National Pancake Day

here's Dad who always enjoyd making pancakes.

& here he is in the army where I'm sure he perfectd his pancake skills.

hard to believe he's been gone 7 years already.

first day covers

this is me at the Y.

the adult is activities director P.F. Johnson. & the activity here is stamp collecting.

one of the things Mr. Johnson encouraged us to do was send in for first day covers.  I put mine together in a little blue photo album which has my first bookplate.

as I attempt to lighten my load I'm reviewing my past & finding new homes for "stuff." this little album has 27 first day covers as well as a set of 3 Grace Kelly wedding stamps & some miscellaneous envelopes.

also for the rabid Gildzen collector you'll see one of my earliest autographs on the Nebraska centennial cover in the photo.

if anyone is interestd I'll part with this treasure for $75 (or the best offer).

"Manzanita"

as I recalld the publication of the portfolio in honor of the library's dedication I rememberd something else. I also brought out a separate publication as a keepsake to be given away at the dedication. for that we used Gary Snyder's poem from the portfolio. there were a thousand copies & dealers are asking betwen $50 & $225 for that.

however I have a signd one. & I don't remember how many Snyder signd. the bibliography lists the broadside as item B63a but makes no reference to those he signd.

Warhol ephemera

in my copy of The Life and Death of Andy Warhol:

a 1966 newspaper ad for when I saw the Exploding Plastic Inevitable in Cleveland

& a first day cover of the Warhol stamp

"Six Poems / Seven Prints"

after seeing this
I'm having feelings
that maybe it's time
to sell my copy

a director's actor

I met Dan O'Herlihy (1919-2005) in 1959 when producer Ross Hunter brought him to Cleveland for the premiere of "Imitation of Life."  last nite I saw him in one of his last films "The Dead." as I was watching I began thinking how many important directors he'd workd for during his long career.  so I lookd up his filmography & made this list:

Carol Reed
Orson Welles
Ben Hecht
Luis Bunuel
John Frankenheimer
Douglas Sirk
Tay Garnett
Sidney Lumet
Tom Gries
Sergey Bondarchuk
Blake Edwards
Paul Verhoeven
John Huston
David Lynch

Restaurant Week

a fun way to try new places in town.

just back from Terra Cotta where I startd with portobello bisque which was smooth & flavorful. then pork schnitzle with potoatoes & red cabbage. dessert was sweet potato cheesecake with maple icing.

the most amazing response

I've had to "Matchless" came in yesterday's mail from Mike Dyar.

he calls his piece "Fire Safe Under Polyurethane." it came in an envelope featuring a matchbook.  the mailing also included his own matchbook from a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco.

today's hike

wasn't really a hike.  the group lunchd at Abiquiu Inn.  then we took visitors on a driving tour of area sites. here I am at Echo Amphitheater.

circles within a circle

today's task

reviewing files. tossing much.  but I have to save this sweet receipt -- both as a souvenir of a dead bookstore & simply to bring a smile to my weatherd face.

going thru my library

to cull more volumes to forward to Kent State.  here are a couple from the cinema section:

"texture of winter"

John Buchanan discoverd slides he took of me at Headlands Beach in 1972 & just sent me the images.  here are 2:

& here's the film in which you see him taking them:

"Hearts Transplantd"

for my 1997 valentine I printd a xerox edition of 46 copies of this (item A50 in my biblio).  text was taken from Alex in Movieland. each cover was an original collage.  here are a few I photographd before mailing:

way back

this 1934 magazine cover is on the wall of Chloride Bank Cafe. of course it immediately reminded me of "Brokeback Mountain."

(after posting this I did a search & discoverd the painting is "Winter in New Mexico" by Tom Lea.)

just back

from an overnite with my hiking buds.

Belen

Truth or Consequences

Chloride

Carmen Miranda (1909-1955)

for her 80th birthday I threw a party:

Henry Van Dyke

Michael Pierce & Tom Beckett

Bill Berger

a rarity

this morning I opend Mom's cedar chest which is under the table on which my computer rests in the guest room. it's full of files documenting my writing life.  they will be going to my collection at Kent State in the coming weeks.

