opening concert of Chamber Music Festival season

Jake Heggie playd Jake Heggie ("The Deepest Desire")


featuring Susan Graham

the longer I live

the stranger the synchronicities.

when I was a kid I loved the ice skating shows that came to Cleveland Arena. Mom & Dad & I often went to see the annual spectaculars put on by Ice Capades & Ice Follies. I came to know & love certain skaters as much as I did movie stars.

not long after arriving in Santa Fe I learnd that a woman who workd out beside me at the gym was Frances Dorsey who had been in Ice Follies. I checkd my old programs & discoverd that a couple of months before my 13th birthday I'd seen her featurd in the production number "Pueblo Ceremonial."



I thot it was strange indeed that all those years after seeing her skate in that particular number I shd be lifting weights beside her in this country of pueblos.

we never became friends & she eventually stoppd going to my gym. & in recent years I hadn't seen her around town. but then just the other day as I was walking to the gym the name Frances Dorsey jumpd into my head & shortly after out again.

in today's paper I read her obituary. she died the day before her name suddenly came to me. now this sort of thing has happend before but usually with people who were close. I literally hadn't thot of her in some time nor discussd her with anyone.

changes

I love the way movies can capture a time & bring it back. last nite I watchd a British film of little note. but there was a moment of the Markham Arms. on my first visit to London I spent several nites in that pub. met a handsome chap there by the name of Ian Grimshaw (who later moved to Hollywood).

when the movie was over I googld Markham Arms & was shockd to learn that it is now a bank.

Cow Appreciation Day

PeeWee Herman informs us of this "holiday."

it immediately brought to mind 2 events a decade apart.



this is my best friend from high school T. R. Queen at a 1961 picnic



& I remember getting off the elevator at the Whitney in 1971 for the Warhol exhibition & seeing all those cows on his wallpaper.

a couple of swells

today
is the centenial of
WILLIAM HANNA
the New Mexican
who was half of Hanna-Barbera
& the voice of Tom the Cat

&
the 80th birthday of
POLLY BERGEN
who continues
to perform

Harvey Pekar (1939-2010)

one reason

for my decision to move to Santa Fe is the rich cultural life. it's yearlong but in summer one becomes nearly frantic trying to keep up with music & art events.

this weekend has been especially busy. yesterday neighbor Rita & I took in the annual international folk art market.



every summer artists from around the globe descend on Santa Fe to sell their wares in a weekend extravaganza.



with basketmaker Nurse Thembeni Mdluli from Swaziland

nite out

can't remember the last time I was in a bar at midnite. but last nite I went with neighbor Phil to Evangelo's to hear Ryan McGarvey.



after a great set Ryan told us stories abt hanging with Jeff Beck at Crossroads. besides his vast talent he's a good person. I'm so happy that he's on the cusp of stardom.

as we left I spottd Cody Sanderson & Pat Pruitt in front of Santa Fe's most famous bar. I thankd them for the SOFA panel & we had a pleasant chat which included passing some jewelry around.

filmmaker Eames Demetrios came to town for a talk abt his grandparents. among the things I didn't know: Charles & Ray Eames came to New Mexico to visit their friend Billy Wilder while he was shooting "Ace in the Hole." & afterward they did a handmade book for him featuring photos they took of the visit.

SOFA West

jewelrymakers Pat Pruitt & Cody Sanderson

Joya Sherrill (1927-2010)

she's best known for her work with Duke Ellington but when I heard her in 1957 she was crooning with Teddy Wilson.

lovely

to be sharing dreams with Rebecca Loudon.

if the news has you down too

spend a few moments with these Carmen outtakes:



did you dig those shoes?

my life = my art

I woke in awe.

I'd been dreaming abt creating a piece out of my daily activities. I'd gatherd together a group of friends who were going to cross a bridge. we met so that I cd instruct them how to document the journey across the bridge & where we wd meet so that I cd collect that documentation for the work.

I woke glowing.

gluttony isn't patriotic

every holiday has its own set of traditions. the one abt the 4th which I've never understood is the hot dog eating contest on Coney Island. like so many "traditions" this one was inventd to sell a product.

but it's also one of the most disgusting events out there. first of all -- the hot dog isn't a healthy meal. then the notion of anyone trying to gorge on them is sickening. to treat the "winner" as any kind of hero is ridiculous.

from sea to shining sea

Ellis Island


Catalina Island

the list

is central to my work.

