Simplifying the Simple Life

Live music is good for the soul: Vusi, Morwenna Lasko & Jay Pun

-By Lisa

Wintertime means exile for me. Glorious, self-imposed exile.

I stay home - lighting candles, making hearty soups and buckwheat heating pads and reading mountains of books. I look out the window at the beautifully dull grey light, then close up the shutters and delight in my quiet seclusion.

But on Sunday night I broke my wintertime isolation and ventured out.

And it was awesome.

We attended the Vusi Mahlasela concert at the Jefferson. If you are not familiar with Vusi, you only need to know that his devoted followers from South Africa and all over the rest of the world refer to him - simply and reverentially -  as "The Voice."

Opening up for Vusi was Morwenna Lasko and Jay Pun, incredibly talented local musicians who blew my mind and made me feel true remorse for the fact that I can't play the violin.

Live music is good for the soul.

The Voice

As we were out, having a tasty (and inexpensive) pre-show meal at Cinema Taco, walking hand-in-hand along the bustling Downtown Mall, unexpectedly running into friends and feeling the excitement and anticipation a live performance -- I was reminded of how fun "out" is. I noticed something else. Art! Music! Culture! All happening here in my community!

So, while home is where my heart is, I also realize that our hip little college town has some opportunities that I’d be a fool to pass on.

Here are some upcoming events things that make me want to pry myself out of my house and hit the town.

(And then I get to come right back home again.)

Viva C’ville!

Randy Newman  - March 1st at the Paramount. He is the guy behind all those songs in Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. that made the grown ups cry.

Ra Ra Riot - March 4th at the Jefferson. Great Indi Rock fun. Prepare to jump up and down. 

Maltese Falcon -  March 7th at the Paramount. If you haven’t seen a movie at the Paramount – now’s the time to see a classic. And only $6!

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - March 16th at the Paramount. They combine traditional South African spiritual tunes with some gospel beats all put together to promote peace and love. (You know Paul Simon’s Graceland? He worked with these folks on it.) 

Festival of the Book  - March 16 - 20th . It’s my favorite C'ville event of the year (tied with the Vegetarian Festival) Too many wonderful events to list. Just go check out the site. 

Cirque de Soleil’s Alegria  - March 30 - April 3rd at the John Paul Jones Arena. Go be jealous/freaked out by those amazingly bendy people.

Toad the Wet Sprocket -  April 10th at the Jefferson. I miss the early 90’s. I must still have some flannel around here somewhere...

David Sedaris  - April 11th at the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center. The only thing more hilarious than reading David Sedaris, is being read to by David Sedaris. I saw him a couple years ago. My abs still ache.

Wild & Scenic Film Festival  -  April 13th at the Paramount. A fun way to celebrate our beautiful planet for earth week! 

Six Degrees of Separation - May 20 - June 19 at Live Arts. Wonderful play about race, class, sexuality and what connects us all. And it’s more than just the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com

The Parking Lot Movie

-By Lisa

The Parking Lot Movie really is a movie about a Charlottesville parking lot.

But because this particular parking lot happens to be in our unique little corner of the world, the parking lot attendants are…well…documentary worthy.

What happens when you have a group of highly educated graduate students, philosophers and professors working at a low level service job? They think about it. A lot. They wax poetic and more than a tad cynical about the plight of the world and all of us suckers on it. They consider it an opportunity to contemplate impermanence, detachment and the concept of fundamental self. All that while taking your ticket and double parking your car – which they quietly judge you for having in the first place.  

They view the parking lot as a microcosm of the western world - with all it's trappings. They analyze the ongoing class struggle, car culture and the making or breaking of nuanced social contracts. They deal with sorority sisters and Suburbans, public puking and people who drive off without paying. They question a consumer culture in which the possession of money gives you the right to get whatever that money can buy. 

And then they play Flip Cone and write obscure phrases on the gate.

The attendants are an elite group; getting a job at the Corner Parking Lot means knowing someone connected. It's not a career for most of these guys, just a temporary stop-over in the humble attendant's booth which they view as "the type of building Jesus would have collected parking fees from." At some point, they move on to a variety of fields, one is a professor of philosophy, one is a law school student and another is the Senior Librarian at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

This movie is a fascinating commentary on cultural assumptions and the complicated social dynamics in Charlottesville. It examines humanity and the existential implications of a job - any job. The Senior Librarian in New York is still the same guy who was parking cars on the Corner, but now people look him in the eye when he does his job. So, what do our jobs really say about us as human beings? 

Watch The Parking Lot Movie online, or in the Charlottesville area, watch this Friday, October 22nd at 10PM on Independent Lens on WVPT. Check here for your local listings in other cities or rent it on itunes.

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com 

Somewhere between The Cove and The Real World: The Fabulous Beekman Boys

-By Lisa

There are important films that I know I should watch.

And I do. 

Sometimes.

Film can be amazing vehicle for change. But sometimes it’s hard to handle. I can’t even speak informatively about "The Cove." It sat on top of my DVD player for weeks, daring me to watch it, but I chickened out, sealed it back in the Netflix envelope and sent it away. I'm glad the film exists and I wish I could watch it, but I’m just not strong enough – the trailer had me hyperventilating.

So, I know these things are important but some days I just can’t handle important.  

