02 November 2008

seminar on Jean-Claude

I can only imagine how he felt. it was such an outpouring of love. Ron Rand -- who runs The Soul of the American Actor & tours as Harold Clurman in a one-man show -- put the event together at CUNY. there were readings from Jean-Claude's major plays. the best were given by Ruth Maleczech as "Bag Lady" & Ron Faber as the hunter in "The Hunter & the Bird." later in the day a stellar cast was assembld for readings from his adaptations of Chekhov: Laila Robins   Roger Rees   Angelica Torn   Brian Murray   & the super-hot Jake Robards.

here Jean-Claude himself reads from "Light" with Rosemary Quinn:



there were also several panels. none of us got to talk much but it was important to me that I was part of this event. I've known Jean-Claude for 40 years & really wantd to participate in this tribute.

Regina was my documentarian for this event but she hasn't been able to forward her photos to me. I took very few. this one at the closing reception is of Jean-Claude with the legendary Judith Malina & her new assistant Brad Burgess (who has mesmerizing eyes):

politix

LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was in town



to rally for Tom Udall



who is running for the US Senate.

01 November 2008

day of the dead

observd Halloween last nite with a Vincent Price film. then this ayem I walkd to his daughter's garage sale. one fetching item was an Alex Katz print for $4500. not my mother's kind of garage sale.

31 October 2008

out on the town



with David McDaniel

one-third of Gotham

whose stage credits include "No No Nanette" & "Pirates of Penzance"
film credits include "Michael Clayton" & "Burn After Reading"

30 October 2008

my week

travel was challenging. weather was as erratic as John McCain   pleasant one day   nasty the next. but it was good because I was able to spend time with people abt whom I care.



with Regina at her house...

23 October 2008

my panel

will be around 3 pm tues. but if you stop by CUNY's Segal Theater I'll be there all afternoon & evening.

in between panels & videos there will be a series of readings from Jean-Claude's plays. Ruth Maleczech   one of the great names of Off-Broadway   will read "Bag Lady." sections of "America Hurrah" & other van Itallie works are scheduld to be read by Angelica Torn & Brian Murray.

I'm flying to Boston to spend some time with Regina first. so this spot will be lonely for a week.

22 October 2008

"the theater of Jean-Claude van Itallie"



CUNY presents an all-day seminar on his career. it runs in the Segal Theater (365 Fifth ave) from 2-9 pm next tues.

I'll be on one of the panels. so if you're in Manhattan stop by.

21 October 2008

call everyone you've ever slept with

Durlx sent me this great article abt Bette Midler's rally for Obama.

how much do I love that woman...

2 weeks to go

McCain now ahead in Ohio & Florida & gaining in the newest national poll.

be afraid. be very afraid.

20 October 2008

19 October 2008

autumn

my favorite time of year



this was in my backyard in Kent so it's at least 15 years ago.

16 October 2008

"what becomes a legend most?"

in my day a legend was a legend.



& as a movie-mad young man I loved the Blackglama ads. this one of Judy Garland was one of her most memorable poses. & of course Andy Warhol appropriatd it for his famous print.

I still remember the poses of Gloria Swanson & Claudette Colbert & Lana Turner. but my all-time fave was that of Barbara Stanwyck who displayd her great spirit with such flare. now there was a legend.

the reason I dredge all this up is the current issue of Vanity Fair. it includes a new "what becomes a legend most?" ad. & boy do I feel old. I had no idea who the young woman in the ad was. I had to go to the company's website to discover it was Elizabeth Hurley. I rememberd she was a model who used to live with Hugh Grant before he pickd up the hooker but I had to google her to discover she's actually appeard in some movies. I don't think I've seen any of them.

Elizabeth Hurley is a lucky young lady. joining the ranks of Garland & Stanwyck. perhaps after I'm dead she'll actually become a legend. but right now I'd say Blackglama is really stretching.

15 October 2008

LeClezio

while in Elyria I read that the French writer won the Nobel. I hadn't heard abt him or thot abt him in many years. when I was an undergrad I was smitten by a photo of him looking ever so gorgeous with that blond hair. I no longer have the picture which I clippd from a mag. I don't know the source nor have I been able to find it online.

as surprising as it was to see what he looks like now was the news that for part of the year LeClezio lives less than an hour away from me.

