Where Freedom and Aloneness Dance with Love
589657
We of the West are slow to grasp that aloneness doesn't have to mean being lonely. Freedom is a right and a duty that can only be tempered by love. You'll have to read it to find your own gold.
2530943
This CD is a must for anyone interested, or already involved in, the Oneness Blessing movement, or for anyone who loves to create a serene, meditative ambiance in their living space.

Being into the Oneness Blessing movement, I really wanted my own copy
of this particular CD after a friend brought it over and played it while giving my husband and me a Oneness Blessing.

I was very happy to find this very gently used copy on Amazon at a resonable price.  I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the calming, even seductive effect, of eastern music.

The serenity one achieves will carry them through their day!
1260271
Somerset Maughan said, "For dancing to be enjoyable, you don't have to make love with the woman, you just have to want to" and this novel illustrates this concept perfectly.  Once again, Ephraime has created a beautiful story that highlights her strength as a writer of sensual romance.  The obsession between Caitlynne and Andre spans two years and comes to light when the two finally meet again and their lives begin again.  In her usual stle, Ephraime created vivid characters and a story line that flows with reality.  A wonderful read!
1729582
I love the rhythm. And its very romantic. I love it! I want to be somewhere tropical dancing with my lover.
422995
Where the Peacocks Sing by Alison Singh Gee transported me half way round the world to the exotic locales of Hong Kong and India. I was charmed by her wit and humor, and at many points found that her personal search for love, happiness, and success resonated with me deeply. The time she spent at Ajay's family palace in a quiet Northern Indian village was quite revealing of how rustic and traditional life still is on the subcontinent, and I relished the karmic lessons that Ajay often dispensed to his Chinese American fiance. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a sense of adventure and an appreciation of what it means to find true love (and make it work).
3136927
This piece was breathtaking.  The dancers were not of this world as they demonstrated divine strength and control.  The piece had so much depth as it bridged themes between the East and West.  I recommend it to those with an appreciation for dance, culture and the art of the physical.
249757
This timeless story touches and embraces primal truths of the soul. It's mystical, a beautiful survey of raw living and elemental love out in the wide, wide lonesome!
1887396
In Jane Mendelsohn's beautifully written third novel,"American Music," stories live inside bodies.  It is our privilege to discover them through connections that reach across time, through love and real pain, transcending history and culture, in order to reveal a true belief in the power of intimacy and imagination.  There is a radiant quality of characters alone, yet irrepressibly connected through a shared drive to live and love.  That the story begins with something inexpressible, trauma hidden inside the back of an Iraq War veteran, that this core of silence unleashes passions that bring us into worlds of boundless invention, full of sound and beauty, is a profound surprise.  "American Music"  proposes an original notion about the relation of the self, separate and finite, and the world, expansive and enduring.  In Mendelsohn's hands they are the same, the self and the world, tangled together, making new stories, dance, music, images, stories - stories to read!
2282823
The author is a PhD. Psychologist and she writes like one about the Argentine tango as she explores the dance from the inside out.  This is her personal journey but as we travel with her we learn some universal truths about the need for connection.  Late in the book she writes that she felt the need to watch a mother giving birth and carries that sense of separation forward as the beginning of life's counter drive and emotion for connection.

She starts her journey at Champaign, Illinois' Refinery-a place I have danced-and divides that journey into 3 parts beginning with the people who devised tango out of needs as immigrants and as an isolated laboring class.  As an introduction, we learn that contrary to the "popular history" that tango started in the bordellos of Bs. As. it really started with the masses and was danced and recorded widely beginning in 1902.  The story that the stage shows propagate is that of the prosititute and the compadrito or pimp.  Apparently this makes for a better story when presented on stage.

The first phase of her journey is the introduction to Argentines' culture of connecting with each other in a way that Americans do not.  They do it at milongas, riding in taxicabs, at stoplights, passing in the street.  To Beatriz this is as natural as a national identity that finds expression in the tango. In this part she shares with the reader insights and feelings from dancers she met in the US and in Bs. As. alike.

The second part of the journey are her visits to La Boca and San Telmo where she visits milongas and experiences through the physical environment, the street corners and the tenements their history and  connection with the immigrants and laborers who filled those neighborhoods and the clubs.  She then devotes a chapter to today's Tango Gypsies dancers who travel relentlessly to festivals all over the world to experience the tango emotion.  She interviews some and includes their very personal emotions, feelings and experiences.

The third part is perhaps the most elegant part of the journey.  She examines the poetry of tango lyrics and their evolution within the "one large tapestry."  We follow the portrayal of women from La Morocha,to Milongita, to the role of the Compadrito, to Malena.  Tango songs express also the longing for the past of life, the neighborhood, a street that was a home, a red brick wall-all symbols of individuals' past.  An entire chapter is devoted to visits with Alberto Podesta who started singing tangos at the age 16 (now 88) and still does.  Podesta treats us to how he interprets a songs lyrics before he expresses its emotions.

