things #2

yesterday's photo brought back memories of that bracelet. I no longer remember where or when I bought it but I do know I had it on my 1st trip to Europe. was I wearing it when I dined with Kitaj in London or was drawn by Hockney in Paris? perhaps. for years it's been hidden away but I dug it out to wear last nite when the neighbors took Rita to Old House for her birthday dinner.

Kent State centennial

Special Collections & Archives has put together a collection of historical photos to mark KSU's 100 years for an online album. among the items is this photo of me with my library mentor Dean Keller who creatd the department. right now the photo is in the decade of the '80s but I'll write to the current curator to correct that. that fanciful shirt I'm wearing was cut up in 1978 for a series of valentine collages.

things #1

No ideas
but in things

William Carlos Williams

its thingness

Howard P. Vincent



when I lived in Twin Lakes I bought a long piece of butcher block to use as a desk. I brought that with me when I moved into town. at first it was in the dining room as a sort of serving table. when I turnd the garage into a great room that piece of butcher block became a counter. a piece was cut out to make room for a sink. that piece I used as a cutting board & still do.

eveything old is new again

I'm tickld by the new interest in those old vaudevillians Sophie Tucker & Trixie Friganza.

Trixie Friganza sélectionné dans Musique et Clips

type lice & other memories

in case you don't read comments here's something Jim McCrary left:

what a world...when i think of the blue wax stencils we typed for mimeo here in lawrence in the 60's...and hanging out with Paul Mariah in Glen Ellyn learning how to set type on his 1857 letterpress...it was pretty funny what with the wine, dope and dsylexia trying to set type upside down and backwards. He was a good friend at a time when I was having lots of trouble.....miss him. so yes, Alex, we struggle on with this new business.

so many memories. blue stains all over face & hands from working with mimeo stencils. & being exposd to the whole world of typesetting. have any youngsters out there experiencd type lice?

at Commercial Press in Kent I once had a try at working a linotype machine. & on campus for a journalism class I struggld with setting type. in Dean Keller's basement I workd his antique Chandler & Price. & all those years of correcting galleys. how few still know that special shorthand indicating mistakes & corrections.

this nostalgia shdn't imply I'm against progress or that I don't embrace what new technologies offer. it's all amazing. only a few years separate the scalawag mooning a xerox machine & the tsunami of sexting. but sometimes I feel bad for a generation who haven't blackend their fingers in the dance from type drawer to composing stick.

frustration

so
I continue
the tech grapple
getting
older with
every wrong touch

better twitter Witter Bynner?

now that I have a phone that does everything but kiss me I'm trying to be a modern man. yesterday I sent Bob in Fort Worth what I thot was my 1st text. turnd out I pressd the wrong whatever. so just now I tried again.

I don't quite get texting. why not just stick with e-mail? & as far as twittering again I'm in the dark. cd it simply be that it's the newest thing?

payback

one of the cats who come to the bowl I keep full on the back portal left a gift for me this ayem: a big fat dead gopher near the mounds at the side of the house.

transfixd by history

spent hours watching television today.

from the archives

Tulum (1987)

why people hate government

I've lived in this city for 15 years & always pay my bills on time. last month I forgot to pay the city utility bill.

I just got a disconnect notice in the mail.

Ellie Greenwich (1940-2009)

Shakespearian

that term is appearing in most of the commentary abt Teddy Kennedy. surely no politician of my lifetime has dealt with so much tragedy.

when gray

comes to Santa Fe it's so surreal that my mood alters. I'm not addictd to sun but I do have a natural inclination against gray.

from the archives

with Tobias & Melina on Morris Rd

rain

this month usually is our monsoon season. but it's been terribly dry. late today a bit of precip with a piddle more predictd for early week.

we need a soaker.

how fortunate

Santa Fe is to have Yuja Wang perform every summer. tonite was Bach & she was divine. between pieces I chattd with tenor Jorge Prego who calld Wang a genius.

journal entry from 1968

        13 may

I was "lecturing" my poetry class on Robert Creeley, projective verse & direct communication between poem & reader. As I was reviewing Creeley's biography, he walked into the classroom! The "quick surprise" was the kind of meeting which shd occur between poet & audience. (Creeley's entrance was, unfortunately, a mistake -- he was looking for Jake's classroom.)

a day in Cundiyo

unveiling the patio

the finishd work of Valentin Hernandez & his father

mail woes

for some reason my Cybermesa account is down this ayem. so if you need to reach me I now have another address as well. it's Alex_87505 at Yahoo.com.

patrician blue

instead of going to the gym this ayem I paintd window frames while that part of the house was in the shade.

step by step

I'm learning what the new phone can do. here's the 1st picture I took with it:



& it functions here as an update to the progress of the patio.

learning curve

I rarely use my cell phone. I got one after 9/11 to use mostly during travel. so I've kept it simple. but I felt it was time to get with it & purchase one of the smart phones. so I got an Instinct. I've already had to call Sprint's customer service twice while trying to learn to use it. (& I must say I'm totally pleasd with the quality of service they provide.) of course it does more than I need it to (but so does my computer & almost every other machine I own).