14 October 2008

in the heartland

across the street from Mom's house there are several McCain/Palin signs. not surprising. Ohio leans Republican in presidential contests. & indeed McCain is ahead by an inch in state polls. so that campaign has sent the veep candidate to Ohio to spew her vitriol.

knowing that I was still shockd when one of Mom's elderly lady friends compard Obama to Hitler. that's exactly the kind of hate this campaign has generatd. those critics who have condemnd McCain are right. he's allowd the red state red meat rednecks to shout & clamber in a danergous manner.

something else is happening there that worries me. the Ohio Republican Party sued the secretary of state over voter registration. altho the judiciary has been split in its response so far I fear that in another close election Ohio cd once again be the culprit that catapaults the GOP candidate to the White House. we all know the Diebold controversy of 2004.

13 October 2008

web on Winckles

back from Ohio

I'm happy to report that Mom is greeting widowhood with grace.



she & Dad were married for 66 years. so it's a difficult stage in her life. but she's being brave. because the hurricane causd my visit for her birthday to not happen we celebratd all over again.

& for a change the weather was beautiful. my favorite time of year in Ohio has always been oct. on sat cousin Sal took me on a little trip. here he is with Lorain's famous bascule bridge which has been stuck in the up position for 4 months.



one of the world's largest drawbridges   it was opend in 1940. watching it part & lift was a boyhood thrill.

07 October 2008

so much hate

at a McCain rally an hour away from me yesterday when Obama's name was mentiond someone in the audience yelld out "terrorist."

McCain did nothing.

at a Palin rally yesterday when Obama's name was mentiond someone in the audience yelld out "kill him."

Palin did nothing.

06 October 2008

flarfd

I've read abt Issue 1   the online anthology of parodies of hundreds of poets. since I've flown under the radar my whole career   I never expectd to be part of it.

but after reading Tom Beckett's entry on his blog I gave a glance at the endless list of poets purportd to be contributors. I was shockd to find my name in the brew. I haven't seen the poem yet.

________________________________________________________

after writing the above I checkd the large pdf file of the issue. I don't know what to make of "my" poem. I rather thot I'd find a poem that maybe mentiond Mamie Van Doren. what I found doesn't feel at all like me. but it's fun to share the pages with all the other fakes.

05 October 2008

03 October 2008

Fetzers of Ohio

I noticd in Paul Newman's obits that his mother's name was Teresa Fetzer. she lived in Cleveland which isn't far away from Akron where Herman Fetzer lived.

I wrote abt the rotund poet/journalist years ago & returnd to this forgotten figure for the Neglectorino Project.

cd Newman have been a relative of the poet?

02 October 2008

monarchy of wings



as
I was
walking bike path
along
my arroyo
yesterday I encounterd
swarms
of butterflies
feeding on smelly
yellow
of chamisa:
buffet in flight.

01 October 2008

Linda Darnell is crackd



& the B is missing
from Hugh Herbert's star
on Hollywood Blvd

what I define as history
keeps slipping away
like my life

when I'm dying
maybe Snub Pollard
will drop his moustache
for me to grab
& climb up

& when I'm gone
maybe Snub Pollard
will fade from history
& I'll join
those old poets
no one reads

you know where
this is going

so I'll just end it

maybe find a DVD
of "Letter to 3 Wives"
to light the nite

30 September 2008

weekend in LA

spent a couple of days in Culver City with Billy. his big news is that he has a new companion -- a rescue dog. Emma wasn't sure of me at first. she growld. but I workd on befriending her. & by the second day she was comfortable with me as you can see by this picture Billy took in his livingroom.



then it was off to Hollywood for a too-brief visit. on sunday Craig pickd me up & we were off to Silverlake for brunch. afterward he took this with his cellphone.



those are the steps Laurel & Hardy used in "The Music Box."

I packd as much as I cd into the quick trip. there was a disappointing opera at dreary Dorothy Chandler Pavillion & a popular musical at magnificent Pantages Theater. Billy & I took in the John Lautner exhibition at the Hammer. & there were some good meals.

