plastichappy

!@#$%^&*

2007-09-28T16:41:00.000-04:00

september's just a trick of the eye
and the air still makes me sweat
i've been crawling along the concrete
and all my nails are scratched

the sunlight pretened to be stars
dancing on the sad lonely river
where my toes have met the bank
and i've lost my feet under mud

smacking into walls has gotten harder
the brain that hurts is not so brave
but i've got a few surprises left
and all the colors have come to fall

as august slips away

2007-08-22T21:31:00.000-04:00

talked to my girl on the fone for a moment... i like her voice

it was morning for her. it is the evening here at the outpost

in troy, michigan and i'm drinking club soda. just finished watching

the bonnie prince on youtube for about an hour. music used to be

hard to find... i liked that. but i like this better

the summer is closing and i've started production on a new play

The Pillowman with BreatheArt Theatre Project. a bold play a bold team

a few remarks about the summer outside

i spent some great time under the sun. i watched birds dance along wires

in jon's backyard while sipping mojitos and grilling meat. jon gave me a pepper

plant which is in my apartment window. no matter how much i sweet talk that

plant, it just won't give me any chilies. currently, i'm giving it the silent treatment.

i placed some found objects onto the back wall murel at the zeitgeist. the zeitgeist

now employs cats in the backyard. they don't drink as much as actors.

i went up north and shot guns with troy and jon. that's out of my system for another

year. put a line in the water but the fish are on to me so i'll leave that to the pros.

i stood under the stars and trembled at God's glory.

i've made it to comerica park several times

i floated in the waves of lake huron and watched nora jean sitting on shore

the waves sounded like laughter

i floated down the au sable river in a tube with group of tremendous friends

i slept in a tent

i trembled under the stars again... stars are bashful in the city

i looked at detroit from a foreign country... it looks pretty godd

i played badminton... with better results than i had against the thais

i sang silly songs in the car with my girl on the way to dale's house

i started reading huck finn

Thoughts on Thailand Vol 1 (posted from the Friars Page)

2007-05-18T12:09:00.000-04:00

driving circles 'round the ren cen in my blue olds achieva...
listening to manu chau, how did i end up back here?

i'm somewhat removed now from my southeast asian getaway
and i'm collecting my thoughts. i don't really want to lay down
a play by play but perhaps some flashes of the brilliance of my
whirlwind tour. i'll say this: their thai food is spectacular!

a little lizard lived on the bathroom floor... today he is taking in a warm rainfall. i'm in the shower washing off the heat of Bangkok. we call him little lizard. sometimes Nora thinks he's hurt or missing a leg as he sits motionless for hours, even days. and just when she seems to be right, he's up on the wall all four feet gripping the slick tile. what goes through his dreams? i used to say "if i had any patience at all i'd be a buddhist." that statement is no longer true. if i had the patience i would stay under the soothing water and really observe little lizard. and just maybe, like cortazar's axolotls, we could switch places. all muscles clenched as another bout of soapy rains come in from the heavens. i like this place, regular rains in the morning and an occasional afternoon shower. the tiles are cool and inviting compared to the heavy sunshine of the massive outside world. yesterday a convoy of ants paraded right in front of me... they've got some brass. i ate seven of them before they knew the word terror. sometimes i can hear the gods talking. i have no envy that i am not like them. they loom so large as to block the sun from my skin... what would i do with such mass? what would i do with their knowledge of good and evil? i close my eyes as a wave of cleaning product washes over me. in my dream i no longer cling to tiles. i'm suspended in the air with no wings. i can sense color without having to look. i can feel love without having to hurt. i can talk to god without having to shout.

sweat rests on the back of my neck. it has all come down to this. just one more point and the Labor Day Vikings will defeat the Kansas Jews thus preserving their unblemished record in the hallowed game of Badminton. much was overcome to get to this moment: deconstruction of younger/faster opponents, the machinations of a brash line judge fresh from being ousted by the force of the LD Vikings, and the always troublesome presence of a lamp post right in the middle of our court. i'm told it is called a shuttlecock but i tossed the birdie into the air and readied my racquet.
these images raced through my skull as dizzily i stared across the court. P'George's body bent like a willow branch then snapped into action sending the shuttlecock blistering down the line for another kill. i don't think i moved. somehow the news preceded me to bangkok. You know, Joel is a member of a team called the Labor Day Vikings... he's undefeated at Badminton amongst the Detroit Theater Community. The Thais couldn't wait to get me on the court. Nora works with an incredible group of people. hard working, full of generosity and smiles, and always looking to display their english. they bestowed feasts upon me, took me on boat rides, led me before giant golden buddhas, opened their homes to me, but perhaps their gift i'll remember most fondly was when several of Nora's officemates (including P'George & P'Nui) took me to play their game. They display an incredible strength and grace on the court, switching from fast-paced smashes to lofting clear shots effortlessly. i scored two points against P'George (but that's only because he let me) Luckily for me, i didn't bring the camera along for this adventure... lessons from the zen masters rest soley in my heart. by the way, Nora is developing a mean snap on the birdie! the evening was capped by a late night visit to the noodle stand at the end of Nora's block. P'George ordered me up a spicey broth with glass noodles and fish balls...Tremendous!

P'GEORGE

P'NUI

REPRINTED FROM LOSFRIARS.BLOGSPOT.COM

2007-01-03T15:56:00.000-05:00

THeY uSeD To PuT CRiMiNaLS iN SToCKS!! {part I}

it was a deep brown, like it contained all the earth... & it bubbled on the stove

permit me to talk for a while... i first landed on Sirron street in the early nineties... i remember making disjointed music long into the christmas night amidst empty jars, trinkets, boxes, and a storehouse of holiday flare. That group has separated like meat from a carcass...a gentle spreading out into the soup. i do remain... hanging on for a while longer. A thousand stories have been told since then... rivers traversed, mountains clung to, hearts broken & proximity triumphed over. I have lived inside the skin of other lives under bright lights but never wore shoes down with distance. it's 007 and the times they are a-changing.

Greedy X-mas music always starts around the end of october... but the holidays started this year when l'aro arrived at Jacquelin's and i saw him on december 21st. a roast had been prepared along with carrots and potatoes. we talked into the night on the topic of Science and Faith. it was a joy to discuss our hearts and minds. we were well met in Lankmar!

El Chivo arrived the next night with his lady friend, a turkey stew, and a large african drum. we put back a few stella artois beers (which would become the official beverage of the 006 holiday season) the 23rd came next... as it often does after the 22nd. This was to be the day of the First Annual Conference of Friars on the Subject of Topics. there was something in the air (besides the uncanny pleasant weather for a detroit december) a nerVous energy of expectations... i don't think any of us knew what was around the corner we only knew we wanted to share. this would be in the evening... during the day an away team (chivo, pirata, l'aro) was sent on a mysterious book delivery mission for people in Pittsburgh. i planted my roots in the kitchen.

there is speculation on who St. Gumbo really is... some say he was a dark cajun who turned into a wolf when his life gave way. some say he was a man like Jesus who walked on the water, and still others say he hailed from Buffalo. but i think St. Gumbo bore the name of George Todt when he walked on this earth. His son once called him the last of the gunslingers and he was a fantastic mountain of a man. he was a sponge for knowledge and soul, he took it all in. he had secrets & he taught me how to make gumbo... and as good as that is, that may be the least of his glory!

i was planted in the kitchen... the onions were chopped, as well as the peppers and celery. i stood over the bubbling cauldron like a witch. fry the chicken, add the okra, chop the sausage, dash of spice! The creole cooked and cooked and eventually the away team returned mission accomplished (they stated this from the deck of a carrier). but now something was different about the kitchen. the shiny metal shelf still bent under the weight of enough liquor to drown shane macgowan, the old window was still slightly ajar letting in the sunny air, the half smoked parliament light 100's still smoldered in the tray... what was it? there it was on the lectric burner right next to the fishy stew... a second cauldron. i peered inside. a warm dark liquid surrounded vegetables and minced leaves of spices and the torn flesh of turkey floated in the wake. i'm told it was born from giant legs of turkey procured in the markets of that distant land of Pitt. the two soups just glared at eachother like a coupla mooks at an eastside bar. (did i mention we had all gathered the night before in a seedy bar under a bowling alley which served graduation mosticholli and ultimate fighting... i don't wanna talk about it.)

a crowd formed in the soup kitchen and began ladling the thick liquids. helping after helping was downed on both sides... a feast for the senses and stomachs. in the aftermath drinks poured (already having to procure more soda) we gathered in the front room of the newly renovated Chez Jackies to commence the First Annual Conference of Friars on the Subject of Topics. El Chivo initiated the evening with a reading of a paper he wrote concerning actions between Israel and Palestine: a tremendous conversation from prisoners on different sides of the "wall." discussion followed as well as a tune penned and sung by Humanista (with the use of Pirata's guitar). i followed... i was never good with preparation... i sort of wing things but i have an irrational dislike for improv.?.? i read some poems. it did my heart good to read aloud the Waters Braid which happened earlier in 006 between myself, l'aro, and Hawk. Pirata followed with a verse from the esteemed mr. Kilpatrick (not to be confused with the mayor of the straits). Humanista sang again... a bitterly joyful jaunt about a girl and a creek... i want to hear that again. Next, l'aro spoke of perception, patterns, the brain, the heart, and all the glue which holds us together... inspiring. More drinks... More soups... More revery. enter El Pirata complete with digital vd, an easel, markers, and sticky "notes" larger than those confounded legs of pennsylvania turkey! Hawk had arrived. Pirata spoke on the life of Henry Darger... the perception of evil, of genius, of education, of catholics, of life. "what's he writing up there?"

the evening seemed to separate... just like flesh leaving a carcass... some folks had to flee some sat and chatted and the night melted into the pan.nobody really knows what happened... but in the morning, two giant jars of soup perched on the top rack of the fridge. a full to bursting drum of turkey stew & a 3/4 empty jar of gumbo with light shining through like a bloody sunset. they say that it is clear which soup was favored. but i still don't know how that turkey soup tasted so good even without the use of pepper. As it turns out, there was a little touch of St. Gumbo in the night.

