Whattheheckisgoingon and Whotheheckarewe?

Ping and I have been at this for three years now. We've gone from Corporate America to Beitou, Taiwan. We've spent a lot of these three years trying to figure out what's up. This week was a rough one. We both floundered, pretty painfully. It's amazing how dark the world can seem when we lose our bearings. But here's the point:

We're still working on getting “what we do” to be closer to “who we are.”

It’s an experiment--a bet, maybe--that we can do something authentic, something that uses everything we have, that opens up all the possibilities, and that somehow serves the world in a valuable, sustainable way.

Have we got it? Not yet. Well, part of it, yes, sometimes. Some days, not at all. We have more questions than answers. Sometimes I wonder: who needs more pretty paintings, more songs, another 

New Music: "Dear John"

Check out the latest original music from Mark and Larry Benigno!
"Dear John"

http://youtu.be/lWust8JKmqw

Mark's Notes: I remember distinctly the night John Lennon was shot. At the time, I had some pretty self-righteous opinions about the ex-Beatle's life, and I actually wrote a song about it. I performed it for several years before I started to question my thinking. This is my open letter to John Lennon, some 35 years later, letting him know: "I think I get it now."

The Songwriting Process: Mark wrote a first draft of these lyrics and emailed them to Larry. Then both of them wrote music for it. The project sat for about a year until Mark wrote a new piece with elements from both originals.

The Stages of Your Miserables Career

As an interesting exercise this morning, I mapped out the characters in the musical Les Miserables as if they were stages in life. I think this is particularly pertinent to theater people, but it could apply to all of us. What do you think? (Right click on the graphic and open it in a new tab or window for a better view.)

"Nanya Seaside"

"Nanya Seaside" - Taiwan
- Ink and Ballpoint Pen - 4.25x5.6"/10.8x14cm
Some friends of our took us around to the northwestern tip of Taiwan where we stood out on the rocks on a blustery day. This was the sight below us as the sea continued to erode the stones.

"Back to Nature" - Ta Prom, Cambodia

"Back to Nature" - Ta Prom, Cambodia 
- Acrylic on Canvas - 28.5x39.5"/72.5x100cm
One of the most spectacular parts of exploring the temples in Angkor Wat is the way the jungle has reclaimed much of the area. These massive trees have taken root and often taken over large areas of the stone structures, slowly dismantling them in the process. Ping took this photo of one of the largest which was straddling the corner of a courtyard. You can see another giant in the background. I very much enjoyed painting this one. My graphite drawing on the canvas was very detailed, so the actual painting went relatively quickly. I did my best to stay loose, despite all the detail.

GARBAGE NIGHT UPDATE: March, 2014

Go to YouTube video

Since we made that audio/video a couple of years ago, Mark's gotten pretty good at garbage night. He can ask for the newlywed bag back in Chinese, and they will actually return it to him. He knows to wait until the garbage truck music is really obvious before going out to stand in the heat hoping the mosquitoes don't notice him.

He's also learned:

• The old ladies will beat you to the blue kitchen waste bin. Every time. Get over it.
• Line up across the street and toss the trash bag into the moving truck left handed. Otherwise, you get cut off by that super-fast kid from up the block.
• Give big paper/plastic/metal items to the corner store owner who recycles them for cash.
• The key to good kitchen waste disposal is the "Flick & Toss." Grab the bag by the bottom, up-end it over the blue bin, flick it, and toss the empty bag into the garbage truck. Wrist technique is critical.
• Timing is everything when dumping kitchen waste if you intend to escape without someone else's leftovers all over your arm/leg/foot/shoulder.
• Keep your elbows in; that way nobody gets hurt, including you.

For Mark, the best part of garbage night is when the driver of the recycle truck waves at him on the way by. That's what really makes him feel like "a regular."

New Song! "The Ruins of the Bayon"

Larry and Mark have created another piece of music together. To hear the piece with a slideshow of the place that inspired it, check it out on our YouTube channel.
Here are the lyrics:

"The Ruins of the Bayon"
Music by Larry Benigno - Lyrics by Mark Ivan Cole

The gates have fallen, broken stones,
A skeleton of broken bones.
Silent statues watch and wait
For long lost footsteps at the gate.
Kept within these crumbling walls,
The towers rise above it all,
And faces I once knew as mine
Remind me of the deep divine.

The sun has set.
The day has ended.
I can't forget
What I have mended.
Another day is gone
In the ruins of the Bayon.

Stone by stone, we built the dream,
Every doorway, every beam.
Step by step, we climbed the stairs,
So beautiful, so unaware.
Now alone, I walk these halls
Amidst the carvings on the walls.
These thoughts of you, they haunt me still,
Like shadows on the windowsill.

The sun has set.
So little mended.
I can't forget
What I have ended.
Another day is gone
In the ruins of the Bayon.

The jungle carries on
In the ruins of the Bayon.
I still await the dawn
In the ruins
Of the Bayon.

(c) 2014 - Larry Benigno and Mark Ivan Cole