29 September 2008

Paul Newman (1925-2008)



he was quite simply the greatest film actor of his generation.

yes. James Dean was more explosive in his screen beginning. the incandescence of his career is unquestionable. but there was no middle or end to that career.

James Dean & Paul Newman Screen Test


& some believe that Marlon Brando borderd on genius. I've long felt his reputation is as bloatd as his latter day physique. he squanderd both talent & beauty.

Newman was a beautiful man & good actor who remaind a beautiful man & became an even better actor. in his late career he didn't require Brando's gimmicks. his acting came from the soul. he sd more with a look than with a page of dialog.

25 September 2008

inside McCain's head

my father returnd from WW2 with a condition then calld shell shock. today it's calld post traumatic stress syndrome. Dad was able to control it & lead a fairly normal life. but as he became elderly it returnd with a vengeance.

Senator McCain refuses to release his medical records. he wants to be our oldest president ever but won't let the electorate know the particulars of his health. I'm not so concernd abt his cancer history. but I fear no one is talking abt post traumatic stress. that condition wd explain his legendary bad temper. it wd also explain the volatility of his decision-making during this campaign. if conservative Republicans are concernd abt his theatrics   can you imagine a nation having to live with a president performing such frequent stunts.

asking to postpone the debate is a cheap trick. & suggesting postponing it till the veep debate so that Gov. Palin will have more time to learn her lines is pathetic.

if Obama doesn't win by a landslide then the nation deserves its decline.

24 September 2008

too much change

when I walkd into my gym this ayem I had no idea it was for the last time.

without warning or notice the owner is closing the place where I've happily been working out for abt a dozen years. lockerroom scuttlebutt has the building being sold for $1.2 million as part of a messy divorce case. apparently it will be convertd into offices.

the gym was a pleasant walk for me -- I think maybe a mile & a half? & it had a sauna which I like. now I'm forcd to find a new place. there are a couple within walking distance but none with a sauna.

what a year.

23 September 2008

from the archives



with James Broughton in my office on the 12th floor of Kent State University Libraries (dec 86)

22 September 2008

Melina (1990-2006)



hard to believe it's been 2 years already since the loss of my sweet companion.

21 September 2008

whatever happend to Paul Kilb?



he was the lead in Markoupoulis' "Twice a Man" & later appeard in Warhol's "Women in Revolt." Kilb wrote music for Lanford Wilson's "Balm in Gilead" & playd piano for Citizens for Interplanetary Activity.

I used to see this beautiful man in the Village in the '60s. is he still alive?

20 September 2008

last nite

Marsha Hunt turns 91 next month. she was in Santa Fe for our local film noir festival. one of the movies with which she appeard was "Kid Glove Killer" which I saw last year. so I went to the screening of Andre DeToth's "None Shall Escape." I wdn't classify this political film as a noir but it was a last minute replacement for a true noir they cdn't get.



Hunt has a great memory & remains a lively involvd person. she just made a short which was shown & producd a CD of a singer she likes & did a book of fashion stills.

19 September 2008

money bores me

so I'm not conversant in the world of finances. my only reflection on this banking debacle is that it's surely the final ingredient (think Iraq & Katrina & Supreme Court & loss of international respect) in keeping our current president at the bottom of history's list.

* * *

after writing this I realize that the title is misleading. the world of finance & investments & that sort of thing bores me. however for years I've been using money for art pieces. in fact   I'm at work on a new project which shd be the final piece in a small book   Current Seas. so money as symbol fascinates me.

18 September 2008

"Partially Buried Woodshed"

in spring of 1990 Kent State University's school of art held a symposium on the Robert Smithson piece which had been done on campus 20 years earlier.



I took this picture of Nancy Holt walking the foundation of what was the woodshed. behind her are a pair of dear friends who have since died -- Lilian Tyrrell & Richard Martin.

17 September 2008

"deciduous kinesthetics"

that was what Ann Corio felt was a better word for her art than "striptease."

in the early '40s Monogram signd her as their answer to Maria Montez. the stripper only made 5 pictures.



Corio made a spectacular comeback in her 50s doing her strip act on Broadway. on the same stage where I'd seen Geraldine Page play O'Neill exactly 2 years earlier I witnessd Corio perform in "This Was Burlesque" producd by her husband. it was a fascinating glimpse back at a popular form of entertainment no longer in vogue.

16 September 2008

My Monogram

falling out of an ice-box
        like Heinie Conklin
is a moment

our biographies of summer colds
& winter squash sidle
we are back in the dark
among forgotten royalty
Joan Woodbury   Belita   Ann Corio
princesses of Poverty Row

darkness is real
growing population of memorial cards
stuck in a bible
darkness is creatd
Tex Ritter & Snub Pollard
evading bad boy gun play
it's all darkness
Bela or Boris
gumshoe under lamppost

rewind to the Lincoln
long narrow theater of childhood
saturday matinee double feature
imprinting shadows forever

barefoot boy in man's country
(Frankie Darro was one of Mom's favorites)
holds hands with cousin

decades careen around corner
cop car in Chinatown
everyone searching for Temple of Eternal Flame

Lincoln long gone
its flame still flickers
in forever shadows

cut to a young Mitchum
in trenchcoat
walking into the frame

another moment

before nite
swallows me

15 September 2008

the road back

went to the gym today. didn't do the full workout but that I made the walk & did abt half is a good sign. still hacking up some Palin but trying to calm myself.

14 September 2008

surprise

David's dear sister sent me a packet of his photographs. & what emotions that brought forth. many I have copies of. however there were at least a dozen that not only don't I have but I don't recall ever seeing.

for instance   I have zero memory of when or where David took this of me posing as a statue.

12 September 2008

I don't like Ike

I shd be on my way to the airport. my plans were to fly to Ohio to celebrate Mom's 87th birthday this weekend. however I was to change planes in Houston. the hurricane has promptd the airport there to be closd.

last nite was too much of a hassle to repeat. let's just say I finally threw up my hands & this weekend I'll celebrate from afar. I'll rebook after I get some rest.

10 September 2008

can't believe it

haven't been calld by a pollster in ages. but last nite -- naturally since I was feeling like shit -- I got 2 calls.

the first was easy. straight out political likes & dislikes. however the next was abt energy policy. the questions were long & I had to ask the young man asking them to repeat a couple. kept wanting to provide an answer other than the choices given. but with patience on the poor guy's part we made it thru.

09 September 2008

he knew my secrets & I knew his



I've already mentiond David Meredith's bequest of 3 art works. there was something else.

last week I rec'd in the mail from his sister 5 spiral bound notebooks -- David's private journals from 1976-80. in the front of each he'd written: "In case of eventuality, turn these journals over to Alex Gildzen."

these past 3 days that my malady slowd me down I had little energy so took to the livingroom a la Madame Recamier & began to read his words. the first journal is missing so we jump into his life. but having been there I knew our location.

let me say that over the 33 years of our friendship we did a great deal of conversing. there were long drives from Kent to Provincetown as well as many other trips. & after my move west every time I stayd at David's we'd be up every nite talking. neither of us held anything back. so there were fewer revelations than one mite expect in the 4 journals I've read so far. but there is all manner of forgotten moments -- during a trip to NYC together I took him to Ira Joel Haber's loft to meet the artist   one time when Jean-Claude van Itallie visitd we took him dancing at American Bar in Akron. that sort of thing.

the reading isn't always easy   esp when he reflects on my battle with alcoholism. there are times when he's hard on all his friends but it's what he felt at a certain time.

in my long life I've been blessd with a handful of friends who made a real difference. my friendship with David was deep & true & I still miss him so much that reading these words often had me in tears.

I remember a couple of years ago I sd in a phone chat with David "I love you." he seemd quite startld. don't remember his exact response but it was quizical. my response was that we were in a stage of life when our future wasn't promisd & it was important to tell the people we care abt that we do care abt them. 8 days after Dad died David calld & toward the end of the conversation he sd "I love you." it was the only time he ever sd that to me. I knew he meant it & I knew he knew we'd never speak again. 19 days later he died.

but in a way he is speaking to me again. thru the journals. I feel the greatest honor that he enthrustd his most private writing to me.

