I don't follow soaps. but I just watchd "General Hospital." yup. I fell for the hype. James Franco is a fascinating young actor. & I wantd to see him in this unusual venue.
altho I had no idea who the characters were or the plot it was easy to fall into the show. before Franco spoke a line there were tears shouting cheating murder. but by the end of the hour we finally see that handsome face. Franco plays a Banksy-like artist by the name of Franco. the p.r. of the entire event is superb. esp since Franco not only promotes his own career but that of his younger brother. a promo for Dave Franco's upcoming appearances on "Scrubs" is prominent. whoever put this package together deserves the salary one presumes he or she gets.
one of my all-time favorite xmas presents came from my parents in 1954. it was a box (complete with key)containing 5 Decca lps & a booklet. "Bing: A Musical Autobiography" was playd endlessly on Winckles St. in addition to all of Crosby's hits there were duets with everyone from Judy Garland to the Andrews Sisters.
what made me take this childhood artifact from its shelf was the memory of his duet with Jane Wyman in a Frank Capra film I haven't seen in ages. it's on TCM tonite & even tho it's on no one's list of Capra's best films I can't wait to see it again. if for nothing else the movie has a cast which wd delight any cinephile -- everyone from silent star H. B. Warner to an extremely young Patty McCormack.
null sets on a chilly morning (11/17/09) [View | Hide]
there was no battle in the sky. maybe more stars than usually visible but lacking the expectd shower. & when I woke because of uplateness the sun was already brilliant. it was over coffee that I read Dennis Cole died. he'd been a Hollywood minute with teeth & blondness. & I read that that Levi will take the money & run: another no show. so I had more coffee pondering day's direction. had change in sleep routine producd a grog that wd ruin my next moments. surely not Leslie Neilson surely not. mornings like this steel one to a work ethic that requires a tear in yr briefs. I raise my third cuppa to Tennessee Williams newly enshrind in Poets Corner. emptiness is the starting point to fulfillment. & when that emptiness is full of all that warmth from my brick floors I can expect this day to shine. I declare it so.
the other day my printer was whacky as Sarah Palin. today I'm having internet probs. I do adore all these accoutrements of modernity. but when they don't function properly I have to work to avoid seething.
yes there's snow on the ground. yes my printer's being a pain. yes my stats here are down. yes the response to my first Facebook poem is minimal. yes the response to Making Circles was even worse.
but I've lived a long time & been thru much harder periods. minor aggravations are part of it all. I try to scream & get them out of the way. because I've had a remarkable life. & I've survivd one of the most difficult years of my life. & I'm as happy as an old fart can be.
as Yvonne DeCarlo sang many years ago "I'm Still Here." but the important part is I'm producing some of my best work. & I can't wait to see what the next hour brings.
the reason I became a collector is because both of my parents were. Dad's collections were mostly usable tools -- altho he also had some antique ones. he also had a small gathering of duck decoys.
Mom collectd everything from watering cans to ceramic chickens. but her most famous collection was autographs.
being the generous person she's always been Mom made a decision when I annouc'd my retirement as curator of special collections at Kent State University Libraries. she wantd her autograph collection to go to KSU as her own thank you to the university for employing her son. so abt a thousand autographs were boxd & sent to Kent. the gift was written abt by future novelist Thrity Umrigar in the Akron paper & was duly noted in Library Hotline.
in 1997 the library mountd a major exhibition of Mom's collection. this is the literary section where you may be able to see cards signd by Robert Creeley & Maya Angelou.
in other cases were signatures of Lucille Ball & Bette Davis Leonard Bernstein & Frank Zappa Muhammad Ali & Andre Agassi Gerald Ford & Bill Clinton Francis Bacon & Andy Warhol Robert Altman & Ingmar Bergman Rosa Parks & Wilma Mankiller.
here are my parents at the festive opening of the exhibition which was attend'd by director Bobby Lewis poet Maggie Anderson comics artist P. Craig Russell.
Mom's wearing her squash blossom necklace. in keeping with her lifelong spirit of giving she's willing it to Kent's fashion museum.
hadn't expectd to buy anything but lunch when Phil & I went to Madrid today.
but when I walkd into Chumani Gallery I saw a silver belt buckle that had my name on it. featuring a horse stone the buckle is the work of Peter Johnson.
is to eat my big meal midday. in the evening I have a salad (& dessert). the salad is generally a variation of greens. tonite I had a delightful change. pears walnuts blue cheese.
1st time I had them was at Cafe Sbisa on my intial visit to New Orleans. they were memorable enuf to mention to neighbor Phil on my last trip there. he rememberd & yesterday when he found them on the menu of a new place in nearby Madrid (birthplace of Mae Marsh)he brought some back for me.
yesterday's news had me thinking abt my early time in Texas. I was abt a year & 2 months old when I walkd for the 1st time. it was in Gatesville. that meant that Dad was stationd in North Fort Hood. I certainly have no memory of those initial steps. but I knew it was record'd in my baby book. so I draggd it out. this page tickles me. I need to use it as a basis of a piece.
a sign of the times: before hearing abt the Ft. Hood massacre via usual news sources I learnd of the shootings thru a Facebook posting from a relative of a soldier.
of biologist Clinton Hobbs brought back a memory from a class I took with him eons ago. for reasons I no longer recall he was talking abt the spread of germs. he sd he'd known a man who was so germophobic that he wore gloves to open doors. a deadpan pause. then Dr. Hobbs sd "of course he never married."
may the pumpkin be with you (10/31/09) [View | Hide]
years ago Dad bought me some Halloween decorations at a garage sale. I used the mint Hallmark items at the house one year & then hid them in a nook in the hall closet. but I rememberd them & brought them to Las Vegas & decoratd my room with them.
don't have access here to my programs & other Kenley Players memorabilia. but that summer stock venue meant so much to me as a kid. so many stars -- from Gloria Swanson to Margaret Hamilton. so many memories. & Kenley himself was quite the character.
I first saw her in "Calamity Jane." altho it was performd in a Broadway house with an audience this Carol Burnett version of the Doris Day film was a tv special. years later Jodi moved to Las Vegas. along the way she became a friend of collage artist T. R. Queen my best bud in high school.
in the years since Tom's too-early death Jodi has become a touchstone. we met for lunch today at Cuban Cafe. a good meal & lovely chat.
arr'd safely in Las Vegas (10/28/09) [View | Hide]
Thanks : ) I am hanging out with family for most of it. It will be fun, I haven't seen some of them in a bout a year now. How about you what are your plans?