I haven't lookd at these files since I put them together some years ago.  I noticed one was bulging. I pulld it out to discover something I'd completely forgotten.

I did a little book of prints called Men Out of Their Underwear. there were only 3 copies: one sent to the dedicatee Michael Linder   mine & if I remember correctly   artist R. B. Sprague. I don't know if Roger's copy made it to Oklahoma with his collection after his death or went into the trash.  & I have no idea where Linder is.  so the copy I'm sending to Kent may be the only one to survive.

the piece was done in april of 1999 in response to an online site Linder had.  the collages were of porn stars: Gene Carrier   Lee Ryder & a blond whose name escapes me. with their images are momentos from my travels   such as a napkin from Buenos Aires & something from a trip on the Southwest Chief.

but the fascinating thing abt this strange effort of mine was the binding. the loose sheets in each of the 3 were laid into a casing made from my underwear.

my most famous underwear piece is Underwear in a Box. I guess I have what Rick Castro wd identitfy as a fetish abt underwear. this isn't the time to analyze that. but I must say I was delightd to encounter this piece & send if off to Kent with my blessing.

under a peacock

at San Marcos Feed Store

Lizabeth Scott (1922-2015)

& here's a photo I took of her some years ago at the Beverly Hilton:

from my resorts

blooming cactus: Inn Exile (Palm Springs)

succulent: Alcazar (Fort Lauderdale)

stucco fragment: Blue Moon (Las Vegas)

matchbook: Parliament House (Orlando)

mug: Elysium Resort (Fort Lauderdale)

jockstrap: Canyon Club (Palm Springs)

Leo Bud Welch plays Santa Fe

& with opening act Alex Maryol:

today's hike

Tsankawi
sans camera

Charles Farrell (1900-1990)

every time I go to a familiar place I seek something new.

this weekend in Palm Springs I went to a small cemetery in downtown. I touchd the tombstones of architect Albert Frey & one of the original Keystone Kops -- Chester Moorten.

but the real reason I was there was to honor this silent screen star:

he was a handsome man known for his smile & his hair. I've written about him before. he died before I got to his city. so this is as close as I'll come.

Palm Springs modern

chez Ebersole/Hughes

Parker Hotel

Inn Exile

going thru

old files before sending them to my collection at Kent State I found this 1968 polaroid:

it's Mary Ann Begland signing her painting "Isadora."


here we are years later with the same painting (which still hangs in my living room).

calling all doll collectors

before putting the family house on the market I took this picture of part of Mom's doll collection:

I need to find good homes for the dolls.  those which I got Mom during my travels I'm keeping but there are just too many for me.

if you are a real collector let me know. I'm willing to give you a doll for the price of postage.

Ray Johnson (1927-1995)

hard to believe he's been gone 20 years.

I wrote to Johnson in the summer of 1977 inviting him to contribute to the catalog for Ira Joel Haber's retrospective at Kent State which I was editing. he sent a piece which we used. I returnd the original art to him per his instruction.

this is the only piece of his I own:

when the University Libraries got rid of its card catalog in the early 1990s I got the idea of selecting some cards to send to the authors for signatures. as a fundraiser for Special Collections we sold the cards.

among those I purchased was this one with Johnson's signature backwards & snaking from front of card to rear.

Palm Springs is

close today because this cactus is in bloom.  it began as a tiny cutting from Inn Exile. over the years it's grown into this.

"Matchless"

photo by Elisa Wike Hurley

for a short time as an undergrad I smoked a pipe -- mostly in my room at Stopher Hall. in  my drinking days a handful of cigarets. & that one time a cigar.  those instances aside I identify as a non-smoker.

but I am a collector & documentarian of my times. so in those days when so many restaurants & hotels displayd heaps of matchbooks for the taking I took.

like so many others I put them in a large glass container. when that filld I startd a second jar.  fear of fire causd me to remove the actual matches -- which I suppose is anathma to true collectors in the field. but I was collecting memories more than artifacts.

