar Bear Dip on New Year's morning. The song is about a car full of people trying to find a party... this auto route, that roundabout.

After he left me and the Fif in Cali, we visited my older younger sister and my niece in Santa Barbara. Maybe this isn't what every Sunday looks like there, but at least it's always an option.

Also in the works are videos of this year's Paris Poetry Workshop with Cecilia Woloch and several poetry videos... if I ever end up happy with the audio. Audio is hard. But at least I managed to get some decent recordings to start with. The workshop was amazing for me this year. It was a pleasure to be able to host it at our new apartment and there were, as there always are, some very talented poets involved. I guess I had met most of them in previous years, but there are always new friends to make, aren't there?

Which always makes me nostalgic for my old ones, the ones who are far away, or just gone. I miss my Grandma everyday recently. Again, her birthday just passed; and soon, though I don't want to know exactly when, the anniversary of her death will pass. Seven years.

Seven months. I'm sorry. I'll try not to stay away so long.