Dear Friends,

Four of the best words in Western Literature are, "This Too Shall Pass" Think of all the things that have come and gone; The Great Plague, The Spanish Inquisition, Joe McCarthy, Shoulder Pads! THIS TOO SHALL PASS. We hope this email finds you well and happy as we turn another page on the calendar, and our tiny globe spins on and on. Happy New Year, and Thanks for keeping the Music alive.

Until next time, be well!


Valerie and John

So, what do we do while we wait
for this moment to pass?
What inspires us to keep going?
We've got a few things to share with you that we hope will lift your spirits.

One of the things that inspires us most are the children coming up in this uncertain world. Their courage and determination are remarkable. In honor of them and Martin Luther King Day, above is a trailer for a movie that's a must-see:

"Every year in Oakland, CA, hundreds of pre-K through 12th grade students compete in the Martin Luther King Oratorical Festival, performing a mix of published and original poetry and speeches. This documentary chronicles the months leading up to the 40th annual festival, as schools across the city send their top-placing students to compete. It is a portrait of passionate young people raising their voices about issues they care about – social justice, immigration and more – and of a community that celebrates them."

You can rent or purchase the movie HERE on Amazon.

Are you a Creative struggling to Keep Going?
One of our favorite authors and creatives, Austin Kleon, has a book for that!
Check out a preview of it below.

You can purchase copies on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, or iBooks
or find it online at your local library. (Download the Libby app,
connect your library card, and you can read it for free!)

Here's some more info about what's in the book from Austin himself:

"The world is crazy. Creative work is hard. How do you keep going?

In my previous books — the New York Times bestsellers Steal Like An Artist and Show Your Work! — I showed readers how to steal their way to a more creative life and then share their creativity to get discovered. In Keep Going, I show you 10 ways to stay creative, focused, and true to yourself:

1. Every day is Groundhog Day.
2. Build a bliss station.
3. Forget the noun, do the verb.
4. Make gifts.
5. The ordinary + extra attention = the extraordinary
6. Slay the art monsters.
7. You’re allowed to change your mind.
8. When in doubt, tidy up.
9. Demons hate fresh air.
10. Plant your garden.

Whether you’re burned out, starting out, starting over, or wildly successful,
Keep Going will help you stay on the path to more creative work."

Last but not least is a project David Byrnes (Talking Heads) started a few years ago to gather and spread the good news happening in the world through a website called Reasons To Be Cheerful. In the bleak landscape of 24/7 bad news, Reasons To Be Cheerful is a bright light.

Here's a bit about the project from the website About page:

Reasons to be Cheerful
is a non-profit editorial project
that is tonic for tumultuous times.

We tell stories that reveal that there are, in fact, a surprising number of reasons to feel cheerful.
Many of these reasons come in the form of smart, proven,
replicable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.
We’re here to tell you about some of them.
Through sharp reporting, our stories balance a sense of healthy optimism
with journalistic rigor and find cause for hope. We are part magazine,
part therapy session, part blueprint for a better world.

Reasons to be Cheerful was founded by artist and musician David Byrne, who believes in the power of approaching the world with curiosity—in art, in music, in collaboration, and in life. Under the banner of Byrne’s non-profit organization, Arbutus, Reasons to be Cheerful embodies this sensibility, applying it now to the future of our world. Through stories of hope, rooted in evidence, Reasons to be Cheerful aims to inspire us all to be curious about how the world can be better, and to ask ourselves how we can be part of that change.