If we can't find Heaven, there are always blue jays

“If we can’t find Heaven, there are always blue jays”
He said, as he opened the car door and walked off into the night.

I looked at his shadow shortening to the street corner
And wondered how I had been so gullible, to listen to this.

I was sitting there now, nothing left. No hope.
Just the memories of something I would not do again.

And like a blue jay, scavenging for food, an acorn or seeds
I looked for traces of hope, anything to put back

The stars that lit my skies, the sunshine and heaven
Before he pushed his way into life, and drained it dry.

The clouds that click, the inner vision, then the ancient burials
Redemption days which I thought I had lived, swept away with reason

And my mouth opens as I speak to the heavens, “Give me back the visionRemember the open flight of a bird that wanted to escape.”

Nil Recurring

The album I am really enjoying listening to at the moment is the new Porcupine Tree album called ‘Nil Recurring’ – it is more of an EP than a full album with just 4 tracks and a running time of 30 minutes. These are pieces that were worked on at the same time as the last album ‘Fear of a Blank Planet’ – they are marvellous pieces of music – from the first instrumental track to the catchy chorus on the second track. There’s plenty of creative guitar work, really tight work by the whole band and some wonderful soloing on the first track from Robert Fripp. All good stuff. I also have 3 other albums to listen to which feature Steven Wilson – Blackfield, the first Porcupine Tree album and an electronic solo album.

This is in addition to the last couple of albums by the band - 'Fear of a Blank Planet' and 'Deadwing' both of which are geat listens. Give them a go!

I am becoming a big fan of both Porcupine Tree and the work of their guitarist Steven Wilson who is incredibly prolific. I am looking forward to hearing the new album by No-Man which is his collaboration with Tim Bowness. That is due out in the spring. I came to Porcupine Tree because their keyboard player is Richard Barbieri who was in Japan. Regular readers of this blog will know that I have been into Japan and David Sylvian since the 70s.

Celestine Prophecy: an experiential guide

MICRO REVIEW

This book, written by James Redfield and Carol Adrienne builds on the original book "The Celestine Prophecy" written by Redfield.

Sometimes these add-on books are just an excuse to sustain an idea, keeping sales going by selling second book to those who bought the original book. In this case though, this books adds a lot to the original work with plenty of thought-provoking insight. It is a fascinating read with plenty of useful exercises. Each chapter takes one of the nine insights from the original texts, expands on the ideas behind the insight and then has a series of exercises for individual use and workshop ideas for group work.

Creator or Archivist

Two important channels of creativity - archiving and creating. The act of creating new materials is important to ensure that we continue to generate new material. Then there is the Archivist who is the editor, remastering material, remixing it, producer, director and multi-media artist. Some of this activity will be about looking after the archive of work, ensuring that it is kept in a form that can receive an audience. But some of the activities of the Archivist stray into the creative - just like working with music or the visual arts, words can be shifted into new works. This can be done by expanding on original ideas, reworking, illustrating, creating sequels and prequels. All of this adds to the understanding of the work. It also ensures that the archive of work is not regarded as untouchable. Everything can be reworked, improved and reinterpreted.