2013.06.03 13:00 - Singing the Field

The Guardian for this meeting was Eliza Madrigal. The comments are by Eliza Madrigal.

(This session is alternatively titled "Each Melody has Roots" or "Umquotbothi") :)


 

Eliza Madrigal: Hello Rosatta :)
Rosatta Resident: cobblestones - how lovely : )
Eliza Madrigal smiles... see you have found a butterfly
Eliza Madrigal: did you fish for it?

Rosatta Resident: Sunshine gave it to me. She is so sweet
Eliza Madrigal: aw, she is
Eliza Madrigal: I'm not sure if you play with light settings, but i've set mine to narcon's dawn, and it is a great effect
Eliza Madrigal: soft and a little foggy
Rosatta Resident: I will try it : )
Rosatta Resident: I don't have narcon's dawn, but I have sunrise
Eliza Madrigal: hm, might be nice too, though a bit darker
Rosatta Resident: Well, this is beautiful in all settings : )
Eliza Madrigal smiles
Eliza Madrigal: :) I wonder if for the pauses today it might be fun to do a little dash writing about day dreaming

Eliza Madrigal: Hello Sunshine :) that dress so suits you
szavanna Resident: :)
szavanna Resident: tyty °͜°
szavanna Resident: Rosie has the most amazing wings :)
Eliza Madrigal: fluttering just so
Rosatta Resident: Ty, Sunshine : )
szavanna Resident: :)
Rosatta Resident: T hey are made by Pryda.
szavanna Resident: can you send me the LM :)

Eliza Madrigal: Sunshine, have you done dash writing before?
szavanna Resident: no
szavanna Resident: what is it
szavanna Resident: dash writing hmm
Eliza Madrigal: I was thinking that instead of taking the 5 minute pauses around each bell, to take a bit longer around the :30 bell
Eliza Madrigal: and in that time, "free write" about daydreaming
Eliza Madrigal: whatever springs up
Eliza Madrigal: we don't have to share, but we could share if we liked, a sentence or two

szavanna Resident: oh ok so 15 min quiet?
szavanna Resident: and during that time we write?
Rosatta Resident: I'm happy to work with whatever you wish to schedule. Now having the smarts to follow it . . .
Eliza Madrigal: dash writing is actually a method... where people usually attend a presentation then write about it then share with just a few others
Eliza Madrigal: :)

Eliza Madrigal: yes... 15 minutes may be to long though
szavanna Resident: ah ok
Eliza Madrigal: but the idea would be to sort of dive into it in a meditative way
Eliza Madrigal: after chatting a little
szavanna Resident: :)
szavanna Resident: we can do that :)
Eliza Madrigal: so we could pause at :30 and I'd ring a bell to end at :40pm
Eliza Madrigal: but only if it sounds fun ^ ^
szavanna Resident: yes ok we do it at 30
szavanna Resident: never did it before
Eliza Madrigal: yes, we just don't come back after the 90 seconds... we linger a bit longer
szavanna Resident: kk :)

Eliza Madrigal: One place I did this was in these consumer education classes in SL
Eliza Madrigal: as part of Occupy events that were going on
szavanna Resident: ah
szavanna Resident: consumer education
Eliza Madrigal: was fun just to go wild on the page
szavanna Resident: :)

--BELL--

Eliza Madrigal: daydreaming thoughts to get us started?
szavanna Resident: hmm actually I just woke up :)
Eliza Madrigal smiles
szavanna Resident: so still dreaming
szavanna Resident: :)
Eliza Madrigal: mmm
szavanna Resident: now that I am busy with my club ....
szavanna Resident: I think a lot about africa again
szavanna Resident: we talked yesterday with Ramlaa and Mira and Zenji
szavanna Resident: about the ceremony of tea drinking
szavanna Resident: and for some reason I often think of having tea with people
Eliza Madrigal: is there is a like ritual in Africa?
szavanna Resident: you know all sorts of people
szavanna Resident: in africa
szavanna Resident: yes



szavanna Resident: yesterday we talked about the ritual of attaya making
Eliza Madrigal: attaya?
szavanna Resident: attaya is a strong sweet tea
szavanna Resident: and it is drunk in small cups
szavanna Resident: often poured from the pot into the cup
Eliza Madrigal: naturally sweet, or made that way?
szavanna Resident: then back again ...
szavanna Resident: to make a frith
szavanna Resident: froth
Eliza Madrigal: mmm

