Studio 54

old friends Todd & David had a disco party

portrait

for holiday card I'm not mailing

A Plenitude of Pennies

I was naked & sweating in the sauna at World Gym (same one in which I wrote "Sauna Poem" & "Poetry Inferno"). my fingers slid across hot wood & felt something. no. it's not that kind of story. what I felt turnd out to be a penny.

suddenly that hot copper was a madeleine as I became flush with memories of all the pieces I've done featuring this lowliest of coins.

I began "Pennies from Heaven" at the end of 2000 & finishd it in summer of 2011. there were 120 coins in that piece. it's "sequel" was "Pennies from Heaven: Part 2 (The Leaving)." it was done from 2010 until 2014.

"The 1943 Pennies" was a little work from 2003-04.

more recently I collaboratd with Tyler Alpern on a penny piece a bit too naughty to share here.

finding this morning's penny also made me remember I had a baggie full of coins I'd found & labeld. I decided it was time to conceive a work which wd distribute those.

my initial notion was to list the origin of those pennies. then to mail each to someone whose name supplements the list. but that seemd merely a variant of "Matchless."

so I go to bed knowing I need to stretch. & also that this morning's coin -- which I now call "the sauna penny" -- shd not be used in the new project but kept as a talesmanic muse with a possible future as yet another work.

29 nov 18:PS

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over the weekend I put on for the first time the CD I bought a few weeks ago from Linda Lavin. I opend the baggie of saved pennies. one by one I took out a coin & "unwrapped" it. I then put each penny with its original notation into a tiny baggie.

this process turnd out to be a major memory trip. the collection mostly reflectd my day-to-day life in Santa Fe. pennies pickd up in various locker rooms & store parking lots. but there were also many found at airports which in turn included ones from vacations. gay resorts such as Inn Exile in Palm Springs & Blue Moon in Las Vegas & Coral Sands in Hollywood & Alcazar in Fort Lauderdale were spots holding pennies for me to gather.

because the work was surprising tedious I did it over several days. I now have that original baggie full of 68 tiny baggies. what to do next will take time to ponder. I have some ideas but will wait for the new year to complete this.

4 dec 18:PS

festival of lights

went to Riverside last nite with friends. it was cold. & there were too many people.

the morning I wrote 2 poems

I was sitting beside a pool with a notepad
when I wrote this:

when I face a blank page
I feel a need
to search that place
within me
that collects every word
I've ever read

I need to scoop
into that trove
to find a combination
never seen before
to spread
across the page

& when I'm finishd
I turn the page
to find
another blank one

my work
is never done

pause while I walk to another pool 
& discover another poem:

after writing a poem
I treat myself
to a trip
to the tangerine tree

it's so beautiful
I don't know
which fruit to pick
but the one I do
makes me want
to write another poem

levy left us 50 years ago today

remembrance

last nite Linda Lavin playd the Purple Room.  at 81 she's pitch perfect & put on a show so much better than my expectations. she was backd by the best musicians -- starting with her musical director Billy Strich on piano. he's a cabaret legend & the valley is grateful to have him leave NY so often to perform here.

but there was yet another treat. at the beginning of the show & then again at the end a young man with a violin & almost a smile performd. I confess to having never heard of Aaron Weinstein. but now I'll be checking his progress. he plays his instrument with skill. & his bit of patter was a sweet throwback to vaudeville.

when the show was over I saw him in the lobby & nearly rushd to get to him. after praising  him on his performance he complimentd me on wearing an ascot. "not everyone can pull off an ascot" he sd looking me straight in my eyes. I meltd. there were other words abt this & that & then I was off into the dark.

but as I was enjoying tea on the patio in morning sun he wdn't leave my mind. there was something abt Aaron Weinstein that brought back an era of my past. when I was the age he is now I visitd Manhattan with regularity & panache. there were the Broadway shows & boy bars & museums & bookstores & concerts.  endless cocktails & cruising. flirting with waiters & chance encounters with chorus boys. lads who with a wink & a word had you out of yr pants.

& there was a kind of young man that enchantd me. I suspect my "type" -- if indeed I had one -- was the California surfer boy. a bundle of blondness & lithe body that requests licking. but often after the rush of sex there wasn't much more to do. but the guys that really got to me were the NY charmers. most didn't start out in Manhattan but once they claimd that real estate there was a stamp on them. rarely surfer boy beautiful but a package of wit & charm & accomplishment that beggd you return to them long after you entangled yrself from their sheets.

of course I miss the fervor of that moment. but I had it. I was a part of the whirl. so many of those young men are forever in my heart. & I hope that somewhere there's a not so young man sitting on a patio who remembers the me that was.

so thank you Aaron Weinstein. for what happend on stage & in the lobby. not often is a time machine so attractive.

(photo by Dennis De Groot)

changes

a friend took this from his moving car. my billboard has been altered. why they put me in sunglasses & a chain with money in my hands is baffling. but I'm still there. I guess that's show biz.

Palm Springs Pride Parade

the float for the famous LA show "Best in Drag" featured Chico's Angels with a group of calendar men. on the right are Remy Cruze & Devin Franco.  on the left Trenton Ducati is hidden behind S_H_A_M_O.

40 years ago

the art faculty at Kent State University had its annual show. in a small adjacent space was a modest one-person exhibition. as I recall there were only abt 5 pieces. they were weavings by Lilian Tyrell. she wasn't on the faculty but her husband -- British sculptor Brinsley Tyrrell -- was.