08 September 2008

this is

the third day I haven't left the house. got whompd bigtime by what's generically calld "a cold." I do believe I made myself vulnerable to such insult by my agitation over Sarah Appalling & a personal matter.

felt a bit better upon waking. then I turnd on the news & heard that McCain has jumpd ahead in the polls. almost lost my oatmeal.

06 September 2008

the poem that wasn't

after my recent Whitman posts I was surprisd to see him make our local paper this morning. his fleeting connection to Santa Fe is fascinating.

one can just imagine him orating in the plaza where many decades later Allen Ginsberg was photographd.

05 September 2008

madder than hell

the reason I truly despise John McCain is because this was to be the year of civil discourse   the year in which true policy differences between the parties wd find intelligent examination. but no. McCain pickd the most devisive runningmate he cd uncover. & now any semblance of mature discussion has turnd into an evening of Jerry Springer.

listen to the old man   rancor spilling from that false smile. listen to the hockey mom   clutching the rifle from the dead hands of Charlton Heston. they face their convention of mostly rich white folk & fail to discuss the economy or social justice. instead they bring back the culture wars. they have given permission to vote against hope   indeed permission to vote against a black man.

Mrs. Palin can't be McCain's soulmate because he doesn't have a soul. he sold that when he pickd her.

04 September 2008

Walt



Billy took this at Brookgreen Gardens a few years ago.

many many years ago David Meredith & I visitd Whitman's grave. a college chum of David's who lives nearby took a picture of us in front of the grave. I never had a copy of it & David was unable to locate his. I suspect now it's lost.

03 September 2008

Whitman naked




Cell Theater
in NYC will present a reading of "Song of Myself" by 25 naked performers.

02 September 2008

"country first"

no one expectd John McCain to tap Larry Craig as his running mate. after all there's enuf tapping in Craig's bio.

given his major age & health issues it was imperative that McCain make a wise choice. he had a deep pool in which to dive. there was the Mormon & the turncoat Democrat & the closetd gay. but McCain was faltering with the radical right who probably wdn't support any of these candidates. one can appreciate that he has to solidify his base before putting his country first.

deciding to go with a social conservative McCain had Rev. Huckabee in clear view. but for reasons which speak volumes abt his judgment he went with Sarah Palin. I must confess that I had never heard of her before the nomination. but then McCain had only met what his press corps is calling his "soulmate" twice himself. as I got to know something abt this cipher I became depressd. & then I became incedibly angry.

there's no way I'd ever vote for McCain but that doesn't disenfrancise me from having an opinion abt his decision-making process. knockd up daughter aside. Troopergate aside. "bridge to nowhere" flipflop aside. Palin has zero qualifications for stepping up shd nature take its course with the elderly McCain. that he wd imperil the nation with such a choice is staggering.

cultural conservatives boast that Palin had had "executive experience." give me a break. for less than 2 years she's been governor of a state whose entire population is less than Baltimore. compare Alaska's 627000 citizens with Chicago's nearly 3 million for instance. they also are quick to cite her experience as "commander" of her state's national guard. check CNN.com for Campbell Brown's skewering of McCain press aid Tucker Bounds on that issue. if Bounds is as tough as McCain's inner circle will be the nation is screwd.

I suspect McCain's choice felt like a double-hitter to him. snag the evangelicals who have softend on the morality front. then draw in disaffectd Clinton supporters. I can't believe that anyone of any gender who voted for Hillary wd support this wingnut. suggesting Palin simply as woman wd satisfy Clinton's base is an insult.

to me McCain has long been a loose canon. I still can't believe he's the best the Republicans can find. but what shocks me even more is that he's doing so well in the polls. perhaps pollsters shd first ask of an interviwee if they are capable of reading a newspaper.

one hopes that either McCain or Palin will stumble badly in the weeks to come. after all it really is time for all of us to put on our American hats. it's time to put country first & elect Obama / Biden.

01 September 2008

that Ford Victoria

that threw me
into the nite
scoops me up again

drives me
thru eye
of storm

my nails
carve poems
in upholstery

at first
stop
I hop out

I prefer
to walk
thru surges

31 August 2008

it's gray & cold & wet

& I'm having a shitty day in a not so good year.

the phone rings.

"hello. this is John McCain..."