-eL ViKiNGo

2006-12-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

it's go time for the holidays again
day twenty of december
soon we'll be falling like snow into
jackie's house of christmas love
it's been a long year of joy, pain, & miss
but we've heard all that before
as zimmie would say: mixed up confusion
but i have found new strengths this year
strengths in questions without answers
strengths in friendships new and old
strengths in word orginization by both will and jason
& strengths in faith (ha ha l'aro i know it's a tricky word)

i'm also living proof of an old saying of mine
"love need not involve proximity"
i'm learning new things about myself and my gal all the time
& while i miss... i grow as well

in a world of rich angry men, horrible lack, and religious fraud
i have glimpsed the grace of god.

"sometimes i wish i were catholic... i don't know why"
--david lowry

and now a poem by li-young lee

This hour and What is Dead

Tonight my brother, in heavy boots, is walking
through bare rooms over my head,
opening and closing doors.
What could he be looking for in an empty house?
What could he possibly need there in heaven?
Does he remember his earth, his birthplace set to torches?
His love for me feels like spilled water
running back to its vessel.

At this hour, what is dead is restless
and what is living is burning.

Someone tell him he should sleep now.

My father keeps a light on by our bed
and readies for our journey.
He mends ten holes in the knees
of five pairs of boy's pants.
His love for me is like his sewing:
various colors and too much thread,
the stitching uneven. But the needle pierces
clean through with each stroke of his hand.

At this hour, what is dead is worried
and what is living is fugitive.

Someone tell him he should sleep now.

God, that old furnace, keeps talking
with his mouth of teeth,
a beard stained at feasts, and his breath
of gasoline, airplane, human ash.
His love for me feels like fire,
feels like doves, feels like river-water.

At this hour, what is dead is helpless, kind
and helpless. While the Lord lives.

Someone tell the Lord to leave me alone.
I've had enough of his love
that feels like burning and flight and running away.

2006-11-25T04:28:00.001-05:00

some bells cannot be unrung

thanxgivin

2006-11-22T15:51:00.000-05:00

talking bout the scuffed up cold sun blues
round about the 11th month turning 12 &
2006 is looking scarce... had a brief r & r
in a ferndale bar while gino fanelli played
gitar in slow motion and niko frangos houled
blue noise off of every fret! pleasantly Un-
american
my brain's been made putty by night-time-
free-time-shiny-object-smokescreen-dingle-
dangle of the third degree............................
i raised my spirit two times for a total of 8
hours in the planet ant box while o'neill buzzed
all around my temples.... i took two long days
journey into night pills and called 'em in the
morning! such an honor to view it next to mr.
alting who blazed my thirst for eugene & damnit
neil the the name is still Nerwanda!
thank you mr. madlane, madame kammer, mr.
roady, mr. glasgow, ms. tayeh... and thank you
mr. HUFF
& while i'm at it a great big thanx to my dear friends
on this globe... be they in the D, be they in Chicago,
be they under the Arizona Sun, be they in that city
of martyrs NYC, be they learning to surf on the Left
Coast of reality, or be they in a newly couped city
of runaway girls! all of you comprise me
& again while i'm at it i'm thankful for foggy days,
laughter, freshly made tortilla chips, my nephews,
my amazing mother, my genius siblings, my own
fractured will, my short time riding huff's mongoose
(that sounds dirty but it's not), music, poetry, cop shows,
(not COPS), iron sharpening iron... correction, bob dylan's
moustache, joe colosi's humor & the grace of God

current reading: Essential Sufism, 3rd John, Anna Akhmatova
current listening:van morrison-astral weeks & nora's voice on the phone

Current! again

2006-11-13T13:38:00.000-05:00

current wheels: oldsmobile achieva

procured from Aaron "fan of the game" Klassen

will have to ship the goose back to the huff

vikingo rides again!

Current!

2006-11-08T15:32:00.000-05:00

Current Reading: Luis Omar Salinas (Elegy for Desire)

been without the space aged intranet here at work for
several days but the coals are back on the fire and i'm
riding the waves again.... and will be on the lookout
for a vehicle with the passing of the lil toyota...
Been tooling around on Andy Huff's bicycle (even my
bike be broke) it's been fun even in yesterday's rain
Broke out the Mate again as well... viva la gourd!

why the hell did that jerk punch adrienne shelly in
the face and kill her.... "how can a slap in the face kill a man?"

Current Listening: Jason Molina (Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go)
it shatters!

Current Transportation: Huff's Mongoose

Current Food: Yellow Apples

Current Facial Hair: Beard with no Moustache

Current Beverage: Club Soda

brian arrives this weekend... fortys all around!

unfinished busy ness

2006-10-27T15:21:00.000-04:00

sometimes the rain gets so misty a walk feels like a swim
and all the tiger fans are praying praying praying
but as mr. Lorca said:
"the sky has shores where life is avoided."
so i'll take a little break from the calamity of sports
to wave my literary heart and try to find beauty
with help from Harrison, Neruda, and Marquez...
more to say today but i beens cut short.
i'll get back to ya

psssh please

"It's too early for chicken... Son of a Bitch!"

2006-10-11T13:49:00.000-04:00

cheers jeers honkers and shouters
over the weekend the tigers felled
the bronx bombers... but who doesn't
know that by now...
it was odd working ing the shadow of Comerica Park

i was on stage at 1515 Broadway delivering clever little
quips about relationshipal superiority and the truth
(well i was acting anyway)
and every so often you could hear it:
a swell of emotion and sound could be heard through
the storefront window, through the dark curtains, and
right up on stage... Ann was breaking up with Larry on
a low lit stage and Kenny Rogers was roasting the New
York Yankees. Priceless
the next day was an early game... Bonderman was filthy
and the Tigers clinched about one half hour before showtime
instead of the collected swell of Tiger love emerging from the
stadium it was horn honking, shouts of joy, wall banging, and
Yankee taunts creeping into the background noise of play.
we close out the show this friday and saturday...
just in time for games 3 and 4 at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull
(oh... that wouldn't be a problem... i meant Montcalm and Witherall...
does anyone even say that? By the way, in case you wanted to know...
Comerica Park sits on the site where Clarence Hurley shot and killed
Drexel in a little film called True Romance... downtown has come so
far.... "What's a Drexel?")

SUNDAY MUDDY SUNDAY

2006-10-02T12:21:00.000-04:00

there is no joy in mudville
the mighty casey grounded out to first
and the tigers were swept by the royals
to punch them out of first place for the first time
since may... playoff bound as the wild card

WHO'S GOT WILDCARD FEVER!!

last night after the tiger debacle
went to the Bohemian National Home
to see the incomparable Dan Kahn

played mostly songs from his new album
Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird-- The Broken Tongue

a nice gathering a peoples partly orchestrated from Bangkok!
Ian Bonner, b. Patterson, a mystery girl named Jane, L. Chomsky (as i say)
also... fan of the game AAron Klassen fresh from standing room only
E. Broadway (dozing off) and the one armed Jakary (there's the one armer now!)

a terrific weekend... i came home from the concert and listened to Pireus (d kahn)
and cooked some delicious indian foods... alloi mak mak as Nojay now says!

saturday was nice as well... with the Closer running at 1515 Broadway i met up with
the esteemed mr. Rusty Mewha at Hj's after our shows (he's in Of Mice and Men)
had a strong time sharing our souls and examining our fears and laughing about the
old days at 3004 W. Grand Blvd... truly a den of iniquity which launched me into
my current homelife philosophy which has lasted for years now: No Roomates!!!!
much love to the old gang and for a season it was sublime, but am i ever glad to
have lived on my own for years now.... rambling rambling rambling...

aloha

There's more to Canada than Hockey

2006-09-25T15:04:00.001-04:00

a windy chilly monday closing in on roctober
made my international acting debut over the weekend
Closer opened at the Capitol Theater in Windsor...
had over 100 in the audience both nights. already more
people have seen it than saw The Architect and the Emperor
of Assyria... i think. Windsor is a paegent of young drunks
looking to yell and screw. we found some solace in a small
coffee bar/ beer bar called MILK. the lovely ladies behind
the counter (don't worry Nojay... i only have eyes for my sho'ty)
served me stella artois and the atmosphere was conducive
for talking and ranting about the state of theater... something
i try to do as little as possible. i was never one to escape over
the border upon turning 19 so i was ill prepared for the horribly
long lines getting back to th U.S.S.A. after a night on the town
along Oullette avenue. "i am a patient boy... i wait i wait i wait
i wait." it's nice to down shift into a couple of days without
living inside the play. made some chicken tacos yesterday and
also a spicy pico (just for Huff) drank a couple of Modelos and
watched the pathetic excuse of a football team called the Lions

but on the other hand... The Tigers have clinched a playoff berth
i guess we all owe Korte a forty.

mi casa sioux indian

Love Music Wine & Revolution

2006-09-20T09:59:00.000-04:00

morning in the middle of september... it got cold here yesterday. nora jean sent me this picture from comerica park... had to add an extra blanket last night. the world must be out of its mind. yes... for all the tragic obvious reasons but also for all the enthralling small reasons as well. the bonnie prince, m' will oldham played on late night with conan o'brien last night... had guitar pal matt sweeney along for the ride and i'm told andrew wk was on piana but i don't know what to believe anymore... good showing. i picked up the new album yesterday. i like it. big surprise. ha

so.
yesterday the thai prime minister got coup de tat'd! tanks in the capitol. tanks but no tanks. as jon pointed out: before nora- no coup... just a few short weeks with nora- coup. i think we just like saying the word coup... mostly 'cause we never get to say it in reference to King George the W.

but anywho.... nora is alive & well in a country turning flip flops... she says it is quite an exciting time. but as i've stated before you can check all that out at norainbagnkok.blogspot.com

Closer by patrick marber is the next play i'll be appearing in... opens in windsor ontario at the Capitol theatre for two nights only Friday Sept. 22 and Sat. Sept. 23rd and then it runs for 3 weeks at 1515 Broadway in Detroit starting sept. 29th....

was there something about wine as well?

Thailand, the future, and KAHN!!!

