Doug Skinner: An Archive on Your Gizmo

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Entries from April 2012

The Ullage Group

April 30th, 2012 · 3 Comments

The Ullage Group deserves a mention on this site. Anthony Matt and I had contemplated forming a Fortean Society, along the lines of John Keel’s old group, and like those currently meeting in pubs in Dublin and Edinburgh. We finally opted for a semi-fortean group, and chose as our emblem “ullage,” a fine old word […]

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Tags: *Stage · *Words · U

UnConvention 2006

April 29th, 2012 · 1 Comment

For the 2006 UnConvention, the annual convention organized by the Fortean Times in London, I gave a talk on “Evolution and Pop Culture,” and presented a “Cabinet of Musical Curiosities.”  Here’s the line-up; I was in fine company..

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Tags: *Stage · *Words · U

Dance #1

April 27th, 2012 · Comments Off on Dance #1

“Dance #1” is a brief 8mm film I made for a performance in San Francisco, back in 1976.  It was made up of footage from home movies and from old silent movies.  I did a few films like this, but this was the only one to be screened. Here’s what you saw: 1. water pouring […]

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Tags: *Other · D

Flywheel

April 26th, 2012 · 1 Comment

In 1976, I joined Michele Larsson for a performance by her nascent company Flywheel.  I had forgotten about it until I turned up this program.

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Tags: *Music · *Stage · F

Twelve

April 25th, 2012 · Comments Off on Twelve

One of my infrequent forays into serialism.  For another, look here.

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Tags: *Music · T

John Keel and the Mothman

April 24th, 2012 · 1 Comment

In 2002, I gave a talk about John Keel and the Mothman Prophecies (with, I add, his blessing) at the Fortean Times UnConvention and at the FortFest held by the International Fortean Organization.  The idea was to drum up interest in the movie — and, more particularly, the book.  Dave Singer has posted the INFO […]

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Tags: *Stage · *Words · J

The Moron

April 16th, 2012 · Comments Off on The Moron

A melancholy round, based on a traditional quatrain.

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Tags: *Music · M

The Dee Sermon

April 16th, 2012 · Comments Off on The Dee Sermon

For the 1996 FortFest, the annual gathering of the International Fortean Organization, I delivered a talk on John Dee, that intriguing Elizabethan polymath.  I had already composed and performed a song cycle based on Dee’s dream diary; so when Phyllis Benjamin, the head of INFO, suggested a Dee talk, I took his dreams as a […]

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Tags: *Words · D

Cinderella’s Glass Eye

April 12th, 2012 · Comments Off on Cinderella’s Glass Eye

“Cinderella’s Glass Eye” is a bit of fairy tale music, scored for tuba and piano.  There is a story to go with it; here it is.  (Some readers have complained that the images are too small; let me remind them, gently, that you can enlarge a thumbnail by clicking on it.) And here’s the brooding […]

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Tags: *Music · *Words · C

The Speakeasy Series

April 11th, 2012 · Comments Off on The Speakeasy Series

David Gold and I performed in “The Speakeasy Series,” produced by Studio B in Maplewood, NJ, March 24, 2012. Our set: Make a Wish Never Shtup a Nutjob Fa La La La La The Gypsy (by Billy Reid) Don’t Talk To Me Good Night

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Tags: *Music · *Stage · S