Alicia Bay Laurel added an entry about learn Japanese:

I have visited Japan, once, in 1974, on a book tour for five of my illustrated books that were translated into Japanese. Everyone I met was hospitable and warm to me, and I wished desperately that I could converse with them!

My publisher arranged for an interpreter to travel with me. She was sweet, and I felt very fortunate, but, when I spoke, I looked at her instead of at the person to whom she was interpreting, and that was difficult for some of the people I met.

My first book, Living on the Earth, has been in print in Japanese continuously since 1974, and now I also have two music CDs released in Japan, and am about to have a third. I really would love to go back and do a performance tour. I know I will enjoy it a lot more if I can speak with the people I meet.

I’ve already spent time with a cassette course. It’s much tougher than learning a Latin language because there are no words that are even vaguely similar to ones I know in English and in Spanish. It’s strictly memorizing—lots and lots of it.

On the other hand, I don’t think I should let my lack of language skills to stop me from doing a performance tour. I’ll probably learn a lot of Japanese along the way!

Alicia Bay Laurel added an entry about promote peace, justice, sustainability, creativity and diversity:

I am doing two kinds of things to promote peace, justice, sustainability, creativity and diversity. Either I am taking actions directly in my own life, or I am influencing others through my example and through my media works.

In the first category are: using mediation techniques to communicate (I like Marshall Rosenberg’s system—Nonviolent Communication—which I learned from his book of the same name), voting with my pocketbook by buying from businesses that support my ideals and boycotting those that don’t, minimizing my use of petroleum, recycling, registering voters, campaigning for politicians who represent my ideals (I organized for Dennis Kucinich in 2004), writing to newspapers and to my representatives in government to express my political views, participating in street rallies, staying informed through online news services (truthout.org, grist.org, commondreams, alternet, etc.), and being as peaceful, just, sustainable, creative and open as I possibly can in my interactions with people, places and things.

In the second category, influencing others, is my writing—in my books, my blog, my song lyrics, and published articles. Other people give me courage by their willingness to stand up to the despots spoiling the planet today. I send blessings to those who speak truth to power. I am particularly encouraged by the women—Cindy Sheehan, Randi Rhodes, Barbara Boxer, Arundati Roy, Starhawk, Granny D (Doris Haddock), Molly Ivins, Arianna Huffington, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Barbara Lee, Cynthia McKinney, Medea Benjamin, Digna Ochoa, Ani DiFranco, Julia Butterfly Hill. There are many more. I will stand firm for the people who are listening to me, that they, too, will stand firm for the people who are listening to them.

Alicia Bay Laurel added an entry about Paint with acrylics:

What I love about painting with acrylics is that they are very forgiving. Whatever you don’t like, you can paint over—the paint is very opaque. However, you can thin acrylics with water and make them look like watercolors, too, and get those kinds of effects. Acrylics dry permanently on cloth, so they can be used as fabric paint. The colors are brilliant, the paints are cheap, and you don’t need super fancy brushes or thinners. And the whole mess cleans up with water!

Alicia Bay Laurel completed this goal (worth it!)

Alicia Bay Laurel added an entry about become adept at blogging and podcasting:

I think I’m starting to get the blogging thing. It’s like writing a newspaper column. I get to celebrate the people, places and things that matter to me. Check out my blog at http://www.aliciabaylaurel.com.

Alicia Bay Laurel added an entry about buy or build a hippie house somewhere warm and green where I can see the ocean:

This house is open to the surrounding land; airy rooms that open onto porches, lots of light from skylights and translucent overhanging roof areas. It is full of empty space inwhich to dance, stretch, play, spread out projects, practice music. The sounds I hear are wild birds, crickets, wind in the tree branches, moving water. I rarely, if ever, hear motors, electronics, dogs, roosters, or angry people. I can see the ocean and receive its breezes, so I am not troubled by biting insects. My neighbors are my friends, and we gather often to share meals, music and stories.

The house uses water, electricity, solar heat, solar power, and other resources in an efficient and sustainable way. It is built of renewable materials that require a minimum of maintainance. Recycled materials add soul and playfulness to the elegant and simple design of the building. Off-grid and on-grid options are available for use according to advantage on any given day. The land has a reliable cool clear well, and roofwater is collected for watering the garden. The toilets do not use water, and, instead, produce sterile humus for the fruit trees and ornamentals. There’s a solar oven and a solar produce drier in the garden.