2006-09-14T10:55:00.000-04:00

i'm in a perpetual state of tardy

my gal lives 11 hours into the FUTURE
and it has had a ripple effect on everything

HA

i ask what are you going to do today...
she says i already did...
good night means good morning
what day is this?

tired of being asked if she speaks Taiwanese

but these are not real problems... i have a grand
time talking to her on the space aged intranet
and checking out her bbbbbblog

norainbangkok.blogspot.com

Closing in on the Final rehearsals for Closer!
had a rare monday off this week

went to the Blind Pig in A-squared and caught the
Magnolia Electric Co
jason molina is such a good soul!
gots their new album and his solo effort
he shatters
also met up with A Palmer and had a fine time with her
as well as the incomparable Dan Kahn in town from Berlin
the new album Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird-- The Broken Tongue
an amazing elixir of Yiddish, German, English, Accordian, Fiddle, and Sorrow

what time is it

Where in the world is Nora Santiago?

2006-08-30T11:36:00.000-04:00

baseball greetings from Comerica Park... thanks eric for the terrific shot of the crowd...
nearing september

My girl has split for Siam.... you can check her out at: norainbangkok.blogspot.com

have been reading two fantastic things lately... Saving Daylight by Jim Harrison and the
Gospel of Luke... by Luke. poetry exists everywhere

attending the Wilde Awards tonight... thrown by Between the Lines
Chuck Reynolds and i are up for a duo award... FREE EATS and expensive gin

rehearsals for Closer are really stretching me... a tough, vibrant script...
the human condition is so ugly it borders on gorgeous.

more to come soon...

don't burn your tongue on freedom

2006-08-15T15:19:00.000-04:00

all along the turnpike of ohia while
Napoleon the lITTLe gEneral snoozed
i gots a pot full a gumBO and i'm chasin
three nephews on the 13th day of August
Tallmadge looks alot like Akron with her
clothes off. thought i'd escaped a
CORPORATE GOD
but culture pursues and pursuit is culture
the culture of raw juice from a goat and
no more rotten eggheads with ant-killing
magnetic glass... i never will forget that
day when Colonel Aurelliano's father took
him to see ICE... i'm rolling over on my
third strike so see that toothy smile on
the other side of the mirror and what is
it that takes away the red? What do sheep
count? what do sheep count? what do sheep?
i'm in a place where i can pace from room to
room with no more gloom and my lil guitar
picker's on a plane (etc. etc. etc.) now let my
people go! all those soldiers all those soldiers
with PIGEON heads and YES SIR tongues
can't find DEMOCRACY in the BIBLE...
from boston to seatle on interstate 90 don't
forget to stop in STOW... don't forget to stop
in STOW! now KING GEorGE is a jerk and
i gotta get back to work so don't burn your
tongue on FReeDOM

I JUS TURND 3 4

2006-08-02T10:47:00.000-04:00

talking 'bout the travelling 34 blues
in the summer swelter of a detroit
august in the year of our Lord two
thousand and six... spent some time
floating on little big Erie with old frinds
and canadian perch... thank you to
Swabooze and the scraped up scrappy
Huff! also dipped down to the rescue
mission 'cross from the ole Zeitgeist:
Nora sang for lost souls and her dad
fed the throng- a truly moving night
and me i'm just moving on and on
closed out star wars fun with a cast
of tremendous humans and started
up closer in canada with and entirely
different crew and way to do. i ain't
seen the proof yet but AAk is said to
be back in the Great Lakes State...
maybe we'll raise some cain strip our
hearts and lay his daughter down for
a nap. the countdown is on and my
sho'ty is soon to be in grand Siam
miss miss miss miss miss miss miss
what fantastic gal i've found myself
mixed up with! and Chivo, if yer out
there a wandering a great big hallo to
you... ain't nothin wrong with gypsy
much love to roberto more water on
the way... sleep tight my friends in
arizona we'll send you some humidity

mi casa sioux indian

FAIR ENOUGH, JOE, BUT CAN YOU HANDLE THE HOT HOT HEAT

2006-07-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

today it is hot
we've had a relatively cool time this summer but
today it is hot
and it'll only get more so this weekend
(so there you have it... let's talk about the weather)

so
i'm moved into the new apartment but not completely settled
i believe nora will lend me a table and i have a line on a love seat
from my old gal pal Elaine. it's funny, the waters have really split
it wasn't like everyone went off to college and then bam! spread
across the world... it has been much more gradual. turn and look
one way and Aaron is in Chicago... what's that on the floor? oops,
Brian is in Arizona... where did i leave my keys? Sabaugh is in NYC
are you going to see Waits? Hawk's heading to the Left Coast.
It's as if a multi-directional Moses is leading a new Exodus out of
a long forsaken land of Great Lakes. I suppose my restlessness has
always been internal. While i would love to find out what cheese tastes
like in Idaho, or what music looks like in Maine, or what whiskey
sounds like in Denver... i seem quite at ease here on the hurt turf of
Detroit. I don't fool myself angry and say "you just don't know the city"
when people drag the motor city down. i no longer think of it as the motor
city... that's a moniker of how the city got to where it is now... I call it
the Empty City and when i comes down to it...
i won't be one to go down with the ship.

The Friars were well met over the weekend... Roberto visiting from Chicago,
Mark in from Buffalo, and Jon in from the Hamptons (St. Clair Shores)
Robert and Mark saw my show at the Ant and we drank with George a spell
afterward. My trips to the 7 Brothers have become fewer and fewer. While i
do not love by proximity, i do like to drink in proximity to where i sleep.
Honest Johns has become the new bar of record
(for those of you scoring at home)
not to mention, Darrell Griffith would go Ape! Forties of Black Label at the bar

"This land is your land"
--woody guthrie

another pome

2006-07-10T15:14:00.000-04:00

a dear friend lost a loved one recently and it got
me to thinking and i wrote him these words:

i saw your stone gray eyes again
the ones that cause calamity
while you accepted your award for
being indiscriminate
mothers flowered the earth
with petals of sorrow
i looked the other way again
and thought of Bobby's words:
"just remember that death is not the end"

===============================

Down the hall julip blues for the stars and stripes impaired while stomping on hamtramck stage bless you boys

2006-06-30T13:26:00.000-04:00

All Childish Things opened to rave reviews and we're into our second weekend
Theater is a tough draw in the summer... especially on sundays and here for the
holiday weekend.
having a great time with the show and following the Tigers atop the Major Leagues

I'm going mobile... well not really
i'm moving down the hall in my building... from #38 to #35
a bigger apartment with several more amenities (sp?)
so... when i'm not playing a gangster on stage this weekend i'll be hoofing stuff down
the hall. twill be nice

also... had some work done on the Junior Julip... alternator... it's back in super action

idiots were letting off fireworks after midnight in the neighborhood... i do not like
FIREWORKS

what was it mr. macgowan said... "God bless America... not!"

i say God Bless Humanity without discrimination

BACK TO ART, BEAUTY AND LOVE... AWAY FROM THE SORDID PLEASURES OF A MACOMB COUNTY HOLLIDAY

2006-06-20T14:07:00.000-04:00

the oilers are dead... long live the oilers
what a playoffs... PLAYOFFS!

2006-06-19T10:25:00.000-04:00

what can i say about Joon...
crunch time with the new play. tech was supposed to start yesterday but the theater was not ready... so all was cancelled. i miraculously stayed away from Bloody Marys at the Bronx and watched some soccer and baseball with Roady. (we watched it on the spanish channel, much more exciting) furthermore... we get the news that we can't have a real rehearsal tonight because of the Monday Night Improv (which seems to be a universal imperative). Life is always a give and take-- while i am filled with apall (sp?) at this prospect since we are terribly under rehearsed, i am filled somehwat with joy at the chance tonight to watch game seven of the stanley cup playoffs... viva la edmonton! may God have mercy on our show.

saw Bruce Springsteen perform on saturday night. great seats, great sounds, great company
thanx Hawk
played the hell out of some Americana... some of the favorites ma and pa used to sing

Erie Canal
Froggie went a Courtin
John Henry

to name a few... had an incredible band with him. a horn section that just wailed! finished the night of all out jamming with a subdued and silent version of When the Saints go Marching In

oh lordy lordy

a magical mystery collage of myself courtesy of the esteemed mr. daniel roth

2006-06-14T15:52:00.000-04:00

Scene Missing

2006-06-14T13:21:00.000-04:00

woke up with the world
underneath my tongue
and got to thinking bout
my girl all 'cross town
and though i try and try
whiskey just ain't romantic
and i'll never really be Irish
so i'll shake strife from
my elbows and my knees
and clear evil from my taste
it's early on a tuesday and
i'm not quite conscious

Pometonica Bradidium

2006-06-08T12:46:00.000-04:00

robert Z and i still trade poetry... he sent me an electronic mail the other day
with the title "i am quitting breakfast" he was just sending me news about
his day to day and it turned into these poems:

j:
i am quitting breakfast
smooth rain running
over rough glass
i am quitting breakfast
rough thoughts searching
over smooth legs
i am quitting breakfast
say hello to the day for me

r:
rough telegraph

peppermill balloons
belching under
clouds on the run
soft expiration

wet newspaper
stuffed in the mouths
of bulls
sea foam blood
gasping collapse

a frayed extension cord
dangled
down a drain
arm wrestling a fuse

my money
a rubber hammer
an ironing board
used to surf

I quit breakfast
and the no use mutalation
and roosters
flash frozen

a day
fairly named: pinata
needing
a clear the bleachers
hello

j:
i never got the message
lines gave way to
shifts and cracks along
surfaces used for standing
with all the lights of treason
championing my imperfection
i had to guess
what it was you wanted
what it was you needed
what it was you gave away
a whispered word and
touch along the shoulder
an apology from deep
inside my guts
a length of rope long enough
to tie our hearts apart
i read it in the news today
you skipped for the other coast

HeavyHotSportsWithPlaysGingerAndAMolinaQuote

2006-05-31T13:16:00.000-04:00

the air is heavy here in the city
not even june yet
i gots my toyoter pumping cool air
as it lumbers up the hills
(there are no hills in detroit?!?!?)
The Detroit baseball Tigers are rounding
all the bases and The Edmonton hockey
Oilers are lighting all the lamps... these
things make me happy most of the time
(what about yer Cubs? they suck)

"Hope does not just walk up to you
I could have told you that, I'm not an idiot"

Haven't quite nailed down a theme for the summer
early on last year became the Summer of Rum
(of course Club Soda will be involved)

My girl is angry with the Pistons (i guess that's goin around)
how'd we'all get so caught up in athletic competition?
it must be World Cup year! GOAAAAAAAAAL!

