Symphonic Monkey

Joie de vivre

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:43:00 GMT

The Black Eyed Peas' song "I Gotta Feeling" is a feel-good, upbeat, get-yer-booty-movin' tune that causes even the stuffiest music elitists to shake their moneymakers...I've seen it happen. It has caused an some pretty interesting positive activity in the social media world, which is a nice counter to much of what the news outlets try to feed us every day.

I believe the first video to go viral (related to the song) was of an appearance by the Peas on a special outdoor episode of Oprah. The crowd of thousands surprised her by breaking into a choreographed flash mob dance. It's apparent on their faces how much fun they're having, and Oprah is just stunned.

One project that spoke to me on a personal level was a lip-dub homage video created by 172 communications students at L'Université du Québec à Montréal. It's clear they are having a great time making this video, and they pulled off an enormous feat by choreographing it to take place in one continuous shot. No edits. 172 kids, almost five minutes of music, an enormous byzantine building -- all in a single shot. Amazing.

The video took me back to my Webster University days of 16mm black & white films, gargantuan editing equipment, late night recording sessions, blown studio monitors, cajoling actors and animals to hit their cues, the lovely smell of stop bath, and pre-dawn rides on the psychedelic elevator. More than anything, though, it reminds me of just how much I loved the camaraderie of like-minded kids for the first time ever. That was joie de vivre.

Thank you, students of UQAM, for taking a great feel-good song and making it pretty much the best one ever.

And for these I give thanks...

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:04:00 GMT

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons - fluffy pumpkin pie being high on the list - but mostly because it causes most people to reflect upon and share the wonderful things in their lives. Here are just a few of the things and people for which I am thankful, in no particular order:

Music, particularly of the pop-punk and symphonic rock varieties.
Science. Tomorrow will be one year from the day my mother was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. Thanks to her determination and some really great medical care, she not only survived but went into remission in late April.
Tasha, the best sister a girl could possibly have. Marek, for loving her almost as much as I do.
Beauty in many facets and forms, including nature, art, the human psyche, and shoes.
The best dogs in the world - Stout and Jake. They make life infinitely more interesting, amusing, and snuggly.
Amazing food. Most vivid in my mind at the moment is the Thanksgiving feast prepared by Grace, a lovely woman I only recently met but shall forever claim as family.
Work I love - and which rarely seems like work.
Brad and Jon, the two people with whom I work most closely. Not only do I respect them, I also adore their company.
Friends with hearts as big as the ocean, like Kevin who is adopting a wee little guy from Ethiopia, and Richelle who organized a crew of city folk to help an organic farmer too ill to harvest his crop.
People who truly enjoy helping others through volunteer work, like Mary, Lorinda, Brandy, Carmel, Julie, Crystal, Mike, Marcus, Joyce, and so many more I'm fortunate to know.
Those who dedicate their professional lives to helping others, like Rita, Brigitte, Gerri, and Lori. They bear a huge, often thankless burden, and our society is much richer because of them.
The abundance of writers in my life who keep me on my toes, though they're unaware of it - Annie, Lori, Eammon, Richelle, Susan, Bill, Steve, Fred, Mike, and Brent.
Tammy, Annie, Brandy, Crystal, and Meredith, who keep me grounded and are always up for an adventure.
Kristopher, a dear friend through it all.
Kim, my big sister from another father and mother, and Derek, the little brother I never had.
Katja, J.D., Joe, Rebecca, Dan and Tim, the amazing neighbors who make home an even nicer place to be. Matt and Maureen should be on this list but they moved away. I'm decidedly NOT thankful for that.
Friends I rarely see because of geography, but who have a special place in my heart - Bill, whose love of life mirrors my own; Anne, whose grace and serenity inspire me constantly; Meghan, who indulges my inner producer; Brent, who is so darned smart I haven't understood a thing he's said in a decade; and high school friends (especially Gloria) who understand just how far we've all come.

What makes you give thanks?

Grrr!

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:57:00 GMT

After work today I continued searching for the components of my desired Haloween costume. Having exhausted the vintage store options and even some mainstream places like Target, I decided to brave Johnny Brock's. For those of you who don't have a Johnny Brock's store, well....it's a year-round costume shop but it's also kind of like hell on Earth for a person like me. Why, you ask?

It's huge. Too many options can be exhausting, and JB's definitely has tons of options. It's so large it gives the illusion that surely you'll find what you seek...which just builds you up for the disappointment that will follow.
It's crowded. I was jostled, bumped, stepped on, breathed on, elbowed, pushed, brushed up against (purposefully and not so purposefully) and - I'm 100% sure of this - befouled by someone's angry gastrointestinal system.
It's loud. I can take the howling animatronic ghouls and excited shrieks of Halloween-crazed children, but is there a reason to have the store phone ring throughout the sound system...and never answer it? Yeah, I thought not.

Needless to say, by the time I explored all nooks and crannies for the elusive costume makings and came up empty-handed, I was a little grumpy. Fortunately Jake the mighty Jack Russell Terrier was up to the task of making me laugh. First I put his brand new pirate hat on, you know, to try it out for Halloween.

He was a trooper for about 40 seconds, then he wanted to shake it off.

That didn't work, so how about another approach?

And then, success!

Voila! Jake has made a happy girl out of a snarly, grumpy mom.

Thanks, Matey!

The written word warms more than the heart

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:52:00 GMT

Despite the average standard of living in North America, almost 750,000 people are living on the streets of America at any given time, plus 300,000 in Canada. Summer weather creates its own issues, but the serious (sometimes mortal) danger for homeless individuals is extremely cold weather. In Toronto, an alert is issued when the weather is expected to reach -15ºC (5ºF), to give agencies serving the homeless additional time to prepare for and reach out to those at risk.

In 2007, Toronto ad agency TAXI prepared to celebrate their 15th year in business by doing something to help their community. Executive creative director Steve Mykolyn developed the first winning idea, The 15 Below Project. Being a clever ad guy, Mykolyn tied together the Cold Weather Alert temperature of -15ºC and TAXI's anniversary...voila, a jacket for the homeless. The jacket had to be portable due to the on-the-move nature of homeless living; versatile and light so it wouldn't be left behind in the summer; low cost, and exceptionally protective in the cold.

The final solution was a jacket made of lightweight black material, a lining that can be stuffed with newspaper or magazines for warmth (or removed for use as a raincoat), convertible into a backpack or a pillow, with a foldaway hood, waterproof zippers, and drawstring cuffs and hem. To test the warmth, an unlucky individual spent the night in a meat locker wearing the jacket.

Clearly it would be better if everyone had a home, but until that time I'll be grateful for the ingenius creativity and compassion of an ad man in Canada. For more information, or to adopt the project as your own, visit http://www.15belowproject.org/.

Should've, could've, would've...but didn't

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:49:00 GMT

I haven't had much time to look at Springwise lately, but I'm sure glad I did today. What a fantastic business idea they spotted...one of those "wish I'd have thought of it" moments. Bring on the afterparty shoes!

Women who love their high heels may already be aware of ‘emergency’ flats that roll up and fit inside a purse in order to be slipped onto tired feet the end of a long night of dancing. Two new companies in England have taken the concept a step further by selling their version of portable flats in vending machines at nightclubs.

Rollasoles sell for about GBP 5 and come in four colors: Hi Ho Silver, Gold Digger, and Back to Black and Pink. When tested in Oceana and Liquid nightclubs, the classic looking ballet quickly shoes sold out. Rollasoles is planning to introduce more vending machines and eventually branch out beyond the UK.

Afterheels are similar rollable ballet flats that also sell for about GBP 5 but have—according to the company—the added feature of being sustainable; the bodies of the shoes are made from natural materials and the polypropylene insoles are fully recyclable. Both Rollasoles and Afterheels are sold with a matching bag to carry their wearer's stilettos home. It’s hard to imagine a place where this kind of convenience wouldn’t appeal to female clubgoers.

Websites: www.rollasole.com — www.afterheels.com

Princess and the Pea

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:57:00 GMT

I would've given my left arm for this bed (and bedroom) when I was a wee little lass.