I've announcd my intentions to downsize & that I'm thinking of the whole project as a piece of mail art. but as I approach such a daunting task I keep getting ideas for smaller projects within that grand one.

so I dumpd the containers which I discoverd held nearly 500 items dating back to at least 1967. I pickd a handful of favorites which I'll keep in the glass stein someone gave my father for a birthday. soon I'll start mailing out the others.

photo by E W H

je suis Charlie

let the downsizing begin

those who know me -- or have read me -- realize the importance of things in my life. no. I'm not a hoarder. but for 7 decades I have been a collector. & I've always gaind true comfort from the history of the objects that surround me.

in the last several months I experienced a confluence of happenings which promptd a serious look at how my movie will end. don't jump to conclusions. I don't plan on that fade-out for some time. but at a certain age it becomes one to get a life in order.

& so I've decided that as much as things in my life have sustaind & enrichd me I have simply too much. I need to live simpler. so out will go the superfluous. how many ice cream scoopers does one person need?

but there are some treasures too dear to put on the curb. & it's up to me to find them new homes. realizing this actually fills me with joy. during the new year I plan on a slow & deliberate transfer of parts of my life to institutions & friends.

so if in the coming months you receive a box from me be happy.  it means I've chosen you to forever be part of my life. think of it as a major mail art project. making my past a part of yr present is going to be an adventure for me.

"fan of envelopes"

my newest piece

just learnd

that a high school classmate died on Xmas eve.  he was the 99th from our class to die. apparently 100 will probably be this week as another classmate in hospice has only days left.

for me

the holidays are a place where the living & the dead mingle.

in my dream (the last of last year or the first of the new year or both?) I was staying at a resort in a warm place. I was having dinner with Algesa & Joe O'Sickey. Mom stopped by our table to join us for dessert & eventually Dad came by as well. when it was over we all got up to go our separate ways. just then David Hockney strolld by & walkd me to my suite.

& then I woke up.

a memorable NYE dinner

this meal opens my poem "Capodanno 1984   Venezia"

Jo Van Fleet (1914-1996)

in celebrating her centennial I'd be remiss if I didn't quote one of my favorite lines from Frank O'Hara:

Who do you think you are, anyway? Jo Van Fleet?

Dad was in my dream last nite

& then today I rememberd where he was 70 years ago.



I watchd this with tears.

thank you Dad. I love you & miss you.

surprise visit

finally met Geof Huth   

Richard Widmark (1914-2008)

Xmas 1986

poor Tobias doesn't look thrilld. but most of the times he didn't mind being held this way.  in fact I have lovely memories of dancing with him.

31 years ago

last nite I was going thru old "stuff" & found a cache of receipts from my holiday trip to Italy.

on Xmas eve 1983 I attended the pope's mass. I went for the show biz angle & it was that in spades. & then there was a memorable NYE in Venice.

major housecleaning

third day of work. altho I dislike the toil part I'm enjoying moving things around the house. re-envisioning what my most intimate environment looks like.

GWTW

"Gone With the Wind" had its premiere 75 years ago today.  & no Auntie Vera I wasn't there.

I once saw it at Manhattan's legendary Palace Theater with Richard Nelson (not the playwright but Lord & Taylor's graphic designer). then there was 1989 in Wheeling when the screening was introduced by Butterfly McQueen.

Lupe Velez (1908-1944)

70 years since one of Hollywood's most famous suicides

holy cameo Batman

today's hike

Cerrillos Hills State Park

change

it's hard. gets harder with age. but I'm working to make change a springboard.

Sam Harris (1877-1965)

last nite I got my Carolyn Jones fix by seeing "Last Train from Gun Hill."  it's a predictable western worth seeing only for Jones whose brilliance often elevatd mundane material. at one moment she stood next to Sam Harris. now I see this man almost every week. he was in some 600 films from 1928 right up till his death.

but last nite I wonderd why he hasn't been the subject of more discussion. if Bess Flowers is veneratd as "the queen of the dress extras" (as well she shd be) then Harris deserves to be king. apparently those in the business calld him "The Major." & some sources list him as Major Sam Harris. perhaps this is why the sobriquet "the king of the extras" isn't used. but when I think of the world of Hollywood extras it's always Flowers & Harris who come to mind first.

I can't breathe.