But hey now, it's been about a year and i'm still hanging
with Nora Jean. She's got terrific heart, mind, smiles, and laughs

Spent some time on Lake Conesus with losfriars.blogspot.com
rode the night-train outa ohio with Pirata to meet up in
Rochester with Chivo and L'aro. quite a cloud of peoples on
the lake and in the air. i love my boys and i'm thinking Wegeman's.
Jon Todt sings a mean Folsom Prison Blues and everyone at
Mutz tavern in Toledo knows it!!!
Guatamalans make great Guacamole
(but who didn't know that)
and if you want to make some one drink a bloody mary (even if it's spilt)
JUST ADD FRESH GINGER

Two plays on the horizon:

All Childish Things on June 23rd
(planetant.com)

Closer in September
(Breathe Art Theatre group in Windsor and at 1515 Broadway DETROIT)

spent a wonderful evening with my lady last friday
barbeque at the too too trendy slows
(but damnit it is good eats)
then off to the Cliff Bells for some hot jazz by
Gino and the Gypsy Strings
Dining, Drinking and Dancing
in this beautiful hurt city
which refuses to die

much love

1000 Swedes ran through the weeds, chased by 1 Finlander

2006-05-02T11:11:00.000-04:00

a hilarious quote from a purple checked bedecked don cherry last night on hockey night in canada. and what a glorious night!!!

the Edmonton hockey Oilers (as travis would say) defeated the Detroit (Goliath) Redwings!!!
the oilers remain perfect in playoff history with this menace of a detroit team!!
fernando pisani and ales hemsky leading the way with two goals each!
TAKE THAT KEN PAGE!!!!

watched the game last night with huff, the roadys and Patrick "white heat" Moltane!!
all rooting for the wings
my molsen goldens tasted sumblime!!

Viva la OilerNation!!

will soon be delivering some non sports edification... but at the moment i'm too wrapped up in
hockey... really takes me back to my formative years of edmonton obsession.

i'll have to go read some marquez or neruda to replenish the real beauty of life which has been replaced by this temporary euphoria!!

MAY the FIRST

2006-05-01T10:28:00.000-04:00

i've finally left the island

no more lurking sand...
the helicopter arrived and whisked
me back to my palace in Assyria
said goodbyes to my cohort the Architect
and now i'm once again enveloped in reality

good times on closing weekend... d.b. dax anderson
in attendence and apparently rendered speechless
for the first time in his life... the always entertaining
professor james luce along for the ride as well...
i had a wonderful time the last couple of months but
it feel nice to put this monster to rest at last!!

on to lighter boulders to lift and the blue skies of tomorrow

li lo mil loo loo

p.s. the oilers are up 3-2 on the wings... i'm still scared sarge
but oh a victory tonight would be sweet! cuban sandwiches
all around!

At the Risk of Sounding too Macomb County

2006-04-26T15:51:00.000-04:00

the hockey playoffs are incredible... what tremendous action
my boys from edmonton are up on the evil wing empire
two games to one!!! don't get too excited, david doesn't always
slay illitch.

one more weekend left at the zeitgeist!! what a journey... i'll be
ready to wash the sand off once and for all. (just like kramer
and the beach)

had a read thru for the next play i'll be a doin... All Childish Things
by local loco Joe Zettlemeier... great cast and some nice light fun

coffee is good, the sun is out, a slight breeze and i have the night off
priceless

On a quick note

2006-04-07T10:26:00.000-04:00

april has usually been a downer... but i'm in good spirits

my father died on april 5th 1991. we burried him on the 8th
today i'm stuck in that middle. thinking about death but not
menace.

today i'm embracing it like lorca did! have a show tonight at
the Zeitgeist to let it all out!

there is alot banging around in my head right now... it will be out soon

in the meanwhile...

much love to everyone
peace in the middle east
destroy all borders

The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria

2006-04-04T10:25:00.000-04:00

two weekends down and the play goes on!

a fine review of the show at:

thedetroiter.com

(a very nice website as well)

Swimming to the surface (and other ways of drowning)

2006-03-30T16:04:00.000-05:00

when i emerged from breathlessness my face was painted
all the pores blocked up and scales over my eyelids
trying to decipher whether all reaction is a coverup
but today my lungs are filled with the good oxygen
i've been lost inside another's skin for the last month or so
it has been glorious, it has been arduous, it has been lovely
my brain tricked my body into fear... fear of ceasing and rest:
i bit like a lion, slept in danger, drank courage, spewed loss
& now i lie with the lamb

when i emerged from selfishlessness my ears were hurting
all sound blending into one scream of undesperation
trying to decipher whether all reaction is a coverup
but today i am filled with all of yesterday's fireflies
taken flight into a night not found within the moon's walls
it will be tremendous, it will be harsh, it will be lovely
my body tricked my brain into belief... now i taste the night:
like thunder and rain, a dark cracked root, iron in the blood
& all the love i've given

Happy Saint Pat's

2006-03-17T15:40:00.000-05:00

i'll write more when i wake up

busier than an itai on Colombus Day

goodnight tullamore

SO GONE, CHICAGO

2006-02-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

phone's ringing dude
it's ten thirty in the morning and the quickshot is on the line. i'm usually three cups in by now on a monday morning but i'm still in chicago and drinks lasted till four thirty in the window seat. now i'm guzzling juice and talking with rob, matt, and jerry. matt and jerry are carpenters. i don't know if they have built any crosses. we're pilled in jerry's saturn (remember when i had a saturn held together with duct tape and aircraft cable?) and we go just up the way to devan street for some pakistani indian goodness. some, i said? three dollars gets you a plate of chicken bryrani that could feed a family. nora says i'm a spiller... and a good deal of sauce from my chicken korma does end up on my favorite blue shirt with the ripped sleeve from the freight elevator... it's still my favorite shirt. jerry drops us back on argyle street and rob and i explore the wares. so much buddha and bamboo. i purchase a beautiful yellow and blue tea cup for my lady then we enter an amazing vietnamese market. jars with fish eyes, gellitans, pickled everything (even huff), live blue crabs, an enormous selection of fresh fish and unidentifiable produce... this is where fish go when they die. looking for a tea ball for brigid. a clerk has "never seen one before" and that somehow feels odd. oof, it was pretty early for indian food. found the tea ball in another place and we're back in 8e. i'm drifting in and out during an extensive lecture on comedy through the ages... in particular "waiting for godot" quaw quaw quaw i miss sergio... i miss tom... i miss tim (although i did just drink with him for a while) i'll soon be back on zeitgeist's floor with chuck and arrabal. rob has finished his work and we scoot to northeastern university. homework handed in robert unattends his class and we're at wzrd 88.3 fm. brigid is playing some thick music and i'm reading dylan thomas. an hour or so of college radio and it's back to the window seat... this time with our friend jameson. we hadn't hung out with him yet.
it starts out slow: politics this, world peace that, girls are neat, THIS WHISKEY IS GREAT, look at the lake, jollie holland is a goddess, whoa those guys are fighting in the street! inseparable bond keeps bungeeing them back to peacock fists and meredith advice from the corner... have the cops chased them off? damn this is good whiskey have we talked about lorca~! let me read you some harrison... in fact let me read you the entire theory and practice of rivers, what a tremendous journey... politics fistfights, neat whiskey, girl peace, holland god, lorca cops, now we're singing, can't remember what, rob's guitar sounds deep, i'm in the river looking up and i can see your face~~\\@$%^&*((+=@#``!~11$:"

i'm awake... the train to detroit leaves in a couple of hours. i say goodbye to rob. it feels strange. like a goodbye after a one night stand. what wonders we shared in so short a time. i'm on the wolverine 352 back to detroit eating a liverwurst on rye from the thorndale deli... just to keep a little chicago in me while i go...
nora is at woodward and baltimore~ i'm home

SO FAR, CHICAGO

2006-02-20T00:20:00.000-05:00

moving forward looking back
hopped a train heading west... i could examine where i had been while clipping on to the next junction. read some words by marquez and listened to molina and brasil... studied the Arrabal and drank some budweiser. the train is quite a magnificent way to land in Chicago for some drink and relaxation. the great hall in chicago's union station felt empty. the famous steps leading up to the street were slouching and melting under the years of traffic. the cold air burned my face a little... i think it was 4 degrees. robert walks very fast and soon we're waiting for a train, besides, i'm a viking and i don't get cold. off at the thorndale exit on the redline we buy some old style and tobacco paper. once inside 8e the warm glow of the sun sinking into the city was gorgeous. we sat in the window seat and spoke to one another... lake michigan just beyond us looking far more quiet than bustling sirron street. it is important to stop and look out the window for a while.

selah

i have a strange fascination with those who are tardy. i often wish i could embrace that quality. the troop transport arrives and roberto, myself, and brigid are on the way to the pizza lounge (no you can't get pizza there) a gathering of transplanted hearts, passers through, and residentials. you see, the dallas cowboy cheerleaders are going to be there and who can resist that. more old style is consumed while reaquainting ourselves with: margaret and quickshot, vitamin T, the hawk, and y rushforth griffith. the cheerleaders reach a fevered pitch but i can't really hear them underneath all the love being shared by my friends... i don't mind so much although they seemed tremendous with fiddle, banjo, twang, and a clever name for a group of folky girls. i'm watching lake michigan slumber just for several moments before i to relent to sleep while missing my girl.

jubilee

morning is bright and warm. some goya coffee that boxes like a middleweight and we're ready to head down to the argyle stop... some of my favorite socks. little saigon is a much nicer area than detroit's chinatown (consisting of a closed chung's taunting me with no more eggrolls and birdtown pet store where satan's cat was rescued into a world of ubu, moyer, and straightjackets) barbequed chickens and larger than life buddhas dance in the windows and the bon bin hue is served by gorgeous vietmamese girls who speak like mint and ginger originate deep inside of them. cardinal klassen has arrived via hassle and robert is woking soup downtown for his gal. the cardinal and i sit in 8e's window seat and renew our souls with love and more old style... it'd really be nice if nojay were here.

schuba gear

see, i planned this trip to see jason molina break my musical heart... i'm sorry he can't be here and i'm sorry for his troubles. i'm at the bar a day early and kelly kessler and whippoorwill are spouting bluegrass with a kind of quiet determination and joy. the beer tastes good, afterall, i'm on vacation. plunging back through the city of wheels and no eyes i think how blessed i am by those around me near and far... just said goodnight to nora and wrote these words... it's time for more old style.

it always takes the first month to warm up

2006-01-25T13:05:00.000-05:00

every time birth happens... death evens out

here comes the new year but it is almost february already
just started rehearsals for the next show
the rebirth of the Zeitgeist...
fernando arrabal's The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria
two person show with Chuck Reynolds and myself directed by John Jakary
it is immense and tremendous!