As a tango dancer myself, I have peronally found tango lyrics poetic in ways that we do not find in American music.  The language is much more heart felt.

I would compare this book favorably with others that I have read: "The Meaning of Tango:The Story of the Argentine Dance" by Christine Denniston and "Long After Midnight at the Nino Bien" by Brian Winter.  The former book includes a discussion of tango dance styles, milonga codes of the Golden Age and discussion of the orchestras.  Winter's book is a witty discovery of tango while he was in Bs. As. 2000-04.  The three compliment each other as an addition to any tango lovers' library.
278604
If it was possible to give this novel 10 stars I would. I think the novel has the power to lodge in every woman's heart--if her heart is open and her experiences have helped her to lay aside judgements.  I carry an index of the parts within me that want to feel freedom, the parts that no one else has understood, the parts that bucked the fear, stepped into the jungle and took the solo trek on a spiritual safari, (don't misunderstand, this novel is not about a spiritual journey, although we may all be on one ...)  the parts that want to hide in security, the parts that want to reach a place of perfection in motherhood, love, relationships, and experience a pure relationship with a man. And to leave a mark. And to be forgiven by those I hurt while I searched. It is a settling comfort to read about a life that understands that living is an infinite adventure requiring joy and sorrow, gain and loss, and most of all losing and receiving love--eventually knowing  the experiences and emotions are but paint upon the canvas that evolves us into the person we are and the person we are meant to be.  Bravo Paula McLain. I appreciate all you've suffered while you gleaned deep wisdom, and that you shared your wisdom with the world through words. Thank you.
1201085
I found this wonderful book while taking up the dance after a 25 year period of no dance in my life. It is like an instruction manual for awakening movement. Each chapter has an activity at the end that seems to break down old inhibitions and moldy ideas that crept in during the years I sacrificed for my family. The author and other individuals who contributed to the writing of this wonderful work gently encouraged me. As a practicing Buddhist,I found the Dance of The Twentyone Tara's very inspiring. I have contacted the creator of that dance and she returned contact with me. It is a living link between ancient times and tangeble resources available today! Happy Dancing one and all.
688629
Solitude itself is not to be endured, not for very long at least, because no Latter-day Saint, however lapsed, can conceive of aloneness as independence. . . . however persuasive the illusion of freedom, we remain tethered to tissues other than our own (Kalpakian 228).

In These Latter Days Laura Kalpakian unwinds tales of the Mason-Douglass family, beginning with matriarch Ruth Mason Douglass, carrying down to Ruths children and grandchildren, and including a vibrant cast of in-laws, friends, townspeople, and church members. Leading readers from the seat of Mormondom, Salt Lake City, Utah, to pioneer settlements in Idaho, to the fictional railroad town St. Elmo, California, Kalpakian paints striking panoramas of the American West, along with unique portraits of the settlers who built up cities there. Kalpakian is a master storyteller and an adept creator of distinct, believable characters. Here, she portrays various versions of the Mormon experience, transitioning seamlessly from narrator to narrator, from setting to setting. Through shifting points of view, she explores themes of independence, family ties, friendship, individualism in a homogenous religious culture, and (in)ability to transcend familial, religious, and cultural roots. Other overarching themes include the place of women in patriarchal religious orders and their ability to transcend patriarchal oppression and cultural influence--themes embodied in protagonist Ruth Mason Douglass, a fringe Mormon who conforms to a point and later breaks free when her husband, Samuel, assumes prophethood and the liberty of taking plural wives. Like many of her progeny, Ruth lives her life with one foot in Mormondom and one foot in Babylon. Filled with Kalpakians organically readable prose, complex characters, dry wit, and creative depictions of religious culture, this novel is a must for readers of Western American literature, female religious experience literature, genealogical literature, and Mormonism-inspired literature.
2772455
This one I love, track 9 alone for a slow romantic Argentine Tango makes this a winner!
4786031
Delicate and sublime with a stirring of ecstasy dancing over a driving powerful intoxication is what you will find if you listen to Goodbye first. It is the perfect place to start this journey into soul shivering musical escape. The song surges and sways bursting from the limits of sound into an unbelievably ecstatic moment in time. This goes beyond inspiration to new levels of creativity where modern technology and ancient longings collide. At times it is crystalline perfection and at others the warm sounds completely surround you enveloping you in a dreamy haze.

If you listen to the album from start to finish you will first encounter silky washes of sound with ethereal vocals. "Stars" is almost chilling with dramatic elements that seem to seek to overwhelm with psychedelic swirls and epic sonic power. Vocals cascade over driving beats like a waterfall and then a plane suddenly lands. The dreamy "Einfeld" has a renewed clarity but still retains the warm washes of sound ebbing and flowing from the first tracks. "In Between the Years" is like a snowstorm and a warm fire with distant echoes of haunting chill. It invites you closer and then sends you spinning off into starscapes.

"Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" wakes up this album with a spontaneous fusion of lush layering and nostalgia. You can sink deeply into the memories of this track and yet it has the excitement of new discovery. This song and the mesmerizing "Goodbye" both give me shivers. "A Song about Hope" is much more mellow and has a captivating rhythm that keeps your full attention as the song soars in luminous orchestral beauty. "Medusa" is much darker introspective piece with static urban elements and echoes. "For Good" has the sounds of lonely acoustic guitar and distant brooding longing.

As a relaxing chill out album this offers a sinking into the feeling of escape while it plays with the ideas of fragility and power. Warm washes of sound mingle with ethereal vocals throughout and capture many moods and places that are exciting and serene all at once.

If you love this album you may also enjoy music by Feist, Evening Ocean, Hooverphonic, Between Interval, Zero 7 and The Album Leaf.

~The Rebecca Review
510629
It has been said that true art allows the observer to connect on a spiritual level. If that is true, then Free to Fly by Thad Fiscella is, indeed true art! I love it when a listener can hear an artists music and, immediately get what he or she is trying to convey. I wish I had the words to describe the beauty of his music. Alas, I simply have no words. However, I will attempt to convey to those who are reading this as much as this human mind can portray.

Free to Fly, Thads latest CD is dedicated to his father, Jim, who passed away unexpectedly in 2014. Quoting the dedication, He was a man full of wise counsel, a visionary, inventor and one who defined what it meant to work hard and give 100%. In that case, this CD is a beautiful tribute to his father, mentor and friend. In this beautiful music, Thad gives 100% of his heart and soul. Every note, every nuance, every piece is filled with hope, faith, love and beauty.

The work begins with When You Said I Do. It is lively, yet tender and overflowing with joy. Unbroken is a perfect follow-up. It is slower and contemplative with a melody that catches in your soul and touches you. Everlasting Joy is almost ethereal at the beginning. It has a simple melody that floats above a walking bass. His development of the theme in this piece is wonderful!

Hope Remains is my favorite piece on the album (and thats saying a lot!). When I first heard this beautiful dance-like piece, I wept. The melody is absolutely gorgeous and literally caused music to rise up in my soul! The title track, Free to Fly has a lilting melody that soars. It is free and flowing and gives the listener a true feeling of freedom and contentment. Lighthouse has a light, catchy melody with syncopated rhythms and a soothing, rocking motion.

Joyous Turmoil is the longest of the tracks. It develops and states the theme over and over again in new and interesting ways. It brings to my mind the thought of a journey with twists, turns and obstacles leading to a beautiful place of rest. Sweet Surrender is a truly sweet piece with a melody that is almost childish in its beautiful simplicity at the beginning. Once again, Fiscellas development of this theme is outstanding! When Someday Comes is dreamy and reflective. Emma Lee has a sweet, music-box feel and melody.

The beautiful Innocenza is an almost haunting waltz. So simple, yet so emotional and expressive. Saving Sophie is so tender and loving  even prayerful. Mothers Devotion is so rich with changing rhythms, but always returns to a statement of the simple, other worldly theme. Always and Forever is a love song in its most beautiful form. The melody literally pulls at the heart-strings and leaves one with a warm feeling.

When We Meet Again expresses such hope and faith that parting is but a brief sorrow. It is hymn-like with a simple, yet gorgeous, almost folksy melody. Hope Lights the Way is almost ambient with the ethereal melody in a minor key. It keeps returning to that theme, expressing hope for a brighter tomorrow and ends perfectly with a picardy third, hinting that hope truly does light the way. And just when you think things cant get any better, Fiscella ends his CD with an orchestrated reprise of Hope Remains. I thought I couldn't hear anything more beautiful than the solo piano version of this piece. But there it is  right at the end with gorgeous strings to emphasize the beauty of this piece.

In the liner notes, Thad says, I pray this CD will help bring comfort to you during difficult times in your own life and that you will truly sense a spirit of peace and freedom through this music. His prayer has definitely been answered for this listener! The peace, hope, joy and love expressed so beautifully in this album surely will bring comfort to any listener in any circumstance.

I am, unfortunately limited to 5 stars in my rating system. I would like to give this CD at least 10. But I will play by the rules and give it 5++ stars. I highly recommend this CD. Amazing job, Thad!! Please keep the beautiful music flowing!
624625
Excellent and concise I loved being immersed in love. Everything can be resolved by experiencing love. So profound.
 Thank you
2905155
A beautifully written and narrated tale of two men who escape from an oppressive religious compound and navigate the open world and their feelings for each other.

At times, this book brought me to tears, to anger, to disbelief and to joy. While not religious, this is a book about finding freedom to believe in yourself, in love, and in the true meaning of family and community. Contrasted with the oppressive nature of the secretive and controlling religious compound the MCs grew up on, their definitions of love, family, and community take a 360 degree turn.

A lovely book which is even lovelier listened to. I especially connected with Josh's character and his arc in this story, and the narrator did a magnificent job bring him to life.