My Clown History

Hey Hey Hanksteristas!

It's been a while.

While I've been away, traveling the backwoods of NY Penn Station and New Jersey Transit, I've recently begun to mull over my clown history.

I recently discovered that Patch Adams (whom I know from Performing the World) -- Patch and I were on the same campus in 1970-1971 (my first year, his last year) in Richmond VA. We may have crossed the street together in The Fan, grabbed a sub at The Village, who knows? Turns out that Patch and I have traveled a common path -- a humanist path. I highly recommend you visit him.

My friend Marian reminded me today of my very first clown love -- Emmett Kelly. Tattered and torn, poor and forlorn, our sad-sack, our silent but prescient conscientious objector.

Let's respect our clowns!

NH

Hankster Livestream from Performing the World on Bambuser Today

DOUBLE UPDATE: See IndieCandidate on Facebook for the vid... https://www.facebook.com/indiecandidate

Great work everyone!



UPDATE: Trouble in Bambuser-land today! Totally my fault as the producer... live and learn, or at least live on...!

You can listen to the last 20 minutes today of The Hankster session. And keep watching for more Bambuser livestream cam this weekend!!!

See Hankster livestream on Bambuser -- Check for Independent Candidate at 12:15PM and then Developing Democracy at 2:45PM. See you there!

Performing the World 2012: In a World That Can't Be Saved...

Every two years I participate in a magical event held in New York City called Performing the World. This will be my 3rd year presenting as a grassroots independent political blogger based in New York City aligned with IndependentVoting.org -- and with a eye to the development of democracy internationally.

This year the conference is titled Performing the World 2012: Can Performance Change Save The World?  The conference schedule, including bios of all the presenters is now up on the website (www.performingtheworld.org) for your viewing pleasure!

My session is titled Developing Democracy Roundtable 2012

From the Arab Spring to the U.S. independent political movement, our world is in a state of motion. Attendees will join The Hankster in a discussion of the state of democracy internationally and what is needed to develop a participatory political culture. The first 20 participants will receive a copy of Developing Democracy, a documentary created from interviews with Performing the World 2010 attendees.

This year there are a number of democracy-focused sessions:

Can Kids Run a Town?
Dr. Porfirio Grazioli, Nadio La Gamba, Carrie Sackett
Young people learn democracy by performing democracy. Founded in the years after World
War II for Italy’s many orphaned children, today Boys’ & Girls’ Town of Italy is home
to young refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.



Performance, Dialogue and Building Democratic Solidarity between Zimbabwe, Swaziland and South African Youth Activists
Betsi Pendry
Southern Africa has been torn apart by political conflict, violence and for many, by
the loss of its revolutionary history and potential. There is increasing conflict between
political youth groups in Swaziland, Zimbabwe and South Africa as Zimbabwe and
Swaziland slide into political chaos and South African Youth Congress linked to the ANC supports the "hands off" position of the ANC. The session will explore the activity of the Living Together Project, hoping to develop solidarity through developing the creative and performace skills of a group of political activists in the region.

Creating Democratic Space and Envisioning Peace: Theatre Confronting Violence and Fostering
Community Development in Zimbabwe
Daniel Maposa
This session gives a third degree examination on the use of applied theatre in nurturing social cohesion in the aftermath of politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe in 2008.

Performing the World!

Note: The Hankster has a session on Democracy. B there or B square>

Como Tu, Like you, I love life, poetry and PTW

These are a few of my favorite things: Performing the World (Yes, I am reprising my Democracy session - stay tuned!!), Roque Dalton (one of my favorite poets -- h/t to Jan Wootten for this -- Roque is the progeny of a long line of American outlaws -- just doesn't get better than that for The Hankster) and estudio Espanol...!

 

I LIKE Performing the World.

And I like Roque Dalton.

Who do you LIKE? (Share at Performing the World.)

Like You

By Roque Dalton

Like you I
love love, life, the sweet smell
of things, the sky-
blue landscape of January days.

And my blood boils up
and I laugh through eyes
that have known the buds of tears.
I believe the world is beautiful
and that poetry, like bread, is for everyone.

And that my veins don’t end in me
but in the unanimous blood
of those who struggle for life,
love,
little things,
landscape and bread,
the poetry of everyone.

