Poem: Spirited Girl

Spirited Girl

With a warrior spirit you fight
Striving to set wrongs right
Your spirit and works flower
And many they empower
To those who say "NO"
You deal a mighty blow
Those without a voice
In your victories rejoice
With every sunrise
Your soul will surprise
What heights you’ll achieve
When you believe
As your spirited voice sings
Joy to many it brings
When we dance together
I could feel no better
In your gentle, soft kiss
There’s always bliss

January 31, 2009

Copyright © 2010 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Song (video): Levantation, "Hello, Goodbye" (almost done!)

This version has everything now, including the 13s Lego animation, except for the scenes that need an actress. I welcome volunteers. Must be attractive and between 5'2" and 5'6". There are no speaking parts which makes it easier.

Essay: The Two Most Important Jobs in the World

As I brought my smiling, laughing daughter tonight to her Beavers meeting, I was looking at her cute little face and came to an important epiphany. I've been unemployed since July and feeling not as valued as I used to. Reflecting on these two matters, I realized I am not really unemployed at all!

I have the most important and one of the most satisfying jobs in the world. Sometimes it's also the most challenging and frustrating job. I'm a parent and it's a job that I can't lose. It's highly unlikely I'll ever be fired from this job, there are no annual performance reviews and there's always enough work without lay-offs. I didn't even have to compete with other candidates in gruelling interviews.

How much is a child's laughter, smile or sense of great accomplishment worth? Is it worth more than a plaque or a bonus? What value can you place on raising a caring, kind, empathetic child who does you proud when he/she opens a door for an elderly person? These are priceless things, moments that some may never experience and others envy more than a lucrative job.

The fate of humanity depends on the good citizenship of every adult raised and their personal achievements and contributions. We must take our roles as parents seriously for they are not just our progeny, but members of a potentially great society and culture. There are other contributions to children's values and character such as peers, teachers and genetics but the greatest influence remains their parents. We can either raise another Einstein, Rembrandt, Shakespeare or another Manson, Dalmer or Hitler. We can either nurture, love and protect or traumatize and leave scars that produce pain and suffering not just on our adult child but on those into whose lives they become entangled.

What's the second most important job in the world? Teachers and the teacher's teachers; those in the pedagogical field. They spend nearly as much time with our children as we do. They also take on the responsibility of socializing them and healing their wounds. They are partners in parenting and thus also have a great responsibility. They not only instil character and values but impart useful knowledge. From carpentry and welding to reading, writing, mathematics art and music. It's the role of teachers colleges and pedagogical academia to refine and improve the methodology employed by the teaching profession; a very honourable and old profession.

Song (video, intstrumental performance): Levantation, "Hello, Goodbye"

This isn't yet the actual music video but one of Kato and I performing the song from which clips will be used in the actual music video. The guitar and drum track that I used were not from this performance so the video and audio are not well synced and there were things I did on the drums (a few bars with cymbals not in the song) that aren't in the audio track. It wasn't critical as clips from this video will be just interspersed in the final production. I made this version just to show us having fun together and my first time actually performing with someone else, or even performing a song!

Thanks to my few "followers"! I plan on having more fun with music and publishing it here.




Here are 4 photos from the 4 scenes I have filmed so far. I've got about 8 more scenes to shoot and need to cast an actress. I have one in mind that I need to talk to who's already appeared in several films.

The first photo is from the scene where I'm driving past colourful fall trees. It will be paired with the verses "weekends with the trees, the turning of the leaves" as my ex-girlfriend favoured this particular time of year, hiking and running amongst trees and enjoying the beauty of nature.



This scene has a shot of me waking up and mouthing "I love you". The other half of the scene will be the same shot but of the actress saying the same words with the same angle. It's paired with the verses "The love we made, seemed would never fade".



This particular scene was a bit tricky to shoot. In order to avoid shadows on my face, I filmed it on a cloudy day for diffuse lighting at about 10AM when the sun was directly facing me as I walk away from my building. Normally a large white reflector would be used to light the shadows but I didn't want to bother making a home-brew version, it was easier to use the weather and sun's position to advantage!



I chose this shot of a traffic light changing from green to red for several symbolic reasons. First, you'll notice the church steeple in the background behind it. That is a symbol of marriage, the beginning of a committed relationship. Second, the antique looking street light behind is a symbol of antiquity, of age old romantic periods and the poetry of that period, in the 19th century. Third, the green light symbolizes the beginning of the relationship and the greenery of spring renewal, of reawakening from the dead of winter into the romantic spring. The brief yellow light, the initial apprehensions and caution of whether this is the right person for you. Finally, the red light is symbolic of the end of the relationship, when we stop feeling love, and red in general is associated with matters of the heart and in some cultures, the colour of a bride's gown.


More to come as work on this progresses!

Song (audio only): Hello, Goodbye

This is my "Hello, Goodbye" song recorded as an audio track. Yes, I know, The Beatles had the same title but then so did 1/2 a dozen other artists including Michael Smith, Van Hunt, Madonna.

This is the first time I'm actually performing a song on drums, first time singing a song (had to develop something approximating "singing" fast), first time recording and mixing a song.

Kato and I performed the drum and guitar track live and recorded that as one track. The bass and vocal tracks were recorded separately. The instrumentals took about 2.5 hours to write and record. The vocal track took me all of this Wednesday afternoon. It was fun to perform together but as I didn't have a multi-channel audio card, we couldn't keep the drum and guitar tracks separate for a better down-mix to stereo. This resulted in the guitar being a little weak, and if I had bothered to check the levels, that could have been better but, oh well, it's not too bad as is!

Thanks SO MUCH to my friend Kato for the guitar and bass parts, he's awesome!

Actual video, with real people, to follow (probably next month or so).

Best listened to with decent headphones.

Enjoy!

October 14, 2009

Copyright © 2009 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Song/poem: Hello, Goodbye

Hello, Goodbye

Simple words, we say

When we meet, each day

It's a start, an end

With a past, can't last

Does it ever end

When to love, hearts bend

Hello, Goodbye

Is the reality

Really a finality

Do you have a plan?

Am I your man?

Is it really pure

Is this pain's cure

Papers late, at night

We did never fight

Hello, Goodbye

Weekends with the trees

The turning of the leaves

The love we made

Seemed would never fade

Talking for hours

Even through the showers

The beauty in you

Your greatest virtue

Hello, Goodbye

Your abode serenity

Your body divinity

Always on the run

That was your great fun

You did twice lie

Just to avoid my cry

When I asked why

You did not deny

Hello, Goodbye

At the airport, you flew

Me always there for you

You'd cross the ocean

Bearing my emotion

When you did return

The fire still burned

Hello, Goodbye

Flowers to you

Will the love renew?

What`s the end's reason?

One for every season

When hearts harden

Like a winter garden

Can the sun's rays

Bring back better days

Hello, Goodbye

Will I stay near

Is that your fear?

At the final goodbye

Perhaps another try?

Hello, Goodbye

October 4, 2009

Copyright © 2009 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Love`s Blooms

With these roses for you

May you never feel blue

Love blooms like flowers

Amidst cool April showers

Where will you call home?

How long will you roam?

Wherever you are

No matter how far

Gaze at the stars and skies

Remember love's magnificent highs

When love fails to speak

And its joyful return seems bleak

Reflect once again

To where it was found and when

September 21, 2009

Copyright © 2009 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Emptiness

I made a mistake because I cared too much about you

You were scared and hastily from my life withdrew

Now each new day is like a new year

Reliving the sweet memory of that first night of this year

The way we danced with poise and grace

The look in each others eyes and smiling face

I promised you a great time and that you had

But now without you my heart is sad

I will always remember your gentleness and calm

And the beauty in your words like a melodious song

I hope you‘ll not forget the twinkle in my eye

Nor my soft caress you couldn’t resist though you’d try

Perhaps like many it is love you fear

And away from it you strive to steer

Looking for a reason not to try

Looking for a way out, an easy goodbye

For without love’s loss, there is no pain

But what shall we miss that was magnificent to gain

To cross the chasm from friendship to love

Takes a great leap of faith, like a skydiver jumping from above

Our independence makes us strong

Love is nurturing and needn’t control us along

I’m fearless in many things

Including the depth of joy that only love brings

I fear one thing which I’ll declare

Living a lonely life, without someone to care

I feel a loss in my heart that I can’t replace

I feel emptiness in its place

January 16, 2007

Copyright © 2007 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Fullness

The days missing you seem an eternity

Swimming the daily grind of necessities

Shuffling our papers to and fro

Wishing your thoughts to know

Many footsteps I`ve walked alone at night

Your eyes, voice, warm kiss within mind’s sight

Your face’s radiance like the sun at noon

Staring up at the sky and the moon

Wishing to dive from it into your heart

To fill it with light

So you’d think of me with every rustle of a leaf

With every soft drop of rain

With every note sounded from my voice

Now with you with every rising sun

The days seem too short

My new life has just begun

Once I cried tears of sorrow

Laying in an empty bed

Now I cry tears of joy

Having you next to me instead

I feel the fullness of your embrace

I feel the fullness of your love

January 1, 2007

Copyright © 2007 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Essence Surrendered

Essence Surrendered

Essence surrendered, burning pain
Love remembered, soothing rain
Gentle soft voices, over the wire
Caressing our hearts, filled with fire
Your touch drifting through mind
Hand leading hand, never blind
Many stories, each has told
Some hearts, can be bold

Essence surrendered
Love remembered

Upon a cold winter’s eve
By the watchmen’s desk
Your Happy things I did leave
My teary eye toward your window did gaze
The world around me
Seemed a ghostly haze
My heart bursting to be by your side
In the moment, I could only hide

Essence surrendered
Love remembered

And all others I meet
Still seem somehow incomplete
Searching for another like you
Seems impossible to do
For when that special magic was found
Joyous songs in our hearts did sound

