auden – teamgloria, inc.

autumn in brooklyn with mr. auden.

Posted on October 15, 2013 by teamgloria in people., places.

darlings

we’ve had a Lovely few hours in Brooklyn and now we pack our simply silver surprisingly lightweight samsonite suitcase (with wheels) and wait for the Town car to take us to the Airport and back to the Other Coast once more.

but first – some pictures – because it was a truly glorious day over here in brooklyn.

this was the View from the most magnificent apartment where we stayed last night (sparky’s human guardians are Very Chic and they have an enormous amount of shoes – not shown – but we opened the hall closet and stood back in some amazement and Awe).

we admired this View as we stood with the dark embrace of caffeine and the terrible effects of a red eye flight – and another to come, working non-stop and the ever-present jet lag…..but still – if One Has to work in such a way – what a View to celebrate one’s achievements, non?

sparky was wearing cerulean blue for Wednesday.

which matched the sky seen over the water towards downtown manhattan and all those banking executives preparing for a short lunch of a sandwich at their desk (because times have changed).

Autumn is really here on this Coast.

love lane *shivers* with delight (we mis-read it wrongly at first too)

very elegant stonework abounds over in Brooklyn with plenty of shady corners and dark undergrowth and towering trees (no skyscrapers here darlings).

oh! how lovely. a Pete Seeger fan, clearly. *winningsmiletocamera*

Pumpkins everywhere! but looking especially autumn-y on stoops.

a lyrical bloom stretching to the sunlight (still a little chilly, could have done with a scarf around its swan-like neck).

berries! how christmassy and gorgeous.

what’s this?

oh my!

*reelsbackindelight*

Mr. AUDEN’S HOUSE!

we had No Idea it was Here!did he like the angels or growl at them as he entered the portal of number one montague street?

for this is where he was inspired to write New Year’s Letter (known as The Double Man as well, apparently).

we adore Auden.

and Brooklyn.

most especially poetry inspired in brooklyn.

“Love each other or perish” – Auden.

*sighs*

“Let me see what I wrote so I know what I think” – Auden

“The center that I cannot find is known to my unconscious mind.” – Auden

“All the rest is silence
On the other side of the wall,
And the silence ripeness,
And the ripeness all.” – Auden

it appears that Brooklyn has attracted many writers – many of whom have left us their words and passed on to the great library (we imagine it is thus) somewhere beyond the stars that twinkle before the dawn – and of course Mr. Auster – but the Writer we really Wanted to see was unable to do so on This Trip but we hope to catch up with him next time and tell you all about it…..

Travel broadens the mind (but it need not widen the girth if one eats simply).

words by Mr. Wystan Hugh Auden (and pictures by teamgloria)

Posted on August 28, 2013 by teamgloria in people., things.

darlings

we felt words from Auden would do Well today.

Grateful, I slept till a morning that would not say
How much it believed of what I said the storm had said
But quietly drew my attention to what had been done
—So many cubic metres the more in my cistern
Against a leonine summer—, putting first things first:
Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

Woken, I lay in the arms of my own warmth and listened
To a storm enjoying its storminess in the winter dark
Till my ear, as it can when half-asleep or half-sober,
Set to work to unscramble that interjectory uproar,
Construing its airy vowels and watery consonants
Into a love-speech indicative of a Proper Name.

It was late, late in the evening, The lovers they were gone; The clocks had ceased their chiming, And the deep river ran on.

Beauty, midnight, vision dies: Let the winds of dawn that blow Softly round your dreaming head Such a day of welcome show Eye and knocking heart may bless, Find the mortal world enough; Noons of dryness find you fed By the involuntary powers, Nights of insult let you pass Watched by every human love.

We must love one another or die.

have you ever heard Mr. Auden speak? it’s glorious.

SUCH an Imperious and Perceptive and sly voice……the way he says “sacred” (say-crud.) and “beautiful” (be-yo-ti-ful – lyrical and slipping over the Vowels elegantly and trippingly).

what news from Your part of the world, darlings?

