‘For a long time I’ve been wanting to write something about John Keene‘s Annotations, which I think is one of the most remarkable books about St. Louis, though I’ve never met anyone else who has read it. (I might have called this post “The Best St. Louis Novel You’ve Never Heard Of.”) Published quietly in 1994 by New Directions, its understated title and gray-scale cover guaranteed its obscurity, arriving already a cult object that would be discovered only by a few. I am not sure if this is what Keene intended, but the humility of the title, as well as the slinky, elliptical methods of the writing, suggest that he might not have minded. It’s a work that falls halfway between poetry and prose, and does not go out of the way to explain itself. It has the feel of something private, something written out of necessity, a book one eavesdrops on as much as reads.
‘As the title suggests, the book sometimes has the feel of marginalia or endnotes to a main narrative that is missing. That could be frustrating to some readers, but it also is one of the special pleasures for a St. Louisan, recognizing the local references that are dropped into the narrative like incantations: Homer G. Phillips, Chatillon-DeMenil, Natural Bridge. These names, dropped seemingly at random into unrelated paragraphs, begin to build an associative logic, and show how cities and memory are inextricably linked (as Calvino also realized).
‘Though hardly a straightforward one, Annotations is also a vivid coming-of-age story that speaks of a sensitive, artistic, black boyhood in North St. Louis and later the western suburbs (Keene attended the St. Louis Priory School in Creve Coeur). It deploys a narrative voice that can dwell in luminous specificities:
Many backyards wore a chain-link garter that stretched out to the alleyway, and so whenever the rudipoots shattered their wine or soda bottles into smithereens of glass, it always fell to us to sweep them up. Now-or-Laters. Snoopy, the second in a cavalcade of pets, would parade regally about the screened-in porch. Daddy soaked then bathed him in a pan of gasoline to strip his coat of mange, so that when we spoke of him at all, it was as “under quarantine.” Children often see with a clarity that adults ignore.
‘This may give some sense of the way Annotations can move in and out of abstraction. It is childhood observed with crystal precision, but also great distance. The signifiers of childhood — Penrose Park, Chain of Rocks — become a kind of code that is still vivid and evocative but not fully legible, either to the narrator or the reader.
‘Annotations runs a slim 85 pages, including notes — these notes contain some of the most fascinating material in the book. “Rudipoots,” in case you were wondering, is defined here as “a colloquialism akin to ‘ghettoheads,’ meaning an ignorant or foolish person.” We also learn, for example, the meaning of Treemonisha: “A 1905 opera by Scott Joplin, written while he was resident in Sedalia, MO, and not premiered until 1972, in Atlanta, GA. The theme of the opera is the salvation of the black race through education, and Treemonisha, a young woman, is the protagonist.”
‘I don’t want to give away too many more of Keene’s Easter eggs, but this appendix beautifully unravels the culturally mongrel roots of St. Louis, which Keene describes as “a Creole core.” (Elsewhere, Keene wonderfully describes his own family as the result of “vibrant miscegenation.”) There’s a deep historical mind at work here, running from French-speaking slaves to the protests at Jefferson Bank, and the city’s ugly racial tension is not glossed over. Cops that could be relatives of today’s say “stop and don’t move”; a white cashier mouths a racial slur, thinking the narrator is out of earshot. He’s not. Still, Keene is attuned to what is best about the city, its rich, pungent multicultural soil.
‘It has been twenty years since Annotations came out. I’ve already read it twice and am probably just beginning to unlock its mysteries.’ — eplundgren
A Reading by John R. Keene – Kelly Writers House Fellows Program
John Keene, Writer
Readings In Contemporary Poetry – Sarah Arvio and John Keene
_____ Interview from The Creative Independent
You’re often exploring material that’s distant from where you are, geographically, historically, and culturally. Is that distance something you’re thinking about as you’re writing? Or do you just absorb whatever you can and then let it come out in the writing as it will?
It’s probably a little bit of the second. Characters, for me, are usually the way in. So, for example, [the story “A Letter on the Trials of the Counterreformation in New Lisbon”], one of the fundamental components of that story is that I don’t want the reader to know [who the narrator is]. You don’t find out until the very end.
So there what sustained me was the excitement of inhabiting that character, inhabiting that voice. And I think so often that has been the case for me, particularly with this collection, but in other things I’ve done, too. Just getting into character. When writing or reading, of course, you enter that character’s head, you enter that virtual space, and it’s spellbinding. That’s the other thing I wanted to do, particularly with that story.
Sometimes it’s language, sometimes it’s setting, sometimes it’s atmosphere. But to have those moments where the story itself almost casts a spell and pulls you in so fully that you could feel it physically.
I always tell my students about this experience, and this has happened a number of times, but one of the ones I think of most vividly, and I taught the book a few years ago, was Cormac McCarthy’s, The Road. The father goes down those stairs, and the little boy is at the top of the stairs, and the father looks down and it’s dark. And McCarthy: elaborate prose, right? It’s interesting when you read that moment, because he pulls that impulse to overdo the prose, he pulls it back and you get something a little bit clearer, but sort of strange and disorienting.
The power that fiction possesses to create those experiences, I feel like so often, writers sacrifice that because they want to be efficient, or they want to just tell the story, or whatever reason, they want to entertain in other kinds of ways. But, I’m interested in how fiction can do [what McCarthy did in that moment]. So that was one of the things that I tried to do in various ways, successfully or unsuccessfully, in Counternarratives, too. To get you so fully into that moment and that character that it’s writing from the inside out. I just wanted to point to that.
You’re also a translator, and when you talk about occupying someone else’s position, it almost sounds like the work translators do.
It is a challenge but I also see it in certain ways being akin to being a fiction writer. If you’re doing anything where you’re getting into any kind of character that’s even somewhat different from yourself—really truly stepping outside yourself into that character—that is what translation requires. So there’s a sense in which, even if the translation itself doesn’t work, that process of writing fiction, and particularly writing fiction that’s not transparently about oneself, is a certain kind of training. That doesn’t mean, again, that the translation’s gonna work. But it does mean that on a certain level, you become that other person in that moment and you think from the inside out.
