I suppose I could blame it all on the Arcade Fire concert at Radio City last Wednesday. Women my age shouldn't be going to rock concerts. We get goofy afterwards, start remembering our more idealistic, less materialistic youth.When I was 15, I saw a film about creativity where a gentleman by the name of Arthur Koestler postulated that creative thought was like a "dance of the hooked atoms". I still remember that swirling, tornado-like animated vortex of creative possibility projected on the pull down screen in our darkened science classroom. I wanted to hook atoms, I wanted to dance, I wanted to have a creative life.
But back to Arcade Fire, the Montreal band of the anthemic vamp song "Wake Up" used by U2 during their Vertigo concerts, of Fashion Rocks with David Bowie, of indie album fame. You never know for sure how a band's live music will move - or fail to move - you until the stage lights come up and the first notes ripple out to touch your eardrums and your head starts to dip and sway wildly. I was 15 again last Wednesday night, and the hooked atoms were dancing on the stage, playing their hearts out.
It was on their fan site's forum that I happened onto a discussion about the controversial stage-rushing that took place that night, and some thoughtful posts by a young cameraman whose web site led me to Cafepress.com. For the past few years, I've been trying to find the head space to hook my atoms around a non-profit project to fund the charities I believe in in South East Asia; suddenly, well it was not unlike the adage "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear."
I know there will no doubt be controversy about my decision to use my travel photo images on consumer products. But if I can spread the word, raise funds for my favorite charities, and hook a few atoms on the way, so be it.