I slam the receiver down so hard it jumps back up.

it's too nasty out to walk to the gym. inside I'm too angry to focus.

friends

Wayne Alan Harold has made a movie abt P. Craig Russell :

Night Music DVD


in this clip Craig throws a party for some of his models   inc my friends David Meredith & Alfred Cavaretta.

many memories watching this.

30 August 2008

casting news

following in the cinematic footsteps of
Hurd Hatfield



& Helmut Berger


will be
Ben Barnes


I took this of the young actor on the UCLA campus earlier this year.

appearing opposite Barnes in this newest adapatation of Oscar Wilde will be Ben Chaplin & Colin Firth.

28 August 2008

train a-comin'



by year's end we shd have train service between Santa Fe & Albuquerque. not at first but hopefully soon there will be a Railrunner station a quick walk from my house.

26 August 2008

flashback

43 years ago this month I saw Peter & Gordon perform at Akron Civic Theater as part of Dick Clark's "Caravan of Stars."

this morning a friend sent me the video of "American Prayer." I was shockd to see a fleeting cameo by Peter & Gordon. earlier this year I'd seen Peter Asher in an acting role in "Bernard and Doris." but I hadn't realizd he was back with his old partner. so I googld them & discoverd that they're even doing some limitd touring.

25 August 2008

behind the scenes

a cabaret performer whose online moniker is Marknyc5 has a fascianting You Tube page. he's found rehearsal tracks by some famous movie stars & synchd them to final film footage. so we have the chance to see the likes of Audrey Hepburn   Natalie Wood   Rosalind Russell   Leslie Caron in some of the most famous movie musicals of all time as they wd've been presentd had there been no dubbing.

warning: some of these clips are scary.

23 August 2008

Indian Market



didn't stay long. too many people.

but I did see jewelrymaker Kenneth Johnson (that's his bracelet on the above cover) with a wild new hair style. he's cut his long hair (which is beginning to gray) & has it spiked.

22 August 2008

on the plaza



Buffy Sainte-Marie is in town for Indian Market. altho I spoke with her at a conference in Glorieta shortly after moving west   it's the first time in 44 years I've heard her perform live.

21 August 2008

peaches

I love them but never buy them. the ones in the store are hard & don't seem to ever ripen properly.

but once a year neighbor Rita brings me a bag of ones from her backyard tree. they taste better than a sonnet.

20 August 2008

at the movies today

I saw the trailer for a new version of "The Women." it looks like a commercial for face lifts.

I won't judge a film by its preview but -- lord -- why did they do this one when Cukor's version is a classic?

19 August 2008

speaking of

Linda Lyke & cats . . .



here's a poster she did for a poetry reading many years ago.

18 August 2008

circles

Cass Bricker just calld from Kent. David's sister gave her the 3 pieces of art I've been willd to pack & ship. she informd me that it'd be better to remove the glass from a Linda Lyke print. I think it was for a long-ago birthday that I gave David the print which was part of a series Linda did with my cat poems.



in spring of 1997 I took this picture of David with our dear friend Billy Berger in David's dining room on Vine St. on the wall you see the piece that will be on its way to Santa Fe.

16 August 2008

howdy

Jean Vengua asks abt the t-shirt in the last post. indeed the image is Howdy Doody -- an early television favorite.

I had that tee for many years. when it became too frayd to wear in public I cut out the image abt 3 years ago & did a series of photos using it.



I never did anything with that project because I wasn't completely thrilld with its outcome.

15 August 2008

from the archives



with Paul Metcalf at Hancock Shaker Village 22 years ago this month

14 August 2008

I was so taken

by the doc "Girl 27" that I lookd for the books of its writer/director David Stenn.

this morning I began his Clara Bow bio.

Stenn & I share a deep love of old movies. we both fell for the silent era when we were just boys.

he has an almost movie-star appeal   having been photographd by such luminaries as George Hurrell & Greg Gorman. the fact that his editor was Jackie O & that he actually found Patricia Douglas & was able to film her widens his appeal.

12 August 2008

bittersweet day

it began with discovery of an obituary of someone from my Ohio past who matterd.

then a call from David Meredith's sister Wini to inform me of his bequests to me   my parents & cousin Sal.