One of my teachers once said the text in the original language stays the same, but we always need updated translations. And we’re always getting new translations of old texts. Why is that?
Because I think, with each new translation, you bring a different perspective to it. Often, of course, what happens with new translations is they re-situate the work for a new context. I think of a writer that’s so beloved and has been translated by different people in so many different ways, like Rainer Rilke. Two people whose translations of Rilke I think are really great are William Gass and Steven Mitchell. I believe Gass’s precedes Mitchell’s. You know, William Gass was an extraordinary writer in English. But he was also a profoundly philosophical writer. And he, of course, spoke German. He had training in German. So his translations have a certain kind of philosophical sensibility, like he’s capturing something in Rilke, I think, that most translators probably wouldn’t.
With Steven Mitchell, you have a translator who has an extraordinary ear [and] an extraordinary eye and his desire is to give you a Rilke that, on the one hand is as approximate as possible, but also doesn’t lose any of Rilke’s strangeness. If you go back and forth between those two translations, and of course, many lesser translations, you really start to get a sense, if you don’t speak German, of what Rilke might be like. And that, I think, can be really great.
But at times updated translations can just be terrible. If you’re translating the work of a poet, particularly a poet who is also an extraordinary prose writer, you want to retain that poetry, so you want to err on the side of the lyrical that might not be as exact, as opposed to the exact that is not so lyrical, because [otherwise] you lose what is essential to that writer.
You write about contemporary politics a lot, mostly on your blog. How has that affected the way you think about your writing, given how historically embedded your work is?
I wanted to have this blog I thought was gonna be about art and letters, things that were of interest to me that I wasn’t seeing on a lot of other blogs. Of course, it didn’t take long for me to start periodically talking about politics because, how could you not talk about politics during the Bush years?
I realized even in the posts before that, that weren’t directly about politics, that I was thinking about politics. It struck me, it wasn’t planned, but that Counternarratives is about the past but also about the present. So much that it dramatizes, has direct parallels with today. I write slowly. But when I was younger, one of the things that I struggled with, one of the reasons it took me so long to get Annotations out was, before Annotations, I was actually trying to write about the AIDS crisis. I had some poems that I published and I think maybe a story or two, but it was like, because it was so overwhelming that I felt like I just could not get my… it wasn’t that I couldn’t get my mind around it, I couldn’t get my art around it, particularly in a fictional form, because it was just there. It was pressing and the totality of it. I think now that I’m older, I have a better sense of how to incorporate things, or how to work with things. But, even still, it’s like, you come to realize you don’t always have to write about something directly.
What is your daily practice like? Between your university duties and blogging, how do you get words down for your fiction and poetry?
In the past, before I became chair and acting chair [of African American and African Studies at Rutgers], I had more time to let my mind work through things sometimes in a very straightforward way on the blog. And I try not to edit it. That was another thing I was always aiming for, to write shorter entries.
With my creative work, it’s a little different now, because I find it harder to focus because there’s always something else to think about. So, what I’ve tended to do, is have these periods where, even if it’s just a few sentences a day, to get them down. And then, when I don’t have to think about hiring or something like that, then I can actually immerse myself. That was one of the ways I was able to get Counternarratives done. Because when I shifted from Northwestern to Rutgers, I had a full complement of classes and things, but I would have these down periods, and I would just seize on those to get as much writing done as possible, both during the semester and during the summer. And, as I said, the last few years, it’s been a little bit more difficult. That’s why I don’t even blog as much, because so much mental energy has to go to the daily administrative demands.
I’m always amazed when people are able to write. They say, “I wrote 5,000 words today”, or however many words they wrote. How do you write 10 pages?
I don’t understand it either.
I’m always astonished by it. I think about during NaNoWriMo or National Poetry Month now, people who write a poem a day. I tried to do that where I tried to write a poem a day for a month. And you come to realize that a lot of the poems are really bad. But if you have 30 poems and let’s say 25 are bad and you have five that are even semi-decent and one that’s really good, you have one good poem for a month. There’s something to be said for that.
Some poet just posted the other day, “Oh, my god, I wrote seven full poems last year.” And people were like, “Oh, my god. I can’t believe you wrote that many.” These were not just teachers or administrators. So you come to realize, if you’re gonna have a certain number of poems over a certain number of years, that you do have a collection of poems. And you have poems that you really love. You don’t have to write 70 or 700 poems.
But, it is a challenge. And then with traveling, personal things, stuff like that, it becomes more difficult. I try to carve out little bits of time, and even if it’s just a few sentences, those sentences are the way back into whatever it is that I’m doing. Words, notes, things like this.
Do you find carving out that time puts pressure on you to use it?
It’s a relief. It’s a huge relief. It’s always a joy. It gets to the point sometimes, I don’t know if you ever have this experience, where you’re thinking about something you’re working on and it’s so potent that you wake up thinking about it, or at some point where your mind just goes into idle mode for a few minutes and then you’re just in that other world, and you think, “Oh my god. I have to come back to reality.” So even just thinking about it can be really exciting. Then just writing little things. Like I said, little notes and writing things down, just to keep myself going is key.
