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Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Never Sent To Spain
2007-07-18 04:42:00
Every day they were there.For weeksI came homein the afternoonpretending to haveany sort of purposeother then smokingand working as a telemarketerin that dingy23rd floor officein Grammercy Park.I was sending out color-coded tickets to free screenings of new TV showsto retired couplesin Pebble Beach.When I came homethe two of them were always sittingon the top stairwhether it was raining or sunny,warm or cold.They looked about fourteen years old,and though I rarely saw them touch,nor even hold hands,the obvious feelingsthey were trying so hard to hidefrom this city and each other,the fact that two kids couldfind one another,was only one more sign of my utterincompetence and despair.I hated them for this,hated their guarded happiness,hated his Jets hat cocked perfectlyto the side,his bleached white turtleneck beneath his Sprewell jersey,and the gold link chain he wore proudly over top.I hated her hair in tight braids,hated her clear pale skin,hated those expressive, ancient, blue eyes...
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DVD
2007-07-16 02:02:00
The bandits attackedin the woods.They took nothing,merely cut out the eyesof the children.They did not touch the adultswho lay cowering in fearpretending not to see.Now, the only paintersleftwork in timewith no apprentice.The poets?They draw secretly,using the teeth of the dead for pens,pull themout one by oneafter composing.The sounds of herrage across paper,a foreign language can be spoken butnever felt.Her secrets are greater than yours,and her emptinessmore than youcould ever be.In black and whiteI watchher flickerasshe weepsperfectly.The cries of our neighbors'love echobetween windowstonight. Los Angeles - 10/27/06

Spoiled Rotten
2007-07-13 09:42:00
Never had to fight a war(bought your way outjust like you born your way in),but lucky little rich boys still get to declare oneanyway. 3/27/03
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The Joke
2007-07-13 00:21:00
When you're poor and a failureyou're just anotherpain in the ass...When you're suddenlysuccessfulyou've becomean iconoclast!7/07
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China Moon
2007-07-10 02:19:00
summer moon yellow night restlessly dreaming movement in her forever chair watching the screen flicker what is never there summer moon coward night coming for us i wish wouldn't let go money that slips through fingers turning into bills piled on the floor spiders fall from the ceiling instead of walking through the doors summer moon fearless night she breathes you in and memories out only to be drank in again, gargled and spit like my home like my home like everyone i've known like the house i was born in so far away from summer moon day becomes night i shake rise anoint thy self mythologize when you dare to sleep for me7/7/07
More About: China , Moon

Fingers
2007-07-05 21:48:00
when I was a childfor reasons I still don't completelyunderstand (is it because I was sickand alone came so easy, oris becausethere was nothing left to do)i made a dealwith somebodyor something,anything out therei could not namethat might be listening...(i never believed in Godor anything that could benamedthere was nolisteningto namesin me at all)the deal i madein fourth grade:i'd trade everythingfor the moment of my fingers,everythingfor whatever formthat moment took,tradeeverything,all of it,myself,and promised to live by this vowno matter where my fingers drove me,what cornerlit or unlit,to what peoplecruel or shy,criminal or priest,to what streetin no matterwhat part of town,to what checking account,to what family,to what lover,to what death,what deathwhat is deathif notthe momentof my fingers...and i've alway livedup to myend of the deal. (it was never feet,it never couldbe with mefor there isno negotiatingwith ...
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1st ride across the good ol' U.S.A - 8/17/95
2007-07-04 02:39:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } 1st ride across the good ol' U.S.A - 8:17:95, originally uploaded by levari. Cue the Springsteen...
More About: Ride , Good , Ross , The Good , The Go

You know...
2007-07-04 02:28:00
...that perhaps it's time to get out of town when you've lived in a city for eight years and you're still asking strangers if they know a good, quiet bar.

Time Trickster
2007-07-02 09:06:00
"I just had the longest day..."Why is it the longest day can never, ever be the best day, but more than likely the worst? When's the last time someone walked in and said: "I just had the longest day! Man, it was the best. I want to do it all over again."It's not bad enough that the moment's bad, but on top of that a minute seems to turn into hours, and hours into weeks within the blink of an eye...Time is a nasty little trickster that way.

Heatwave, Echo Park - 2003
2007-06-30 05:54:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Heatwave, Echo Park - 2003, originally uploaded by levari.
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BUDDY - "ALTERATIONS AND REPAIRS"
2007-06-28 23:24:00
I don't often believe in kismet, but lo and behold on the week that I decide to play "the pusher man" the most promising, unique and innovative new singer and songwriter in the country has just released his first full length album on I-Tunes, Buddy 's "Alter ations And Repair s."ALTERATIONS AND REPAIRS on I-Tunes (copy and paste):http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects /MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=257365143&s= 143441 If you'll allow me for a few moments to divert my energy away from LIT-RA-TURE, as my favorite anti-semite poet Ezra Pound once called it, and dive into the world of music, I must take the time to write a few words about Buddy's music... Passionate, honest, and unflinching emotion...If you do not want these qualities from your art and music then stay away from Buddy because there's nowhere to hide. Buddy's music is, in two words, fearlessly naked, and yet with his near telepathic backing band of Will Golden on bass, Michael Jerome and Al Sgro on percussions, and Percy Mam...
More About: Tera

Flaws Of The Technological Age, Vol. 1
2007-06-27 21:07:00
overheard on the street: "No, no, you don't understand! Hitting that fucking 'send' button was the biggest mistake of my life..."Los Angeles - 6/25/07
More About: Logic , Logical , Logi

"I of The Fish and Other Stories" - By Judd Trichter
2007-06-26 23:21:00
As more and more people have started passing through these parts I want to continue with this week's theme of "summer reading" by turning people on to some of the most original new writers, artists and degenerates I've encountered over the last couple years, both in actual life and on the information super-highway.Now that I mentioned degenerates I think this is the perfect segway into introducing you to the world and work of Judd Trichter.www.juddtrichter.comAbout 18 months ago Judd started a little blog called "Filth" where he began publishing weekly short stories and longer pieces that, like a small brush fire, began to burn to the point that they quickly took on cult status in Los Angeles and New York. Then a web group called Rudius Media got wind of Judd's work, might have even read a few of his stories, and decided they had to get in on the action. Like a good American Judd promptly sold out and signed with them to publish his first novel "I of The Fish ," online. This se...
More About: Stories , Tori , Richter

Whisper
2007-06-26 08:46:00
"Time. Time..." she whispers."You must give yourself time,for the body returnshomelong before the mind."Los Angeles - 6/20/07
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Rachel Udell - The Bloom
2007-06-26 01:56:00
There is no one I know writing anywhere who can transform the intimate moment into the epic breath with more quiet power than Rachel Udell.This poem, so much about death, is alive and, yes, blooming, as is all her work for this ever present knowledge of the temporality of all things. It lurks under the surface of her words as if she is an ancient Alexandrian examining moments with a profound, almost otherworldly perception and clarity.There's a link to Rachel on the sidebar under "Doodleblog." Otherwise here's a link to her site. http://www.racheludell.com/blog/Discover her.THE BLOOMThe doctor told her:Stick around. I?ve never spoken withA 100-year-old woman before.She recounted this, smiling.Her eyes said more.The sounds that her family madeReached through years and deathTo wake me as a childChilled and sweating,Running to my parents? bedTo make sure they were still there.That which burned up my faith( yes, I once had it)in the black and whiteflickerings we?d watched one year...
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Cultural Amnesia redux...
2007-06-26 00:37:00
Pete Atkin's "Midnight Voices" blog has an interesting thread with reviews and thoughts on "Cultural Amnesia" from both the pundits and the peanut gallery. Kevin Cryan, a member of the board, was kind enough to include me in the discussion, with my review of the book on 6/22 quoted. I was listed under Alexander Levari, and so there is no mix up, the name is simply "Levari." To me Levari is like Pete Mitchell's call sign of "Maverick" in Top Gun, only they beat me to Maverick so I had to settle for this one...Thanks for the link.You can read the board here: http://www.peteatkin.com/cgi-bin/mv/YaBB. cgi?board=Words;action=display;num=117283 1592;start=113Sorry about the cut and paste, I haven't quite figured out the whole hyper-text link thing yet.
More About: Redu , Ural

Thoughts and Ideas - reason
2007-06-24 00:24:00
You cannot reason with someone who, time after time, gives you reason to fear what they will do next, and, afterwards, call reason.
More About: Ideas , Thoughts , Reason

The Last Three Months...
2007-06-23 23:37:00
1000 unique visitors759 return visitors2000 pages read.Unexpected and grateful.Thank you,LNow enough of this sanctimonious bullshit. Back to work, or, should I say, play...
More About: Statistics , Three , Months , Month , The Last

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flick...
2007-06-22 22:25:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } , originally uploaded by levari.
More About: Photo , Photos , Flickr , Order , Solid

Summer Reading
2007-06-22 21:48:00
Latest Reading (voraciously over the last couple days...)In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin - What an odd, special book. A momentary cure for my endless wanderlust. I like it so much that it's the slowest book I've ever read, I think. I wake up and I read a single chapter, they're very tightly written and most aren't longer than five pages...Reading the book, it's like receiving a letter from a friend who is travelling at the ends of the earth and you have no idea what observation, incite, piece of history or random trivia he's going to come up with next. And the people of Patagonia...No, never read a book quite like it. Every morning I wake up, and between shower and breakfast I say to myself, "Well, better check in with Bruce and see how he's doing down there..."Cultural Amnesia by Clive James - Not that I would wish this fate on anyone, but I almost wish an Imam or two would declare a Fatwa on Clive James for writing this book. Then, at least, everyone would know about th...
More About: Summer , Carthy

And God Said, "Let There Be Skee - Ball." And it was so. And it was good.
2007-06-20 22:21:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } As Long As There Is Man There Will Be Skee - Ball , originally uploaded by levari. Big Bear - 4/07
More About: Photos , Good , Said

Aaron Fagan - Garage
2007-06-19 20:56:00
LOVESay it's a form of heat that doesn't riseBut passes from one body to the next.Say it flows through you and then outAnd back in again like a ghostly threadWeaving a basic pattern inside of youThat will slowly begin to take the shapeOf what you'll think you can describe.AARON FAGAN(Yale Review 2002)It's hard to write a good, let alone shattering "love poem." It may be one of the hardest thing's to do with words. But Aaron Fagan does it here. He does it... I have to say something about Aaron and his work as he has just published his first book of poetry "Garage " through Salt, a literary publisher based out of Cambridge, England. I've had the priviledge of knowing Aaron since 1996, and I think, in some way or another I've collected just about every poem he's ever published or tried to publish. Let's just say I'm a devout "Faganista." Aaron's brilliant, dark, funny, pessimistic, open, and most importantly, human. Human. Human. What a quality. What a rarity. Aaro...

What Falls...6/15/07
2007-06-18 21:35:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } What Fall s...6/15/07, originally uploaded by levari.
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Imperfect Gift
2007-06-15 21:53:00
To the skinless ones,To the defenseless ones,To the flowers from birthWho are shatteredOver and over againBy those we pityWho willNever knowWhat it meansTo breatheRain.Tonight,I spit In the faceOf historyAnd so-called ?Human nature?To give thisTo you.This small thought Of the infiniteHills and skiesI can never truly know,And will forever beImprisoned By these incapableWords;This is my imperfect gift.TonightYou haveWhat littleThere isOfMy everything;I give it allUnequivocallyAnd wishIt were more.But I promiseYou haveEvery cell,Every lash, AndI ask nothingIn returnBut thatOne day,When you are ready,You willBloomAndRise again;Defiantly, vengefully,forever dreamingIn spite of this worldWe?ve made.Los Angeles - 6/14/07
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Candle Holder - 2/05
2007-06-14 00:44:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Candle Hold er - 2/05, originally uploaded by levari.

Home
2007-06-11 20:57:00
AwakeAt dawnFinally Still,AnAlienLying On theseSheets,An alienOn myOwn streets.As it always was,As it willAlways be.Los Angeles - 6/11/07
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Half Way Point
2007-06-11 19:07:00
Kitai: Excuse me, but may I have a drink?Flight Attendant: Drinks afterwards, if possible. Fasten seat belt now, please!Madrid to Amsterdam - 6/9/07
More About: Point , Half

Blood
2007-06-03 17:02:00
...and what falls away,and what will remain...the real never dies.to those lostto time,this fiery, unyielding lifeof our accidental collisions,to those ileft behind,i saw you,felt you,dreamed youout overoceanstonight.youbreathedagainfire,wa ter,earthand the eternalsilencethat givesall thingsand musttake themtootonighttonighttonight...Nerjas - 6/3/07
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Driving... L.A. gots nothing on the back alleys o...
2007-06-01 17:18:00
Driving...L.A. gots nothingon the back alleysof Cordoba...Nerja, Spain
More About: Driving , Back , Thing , Ving

First Night
2007-05-29 12:37:00
Either the courtyardof this hotelwept all nightlong,or the elevatoris haunted.-Madrid
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