I spoke a bit abt it as a literary form in the interview with Tom Beckett. but it's also vital vocabulary for my visual work (see examples here).

altho lists continually come to me it's fun to be askd to do one. so when I heard from Bree abt her newest project -- "Cleveland's Favorite Songs" -- I was happy to write something.

so this is progress?

call me old-fashiond..... or just call me old

but I quite dislike the new look of Wonder Woman.

I admit that I'm a few years younger than the original WW but that she was one of my fave comic books when I was a boy. & that look will always be what I think of when I think of her.

I no longer follow any comics or that scene so I don't know how today's youth will react.... if at all.

but this old coot is shaking his head.

behind the scenes

tonite's rainbow

my bookshelves

Richard Lopez has been posting photos of poets with their surrounding book piles. honord to be part of his collection.

prophetic

when my penpal Bob e'd me from Texas that Alex had become a hurricane I immediately thot of a poster hanging in my guest bathroom. it was for the 1999 concert I producd at Santa Fe Opera. all of the stars signd it for me & in the top right corner Ned Sublette addresses me as Hurricane Alex.

Corey Allen (1934-2010)

Marilyn's chest

3
X-rays of
Marilyn Monroe's chest
taken
during a
1954 hospital visit
sold
for $45,000
in Las Vegas

Scopitone

after Soundies but before music videos came the Scopitone.

originally a product of France these short films featurd stars such as Brigitte Bardot & Jeanmarie. Claude Lelouch was a prolific director of Scopitones including a couple starring Petula Clark. when it crossd the pond there were films by James Darren   Lesley Gore   Peggy Lee. even Joi Lansing. & Robert Altman directd one with Herb Alpert.

here's an example from Barbara McNair with some campy choreography:

pride parade

grand marshall Eugene Robinson ...


... faces the haters who used a bullhorn to scream at him "homos go to hell."

she steps

down from the wall of my guest bathroom for Bill Fogle

slowd down
by allergies

Todd Moore's desk

I spent the day in Albuquerque beginning the pre-cataloging of his papers. I filld 9 boxes with correspondence & manuscripts. there were letters from Paul Metcalf   Jonathan Williams   Theodore Enslin   Kell Robertson   Tony Moffeit   Robert Peters. & thousands of poems handwritten in notebooks   on sheets of paper   on almost anything he had handy -- from napkins to cash register receipts.

celebrating J. Stuart Blackton

the "star" of that short film is largely forgotten today. however during the run of "The Dissolve" he acquires a new sort of fame as his film is on a loop screening time after time day after day.



if Blackton is rememberd at all today it's not as an actor but as a director & "the father of American animation." 5 years after this film he directd Maurice Costello as Sherlock Holmes. he was on the streets of San Francisco filming after the earthquake. in 1908 in Central Park he directd Florence Lawrence -- considerd the 1st movie star -- as Juliet opposite the Romeo of Paul Panzer -- who some years later wd achieve film immortality as the villain in "Perils of Pauline."

in his 35-year directorial career Blackton was a frequent director of May McAvoy. he also directd such early film stars as Clara Kimball Young   Nazimova   Mae Marsh   Bessie Love   Myrna Loy. (& as a curious footnote for a few years his daughter was married to novelist Cornell Woolrich.)

he calld himself "the dean of the screen" but his end was another sad Hollywood tale. he was out of work & broke when he was run over by a bus.

neighbor Jonathan

my back portal was too hot for him so he found a plant to sleep on

progress report

"Dad's

Last

Garden"

Pantages

one of my favorite theaters turns 80 this month

I SEE SEENA OWEN
IN "INTOLERANCE"

lips & lashes
ubiquitous pearls

Owen enters
film history
bringing blossoms
to cheek

it's Griffith's
Babylonian set
a century before
its whisper
at Hollywood & Highland

she swirls
reaches across time
to teens
who don't know
her name

in the movie
Princess Beloved
plunges a dagger
into her chest

in life the words
she spoke fell flat
so she wrote
instead

when I climb
those stairs
under Babylon's elephants
I still see
Seena Owen
& when her hand
searches
it finds mine



(earlier this year Bill Berger took this picture of George Pavik & I under the elephants at Hollywood & Highland)

for sale

Kerouac's last typewriter

&

Trigger

where did his mojo go?

the Obama wandering around these days isn't the Obama I voted for.

