Here in Portland, Oregon, Persephone has just returned from Hades, and none too soon. She is beckoning us to come outside and play, never mind the weather. I will be outside today, getting my hands dirty, kicking off the first phase of my new garden design.
Much of my winter was spent pondering newly piqued interests. The mid to late sixties and early seventies have been heavy on my heart and I have been indulging in my fascination with the entertainment scene of that era. I have enjoyed recently two excellent rock 'n roll documentaries, one of which features brilliant but somewhat bonkers Texan, Roky Erickson, whose gorgeous howl seasoned the proto-psycedelic sounds of the Austin band 13th Floor Elevators. The music is beautifully trippy and filtered through a narcotic fog...Mr. Erickson developed a taste for all kinds of illegal substances which, coupled with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, overloaded his fertile and creative mind almost to the point of complete circuit blowout. "You're Gonna Miss Me" is the story of Roky's profound influence on rock 'n roll intertwined with the almost Greek fable of five brothers and their well-meaning but narcissistic mother. Do check it out.
New interests pop up and old ones evolve...sometimes a girl craves a bit of saner psychedelia than the kind in which Roky Erickson lustfully indulged. I have long been a student of world religions and anything dealing with the subject is likely worth perusing and quite likely to be just bizarre enough to keep things interesting. Film, once again, has offered a fresh take on religion, specifically Hinduism and the Ramayana. Nina Paley, who has been called "America's Best-Loved Unknown Cartoonist", has created in "Sita Sings The Blues" a humorous, cross-cultural, and deeply personal gem of a movie. Bursting with color, beauty, and a torchy soundtrack (you will fall for Annette Hanshaw), Paley retells the story of Vishnu's seventh avatar, Rama, and his wife Sita. As my friend Dean explained, sometimes a bodhisattva is needed to enlighten those unfamiliar with Hindu mythology. "Sita" is that bodhisattva, one that will introduce some viewers to a cornucopia of cultural highs, Hindu and non. The film is available for free viewing online and I will leave this post with the link. If Persephone has not yet reached your neighborhood, hole up with a cup of tea (or a shot of bourbon) and enjoy "Sita Sings The Blues".
Here she is: http://www.thirteen.org/sites/reel13/blog/watch-sita-sings-the-blues-online/347/
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