lifecasting versus mindcasting…
April 28, 2009
This is a concept laid down by Jay Rosen, a professor of journalism from NYU…lifecasting is facts about who you whereas mindcasting is about what is going on in the moment…he is trying to break down the paradigm of the moment and centralized authority…I like a lot of his ideas…he is all for this new journalism…
Submerged Into the Dream of Horace Greeley..
April 27, 2009
Submerged into the dream of Horace Greeley…how long till this view is gone?…the still beautiful Emersonian moments I have known here over forty years…from so many perspectives have I seen these woods…now they’re going to chop them up…to have their way…and yesterday I read in the Times that bank bonuses are up on Wall Street because banker must have their way…and when jocks would have their way I would make my way here with a guitar and copies of Vonnegut and my notebook and it was then that I had started writing poetry in the silent agony of adolescence…of course, there was no ipod cellphone internet thing going on…MTV was three years away and the Regan revolution two…I would come down here driven by thoughts of Thoreau and the Beatles and would have the profoundes experiences there…after a heavy rain the sound of the rushing water through th ravine or nights of playing flashlight tag and kissing girls for the first time…
The Buds Are About To Open
April 23, 2009
The buds are ingabout to open but still the chill is lingering. You can see the flowers want to bud but when the wind was blowing today you can feel the cold. It’s been that way all spring. Just like the economy. You want the cold and economic mess go away but it hasn’t. Life isn’t like that. These woods lie above the school. I have seen more light shows than any human should have been able to and for that I am grateful. I ascribe to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s philosophy. You can see magic in your backyard. It’s not like that I don’t like to travel. I used to hitchhike all the time influenced by the beats Jack Kerouac and Allan Ginsberg. Sunflower Sutra which is a recollection of Allan and Jack sitting by the debris along a river watching the sunset is a masterpiece of that genre. But there’s nothing like be able TO SEE what is in your immediate surroundings.
Manipulations…
April 23, 2009
“I do manipulations,” Diann whispered in my ear as she corrected my posture. It’s those small adjustments is one reason why I like taking classes. No matter how hard you try to do it right there’s something you always over look. Diann’s is a hand’s on teacher. She even said yesterday that she didn’t believe doing the postures along with the students because a teacher who couldn’t verbalize didn’t really know what they were doing…
It was a tough class. I hadn’t been Diann’s class for two weeks due to various things coming up at the moment and I have found when I am not steadily in her class the next time I return my ass gets kicked. While it is difficult during the class at times I never regret it because afterwards there is a wonderful feeling that takes over my body.
Patti Smith at the City Winery…
April 22, 2009
Patti at City Wimery…young bodies old fans…moving with the force…rode around Manhattan that day and lo and behold she would read a poem from Walt Whitman entitled “Manhattan”…felt the connecton…met Anne Waldman…Patti couldn’t remember the lyrics to Jerry’s “Palm Sunday” I helep fill her in…when you’re feeling it, your feeling it…Patti with Phillip Glass and her daughter Jessie was the same way…she was feeling it…need I say more…?…
Patti Smith and Phillip Glass Tiribute to Allan Ginsberg from robert dene on Vimeo.
The Clam Is About To Open…
April 21, 2009
The clam is about to open…it’s been a long hard cold winter, both physically and emotionally…the economic situation as everyone knows is all screwed up…over the last 30 years in the country I have seen the most vilest shit go down…from Reagan to Bush a mountain of shit..the mortgage crisis exposed what a ponzi scheme America is..back when it was sexy and cool to be detached and my hair was still black, we would watch Fassbinder movies and read kathy Acker novels which offer critiques of the capitalist society..it didn’t change anything…and everyone I had hung out with sold out sooner or later or went crazy or died..I didn’t die but I can hear the smirks about going crazy…perhaps I am but at least I am not locked up…nor did I ever sell out…
spring is about to unfold here in the qua inspite of the weather…the buds on trees are beginning to sprout….there is a warmth on the ground underneath the cold…although across the street The Second Story is going out of business…it can’t make its rent on the lease…another image gone…over by the train station they ripped up the bridge…the trees that used to line the side of the hill are gone..for some reason, it makes me think of the nasty expressions that soccer moms always have painted on their face…
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Sunday Yoga With Christina
April 19, 2009
Sunday yoga with Christina…very pleasant experience…once again I came to the fork on the road had to make a decision of which way to turn…to go towards the health and the yoga class or go up the hill and jump into the drunk…the abyss was presenting me with these two choices…I opted for the health and rode my bike towards the city center in White Plains…I hadn’t been to Christina’s class in a few works…it had nothing to do with not going to her class as to being down in New York the last few weekends…
It’s that time of year when I can ride my bike comfortably again…it so much better to get to the class quickly and return to the studio instead of having to linger in the void amongst the miasma…the soul of America is one big cheeseburger…make it simple and make it fast…at least that’s how see the expression on peoples faces down on the street…
I digress…
I locked my biked up and went into the club. I don’t even consider swimming on Sunday’s…the swim nazis take it over with the latest installment of the virus so my focus was on making it into the yoga class…on the back of my mind I was wondering if had made a mistake and not just go for the drunk…I went into the class to secure my spot and Christine was already in there warming up…
she said hello and it caught me a little by surprise because it was dark in there and I didn’t realize anyone was in there. I said hello and we chatted for a while.