There is a bedroom for me with a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a shower/tub, a guestroom with a closet and a bathroom, an office with extensive storage for books, files, and supplies, a spacious art studio with many tables, shelves and bulletin boards, plus storage for art supplies, completed works, and shipping supplies, an open and informal kitchen/dining/living room area that lends itself to gatherings of friends, a music area, a covered parking area, a gardening workroom, a laundry room, fix-it work area with tools for house upkeep and wouldn’t it be cool to make my own bio-diesel!

Surrounding the house are permaculture style gardens, with the edible plants that need the most oversight closest to the doors of the house, and the fruit trees needing least oversight farthest away. The garden is a jumble of plants that build the soil, plants that feed birds and insects, plants give shade and biomass to the garden, and plants that feed people. I plan to chose plants that multi-task wherever possible! The garden, like the house, is low maintainance, high yield.

I imagine the house design to have curving, organic elements to it, and that I will add mosaic designs to the outside areas.  I've seen dozens of examples of my dream house in Lloyd Kahn's book Home Work.

The neighborhood features miles of scenic walking trails, lovely places to swim and snorkel, and a sweet little town or two with lovingly restored old buildings, enormous old trees, a well-stocked and reasonably priced natural foods store, several venues inwhich to gather with friends for natural food and live entertainment, a restored movie theatre with an arts/left taste in films, a friendly bank and post office, and a weekly farmers’ market. Hippie heaven!

I feel happily at home just thinking about it; I am already there.

Alicia Bay Laurel added an entry about make another CD of original songs:

I’m currently working on my third self-produced CD of original songs, and my first truly ensemble recording.

My first recording, Music From Living on the Earth, was solo vocal and guitar, all original songs, all of the folk persuasion, though some had bluesy/jazzy aspects, and one was an Indian raga. I recorded it just before doing a national tour in 2000 to promote the 30th anniversary edition of my book Living on the Earth. The songs express the same world view as the writing and illustrations in the book; they were composed around the same time I wrote it. Having learned open-tuned guitar in my teens directly from John Fahey, who was a family member, I finger-picked in a variety of tunings on the recording. I made all the artwork, liner notes and graphic design myself—printed brown on tan with soy inks on recycled paper. The CD was released in Japan in September 2005 by EM Records.

My second CD, Living in Hawaii Style, (2001) expanded my musical scope with contributions from two master Hawaiian musicians, chanter/spiritualist Lei’ohu Ryder, and jazz guitarist/vocalist Sam Ahia. I wrote half of the songs and either licensed or selected public domain songs for the rest. I sang and I played Hawaiian style open-tuned guitar (pidgeon term: slack key), ukulele, and standard-tuned guitar, and covered turn-of-the-century guitar solos, Hawaiian swing tunes from the 30’s, and Hawaiian environmental laments from more recent times. Again, I created the art, liner notes and graphic design, this time in bright island colors. This CD was also released in Japan in September 2005 by EM Records.

This third CD, What Living’s All About, contains ten original blues and jazz songs plus two jazz standards. For this recording I hired a jazz quartet (Rick Olson, piano, Chris Connor, upright bass, Kendall Kay, drums, Doug Webb, saxophones and clarinet) for four songs; gospel pianist Rev. Harold Pittman and gospel singers Jessie Williams, Irene Calloway and Vetia Richardson, plus Kevin O’Neal on electric bass and David Anderson on drums for three songs; avant-garde jazz guitarist Nels Cline to play lead to my rhythm guitar, with upright bassist John B. Williams and drummer Enzo Tedesco on four songs; John B. and Enzo (on percussion only) improvise with me on one song, plus actor Jody Ashworth reading on two of the songs. I sing, read and play rhythm guitar. Scott Fraser is doing most of the recording, mixing and mastering; Ron Grant is co-producing, and Rick Asher Keefer, who recorded and co-produced my first two CDs, recorded the basic sketches of the songs with me. I am working on the art, design and liner notes right now, and they will be in dark cool colors with a wet, shimmering nighttime look. EM Records will release it in Japan at the same time I release it in the USA. The projected release date is in April 2006.

This CD is a quantum leap from the first two projects, and I could never have started it if I had not done the first two. You can hear them both at www.cdbaby.com/cd/ablaurel/ and www.cdbaby.com/cd/ablaurel2/.

Alicia Bay Laurel adopted this goal

Alicia Bay Laurel adopted this goal

Alicia Bay Laurel adopted this goal