Wilson Pickett died

been getting closer and closer with my girl Nj
soon we'll be in rehearsals for The Diary of Anne Frank...
that is where we met last year... time flies by when you're the driver of a train
neither of us were ready for a relationship... but whoever is?

Chris Penn died

we've entered the late january string of b days
today-- jonathan schneider
tomorrow --wayne gretzky
the day after-- my brother jim
somewhere in there is don hendriks

it's cold out and my head sweats in detroit januarys

Rum, Timpano and Words

2006-01-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

sunny and almost fitty degrees in a detroit january...
stepping back into the batters box after a long holiday season. all in all good times were had. the Dakota Inn was a fine time of stout german fare and great fellowship with friends... that catapulted into the christmas season at jackies!! made some fabulous foods with rob and mark for the holiday proper. spent christmas afternoon at the Bonner household with Nora and her family. ate some great food and played a spirited game of trivial pursuit... or is it just trivia?
christmas evening was off to jackie's house for salmon mousse, impressive stuffing (made from a mysterious cinnamon based stock which threw the culinary world into upheaval and caused several planets to collide), sausages, and smooth smooth smooth pyrat RUM!! New Years was low-key but did consist of TIMPANO!! that's right, we carefully constructed that Big Night delight and let it set whilst cheering the new year at Seven Brothers. Rob is now addicted to Timpano and as far as i know, that is all he has eaten in 06 calendar year.
two poems in case you don't look at losfriars.blogspot.com:

Christmas at Jackie's

it is tremendous in the air
the walls are thick with history
so much has seeped into the wood
i'd like to age scotch in these rooms
the din of preparation almost
as exciting as the sacred event
the will of the day pulled asunder
only love can bicker this well

i remember my first time
collected with new faces of joy
found instruments and displaced jars
expounding more revery into the night
smoke filled eyes taking it in
the future's foundation was poured
under that great east-side star
gathered wisemen, shepherds and thieves

Relatives and friends colliding into one
even strangers ring familiar tonight
trading bourbon for rum and right back around
why isn't someone writing it all down
my skull so soaked in sentiment as to never recover
not even a bloody can bring back tomorrow
what the hell was in that damn stock...
yeah right, gimme a break!

======================================

i would have lurched forward
out of these staining waters
had i the sandthe ability to take a life by force
but the sinews are so wrapped
along my outer skin and
trickling between each rib
of my heart's cage
holding my shoulder to my arm
and my arm to my shoulder
flowing in my disrupted bloods
and dancing in my brain's television
so much so
that i can't decipher importance or grief
flowers painted gray overthrowing love

i would have soared forward
out of these freezing waters
had i the fervor
the ability to give my life by grace
but the fingers are so twisted
sidewalks can't form the chords and
skyscrapers forgot the words
of my heart's rage
blocking the sun from my eyes
and my eyes from the sun
the empty lot's a skipping record
repeating in my brain's phonograph
so much so
that i can't find the right song
to turn the roses red again

Season's Beatings from the Bastard Squad

2005-12-21T11:39:00.000-05:00

hello from the countdown to christmas
been keeping busy even with productions under the belt

been messing around with friends on a new blog site...
check it out if you like: losfriars.blogspot.com

also, i've been assimilated into the myspace machine
look there for the end of the world.

my man roberto has arrived in town from chicago...
hawk has arranged a get together tonight at a great
old german restaurant. my girl nora will be in
attendance as well as huff, mr. roth and a special lady
friend, we're trying to get rob's mom jackie as well but
that may just be pipe dreams.

been reading lorca again lately... Poet in New York mostly
gorgeous

mi casa sioux indian!

Mr. Dan Roth's response to Robert and Myself

2005-12-07T13:21:00.000-05:00

That far off beach
My eyes stretch for miles
My toes remember sand, my mind cannot place

The sea rocks my dying cradle
Your arms kindle my pyre
I stand still and hope they will not see, me burning

I am wont of your disease
Peruvian or whatever you are
Your arrow's kisses on my week joint, my foreign tongue

O this lily, within,
I look towards the sky
Everything is above me, a tad behind

What good is it if you can't enjoy
The taste of a fly
The smell of war's rot
The rebirth of the non-luke blood
The water's narrow burrow in the silicone
Meaning: The pen exists and not the ink

Silky Gravel, the Symphony, and low-flying JETS

2005-12-05T11:17:00.000-05:00

had a tremendous weekend with the girl.
Headed to ann arbor on friday night with
nora and her army of blonde friends: lisa,
bethany, bethany and meg. we met up with
Hawk and piled into The Ark for a great
concert. a folksy singer named Kim Taylor
opened up for Over the Rhine. she also
sang along with the group from time to time.
over the rhine was terrific... a wonderful blend
of folk, jazz and blues! an amazing drummer
and Karen's vocals were like silky gravel. hot
hot heat!! some of us then sat in the lower level
of the heidelberg bar and drank dark dinkel beer.
Nora chatted with her old friends and Hawk and
i spouted off about how improv might be killing theatre
around here.
saturday we slept late and headed to the trendy
streets of royal oak. ate some noodles and walked
around the local shops. Nora then got her hairs cut
in birmingham and i sauntered around borders books.

because of a scheduling snafu we ended up at the JET
on saturday evening for an uninspired performance
of Nickel and Dimed... i don't know what the book was
like but the play was condescending, poorly paced, and
completely without soul or actual understanding of
working for a living on the low end of the scale. mr. Huff
had a few good turns... especially as a minnesotan store
manager and as a society lady. but all and all the show
was forgettable.

sunday afternoon the girl and i got all dolled up and
went to the Detroit Symphony for a performance of
Handel's Messiah. Nora looked gorgeous in a peach
colored dress and her fresh new hair cut and i cut a
handsome swath in my dark gray suit and paisley
bowtie. the symphony was great. flooded me with
memories of my father and also of my brother jim's
horn playing. ate a nice meal at Traffic Jam and headed
home to the couch for an evening movie... Bullworth

i have to say that i'm all for Bullworth for President
"Senator, just where is the nappy dugout?"

Robert's Return

2005-11-29T13:45:00.000-05:00

long time toads
transformed by a spell

statue of a man
once a god

decades of broken wings
blown to the ground

a thousand thieves sinking
no trace into the night

the marks of the war
for love
kill or be killed

"hold me"
he tries
she tries
to say
"i am my underneath"
in a red puddle
between distant shores

my response to Robert

2005-11-28T15:06:00.000-05:00

the constant motion made my skull spin
1000 negativities trapped inside 1 YES
life now with water ballooning both my lungs
the earth looks just like sky from way down here
a curse on all Warmongers
they never taught me how to fly... just spoke again:
love is for heels
love is for heels
love is for heels
my mouth expelling like a river
i'm a statue called Achilles
astride a golden fountain... sunflowers in my eyes
they splash they leap they swim they slither
i've turned them all to toads

The Gales of November came Late

2005-11-28T13:51:00.000-05:00

it's warm again in november... always makes me nervous
clinging to the last breaths before the flood
blue and gray clouds converge to make winter
detroit never cools the blood
had some times with friends and relatives
sang some songs in bed
ate some turkey with some gravy
should have punched a Puritan instead

Had a wonderful eskimo pie at a brunch in Baltimore

2005-11-21T12:48:00.000-05:00

well i'm back from the whirlwind weekend
my brother got hitched on friday. great
ceremony conducted by my brother jim.
low-key good times were had at the
reception (except for my sister who drank
bottles of wine, danced up a storm and
threw up in the car... her good times were
much better than low-key) also had a nice
saturday brunch with friends and family.
nora was able to attend and had a nice little
time. then saw inherit the wind on the
evening of saturday. i really want to buy an
eskimo pie from Fiandre!
oh! i also saw Walk the Line! nicely done...
phoenix and witherspoon carried themselves
well.
have been hold up at the livonia zoo watching
the animals and season three and four of
Homicide: Life on the Streets.
i think baltimore would be a cool place to live

and they put handcuffs on the computers

2005-11-16T16:15:00.000-05:00

so this is and old picture of myslef in the role of Pronos in and they put handcuffs on the flowers at the Zeitgeist. i've been trying to post several pictures of the ohia nephews and this danged brain-box won't let me. so i just grabbed this picture and it worked... so... it's not the blog people... it has something to do with those pictures of the little rascals... now my skull and fingers are wandering and nothing but jelly is coming out! what!?!?!? the air is crisp... i'd like to eat some tacos

DIMES, DEAD EYES, AND PANCAKES

2005-11-14T16:04:00.000-05:00

Sam's Barbershop occupies a small area on the
second floor of the Dime building. i had been
overdue. i could put my hair into a ponytail for
crissake! 580 Memories is always pumped into
the serene little getaway (today featured Sinatra,
Dean, and the original version of Running Scared--
don't know the singer) Received a wonderful haircut
complete with straight razor and hot towel... all the
while getting an excellent shoe shine.
it is little things like this that make life worth living

Sam is a GEM

closed The Dead Eye Boy over the weekend. a truly
tremendous experience from top to bottom. Good
crowds and some really spirited shows for the final
go around. the BreatheArt people are really great.
Demetri gave me a book on closing night: The Stories
of Breece D'J Pancake. have read the forward and first
story "Trilobites" i am so far amazed! Breece killed
himself in 1979 and this small collection of short stories
is all that remains. i have been delivered another
beautiful voice!

GRAY LINING ON A SILVER CLOUD

2005-11-09T09:54:00.000-05:00

terrific time last night. had dinner with nora in ann arbor then met up with hawk and his buddy phil at the Michigan theatre (last time i was there was for the premeire of Fading starring Johh Hawkinson Jessica Cloud and Myself... or was it the Vanishing? "we'll make eggs, do coke") for the jeff tweedy solo show... Tremendous. his drummer opened with a percussion set and then tweedy took over for some brilliant laid back heart felt acoustic action... can you handle the hot hot heat?!?!? truly a Silver Cloud of an evening...
i then awoke to THE CITY OF IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
detroit re-elected mr. kwame kilthecitypatrick. as astonished as when the international thug george W regained power! America has a love affair with Idiots!
we need a hard rain to wash the filth from our city offices and make us clean again.
maybe it would be safer in France right now

When will our revolution come?