Instinct won't accept my e-mail address which comes from a local ISP so I'm re-establishing a Yahoo account to be able to e-mail when I'm traveling. I suspect having 2 accounts will be more than simple me can handle. but it's important for those of my generation to keep up with technology.

shopping

except for bookstores it's an activity I avoid. however Regina loves it. so between 4 operas & 2 movies & a score of galleries & museums we hit the shops. I actually made a list of things I wantd ahead of time. & naturally -- my cousin got me thru the whole list in 2 hours the very first day she was here.

I did get a flat screen tv & a new phone. the latter does more than I need & it's complicatd as hell but I'm determind to be a 21st century citizen in good standing.

wonderful week

Regina just left. she always wears me out but I'm grateful for her visits.

Medal of Freedom

I took this of today's medal winner Chita Rivera with Bobby Lewis when they both were inductd into the Theater Hall of Fame.

divas

consecutive nites of powerhouses:

Christine Brewer as Alceste
Natalie Dessay as Violette

patio-in-progress

at Embudo Station

with Michael Mulcahy   an assisatnt director waiting to direct his own script "Chasing Blood"

"The Letter"

Somerset Maugham's short story has been adaptd for stage   screen   tv. now it's an opera.

last nite we saw the premiere production of the opera & today the William Wyler film version. in almost every aspect the movie is the superior work of art. Max Steiner's score is more memorable. the screenplay trumps the libretto (altho the latter steals huge chunks of the former). Bette Davis is more engaging than Patricia Racette. Orry-Kelly's costumes are sublime whereas Tom Ford's are a disaster.

whirlwind

when my cousin comes to town I don't get much computer time so this coming week I may miss a day here.

today we did a great deal of shopping & a fun movie & a swell dinner & a disappointing opera.

Regina arrives today

combine

full moon
with beastly heat...
throw in
a bit of a queasy stomach

& I was up
off & on
all nite long.

I remember
dream sequences:
one was
a romantic interlude
at a time share
another
abt a dog
that was Cinco
but
didn't look
like Cinco.

bandstand series on the plaza

Cathryn McGill & Larry Mitchell



Ryan McGarvey

national underwear week

me in Rio de Janeiro (1988)

to avoid

cleaning house
I'm spending
too much time
on Facebook.

one of

my boyhood favorites was Sessue Hayakawa.



it was during the height of his comeback which culminatd in his role in "Bridge on the River Kwai." it was later that I found his spectacular work as a leading man in silent films.

last nite TCM did a Hayakawa salute. both films I saw were clunkers   "Three Came Back" & "Tokyo Joe." however he was captivating even in these minor movies. & it was heartening to know that tribute was being paid to an important actor.

Bob gambles in black & white

circles & squares
in casino     on screen

sweat under tux
all chips down

age blots old hurts
waits for new pain

The Gladys Kravitz Award

to Lucia Whalen

a little gem liftd from Facebook

Christopher Rice is requesting a copy of Lou Dobbs' birth certificate so that he can wipe his rear end with it.

one year later

"Dad's Last Garden"

another composer in town

at 83 Gunther Schuller had a busy schedule in Santa Fe. he was here for the premiere of his first horn piece in some 40 years. but he also gave master classes & public talks.

half century mark

my romance with browsing came early in life. I've written abt the splendid library on Third St which had been the home of a doctor Sherwood Anderson knew & wrote abt. one of the great crimes of my city was the destruction of that magnificent edifice. & that a church was responsible adds to my distaste for religions. but I still remember roaming the shelves. & those discoveries have been with me my whole life.

these days the internet has become my library. & what browsing I do there. today I wish to mention one of my discoveries. I know longer remember exactly how I stumbld on Bill Fogle. but his writings resonatd. I felt a kinship with the way in which he presentd his reflections on his life. & then came his videos. suddenly that distinctive voice brought a whole new layer to the richness of his collage of family snapshots & random jottings. there is humor in Fogle's creations but it's often borderd with sadness. he continues to hone his skills as a video artist at the same time that he plunges deeper into some pretty dark water.



today Bill Fogle turns 50. he's been celebrating for a week. but why not? for those of us who felt death wd come early all extensions are a surprise. & half a century is a milestone. I look forward to reading & seeing more of his contemplations.