Rosatta Resident: This is a north African custom?
Rosatta Resident: More middle Eastern than sub-Saharan?
szavanna Resident: you can find it there also
szavanna Resident: but its not so strong in North Africa
szavanna Resident: in west africa ....it becomes really dark
szavanna Resident: it looks like coffee
Eliza Madrigal: ahhh, like Turkish tea?
szavanna Resident: and it is boiled for very long
szavanna Resident: hmm not sure about Turkish tea
szavanna Resident: its also called gunpowder tea :)
Eliza Madrigal: okay, yes, that I kind I know
Eliza Madrigal: :::dots connecting::::
szavanna Resident: and when I was in Tunis
szavanna Resident: it often felt like
Rosatta Resident: I read a book about a Swiss woman falling in love with a masai man and I remember now that they made tea so strong and sweet that it was nearly a meal in and of itself
szavanna Resident: all we did was making attaya and chatting
szavanna Resident: °͜°

szavanna Resident: so when I day dream ...I often end up in a dream that involves attaya
Rosatta Resident: You sound a little homesick for it : )
szavanna Resident: hehe
szavanna Resident: hmm yes I miss that
Eliza Madrigal: :) homesick for where you are
szavanna Resident: you know it was really the atmosphere
szavanna Resident: that was really special
szavanna Resident: even though I was the only white person
szavanna Resident: I fitted in seamlessly
szavanna Resident: I felt really at home
Eliza Madrigal: :)
szavanna Resident: like at PaB ;o)

Eliza Madrigal: beautiful... sometimes I think about how many rituals have fallen away from daily life... like snapping peas ... things that take a really long time
szavanna Resident: yes :)
szavanna Resident: you know where people just spend long times together
szavanna Resident: like in africa
Eliza Madrigal: maybe one goes through all the motions on special occasions, like I still do, but it isn't just an intrinsic part of sharing meals
szavanna Resident: people sing and work on something
Eliza Madrigal: yes :)
szavanna Resident: yes

szavanna Resident: one doesn't feel like doing it
Eliza Madrigal: my Meme was like that... always working but never seemed burdensome because always singing and praying too
szavanna Resident: and it becomes tedious
Eliza Madrigal: mmmm
szavanna Resident: Meme?
szavanna Resident: grandmom?
Eliza Madrigal: my great grandmother, raised me when little
szavanna Resident: oh :)

Eliza Madrigal: I was thinking the other day that she was the only one who, when I talked to, I didn't feel like it was a bother
szavanna Resident: yes hmm its a special thing that we don't have in modern societies
Rosatta Resident: I am so glad you had someone to validate you when you were little
Eliza Madrigal: an amazing gift

szavanna Resident: my grandmom was like that
szavanna Resident: I grew up with my mom and grandmom
szavanna Resident: my mom was more of a rebel :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
szavanna Resident: my grandmom was also a rebel ...

--BELL--

szavanna Resident: but still had that grandmom quality

Eliza Madrigal: (writing)

szavanna Resident: :)

Eliza Madrigal: >>ding<<

Eliza Madrigal: :)
szavanna Resident: :)
Eliza Madrigal: nice way to go into the writing... with the phrase "grandmom quality"
Eliza Madrigal: how did it feel?
szavanna Resident: nice °͜°

szavanna Resident: I was writing about those nights when I was visiting my friends in Tunis - from Mauritania
Eliza Madrigal: still tangible for you?
szavanna Resident: very
szavanna Resident: I can smell tea tea
Eliza Madrigal: still smell and feel the place? hear them?
szavanna Resident: cooking
Eliza Madrigal: mmm :)
szavanna Resident: yes °͜°
szavanna Resident: it is still so vivid
szavanna Resident: a bit like that picture
szavanna Resident: with the kids and the tea
szavanna Resident: and also like the other picture showing how "old" things look
szavanna Resident: but how homey and cosy it was
Eliza Madrigal: was just thinking that
szavanna Resident: tiles broken
szavanna Resident: and window not freshly painted and all that
Eliza Madrigal: I saw this interview with Lenny Kravitz last night... and he grew up in privelege but at some point he lived in a place where friends had very little
szavanna Resident: it was filled with a familiar feeling
Eliza Madrigal: but he said they were very generous
szavanna Resident: :)