I was taken by a piece calld "Tornado" & bought it for $300. it was not only the single sale from her first show but her first sale ever. I've lived with & loved this piece all these years. I loand it back to Lilian for an exhibition in 1980 & also her retrospective in 2006.

at a lecture abt her work Lilian acknowledged that the piece was a precursor to the work that made her famous -- the Disaster Blankets.

it was easy to love Lilian. she was a sweet woman with an appealing laugh. altho she had strong opinions which she didn't mind sharing she was never mean.

I returnd to Kent in the summer of 2007. a friend had a party for me. Lilian was quite ill but so wantd to see me that she came to the party. as she & Brinsley were leaving I walkd them out. Lilian coillapsed in the drive-way. Brinsley helpd her up as if it were nothing & I tried not to cry as I sd good-bye. I was so honord that she made the effort to see me. she died 4 months later.

Khashoggi's Fingers

in this world
led by liars
we look to writers
to tell us
where we are

even in death
this man
lifts his bloody hands

his fingers
fill the sky
with lasers
that sear
gloat of prince
bloat of president

Khashoggi's fingers
light the way
to truth

stop the rallies

the "president" is opposed by two thirds of the citizenry & the majority of editorial boards. his ego is tender. he must go to his base for these events at which he spews lies & rants like Hitler.

these events aren't to present policy. they are purely ego massage. I've been told each one costs nearly a half million dollars to put on. if reports are correct some in the crowd are paid.

there is no reason for taxpayers to put up with this. clearly these are political events. they must be paid for by the Republican party. if Congress weren't controlld by that party they cd stop payment. here is another reason to vote blue next month. it's time to halt the madness.

on the rocks

wearing Sondheim
at Cahuilla Teewwenet Vista Point

(photo by Estee Huff)

"Unfolding Humanity"

a Burning Man project transferd to Balboa Park in San Diego for Maker Faire

in these dark times

each of us must find our own light in order to survive. when I get depressd I write or swim or see a film. & lately I have a new life as a model. strangely since my 75th birthday photographers have been getting me out of my clothes. there have been memorable shoots with Eric Schwabel & Tyler Alpern. & yesterday Mud Baron joind my list.

he is famous for photographing people with flowers. yesterday he set up shop at Ocotillo Lodge -- one of the locations for the Troy Donahue film "Palm Springs Weekend" & a property once ownd by Gene Autry whose guests have included JFK & Marilyn as well as Betty Grable & Doris Day. Mud put together a gathering of male models for "Boy Bloom." altho it's uncertain abt the fate of this project it may end up as a charity calendar.

as soon as I slippd off my pants Mud askd me to unfold myself on a bed of flowers beside local realtor Will Paine. "put yr head on his left nipple" he instructd.  then Arizona masseur  Bryce Hansen was askd to put his head on Will's right nipple.

after this it was time for my solo shot. during that Mud made this little video which I didn't know was being filmd.

the rape of a nation

the world is laughing at us but assault isn't funny.

this obese man with paintd face & grotesque hair grabs us by the genitals & won't let go.

the legitimacy of his office is suspect but he plows on. he has the opposite of the Midas touch. everything golden that his little hands finger tarnishes.

he plunders our coffers & gives power to his evil spawn. he surrounds himself with venal sycophants who poison the environment for personal gain & put children in cages & mock education & lie. now he seeks to elevate to our highest court an intemperate judge who obfuscates & screams conspiracy while our Congress of cowards applauds. in 2 years he has creatd such damage that it will not be fixd in my lifetime.

everyday -- almost every hour -- his ego & ignorance bring a new crisis.

& what way out of this morass? a ravishd nation cowers in a lockd bathroom waiting for a stairway to freedom.

Cinema Diverse

another Palm Springs gay film festival under my belt. this time I went to 12 screenings in 3 days & a nite.

my faves:
narrative feature -- "Devil's Path"
doc (tie) -- "Every Act of Life" & "Dirty Sexy Comics"
guilty pleasure -- "Still Waiting in the Wings"

"Devil's Path" team : Stephen Twordokus / Matthew Montgomery / Steve Callahan / JD Scalzo / Jon Gale

Jon Macy ("Dirty Sexy Comics") making a drawing in my copy of one of his books

with Lee Meriwether ("Still Waiting in the Wings")

at the spa

(photo by Bob Barnes)

Craig Stephens (1944-2018)

altho I haven't seen Craig in years news of his death shakes me.

he was a beautiful 20 year-old when I first got to know him. there was a period when we spent a great deal of time together.  endless discussions abt politics & life. on campus & in the bars of Kent. we even double-dated once.

I workd hard for his election as student body president at Kent State. & after he won I served in his cabinet as Secretary of Communications. I felt as close to him then as I did to anyone.

we all expectd greatness from Craig. to me he had that Kennedy vibe. as happens in life we went in different directions.  he got a law degree & served his community & state with distinction.

in whatever time I have left I will always remember him with affection.

"Michael's Momentum"

sooooooooo...... a new series. & this is the background:

last month my friend of so many years Michael Pierce gave me my correspondence to him & other personal artifacts. he also askd if I'd like some items he's had for years -- knowing that from time to time I create collages & other oddities. 

so I had a dozen pre-stampd envelopes from I think the 1930s.

this morning I took a copy of the Blossom Center issue of the Kent State publication Momentum that I edited in summer of 1970 & cut out some images which I glued to the envelopes.

then I took some colord pens from a gift bag I recently won in Backstreet Art District's scavenger hunt. I scribbled happily. & here's what happend.