Then the pendulum of my viewing habits swings and it’s horrifying to look back at my youth and recall how many hours...no, how many seasons (reunions, challenges...) of "The Real World" I watched. I know too much about Puck and I am kind of weirded out that The Miz is actually a professional wrestler now.

But right smack dab in the middle of important and immature, between sullen and silly, providing both education and entertainment – is "The Fabulous Beekman Boys."

It is a reality show is about a gay couple from New York City, Josh and Brent, who buy a farm upstate. Brent is a doctor and former vice president of Martha Stuart Omni Media and Josh is a writer and used to be a night club drag queen. (Come on, you can’t make this stuff up.) This first season chronicles their “Year of Sacrifice” trying to get their goat soap and cheese business up and running, while Brent is on the farm and Josh works during the week in the city. Luckily, these city slickers have John, an experienced and knowlegable farmer, who helps them out with the goats, pigs, chickens and a sassy llama named Polka Spot.

The couple have the prerequisite reality show relationship issues and both have sharp enough wit to keep it interesting. Famer John is a character in himself -- his deep love and devotion to the animals occasionally results in explosive crying jags.

But there is actual content here, too. Thanks to the Beekman boys, I know the difference between a Nubian goat and an Alpine goat, and that llamas might look gravely ill, splayed in the dirt like road kill, but they are actually just sunning themselves.

It's Simplicity & Sustainability Lite and it's fun with a glass of wine. 

Season one is currently in reruns, but they will be back for season two in 2011. The show airs Wednesdays at 9pm on Planet Green, or you can see clips and full episodes at planetgreen.com.

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com

Green screening: No Impact Man

-By Lisa

Here's another new thing we'll be doing at STSL from time to time - green screening movie reviews! We'll sort through which environmentally themed flicks are thought provoking, and which are just propaganda with the word "sustainable" thrown in for good measure.

The storyline of No Impact Man is nothing new; we can go back to the 1960s with Ava Gabor in pearls, shoveling manure with that other guy in Green Acres. He wants to get back to his roots, simplifying and being with nature while she wants a new Marc Jacobs handbag. Marital strife and hilarity ensue.

And so it is again, this time in documentary-form, about Collin Beavan, his wife and young daughter who go off the grid. But they do it in Manhattan.

OK, so this is could be interesting.

And it was.

The idea is to have zero carbon impact for one year. They had a long list of the forbidden; no restaurants, elevators, gas-powered vehicles, TV, non-local food, trash, and eventually electricity (they opt for a solar panel on their Fifth Ave roof for the purpose of his blog). They emphasize that they are not trying to be eco-saints nor demand that everyone wash clothes in the tub, rather they got rid of everything so they could decide what was too hard to live without. Beavan is disturbed by our disposable culture, so he wanted to see if there really was an alternative. Is there a way to get what we need in a sustainable manner?

His wife Michelle is a New Yorker. She loves her Starbucks and her high fructose corn syrup and her reality TV. But she is along for the self-propelled ride with her No Impact Man and they become the No Impact Family. Michelle wavers, questions the reasoning behind the project (is this just too fringe and wacko?) and breaks down in a caffeine deprived panic (coffee beans aren’t local.) She seems much more relatable than he does, bringing a balance to his enthusiasm as he installs the electricity-free replacement vessel for the refrigerator – a Nigerian pot-in-a-pot. Which is exactly what it sounds like.

What I really liked about this movie is that it delves into the complicated. One issue made my head spin and upended my standard belief in sustainable farming.

Organic = good.

Right? I always thought that little environmental equation was infallible. I knew that the organic licensing is expensive, so some farmers opt out but what I didn’t know is that the reasoning is not always financial. Here’s the rub; organically certified farmers are not allowed to use antibiotics on their cows. Ever. The farmer in the film said that he wanted to be able to treat his cows if they got sick, but if he was organic he just had to let them die. The fact that some farmers won’t opt in to organic labeling for ethical reasons blew my little green mind.

Adding to the complexity is the public reaction to the project. While the family had supporters, there were a lot of haters, too. People found what they were doing offensive. One fellow offered to spray them with Uzi fire while screaming ‘is that enough impact for you?’ Many questioned Beavan's sincerity and labeled it a publicity stunt and fodder for his next book. Many pointed to Michelle's job at Business Week. Not only is the magazine a killer of trees, but it’s the bastion of Big Business and capitalism in America. It is suggested that at best, the Beavans could choose from being dishonest or delusional.

The messiness continues as flies infest the worm bin composter and the pot-in-a-pot doesn’t really work. This story doesn’t get all nicely wrapped up at the end. I was hugely relieved that it doesn’t end in some burst of Hollywood cop-out. It’s not tied up in a tidy bow, Michelle says. It’s a loose end.

But life is a lot of loose ends. They get all matted and ugly but eventually with a little patience you can sit there quietly and untangle them all.

I watched this film with Husband who, for the record, would be Ava Gabor in our own personal version of Green Acres. As the credits rolled, I asked him what he thought. (He’s known for his brutally honest film critiques– once, seven minutes into an independent film he left the room to get a book about accounting.) His reaction: “It was pretty inspiring. I just feel like there is so much more we can be doing.”

So apparently Beavan did make an impact.

(Many thanks to C & M for the film suggestion!)

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com