Bach cello suites

Zuill Bailey is one of the world's great cellists. yesterday he performd a trio of these. what was fascinating to me was that he chose for the middle one to discuss the piece & his choices in performing it. this is risky business. I suspect some purists mite find it irksome. but I enjoyd what he did. & by the time he perfomd the final suite it enrichd my recption of it.

premiering tonite

Paul Moravec is the composer of "The Letter" which opens tonite at Santa Fe Opera. he & his portly librettist talkd at a seminar this morning ably led by our local composer John Kennedy. I learnd that Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" was among the influences for the new opera. & that its star Patricia Racette was a generous collaborator -- even writing one of the libretto's best lines.

I won't be seeing it for another couple of weeks when my cousin Regina arrives for a visit.

this blog's 15 minutes

it receives 60-70 hits a day. yesterday Towleroad postd a link to my Steward salute. suddenly I was getting hundreds of hits an hour. & they came from Portugal   Spain   France   Israel   Australia   Thailand   Singapore   & on & on.

thx Andy.

Samuel M. Steward (1909-1993)

today is the centennial of one of the most fascinating men in American letters. Ohio-born Sam Steward began his writing career as a poet but is best known for his fiction & memoirs. he wrote a pair of mysteries featuring his friends Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas & he producd gay porn under the name Phil Andros. but his greatest work of art was his life & happily for us he wrote abt it. if you don't know Dear Sammy (1977) or Chapters from an Autobiography (1981) seek them out.

in addition to his many literary connections Sam was filmd having sex by Alfred Kinsey & made his living as a tattoo artist using the name Phil Sparrow. & as I wrote in a poem a few years ago he was
probably the only man
to have blown
both Valentino & Rock Hudson.

altho we wrote & talkd on the phone the only time I actually met Sam was at his home in Berkely in 1982. his charm made it easy to understand how so many famous men fell for him. in 1990 he wrote the introduction to my Postcard Memoirs which ends
...in Kent some wonderful Ohio effluvium reaches up from the soil to charm the pants off both male and female citizens,and Alex has captured it in his lovely net of words and postcards, and here they are altogether once again all at once to be re-enjoyed and re-savored once more.

in his final year Sam was among those wishing me well in Gildzen at 50: A Celebration. I've taken to heart his admonition to avoid doctors & lawyers.

what a life he led. let's not forget it or the work he left us.

yr tax dollars at work

a vice president's Secret Service protection ends 6 months after he leaves office. but Dick Cheney has requestd & surprisingly rec'd an extension.

finally

rain

levy lives

r.j.s. just sent me a link to color footage of d.a. levy reading.

40 years ago

I made green cheese fondue for Julia & David & Russ as we watchd the moon landing.

another video

the last of the five videos from my Cleveland reading John Burroughs has so beautifully producd as part of his Crisis Chronicles library.

beating the heat

my neighbor Jonathan



likes the apricot tree too. of course he's not interestd in the fruit. but the shade is pleasant. & o yes   the birds that do enjoy the fruit tempt him.

Walter Cronkite (1916-2009)

Walter Cronkite-JFK - The funniest movie is here. Find it

happy birthday to Farmers Market

Los Angeles Times just ran a story on the 75th birthday of Farmers Market. the opening anecdote centers on writer David Freeman -- calld a "longtime regular" -- bringing his own spoon from home for his morning coffee when the market switchd to plastic spoons.

David was a brilliant actor-director at Kent State University. I first saw him on stage in 1961. the moments of his career there that I most cherish were his portrayal of Mr. Zero in "The Adding Machine" & his direction of "The Fantasticks." David went on to become playwright ("Jesse and the Bandit Queen")   novelist ( It's All True )   screenwriter ("Street Smart")   journalist ( The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock ).

here we are together at Farmers Market in 1991:



& allow me to add a birthday huzzah to the market. I can't even estimate the number of times I've enjoyd this amazing spot on Fairfax. I've observd Gwen Verdon shopping there & Paul Mazursky with his morning gang. the last time I was there Bill Berger took this:



this pizza shop is run by the family of the man who had Villa Capri in Hollywood for so many years. that James Dean hangout is gone but this little bit of it remains.

panda forever

in the 2 months since the Cleveland event John Burroughs has been posting his footage from readings. here's his video of "Charlie Chaplin Purchases Clara Kimball Young's Undies."

gifts

there were blessings waiting for my return.

because it was mighty hot on mon nite I put down my bag & went outside to water. when I lookd into my belovd apricot tree I saw some yellow spots among the leaves & thot the intense heat while I was away had done damage. but when I lookd closer I was amazd to see fruit.



my architect Richard Martinez gave me as a housewarming gift several pots of apricot fledglings which he grew from seed. the ones I plantd in the back yard with its treacherous caleche died. but the pair I plantd in the front have survivd these 15 years. the larger has become a treasure in my daily life. both blossom but neither has producd fruit. until now. of course the birds are voracious in their eating. however I was able to salvage a couple & tastd them yesterday.

