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On this day – 29^th April – in 1536, the normally quite savvy Anne Boleyn made two fatal blunders. Perhaps her slip in poise was a sign of her rising unease and growing panic..?

When Anne saw her favourite musician, Mark Smeaton, gazing morosely out of the window of her presence chamber, she went to him and asked him what the matter was.  Mark replied that it was nothing (as you do) and Anne – probably quite irritated with his drippy, sulky behaviour – snapped that he should not speak to her so informally, as if they were equals. Mark ended up leaving without asking permission to leave – a serious lapse in courtly conduct – and one that immediately set tongues wagging. When it was reported to Cromwell, it was made to seem like some sort of lovers’ quarrel, with the Queen being cruel to her base, common paramour who in turn was tantruming around like a love-sick teenager.

Later that same day, Sir Henry Norris came to visit Anne and her ladies. Norris was a close friend of Henry VIII’s – one of his Gentlemen of the Bedchamber in fact – and he had long been a supporter of both Anne and religious reform; he was even wooing Anne’s cousin, Madge Shelton. For whatever reason, this long courtship had plateaued, and on this day, Anne was teasing Norris about his inaction. Norris responded that he was in no rush, that he would “tarry a time”. Anne – in all her usual humility! – grew angry, taking this to mean he was waiting for a better option to become available – and what better option to the Queen’s cousin than the Queen herself?

 “You look for dead men’s shoes!” she railed at Norris, “for if aught should come to the King but good, you would look to have me!” Norris visibly quailed at Anne’s words – for indeed, to even imagine the King’s death was an act of treason – and immediately denied it, crying out that “if he [should have any such thought] he would [/wish] his head were off!”

 After Anne’s infamous temper had cooled, she realised what an ‘own goal’ she had just scored, and called Norris back, begging him to go to her almoner – John Skip – and swear to Anne’s integrity, that she was a “good woman”, in case anyone who had overheard their heated interchange reported it to her enemies. As it happens, all those who had been present had thus far remained loyal and silent. It was John Skip himself who took the story to Anne’s chamberlain – Sir Edward Baynton – who in turn took the information to Cromwell. Anne had inadvertently delivered the perfect ammunition to the man who was plotting to take her down.

 Mark Smeaton and Henry Norris were among the five men executed for being Anne’s lovers. Bewilderingly, Mark Smeaton confessed to the adultery. When Anne heard Mark had gone to his death still maintaining he had had a relationship with his Queen, she lamented: ““Has he not then cleared me of the public infamy he has brought me to? Alas, I fear his soul suffers for it, and that he is now punished for his false accusations!” Some think that Mark was tortured into giving a false confession (as the only common man out of Anne’s supposed lovers, he was the only one who could be tortured) but eye-witnesses at his execution say he walked tall and without the look of bodily pain. It is more likely that Mark – facing a much more grisly death than his gentleman comrades – was given the mercy of a quick beheading in exchange for dragging Anne with him.

 Henry Norris, on the other hand, went to the block protesting Anne’s innocence. According to some, Henry even offered his old friend mercy if he would confess to the adultery, but Norris refused. On the scaffold he is reported to have: “loyally averred that in his conscience, he thought the Queen innocent of these things laid to her charge; but whether she was or not, he would not accuse her of any thing, and he would die a thousand times rather than ruin an innocent person.”

Check out the ‘Perseverance’ page for all the Anne tidbits I’ve mustered whilst writing my novella starring this controversial queen.

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Ah.  Love.  Like a wildfire.  Where does it all come from???  I ask as I watch a very suspicious spider crawl up & down my wall… Adorable how our latin translated one word into dashing away with the cake for a variety of characters.  Love is like cake.  Many different batters, icings, tiers, or bits filling cups.  How strange.  And I don’t quite mind the spider, I just hope she doesn’t crawl into bed with me.  She’s very sizeable and hopefully on her own mission.