szavanna Resident: it reminds me of the film Searching for sugarman

--BELL--

szavanna Resident: have you seen it?
Eliza Madrigal: yes I have
szavanna Resident: :)
Eliza Madrigal: you, Rosatta?
Eliza Madrigal: it is an excellent film and story
szavanna Resident: I am thinking of making a little event out of it
Eliza Madrigal: how so?

szavanna Resident: I think - not many people know about things from an afrikaans perspective
szavanna Resident: how the afrikaans people experienced apartheid
Eliza Madrigal: true
szavanna Resident: so this is really a unique story
szavanna Resident: that helps people from other places see things more clearly
szavanna Resident: about the afrikaans community and how they experienced those times

Rosatta Resident: I worked with an Afrikaans woman who left South AFrica because of apartheid
szavanna Resident: really
szavanna Resident: what did she say
szavanna Resident: or she didn't explain much?
Eliza Madrigal listens
Rosatta Resident: She hated the way blacks were treated and she was bitter about it but other than that she didnt' say much
Rosatta Resident: Mostly "that's why we left"
Rosatta Resident: She had the most goreous accent
szavanna Resident: kk

szavanna Resident: it is a very unique situation that was really trying for all involved
szavanna Resident: the fact of me having to try and understand it
szavanna Resident: teaches me a lot
Rosatta Resident: I met a young woman in the Netherlands who was from South African, also. I thought she was English because of her accent. We never talked about apartheid or anything

Eliza Madrigal: there is a lot to learn from people, though hard for them to convey
szavanna Resident: hmm the story of Rodriguez was really like a miracle
Eliza Madrigal: to capture those stories and memories
szavanna Resident: yes that is why - often you learn from the silence
szavanna Resident: just the presence

szavanna Resident: So Rodriguez was this musician
szavanna Resident: from Detroit
szavanna Resident: very poor
Eliza Madrigal: comparing with holocaust survivors and ancestors... feel the preservation of things is important... so easy to forget
Eliza Madrigal listens
szavanna Resident: yes Liz

szavanna Resident: a lot of traumatic things - people went through here
szavanna Resident: and this guy Rodriguez - was like the innercity poet
szavanna Resident: he lived on the streets .... documenting all he saw
szavanna Resident: and his friends said - he had a special quality about him
szavanna Resident: he had so little .... but still was sooo rich in the way he lived his life
szavanna Resident: his daughter talked about him in the film

szavanna Resident: that a lot of people think - poor people can't live a rich life
Rosatta Resident: Well, they aren't Catholic, then lol
szavanna Resident: they have dreams and aspirations like everyone
szavanna Resident: hm?
Rosatta Resident: And they can contribute in unbelievable ways
szavanna Resident: catholic?
Rosatta Resident: Catholic history is full of poor people - and people who chose to be poor - who had amazing lives and left amazing legacies
Rosatta Resident: St Francis
szavanna Resident: :)
Rosatta Resident: Bernadette of Lourdes are two well known ones
szavanna Resident: I don't know much about them
szavanna Resident: you know - in africa most people are poor ...
Rosatta Resident: Joan of Arc was a peasant girl
szavanna Resident: when you look at things with european eyes
Rosatta Resident: Poverty stinks.
szavanna Resident: depends how you look at it
Rosatta Resident: But those who make a difference inspite of it are often more earth-moving than those who have lived lives of priveledge 
Rosatta Resident: Not always, though
szavanna Resident: hmm yes depends on the person
Rosatta Resident: And Ghandi was Hindu and chose poverty and fit these descriptions


(Giotto)

Eliza Madrigal: one thing I've learned in disability communities is "disability paradox" - that, from the outside people expect people with a disability to have a diminished sense of well-being and happiness but this is not so. 
Rosatta Resident: Mother Theresa didn't give up privilege, but she did give up comfort
szavanna Resident: ah yes also ...
Eliza Madrigal: that it is easy to see someone as "poor" from the outside and miss most of their life
szavanna Resident: yes we suppose all sorts of things
Rosatta Resident: And so many measure a person's worth by materialistic standards

--BELL--

Eliza Madrigal: as a teen I had friends who would lend me nice clothes on the way to school, and years later I ran into a girl and we were talking and she said "you know all the time I didn't realize you were poor just like us." lol
szavanna Resident: what do you mean Liz
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Wol :)
szavanna Resident: hi Woly :)
Wol Euler: evening all, sorry I missed the session :(((((
Eliza Madrigal: my line hasn't shown up for me yet
Eliza Madrigal: no worries :) as long as well
szavanna Resident: :)
Wol Euler: well but tired, thanks
szavanna Resident checks Woly's temp
Eliza Madrigal: I mean that I lived a few blocks over from a friend in school, but she had projected a story about me since I wore fancy clothes
Rosatta Resident: Hi, Wol! Nice to see you : )
Wol Euler smiles.
Eliza Madrigal: and had come from private school
szavanna Resident: :)
szavanna Resident: ah ok

szavanna Resident: in hungary we were sort of the same
szavanna Resident: during socialist times
szavanna Resident: ops Rosie is gone
Eliza Madrigal: she walked into you and poofed
szavanna Resident: during socialism we had one type of everything
Eliza Madrigal: :) but that may be my viewer
szavanna Resident: yes lol
szavanna Resident: hope she is ok
Wol Euler: I saw it too, it was an odd way to leave
szavanna Resident: yes she walked into me
Wol Euler: anyway

szavanna Resident: yes hmm
szavanna Resident: so when I was small we had one type of school
szavanna Resident: so people were sort of equal
szavanna Resident: no private schools
Eliza Madrigal: aspiration of equality
szavanna Resident: but everything was working well
Wol Euler nods.
Eliza Madrigal: I was out of place in private schools then out of place in public schools
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eliza Madrigal: equally
szavanna Resident: aww little Liz
Eliza Madrigal: heheh
szavanna Resident: ;o)
Wol Euler: awwwwww

szavanna Resident: I went to a musical highschool
szavanna Resident: that was fun
Eliza Madrigal: imagine it would be :)
szavanna Resident: we played music all morning
Wol Euler smiles.
szavanna Resident: from 8am till noon
szavanna Resident: piano, violin, viola, chamber music
szavanna Resident: composition
szavanna Resident: hungarian folk music
szavanna Resident: then lunch
szavanna Resident: then normal highschool in the afternoon
szavanna Resident: and orchestra in the evening
szavanna Resident: :)

szavanna Resident: hehe what happened Rosie °͜°
Wol Euler: wb rosatta
szavanna Resident: wb :)
Eliza Madrigal: wb :)
Rosatta Resident: Ty I stood up and my avatar just took off running
Eliza Madrigal: that's what we saw too ^^
szavanna Resident: hehe yes
Rosatta Resident: I don't think I did anything to cause that : ( ???
Eliza Madrigal: just a happening I guess
szavanna Resident: its no probs at all
szavanna Resident: :P
Rosatta Resident: Ty. It as embarassing to run right over the top of someone
szavanna Resident: hmm isn't SL funny that we feel like ... its not right
Eliza Madrigal: not when unintentional
Eliza Madrigal: :)

Eliza Madrigal: I meant to share my dash writing from before... want to see?
szavanna Resident: just pixels :)
szavanna Resident: yes Liz :)))
Rosatta Resident: Yes, please : )
Eliza Madrigal: well there is stuff before and after but I'm choosing these lines to share...
Wol Euler: please

Eliza Madrigal:

Strong and frothy

She conveys a
Rhythmic story

Passed from mother to
Mother to mother to
Mothers

At a fountain
Where we are snapping
Virtual peas

Where we are drinking
Virtual tea

Virtually at home

Eliza Madrigal: :)
szavanna Resident: aww
szavanna Resident melts
Wol Euler smiles.
Eliza Madrigal: then I've been adding while you've been talking... putting a little sugar (man) in there
Eliza Madrigal: :)
szavanna Resident: sigh :)
Eliza Madrigal: lol
szavanna Resident: sugarman hehe
szavanna Resident: I can show you also
Eliza Madrigal: (wol instead of pausing we took ten minutes for free writing)
szavanna Resident: incoming :)
Eliza Madrigal: we paused... but just the usual bits

szavanna Resident: I arrived at the door and the air was full of aroma. I heard people moving aroud, doing things, talking and singing. I knocked and someone opened. "Hi Anna, come in - the tea is almost done. I walked in feeling a home sort of feeling that I never felt back home. Many people welcoming me, shaking hands, smiling, and walking up and down from the kitchen to the room. I walked into the room and put down the guitar...thinking to myself ....
szavanna Resident: ( can you believe it, you are here - with all these people from Mauritania ....is it really real ...looking around smiling to myself and smiling at the people around me )
szavanna Resident: There were grassmats on the concrete floor - and the whole room was very simple .... almost no decorations on the walls - a bit like as if the house was not finished. Yet it felt complete and cosy just as it was - everything was just right. I take off my shoes and settle on the ground on one of the mats.
Wol Euler: ah, fun
szavanna Resident: last bit
szavanna Resident: I was sitting on the mat - just drinking in the atmosphere - the rich aroma of herbs and spices that came from the kitchen. Others settle around me and we chat about absolutely anything ..... it almost doesn't even matter what the topic was. Everyone took part in the conversation ..a story formed as the words whet from person to person ...... I forget where the words were - or who said them .... and when I woke up .... it was almost morning ....

Eliza Madrigal: smiling smiling :::yay:::::beautiful, can really feel that
Wol Euler smiles.
Wol Euler: lovely
szavanna Resident: ;))
szavanna Resident: hmm gonna steal your poem Liz
Eliza Madrigal: highly unfinished poem
szavanna Resident: snapping peas
Eliza Madrigal: :)
szavanna Resident: I didnt know you say that
szavanna Resident: "snapping"
Eliza Madrigal: snapping beans is more often said I guess
szavanna Resident: hmm kk

--BELL--

Eliza Madrigal: because as you bend off the ends it makes a loud SNAP sound
szavanna Resident: ah ok yes
Eliza Madrigal: (ends of the pods)
szavanna Resident: hmm life was different in old times
szavanna Resident: the snap pea days :)
Eliza Madrigal: :) just one of those chores that takes a long time
Eliza Madrigal: I wonder if without those chores there would exist any writers at all

szavanna Resident: hmm in africa each chore has a beat
szavanna Resident: and songs
Eliza Madrigal: :))
szavanna Resident: that one "uses" to make things
Wol Euler: fascinating
szavanna Resident: sometimes even a scale
Wol Euler: is the song like the instructions?

szavanna Resident: you know like ...when people plough the field
szavanna Resident: they sing it
szavanna Resident: and encourage each other to do it right
Eliza Madrigal: :))

Wol Euler: is the song the instructions for doing [whatever]? "This is how you plough a field....."
szavanna Resident: hmm I would have to do some research
szavanna Resident: to see exactly what the words mean

szavanna Resident: but imagine walking into a bank
szavanna Resident: and the people that work there
szavanna Resident: sing ..."and now we pay the bills ...pay the bills ...pay the bills ..."
szavanna Resident: lol
szavanna Resident: or something
szavanna Resident: everyone is quiet

Wol Euler: ah :) so more a celebration than a how-to
szavanna Resident: not even celebration
szavanna Resident: it just happens
Wol Euler: O.O

szavanna Resident: often when I see cleaning ladies
szavanna Resident: they are wiping the floors in a building
Eliza Madrigal: "whistle while you work... mmhmhmmm"
szavanna Resident: and they sing their hearts out
Wol Euler smiles.
Wol Euler: wow
szavanna Resident: almost like opera singers

