anyone else gulity?

I don't follow soaps. but I just watchd watchd "General Hospital." yup. I fell for the hype. James Franco is a fascinating young actor. & I wantd to see him in this unusual venue.

altho I had no idea who the characters were or the plot   it was easy to fall into the show. before Franco spoke a line there were tears   shouting   cheating   murder. but by the end of the hour we finally see that handsome face. Franco plays a Banksy-like artist by the name of Franco. the p.r. of the entire event is superb. esp since Franco not only promotes his own career but that of his younger brother. a promo for Dave Franco's upcoming appearances on "Scrubs" is prominent. whoever put this package together deserves the salary one presumes he or she gets.

"Big Joy"

Big Joy Fundraising Trailer from Eric on Vimeo.

remembering Bing

one of my all-time favorite xmas presents came from my parents in 1954. it was a box (complete with key)containing 5 Decca lps & a booklet. "Bing: A Musical Autobiography" was playd endlessly on Winckles St. in addition to all of Crosby's hits there were duets with everyone from Judy Garland to the Andrews Sisters.

what made me take this childhood artifact from its shelf was the memory of his duet with Jane Wyman in a Frank Capra film I haven't seen in ages. it's on TCM tonite & even tho it's on no one's list of Capra's best films I can't wait to see it again. if for nothing else the movie has a cast which wd delight any cinephile -- everyone from silent star H. B. Warner to an extremely young Patty McCormack.

null sets on a chilly morning

there was no battle in the sky. maybe more stars than usually visible but lacking the expectd shower. & when I woke because of uplateness the sun was already brilliant. it was over coffee that I read Dennis Cole died. he'd been a Hollywood minute with teeth & blondness. & I read that that Levi will take the money & run: another no show. so I had more coffee   pondering day's direction. had change in sleep routine producd a grog that wd ruin my next moments. surely not   Leslie Neilson   surely not. mornings like this steel one to a work ethic that requires a tear in yr briefs. I raise my third cuppa to Tennessee Williams   newly enshrind in Poets Corner. emptiness is the starting point to fulfillment. & when that emptiness is full of all that warmth from my brick floors I can expect this day to shine. I declare it so.

machines

the other day my printer was whacky as Sarah Palin. today I'm having internet probs. I do adore all these accoutrements of modernity. but when they don't function properly I have to work to avoid seething.

but the sun's out

yes there's snow on the ground. yes my printer's being a pain. yes my stats here are down. yes the response to my first Facebook poem is minimal. yes the response to Making Circles was even worse.

but I've lived a long time & been thru much harder periods. minor aggravations are part of it all. I try to scream & get them out of the way. because I've had a remarkable life. & I've survivd one of the most difficult years of my life. & I'm as happy as an old fart can be.

as Yvonne DeCarlo sang many years ago "I'm Still Here." but the important part is I'm producing some of my best work. & I can't wait to see what the next hour brings.

one of Mom's collections

the reason I became a collector is because both of my parents were. Dad's collections were mostly usable tools -- altho he also had some antique ones. he also had a small gathering of duck decoys.

Mom collectd everything from watering cans to ceramic chickens. but her most famous collection was autographs.



being the generous person she's always been Mom made a decision when I annouc'd my retirement as curator of special collections at Kent State University Libraries. she wantd her autograph collection to go to KSU as her own thank you to the university for employing her son. so abt a thousand autographs were boxd & sent to Kent. the gift was written abt by future novelist Thrity Umrigar in the Akron paper & was duly noted in Library Hotline.

in 1997 the library mountd a major exhibition of Mom's collection. this is the literary section where you may be able to see cards signd by Robert Creeley & Maya Angelou.



in other cases were signatures of Lucille Ball & Bette Davis   Leonard Bernstein & Frank Zappa   Muhammad Ali & Andre Agassi   Gerald Ford & Bill Clinton   Francis Bacon & Andy Warhol   Robert Altman & Ingmar Bergman   Rosa Parks & Wilma Mankiller.

here are my parents at the festive opening of the exhibition which was attend'd by director Bobby Lewis   poet Maggie Anderson   comics artist P. Craig Russell.



Mom's wearing her squash blossom necklace. in keeping with her lifelong spirit of giving she's willing it to Kent's fashion museum.