I'm not sure any human being is up to dealing with this oil disaster but I sure expectd more of the current occupant of the White House. it took him 56 days to address us from the Oval Office & when he finally did it seems he wants us to pray the catastrophe away.

I feel sadder every day.

too late

Santa Fe Indian School -- facing unprecedentd criticism for dismantling campus   killing ancient trees   abt to destroy an architectural gem -- has hired a p.r. firm.

good luck.

my stance

on awards is that they are political & often downright silly.

however the one awards show I do enjoy is the Tony event. it gives me a chance to see what's going on on Broadway. some years that's not much.

last nite had its expectd highs & lows. for a Sondheim addict the lowest point for me was the murdering of "Send in the Clowns." I've never heard such a bad interpretation. & then when its singer won an award I was ready to puke.

"La Mission" : benefit screening

writer/director Peter Bratt


co-star Jeremy Ray Valdez

"Travel Kit"

the leather label on this little bag says "First Class." as I recall it was given to me by Regina Yando. I suspect it is a reminder of the halcyon days of air travel. for many years I put my toiletries in it for various trips. then came the post-911 security blitz. now we must put such items in a plastic baggie. so this little bag hasn't been used for almost a decade.

I now fill it with touchstones of travels past:

soap
Quarter House
New Orleans

hand & body lotion
Timberfell Lodge
Greeneville

conditioner
Luxor
Las Vegas

collapsible toothbrush
Southwest Chief
Amtrak

lip balm
Phoenician
Scottsdale

moist towelette
El Dorado
Vienna

condom
Inn Exile
Palm Springs

sewing kit
Chateau Marmont
Hollywood

mints
Restaurant Luisiana
Monterrey

notepad
Grande Bretagne
Athens

pen
Hilton
Budapest

lucky penny
Alcazar
Fort Lauderdale

___________________________________

this piece may become part of Making Circles

Obama is

taking much guff for failing to provide comfort to a nation depressd by the oil spill. I too have been critical but I have to come to the guy's defense on one front. Concerned Women For America are attacking him for using the word "ass" in public.

now no sane person wd care what this basket of ringwing loons thinks. they regularly rail against folks who are different. I suspect they are emboldend by this week's election in which a crop of silly ladies won.

in solidarity with the president I proclaim CWFA an assembly of assholes.

another find

Charles Ludlam was one of many theater artists lost to AIDS in the '80s. I saw his Camille which was a joy. he didn't do much film work. I recall small roles in the legendary "Pink Narcissus" & a supporting part in "The Big Easy." there were a few other films I haven't seen.

now what remains of his unfinishd project "Museum of Wax" is being shown at gay film festivals. it's a b&w silent film. a sort of homage to Lon Chaney. & happily it includes footage of him with his partner in life & art Everett Quinton.

dreamt

I was at a Black Dahlia conference

another day another disgrace

our local Native American population is quick to pose as spiritual people with a respect for history & the environment.

those who run the Santa Fe Indian School mite try cleaning their mirrors. without warning they brought down historic buildings on campus. then they cut down trees that were a century old. for what seemd forever they did nothing to clean up the campus   leaving piles of detritus.

now the administration of the Indian School will tear down the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater.

first Soleri is an important architect & this is a work of art which deserves respect.

but it's also an historic venue in the history of popular music. over the years I've heard Carlos Santana & k.d. lang & Jamie Cullum & Rufus Wainwright on that stage.

it's always sad to see unnecessary destruction. I guess I was expecting more from Native Americans.

a Chaplin discovery

a cameo as a Keystone Kop

Helen Krich Chinoy (1922-2010)

winner of 1994 Robert Lewis Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Theater Research

a date with Jack

depressd. probably biggest known ecological disaster of my lifetime. falling apart of Obama presidency. bad citizenship of North Korea & Israel. hateful anti-gay policies in Africa. economy still not out of the toilet. all that teabag nonsense. & more murders.

what can one do? instead of returning to Zoloft I had a date nite. it was with a dead man.

let's go back to april. at the TCM festival I saw Jack LaRue in 2 films on the big screen. he wasn't the greatest actor but he was intense. that greasd back hair & those eyes. with a certain swagger. so last nite I watchd him some more. "Yellow Cargo" is a minor movie. but any film whose cast includes someone I care abt is no longer minor to me.