Wini sd that near the end David woke from his coma   lookd at the ceiling & askd "are you sure you have the right person?"

11 August 2008

Olympix

I confess. when I was younger I wrote glowingly of events such as the Olympics & the Oscars. that was before I was willing to admit that they are all abt money.

I began watching the opening ceremonies the other nite but had to turn it off long before the computer-generatd fireworks. I'm not sure which was scarier: the host smiles (orchestratd by the architects of the Tiananmen Square massacre) or NBC's too-frequent shots of the carrion that occupies the Oval Office. all I cd think of was Leni Riefenstahl.

during the cold war the unwritten story of the Olympics was governmental use of competitors as spies. I'm not sure that story has completely been told yet. now it appears to be abt illegal drug use. but then doping is to athletes what lying is to politicians. we really shdn't be surprisd. yet we continue to make role models of Olympians even when winners scream & carry on as if they'd just won "American Idol." I still don't understand how we can fill teams with professional athletes (even those with criminal records).

& did you know that the US government gives its citizens who win gold medals $25K per medal? I wonder what the funding source of that is. I presume most of our tax dollars are dumpd down the Iraq hole (while that government banks its oil revenues).

so -- let the games go on. & the commercials.

Beckham's bulge

UBIQUITOUS

09 August 2008

Chris Calloway (1945-2008)




singer / actress
daughter of Cab Calloway
goddaughter of Lena Horne
one of the stars of "Live at the Opera" which I produced in 1999

08 August 2008

Jerry's Diner



news from Kent of an impending death.

the city will soon demolish this historic downtown diner.

Jerry's was the subject of a little book painter Robert Mayer put together in 1987. my contribution was from Postcard Memoirs. many of the other contributors have since died: Jonathan Williams   Daniel Thompson   David Meredith   Mort Krahling.

more & more Kent to me is a place of ghosts.

07 August 2008

"o handsomeness"

the Billy Budd of Teddy Tahu Rhodes is robust. his is a physical performance. he clambers up & down the rigging at heights that wd make me wobbly. & when he removes his shirt all genders in the audience sigh. but of course this is Benjamin Britten. so he must be able to sing & sing well. & that he does.

this is probably the gayest production I've seen at Santa Fe Opera. every man on stage appears to love Billy. his mates are always touching him. & the officers have other ways of signifying emotions from like to lust. Claggart -- well sung by Peter Rose -- is a sexual bully who keeps Billy's kerchief as a sort of fetish. it eventually passes on to Vere -- William Burden -- who even as an old man appears to be able to smell Billy on the souvenir.

this is another powerful production of Britten to add to the SFO list.

05 August 2008

T. R. Q.

my late friend wd turn 65 today



probably his only naked pose




at the Woolworth photobooth




pretending to be a cow at a picnic at the Krause farm (summer 1961)



just hanging out



Tom visits me in Twin Lakes (summer 1975)

04 August 2008

next up

James Franco has playd James Dean & Harvey Milk's boyfriend. now he'll tackle the role of the young Allen Ginsberg.

in a recent interview Franco sd:"I've always wanted to see Smithson's Spiral Jetty in Utah, The Lightning Field of New Mexico. And there's Donald Judd's center in Marfa, Texas." not many young gen movie stars talk like that.

03 August 2008

Capra lite

"Swing Vote" isn't the kind of movie I usually pay money to see. but when the debate scene was filmd at our rodeo grounds neighbor Rita & I were in the stands behind Kevin Costner. so we went to the movie today.

in the previous 2 made-in-town movies in which I appear ("Santa Fe" & "The Maniacts")I actually appear. at least I cd pick myself out. but in "Swing Vote" we're simply part of a blur.

I tried to make Rita feel better by reminding her that early in their careers Matt Damon & Ben Affleck were extras at a similar venue in another Costner movie.

02 August 2008

new browser

after a long conversation with a gentleman in India I learnd that Dell's warranty doesn't cover software. luckily the phone line went dead before I made a decision.

so what I've done is uninstall AVG (already have McAfee) & install Mozilla.

so far it's working. things look a little weird cause my settings are all off but I guess I'll get used to it.

damn

machines drive me nuts.

now Internet Explorer won't let me open certain sites -- inc my own blog.