Art for your sake, not art's

I'm not a very artistic person, so I wouldn't know the difference between a good poem and a bad one... -SATO

A

h, the quote on the left was left by SATO in response to the senryu poetry I previously posted. Well, you should know that it doesn't matter. Poetry is from inside you and your appreciation of poetry is the same. It doesn't matter whether you can tell the difference between good and bad; what matters is what you like, what moves you. But poetry aside, you do seem to have a flair with a black pen.

Yes, folks, the portrait here of me was not drawn by me, but by SATO. As you can see, he drew it on regular ruled notebook paper, and while there is a bit of the primitive about it, I think he captured me pretty well--Onigiriman's square face, sunglasses, goatee--altogether a fine effort. In fact, I like it so much I decided to use it as my profile pic for a while... I may even use it at RBJ just to freak out the locals...

Of course, if you have an aversion to free hand drawing, you can always construct a face like SleepingCutie did. She made these likenesses of us at a virtual onsen--apparently cooling off as I sit on some logs waiting for her to come out. Woo hoo! Hahahaha, As if I'd ever get a chance to go to a hot spring with her, let alone meet her. Hah! Anyway, the construction of these two characters was done at http://abi-station.com/. I went there myself and made my own avatar, which some of you may have noticed earlier. This little face--according to M--is a fair likeness to me, and indeed, there's a good likeness to the portrait by SATO. Anyway, I thought it was nice of SATO to draw this likeness of me and post it on his site. Of course, he should be studying instead of doodling in class, but I guess that's okay this once...

Music

Continuing my previous thought: There is no such thing as knowing good or bad art. If you have a teacher who tells you otherwise, tell him or her to suck an egg. Art appreciation is from the soul, and the judgment is based on what you like. There is no other standard. Of course, your judgment could be construed as simple or basic, but that's okay. The more you know, the more criteria you can apply to any evaluation you make, thereby making you a more sophisticated critic. But ultimately, it must come from the heart: What do you like and why. That's all there is to it.

For example, I am often asked, "What kind of music do you like?" And my stock answer, is, "I like what I like." To me, there are only two kinds of music: That which I like and that which I don't. I like:

Rock: mostly 60s, and I'm partial to British rock minus the Beattles and the Rolling Stones. These groups would include the Moody Blues, the Zombies and the Who. I am also partial to the original fusion of the late 60s, early 70s, groups like Chicago, BS&T, Lighthouse and Chase. As for today, I listen to everything from Oasis to Fuel to Cold Play. I don't really listen to boy bands or pop girls or hip hop or rap... Just not my style... Please refrain from throwing rocks and sticks...

Jazz/blues/big band: I'll listen to anything, from Billy Holiday to Miles Davis to McCoy Tyner (no Chick Correa please) to Jean Luc Ponty who played jazz violin before Noel Pointer did. I also love the old big band sound of Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. It's nice to hear new swing music, too. It really rocks for me. Now if only I could dance to it. Is there a young lady out in Xanga-land willing to teach this old dog a few new tricks? hehehehheehe.

Classical: Yes, I was raised on classical music. In fact, I used to play the violin, although I would never admit it in public... or did I just admit it? Hmm... Here, too, I have my likes and dislikes. I love Beethoven: he can be dynamic, but I listen to his #6 symphony, Pastorale, the most. It is so relaxing when I'm stressed out. I will listen to Tzaichowski (sp?) and Mozart of course, and some Bach. I am into the larger sounds. I will listen to quartets but it doesn't have the oomph of a larger orchestra. Piano concertos are nice too. I used to play piano, too. No, that's not right... I was keyboardist for a band, and that doesn't count, right?

Country: Um, okay, I'm not crazy about country. I don't own a Loretta Lynn album, but I like country rock. I own Marshall Tucker Band and Charlie Daniels CDs. In fact I went to a Marshall Tucker concert, but I must admit I felt self-conscious as the only non-white, non-redneck in the audience. You know, cowboy hat and keys dangling from their belt... wait, that was me... hahahhahaa.

So what kind of music do you like? And visit SATO's site for a full view of the portrait and to thank him for making you laugh! (Okay, he looks sorta scary, but he's cool.) hahahhaha! But I really do like it, seriously... ugh but I'm afraid I'll be accused of being a narcissist... um, which I am...