Composing cool tunes for warm people
by Nicole Skeltys Hot tubs and city parks After only three days back in Pittsburgh, I found myself sitting in an frothy outdoor hot-tub on Mt Washington, framed by stunning views of the city. Bedecked with lurid plastic leis, with a handsome young gentleman by my side, I quaffed a[…]
Read More »by Nicole Skeltys The Bliss Button A friend of mine who worked in the drug addiction field told me ages ago about a very simple series of medical research experiments where rats (rattus norvegicus strain) were given two buttons to push with two distinct outcomes: one button gave them food,[…]
Read More »by Nicole Skeltys Twists of fate Tanya and I have been back in Australia for just over a week now. And in that short space of time, I have got some news which made me realize that my life over the last 2 years has actually turned into a series[…]
Read More »by Nicole Skeltys There is a Zen saying: “Leap and the net will appear”. That was the spiritual justification T and I used to sell most of our worldly possessions in early 2008 and take off to the US with a tiny budget, almost no US contacts and (in my[…]
Read More »by Nicole Skeltys Truck and cow songs Here are some songs heard on local Montana radio, when T and I were staying at the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin in June last year: “America Moves By Truck” – (sung with semi-religious enthusiasm over an anthemic driving country rock arrangement): (chorus)[…]
Read More »by Nicole Skeltys On Friday night, Tanya was bouncing around in front of the bathroom mirror in her new slinky black stovepipes, rock and roll stud belt, black skivvy and red neckerchief. She was getting ready to go out and see a concert with Scott and was sparkling with happiness.[…]
Read More »by Nicole Skeltys Man About the HouseWhere I have settled in Pittsburgh, the freight trains wait until dusk then come out like great mechanical cows and commence their lowing which continues long into the evening, increasing their frequency in the early hours. I am a poor sleeper, waking often in[…]
Read More »by Nicole Skeltys Graeme and Eugenie: the ties that bind Last night I Skyped Canberra to try and speak to Eugenie, my adopted Mum. I have been more than usually anxious about Graeme, my adopted Dad, for over a week now. When I was in Philadelphia I received an email[…]
Read More »by Nicole Skeltys Pittsburgh: Je T’aime! As I write this, we have been living in Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh, for almost 3 weeks. Lawrenceville is an inner working class Pittsburgh suburb which is in transition to becoming a funkier neighborhood. You can tell its ‘up and coming’ because there are little designer[…]
Read More »by Nicole Skeltys A week and a half ago, we caught a bus from NYC Chinatown to Philadelphia. What happens is you buy your ticket from hawkers off East Broadway, then a person waving a flag yells something incomprehensible at you and you run after them down the street, looking[…]
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