J. M. Levinton

No Music for Eight Years

• March 14, 2021
• Blog
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Sounds like a strange title, doesn’t it? I’m writing this just before the Grammy Awards air, so music is on my mind. But it’s true, I was without music for eight years. My hearing had deteriorated to the point where music (while wearing two hearing aids) was simply the sound of static.

When there’s nothing you can do about it, you remember the tunes you grew up on and move forward. But then I got a cochlear ear implant and suddenly music was within my grasp again. I was told to start with simple tunes to give the device (and my brain) a chance to interpret the sounds. I waited six months after the surgery before timidly turning on the song “Tapestry” by Carole King. Clear, beautiful notes flooded my ears. (Well, technically I don’t hear through my ears anymore but there isn’t another way for me to phrase it.)

After that, I hunted down favorite oldies. That took a long time. I was thirsty to hear songs I had only heard in my mind for so long. Then I began looking for the new.

It’s taking me years but catching up has been fun! I’m a big K-pop fan, especially BTS, and YouTube is my very, very good friend for finding music to rock to. This year my favorite album is BTS’s Map of the Soul: 7, and I really wish the Grammys had taken their heads out of their asses and woken up to the fact that a group produced an amazing body of work that’s been breaking records all over the world and isn’t in English.

One day, some day. But in the meantime, I’ll keep listening to the beats. Trust me, go without for so long and you will always appreciate it.

 

 

 

 

Photo by James Sutton on Unsplash

 

Spring is Coming

• March 08, 2021
• Blog
• 4 Comments

But winter hats are still being made. 🙂

The Magic of Art

• February 22, 2021
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As someone who uses words to create a picture, I’m always amazed at the visual medium of art and how it has so much power to affect me.

I’ll see something that strikes me silent, usually with admiration or shock at the connection or memory it evokes. And sometimes with lust. Art that makes me want to grab it and say “Mine!” but isn’t even available as a copy.

Look at the moon jar with dragons. This interpretation of dragons and the subtle yet vibrant colors caught me in thrall with their free-form movement. I wanted this pottery on my table. (It exists only as a poster for sale.)

A painting of moonlight and water held me in its grip. I ran to the gift shop hoping to buy a postcard of it, but no postcard existed.

A dancer’s movement arrested in the clay she was formed in caught my breath. I didn’t need to know her history. Her pose, captured in flight, was enough.

These moments are gifts of respite, a sudden pause in the ever-busy brain. It’s a minute reset that causes me to be aware that for that one instant, there’s nothing but now. And then I breathe again, this time a little slower, with a bit more intent.

What art speaks to you? What tugs at you, speeds up your heartbeat, makes tears trail down your cheeks? What punch-in-the-throat visual dazzles you?

 

For more details on the above pieces, see here:

Moon Jar

Copenhagen Harbor by Moonlight

Female Dancer

 

 

Shoveling Snow

• February 15, 2021
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Math equation:

Shoveling ice / 4 days over a week  =  Back screaming at self

Do not do this.

Stuff to Do When You’re Stuck at Home

• February 08, 2021
• Blog
• 2 Comments

Right now the snow is coming down in large, heavy feathers, burying my car even more. But I can’t be bothered, I’ve got stuff to do. Free stuff. Fun stuff!

Do you have a library card? Public libraries in the U.S. also have access to Mango, a free language-learning database. They offer 70-plus languages to dip into. I had completely forgotten about this until a friend mentioned that she was learning Scottish-Gaelic through them.

To find them, log on to your library and type Mango in the search line and follow the instructions to get into the program. (If I give you the direct link to the Mango site it will make you pay.)

Interested in what other countries are saying or singing? Try Radio Garden for a list of free stations to listen to. This link will take you to a radio station in Milan, Italy, so just use the search line to find which country or city you want to hear. And may I say how grateful I am for the search line? You can also click on any of the dots on the map but my sense of geography is pretty bad.

I’ve long used the wonderful videos on YouTube for learning new skills. My go-to easy hat instructions on a circle loom can be found here: How to Loom Knit a Hat which is for complete beginners. There are others as well, but if you’re interested in trying out the soothing skill of loom knitting, this is an excellent place to start. Inexpensive circle looms can be bought online at Michael’s and Amazon.

What have you been doing or learning lately?

 

Photo by Rainer Bleek on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

 

So I Took a Month off from Blogging

• February 01, 2021
• Blog
• 3 Comments

There were no gigantic shifts in consciousness that prompted me to take the month off. I was feeling an apathy that most people are well familiar with in a time that’s dragged on too long this past year.

How did I spend the time? I continued with my foreign language studies, read a lot, watched a lot of K-dramas, and, most important, by week three had finally gotten over the block that was making me dig my heels in against working on book two.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t suddenly start writing ten pages a day, creativity bursting at the seams. I treated myself kindly, with a daily quota of 100 words a day, three days a week. If I wrote more, great, but as long as I met the quota of the day, I was happy. Building up those writing muscles takes the same amount of time and care as working physical muscles.

So I might continue blogging every Monday or I might skip a week or two. As far as I’m concerned, as long as I’m writing something, it’s all good. See you next week (maybe).

 

A Short Hiatus

• January 04, 2021
• Blog
• 2 Comments

I’ve decided to take January off from blogging. I feel the need to recharge. So, see you in a month!

See Ya Next Year

• December 28, 2020
• Blog
• No Comments

And may it be a good one!

 

Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash

When the Universe Giggles

• December 21, 2020
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I was notified that the plumber needed to come over and do some preventative maintenance. And he needed access to the water valve. Which is a royal PITA because it’s under the carpet that’s under my bed. Still, I’ve done this before.

Two nights before the appointment I chose to wash my kitchen floor. Because of course that’s what someone should do before men in snowy, dirty boots track through the length of my apartment.

And…the sponge mop broke in my hand. A new one will arrive next week and it had better have hidden gems or store magic spells for the price of a plain ole sponge on a stick with a wringer.

Maintenance is done. Have a good week, and for those who celebrate, a wonderful holiday.

 

Photo by Michal Matlon on Unsplash

Happy Holidays!

• December 14, 2020
• Blog
• 2 Comments

To everyone who celebrates this month, may it be a healthy and happy time. Tonight is the fifth night of Hanukkah and I’m happy to be lighting the candles each night.