(no subject)
I'm about 30 pages into Stephen Nachmanovitch's Free Play, and I'm kicking myself for not reading it the moment I received it.
"Every moment is precious, precisely because it is ephemeral and cannot be duplicated, retrieved, or captured. We think of precious things as those to be hoarded or preserved. In the performing arts we want to record the beautiful, unexpected performance, so we schedule a rematch for the camera. Indeed, many great performances have been recorded, and we are glad to have them. But I think the greatest performances always elude the camera, the tape recorder, the pen. They happen in the middle of the night when the musician plays for one special friend under the moonlight, they happen in the dress rehearsal just before the play opens. The fact that improvisation vanishes makes us appreciate that every moment of life is unique-a kiss, a sunset, a dance, a joke. None will ever recur in quite the same way. Each happens only once in the history of the universe."
"Every moment is precious, precisely because it is ephemeral and cannot be duplicated, retrieved, or captured. We think of precious things as those to be hoarded or preserved. In the performing arts we want to record the beautiful, unexpected performance, so we schedule a rematch for the camera. Indeed, many great performances have been recorded, and we are glad to have them. But I think the greatest performances always elude the camera, the tape recorder, the pen. They happen in the middle of the night when the musician plays for one special friend under the moonlight, they happen in the dress rehearsal just before the play opens. The fact that improvisation vanishes makes us appreciate that every moment of life is unique-a kiss, a sunset, a dance, a joke. None will ever recur in quite the same way. Each happens only once in the history of the universe."