ERECTION DAY!!!!

2005-11-08T10:55:00.000-05:00

oops... sorry, i meant ELECTION DAY
got up early and headed down to the
Unitarian church to cast my vote for
mayor of our fair city... and i'll say it
here i voted for mr. Freman Hendrix

hopefully it all works out and we can get
that bastard Kwame out. although not
much can stop the bleeding in this city

going to see Jeff Tweedy this evening with
Nora and Hawk. should be a good one!

one more weekend left of Dead Eye Boy
having a terrific run. free time is on the
horizon. but is anything really free?

anyway... mi casa sioux indian

November Tastes Great to Me

2005-11-04T13:42:00.000-05:00

hello november!!
gorgeous out today
and nora said november was cruel...

the Dead Eye Boy opened last weekend
small crowds but some tremendous energy
in the room... strongly reviewed by the
critics even if we did depress the hell out of them
having a great time on stage with tamam and joe.
Roth was strong again and Chris Roady has been
invaluable as another observer and ass. director.

spent some time last sunday with Hawk... drank
really nice whiskey from dublin (Tryconnell single malt)
watched the lions lose again and break everyone's heart

my brother's wedding approaches. i'll now be the last
of the unmarried mitchells. (unless you count the litter
of boys known as my ohia nephews)
i guess i'll have to keep going to round churches*

listening to some great old chuck berry tunes right now
Sweet Little Rock and Roller

time is starting to free up a bit... would like to take on some
strong writing. must be vigilante against the bright shiny box
and all matter of dead energy. would like to make dinner for
my girl and maybe see what the movies look like again.

i believe el aventurero and el chivo have converged on san anotone
i do believe i'd like a bloody mary now
oh well back to work

*(that way God can't corner me)

Roberto's next Response!!

2005-10-28T10:12:00.000-04:00

robert zajkowski just breaks me with his wonderful words... here is his response to my poem from a couple posts ago:

yes
all there is
is yes
but then

but then
locusts
they dream

from eggs emerge
showers of
sodden nets

you're right
always right

there is more
to an ocean than water

there are boats

&
that floating
does wonders
for the surface

&
that
the bottom

the bottom
wants to rise
to reach
to clucth
to avenge its heavy curse

but that it is
dancing
that enters the sky

that
it's laughter
that is wieghtless

that it is love
that heals

what the world brings
it brings
begging light

forgive me
me
but i'm scared
that freedom
is a trick
with sharp bones
and
they'll know
it has been stolen

and down the stretch they come

2005-10-26T16:11:00.000-04:00

the most exciting words in sports... and
that is where we're at with The Dead
Eyed Boy... two more tech rehearsals then
we open on friday!!! hooray hooray!!!

sunday i had the pleasure of mixing high
life, cheap whiskey, zombies and drag.

anyone of which on its own could kill you
placed all together... a tremendous evening
which ended with free bacon at the bronx

i know... we all hate the bronx...
but where else you gonna go?
driving to bars is so passe

Found at the bottom of Neptune

2005-10-21T12:44:00.000-04:00

yesterday... stopped by neptune records and picked up the new magnolia electric co ep hard to love a man and a bonnie prince billy/matt sweeney (pictured above) single for i gave you. good stuff on both (a little disappointed with magnolia's rendition of werewolves of london... their live carmeleta was amazing) the bonny/sweeney single contains a song called four screams which is just amazing... opening lines:

She had a beautiful face
used to subjugate
like the sun subjugates
serving her was like
serving time itself
loving you is like
loving someone else
scream scream scream scream

bonnie billy's twisted beauty never ceases to break me...

A Poem this Morning

2005-10-19T13:52:00.000-04:00

the cold sun blistered
my warm ocean
and i forgot how to fear
my inclinations gathered
i decided this
cast off what is thrust upon
dance when there
is no moon
laugh with
tears in your mouth
love against
all this world's
hatred
i decided this

Closing Time, Real Martinis and Castillo Returns

2005-10-17T16:33:00.000-04:00

Well... we have finally closed out Two Men in a Box. Six weeks can be a long time to spend on a show. Had a great time working with and getting to know Joe Colosi. Great times also with Dan Roth who is now directing me in The Dead Eye Boy. Also Mr. Mike Fiedler cracked me up and played Nick Cave for me every day on the piano. Closed the show on Saturday in front of a wonderfully generous crowd and then it was scene missing time at the Seven Brothers Bar... between blue ribbon beers, the irish, and rollo's comavitsas, there was Bombay... martini style (oh joel... i love it how you order your martinis so dirty-- Gillian Eaton) Sunday morning was a little groggy but i was able to walk down to Fords Field to see the Detroit Lions lose by one point... one word describes that team: POOR. Spent the evening with old friends in town from the Pacific Northwest... the lovely Craig Castillo and Natalie Federof were in town for Craig's 30th. Also caught up with his sister Kelly... who i hadn't seen in years. it was great to catch up with her... she looks xactly the same. also times with Jon Todt and Nathan Holland. did some shirking on learning all my lines but i'll get them soon enough.
and did i mention friday? had a lovely night with my girl Nora. saturday morning she made me delicious coffee and served me caramel scones before i had to hit the road. she amazes me all the time.
live.
breathe.
love.

Last Night and Beyond Now

2005-10-14T15:39:00.000-04:00

Had good times with Hawk at the 7 Bros.
Listened to great tunes and drank Jameson.
Only two more shows of Box left.
Hoping to hang with Nora this evening.
Gots to get off book for Dead Eye.
Gonna eat some Thai food.
Maybe drink some mate.
live.
breathe.
love.

A note from Harold Pinter... Sent to me by the esteemed Mr. John Jakary

2005-10-14T15:33:00.000-04:00

Harold Pinter, a brilliant playwright, has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Here is what he had to say about the use of language in the world earlier this year.

Wilfred Owen Award Speech - 18 th March 2005

This is a true honour. Wilfred Owen was a great poet. He articulated the tragedy, the horror and indeed the pity – of war – in a way no other poet has. Yet we have learnt nothing. Nearly 100 years after his death the world has become more savage, more brutal, more pitiless.

But the “free world” we are told (as embodied in the United States and Great Britain) is different to the rest of the world since our actions are dictated and sanctioned by a moral authority and a moral passion condoned by someone called God. Some people may find this difficult to comprehend but Osama Bin Laden finds it easy.

What would Wilfred Owen make of the invasion of Iraq? A bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of International Law. An arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public. An act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading – as a last resort (all other justifications having failed to justify themselves) – as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands upon thousands of innocent people.

An independent and totally objective account of the Iraqi civilian dead in the medical magazine The Lancet estimates that the figure approaches 100,000. But neither the US or the UK bother to count the Iraqi dead. As General Tommy Franks (US Central Command) memorably said: “We don't do body counts”.

We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery and degradation to the Iraqi people and call it “bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East”. But, as we all know, we have not been welcomed with the predicted flowers. What we have unleashed is a ferocious and unremitting resistance, mayhem and chaos.

You may say at this point: what about the Iraqi elections? Well President Bush himself answered this question only the other day when he said “We cannot accept that there can be free democratic elections in a country under foreign military occupation”.

I had to read that statement twice before I realised that he was talking about Lebanon and Syria.

What do Bush and Blair actually see when they look at themselves in the mirror?

I believe Wilfred Owen would share our contempt, our revulsion, our nausea and our shame at both the language and the actions of the American and British governments.

--Harold Pinter

A tremendous poem by Federico Garcia Lorca

2005-10-11T14:18:00.000-04:00

Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint

Never let me lose the marvel
of your statue-like eyes, or the accent
the solitary rose of your breath
places on my cheek at night.

I am afraid of being, on this shore,
a branchless trunk, and what I most regret
is having no flower, pulp, or clay
for the worm of my despair.

If you are my hidden treasure,
if you are my cross, my dampened pain,
if I am a dog, and you alone my master,

never let me lose what I have gained,
and adorn the branches of your river
with leaves of my estranged Autumn.

Calling all Brain Boxes

2005-10-11T14:13:00.000-04:00

someone... anyone...
tell me the real difference between:
elegy and eulogy!

M & R

2005-10-10T11:37:00.000-04:00

a favorite picture of mine...
Matt (Quickshot) Buzcko and Robert (El Aventurero) Zajkowski
had a great weekend with robert in town... small time and good talks... saw Blanche
on Saturday with Nora, Hawk, Annie, and Robert. Don't trust the Doctors!

Must be Song of Solomon

2005-10-07T16:04:00.000-04:00

hey, here's a photo of my boy Brian Wilson... the reformed gin drinker who now chooses vodka. he'll most likely stab me for that last remark but everyone needs a Kumar once in awhile.

box, marys, fizz, trains, and the Dead Eye

2005-10-06T15:13:00.000-04:00

heading into the last two weekends
for two men in a box... it has become
a very natural part of life.
rehearsals for the dead eye boy have
been going well at 1515 Broadway.
a tremendous script

robert (el aventurero) arrives by train
from chicago this evening... i'll retrieve
him from the stacione at Woodward
and Milwaukee. should be a good
weekend of catching up and cocktails.

i think the fall should be dedicated to
Bloody Marys... but that is just one
man's opinion.
then again i could really go for a
Ramos Gin Fizz prepared by the
incomparable jon todt.

"fair enough joe"
but i really gots to go!

Previous Poem

2005-10-04T14:29:00.000-04:00

just looking at some old poetry in the hopes
of spurring me on to new heights... here is
one of mine from the Braided Poems collection
between robert Z and myself:

Blue Brook/Red Rapids

Lips moving without a sound
the bank of my skull
is filled with elevator small talk
I don't remember how to ask for anything
I put all my prayers in a dumbwaiter
sent them up to God
they should reach him by the next century
if the lines don't give out
I lost a bet with a horse
he said the reason I work long hours is:
expensive shampoo and detergent that really gets the filth out
looks like I'll have to eat some crow
What do sheep count to make them sleep so innocent
doves circling overhead with a pearly gleam
they're sick and tired of stumping for peace
oily feathers stick together
Hurt makes me want to go and hurt
and I have a mandate of hate from the masses
I have chipped talons and a bloody beak
the peace blue brook turning to red rapids

Just shy of BLUE in Rocktober!