___ Book
John Keene Annotations New Directions
‘An experimental first novel of poem-like compression, Annotations has a great deal to say about growing up Black in St. Louis. Reminiscent of Jean Toomer’s Cane, the book is in part a meditation on African-American autobiography. Keene explores questions of identity from many angles––from race to social class to sexuality (gay and straight). Employing all manner of textual play and rhythmic and rhetorical maneuvers, he (re)creates his life story as a jazz fugue-in-words.’ — New Directions
____ Excerpt
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p.s. Hey. ** Laura, Hi. Your birthday put my last one to shame. That’s you? So now I have a visual to write to. You look so relaxed. I think Kristof was more irked by the comparison than by Duras? That was my read. If ‘Heated Rivalry’ helped facilitate two new Bresson fans, then more power to it. I don’t think I’d call whatever state I sink into ignorance. Fecklessness maybe. Not sure. Today? See if I can solve a giant, possibly fatal and suddenly arising problem with my visa application. Work on an RT screening possibility. Possibly eat Ethiopian food and/or see art. Don’t know entirely. Hugo presented my email address to you. I hope your birthday happiness was just the tip of the opposite of the iceberg. ** Carsten, I used to see Udo Kier around in LA ‘cos he lived next door to a friend, and he was always flamboyant in not always charming ways. I, of course, have no memory of any pussy eating talk in ‘Sinners’, haha. Mega-luck to your Vietnam friends. How can it be so difficult to assassinate that pig. ** jay, Hi. Yeah, the Dorian Electra inclusion seems to have been the big wow moment of yesterday. Interesting. I love your shout out re: ‘Megalopolis’ but I just really don’t think I can stomach it. I wish I hadn’t watched the doc in that regard. That is terrible sounding art, although the term psychedelic can make almost anything tolerable (to me). I like how stately your tastes are. I literally have nothing on my walls. They’re just white expanse. Partly strategic, mostly just lazy. Yes, I am in Paris on Friday. You’re popping in and out? Well, as ever, if you want to kill some minutes over a coffee or something with me, hit me up. In any case, how extravagant! Coolness and loveness. ** ⋆˚꩜｡darbbzz⋆˚꩜｡, Oh, that’s why it didn’t work. But now it will. Yum. Everyone, Remember the access you received to darbbzz’s mixtape yesterday? Well, turns out it was in ‘private’ mode, but now it’s not, so head over there again via this. ** _Black_Acrylic, Nice! Everyone, The one and only Ben ‘_Black_Acrylic’ Robinson wrote about one of yesterday’s flamboyant stars, Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, in the legendary zine Yuck ‘n’ Yum back in 2013, and you can read what he wrote, and you should because he knows his glittery shit. Here. Cookie Pie Man sounds like a very convenient and dangerous lad to have around. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Thank you for leaving everything else behind! My weekend … just kind of the usual stuff, I think, as I barely recall. Yours wins. New SCAB! Cannot wait! ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ isn’t horrible, it’s just kind of whatever and empty. Shame about love’s current situation, although what would we do if he got snuffed? Yikes. Love wondering if Orban is really going to be defeated and if it’s possible that he would let that happen. ** T, Hi!! Zac says the new Oneohtrix album is surprising really good. I had kind of started to give up on him. So maybe, yes! We’ll be here except for a few days next week when we’re showing ‘RT’ in Stockholm. Yes, write me. My address should be the same: denniscooper72@outlook.com. It’ll be so nice to see you! ** fish, I’m not flamboyant either to say the least, but flamboyance seems like an excellent way to grow old. Thank you so much about ‘I Wished’. That’s so heartening to hear. I read ‘The Bell Jar’ so long ago that I barely remember it. It being funny doesn’t shock me nonetheless. Her poetry’s quite good. I have poetry on the blog once in a while, so you can test yourself with it to start at least? Happy day! ** kenley, Thanks! Very cool about the gig! And the bookstore haul. The doc isn’t fun in the monstrous sort of way. It just kind of occupies 90 minutes, I would say. No, I can lay out the Zoom club’s agenda. Like last time it was that doc and a short play written by one of our members (Benjamin Weissman). But usually it’s a text from the outside. Winning a hot dog eating contest (hopefully) and then doing karaoke sounds very dangerous. It has warmed here of late, but we’re supposed to sink back into winter a bit next week. But it’s warm enough that the fucking mosquitoes are alive again! ** Adem Berbic, Adem, you (not) old dog! We’re actually talking with one of the cinemas you mentioned right now re: a possible screening, the ‘ineffectual also-ran’ one, ouch, but we’ll take what we can get at this point, and they’re mulling it over, so who knows. Needless to say, I’m going to strongly lobby for the productive choice. I’m productive, and I’m pretty okay, life-wise and pleasure-wise, as such things go. The world could use a hysterical version of Blanchot, again needless to say. What you wrote makes sense, sure. I can only speak as me, but being a reasonably stable, relatively hard working Walter Mitty vis-à-vis my dark side and letting the collision happen imaginatively strikes me as by far a wise decision on my part. I’m a little stressed today, but I’m okay. And, dude, your book! I have it courtesy of James, but I haven’t had the brain space to start it yet. But I’m about to. Amazing! Congrats! Enjoy that! ** Steve, Not in general, but I think I remember a video or two by Tokio Hotel that thoroughly charmed. That’s my suspicion about ‘The Bride’. Plane film, I think. ** HaRpEr //, ‘The Argument’ is a good favorite choice. I do really like ‘Repeater’ too. Interesting: my way of trying to deal with being very shy and confused by what people might think of me is to try to seem invisible or unidentifiable enough to be dismissed as unremarkable at a glance. ‘Muffled flamboyant thing’: that sounds beautiful and ideal. ** horatio, Hi! I guess never underestimate how far afield this blog can go. Right, the Coil, I know. Yum. I have the Alice Cooper one somewhere in my Los Angeles outpost. I remember ‘The Butch Manual’. Wow, I forgot all about that. I’m gonna see if I can find it somehow. Nice. Yes, we did get into AIFVF! How about that? And I have you and totally and only you to thank because I wouldn’t have submitted if you hadn’t urged me to when I met you. I was hoping we could be sharing that berth. Sad. But ‘Best of Fest’: congrats! What’s the Ireland festival? Lovely to see you. ** Okay. Today I’m spotlighting an excellent novel that not enough people seem to know about. So, the usual, in that sense. Give it a shot. See you tomorrow.
‘Henry Faulkner was an American artist and poet known for his rebellious spirit. For example, the usual appearance of his bourbon-drinking goat at different meetings and social events.
‘In 1930, Henry was adopted by Dan and Dora Whittimore and went to live with them on their 100-acre (40 ha) farm in Falling Timber Branch, a town fourteen miles north of Manchester in Clay County, Kentucky. His new family viewed art as “the devil’s work” and Henry’s effeminate and flamboyant personality often clashed with his adoptive father’s standards for how his son should act. When Henry’s nervousness and strange behavior strengthened, Dora Whittimore elected to send him to the Kentucky Children’s Home.
‘After getting arrested for shoplifting perfume, powder, and other small feminine articles (which Faulkner said were for a girlfriend, but were much more likely to have been for female impersonation, a trade he continued through the 1940s), he was placed with his older brother Harvey and his wife Ida.
