tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293762012024-03-12T17:08:34.841-07:00World of StoriesWorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-59652978077704275012024-01-19T05:29:00.000-08:002024-01-19T05:29:08.455-08:00Memories Over the winter holidays, looking for something else at my in-laws, I came across my father-in-law’s Kodak Retina from the early 1950’s. As someone who went to college, studied photography, and made it their career for a long time, I had to see if it worked. I bought some film and ran it through the camera, and it does. It’s a 35mm, fully manual camera. By that I mean you have to pay WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-42395697209810382482023-12-06T04:55:00.000-08:002023-12-06T04:55:20.475-08:00The Big House <!--[if gte mso 9]>
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WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-74071217740248562662023-03-30T08:34:00.001-07:002023-03-30T08:34:14.055-07:00Getting Better All the Time - hopefully! These words taken from the Beatles’ song “Getting Better” resound with hope and I carry them with me often. They also inspire.I just returned, on Sunday, from Sharing the Fire, the North East Storytelling Conference hosted and run by North East Story Telling, or NEST. It’s been going on for years, starting in the late 1970’s I believe and still going strong. It’s moved about it, and the WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-22026521960259155312023-02-14T15:29:00.002-08:002023-02-14T15:30:42.479-08:00Traveling to Nebraska Ever since I heard the album Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen, I have wanted to go. I recently got the chance to visit. Hazard, however, was an hour north of where I was so was not able to get there this time! Last week I took off for Kearney, Nebraska for five days of storytelling at schools, their library and finally at the Country Club for the evening festival performance. I got back WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0Kearney, NE, USA40.699330300000007 -99.081678412.389096463821161 -134.2379284 69.009564136178852 -63.9254284tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-55367758897284970152022-06-23T10:12:00.007-07:002022-06-23T10:47:53.179-07:00The State of Mind This is a ten minute read<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-7516126533280551812022-04-01T12:26:00.000-07:002022-04-01T12:26:04.663-07:00Bak 2 Skule - It's Been a While I had no idea! I had no idea how much I had missed it (well, I really did, but...) I had no idea how much fun it would be to see young people get excited about stories after two years of not being in a school. I had no idea how out of shape I have become!This last week I had two school gigs. And it was brilliant. Both WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0New Hampshire, USA43.1938516 -71.572395314.883617763821157 -106.7286453 71.504085436178855 -36.4161453tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-59002236432721619712022-02-24T06:48:00.000-08:002022-02-24T06:48:17.871-08:00Moving! or having "an apartment"? As my website has morphed and changed over the years, and I have switched providers I have always used Blogger as my, well, blog! Then in 2020 things started to get a little odd, shall we say. Flying back from the UK in March of 2020 I was receiving emails canceling performances. I scrambled and changed the way I did business, and adapted, and looked for storytelling work. And it cameWorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-19055874110406222002020-04-30T06:34:00.000-07:002020-04-30T06:34:58.074-07:00Google Meets and Zoom Performance. It's a New World<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-71180597452925798902020-01-03T14:44:00.000-08:002020-01-03T14:44:45.838-08:00The Darkness of "Rinkrank", Grimm tale No. 196
I was recently reminded of a story I read a Long Time Ago. It never really appealed to me at the time, but on re-reading it, now, with 16 years of experience as a professional teller of tales, it has a very different sound to it.
The story of "Old Rinkrank" is tale No. 196 in the sixth edition of Grimm's Children's and Household Tales. It was collected by the brothers, found in Frisian Archiv WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-65922299114787480922019-09-09T10:30:00.001-07:002019-09-09T10:30:37.745-07:00Timpanogos Storytelling Fetival 2019
I have just returned from the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, out in Utah. What a festival! Set in Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point, Lehi, you would not want a better venue. Beautiful gardens, paths, waterfalls, falling water pools surround the huge tents which house some of the best storytellers sharing their craft. From tellers like myself sharing the traditional tales, to the brilliant WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-11368597202879885882019-04-29T09:16:00.002-07:002019-04-29T09:16:35.931-07:00Stone Soup Storytelling FestivalI have to say that my visit to Stone Soup Storytelling Festival needs a proper blog post with a few photos. There are more on my Facebook page!
It was quite the experience, not least for the reason that a number of the New Voices stayed together at an AirBnB. Although due to 'unforeseen' circumstances the sleeping accommodations were a little wonky, it worked out very well. So many deep WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-56249706705725943332019-03-20T11:30:00.000-07:002019-03-20T11:30:22.296-07:00Why Sound is ImportantI have met a number of people who are weary of microphones, PA systems, and the like. I get comments like - too many cables, not sure where they go, what does it all do! I get it. The first time I saw a sound board I was a little "awestruck!" Meeting so many storytellers who are not comfortable with sound systems I decided to offer a workshop and from that grew a small booklet - a basic 'how-to' WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-47324203915736665892019-01-07T18:43:00.002-08:002019-01-07T18:45:26.849-08:00Old Books and researchI have always loved old books. When I was a kid I loved the design of paperbacks my parent read, especially the Pan and Penguin titles. There was a style I loved. Although those paperbacks had cool covers, there was something about reading and holding a hardcover book. There seemed way more permanence with these books. Visiting places like Hay-On-Wye, a city of books I have seen grow over the WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-397241763855511662018-12-12T17:37:00.000-08:002018-12-12T17:37:20.310-08:00New Year, New Start - getting there
Ho ho ho
Many things have happened this year and a few challenges and changes have come and gone.
