leonardcohenforum.com

Thank you for your kind words, B4real. The video really highlights [once again] Leonard's humanity, reenforcing dignity and validation of his old friend. I'll never look at bottles in brown paper bags quite the same. The way Leonard zeroed in on them was graphic. As I watch the video, I just feel love. Pure love.

Now, you must come and teach us the dance. [Zorba the Greek rings in my head.] That can be your contribution . I'll bet you danced with the panache of the one in the middle. And you, too, eh, Paula ?

Joe ~ I love your thoroughness and attention to detail in your piece. It also bodes well for the Event .


~ Lizzy

hey, lizzy!!! thanks for the reminder of that hysterical arm wrestling contest denise and i had in that restaurant in morrison before the red rocks show. i had forgotten that entirely because so many wild and wonderful things took place that evening. i will never forget that evening as long as i live.

god, we are the luckiest people on the planet, we lovers of leonard.

joe, i will be happy to help in whatever way i can from way out here in california. i have lots of experience organizing things as i used to run a non-profit and we held (and continue to hold) many fundraisers, concerts, gatherings, etc.

just want to throw this out. there are many of us out here in san francisco and many of us who would be happy to organize an event, so perhaps we could have it here in 2016???

love to all.

Joe Way wrote: We saw Tom Waits long ago at a show at Union Theater. We're trying to get back to those great days.

All the best,

Joe

Joe
Now you have made Ian our eldest son so envious he has been trying to get to see Tom Waits practically all of his adult life but the odd concert he performs in the uk is sold out instantly .
Just googled Madison and it looks a fabulous place to hold the next event . Count Jean and myself in and if you can arrange a Tom Waits concert at the same time count Ian in also !
Kind Regards
Phil

Thanks Lizzy, for posting that link to Joe's report.

Joe, I loved your use of the timeline to set the stage. I didn't live in Canada then, but Trudeau was one of my early heroes, from afar. So was Leonard, although at the time, I never knew of the connection between the two. They are both still elegant heroes to me.

I enjoyed all of your report, but one sentence leapt out at me, with simplicity and sensitivity:
'Leonard moved us toward beauty.'
If I had to describe, in one sentence, what it is that 'holds' us to Leonard, your sentence articulates it perfectly.

I totally agree with Imaginary Friend...that quote is divine.
I was quite young during the Trudeau era but looked upon him as a 'hero' of a kind...and very suave and sexy in a way.
He was our John Kennedy...
Thanks Joe
and hope to make it to the Event if all goes well.
Mutti (Leslie)

Lizzy,
How exciting for you to have helped with the event in New York and yes it sounds like a lot of energy and the gift of organization is needed. I hope that you will attend the 2012 event also because it would be great to see you again. Perhaps another Leonard Cohen concert will happen first and we can have another afterglow gathering
donalagata

Hi I.F. and Joe ~ Yes... a phrase well chosen. In its present tense, it, too, may find some usage in the 2012 verbiage. Straight from the mouth of the organizer .

Yes, donalagata ~ I'll definitely be attending in 2012. The question is whether you, Bonnie, Denise, Imaginary Friend, mutti, and B4real will be coming to Cracow ! Afterglow gathering... such an apt use of this term. I SO hope to be able to go to another of Leonard's concerts.

Yes, mutti, I always thought Trudeau was extremely attractive, too. And I've always been totally in love with his name. It has the magic in French that Leonard's has in Jewish. A perfect comparison likening him to our John F. Kennedy, too. I didn't have the details, yet he did seem the hero of Canada.

It really was a sublime time in Morrison and Red Rocks, Bonnie. The spontaneous outbreak of your dueling arms was such a delight. And it only got better and better . Oh... remember the TACO Salad I got and the mountainous challenge of negotiating it ? It occurred to me, this morning, Bonnie, that if you were to organize the Event in 2016 for San Francisco, even allowing for whatever happens in 2014, it will likely be the first Event manned by a woman .

Okay. Time to get ready for work.


~ Lizzy

Geez... I hope this thread didn't come to a screeching halt because I noticed and noted that it'd be cool if the 2016 Event were coordinated by a woman .

Anyway, donalagata, with regard to involvement with the New York Event, it doesn't matter what the task itself may be, it's just exciting to be a part of the whole coming together. Hopefully, you and Diana [especially with your relative proximity] will find some way to be a part of 2014's [make that 2012's ~ obviously doing the math was too challenging at this morning's time of morning]. There are SO many ways to help out. I just remembered that in New York, I wrote and handed out name tags that identified us in that bar as being part of the Event. Of course, Maarten has raised that issue to a whole new level .

That's one thing that is so instructive in all of this; attending the Events helps in identifying areas that can be made even better. In Berlin, I LOVED how Henning arranged for helpers to be posted at busy corners. etc. along the way, to continue pointing us in the right direction, as we either walked to or caught a bus to a particular venue. It was so reassuring to see that name tag on someone. I remember a dear, young man [a last-minute joiner to the Event, who was embraced by all... he not only sang and played the guitar, but he had an unbelievably generous, giving, and lovable spirit... the type who's overwhelmingly welcome at any kind of gathering... I hope we'll see him in Cracow] standing beneath his umbrella, making sure there were no lost stragglers.

I personally found the street names in Berlin daunting and trying to read the [very helpful for those who could] huge maps permanently posted at bus stops, etc. because it seemed the names themselves collided with each other and trying to keep the names straight was impossible for me. Thanks to Diane and Colleen, I was able to find my way from one thing to the next. And I'm especially good with directions ! But that's digression.

Anyway, I'm guessing we'll have a generous amount of participation in Joe's coordination of the 2012 Event. He generates feelings of cooperation. You just want to help. [The mark of a good leader.]

Okay. Time to get ready and go to work, again .


