Monday, December 21, 2009

singing and cheer.

walking in a winter wonderland... with my friends. from Meaghan Maples on Vimeo.

these are a few of my favorite things.

-the anxiety and glee of preparing for my homeward bound journey
-all the creativity and conversation my typewriter has brought at a handful of parties, in homes, at twiggs... my beloved coffee shop
-iron and wine on pandora
-chewing on ice
-my knee working better... and physical therapy
-writing poems all the time. go team.
-talking about funny things with mom dad and brother
-funny messages from young relatives
-soy chai
-tea from peets
-15 minute rendezvous
-new friends cleverly disguised as nosy customers
-warm and funny concerts in the living room of wonderful san diego friends (family)


me and about 15 friends have decided to write a poem a day for 30 days of december. it is a project inspired by a dear friend and poet in san diego, gill sotu... google him. he's wonderful. in the meantime, here are some snippits of some of the fun work i've been doing with these rotating prompts and my typewriter.








i encourage you to make a list of your favorite things... and funny things... and things you'd like to do. and then things you will do.
these type of list making techniques remind me of all the intangible i've accumulated through out my life... all the things i sometimes take for granted. so as many of us get to rest for the next couple weeks or so... take time to breathe (really breathe) and take nothing for granted. cook something foreign or write a letter to a stranger. maybe catch up on undelivered thank you notes... or love notes if you're feeling ballsy. i'm gonna take pictures of all my childhood play grounds and do some arts and crafts with my nana.

be well...
stretch. eat vegetables. and chocolate. sit still.
be kind and patient.
slow to offense... pray for this.
i struggle with all of these things... duh.
but they're in my brain.

cheers.

love.

m

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

recap: because one day i'll care about these past times


books i read this summer/fall:
-everything is illuminated: jonathan safran foer
-barbarian way and soul craving: erwin mcmanus
-sexgod and velvet elvis: rob bell
-if you want to write: brenda ueland
-searching for god knows what and a million miles in a thousand years: donald miller
-how to win the game of life: tom gegax (my nanny boss man)

music im listening to:
jay z: the blueprint 3
sondre lerche: heartbeat radio
david crowder: church music
riddle the roar: their new e.p.
q-tip: kamaal the abstract
ingrid michaelson: everybody
kim walker: random stuff by her

things i want:
for the space bar on my typewriter to work
for my busted knee to be fixed
a record player
my parents records
to throw a a great fakesgiving party
to put on a kick ass benefit show in the guys pool
to keep on with my regular bm's
a tape recorder for my melodic ideas
a rocket ship (for play only)
for andrews south korean dreams to come true

projects in purgatory:
legos is the family business
the picnic table project
the garden that's now dead (blast)

im grateful for:
when my feet aren't so cold
having 2 knees
hysterical roommates
when andrew channels a pirate
bread bowls
friends that are nice and generous
parentals
twiggs coffee house and all my gypsy coworkers
brother
70 and sunny all the freaking time
the change of seasons
pianos
the upright bass
naomi's dance moves
yerba mate tea
worship through music
youth group and all it entails
seinfeld
inside jokes
other stuff. much much more.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

the fun theory.

i love this.
i am also painting any stair case in any future home of mine to look like a piano.
this is great.

Piano stairs - Rolighetsteorin.se - The fun theory from camiseta emprestada on Vimeo.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

my sunny disposition.

i don't really have a schlep of poetic and prosey reasons why i'm in such a good place. i do have nuggets of joy and jungle jive that i've captured with my cellular device...

there are several moments every week when i just pause. selah. and sigh. so here we are... and here they are. and they still are.



take as much as you need and keep it simple. make it yours. love to live there.



she's on to her next venture in life, but she was hands down the cream of the bush street crop and she did leave behind this gift of love and labor. she had to take all these screws out by hand to get her own hawaiin imagery in there. what a lady. joy.