I followd that up with an episode of Reed Hadley's '50s series "Racket Squad" which I used to watch as a boy. in this one LaRue had the good fortume of appearing opposite a pair of big screen faves -- Adele Jergens as his wife & silent star Betty Blythe as the person he's trying to con.

so for 2 hours I forgot the world & how fast my life is speeding by. it was the best date I've had in ages.

early summer

our first heatwave

"Breakfast Around Town"

Mark Bloch postd these pictures on Facebook. he took them in july 1978. in this performance piece he & William Hermann literally had breakfast at various spots in Kent. this was at Robert Smithson's "Partially Buried Woodshed." in addition to Mark & Bill & me the other person is Deena Manis.

Rue McClanahan (1934-2010)

"Knight of the Guitar"

my excuse to go to Las Vegas for the weekend (does one need an excuse to go?) was to catch New Mexico's great young guitarist Ryan McGarvey play at the Las Vegas Hilton. his mentor Robert Knight -- the famous documentarian of rock 'n roll -- was opening a gallery & as part of the evening put together a show featuring the future of rock guitar. Ryan joind even younger musicians for an enthralling show.


Ryan McGarvey


Graham Whitford


Whitford   McGarvey   Tony Franklin   Josh Gooch


Chris Frazier   Whitford   McGarvey   Franklin   Gooch   Knight   Yayo Sanchez

opening of Knight Gallery in Las Vegas Hilton

with Robert Knight


Josh Gooch


Knight   Janie Hendrix   Tony Franklin

back

from
holiday weekend
in Las Vegas

b b q

with friends

Top Kill Fails

& the nitemare
continues

Dennis Hopper (1936-2010)

a picture I took

# # #

& remembering the last time I saw him: at Santa Fe Rodeo Grounds when neighbor Rita & I were (unseen) extras in "Swing Vote."

what if
the poems
stop
before
i do

from the archives

one of the poems
in AFTER (1978)

o Mr. O

don't know what to make of this mess. the president's wonky press conference was hardly reassuring. still don't understand why he isn't mobilizing troops to the beaches for clean-up. sometimes it sounds as if he thinks he is but then where are they?

happy 75th birthday

I was 13
when I discoverd
Richard Harrison
in physique magazines
I bought at the cigar store


(from "In the 50s")

sigh

on Silliman's blog today I heard of a new magazine -- Sal Mimeo. what a great title.

& it makes me think of Niall O'Sullivan's video tribute to Todd Moore in which he sez: "there was something calld the mimeograph..." now I know he had his tongue in his cheek. or did he? there's a whole generation out there who probably has no idea what a mimeograph machine was. certainly they never got inky fingers from trying to work one. altho O'Sullivan made me smile with his line he also made me feel old.

government has faild us

"Blossoms, Blossoms, oh lovely Blossoms"

oddly that line poppd in my head when I photographd this cactus next to my back portal just now. it's the opening line from the earliest poem of mine that I have (written at age 12).

remembering Todd Moore

Tony Moffeit & Kyle Laws drove 4 & a half hours from Puebla. Lawrence Welsh drove 4 & a half hours from El Paso. others came from Dallas & a small town in Utah. they joind friends & family & fans of Todd for a celebration of his life & writing at Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque yesterday.

it was a testament to a life lived well. speaker after speaker commentd on Todd's humor & creativity & deep knowledge of literature & history & film. we read his poems & our poems. & we laughd.


Lawrence Welsh & Richard Vargas


with Mark Weber


with Tony Moffeit & Barbara Moore

& Todd's daughter-in-law has postd a wonderful album of her photos.

I've withheld comment

on the oil spill out of frustration. everyone hates BP. but isn't our government as much at fault? past administrations allowd offshore drilling & the current one is sitting on its ass while wildlife is dying. the whole thing worsens by the hour & nothing is being done. is no one in charge here?

transplanting

felt good getting my hands dirty. using Dad's trowel I made space outdoors for some plants I nursd thru winter indoors. then in those large containers I moved plants from smaller ones.

& in the mix items brought back from Elyria & Hollywood & Fort Lauderdale & Palm Springs. I love having my past growing beside me.