& in my mail was a small package from Indiana. William Allegrezza sent me an object from his found poetry project.





I love both the notion of combining poetry & objects   & Allegrezza's feeling that by not documenting his texts he's creating "a dance with oblivion." in the long run all the poems we all create are the mulch of oblivion. but there's something heroic abt a poet knowingly & honestly facing this future.

so my return has been enrichd by gifts from past & present. fresh fruit & sparkling words. how lucky am I?

2 views of "view from the porch"

from this visit:

view from the porch @ Yahoo! Video

& from Mothers Day:

60 years ago

Dad built the brick house on Winckles St. here is a picture of it under construction:



the house wasn't complete when we movd in that nov. the whole family helpd but Dad did most of the work. in this photo of one of my birthday parties you can see the breezeway area hadn't been convertd into a room yet.

many years later the greenhouse was an add-on to the breezeway.

end of Dad's greenhouse

when I set a goal on an Elyria trip & accomplish it I feel good. this time I was determind to dismantle Dad's greenhouse. you see some of it in the background in this primitive video:


Dad built this add-on to the back of the house years ago & it got good use. however the glass panes that made the ceiling leakd & the beams supporting that ceiling were beginning to rot. so cousin Sal

& I went to work. & I do mean work. but we're transforming that part of the house back to the way it was when I was a boy.

I'm home

& me at the Hickories yesterday for Lorain County Historical Society's ice cream social

in Ohio

visiting Mom



(& back when I was 10)

Palin: "I am not a quitter"

sounds like

Nixon: "I am not a crook"

cranky

smoke alarm woke me in middle of nite

nothing but Jackson shit on the news

fresh gopher mounds in the yard

"Captain Video"

one of my first favorite tv shows. it ran from 1949-55.

its star was Al Hodge who was born in Ravenna OH & became an alcoholic who died alone at close to the age I am now.

among the many involvd with the series were
Sam Fuller who wrote some episodes prior to his directorial career in feature films
Kenneth Nelson who playd Ranger Colt decades before his role in "Boys in the Band"
Ruth White who did a single episode 16 years before voicing the Motel Keeper in "America Hurrah"
Ernest Borgnine who guest-starrd in 2 episodes 4 years before "Marty"

Palin quits Alaska for "higher calling"

she will manage Michael Jackson's career as his body goes on tour.

pancakes on the plaza

with neighbors

maybe

Michael Jackson really is news. it seems that politicians of late are revealing that they can be as crazy as some entertainers.

today we have the Alaska gov telling her troubld state to shove it while she looks to higher office.

but even more bizarre is this from that southern first lady who is trying to outdo her husband by talking too much:
“Of course I’m not saying that Mark is gay,” [Jenny] Sanford said, “but he may as well be. The moral decay in this country has claimed another victim and this time it was my family. Our marriage was perfect until these laws started passing around the country. Clearly the slow dissolution of the sanctity of marriage in America seeped into Mark’s psyche until he no longer felt compelled to abide by our vows.”

how whackd is that? the idea of gay marriage made her husband lie to his family & staff   leave his state leaderless & follow his dick to Argentina. I've heard it all.

lacuna

this is the only picture I have of myself from my 1st trip to Europe:


it was taken by one of those roving photographers at Trattoria La Beppa in Florence in the autumn of 1973.

why didn't I take a camera with me? I don't remember. but in those days we didn't document every moment of our lives. so regretfully I have no photos of myself with Kitaj or Hockney or DiPiero on that trip.

likewise in pre-digital days I have no pictures with d.a. levy or Kenneth Koch or Allen Ginsberg or Bobby Drivas or Jimmy Kirkwood or Alan Dalton or Sam Steward..... the list goes on. it's sad. I much prefer now with everyone snapping away.

it's time

for Sanford to resign

to bury Whacko Jacko

for Fort Worth's police chief to get the ax

Harve Presnell (1933-2009)

Mollie Sugden (1922-2009)

news sources

when I learnd online that the state court finally declard Franken winner of last year's election I made the mistake of turning on CNN. on what used to be a news show there was nothing but nonstop Jackson trivia. I had to go back to the computer to get news feeds of Franken's longcoming victory speech.