Pick Your Granny

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:19:00 GMT

I've never been much of a hat person, primarily because my freakishly large head doesn't really need anything else drawing attention to it. However, my mom has acquired quite the collection of hats over the last four months of chemo and radiation and is always looking for some interesting addition. I might have to get her a hat from GoldenHook, a Design-Your-Own-Knitted-Hat website. Oh sure, it's kind of cool because you can choose the hat style, the yarn (cashmere is the nicest for a bare head), color and pattern...but that's child's play. The best part is where you choose the grandmother who will do the knitting. Priceless!

Not than anyone's asking, but I think they should add a series of hot girlfriends who knit sweaters. I'm sure it would be all the rage on certain college campuses and some corporate campuses. You know the ones.

Missing: The Big C

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:07:00 GMT

A precious few times in everyone's life, there's a day that stands out above all others. For my neighbor in grad school, it was discovering an esoteric piece of information that advanced the treatment of whooping cough. For the spouse of a friend, it was selling that long-shot screenplay. For some, the birth of a child after years of trying. For others, the joyous trepidation of hanging their shingle as business owner.

For me, one of those shining jewels was today, the day my mother achieved remission from small cell lung cancer (SCLC)! Do you know the odds?

According to the National Cancer Institute, for most patients with SCLC the current treatments do not cure the cancer. E-Medicine reports that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths both in males and females in the United States. For SCLC the 5-year survival rate is 1-5%, and the overall median survival is about 6-10 months.

Did you read that? Go back and have another look. Hey, don't skip ahead - go read it again! My mom has always been pretty tough for a wee little bird.

The war isn't over but we're celebrating mightily the monumental battle won today. She went dancing tonight to celebrate, wearing a saucy outfit, a little mascara on her wild new-growth eyelashes, a portable oxygen tank and some crazy hat. Wigs are too hot and uncomfortable for dancing, of course. She'll enjoy a month with her mother in Florida, then it's back to treatment...this time, prophylactic radiation to the brain.

Thank you all for your positive thoughts, prayers, words of encouragement, and support in ways big and small. I'll be forever grateful.

Update on me mum

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:37:00 GMT

This is long overdue, but I've determined that it's just too difficult to write on a regular basis about my mom's medical journey. Her privacy, the privacy of other family members, and my own emotional health just seem to preclude writing anything of substance or interest to others. I'll just stick to the facts:

Mom's spirits have been great, despite the obvious downside of chemo and radiation. She's had some fun with wigs, hats, and false eyelashes, and has even made it to a few ballroom dance lessons with an oxygen tank slung across her back.

Small cell lung cancer responds very well to chemo so a significant reduction in size and amount of cancer has already been attained. As a result, the two collapsed lobes of her right lung have been able to reinflate - and it didn't hurt as we feared it might! She's finished with the 33 radiation treatments. She completed 5 of the 6 cycles of chemo before her body stopped tolerating it, so she won't have the 6th one. When the body stops tolerating chemo it doesn't feel good, to say the least.  With a blood transfusion and a red blood cell booster she's on her way to feeling better.

In about a month she'll have another scan to see what the situation is in her lungs: is it all gone for now, or not?  Shortly thereafter she'll start brain radiation treatments for prophylactic purposes.

Fun, huh?

Two of my friends have quit smoking as a result of all this, and I couldn't be happier for them. Mom has been a non-smoker for four months now thanks to the miracle drug Chantix. Pass it on.

25 Things - Two sides of the same coin

Tammy@symphonicmonkey.com (Tammy) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:43:00 GMT

11. One of the wonderful things about being human is that there are so many facets to each individual's personality. I'm currently having a difficult time understanding the darker facets of someone in my life. It's a dilemna. How much Marilyn Manson does it take to overwhelm the Mozart, so to speak?

I'm amused that different people view me in such dramatically different ways. Here are a few that I've matched up:
high maintenance, earthy
type A, laid back
all business, artistic
compassionate, steamroller
social butterfly, content with my own company

It's true. I’m all of these and more, it just depends on the mood and the context. I am a Gemini, after all.

Oh yeah, I'm bored with writing about me, so the 25 Things project is over. Sorry, Facebook!