‘Faulkner began to display his artwork around 1959, around the time of his alleged relationship with Tennessee Williams. In this period, viewers were exposed to the stylistic aspects of Faulkner’s vibrant and bold landscape compositions. Faulkner died on December 5, 1981 at the age of 57, in a car crash in Lexington, Kentucky, when he was struck by a drunk driver.’
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Urgent! German Satanic Sensation Targets U.S. and Canada! Be Prepared! by gus
THIS SHIT IS COMING FULL CIRCLE NOW. THE SEPARATION OF THE CHAFF FROM THE GRAIN HAS BEGUN. THERE ARE THOSE WHO WILL FOLLOW SATAN, AND THOSE WHO WILL FOLLOW CHRIST. THE SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE. THE ANTICHRIST ENERGY IS INCARNATING HERE ON EARTH THROUGH BILL KAULITZ, AND PEOPLE WILL ACCEPT HIM AS THE MESSIAH OF THE NEW AGE. NATURALLY, THE AC WILL ALSO INCARNATE AS AN INDIVIDUAL BECAUSE WHERE THERE IS AN ENERGY FIELD, THERE IS A SINGULARITY SUSTAINING THAT FIELD. BILL KAULITZ HAS THE ‘LOOK’ AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ANTICHRIST RETURNING AS A ROCK STAR.
He appears to be genetically engineered. Anunnaki ? Nephilim? He really looks engineered to look so “cute” that no girl in this planet will be able to resist. He is abnormally skinny , almost like he was designed to look like a woman.
The FAKE androgynous look is the give away. There is also a lot of satanic themes in Tokio Hotel’s music and video clips! The dark-looking satanic female archetype. It’s an artificial beauty, very attractive. It tries to emulate the androgynous look, though it’s still a genderized body .. this is the biggest deception. On the surface it has feminine beauty, but in reality it is still an imperfect being, a carrier of duality (both sexes non-unified, fused). So, is this the new symbol they are trying to shove down our throats, in alliance with the robotic agenda? This band “Tokio Hotel” is clearly in hands with the Illuminati. I’ve watched two music clips from them: one was about suicidal tendencies and the other depicts robots kissing each other -> satanic agenda for the robotization of humans and humanization of robots. It’s all over the place.
Started by a pair of twins when they were barely seven, the band’s original name was Devilish. This is probably due to youthful enthusiasm and as they matured they decided to be more deceitful about their true intentions and changed it … Barely eighteen, both twins have been covered for years in piercings (deliberately inflicted holes in various body parts) and tattoos they got by defying their elders, and have boasted getting drunk with the child welfare office, being wanted by the army, destroying private property, and taking the virginity of countless young girls, all before they graduated high school. Most sinister is that none of these girls were ever heard from again, as if the earth swallowed them up after they got too close to the hellish twins.
YOU’RE LAUGHING NOW, BUT YOU WILL BE THE FIRST TO GO DOWN IN FLAMES!
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‘BRDG is Tokyo based collective project for audiovisual expression leaded by producer Yasushi Fukuzawa. We cultivate the network of visual artists, musician, programmer, engineers and designers to expand creative environment of Tokyo, the city where the edge & the pop coexists. Our mission is to organize showcase events in various forms with advanced technologies like multichannel audiovisuals, projection mapping, VR holograms etc that maximize and diversify audiovisual expression, and above all to produce MVs with creaters around us.
SyncBody Video: Daihei Shibata Artwork: Hiroshi Sato
Hallelujah VIDEO : Yuki Kubo MUSIC : Ryu Konno + NOEL-KIT
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‘On a regular day, Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven wore brightly colored makeup, postage stamps on each cheek, and a shaved head shellacked in various hues. Her accoutrements also included live birds, packs of dogs, a tomato-can bra, arms full of bangles, and flashing lights. Her unconventionally forthright poetry and rugged found-object sculptures—often incorporated into her outfits—unsettled social hierarchy and accepted gender norms, and distinctions between art and life. The Baroness was a dynamo in New York’s literary and art scene at the turn of the century, part of the Arensberg Salon group that included Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Beatrice Wood, Francis Picabia, Mina Loy, and many others. She combined sculpture, fashion, poetry, and performance to embody an anti-bourgeois lifestyle driven by passion and an emotional reactivity to her surroundings.
‘Born Else Hildegard Plötz in Germany in 1874, she ran away to the vaudeville theaters of Berlin as a teenager, and before long, she was part of the inner circle of Munich’s Art Nouveau movement. Following several sexual flings that took her across Italy, she helped her second husband fake his own death and start a new life on a Kentucky farm. After they parted ways, she traveled through Virginia and Ohio before arriving in New York, where she briefly married an impoverished Baron and took on his title. The Baroness became a downtown Manhattan legend, known as much for her dazzling costumes and aggressive seduction techniques as for her visceral sculptures and witty poetry. Most importantly, she invented the readymade—a sculpture pulled directly from the materials of daily life, radical in its implications that art can be anything.’ — artsy
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Sebastian’s mother has dressed her apartment in him. School pictures from first, second, third grade cover the walls; fourth, fifth, sixth too. His eyes look less and less delirious and bottomless the closer the pictures get to high school; ironically enough he looked more blitzed as a nine-year-old than as a sixteen-year-old, when his eyes aren’t visible at all but are hidden behind long red bangs.
He breathes in his mother’s Glade air freshener, Refreshing Spa scent, from an old bread bag. His field of vision flutters and becomes neon green. His head and arms are pulled backward, his chest moves forward like in one of those simulated car crashes. He is filled with images he can’t defend himself against. A deserted house next to the train tracks where he lived when he was little, his classmates naked there, a woman being torn to pieces under a subway train before his eyes. The snapping sound of her ribcage being crushed. White flashes bloom like lilies, again and again. He falls backward into a warm, dark coffin and grabs in vain for the edges to pull himself up.