be creative all the time. if not every day. even thank you notes can get sticky paste on your fingers and there's nothing like that. using your imagination and expensive paper goods is medicine for the soul.



like where you work. and work hard at it. and if there's down time, name all the machinery. get to know your workplace and it's quirks and quibbles. the whole world will be better for it.



that's maui. and a piano. and the living room of my second workplace and favorite 2 year old naomi. she's made so much progress on the instrument too. and she learned how to say water. good times.



i bent down to restock water and ended up squatting for a good 32 seconds. things are still beautiful even behind bars. and your thighs will thank you for the stretch. {i wasn't in prison... just working... which maybe's grown up prison, depends how you're looking at it i suppose... the bars or the clouds in the sky?}



from right to left, these are my friends e-train (he's british and his mother land name is etienne) nicki, and rhythm on drums. go figure. they are lovely musicians who form a band called dropjoy. it's as if tracy chapman and blink 182 had a love child. and there they were. they believe in community and singing loud and playing rock and roll and bringing the entire audience on the stage to jump around and sing songs about love. plus the show was free. {it was @ the bitterend on 5
th and G street and i'm playing there october 1}.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Bumbling.


I was bumbling around Balboa Park on Saturday and right before I fell asleep under a big knotted tree I thought about what the other big knotted tree's story would be, the one that was across from me.

The image to the right is one from an artist called Bryan Yap. My tree was more knotted and hunched over... but his I found easily with google. So there we have it.

The Big Knotted Tree
by: Meaghan Maples

She spoke as twisty and cleverly as her syncopated wings and branches.
When the bells rang she sat still. Not like the squirrels.
They both had heard it every day.
And every hour for that matter.

She had but three virtuous friends.
Sebastian, Hannah and Dante.
Each of them had their vices but were always sure to bring sweet, expensive wine to the dinner parties.
Hannah and our Knotted Tree have made a point to never give explanations for the windy aesthetics of one another.

Sebastian and Dante sit on top and sing to her jazz standards in four part harmony.
She has a beautiful life.


Fin.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

simple things. bigger picture.


i'm learning that every move i make towards joy with intentionality and patience is lending towards the good of my bigger picture. i'm learning that G-d is on the floor in my living room while we giggle and is behind the mastermind of the sushi chef who decided kiwi would be a great idea... and this greater good... this sincere G-d is in front of every opportunity i cease in music, in the car, in shaking the hands of rich and poor strangers... in clever and beautiful melody lines and improvisational rhymes.

i'm obsessed with dominos. the domino affect. the look the shape the sound of them near one another... on top of one another. the movie. there's a group of men who meet for 5 nights a week at the coffee shop i work at and their sanctuary is our patio. their practice is the game. their victory is the punto. they are some of the most interesting and kind men i have ever met. and there's a nice middle aged woman called julia who occasionally roams and lends out shoulder rubs. i love this community.

my greater good... abba... dear brown barefoot jesus man... this pure unadulterated love and joy and peace and patience with a broken, beautiful people, this circle of family and friends is my only rational attribute to all this exponential goodness.




"imagine how much a man's life would be changed if he trusted that he was loved by God? he could interact with the poor and not show partiality; he could love his wife easily and not expect her to redeem him, he would be slow to anger because redemption was no longer at stake, he could be wise and giving with his money because money no longer represented points. he could give up on formulaic religion, knowing that checking stuff off a spiritual to do life was a worthless pursuit, he would have confidence and the ability to laugh at himself and he could love people without expecting anything in return. it would be quite beautiful really..."

-donald miller, searching for god knows what

unlike my beloved dominos, this is far from black and white... i've brought all of this to the table because it's what has fed and nourished me... i don't expect the world to immediately uncover and delve. it's a big table. a lot of options. and some fool always brings that sketchy green bean casserole.

i suppose our faith is a journey... with a fuzzy warm and guided destination. like a teddy bear holding a compass straight out of laundry day.

peace and love.

let the sun shine in on your toes then yeah?
and our gardens near approaching their 4'th week of life...

