Ruth Maleczech (1939-2013)

Kent : 1985

NYC : 2008

"legend" is a word too often tossd abt. but this actress was indeed a legend in the history of off-Broadway. she was one of the founders of Mabou Mines. when they came to Kent State I got to almost work with her in "Cold Harbor."  yes I was in the production but was part of the tableau sequences so had no real stage time with her.

the last time I saw her was at a Jean-Claude van Itallie seminar in which she appeard in a selection from his play "Bag Lady." she was mesmerizing.

Lipsmack 2

happy anniversary to NightBallet Press

back cover

highlight

of last nite's performance of "Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike" at the Lensic was Ross Kelly as Spike.

so it was a surprise to find him shopping beside me at my grocery store today.  we had a pleasant chat.  the LA-based actor returns home tomorrow after a state-wide tour of the Durang play.

dream

Flora Goforth making pierogies for Christopher Flanders

includes my poem "This Then is the Wheel"

today's hike

new trailer for "Big Joy"

this revisioning includes some of the critical response:

dreamt

I took a part-time job scrubbing floors at Plaza Cafe. & on my first day I found a diamond watch.

obits

can be stuffy. & sanctimonious. so I was tickled to read the one for Joe Baird. he was on the English faculty at Kent State when I was there. & he askd that his obituary read that he "kicked off."

another sept

in The Year Book I mention hearing Jimmy Durante in Las Vegas. & my one memory of his act was his singing of Kurt Weill's "September Song."  I just found this which was filmd the same year I heard him sing it:

lions & tigers & underwear?

everyone wants to make a buck from "The Wizard of Oz."  to capitalize on the re-release of the classic in 3D look at this:

bye bye summer

& a few more

Chris Camp

some of the team



















Austin Meredith

more sta2sta

me

Lisa Law

Tim Koh & Cat Power

Michael Giordano

Station to Station

comes to Santa Fe

me inside the Urs Fischer yurt
(photo by Lisa Law)

miracle in the rain

I was in Ohio when the storm that flooded Colorado also pummeld New Mexico. on my first morning back I took advantage of the still wet ground to transplant Aunt Sophie's trumpet vine. it was while I was doing that I saw this.

back story: years ago Dad dug up 3 saplings from his rose of sharon. because of the hard level of soil here they cdn't deep root & have lookd bonsai-ish. one died & then another. so I fertilizd the hell out of the remaining one which had its best blooming ever this year.

I was shockd to see that one dead one -- which I hadn't pulld out -- is now growing some leaves at its base.  I'm not a horticulturist so I don't know if this tender new growth will survive the winter & produce a new plant come spring. but what a happy surprise to see such an unexpectd resurrection.

"Jungle Girl" (1984)

Richard Myers has put a snippet of his film on You Tube.



you hear the voice of Hollywood star Frances Gifford & see the late Mary Leed recreate her role. & if you don't blink there are a few seconds of me sitting on James Broughton's lap.

Albaturkey

I was just in Ohio for a few days. while there I was talking to a woman who calld the New Mexico city by that name. & it wasn't in jest. that's how she thinks the city's name is pronouncd.

but then some Ohioans have an odd understanding of the southwest.  I had an aunt who when I moved insistd I was living outside the country in Mexico.

as if weather

didn't make flying to Denver unpleasant enuf the cabin sounded like a TB ward. & worse.... the woman across the aisle from me was performing the last act of "Camille."

Syria

what a mess

today the postman brought me

the news that Mark Young is releasing the final 2 books from Otoliths.

I'm so proud that he publishd 2 of mine among his 80 titles. both were abt movies & have been among my most popular books.

thx Mark. I'm forever grateful.

falcata

Billy gave me a cutting from one of his plants.  & it's now gloriously in bloom.

my little hunter

the wayback machine finds me in Cancun

a couple of Barrymores

this isn't abt John & his brother Lionel.  nor is it abt Ethel & her grand niece Drew. it's abt a pair of restaurants.

the first one -- a theater hangout in Manhattan -- is gone. here's a picture I took of the place shortly after it closed in 2006:

over the years I ate at Barrymore's many times with many friends. even had Thxgiving dinner there in 1988. it was on a block of West 45th that had other restaurants popular with theater folk & their admirers. some rich people bought up those historic spots to wreck.

on Labor Day Gary & I had our Xmas dinner together early at The Barrymore:

currently one of the most popular intimate restaurants in Las Vegas it's just off the Strip in an old structure which over the years has been hotel & casino & time share venue. an unlikely address for a good restaurant. I had a delicious salad of baby kale & figs. we shared some lobster mac & cheese.  my entree was duck. we weren't going to indulge in dessert after all that but talkd each other into sharing amaretto cheesecake.

Nick Moretti

my friend Michael Alago has taken some stunning nudes of this director/performer. my portrait of him relaxing poolside at Blue Moon shows a quieter side of Nick.

Sahara (1952-2011)

if you've seen the original version of "Ocean's 11" you've seen this Las Vegas landmark.

here's its main sign at the Neon Museum:

& here's a picture I took from Gary's car as we passd what's left of the place.  a new casino will replace it.

sign cemetery

spent the holiday weekend writing more poems at Blue Moon in Las Vegas.  my bud Gary got me away from the pool a couple of times. first was a visit to the Neon Museum.

the organizers of this fabulous place call it a "boneyard park." it's the final resting place of some of those memorable neon creations that spelld Las Vegas in the years before LED.

for a specific reason Gary was the only friend I told abt my visit.  I've been going thru some major stress in the past month.  trying to do nothing was restful.  of course poems come wherever I am. & that's always a joy.  & a reason to keep on going.