He thinks of his youth, which, just like the air freshener, will soon be gone. He inhales again; a green cloud floats into the room. He sees himself sitting there with a pale and sallow face; under his skin something dark hovers that threatens to break through, become stretch marks, wrinkles, varicose veins, beard, and furrows. The skin of his face is still taut and proud, conceited; but soon the days in which his worth can be measured in BMI and he can allow the androgynous contours of his body to be his only merit will be numbered. He can still swallow sedatives with sparkling wine to tame his exaggerated, spastic movements; he can put on a little makeup, go out somewhere and find success in a corner. He is still offered drinks, he still has unknown tongues whispering in his ears. The blackouts happen a few hours a week; he hears that he was unusually nice and fun, wakes up in the morning in unknown parts of the city, takes pictures of his companion from the night before. Then goes home to crash listlessly in spews of accessories spread out on the floor. (more)
‘In the evaluation of colored gemstones, color is the single most important factor. Color divides into three components; hue, saturation and tone. Hue refers to “color” as we normally use the term. In ruby the primary hue must be red. The finest ruby is best described as being a vivid medium-dark toned red. Secondary hues add an additional complication. Pink, orange, and purple are the normal secondary hues in ruby. Of the three, purple is preferred because, firstly, the purple reinforces the red making it appear richer. Some rubies show a 3-point or 6-point asterism or “star”. These rubies are cut into cabochons to display the effect properly. Asterisms are best visible with a single-light source, and move across the stone as the light moves or the stone is rotated. Such effects occur when light is reflected off the “silk” (the structurally oriented rutile needle inclusions) in a certain way. Furthermore, rubies can show color changes — though this occurs very rarely — as well as chatoyancy or the “cat’s eye” effect.’ — International Colored Stone Association
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‘Vachel Lindsay was one of the nation’s most famous poets, with a reputation for flamboyant performances and a colorful range of aesthetic interests. After a series of health and financial setbacks, he came to Spokane in 1924 as a kind of kept literary man – he was given room and board at the Davenport Hotel in exchange for serving as a kind of cultural ambassador.
‘Lindsay was an idealist and deeply odd; he brought two life-size dolls of French children with him to meals at the Davenport. His rages and flights of fancy helped make him a divisive figure in staid Spokane.
‘Lindsay left Spokane in 1929, returning to his native Springfield, Ill., before embarking on a national tour in an effort to revive his reputation and his finances. By the end of 1931, though, he was broke and paranoid. He drank a bottle of Lysol and died.’ — The Spokesman Review
The Leaden-Eyed
Let not young souls be smothered out before
They do quaint deeds and fully flaunt their pride.
It is the world’s one crime its babes grow dull,
Its poor are ox-like, limp and leaden-eyed.
Not that they starve; but starve so dreamlessly,
Not that they sow, but that they seldom reap,
Not that they serve, but have no gods to serve,
Not that they die, but that they die like sheep.
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Alien Quadrilogy Alien Head ‘What’s special about the packaging is that the discs are held in the dome of an alien’s head. The head is made of a heavy, hard plastic that has an oddly soft feel to it. The paint is airbrushed on, with amazing attention paid to eye and jaw detail. The plastic itself has a rough feel to it, and if you look closely, you’ll see a small sparkle of some other material built in. The plastic cap that comes off is translucent, and hides the DVDs when they are placed within. You can see the eyesockets of the alien skull through the cap, which adds to the frightening aspect of this head. The rear of the head is also beautifully done, and tapers off to a dull point. The discs inside the package are identical to the ones in the original Alien Quadrilogy packaging.’
Alice Cooper Old School 1964-1974 Box Set ‘The set is packaged in a 12″ square box that is designed to look like a school desk. The original album cover was designed by Craig Braun who is also responsible for designing the famous Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album cover with Andy Warhol. Includes: Four CDs that include exclusive demos, rehearsals, rarities, live performances, interviews and more * DVD with over two hours of footage, including new and candid conversations with the band and never-before-seen archival clips * 12″ LP bootleg of the 1971 Killer tour live in St. Louis * Replica of a rare 7″ single by The Nazz * A deluxe 60-page book written by Lonn Friend, featuring previously unreleased photos * Special extras including reproductions of original ticket stubs, tour program, set list and five art prints of rare poster designs and illustrations * Five Golden Tickets have been hidden in Old School box sets worldwide for a very special VIP concert and meet-and-greet with Alice * The Limited Edition is individually numbered.’
Danny Elfman & Tim Burton Danse Macabre ‘This limited-edition box set collects expansions of the 13 original scores that Elfman has composed for Burton’s iconic films: 16 CDs each packaged with artwork by Burton, adding up to more than 19 hours of music. Grammy-winning designer Matt Taylor has crafted a large scale, tin-covered music box complete with an embedded music chip playing “The Music Box Suite” arranged and performed by Elfman specifically for this historic collection. And, with a flip of the lid, a delightful working zoetrope is revealed featuring strips of art and photos by Burton and Elfman that come to animated life with a spin. Additionally, the package contains a bonus DVD of an exclusive conversation between Elfman and Burton discussing every film and score in their quarter century collaboration. There are over 8 hours of previously unreleased music including additional masters, cut songs, song and score demos, work tapes, orchestra-only song mixes, and foreign-language songs. There’s Danse Macabre: 25 Years of Danny Elfman and Tim Burton: A meticulously researched, lavishly illustrated 260+ page fine linen-wrapped hardbound book, titled with gold foil stamping, and featuring a foreword by Johnny Depp. A collectible created exclusively for this treasure box is a distinctive Skeleton Key USB Flash Drive inspired by the art of Tim Burton. A pull of the key unlocks a USB drive loaded with MP3s of an additional 21 exclusive bonus tracks unavailable anywhere else.’
Lost: The Complete Collection Every Episode in the Series (Seasons 1 through 6) * Over 30hrs of Season 1-6 Bonus materials (previously released materials from Season 1-5 and the all-new Season 6 bonus material) * A unique series of featurettes that takes viewers on very personal tours of Oahu where the series was created, with key cast and crew as they reflect. * Exploring the global phenomenon that is Lost, bonus showcases events ranging from the series cast and crew at San Diego’s famed Comic-Con convention to international voice recordings, local events and even fan parties, all of which helped make the show into a worldwide favorite. * A closer look at some of the props with cast, writers and producers, exploring their significance, stories and emotional ties to the characters. * Humorous yet emotional look at every character who died on the series * 16 hilarious Lost “Slapdowns” featurettes showcasing celebrity Lost fans who confront Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse to ask press questions about the final season, including the Muppets and cast members Nestor Carbonell, Michael Emerson, Rebecca Mader and more. * The exciting collectible packaging also includes: a Special Edition collectible ‘Senet’ Game as seen in Season Six, a custom LOST island replica, an exclusive episode guide, a collectible Ankh, and a black light penlight.
Band of Brothers Military Kit ‘This Band of Brothers Military Kit is by far the most elaborate (but still sophisticated) Limited Edition DVD packaging I’ve seen. It is an exact replica of a Military Kit that contains a big digipack, 2 Omaha Beach Strike Maps, Pocketbook World War 2 Manual, Newspaper-clippings, Numbered Flier, dogtags and a numbered card. What I love about it is that the whole packaging doesn’t look like it’s trying too hard unlike other Special Edition DVDs that try hard to be unique that everything’s just a big bunch of random mess. You’re lucky if you get to purchase one because its very rare- limited to 6,000 worldwide.’
Shaun Tan The Arrival Deluxe Limited Collector’s Edition ‘This deluxe clamshell box set opens like a suitcase, revealing a vintage pattern (worn and stained) interior. A leather handle with a travel luggage tag completes the case. A leather strap with a metal buckle fastens the suitcase. The luggage tag is printed on two-sides with a contents description and the unique edition number. Includes: The Arrival and Sketches from a Nameless Land books are presented side by side in the suitcase with the print placed on top. The print is contained within a semi-transparent envelope with a protective backing card. Each print will be signed and numbered individually by Shaun Tan. Print Dimensions: 478mm x 312mm (height x width). A special limited edition of the original ‘The Arrival’ has been produced. This edition is wrapped in a special dust jacket to give the appearance of being wrapped in protective tissue secured with a string. Sketches from a Nameless Land is bound with a textured cover. Total weight of The Arrival Collector’s Edition Suitcase complete with contents and outer wrapping is approximately 5kg.’
Rammstein Liebe Ist Für Alle Da ‘This limited edition box set includes not just every note of music recorded by the band Rammstein this year including five extra tracks that weren’t “good enough” for the record, but the metal flight case in which its housed is filled with industrial-strength handcuffs, lubricant and six pink dildos that reflect the sizes of the six members’ wienerwursts.’
Harry Potter Limited Hogwarts Castle 1-6 DVD Box Set The limited edition box Set includes all 6 Harry Potter movies, each movie is represented as Special Edition 2-Disc Set. Hogwarts Castle with wooden base icluding all six Harry Potter movies and a protective plexiglas cover. The draw in the base has extra space for the remaining two movies (Part 7.1 and 7.2) coming out next year. This box set were exclusive made for Germany and France, This one is made in Germany. Measures 37 cm x 38 cm x 31 cm. Weight: 5 kg Castle is brand new, factory sealed.
Merzbow Noise Embryo Mercedes 230 Edition ‘The Story of the Merzbow CD packaged in a car has spread itself across the globe. Alot of rumors have circulated and the truth has been hard to come by. I decided to talk directly to Anders at Releasing Eskimo, the Swedish label that put out the Merzbow car. Here’s what he said: “A while ago I had a Mercedes 230 that I didn’t drive much. The police told me that I had to move it or they’d tow it away. Well, I didn’t want to keep it and I didn’t have anywahere to store it so I decided to use it for something else. I rigged the car’s CD player with our latest release of Merzbow’s “Noise Embryo” CD so that the music started when the car was turned on and it was impossible to turn it off. I put it up for sale as an extremely limited edition of the “Noise Embryo” CD but no one ever bought it, and in the end the car broke down. So we took out the CD and got rid of the car.”‘
Brain In A Box: The Science Fiction Collection ‘This nearly exhaustive, lavishly packaged collection documents the Science Fiction genre’s musical legacy across virtually every major genre on its five discs and 113 tracks. Each volume is divided by sub-genre–Movie Themes, TV Themes, Pop, Incidental/Lounge, Novelty. The film disc alone contains a wealth of rarities, including music from Them!, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Andromeda Strain, Fantastic Voyage, and other notables. The packaging: a 6.5-inch square, metal-lidded cube emblazoned on three sides with 3-D lenticular images of- a brain floating in bubbly liquid. But the profusely illustrated, hard-bound, 200-page book (designed to emulate the Big Little Books of the 1940s and ’50s) that’s included gives the subject its serious due, with an introduction by Ray Bradbury and contributions from an array of other notables, including Forrest J. Ackerman, Billy Mumy, Joe Dante, Dr. Demento, and Matt Groening. Perhaps the best half-cubic-foot of sci-fi brain food every assembled.’
NEGURA BUNGET Virstele Pamintului EARTHBOX ‘Limited edition of Negura Bunget new album “Vîrstele Pămîntului”. Handmade woodbox (27 x 16 x 4 cm) with burn-in finishing, roped and filled with real Transilvanian’s earth (to match the concept of the album titled “The Age of Land/Earth”). Includes: the deluxe 8 panels digipack-cd of the album, exclusive 60×90 poster, 12×12 album sticker and Negura Bunget 2,5cm metal pin. This is a state-of-the-art collector item, 100% handmade so each copy is unique and different. Handmade Wooden Box limited to 555 copies.’
Coil Colour Sound Oblivion (Advance Patron’s Edition) ‘Colour Sound Oblivion is Coil’s exhaustive 16-disc live DVD box set, amassing 14 performances plus a slew of goodies in a beautiful hand-made package. The hand-made, numbered wooden box features four cloth DVD wallets, each made of the band’s different stage costume materials. The DVDs, each in a notated cardboard sleeve, are grouped accordingly. The included “Coil Reconstruction Kit” features all the video projections with their accompanying instrumental backing tracks. Also included are more than 100 photos, an insightful 15-page booklet, the program to John Balance’s funeral ceremony, and a personalized dedication card and special totemic gift. The last thing you see before the last disc spins out is a simple written message: “What Coil did for you, you can do for others…” The numbered tag on the inside of the lid is red for the first 200, and blue for numbers 201 and higher. Upon ordering the package during the period of its limited release, the purchaser received in advance of the box’s delivery a framed certificate officially noting the authenticity and number of the edition ordered signed by Peter Christopherson.’