Essence surrendered
Love remembered

Remember me as you run
The good times and the fun
Wearing the miles upon your wrist
Your charm I couldn’t resist
No matter how far you roam
In my heart, always a home
Swimming through the oceans and seas
Your essence drifting with the breeze

Essence surrendered
Love remembered

May 1, 2009
Copyright © 2009 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Skydivers

Skydivers

Don't lie or try to be sly
Cuz we know the word
Is to fly like a bird
Up so high amongst the fluffy cotton
Above the world that can be so rotten
From up there everything seems bright
So join them freak brothers in lofty flight
Dreamers and free-flyers in our clan
Brothers and sisters in the Caravan
Tumbling and bumbling in a cluster fuck
Skydivers have all the luck
Swooping and gliding
Canopies we be riding
Somedays sliding on our ass
Across the green wavering grass
Breathtaking the beauty of the sky
For we always dreamt we could fly

December 9, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Desert of Questions

Desert of Questions

Lost in the desert of questions
Lost without my map of hope
These lover’s lips dry and parched
Sounding out with questions
Never to taste your warm reply again
My heart once filled with your answers
Now it’s dry and brittle with questions
I must keep walking on
Searching, searching, hoping
For I know if I stop
I will drop
And my heart will shatter into countless more questions
The dry hot wind brushes my ears
I will keep listening for years
Hoping for the echo of your answers
For once, we together were dancers
Now your voice but faint whispers in my mind
I keep wandering, though I’m blind
For without hope, a man cannot see
Even though he may swim in a sea of clues
Your memory, I will never lose
Your memory, just a desert of questions

December 24, 2007
Copyright © 2007 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Garden Wall

Garden Wall

Should I build a wall around my garden
To protect the delicate flowers inside
Could I build a shield around my heart
And guard it from pain and hide
Should I destroy the weeds that spread
It’s love lost I dread
Will the flowers bloom in the spring
Can my love ever take root and sing
Should I ring the garden with barbed-wire
Will you ever call my heart a liar
Do I dig deep and plant the seeds
Will your love fulfill my needs
Is it better to protect the garden with the hounds of hell
Will I invite again your love’s magic spell
Does the sun nourish enough
Should my heart be steely tough
Do the plants gaze at the stars grandeur
Why must our hearts always pains endure
Should the wall be as high as the mountains
Will love flow like Roman fountains
Will the rain feed the roses
What questions love always poses
Will I build that wall and hide within
Will my heart from loss cave-in
For without the wall, all may enjoy the splendor
And love will once again grow tender

January 15, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Crescent Smile

Crescent Smile

Your thoughtful grin
Is a telling tale
Revealing what lies beneath
That radiant face, your veil
When we kiss
All becomes bliss
And your lips turn soon
Into an upward crescent moon

February 14, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Silent Clouds

Silent Clouds

Clothes scattered on the floor
Both breathless yet wanting more
Soft and yielding to desire
Supple and feeling on fire
Shielded from the cold outside
Fiery hearts gently collide
From Gentle caresses neither doth retreat
Intertwined amidst fluffy cloud sheets

February 11, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: It's All Good

It’s All Good

They’ve been through turbulent affairs
The complexities heaped in many layers
Nobody got them right
Blinded without insight
Into their passions and dreams
Never hearing their soul’s screams

It’s all good
It’s a fucked-up situation
It’s all good
I’m having reservations

She stands by him as a trophy
He finds meaning most in money
His pleasure found in the big toy
Words bringing her the most joy
It’s over at the 11th hour
She flees and regains her power
Nesting amongst papers and black gowns
Leaving behind the small towns

It’s all good
It’s a fucked-up situation
It’s all good
I’m having reservations

Late on a Monday night
After picking the meeting sight
He finally meets his match
Hoping she’s an awesome catch
Leaving the geeky bits in the car
Hoping to make the best impression by far
She’d missed a major detail
Will they later cry and wail

It’s all good
It’s a fucked-up situation
It’s all good
I’m having reservations

He always asks her to dance
Hoping to create romance
Taking her out to eat and play
Both busy with work the next day
It’s all part of the script
With the desire of clothes unzipped

It’s all good
It’s a fucked-up situation
It’s all good
I’m having reservations

She said they had to talk
So they met on Philosopher’s Walk
The cold and rain outside
Breaking his limping stride
They tell all amongst the noodles
Debating at length about the hurdles
Will she accept his flowers
And stay with him for hours
Winding through the mazes of elegant stone
Will they be together or alone

It’s all good
It’s a fucked-up situation
It’s all good
I’m having reservations

March 5, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved

Poem: Moonlight

Moonlight

A full moon so bright
Brings to our hearts great delight
It's rays dancing upon the calm waters
Juxtiposed amongst the seven daughters
Let there be love and joy to celebrate
To the heavens and lover's arms we gravitate
If there be sorrow tomorrow or today
Reflect upon the brilliance of the moon's ray
And let it's light enter your heart
Like a lover's soft kiss as they depart

December 12, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Levant Tinaz. All Rights Reserved