Dwali, Halloween, Hanukkah, have passed by and Christmas and Kwanzaa are fast approaching. I have moved a lot of my website, blogging and email services around after having issues and find myself dancing between the old and the new as I try out these newer services. I have performed at the WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-66283497638522772612018-10-09T07:23:00.002-07:002018-10-09T07:23:57.122-07:00National Storytelling Festival, 2018This was my first time to visit the National Storytelling Festival, and my first visit to Jonesborough, TN. Leading up to the event, I was nervous as I was going to perform as part of the Exchange Place. This is where six storytellers got a twelve minute slot to tell a tale in front of a lot of people. The tent (one of five at the festival) holds 1,200 bodies. It’s been a while since I have beenWorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-49618630089715028612018-07-12T13:43:00.001-07:002018-07-12T13:43:13.704-07:00Unintentional Magic
There is much talk about what we do in the work of ‘healing’ as storytellers. I think we can help people. But unless we are also trained therapists or psychologists, not simply storytellers, we need to be very careful in the realm of things like "stories for addiction" or "stories for veterans." If we are not trained or qualified, and are not a vet or addict (for example), really we WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-46733279155070918542018-06-18T08:24:00.000-07:002018-06-18T08:33:15.144-07:00Public Speaking in Seven Steps (well, maybe eight) – Seen from a storytellers perspective
Public speaking is just like storytelling. When I talk about
storytelling, I mean the traditional kind – telling the ancient stories, word
of mouth. Not filmmakers, not playwrights, not poets or novelists, not script
writers or directors, but oral storytellers. Storytellers, raconteurs, a maître
conte, cuentista, conteur or griot will all stand before an audience
and without a script, piece of WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-68303880817525579752018-06-07T07:37:00.001-07:002018-06-07T07:37:25.102-07:00Gilgamesh and Under the Oaken BoughI admit that I have been a little slack on blogging. In fact so slack on blogging I have not mentioned two very exciting things:
My CD The Epic of Gilgamesh which I released last year has been awarded a Gold Award by Parents' Choice this April. I am thrilled and overjoyed. A lot of work and research went into this audiobook/CD/album/recording and at this point in time it is the one I am most WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-14231455724642717552018-03-01T13:06:00.002-08:002018-03-01T13:06:52.676-08:00March - Read Across America monthI have read two somewhat heavy books and a fun one so far this year. I began the year with Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. I love the story, the writing, the book. I immediately followed this with The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley. What a book that is. Having lived in the USA for over twenty five years, and have put a son through the school system (college next year), andWorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-36302552728477346302017-12-28T11:23:00.001-08:002017-12-28T11:24:21.083-08:00The end of 2017 is nigh!
I hope your year has been full of splendor and joy, or at the very
least had a very liberal sprinkling, or generous coating of both!
Outside the wind is whipping over the recent snow fall. When we had the first snow fall, it was
like hunks of butter on warm bread to mostly sink into the ground, but
leaving coverings in places. The next big fall we had was like a
layer of thick white WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-4735582107813806282017-09-16T17:48:00.002-07:002017-09-16T17:48:55.452-07:00REPOST - Understanding History and what it means to be British!
I originally posted this a few years ago, but as an immigrant, I wanted to share, again, what I feel being a privileged white male European living in the USA.
From (slightly edited):
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Before the holidays took off I began a quest to find more Holiday
stories from cultures other than my own. I mulled over stories from
faiths other than Christian. I WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-56512886938142837632017-08-17T10:44:00.000-07:002017-08-20T11:36:15.213-07:00Stories Are Alive!
Telling stories around a fire - circa 2013
Last night I was telling stories at Camp Exclamation Point (CAMP!) where I go every year to share stories. The kids here face more challenges in their lives than most. For the last five years, I think it is, Odds Bodkin has joined me, and this year we had a special visit from Karen Pillsworth. Karen was standing in for Angela Klingler, who has been WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-19962120103564178672017-07-07T08:35:00.000-07:002017-07-08T16:04:10.819-07:00BeowulfWhat gives you joy? What brings you into the present? For me, storytelling does this in bucket loads. You have to present to listen to stories otherwise you lose the thread of what's going on, you cannot remember the story. Some stories are hard to listen to, but often I listen to a bunch of stories together, or I listen to single stories that are not hard to listen to.
Beowulf is one WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-5007802121538526832017-07-06T07:37:00.000-07:002017-08-25T09:58:13.905-07:004th JulyThe day was planned to be uneventful. Start with a walk, chill out with my son, maybe take in some fireworks, or watch a very American movie or two!
The day began with the walk.
About a year ago I found this truck door on a trail with what I thought were flames painted on the side. You could barely make out the markings. Then sharing the trail with another dog walker, they mentioned the old Coke WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376201.post-64194348603780523252017-05-18T09:56:00.003-07:002017-05-18T09:56:23.573-07:00Why should I read or tell old folk stories and fairy tales to children?<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<![endif]-->Reading to children is very important and there is that
attribution to Einstein, about the importance of fairy tales. Research has
informed me that Rita McDonald wrote an article: “Children’s Reading in the
Space Age,” in Montana
Libraries, in July 1958.
In the current New Mexico Library Bulletin,
Elizabeth Margulis tells a story of a woman who was a WorldofStorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03010484326191796221noreply@blogger.com0