& did anyone catch yesterday's White House reception for gay leaders on network news shows? nope. no time on a half hour program when half of it is devotd to discussion of pills & wills.

finding the lost

so Joe came. he was lounging in a magazine. intriguid I went to the computer. there I found color portraits his lover Harvey made of him so long ago. memories of Factory cohorts. moments of a life.

after dinner (salad with brie) Arthur came. I'd read abt him some time ago. but now I cd see him   hear him. he was in the room playing his music for me.

so tonite I make this small circle. Joe Campbell & Arthur Russell & I take hands. of course it's awkward at first. we're all strangers & they're both dead. but I whisper to them how glad I am to be with them. & for that quick priceless moment the same shiver goes thru the three of us. we know how narrow is that bridge between life & death.

I doubt the three of us will sit together again. like so many of the good things it wasn't long. but I imagine future nites closing my eyes & remembering this circle.

more ties

all week poetry blogs have been abuzz abt the Buffalo reading by Huth & Beckett. I feel bad I was unable to attend. but in a small way I was a part of the weekend. Geof just sent me this picture of the readers wearing ties I maild them as part of "Tie One On."

more pride

if the Weho parade was a date then our local one is a blow & go.

the highlight of today's parade was an appearance by Landon Starnes who flew in from Big D for the day.



he appeard in character as Vera   one of the parts he playd so well in "Greater Tuna."

Beckett & Huth

major
poetry event
in Buffalo manana

what to add

to the glut of commentary on Michael Jackson...

the first time I saw him was at the Grammy awards in 1984. he came with child actor Emmanuel Lewis   the first of many boys with whom he shared his life. so that's the image that remains.

there's no denying the man's talent. but he was a freak. I have terribly mixd feelings abt him.

Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009)

I bought this many years ago for 88 cents.

remembering

I took this picture of Daniel Thompson at the 1985 dedication of a statue of Hart Crane in Cleveland.

work-in-progress

another step toward completing the tie project.

Kent State University Theater

Bo Metzler is putting together a website covering the theater scene at Kent in the 60s & 70s.

I startd

spending time in the little park in Plaza Entrada during my crack-up earlier this year. it was a sorting-out place for me.

now that I'm feeling like myself again I still enjoy some park time a couple of mornings a week. there's a calm there. I become part of a community flow. there's the godbless woman who calls me "sir." those who bring a parade of canines to the grooming parlor. this morning a hot young man with shaved head who works for the city & helps keep the place tidy. I can see the train go by. I can remember the bleakness of january while breathing deep the joy of being alive right now.

today had a special benefit -- the sprinklers were on. it had the soothing quality of the misters in Palm Springs. only better. the sound of the water is music. & the coolness in the air refreshes.

a lovely way to begin a day.

faces of history

Allison


Neda

a week ago today

just found this video. at 6:33 in you'll see me (in shocking pink) in the background taking a picture of Sheila James (Zelda on "Dobie Gillis" before becoming a politician). curiously the video was shot by another former child star Keith Coogan (grandson of yet another famous child star Jackie Coogan).

progress report

"Dad's Last Garden"

shocking

the video of the young girl murderd in the streets of Persia by the ayatollah's henchmen brings back those distant memories of my campus when the National Guard massacrd students.

it can happen anywhere.

in like Flynn

in celebration of Errol's centennial let's all get naked.

the arrogance

of the devout never ceases to baffle me. Khamenei takes center stage as another religious zealot living in the wrong century.

my heart goes out to the people of Iran who will see blood before freedom.

at the Lensic

a David Byrne concert is as much a theatrical experience as it is a musical event. he is a consummate performer whose every move is choreographd. I've never heard such thunderous applause at our venerable theater. & at 57 -- wearing all white -- Byrne remains one sexy dude.

Iran

what amazes me most abt the revolution is the vital role being playd by Facebook & You Tube & Twitter.

my 1st attempt at editing

after Bill Fogle -- that grand master of videography on You Tube -- made his last comment I went back to Movie Maker & came up with this.

16 silly seconds

Billy has a new camera & shot this at Urth Caffe in Santa Monica. but he held the camera the wrong way & I'm on my side. neither of us have figurd out how to rotate the image.

West Hollywood

LA Pride Parade & Festival


I'm much too old to be "pretty in pink" but I wantd Bob to see his shirt


I have no idea why these guys were in their underwear


Gavin Newsom


Ben Patrick Johnson