I believe there may have been a documentary in the making when I was in the studio recording Safe & Sound, which Dan Beyer produced and where I first met Alisha Bauer, an incredible cellist who has played with me on several occasions.  But I can’t find the tapes…

Very excited to see it underscore Act 6 on CBS’s Young & The Restless today, thanks to Music Supervisor RC Cates!   Lyrics up at BandCamp, a site which also features another lovely release as first heard on Y&R: This Rendezvous.  Or find it here on CDBaby.

Keep watching for a a few new singles & random EPs this summer!!  I’ve been working with animators & mixers on some fun projects (otherwise known as “my art”).  And… also on another very cool little project recently which, I’ve been keeping secret.  *Spoiler alert: announcements very soon!*  Music takes quite the while to surface.  If you ever wondered why, think of it similar to love.  You’re inspired – but not by every song that dashes across your glance.  You’re intrigued, but not always on the first bite.  You’re amused, or entertained… for a minute.  But the ones that stick, the thought-provoking, powerful ones – those happen at a great expense, and not just the soul.  The sweat of digging up the earth for minerals to create wires, to transmit waves.  The push-through carving wood, or iron or winding up or grinding down.  Who blows the glass to house the fuses or fires up the soldering to unleash that sound?

Amore: Someone is seeking to connect to your soul.

1980

Alfred Hitchcock dies at 80 years old.

I still vividly remember watching Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) for the first time: in my year nine literature class. “Sure, it’s not actually a piece of literature, but it’s iconic in it’s own right,” my teacher said, as he tried to justify his decision to allow a classroom full of squeamish, fourteen year old girls to watch a horror film.

But wow, it was brilliant. Though for me, it wasn’t a horror film in the traditional sense: it was a suspense film. We all could see a shadow lurking behind Marion Crane’s (Janet Leigh) shower curtain. We all were screaming at her to notice, instead of naively (and oh so happily) washing her hair.

“What’s that blur behind her?” I asked naively.

“It’s a person,” screamed the girl next to me.

“O-M-G! Turn around!” One girl screeched.

“OMG OMG OMG,” another said, barely stringing a sentence together.

“Just f***** turn around!!!!!!!”

But Marion doesn’t. The ‘shower scene’ was shot from December 17 to December 23, 1959, and features 77 different camera angles. The scene runs 3 minutes and includes 50 cuts, and quite possibly has scarred me even to this day: I can’t shut my eyes for too long whilst showering, I’m always vigilant.

And that scene, and Hitchcock’s decision to kill off his leading lady in the first twenty minutes of the film, is what makes him iconic. He took risks. Risks that other great film makers were too scared to take. He was willing to take a shot, even to fail, in order to do something different. And that’s why his legacy lives on now.

I truly think sometimes Australian society lacks guts and initiative. Especially my generation. Most are too scared to stand out, too scared to do anything different. Whether that because of fear of judgement, fear of failure or even just a lack of self confidence to do so.

Me, well I’m so glad I had such an amazing literature teacher. He introduced me to the icons, Wilde, Blake, Keats, Bronte and even Hitchcock. These people didn’t conform, they each took huge risks in their work, and that’s why they are known still to this day.

If anything, literature taught me the key to success was to be different, to stand out, and sometimes to even stir up a bit of controversy. Hitchcock was definitely notorious for that.  Here are just a few of his notable quotes.

Alfred Hitchcock 1889-1980

“Always make the audience suffer as long as possible” 

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Sources are listed at the end of the article. Opinions stated here do not necessarily reflect our own. Sun Motors & Go Carts, The UPS Store, and Time Out Magazine are three of the Journal’s official sponsors.

1. Mental health is just as important as physical health. Still there is a stigma attached to mental health concerns. Stereotypes are still around to give a false picture of the truth. What is the truth? That mental and physical health is the same thing. It is like a broken leg as compared to depression. Another sobering truth is that most everyone has had days they were down, a little blue, having an off day. That, my friends, is depression.

2. Depression is very treatable with a wide array of choices. Therein is the problem finding what works. There are tons of medications. They are used solely or together to alleviate the symptoms. Having a good counselor is important as well.

