palm at Coral Sands

I postd 2 entries via my phone. neither one is here. have no idea why. sometimes machines work   sometimes they don't.

hanging out with Emma

Thxgiving in Marina Del Ray

Bill Berger et moi

at Percy's grave

my old friend Bill Berger took this today in Westwood. after viewing the marvelous Charles Burchfield exhibition at the Hammer we walkd a block to the cemetery where Marilyn Monroe is. & of course I had to pay tribute to character actor Percy Helton.

westward ho

leaving for airport soon.

amusing

to find an article abt fashion at last nite's music awards. when Paula Abdul is the best-dressd person at an awards show that tells you something.

but what was truly appalling was the lack of talent in the musical numbers.

o to have had Piaf & a piano & a single spotlight.

I'm walking

along Winckles St to Garford School
    to absorb books in the tiny library
down East Broad to Rivoli Theater
    to see faces on a big screen
across town to Elyria High
    to struggle with algebra
between Euclid & Prospect
    for plays & Chinese food
from Stopher Hall to Stag Bar
    to get drunk
from Twin Lakes to Stag Bar
    to get drunker
up 8th Ave to 42nd St
    in the middle of the nite
down Kings Rd
    in search of men
up Commercial St
    in search of more men
from Chateau Marmont to Grauman’s Chinese
    to chase history
over bridges
    all across Venice
from the top of Meteora
    down to Kalambaka
from Copacabana to Ipanema
    to watch the sun set
beside the curves
    of Serpent Mound
from Brother Abdon to the Plaza
    for carne adovada
from Bourbon to Louisa
    to swim naked
along Ramon Rd
    to look for pennies

I’m walking
    I’m still walking

anyone else gulity?

I don't follow soaps. but I just 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.

changes

transition day. temps in flux. gray morning. a whisper of wind before some drops of rain. but now sun's returnd.

the joy of the unexpectd

hadn't expectd to buy anything but lunch when Phil & I went to Madrid today.



but when I walkd into Chumani Gallery I saw a silver belt buckle that had my name on it. featuring a horse stone   the buckle is the work of Peter Johnson.

Veterans Day

painting finishd.

my routine

is to eat my big meal midday. in the evening I have a salad (& dessert). the salad is generally a variation of greens. tonite I had a delightful change. pears   walnuts   blue cheese.

fried pickles

1st time I had them was at Cafe Sbisa on my intial visit to New Orleans. they were memorable enuf to mention to neighbor Phil on my last trip there. he rememberd & yesterday when he found them on the menu of a new place in nearby Madrid (birthplace of Mae Marsh)he brought some back for me.

just had them as part of lunch. gracias Felipe.

slatherd on

sunscreen & took advantage of this spectacular weather. got on ladder to accomplish some painting.

my fingers are blue (from paint & not what Miss California does when she isn't praying).

a page from my baby book

yesterday's news had me thinking abt my early time in Texas. I was abt a year & 2 months old when I walkd for the 1st time. it was in Gatesville. that meant that Dad was stationd in North Fort Hood. I certainly have no memory of those initial steps. but I knew it was record'd in my baby book. so I draggd it out. this page tickles me. I need to use it as a basis of a piece.

tragedy in Texas

a sign of the times: before hearing abt the Ft. Hood massacre via usual news sources I learnd of the shootings thru a Facebook posting from a relative of a soldier.

the obit

of biologist Clinton Hobbs brought back a memory from a class I took with him eons ago. for reasons I no longer recall he was talking abt the spread of germs. he sd he'd known a man who was so germophobic that he wore gloves to open doors. a deadpan pause. then Dr. Hobbs sd "of course he never married."

elections

too early to tell what today's voting means. but it's clear Obama's base isn't turning out.

pool door

Room 112
Blue Moon

dia de los muertos

Durl took this of me at Springs Preserves: