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Western State of Mind
2007-09-14 23:00:00
sometimesno matter what you have gained,or what you have lost;no matter what you do,or do do do not do;no matter what you try,or what you fear;no matter who you are with,or who lives in you realer in their absencethen they ever didin your every day life;no matter what you gainedor finally lost...every once in a whileyou don't look away and allow yourself to understandthat the so-called soul has vacated the premises,the concept of "unique" is just another childhood lie,and all you really are now iseverythingyou can'thave.2/14/07
More About: Mind , State , Western , State Of Mind

In Rememory (Mythologize)
2007-09-12 11:41:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } In Memory, R.G.M. - 1974-2001, originally uploaded by levari.
More About: Myth , Logi , Holo

Things i've Seen This Week
2007-09-07 21:35:00
Tarred up walls.Plastic, useless fingers that are trying to be flesh, useful fingers.A Child's elbow banging against a locked car door window (from the inside.)Dogs that run away.The text message that said he really is going to play Carnagie Hall.Apartment door hollowed out where the lock should be.A man asleep on a bench with one eye open.A balloon (happy anniversary!) someone forgot that was trapped in a doorway.A brown leaf banging across the sidewalk in the wind.Some letters I needed.Relief on her face as we sat on the floor paging through her portfolio.
More About: Week , Things

The Garden
2007-09-03 00:02:00
We mostly whittleaway timeby dreaming of bodies pressed together all day,and then these same bodies rising,walking through corridorsof the photo albumorthe museum;down long hallwaysand out into the open airsurrounded by the crowdswho are foreversearching for the foodto replaceus.Somewhere deep insidewe know that there arebeautifulthingswe are supposed to have seen,felt,touched;even if we oncebelievedthey can only be knownoutsidethosewalls.There's little to be done about this.So for nowwe just walkwith the crowds,let them carryus,begin tomelt and mixawayas it always wasas it always should be;passing throughand over shaded, unmarkedpathsthat are supposedto beour history.Philadelphia - 2/16/07
More About: Garden , The G , Arden , Garde

A Little Nabokov For These Hot Days
2007-09-01 09:10:00
On days like this it's best to get lost in the shade, and Nabokov's shade is as wonderous as it comes. My relief to you from nature's discomfort (wherever you are) in the ocean of literature...The greatest opening of a novel written in the English Lanuage:"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms, she was always Lolita."-Lolita[I was] born in 1910, in Paris. My father was a gentle, easy-going person . . . a Swiss citizen, of mixed French and Austrian descent, with a dash of the Danube in his veins. I am going to pass around in a minute some lovely, glossy-blue picture-postcards. He owned a luxurious hotel on the Riviera.A Swiss citizen . . . that dash of the Danube . ...
More About: Days , These , Litt

City Boy
2007-08-26 01:04:00
...The ocean rolls away into the horizon as gentle and blue as sadness itself. It is so silent here except for the buzz of flies floating around me, attracted to the sweat. The aroma from grass and flowers and pines infects everything. I sit on a rock my bare feet on fresh soil. I look around and it's as if I've come to the place where all the natural environments - desert, forest, ocean - converge and enter each other into one single element. I can literally watch as everything changes with each moment... This campsite is definitely surrounded and I need to get out of here now.Big Sur - 6/95
More About: City

Wet Down The Street
2007-08-26 00:48:00
Is it a memoryor just some movieyou once rentedon a Tuesday night?Is it historyor just a lie you once toldto cover yourtracks in an interesting way?Is it fact or just somethingyou keep shoutingreally, really LOUDBECAUSE YOU NEEDIT TO BE TRUE!?Is it loveor just guiltdressed up inits sunday best?Is it a dreamor are you still waitingto finally be able to sleep?The rain stoppedthe Santa Anna's have blown inclearing the sky,leaving it crisp,starlit.Why is itI'm alwaysoverdressedand expectantthe day afterthe first stormof Autumn?10/28/05
More About: Street

twittering machine
2007-08-23 10:07:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } twitteringmachinen, originally uploaded by levari. thank you...
More About: Machine , Erin , Mach

totem
2007-08-22 10:10:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } totem, originally uploaded by levari.
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Vision
2007-08-20 07:52:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Vision , originally uploaded by levari.

Wisdom From A Master
2007-08-17 11:42:00
If you drink you're going to die.If you don't drink you're going to die.Better to drink.-My Zeyda
More About: Wisdom , Master , Mast , Aster

R.I.P. Max Roach - The Greatest Drummer of All Time
2007-08-17 03:17:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } MaxRoach , originally uploaded by levari. It seems every day another trailblazer of the power that was 20th Century art is leaving us behind. For those who are curious - and perhaps have never heard it - Max Roach 's "Garvey's Ghost" is an incomparable and unsurpassed drum solo in the history of music. You can find it on the "Red Hot on Impulse" album available for download on I-Tunes. I was fortunate enough to also see Roach play once while I was in school in Massachusetts and his power and daring, even in his seventies, was awing. Roach is not very heralded now by pop culture standards, but without him there would be no Funk, R and B and Hip Hop as we know it today. Dare I say John Bonham and others would not have been the drummers they were without him either. Roach was a giant step, fearless, opening...
More About: Time , The G , Greatest

Tragedies of The Technological Age Vol. II
2007-08-15 13:28:00
No boywill ever againknowthe thrillit once wasto stealyour firstdirtymagfrom the localdrug storeand thenpeddle awayin broaddaylightwith the secretsof the universetucked into your pants.
More About: Childhood , Logic , Tragedies , Dies , Logical

Suspended Animation
2007-08-14 12:02:00
Shattered into stiffness.Broken into frame.Constructed centuries and generations,at first it was an innocent game.The sculptor had his assistantsstrike the plaster from the castand set what remained atop the city's steps.Now you believe you could be anyonebecause you are no oneall atthe same time.Korea Town, Los Angeles - 5/23/05
More About: Animation , Imation

The Come Down
2007-08-13 11:57:00
I've been on a writing jag lately. I'm always writing, but this one is very different. I'm experiencing something I haven't in many, many years wherein I can spend eight - ten hour stretches strapped to my desk just tapping away, or re-tapping away, as it were (this is what most of writing is for me) on things that haven't quite taken form yet but seem to want to. Notes and papers piled everywhere, bottles of juice, lighters, cigarettes everywhere, the whole place is a mess (I forgot how my housework goes right out the window when my one track mind gets going on a bigger project.) I have no idea if these labors will bring me to anything substantial, but the ride has been interesting and it's nice to know that I'm still capable of "returning" to this state of being when it's called for and I have the time. Although I wouldn't want to live in this way all the time, sunlight is important(!,) I've been taking more conscious notes on this strange process of reclusion and "...
More About: Writing

R.I.P. Thomas "Tangier" James, 1941 - 2007
2007-08-11 11:47:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } R.I.P. Thom as "Tang ier " James , 1941 - 2007, originally uploaded by levari. Arguably the greatest "unknown" Jazz trumpeter who ever lived, I was deeply saddened to hear this news. Saw him play once when I was seventeen at two a.m. in Philadelphia's Ortlieb's Jazz Haus...He was obviously suffering from years of horrible addiction, but for the few people who were there, he was unforgettable.--------------------------- -------------------From L'ExpressThomas "Tangier" James, Jazz Trumpeter, Dies At 66By Damon GrykaPublished: August 7, 2007Thomas "Tangier" James, known as a "the trumpeter's trumpeter," passed away yesterday at his home. Mr. James, 66, had been suffering for sometime with heart trouble, his wife said. A bridge between the be-bop tradition of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, and the Wo...

Rescue The Dead
2007-08-10 10:21:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } 11/19/05, originally uploaded by levari. To love is to be led away?into a forest where the secret grave?is dug, singing, praising darkness?under the trees.To live is to sign your name,?is to ignore the dead,?is to carry a wallet?and shake hands.??To love is to be a fish.?My boat wallows in the sea.?You who are free,?rescue the dead."Rescue The Dead " - David Ignatow
More About: Drawing , The D

II - 12/06
2007-08-09 11:41:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } II - 12/06, originally uploaded by levari.
More About: Drawing , Charcoal , Myers

HOME RUN king
2007-08-08 12:45:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } HOME RUN king, originally uploaded by levari. creature of my age...now you stand alonealonealoneon the mountain(hank)top.
More About: Barry Bonds , Home , King , Hank Aaron , Home Run

Melodious Funk
2007-08-08 09:03:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Melodious Funk , originally uploaded by levari. Timothy Leary: Did you take the LSD I gave you?Melodious: Yeah, man, I took it last night.Timothy Leary: And how did you like it?Melodious cleans his fingernails. Without looking up...Melodious: You got anything stronger?
More About: Lodi

Kate Coe Plays The "Pass The Blame Game..." And Then Takes The Moral High G
2007-08-08 07:03:00
First Kate posts this on Fish Bowl L.A. web site at 10:40 this morning. Somehow she manages to blame both The New York Post and Google(?!), by implication of course, for all the shitty reporting...From Fishbowl L.A.Tuesday, Aug 07NY Post Will Correct Theresa Duncan StoryThe New York Post will be running a correction to their Theresa Duncan/Jeremy Blake story by Cathy Burke, after she gets done figuring out which quotes came from where. The LA Weekly got credit for quotes from the Washington Post,and so on and so forth.FBLA wonder why Google doesn't have a quotes feature? So much easier.Earlier:NY Post on Theresa Duncan/Jeremy BlakePosted by Kate | 10:41 AM | NewspapersThen, in what I'm assuming was later in the day, she posts this letter to (http://modernkicks.typepad.com/modern_ki cks/2007/08/follow-up-there.html to the blogger) for misinterpreting her article in the Weekly."It's a bit harsh to say Theresa Duncan lied--she did write some wonderful things that could have been or ...
More About: Game , High , Plays , Pass

An Open Letter To Kate Coe And The L.A. Weekly
2007-08-07 09:31:00
An Open Letter To Kate Coe and The Editors of The L.A. Weekly RE: "The Theresa Duncan Tragedy"Dear Kate, et. al., Like many I've been following the tragic story of the double suicide of Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake since the news broke of her death, and then, just as tragically, his own just ten days later. One reads their story with deep regret for two people who were obviously extraordinarily talented - Blake through his breathtaking visual art and Duncan through her witty, acerbic and intuitive writing, especially on her blog, The Wit of The Staircase (http://theresalduncan.typepad.com/). Admittedly, it's hard not to become a complete voyeur when news like this breaks. "How could two such incredibly gifted people who seemed to have it all cut short their lives like this?" is only one of the many questions one asks. Of course we search for clues and want answers, lets' face it, more for ourselves and our momentary entertainment then for them. But after reading your a...
More About: Open Letter

Homage to Antonioni
2007-08-06 07:49:00
I watched a lot of his films as teenager. I had no idea what I was watching, although I loved the house blowing up at the end of Zabriskie point. Blow Up? Confusing, but the women were beautiful and David Hemmings sure seemed to be having a good time for a guy who was growing more paranoid by the minute. La'Ventura, loved the clothes - and I'm a sucker for black and white, sunglasses and smooth hair - but how could these people be so unfeeling and narcissistic to simply not care that their "friend" had virtually disappeared without a trace?The Passenger, what an idea. A spiritually dead international reporter fakes his own death, takes on the identity of a dead man in his hotel room, and later finds out he's become an arms dealer. Jack Nicholson is the coolest thing on two legs and he's got Maria Schneider along for the ride...But it seems to go nowhere.Much later, I saw "The Eclipse." Fascinating images, slightly boring, Alain Delon and Monica Vitti, what a couple. But ...
More About: Antonioni , Onion , Toni , Homa