2005-10-03T13:15:00.000-04:00

had a terrific weekend
friday night show at the ant was ill attended, however
great times were had at 7 Brothers... talked for a while
with Brian Wilson (who to my dismay was drinking
vodka and vermouth and trying to pass it off as a martini)
ended up back at the ant for more revery and late night
pass outs. couldn't quite make Sinatra's Five O'clock Blue.
saturday the levee broke and people flooded into the ant
for a sold out show. nice energy and all around good times

Sunday night... nora and i had tickets for the sold out
White Stripes concert (thanx Hawk). what an amazing show
at the Masonic Temple in Detroit. Jack White is saving
Rock and Roll from a certain demise. an all out tour de force
of energy, blues, soul and ROCK.
who'd have thought that the Young Doctor's (Stephen Blackwell)
uncle would be the new Rock and Roll Messiah!!!

just crack a bottle of Old Florida and have a great week!!

DAMNED ELEVATOR SMALL TALK

2005-09-27T14:33:00.000-04:00

how can one balk at the price for a gallon of gasoline
when there are times that a decent bloody mary costs
upwards of five dollars? soon it will be just like the great
Zabaugh once said: "all i can afford is jack daniels and
darkness."
i very much enjoy the crispness of the air these days
i can't believe it is only tuesday
up or down
what do you mean "only" tuesday
no i didn't see the game
up or down
yes... Zabaugh said that
"have a good one"
the world is broken

NOBODY BROUGHT COFFEE TODAY

2005-09-20T15:15:00.000-04:00

sunny september days are just
like believed lies and no one
has any power to change the
world

football has turned its back on me
slurpees don't taste as good as they used to
...but life is good

two weekends down with two men in a box
and what can be said... i feel the show is in
a good place...
attendance is down as are the papers
but i am enjoying myself along the way
rehearsal for Dead Eye Boy this evening
another busy week
my girl's week is much busier so it all
comes out in the wersh.
i think i need a weekend getaway but that
won't happen for a spell.

Reading: Elegy for Desire by Luis Omar Salinas

as the summer of rum winds down what will the
fall hold for modern drunkards, chippers and bingers?

Robert's Response

2005-09-14T16:37:00.000-04:00

a poem by Robert Zajkowski:

I thought
just as well
someone has to
and said "thanks"
for the offer
of more
lumpy gravy
but you see
I have had all
the lumpy gravy
I can stand

the sun melted
the ice off my eyes
then the sun
left me for darkness
and I slipped
on the frozen puddles
into an ocean
of sharks like me
who carry and nestle
with delicate flowers
in the deep
where we swallow
the reflection of stars
and dream
forever dream
of a surface
not broken by rain

2005-09-13T11:08:00.000-04:00

o to be fierce
hot like concrete in august
breathe under water
and carry the world
dance like ginger
and sing like frank
pocket the sun
and glow in the dark
temper the rage of nations
and drink up all the ocean
i'll give you
all the
answers
shatter all the earth
dream
with your eyes open

WRITE AND LAZY

2005-09-12T16:30:00.000-04:00

on a monday after the opening of
Two Men in a Box

shows went well over the weekend
and it feels good to have the project
off of our shoulders and in full flight

mike feidler really is amazing on the piana

with heavy rehearsals out of sight should
have more time to write... or be lazy

just bought the new dylan bootleg series 7
can't wait to give it a listen!!
i'm off to desolation row..............................

Big Jim Swill and Pretty Jinny Scold

2005-09-02T10:11:00.000-04:00

maybe it's the political climate of late
or the fact that my boss got a bitchin
stereo put in his truck but War Pigs
by Black Sabbath has to be just about
the best song ever written.

my song is not completed yet but i'll
put the first two verses in progress here.
born out of the night we all sat around and
ate smoked duck and drank and sang and laughed:

Big Jim Swill was a man of the earth
and he drove his heart like a hammer
way down in ohia
Down where the buckeye crosses to kentucky
his arms grew tight
his back brown from the sun
way down in ohia
tobacco in his teeth and a terrror in his eye
found himself a girl and found himself a lie
way down in ohia

Pretty Jinny Scold lived in the breezes
and she blew right through Big Jim
way down in ohia
Down where the buckeye crosses to kentucky
her heart forced open
her hair golden with the sun
way down in ohia
she had a pocket full of crickets just in case he cracked a joke
had a fist full of kisses and a stroke full of fight
way down in ohia

Box Box Box Box

2005-08-30T16:31:00.000-04:00

promo shot for Two Men in a Box... opens September 9th at Planet Ant
that's me on the left and joe colosi on the right. photo by eric maher.
http://planetant.com

Broke Down Rainy Day Nothin To Say Blues

2005-08-30T11:34:00.000-04:00

saw Broken Flowers last night
it was a good film... Bill Murray
continues to astound! not quite
everything that i wanted but
solid nonetheless. it is a gray
day today... i like that. on
saturday it rained hard and i
sat under a tent behind Planet
Ant and drank mate with the
rain. got to get some writing done
eventually "busy" is no excuse

listening to Warren Zevon:
Sentimental Hygene
what a giant!
what a loss!

Dogs, Hams, Ants and Broadway

2005-08-24T11:00:00.000-04:00

well... things went off without a hitch at the livonia
zoo. for the most part... dogs might as well be kids.

hitting the rehearsal stretch for Two Men in a Box
which will officially open September 9th at Planet
Ant Theatre in Hamtramck.

also started meetings for a show which will open the last
weekend in Rocktober. The Dead Eye Boy through
BreatheArt theatre company at 1515 Broadway.
Believe me... my intent was and is never to act on Broadway.

world famous actor and folk singer Robert Grossman once said:
"The big time is for people who couldn't make it in the small time!"
(he's in New York now)
he also has been quoted as saying:
"I am a vegetarian but once a year I am seduced by ham."

to continue the leaps and bounds... steve swassey once blew up
a ham on Hickory Island. it was a glorious sight!

Eating Daffy with vodka and V8

2005-08-19T10:58:00.000-04:00

Good hot coffee on a friday... mid-morning. feeling a bit sluggish
in a stretch of 9 to 5 workdays then six o'clock rehearsals at the
Ant. so far so good in the rehearsal hall... having fun with mr. dan
roth's script and joe colosi is a joy to act with.
had a get-together on wed. night with the self proclaimed New Detroit
Fryers... El Aventurero, El Chivo, El Vikingo, and El Diablo. Markus was
in from the finger lakes of New York... what a tremendous man he is
he and rob smoked four ducks and i drank bloody marys all night while
jon strummed the guitar. Nora was able to attend for a while and she
played and sung like an angel. i started writing a song about Big Jim Swill.
i'll post it when it becomes available to my mind. Hawk has left for an
ireland trip... hope he brings back whiskey! i'm pretty sure i'll be heading
to camp livonia this weekend to tend the zoo... my brother and his fiance
now have five cats and a large dog named dakota... a rotweiler (if that is
indeed how one spells rotweiler) the dog has been a little sick so there is
a chance they won't leave for the weekend.
on a side note... reading a great book my brother gave me:
King of the Jews by Nick Tosches
a terrific writer... the book is essentially about Arnold Rothstein but it also
weaves a lot of biblical and language history into the picture.

FOUR VOICES

2005-08-16T12:43:00.000-04:00

Joel:

in this i have you
only
the earth is a tear factory
where ever feet pass
burning the souls
to again be made pure
only
the sky is laughter
where blue touches mountains
rolling down hills
to wash over me
only
these possessions are flowers
where time becomes work
to have and to have
all property: illusion
only
in this i have you

Robert:

my days
each morning waking
only one less
tear
and smile
crowded saline
over pearlessence

they talk of a stream underground
conveying the dead
reaching from their shoulders
love's architecture
pine tops
razoring the reserve

now
in double
in triple vision
until the dim
trails in charcoal lines
"pull" called when ready
on the trigger
scatter the diamonds
before they land

the fuse of the soul stretched from end to end
is used to hang the wardrobe turning to wrinkles

all the seas have names
the drowning remains the same

love lives in electricity passing overhead
strikes
with dirt in your hair

house of mud
heat
then porcelain
our shards
our sharpest edge

behind me
you have given me
behind me
by you
always in front

tell me
about
yourself
the same
as tomorrow

Hawk:

take courage in yourself
and in the sky
is full of love
wholly
like thunder
she came to my heart
as quiet as lightning
she drifted off to sleep
barely
in my arms
in the moonbeams
mixed with candlelight
broadway looking on
soley
the rivers running
along both sides of the single bed
children's books
on the window ledge
simply
here we are stranded up high
suspended by the fear
look down the wing of the bird
soaring beside you
utterly
is full of love
and in the sky
take courage in yourself

Nora:

what are we worth
our weight in wounds
strips of exposed flesh
from neck to heal
another day another lash.

while you sleep
i stand before broken down cardboard
and in each hand
i hold a thousand dollars worth
designer property
i do not want
i hope
i drop
not on purpose
and break to leak and
coat the gray dust floor with
the sweet stench of emptiness
and glass
and so prove the illusion of
this whip.

while i sleep
i dream i stand before a bony face
i look down into my pouch filled with the dollar
divided by six point seven and
i look up to find
a thousand bony faces before me
waiting for
what i cannot give.

what could i give
only
that which glows in
silver lining
aligning this hot august cloud
we swim through
together.

who has brought this joy
that i may lie dizzy
in dry fan air
and drowsily
i laugh

Lake Michigan on the wings of a Hawk

2005-08-08T16:26:00.000-04:00

last wed. and thurs. took a trip to grand rapids with Hawk. he took me to the Springsteen show in gR. fantastic time. played a wonderful solo set on many guitars, a grand piano, and a rhodes organ. Cynthia, Promised Land, and the stuff fromt he new album highlighted the show.
(7th Row... it was brilliant)
the next day we hit the coast of Lake Michigan at Grand Haven. spent a good time in the waves... which came in pretty high and fast. did some body surfing close to shore then checked out some board surfers while getting hit by waves on the peir. it was gorgeous... i still feel the lake in my hair (and that's a good thing, not a pollution thing)

had a good weekend as well... minutes, hours, days, weeks, months can be lost at
3rd Street Saloon!!