Como Tú 

Por Roque Dalton

Yo como tú
amo el amor,
la vida,
el dulce encanto de las cosas
el paisaje celeste de los días de enero.

También mi sangre bulle
y río por los ojos
que han conocido el brote de las lágrimas.
Creo que el mundo es bello,
que la poesía es como el pan,
de todos.

Y que mis venas no terminan en mí,
sino en la sangre unánime
de los que luchan por la vida,
el amor,
las cosas,
el paisaje y el pan,
la poesía de todos.

h/t to Jan Wootten at http://www.eastsideinstitute.org/

Performing the World in NYC: Be Back Soon!

Lenora Fulani's Harlem Tour

Performing the World in NYC: What does democracy mean to you?

Independent political blogger Nancy Hanks of The Hankster and NYC Independence Party chief organizer Cathy Stewart will host a New York City breakfast of coffee, bagels and political conversation – and a preview of raw video footage of Performing the World attendees answering the question:

What does democracy mean to you?

...in your life, in your city, your country, in the world?

Executive Conference Room

Sunday morning

9 am

Blogging and Slogging: Performing Grassroots Democracy

 in America and Around the World

Performers of the World, Unite!

If you are attending the conference, please join us!

Photo of opening night by Christopher Street

WHAT IS PERFORMING THE WORLD?

September 30th through October 3rd, 350 artists, activists, young people, educators, scholars, practitioners and business people from 31 countries, all who use performance in their work as a new way of relating to, transforming and understanding the world, will gather at the All Stars Project headquarters at 543 West 42nd Street for the Performing the World Conference; Can Performance Change the World?  The All Stars Project and the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy are co-sponsors of the conference. 

One hundred presentations over the three-day conference will showcase work being done with performance in the fields of health, wellness, education, mental health and theatre.    

Plenary session panelists include: Patch Adams, Founder and Director, Gesundhiet Institute; Andrew Burton, Founder and Artistic Director, Street Spirits, British Columbia; Lois Holzman, Co-Founder and Director, East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy; Woodie King, Jr., Founder and Producing Director, New Federal Theatre; Fernanda Liberali, Catholic University of Sao Paulo and SIAC - Simposio Acao Cidad; and Judith Malina, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, The Living Theatre and moderater Dan Friedman, artistic director of the Castillo Theatre.  A second plenary session on "The Performance of Blackness" will be facilitated by Dr. Lenora Fulani, co-founder, All Stars Project. 

Workshop leaders include Huizhu Sun, President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy; Eva Brenner, artistic director of Projekt Theater Studio in Vienna, Austria; Dan Baron Cohen, an advisor to the Secretary of Cultural Citzenship in the Brazilian Ministry of Culture; Miguel Cortez, director of the Fred Newman Social Therapy Center in Juarez, Mexico; Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John's Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles, CA; and Shahid Nadeen, Pakistan's leading playwright and director and founder and playwright in residence for Ajoka Theatre.

Letters of welcome for Performing the World have been received from New York Governor David Patterson; Osmar V. Chohfi, Consul General of Brazil in New York; Daniel Sullivan, Consul General of Canada; Philippe Lalliot, Consul General of France; Felix Augustin, Consul General of the Republic of Haiti; and Asaf Shariv, Consul General of Israel. 


Read more at Broadway World.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 9/30/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• The Sweep: Vikings, voters and the charge of the Militant Middle (By Tom Foreman, CNN) Part of the problem cited by everyone I talked to is the primary voting system. Despite some highly publicized upsets, in most cases the parties still steer the early selection process toward faithful partisans. Such candidates are easier to raise money for, easier to differentiate from the opposition in ads, and more likely to do precisely what moderates do not want: Toe the party line. [piece quotes Kathleen Curry]
• National Review: The GOP Can Win The Northeast (by ANDREW STILES, NPR) Interestingly, more Northeast independents are breaking for Republicans than their counterparts in the Midwest or the West.
• More Voters Likely To Vote Independent This Year (Fox New York) Republicans are in a more rebellious mood than Democrats. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of GOP voters say they are more likely to vote for an independent candidate this November, compared to just 17% of Democrats. Perhaps not surprisingly, 47% of those not affiliated with either major party are more inclined to vote for an independent.
• GOP agenda lacks punch - Both parties too often feign commitment (The Tennessean)
• An Increasing Number of Voters are Registering as Independents (Alexandra Hill, WJHG Channel 7 -  Bay County FL) Bay County election officials say countywide they’ve also seen a recent rise in the “no party affiliation.” in 1988, voter registration logs show just under 5 percent were registered outside of the two party system. Now, the statistic is close to 18 percent , which factors out to mean almost one in five of Bay County voters. 