3. If you have depression for more than two weeks, seek help immediately. There is no need to torture yourself with so many choices to help tamp down depression. Don’t wait two years before determining what is wrong with you. With depression, you can’t take any pleasure in anything. This can happen even if you are normally a positive, upbeat person. The right meds and a terrific counselor can help.

4. Unfortunately, depression changes and can go from okay to severe all in one week sometimes. Life events, self-imposed impossible goals, and many times no reason at all can affect depression. The oft quoted that there is no reason to be depressed is depressing all by itself. Family and friends just need to be positive and encouraging. More than likely depression runs in the family.

5. Many people suffer depression starting at puberty. You could be the popular kid with good grades and volunteering for everything. Today parents and teachers are trained to see the symptoms and get appropriate help. It is also possible for preteens to be depressed.

6. Most people gradated high school, made a career, and started a family. They did not have time to be depressed for the next thirty some years. After retirement, people are supposed to be happy, energetic, and optimistic. Most times early in a retirement people are relatively happy. Even if you were getting to do what you wanted, had no money worries, family was okay, and you had no worries, you could still be depressed. Of course, that was an off and on proposition.

7. A social worker usually notices your deepening depression that had been gathering steam for two years or more. You get help. Things look up. Then you turned 60, lost relatives, and the more successful you were the worst the depression got. Counseling, right meds didn’t help anymore. There are other treatments for someone who has deepening severe depression with nothing else working.

8. Remember One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Shock therapy got a bad rap with its portrayal of brutal use on a patient by a vengeful nurse. Today you have Electroconvulsive Therapy, which is the modern version but with many changes from yesteryear. The patient is prepped with anesthesia and muscle relaxers. The treatment is a short, low voltage pulse with unilateral placement. Unilateral placement means the electrodes are only on right side. Side effects are short-term memory loss that abates in a couple of hours. Of course, there is the standard list of death or brain damage for the 4 out of 100,000. Considering this procedure should be discussed with your doctor and family. Informed consent is very important.

9. Bobby Jackson of Grassy Key in a Keynoter letter to the editor talks about Marathon’s successful wastewater/stormwater project nearing completion. He believes that Marathon should have taken the Islamorada method of putting off the inevitable. The problem with that is Islamorada residents are paying much more per EDU than Marathon. Marathon decided to proceed with their projects to save residents’ money. Any extra will go to pay down Operational and Maintenance funds. That has a direct, positive effect on each resident’s bottom line. Marathon doing the projects first also helped secure CDBG money to help moderate and lower incomes hook up. Bobby, you should do your homework before jacking your jaw in a Keynoter letter to the editor. While city council has to be nice and polite, I on the other hand, do not.

The address for the Journal is Florida Keys Journal LLC, 5171 Overseas HWY #501833, Marathon, FL 33050-1833. Phone numbers 305-743-9648, 305-289-4180, and 305-289-4167.

Disclaimers for http://www.FloridaKeysJournal.com: Anyone may send in an article or letter to ensure equal time and fairness in any regard.

As the Journal Publisher and Majority Owner, my opinion often takes a provocative tone. The Journal-Week-in-Review articles take a position that provokes discussion. Sometimes the opinion I write about does not necessarily reflect my own personal view.

When I mention a non-newspaper source or sources, then the likelihood of truth is good. It does not mean that the subject is true in all regards. Remember, it is my opinion regardless of anything else. Sources = truth; I = opinion.

Interviews are conducted like Larry-King-feel-good articles. Unless you see “quotes”, then everything is paraphrased to the best of my ability.

Most sources of any combination are as follows: Ocean Reef Press, Key West the Newspaper, Keynoter, Citizen, New-Barometer, Free Press, Coconut Telegraph, Miami Herald including Homestead / South Dade, South Dade News Leader, Cutler Bay News, Weekly Newspapers, Marathon & the Middle Florida Keys Magazine, Ed Krane’s Blast, http://www.Military.com, several online media, and/or Pinecrest Tribune.

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