Have Faith and Creativity Comes Alive

Alison Faith Levy mixes spirituality with youthful exuberance on her latest collection of children's songs, YOU ARE MAGIC. Rather than an ecological theme related to climate change or recycling, Levy chooses to focus on our relationships to the fanciful and mystical parts of our own imaginations. Specifically, how to make the connection of how individual creativity is cultivated by outside stimulus, whether it's by nurture (family, friends, and school) or nature. 

YOU ARE MAGIC could be referred to as a prepubescent "coming of age" concept album. "Everything's alive under the canopy," Levy declares on "Canopy," using the metaphor of a physical covering than encompasses people, animals, and our surroundings. With songs like "Now Is the Moment" and "Turn Around," Levy builds confidence and anticipation for children whose talents have yet to reveal themselves. Similarly, "The Gift" addresses how originality comes to all of us, and not always when we expect it:

You can wait all your life for the gift to appear

But it doesn't work quite that way

You can look everywhere for the gift there and here

But the gift is well hidden away

Levy first gained notice in the children's music field as part of the late, lamented Sippy Cups, a troupe that presented multimedia experiences including acrobats, jugglers, and audience participation. She then recorded two original CDs before taking an extended (six-year) hiatus to teach music in Jewish settings for several years and pursue her Master's in Jewish Education at Hebrew College in Boston.

If you've ever wondered where kids get their ideas (such as ones submitted to the Story Pirates), you're on the same page as Levy. YOU ARE MAGIC assures children that everyone has their own talents. She deftly sings how, in time, those talents will become evident. That's the magic within us.

YOU ARE MAGIC is available from Alison Faith Levy's website, Bandcamp, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Here is the video for the song, "You Are Magic":

At War With Nature (new podcast)

Maybe nature just simply doesn't like me.

I'm not just talking about the feral cat colony that has taken residence in our neighborhood, causing me to partner with the ASPCA in a trap/neuter/release program IN MY BACKYARD.

It's also the wind conspiring to bring down whole tree limbs onto my property.

It's about squirrels attacking birds nests, causing a parade of pre-birth baby birds to plummet in my grass and onto my deck.

It's about common courtesy from the animal kingdom, which has been sorely lacking since we bought the house.

I also address the recent human/cannibal attacks that have occurred, and how animalistic behavior is perhaps on the rise around us.

And yes, a brief cat update.

Finally, a Cohen/Aubrey bit entitled "The Fred Zone," a bizarre movie trailer that parodizes the Steven King adaptation of "The Dead Zone." Except these visions are all about people named...Fred.

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We’re Not Fighting! (New podcast episode)

When I told my wife that the theme of this episode was "not" fighting with my spouse, she sighed and said, "One of these days I have to start LISTENING to your podcast."

The secret to any lengthy relationship is the ability to see a situation from the other side. Whether it's your child, your pet, one of your parents or a friend, or especially your spouse. "What do you mean I should have thought about that specific aspect that I forgot? You may have a point there!"

Here are a few recent stories about "non-fights" that we've had.

And no cats!

The episode winds down with the return of Cohen/Aubrey comedy bits. This time, "Club Calendar," a parody of the 1980s "In-Cue Club Calendar," which let people know what was going on in the area club scene. We never went to these places, loathed this recurring radio bit, and could not wait to put our own spin on it.

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