“So we’re going to do class today with the Salsa music on?
She laughed.
I had grown to appreciate salsa music when I worked with the Dominicans as a Security in the Bronx.
The class itself was very relaxing which was perfect for my feverish mind. We didn’t even to do our first downward dog until twenty five minutes into the class. There was a lot of spinal moves which also good for me because the way I sleep always contorts my spine. Christine’s style is very relaxing and she has a soothing voice. So the class achieved the effect I was looking for which was to refresh my mind and spirit.
I thanked her after the class and now I am ready to write myself into the movie….
The Return To Sylvia’s Class…
April 16, 2009
What can I say?…I made it to Sylvia’s class tonight…there was a powerful energy in there tonight…well, actually there always is but it definitely it was in there tonight…ironically, I had been planning on going to class all night but when the time came I almost didn’t make it….I had been working on my Patti show and got it done and uploaded to the webnot to mention burned to 4 dvd’s and sent to myspace and youtube…meanwhile while I was mixing that show I was multitaking to the gills, getting the beginning of Diann B’s site upwhile conducting several conversations simultaneously over several social media platforms and holding a conversation with raja on heavy politics to the deeper nuances of the bible…so when it came time for me to ride the bike down to the club I don’t think he wanted me to go so he was like “I’ll get you some beer” and I was like okay, that seals the deal, I’m staying, I can always do yoga tomorrow, and besides is tough so if I am not totally into it then I’m not sure to go…but there was one hitch…he had just quit smoking cigarettes and I had none on me so I was like, “I need to get some smokes,” which he wouldn’t go for and which I was cool with but I can’t drink without smokes so that propelled me to go to the class….obviously it would be a lot healthier for me and I would get a lot more done the next day…so there I was flying down Battle Hill into the White Plains night with Jerrry singing in my ears…it’s great to be back on the bike…it gets you though the White Plains Miasma quicker…indeed I was to the sports club in five minutes…I was running a little late so I whipped into my gymn clothes and ran into class…now the last time I was there the class was packed and I wound up in the very front which is no big deal accept I didn’t know if I had the energy to be up in the front of the class so I peaked into the class to see what was up and it wasn’t nearly as crowded as the last time so I went in…they were just finishing the opening so I hadn’t missed much…
it was the return to sylvia’s class…
Why I blog?
April 16, 2009
There are several reasons why I like to blog. I have always liked to write my thoughts down. I find when I write I become more focused. When I was younger I was frustrated accept for a very small circle of friends not too many people could see the work. The kids of today don’t know how lucky they are to have such a tool available to them. Maybe they aren’t that lucky. With such easy accesses many of their voices lack any sense of originality. I digress. I blog because it allows for spontaneous expression. We live in such a world of so much information and sensory experience that blogging allows an individual to respond in a rapid manner. Obviously underneath all this is the principle of communication. I have always believed strongly in expression and communication is the vehicle for that. Whether it’s some form of words, graphic or music a blog is great vehicle for their outlet. Especially if it’s done in the format of a Content Management System in the form of Wordpress or Joomla. These systems allow the blog to update quickly and efficiently. Again critical issues in the world we live in today.
As you can see the pictures I posted light is changing from moment to moment. Those are both of the same scene but different conditions of light. The speed at that change is what blogs are ably suited to capture. I feel if we don’t capture what we are then it is lost forever. So in the end blogging to me a way to preserve my identity.
Why is communication important? The answer lies in the conversation that follows. Conversation is the essence of our existence. We are the stories we tell. There is simply no escaping the fact. From the dawn of man with the sketches on the cave walls to the present with the high tech video games humans define themselves through the stories we well. So I blog because blogging is great facilitator to this process.
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Still Life In the Kitchen…
April 14, 2009
Still life in the qua…magical light beaming in from the forest through the kitchen window onto the plant…the light magical for 45 years…the light more magical than it’s ever been…how to explain that to the people of the fast moving world?…Ralph Waldo Emerson said you can find the whole universe in your backyard…many times over the years I have find the magic in my backyard which happens to be a forest..
It’s been a rough year. My parents lost all their money. The country financial system fell apart. The war still goes on. Mad indifference of a world hung up on its iphones, and ipods and social media and the glorified karoke of American idol and guitar hero…we learned how to play our instruments…we learned how to read…to have ideas…what a concept, eh?
I am not complaining, however, I am just describing where I am at in the moment…
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