Monday, January 2, 2012

Nohodome Is Back for 2012

Eighty percent of success is showing up. This oft cited Woody Allen quote applies to blogging as much as anything. I hope to show up here at the Nohodome at least a few times a week henceforth. Welcome or welcome back. 2012 is a new garden to plant, a freshly erased chalk board, a new vacuum cleaner, a new pair of socks, an alphabetized bookshelf.
I got out of the Pioneer Valley only a few times in 2011, to Boston, Brattleboro, and Georgia, so my first hand exposure to reality has been somewhat finite geographically. Traveling brings experience into sharper focus and adds depth perception. Viewing the world solely from the vantage point of Northampton is like having one eye closed.


My theme for 2011, "first world problems,"  emerged after seeing a Louis CK bit on Conan. Not to dismiss the validity of any struggles that you or others may be dealing with, especially if you're unemployed, ill, or somehow not where you think you want to or ought to be. But especially in Northampton, life for most of us, while not luxurious, ain't so bad compared to many other places. The region is a veritable Shangri-La.


Green River Festival, July 2011
The trails behind Smith College make for a beautiful walk. 
Naturalization ceremony for new immigrants to the U.S. on the Northampton courthouse lawn on July 4th, 2011.



Al Houghton changing the Calvin marquee. IHEG (where I work) presents over 600 live concerts a year at the Calvin Theatre, Pearl Street, The Iron Horse Music Hall, and the Basement in downtown Northampton and 10+ outdoor concerts at Mountain Park in Holyoke.
The Peace Pagoda in Leverett
The Greenhouses at Smith College
A new Tumblr site is dedicated to this notion. First World Problems.  Example: “I can't get comfortable in bed even with 1000 thread-count sheets because one pillow positions my head too low and two pillows is too high."

Here is the clip from the now defunct Conan O'Brien show of Louis CK's "Everything's amazing and nobody's happy":



With the passing of George Carlin, I think Louis CK is the most visionary comedian out there. His TV series "Louie" is pushing the boundaries far beyond anyone else out there. Here's a (graphic and confrontational) clip about the origins of the word "fag." Louis always diffuses the tension and the shock with silliness and humor, but the lessons make it through.



5 comments:

Grant said...

Nice post and welcome back! It is always great to see fellow Western MA bloggers!

Anonymous said...

I don't recall seeing you here in Georgia last year so I assume you must have been in Russia. -Paul

Power Wash Portland said...

I love your blog. Happy New Year!

scrabblepodcast said...

bring it on!

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Michelle