Thursday, September 18, 2008

James Taylor • Secret Of Life

The Secret of Life

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Any fool can do it
There aint nothing to it
Nobody knows how we got to
The top of the hill
But since were on our way down
We might as well enjoy the ride

The secret of love is in opening up your heart
Its okay to feel afraid
But dont let that stand in your way
cause anyone knows that love is the only road
And since were only here for a while
Might as well show some style
Give us a smile

Isnt it a lovely ride
Sliding down
Gliding down
Try not to try too hard
Its just a lovely ride

Now the thing about time is that time
Isnt really real
Its just your point of view
How does it feel for you
Einstein said he could never understand it all
Planets spinning through space
The smile upon your face
Welcome to the human race

Some kind of lovely ride
Ill be sliding down
Ill be gliding down
Try not to try too hard
Its just a lovely ride

Isnt it a lovely ride
Sliding down
Gliding down
Try not to try too hard
Its just a lovely ride

Now the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time

by James Taylor

Searching for beauty

Been searching for beauty in my work, the artistry. . . the outward demonstration of joy and the desire to share a unique experience with the audience. I just struggled with what word to use. My first inclination, was to use the word crowd, but thought the word audience sounded more refined. Perhaps that's a fundamental issue. What's the difference between a crowd of people watching something and an audience? Chairs. . .

Every night I go to work, as I'm leaving the house, I come up with some half baked strategy for the evening. The other night (after seeing Man on Wire) the strategy du jour, was to find the beauty in what I was doing. Found it in the strangest place that night. In my deck pitch. I can't get most people to tip a buck for an entertaining show. . . but I can get them to hand me $25 for a Stripper Deck. It's beautiful thing that I fine tuned over the years of owning magic shops.

The next night, still searching for the beauty in my work; I had a new notion. I wondered why I only measure the beauty of the magic by external factors like audience reaction and the money I make. It's fucked up, when I'm making money, everything is great. . . . when I'm not. . . . I can't see the beauty. I work at the Universal CityWalk for people coming out of Universal Studios, at the end of a long day of being over stimulated by the magic of Hollywood and the excitement of a theme park with roller coasters. They're hot, tired, broke and emotionally spent. But, bless their hearts, they stop and watch. . react or not, tip or not. If I've learned anything in this life, it's all a crapshoot.

Things are tough out there and I'm really feeling it in my hat. My peak season numbers were down over 50% from last year. . . OUCH!!!! People are scared, and they're holding on to their money. . . while they drink $4 coffee's from Starbucks.

Is a flower any less beautiful if it never gets seen? Is the art, that I'm working hard to bring forth, any less beautiful, because I didn't make money? I did some beautiful magic last night. Multiple card selections/revelations. 4 handed and 8 handed poker deals. Esoteric Coin Manipulations (that no one cares about), the linking rings. The money I made sucked and the people seemed cheaper than their usual puckered ass selves as Wall Street Crashes over 700 points in two days. But hey, I found the beauty. It's a simple thing. To smile. . . to live. . . to love. . . . to learn. . . and grow.

I got a great life

Kellar and sidekick, ca. 1920

Kellar toasts the Devil, promotional poster, ca. 1899

Monday, September 15, 2008

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Kellar and Houdini, ca. 1915

Creative Arts Primetime Emmys

Here in LA there are two award ceremonies, celebrating the achievements of the fine folks who bring you all of the television programming. There are “The Primetime Emmys” which award the writers, directors and actors and the “Creative Arts Emmys” which celebrate and award the “Below the line” trench workers.

We met Dennis Parker and his partner Paul, at the Nokia Live Theater downtown. Dennis is the Hair Department Head on ABC’s Dirty, Sexy Money and does a great job. He’s an excellent hair dresser and has always been very nice and supportive to Polly. He brought Polly in as his 2nd when the show came to LA to re-shoot parts of the pilot and then got picked up.

HBO's miniseries John Adams and AMC's drama series Mad Men were the big hits at Saturday night's Creative Arts Primetime Emmys in Los Angeles. John Adams earned eight awards, the most for the evening, while Mad Men took home four, including awards for hairstyling, art direction, cinematography, and main title design

After the lengthy awards ceremony we walked across the street to the convention center where the dinner party was getting underway. The room was dressed beautifully with hundreds of round 10 top tables, hanging chandeliers, hot and cold running women and plenty of good food and booze. Polly looked absolutely stunning in her new dress and I put on my tux for the first time in a few years. We got all dressed up and for the most part fooled everyone into thinking we were real grown ups, not the fake ones you see on TV.

It was a lovely evening that ended with a glass of scotch and a cigar. I wish Dennis, Polly and their department would have won for the standout hair design on the nominated episode, but as everyone always says “It’s just nice to be nominated”.

The new TV season is upon us and we’ll just have to tune into out favorite shows and see how they do. Endless hours of work create these shows for our entertainment. For all those in the television and film industry, I say. . . “Keep making the magic!”

Click pics to enlarge