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

britta's garden...

the world is still growing and shaping and becoming more lovely...
britta returned home from her trip back to colorado and saw that our babies had been born....

my cousins came and visited me this weekend and my wonderful parents sent down great goods from ribs to cobbler (with berries from pops garden) to seeds so we can keep growing! urban veg we are we are...

she's planting pumpkins and sunflowers today and we should be carving and spitting out our windows by halloween....

we are learning that if it's worth having it's worth waiting for... and putting poopy food on.

can't hurry love.

nope.

week 1




end of week 2

Saturday, July 11, 2009

love and the musicians that follow...


here's the latest entry from my music blog...
myspace.com/meggmaples

i've been hit.
yes.
i love sharing what i've created...
i love bringing to the spot light what was dubiously uncovered in a dark corner of the garage.

according to the grape vine, most folks never fall into this kind of love... this put it all out there and sustain a living from this love...

love.
i'm patient and kind to my songs...
not too proud but always standing in their defense.

i love the support of other artists.
i thought i would just be eating cereal with jarel and bryan for the rest of my career... but apparently, we're gonna need more milk.

musicians around san diego that i have stumbled upon and made friends with are the likes of joe khoroosi, alan lilienthal, rhythm turner and her percussionist lisa from rhythm and the method, beverly mcdonough, and this cat called lou evans and his producer man jake chaplin... this rad ass chick tori rose...

these are all individuals that have been openly encouraging and supportive of my me off stage and on... these are people who have advocated for me promoted me and tacked me onto their performances and cell phone data bases.

comradery keeps everything about this alive.

i do plan on eating cereal (and rice) with the likes of two of my best friends, and the most talented musicians i'll ever know, jarel paguio and bryan bangerter... but it's refreshing to know that we're gonna need more milk.

over and out.

p.s.
please find all these artists on myspace and/or google their work.
san diego is the new nest for the next phase of magic my friends...

Friday, June 05, 2009

Do you ever get that African itch?

Thank you to my wonderful roommate Kaley for the prompt.

.

I miss Tanzania all the time. I miss the sky.
How it always looks as if it went so much farther than any other place. Ever.
I miss the way my lip was salty from the consequences of the sun's over heated make out session with my face.
I miss having dirty finger nails and red feet. I miss sticky little brown hands and watching mangos being annihilated by big white East African teeth.
I even miss the smell of body after body in vans too small for a family of 5.
I miss smile after smile after eager hospitable smile...

A moment from the mother land... from Meaghan Maples on Vimeo.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Things I want.

World Peace
Spinach Salad with carmelized almonds
Polaroid Camera
Type Writer from the 70's
To be on the Hotel Cafe tour
Polaroid Camera Film
To live in New York City for a small session
Seinfeld (The entire person. I mean. Series.)
Long Hair
To be less like Cosmo Cramer
To make pots and learn how to sew
To get my bike fixed

Sunday, May 24, 2009

more on my journey.

www.picnictableproject.blogspot.com


Thursday, April 16, 2009

picnic.table.project

here's what's going on...

www.picnictableproject.blogspot.com

Friday, April 03, 2009

It's much too late...

But I just can't help but share some thought... Ahhh... who am I kidding... I'll give it ago during less ungodly hours.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

My Trip to New Orleans

with music by joel p. west (www.dustjacketproject.com)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

life.love.melody

Hey yal, from Louisiana, me and my fellow New Orleans travelers have been keeping up on the community blog.

www.lifelovemelody.blogspot.com

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Weekend with my other family...

Although I forgot Justin Wrights name in the credits (I coulda got sued if this were hollywood).. he was VERY MUCH present in the video... and in the weekend... and I blame it on my weary late night eyes for doing such a stupid thing!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Life is Like...

The views and opinions expressed in this video are not necessarily that of the sister who made it... :)