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‘Delonix regia. In English it is given the name Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant. In India it is known as Gulmohar (Hindi and Urdu -‘Gul’ means ‘Peacock’ and ‘Mohr’ is ‘Flowers’. In Vietnamese it is known as Phượng vĩ (means “Phoenix’s Tail). In Guatemala, it is known as “Llama del Bosque”. In India and Pakistan it is referred to as the Gulmohar, or Gul Mohr. In West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh it is called Krishnachura. In Puerto Rico, a town located about 12 miles away from Ponce where the tree is widespread, has been nicknamed “The Valley of the Flames” or “El Valle de los Flamboyanes”. In Vietnam, this tree is called “Phượng vỹ”, or phoenix’s tail. Because of the timing of its blooms, in Cambodia the tree is called the “flowers of pupil”, and often generates strong emotions among graduating high school pupils, as the Poinciana bloom when they are about to leave their school and their childhood behind.’ — eurekamag.org
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‘She was the hero and tattooist of “Godmother of Punk” Patti Smith, provided inspiration for Tennessee Williams and was part of Paris’ bohemian Left Bank scene of the 1950′s. It was there Australian born flamboyant artist Vali Myers became friends with famed French writers Jean Cocteau, Jean-Paul Sartre and Jean Genet, before moving to Italy where she spent 40 years in semi-seclusion and finally returning to Melbourne in the mid ’90′s to set up her first ever studio.
‘Raised in Sydney, Australia, Myers moved to Melbourne at 14 and begun working in factories to put herself through dance school. After working her way up to head dancer at Melbourne’s Modern Dance Company at 17, Myers sought to expand her mind and creative talent and hopped a boat to Paris. Upon her arrival in 1949, the post-war environment at the time meant there were no jobs for dancers but unwilling to go back to Australia, the stoic creative lived on the streets for almost 10 years. Myers became part of the Left Bank bohemian scene of the 1950s – she was featured on the cover of Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken’s 1956 book Love on the Left Bank and editor of the Paris Review, George Plimpton published an article honouring her work, which Salvador Dali also praised as “totally original”.
‘To escape opium addiction, Myers moved with her then husband Rudi Rappold to a valley in Positano, Italy, where she stayed off-and-on for decades. She began to spend more time in New York starting in the early 1970s where she was befriended and championed by Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, George Plimpton, and others. After living for more than a decade at New York’s Chelsea Hotel, Myers moved back to Australia in 1993 exclaiming, “Australia’s the weirdest fuckin’ country.” Having always moved around she had never had a studio to work from. Renting her first in Melbourne aged 65, Myers worked to raise money to feed her numerous pets and showed her work regularly until her death in 2003.’ — Jessie French, Sex & Fashion
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‘If humans had radio antennas instead of ears, we would hear a remarkable symphony of strange noises coming from our own planet. Scientists call them “tweeks,” “whistlers” and “sferics.” They sound like background music from a flamboyant science fiction film, but this is not science fiction. Earth’s natural radio emissions are real and, although we’re mostly unaware of them, they are around us all the time.’
‘The source of most VLF emissions on Earth is lightning. Lightning strokes emit a broadband pulse of radio waves, just as they unleash a visible flash of light. VLF signals from nearby lightning, heard through the loudspeaker of a radio, sound like bacon frying on a griddle or the crackling of a hot campfire. Space scientists call these sounds “sferics,” short for atmospherics.
‘Even if there is no lighting in your area, you can still hear VLF crackles from storms thousands of kilometers away. Some sferics travel all the way around the Earth. Radio waves can propagate such great distances by bouncing back and forth between our planet’s surface and the ionosphere — a layer of the atmosphere ionized by solar ultraviolet radiation.’ — science.nasa.gov
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‘Described by W. B. Yeats as a “scholar, connoisseur, drunkard, poet, pervert, most charming of men,” Count Stanislaus Eric Stenbock (1860–1895) is surely the greatest exemplar of the Decadent movement of the late nineteenth century.
‘A friend of Aubrey Beardsley, patron of the extraordinary pre-Raphaelite artist Simeon Solomon, and contemporary of Oscar Wilde, Stenbock died at the age of thirty-six as a result of his addiction to opium and his alcoholism, having published just three slim volumes of suicidal poetry and one collection of morbid short stories.
‘Stenbock was a homosexual convert to Roman Catholicism and owner of a serpent, a toad, and a dachshund called Trixie. It was said that toward the end of his life he was accompanied everywhere by a life-size wooden doll that he believed to be his son. His poems and stories are replete with queer, supernatural, mystical, and Satanic themes; original editions of his books are highly sought by collectors of recherché literature.’ — M.I.T.
The Other Side: A Breton Legend
NOT that I like it, but one does feel so much better after it–“oh, thank you, Mère Yvonne, yes just a little drop more.” So the old crones fell to drinking their hot brandy and water (although of course they only took it medicinally, as a remedy for their rheumatics), all seated round the big fire and Mère Pinquèle continued her story.
“Oh, yes, then when they get to the top of the hill, there is an altar with six candles quite black and a sort of something in between, that nobody sees quite clearly, and the old black ram with the man’s face and long horns begins to say Mass in a sort of gibberish nobody understands, and two black strange things like monkeys glide about with the book and the cruets–and there’s music too, such music. There are things the top half like black cats, and the bottom part like men only their legs are all covered with close black hair, and they play on the bag-pipes, and when they come to the elevation, then—” Amid the old crones there was lying on the hearth-rug, before the fire, a boy whose large lovely eyes dilated and whose limbs quivered in the very ecstacy of terror.
“Is that all true, Mère Pinquèle?” he said.
“Oh, quite true, and not only that, the best part is yet to come; for they take a child and—.” Here Mère Pinquèle showed her fang-like teeth.
“Oh! Mère Pinquèle, are you a witch too?”
“Silence, Gabriel,” said Mère Yvonne, “how can you say anything so wicked? Why, bless me, the boy ought to have been in bed ages ago.”