*lookscuriouslyintotheinterweb*

gladys hall’s journalism, auden’s reading list and planning a 4th (or is it 7th) career….

Posted on May 30, 2013 by teamgloria in people., places., things.

darlings

we’re driving to the Valley (the bit over Laurel Canyon) today as on Thursdays we work for a photographer (did we tell you that before?) – it’s a lovely thing to do – we re-touch pictures (adjusting contrast, exposure, tints and so forth – yes, a New Skill), and “consult” on blog posts and other social media ‘feeds’ and build a database for marketing ‘blasts’ and be nice and helpful in a general way.

it’s the beginning of what we hope is a 4th (or is 7th?) career (we have had Other Lives) to run alongside the Lady Novelist and photographer life.

you see we’ve Noticed that a lot of Smart People in Hollywood (and elsewhere – but this is where we live, right now) might need some careful (and always kind) help with the new fangled world of how to present oneself on the Interweb (we have done this Ad Hoc from time to time but never, as the Americans say ‘formalized it’ – which means, get-paid-for-it).

all this reading in the Academy of Motion Picture Library got us thinking about Gladys Hall.

you see gladys hall was really the world’s first social media consultant.

we can explain…….

in the 1920s and 30s, famous movie stars were owned by the Studio System who controlled their image, love life and creation-of-a-persona (right down to the eyebrow shape and one’s Name).

but then the Movie Stars would take tea with gladys hall who wrote for ALL (and we mean all – there were a Lot in those days) the Syndicated Press (sometimes dismissed as the Fan Magazines but make no mistake, they were as powerful as People Magazine in their day).

a subtle manipulation of image would take place – breasts (metaphorically) bared, divorces explained, the adoption notices of children smoothly released to the adoring fans, weight loss encouraged, new wardrobes applauded, Transatlantic Travel tips dispensed.

if you watch the emergence of a storyline it’s clear that gladys hall was helping Certain Stars.

Now back to today (we’ll give you a moment to pull focus and go into colo(u)r – welcome back).

MBA types write Long Reports about “Direct To Consumer” to encourage WOM – word of mouth – and you can find Hefty Binders all over town with documents ‘explaining’ this – perhaps not as clearly as one would like as in –

“since the destruction of traditional distribution networks controlling syndication and the shorter viewing window rights assigned to properties bought and sold there is an opportunity for Talent Owners to go communicate directly with multiple audiences on various platforms using the mechanism of electronic commerce – ‘ecommerce’ and digital payments systems like PayPal and build their own platform.”

phew!

what it really means is this:

Movie Stars can go straight to their audience today (but they still need a modern gladys hall to carefully tease out the message and protect one’s private life without seeming to do so).

the interweb is about community – sharing – approving – discussing – adoring certain things – not liking others (and some pretty tough criticism that one needs to be careful to look the other way if one is Very Sensitive) – but one needs to have one’s own place-on-the-interweb from which to start (not a ‘feed’ that populates someone else’s ‘aggregator’ when they’ll put suspiciously low rent advertising next to one’s very expensive image ;-) It Happens. *sighs*

anyway – we’re still Developing this idea.

thoughts most welcomed.

one always appreciates guidance…..and something else to do while one’s Literary Agent in Manhattan (such a lovely phrase) is reading one’s 3rd book.

for example – Mr. Auden taught creative writing while He was waiting for his Literary Agent to sell His books – and Auden’s Reading List helped many people discover a deeper meaning behind not only the great works of literature but also themselves.

so there you go.

a post about a future career (or at least getting paid for something one has done for free a lot ;-) and gladys hall mixed with auden and an exposition of how MBA types explain away the destructive force of the interweb laying waste to the middle man.

where else could you get such a melange?

right?

have a beautiful day darlings – the sun is already rising in the sky over here on This Coast.

visiting Auden at 77 St. Marks Place

Posted on June 11, 2011 by teamgloria in people., places.

can’t decide whether i am depressed or curiously amused that Auden’s former home is now an italian bistro…..

btw, there’s a lovely east village tour here