Launch Party

A little like the wild west when the town would gather and string up the local villain, I've voluntarily climbed onto the soapbox, fitted for the necktie, and kicked the soapbox over.  Welcome to my Launch Party.  The point of good fiction is to make a dull account a fascinating and compelling story.  Guy on a swing in the pouring rain becomes willing victim of the lynch mob and a story is born- at least in my imagination.  That's my goal with this blog, explore the written word and imaginative process and, maybe stimulate the Cana Brand, or all things creative, artistic and literary by the author, Michael Canavan, without hanging himself. If you like what you see, post a comment, if you don't, there are a billion other bloggers out there craving your attention.  Keep looking, you'll get lucky.  Otherwise, stick around.  Give me a push.

 

So, I've had a couple of days to fool with this blog and found it's a bit like cloud building.  The words and pictures, (I'm such a visual animal) are out there or up there, but do those of us chained to gravity's belly bother to even look up or appreciate the marvelous sculpture constantly shape shifting over our heads?  As a primarily visual animal, I spend a good deal of time surfing for images that I can manipulate, fashion, alter, or reconstruct to serve an idea or help with a graphic.  Another hobby I like to indulge in when I have a few moments is to make cds (remember those?) of current and past favorite pieces of music that either follow a pattern, tell a a story (usually up to the listener's imagination), or just simply create an impression. I slap these purloined images on a layout, list the songs and print out a cover. I've got quite a library. They're good in the car when I don't have an audiobook going.  Favorite recent listening includes:

• Arcade Fire- Funeral, Neon Bible, Suburbs. Wake Up, people.  They make a lot of good music.
• The Decemberists- Crane's Wife (parts 1,2 &3), The King is Dead.
• Lucinda Williams- anything- it's all good- kinda low-key.
• Mumford & Sons- It's amazing what a banjo can do with a good rhythm section.
• The National-  Boxer and High Violet are both good intros to this indie fav.
• Bonnie Raitt- Slipstream- she's always good.  Love her slide, love her voice. Lucinda must be a long-time fan.
• Coldplay- Keep coming back to these former U2 wanna bes who found their own voice and are doing quite well, thank you. It's good solid popalt
• Pat Metheny- My jazz guru. The guy is boundless. Oh boy, Oh boy, new album coming out soon.

I also like to mine the past for bright little gems like David Bowie's Station to Station, Barenaked Ladies, Stunt, Leon Russell, Miles D, Dylan, Stones, The Clash, I could go on and on.  Any recommendations?

But, back to the cloud analogy. Browsing through a person's blog is an open door to their tastes, interests and selective insanities.  A bit like finding a familiar shape or face in the clouds.  A bit like cloud building.

Margalit Fox of the New York times News Service ended her heartfelt article about the demise of Maurice Sendak with the statement, "No immediate family members survive."  Wrong.  Just to mention a few, there's Max from Where the Wild Things Are, Ida, the protective sister from Outside Over There, Mickey, the Little Nemo of In the Night Kitchen, and Rosie, the secretive torch singer, who gives it her all after visitor, Kathy knocks three times in The Sign on Rosie’s Door.  And so many many, many more. I became aware of, and then intently studied Sendak's artwork while in the illustration program at Syracuse University.  I read his books over and over to my children, as much for my benefit as theirs. And now the master storyteller and artist is off to the Night Kitchen.  Let the wild rumpus start wherever you are, you happy grump, and thank you.