Smoker, Joker, Midnight Toyotas

2005-08-02T11:10:00.000-04:00

well... i'm thirty-three today. a potent age i suppose (if i make the next ha!)
had a great time on saturday... rob lit the smoker and smoked some brisket
chicken and corn on the cob! delicious grilled eggplant as well. good times
reminiscent of the "glad you're out of the army farewell to europe" smoker
we had for rob two years ago. (not quite the grand scale) i am surrounded
by astounding people. rob spent the week prior looking for a car for me
he found one on friday and bought it. a 95 toyota tercel. i am blessed. then
at the party friends and relatives donated money to rob to curb the cost. did
i say i was blessed? thank you to the house that jackie built, my relatives and
of course the hilsberry kids (i can see you're not fight fans).
last night saw jason molina and the magnolia electric co. they crunched... nora,
hawk, and the palmer were in attendance. molina finished the show with Zevon's
Carmalita!!! glorious!! fantastic white boy rappers from pittsburgh opened the
show... Grand Buffet-- hilarious. hawk and i are off to springsteen tomorrow.
as i have said... through it all life is good
started rehearsals for Two Men in a Box... opens sept. 9 at the Planet Ant in
Hamtramck michigan.
barbaric yawps still make me weep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Car 54 Where are You?

2005-07-27T15:56:00.000-04:00

well... had a splendid time at the family reunion
however, upon my return, whoever read my blog
and broke my window a while back... decided to take
my entire car this time... gone with the wind.
fortunately there are plenty of leads and the officers
down at the 13th are working in shifts to recover my
vehicle. property is illusion... life remains good.

what comes after the blues?

2005-07-20T14:44:00.000-04:00

the bonnie prince and friend at the intonation festival... isn't that what all djs look like?
photo of jason molina at the intonation festival in chicago... sorry i missed it but magnolia electric co will be in detroit the day before my birthday... august 1st at the Magic Stick...
Nora has returned from the great South African adventure. Spent good time with her yesterday and heard some of her stories. the Ibach family reunion is coming up this weekend. time for some family action.
life is good... so far

Oh Yeah...

2005-07-18T14:32:00.000-04:00

Nora should be enroute back to U.S. soil
(in case you all were wondering)

i do mean 'you all'
over five billion readers to date

Ambiguity... the Devil's Volleyball

2005-07-18T14:26:00.000-04:00

Played volleyball on sunday evening... Andy Huff (the Crafty Veteran) was involved although this particular picture was not taken at said volleyball game. Looks like he didn't get Sinatra's brown memo but capes, however, are a nice addition to any wardrobe. Spent a nice weekend hanging with Robert (in from Chicago). Also, nice Wedding Open House for Tim Campos and his lovely bride Kelly Simon. We should all have Mai Tai Machines. And thank you to whoever smashed my window in on friday (i'm pretty sure it was someone who reads blogs) i didn't need that money anyway!

Pain wears a brown hat and it's really real

2005-07-14T16:06:00.000-04:00

A photo courtesy of Annie from some time ago at Seven Brothers. That's Dan Kahn at the piano and me pretending that i can sing. (note right behind me the elusive steve swassey..."really real kid") Craig Castillo never wore brown... i think he got that from Sinatra.

Frenchies and the end of Apartide

2005-07-14T14:23:00.000-04:00

Happy Bastille Day!!!!

Less than a week until Nordella
is released from South Africa

There should be a George and... Gallery

2005-07-07T11:26:00.000-04:00

There really should be a book with photos and stories of George and the people in and around his life. Born in Macedonia... professional soccer
goalie in Australia. Owner of the incomparable
Seven Brothers Bar. Here is a shot with Nora
Bonner. (Note the mass of Billiards Trophies
behind The Man)

When ignorance ceases to be cute

2005-07-06T10:09:00.000-04:00

can't get the picture post thing to work... it used to be cute when i was all "what's an online diary...ooh that's space-age" or maybe i'm the only one who thought it was cute.
anyway i'll just put another poem on instead... this one came from the poetry exchange between myself and mr. Robert Zajkowski.

What I learned Yesterday

i learned to breathe bad air
heavy scented with the taste of chalk
it's all about the adjustments
mix and match lungs and the geometry of skin
if i think of her as a triangle
then it doesn't matter that i'm so square

i learned to speak with a dry mouth
caught in the throat and clipped
it's all about the will
mix and match syllables and the cost of thought
if i think of her as a word
then it doesn't matter that i don't know the language

i learned to walk on the sea
ever shifting and frothy
it's all about faith
mix and match gravity and the law of Neptune
if i think of her as a fish
then it doesn't matter that i'm drowning

Read a great movie over the weekend

2005-07-05T10:05:00.000-04:00

Well, as stated got a little bit of a late start on the holiday
but good times were had. Spent saturday night at the
Ballpark getting rid of brain cells and watching the Tigers
lose... then off to the Seven Brothers for a low key after
game time... good times with Hawk and Sabaugh. Brain
Wilson in attendance as well. Relaxed on sunday with
some swimming and a wonderful Thai movie called
The Last Life in the Universe. Beautifully shot and strongly
acted. Color and locations were brilliant. Spent Monday
celebrating my brother's birthday with family units. A much
more relaxing weekend than the way it started. All is well.

On a Saturday for Chrissake

2005-07-02T09:34:00.000-04:00

here i am saturday morning july 2nd and i'm at work
waiting for some documents to deliver to the almighty
Honnigman. won't mind the money but really...
shouldn't i be drinking by now? it is the Independence
holiday after all...

"are you talking about the queen again... on independence day?"
---Gene Hackman Unforgiven

Just ask Billy

2005-07-01T18:18:00.000-04:00

long day at work
getting longer...
supposed to see
los lobos at tastefest
prolly won't get to
damn

the sounds of
bonnie prince billy
will remove the ice-pick
toil has stuck in my
forehead
i am still what i meant to be

Standing in the Light

2005-06-30T09:25:00.000-04:00

a nora jean self-portrait
taken in South Africa

19 days 'till her return

(aww... now don't get sappy)

King George

2005-06-30T09:14:00.000-04:00

another photo here of myself
and the great George... proprietor
of Seven Brothers bar in beautiful
Hamtramck Michigan.

He is a gem of a human being. a tremendous
dispenser of potent liquids and an
okay billiards player. Raise a glass
to Macedonia's greatest son!! never
mind that Alexander fellow.
follow the arts to Seven Brothers

(thanx to nora jean for the photo)

variation on bill's theme

2005-06-29T10:11:00.000-04:00

women come and go but Law and Order is always on

Wystan Hugh Auden was a BadAss

2005-06-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

just because i found out about
this whole picture thing here's
one of my favorites... w.h. auden
what a killer poet

Space-age Diaries and Virgin Suicides

2005-06-27T14:42:00.000-04:00

i'm new to all this but i just found out how to
put pictures on the blog thing. maybe this isn't
the picture to leave the best first impressions
but what the hell. this is me as Pa Ubu in the
Zeitgeist production of the Ubu Variations.
everyone should own a codpiece

on another note... i'm currently house-sitting
for my boss who is on a cruise. i'm in the pristine
area known as Grosse Pointe. every one is white there
whiter than Pa Ubu.

all the girls are 15 and wear barely
any clothes and are 15 minutes away from suicide
because life is so amazing that it hurts.

The summer of rum has begun
this week's selection is from Barbados
MountGay Gold Rum
it's fun to say MountGay

HELL IS CHROME...

2005-06-22T13:19:00.000-04:00

...and Wilco are the Pistons

had to choose last night between
watching the Pistons in game six
or going to see Wilco at MeadowBrook

well, Myself and Pat Loos (he tagged along
on account of my girl is in South Africa now
and i miss her but good fortune for Pat)
met Hawk and Julie for the Wilco show
It was amazing!!! They just crunched
Hawk checked his space-age phone from
time to time for pistons updates... Hooray
they won!! game seven on thursday!

watching Wilco play i noticed how much they
perform as a team... more than any other band
i've seen they really feed off eachother and make
eachother better... just like the pistons.

"i assassined down the avenue"

did the week end or begin

2005-06-13T12:25:00.000-04:00

had great times over the 'weekend'

saw cool zydeco music at the art fair
on friday
layed in bed with someone special all day
on saturday
heard terrific poetry by Blair
on saturday night
drank beer and saw the pistons give up
on sunday
not a bad way to start this week of mondays
------------

1000 kisses in your blink
shaking all the earth
splash around in love
then hang me on the line
to sponge in all your breezes

live like rob and markus:
cope and go!

joe haynes corrects the meap tests

2005-06-08T15:52:00.000-04:00

my friend joe haynes said that sleevless is spelled sleeveless

anyway... much love to david lowry
-------------------------------------------

solid water
night sky in my veins
determination shatters
beg for light
here comes thunder's cousin

the sleevless days of june

2005-06-07T10:31:00.000-04:00

somehow that doesn't seem how one spells 'sleevless'
anyway many things in life don't always look right

warm here in detroit...

can't remember when
i decided to dance
all the way across the tightrope
the joy of dancing
replaces the fear of falling
i twist my heart to find:
the wounds
the gaps
the skips
all the instances covered in ignore
all the glories turned to ash
all failure begins with success
and fear should never motivate

well hopefully more to come

Where have i been

2005-04-20T13:24:00.000-04:00

Well no where man

life has taken obvious turns

still not sure of this technological diarizing

i open a play based on kafka's metamorphosis on friday

cryptic disjointed lines

i like painted toenails

oh yeah, about that freedom festival

2004-06-24T15:19:00.000-04:00

8 people got shot in front of the
joe louis fist... i prefer hanging
out in hart plaza without the crowds

it really is a nice waterfront when
it's just me and the homeless.

gotta get my bicycle fixed

i am reading a great commedia dell'arte
handbook by John Rudlin.
i'll be playing il capitano this august
in ann arbor

nothing free about the freedom festival

2004-06-23T14:48:00.000-04:00

my city is being invaded on account of
the detroit/windsor freedom festival
fireworks... thousands of people who
never come to the city are jamming
downtown and creating mayhem. maybe
i'm just cynical but i never went in
for fireworks or parades. soon the city
will reach gridlock... just as if it were
a real bustling downtown.

viva la rumolution!