The Haunting
2007-08-04 09:51:00
Let me come to you tonight.Let me come between the sirens,between the clouds,between the earth and the moon.Let me come to you betweenthe bodies ofyour lover and you.Let me come to youbetween your lonelininessand your sleep.Let me come to you betweenyour memoryand your forget.Let me come to you betweenyour dreams of what wasand your regrets(of white)what should have been...Between your chains and your skin,your desire and your sin,don't be afraidtonight.Trust me one last time,even if this is thelast breathof your faith.Let me come to youtonightwherever you arein this endlesslyendinginfinity,the only thingwe ever had to call ours.Let me come to youone last time, I promise I'll be done with thishauntingand gonefor foreverby dawn.No trace.8/4/07

Mr. Bergman and Mr. Antonioni
2007-08-03 07:08:00
I must admit, the deaths of Berg man and Antonioni have stifled me. Strange in a way considering they both lived incredibly productive and long lives, and yet, on some level, I feel as though I lost two of my grandfathers, and if not grandfathers, then favorite uncles who were very different but gave me so much. The Prince of Passion and The Prince of Cool...I've read a lot about these two over the last couple days, a lot of recollections, synopses, surveys, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc...And, well, they've been interesting, and have said mostly nothing that I can relate to on any personal level. They use words like "trailblazer, " "personal," and "art film," but mostly, I don't know, it's all heartfelt and most of it could probably be said about any of the masters of that era. I don't want to be unduly harsh as I'm still trying to get my head around their deaths, but I can only say that for those who don't like either/or, one or the both, it took me a long, long time to fall i...
More About: Onion , Toni

Lust - January, 2004
2007-08-01 14:09:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Lust - January , 2004, originally uploaded by levari.

Heaven Is A Playground
2007-07-25 21:57:00
Driving L.A.from the oceaneast into the cityand back againat 4:19 a.m.No cars on the road,no copter blades in the sky,high and peaceful -the phone is finally off - No one screwing youand no one you're trying to screwin broad daylight -just don't let us, the descendants of theforked tongue fool you;the real vampires sleep just fineat night - and as theempty streets blow by,the memories of youfade out and in,for that single moment,I disappear,and the onlything that ever really mattered,matters nowlike it never shouldhave stopped:justthe street lightsdotted greenas far as the eyecan see and thesterey- erey-oooooooohhhhhhhhhhh!Blazing the trailto everywhereI long ago forgot.Los Angeles - 7/25/07
More About: Heaven , Round , Playground

R.I.P. Sherman Torgan, Owner and Operator of The New Beverly Cinema, The Be
2007-07-24 01:10:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } R.I.P. Sherman Torgan, Owner and Operator of The Best Movie Theatre In The World - 1944 -2007, originally uploaded by levari. Thank you, Sherman, for everything. Your run down little theatre has given me an education a livelihood and sometimes even a home in this mad city. You also let me pay in change when that was all I had.I will never forget you.LSherman Torgan, who turned an adult movie house in Los Angeles into the New Beverly Cinema , an arty repertory theater that screens classic, independent and foreign films, died Wednesday. He was 63.Torgan suffered an apparent heart attack while on a bicycle ride in Santa Monica. He was pronounced dead at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, said Jeff Rosen, a longtime friend. From the time "the Beverly" opened in 1978 with a Marlon Brando doub...
More About: Herman

Girl
2007-07-23 10:40:00
You look into the set of eyes across from youand do not notice the color,the hue,if they blink,or whether they match the blouseso carefully chosen,Only that they do not look away,Do not even thinkaboutit.Is itthe sheer bravadoof that gazethat makes your mind spin,your palms sweat,that makes you look aroundsuspiciouslyto see if anyone else has noticed?Is itthe total fearlessness in this girl's 1000 yard gazethat makes you wonder?Is itbecause she doesn't know how to smoke yetno matterhow hardshe triesto inhale?Is it because her book is unmarkedthough she clutches the pen in her handas if waitingfor someone to tell herit's okayto begin?Is it because this is who she isfor one last moment?All you know isright nowshe can take it.Take everything,Take it all,or, at least,she thinks she can. Los Angeles - 12/22/05
More About: Girl

L.A. - Spring, 2003
2007-07-19 23:28:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } L.A. - Spring , 2003, originally uploaded by levari.