~ Lizzy

Edited to correct my math error on the year of Madison's Event.

Joe, thanks for taking the lead on the 2012 LC Event in Madison. It sounds like it will be fabulous! I plan to attend and am offering to help in any way I can.

A Chicago bonus for me is always dropping into the Art Institute Of Chicago to gaze at one of the prizes of the art world, Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sunday_A ... ande_Jatte
Alas, the last time I visited Chicago on on Opera trip, the painting had been removed for cleaning.

Also, I thoroughly enjoyed your outstanding article that referenced Pierre Trudeau. I mentioned their warm connection in another thread about LC's art exhibition in Claremont, California.

My particular favorite was the one of himself reading poems to Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, who I feel was the greatest PM Canada ever had. The drawing included an excerpt from the “Book of Longing”. At a friend's rooftop gathering, Trudeau asked Leonard to read a poem and when he finished, to read another poem and another. As a transplanted Canadian now living in L.A., I found the drawing of Canada’s two greatest National treasures very moving.

Looking forward to seeing you and Anne again,
---Arlene

Hello All,

Madison is a lovely place and would make a wonderful location for the event. I spent a week or so there several years ago and it is a great town. That said and since Joe mentioned it up at the top I thought I would raise my voice for my adopted hometown...if Nashville is still of interest - both since Leonard lived her for a time and, well, it is "Music City", after all- I am sure we could work out locations and events in and around downtown that would work well. Joe is correct to say that many of the larger convention-type venues are away from downtown, but based on my experience at those places we wouldn't likely want to make use of them anyway, from both a cost and distance perspective. There are many good hotels and venues in downtown Nashville - including a convention center if needed- and others are a short drive away.

In any case, I defer to the wisdom of the group and would be happy to help however I can. Never having attended an event myself, I hope to attend the next North American event, wherever it is.

-Christian

Hi Christian ~

I've never been to Nashville and sure hope to go some day. Your suggestion is an excellent one, and I know it was being bantied [is that a word?] about some time ago and, apparently, more recently when Leonard's concert was there.

One of the major issues [alongside relevance to Leonard], yet it can become primary, despite the 'relevance' factor [never mind that we're running out of 'old time' Leonard connections to places ~ and at least now we're gaining a whole slew of new ones with his recent tours]... is having someone willing to commit to taking responsibility for organizing the Event, with all the major decisions and arrangements, right down to the minutiae; determining what smaller committees will be necessary and getting members for them, etc., all of which requires basic knowledge, know-how, time, energy, commitment, and possibly even some expenses [some having been picked up in the past by the organizers themselves]. A lot of Internet, email, and phone time, as well as time for the Organizing-Committee meetings; sometimes involving a couple trips to the locale [again, such a major advantage, when Joe has such in-depth knowledge of Madison and his profession involves the hospitality industry]. And, then, there's arranging [and paying] for entertainment by individuals/groups in the music industry [we have our own 'open mic' night for those of us who want to do our Cohen-related stuff]... and that can be a tall order, no matter where the Event is held.

Because of a variety of minor-to-major factors [some listed above], when someone volunteers to take it on, the rest of us breathe a huge sigh of relief and then get pretty excited [can even be heard and seen jumping up and down on occasion]. It seems in other Nashville-related discussions, there was great agreement on how fun it could be... and then came the issue of who was going to be able to take responsibility for really making it all happen.

Joe has expressed his willingness to let others jump in with other possibilities. Nashville is certainly one . What seems so far to be missing, though, is the person who's willing to say "This is where it ought to be held, I'll be the Organizer, and these are the reasons for both." [Bonnie made a good case for herself regarding San Francisco in 2012, even though she may not have actually had herself in mind for the Organizer position .] From my own perspective, it's a huge advantage that Joe has been a part of previous Events and knows what to anticipate. His known level of personal responsibility and reliability are big factors, too, in that at least 250 people will be arranging to drive or fly in from all over the world to attend. Once that final commitment to take the lead has been made and acted upon, backing out ceases to be an option. Just too much is riding on it.

That's why I wholeheartedly threw my support behind Joe when he offered his services for the undertaking. With the Cracow committee awaiting word for the announcement in their Event booklet of where the next one will be, my own position immediately became "Then, let's get moving on the final decision."

Your own willingness to help is especially appreciated.


~ Lizzy

yes, dearest lizzy, i am offering to organize the thing, having organized many such events in the past (granted, tibet-related, but large-scale nonetheless).

and attending the events this summer and in 2014, i will know the beast, how it is run, the cast of characters, what is expected, etc., etc.

so, consider this my formal offer for 2016, granted i am still extant on the planet.

xoxo

You'll be here, Bonnie. You're too good and tough a lady not to be . Not to mention your stepping right up to that plate . Count me in to help in some kind of way.

WoW. I'm glad to see my first instinct was right. I'd gone back and qualified my comment, after second thoughts hit... like "Maybe she was really just suggesting lending her heavy participation for the endeavour." Having met and spent time with you, and knowing how steeped you are in Leonard... and all things Leonard, not to mention your personal intelligence and charm, you've sure got my vote. Then, with two Events under your belt, it sure sounds like a deal to me. [One might say you know what to expect at a Leonard concert ... and when it comes to commitment !!!] Your experience in these large-scale-organizing matters is a HUGE factor, too... including your personal knowledge of San Francisco and the area... and who knows how many numerous connections.


~ Lizzy
xoxox

I am a Canadian who has travelled all over the USA and lived in several areas. Madison is one of my favorite places. I vote wholeheartedly for Madison. I am am able to help organize.












Fine print: I live in Madison!

YaaaY, martbook. What an excellent endorsement, not to mention your offer of help in organizing for Joe .

Having read the fine print, did you struggle between... "martbook? Madbook?"


~ Lizzy