Wol Euler: I wonder when and why we lost that, and actually whether we actually ever *had* it
szavanna Resident: and there I stand mesmerised
Eliza Madrigal: I did too actually, when I cleaned houses when starting college
szavanna Resident: you see °͜°
Wol Euler: ah :)
Eliza Madrigal: sang and prayed just like my great grandmother had
Wol Euler: aaaaah
szavanna Resident: see it was something very natural that she did right Liz?
Eliza Madrigal: she seemed to love all she was doing
Wol Euler nods.
Eliza Madrigal: yes
Eliza Madrigal: she was just "musical" and "worshipy"
szavanna Resident: like ...hanging out the clothes to dry ...
szavanna Resident: and singing
Eliza Madrigal: yes, we hung clothes too
szavanna Resident: °͜°

Wol Euler: that might be significant, actually. I was thinking about people here doing typical urban modern jobs singing
Wol Euler: would a garbageman sing? or the guy on the factory assembly line?
Eliza Madrigal: would think for sure
szavanna Resident: may be you can check this one
szavanna Resident: making african beer
szavanna Resident: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z07zZeeRZ-o
szavanna Resident: °͜°

Wol Euler: I know that building workers sometimes do, somebody starts and everyone joins in, and at the end there is laughter
Eliza Madrigal: (will have to see video later - connection too tenuous)
szavanna Resident: ahh you must :)
szavanna Resident: I used to make african beer too hehe
Eliza Madrigal: I will :) while I am posting the log
szavanna Resident: kk °͜°

Eliza Madrigal: are there many kinds of African beer? what did you make?
szavanna Resident: its called sorghum beer

Rosatta Resident: phone call followed by visitors
Eliza Madrigal: ah :) popular Rosatta
szavanna Resident: ;))
Rosatta Resident: Ty,e veryone for a nice session
Wol Euler is bopping and hopping in her seat :)
Eliza Madrigal: take care :)
Eliza Madrigal: hopping and a bopping and asinging her song...
Eliza Madrigal: (sans 'g's)
Wol Euler grins.
szavanna Resident: thats what I love about making this SL world music club

szavanna Resident: each melody has roots

--BELL--

szavanna Resident: feels very down to earth
Wol Euler: that was great fun, sun, ty
szavanna Resident: I suppose it has different recipes
szavanna Resident: hehe yes oooold video
Eliza Madrigal likes dark frothy ale
Eliza Madrigal: frothy is the word of the day ^.^
szavanna Resident: hehehe yes
Wol Euler smiles.

Eliza Madrigal: I should go... sleepy actually - am glad SL connection worked today but have been on a lot and my eyes are @@
szavanna Resident: we ma dlaminiii
szavanna Resident: lalaaa
szavanna Resident: yay yes
szavanna Resident: °͜° hope it recovers totally
Eliza Madrigal: me too :) I can't live at starbucks
szavanna Resident: hmm sounds fun

Eliza Madrigal: and people look at you funny if on SL
szavanna Resident: aroma of coffee in the air hehe
szavanna Resident: loll
Wol Euler: mmhmm
szavanna Resident: ok hmm
Eliza Madrigal: :) first because it takes resources and second cause you smile and giggle and cry a lot
Wol Euler: right :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
szavanna Resident: ;o)
szavanna Resident: sl is quite the experience
Eliza Madrigal: Pema never seemed to mind... think we had visitors who met him by looking over his shoulder at the computer
Wol Euler nods.
Eliza Madrigal: anyway, so enjoy being with you... must clean up
szavanna Resident: take care all °͜° sleep well :)

Eliza Madrigal: Wol you are so elegant today
Wol Euler: take care, my dears, sing and be happy
szavanna Resident: love the poem Liz ;))
Eliza Madrigal: <3
Wol Euler: oh, thanks, glad you can see me. I still see only a red cloud :(
Wol Euler: ♥
Eliza Madrigal: thanks for the stories Sunshine
Eliza Madrigal: oh no :(
szavanna Resident: I see you perfectly
Eliza Madrigal: no you are very sleek today

Wol Euler shrugs. Lag happens :)
Wol Euler: good :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
szavanna Resident: :)
Wol Euler: goodnight, take care
szavanna Resident: I see you rebaked
Eliza Madrigal waves
szavanna Resident: byebyeeeee niteniteee
szavanna Resident: °͜°