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Our Opinion: Rauschenberger case shows need for open primary (THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER - IL) Rauschenberger in 2009 had voted in a Democratic primary because his sister was on the ballot in a township race. This, the Democratic Party said, made Rauschenberger a Democrat and ineligible to run as a Republican.
• Al Hein calls on state to rule on ballot integrity (News Record, Bluff Country Newspaper Group - WI) "It's so unfortunate that the recent stories have diverted attention away from the issues - term limits, open primaries and the elimination of special interests' participation in elections," said Hein.

THE WHITE HOUSE

• Obama gives Stewart's rally a boost (By KENDRA MARR, Politico)
• Michael Bloomberg a 2012 no go (By ANDY BARR, Politico) “I think we should all pull behind Barack Obama,” Bloomberg said. “He’s our president.”

COLORADO

• Write in Kathleen Curry (LETTER Aspen Times) However, being affiliated with a party does not stop me from being an independent thinker and educating myself on issues and candidates prior to casting my vote each election. 

NEW YORK

• Post-Espada, Jockeying Begins For Latino In Legislative Leadership Position (Andrew J. Hawkins, The Capitol)
• Indys Back Schneiderman (Updated) (Joseph Spector, Politics on the Hudson)
• Indys Behind Schneiderman ’100 Percent’ (Liz Benjamin, YNN/Capital Tonight)
• Last Indy lap: DA's party probe to end by Elex Day (By CARL CAMPANILE, NY Post)

LAST WORD

• International Performance Conference Joins Artists from 31 Countries (Broadway World) NOTE: The Hankster is presenting a session at this year's Performing the World conference. Watch for video!!!

PTW 2008 Blogging the World Ken and Mary Gergen and banjo

Always keep on the critics' side...!

PTW 2008 Blogging the World Ken and Mary Gergen

PTW 2008 Blogging the World: What do you think?

Arno Lowey, Toronto

PTW 2008 Blogging the World Independent Youth/ Independence Party

PTW 2008 Blogging the World Independent Youth

PTW 2008 Blogging the World International Youth Performance Harlem

PTW 2008 Blogging the World International Youth Performance South Africa

PTW 2008 Blogging the World Carl Weber

Dear Hankster Friends, Bloggers, Sloggers and Others:

Inspired by my blogging/slogging friend and colleague Robert Koulish at Koulflo Memo (one of the panelists on "Blogging the World" that I hosted last Sunday morning at the performance conference/festival Performing the World), I've decided to sit down and write you a letter. It's 5:45 on Friday evening and I have just gotten home from work.

I use my "15 minutes" in the morning (and I loved Koulflo's description of sitting down with a cup of coffee... ahhhh! I love that time of the day -- and you have probably seen any number of photos from that hour taken out my window~) to alert you to news articles from the night before that are of interest to my community organizer pals around the country.

You know it as "TODAY'S NEW HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS".... [Micah "Personal Democracy" Sifry called me a "professional independent voter" on Twitter in response to my posts during Tuesday's debate hosted by Tom Brokow, which I took personally as rather snarky, but that's ok... at least he's listening....] [and BYAM (between you and me), Tom Brokow was my college (VCU) graduation speaker.... I graduated in Jan. bec. I quit in 1970 before i realized that i didn't have anything else to do ..... and went back and got a BFA and then spent the next 38 years creating a mainstream location for political radicals.]


So I'll try to incorporate what I'm "thinking" about in my daily posts... For instance, given that the old left/right paradigm is dead, where can you find a post-partisan dialogue? Are we really stuck with like-minded partisans in separatist coffee dens and sports bars? Can we have a strenuous debate among regular people who actually do disagree on everything without killing each other?

I did something new and interesting this week: I logged on to BlogTalkRadio with Jazz Shaw and others. Very enjoyable experience! Michael Sticking was a guest, along with Lady Logician... Tune in!

So all that to say, our time is up. Enjoy the sunset. See you next week! - NH

PTW 2008 Blogging the World International Panel

PTW 2008 Blogging the World International Panel