Upon the southern slope of one of those barren hills that rise abruptly here and there in the desolate expanse of the Landes, in South-western France, stood, in the reign of Louis XIII, a gentleman’s residence, such as abound in Gascony, and which the country people dignify by the name of chateau.
Two tall towers, with extinguisher tops, mounted guard at the angles of the mansion, and gave it rather a feudal air. The deep grooves upon its facade betrayed the former existence of a draw-bridge, rendered unnecessary now by the filling up of the moat, while the towers were draped for more than half their height with a most luxuriant growth of ivy, whose deep, rich green contrasted happily with the ancient gray walls.
A traveller, seeing from afar the steep pointed roof and lofty towers standing out against the sky, above the furze and heather that crowned the hill-top, would have pronounced it a rather imposing chateau–the residence probably of some provincial magnate; but as he drew near would have quickly found reason to change his opinion.
The roof, of dark red tiles, was disfigured by many large, leprous-looking, yellow patches, while in some places the decayed rafters had given way, leaving formidable gaps. The numerous weather-cocks that surmounted the towers and chimneys were so rusted that they could no longer budge an inch, and pointed persistently in various directions. The high dormer windows were partially closed by old wooden shutters, warped, split, and in every stage of dilapidation; broken stones filled up the loop-holes and openings in the towers; of the twelve large windows in the front of the house, eight were boarded up; the remaining four had small diamond-shaped panes of thick, greenish glass, fitting so loosely in their leaden frames that they shook and rattled at every breath of wind; between these windows a great deal of the stucco had fallen off, leaving the rough wall exposed to view.
Above the grand old entrance door, whose massive stone frame and lintel retained traces of rich ornamentation, almost obliterated by time and neglect, was sculptured a coat of arms, now so defaced that the most accomplished adept in heraldry would not be able to decipher it. Only one leaf of the great double door was ever opened now, for not many guests were received or entertained at the chateau in these days of its decadence. Swallows had built their nests in every available nook about it, and but for a slender thread of smoke rising spirally from a chimney at the back of this dismal, half-ruined mansion, the traveller would have surely believed it to be uninhabited. This was the only sign of life visible about the whole place, like the little cloud upon the mirror from the breath of a dying man, which alone gives evidence that he still lives.
‘A Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881 is a painting by the English artist William Powell Frith exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts (London) in 1883. It depicts a group of distinguished Victorians visiting the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1881, just after the death of the Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, whose portrait by John Everett Millais was included on a screen at the special request of Queen Victoria. It is visible in the archway at the back of the room.
‘The subject of the painting is the contrast between lasting historical achievements and ephemeral fads. The portrait of Disraeli represents the former, and the influence of the Aesthetic movement in dress represents the latter. Aesthetic dress is exemplified by the principal female figures in green, pink and orange clothing. Oscar Wilde, one of the main proponents of Aestheticism, is depicted at the right behind the boy in the green suit, surrounded by female admirers. Behind him, further to the right, a group of opponents glare disapprovingly at him as he speaks. Among them are the journalist G.A. Sala and the artist Philip Calderon.
‘At the left of the painting, Anthony Trollope is portrayed gazing at an “aesthetic” family. In the centre of the composition Frederic Leighton, President of the Academy, talks to a seated woman. William Thomson, the archbishop of York, stands beside him wearing a top hat. Lillie Langtry appears nearby in a white dress. Other famous figures of the day depicted include Robert Browning, Thomas Huxley, William Ewart Gladstone and Mary Braddon. The actors Ellen Terry and Henry Irving are visible standing behind Wilde.’ — goldenagepaintings.com
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George Kuchar Dynasty of Depravity (2005)
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‘Among British artists the flamboyant George Chinnery (1774-1852) is a most unusual case. He spent the last fifty years of his life in India and on the China coast, where he died and lies buried, and almost all his best work was done in the East. Other ‘orientalist’ artists from Europe might dip a toe (sometimes more) into Asia, and return to make a living by working up and recycling their sketches, but Chinnery never came back. In Calcutta, Canton and Macau he became something of an exotic creature himself – exuberant, droll, unpredictable – a man who relished his status as the oldest of old hands on the China coast. Both George Chinnery and his wife Marianne appear, thinly disguised, in James Clavell’s hugely successful novel Tai-pan as ‘Aristotle Quance, genius of the brush and inveterate philanderer…and his domineering Irish wife, Maureen…’. One of his earliest works only recently rediscovered is an appealing pencil and watercolour portrait of Marianne, whom he had married in Dublin in 1799, which contradicts his later claims that she was extremely ugly.’ –– Asia House in London
‘DESPITE HIS NAME OF ‘CHINNERY’ WHICH SOUNDS ALMOST AS IF MADE-UP OR A FICTITIOUS PSEUDONYM, GEORGE CHINNERY WAS NOT CHINESE BUT THOROUGHLY ENGLISH AND WAS NOT EVEN A FLAMINING FAGGOT AS HE WAS MARRIED AND HAD CHILDREN. AS YOU ARE SADLY AWARE, FLAMBOYANT AND FLASHILY DRESSED MEN ARE ALWAYS SUSPECTED OF BEING GAY AND I MEAN GAY AS IN A HOMO AND NOT ‘MERRY’. OF COURSE THIS MAY BE TRUE IN SOME CASES AS LIBERACE, ELTON JOHN AND WRITER OSCAR WILDE COME TO MIND.’ — kee hua chee
‘Sergey Esenin’s flamboyant personality, peasant origins, and craving for self-destruction have forever canonized him as Russia’s favorite “hooligan poet.” Esenin died at the age of 30, tired of life and poetry. His suicide, still a mystery, triggered a wave of suicides among his fervent adepts. The novelty and magnitude of his poetry continues to astonish his readers.’ — The Melancholic
my cute, that the images
my cute, that the images,
as a holy, all repent.
I fucked seven times have, —
eight relies!
You do not own
You do not own,
not own, not.
I now another
give it French style.
And now another
I give to fuck-
Who among you is dearer:
Dick you plead.
nate, take, to devour
nate, take, to devour
My soul black earth.
God crushed us ass,
And we call it the sun.
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REGALIA, n. Distinguishing insignia, jewels and costume of such ancient and honorable orders as Knights of Adam; Visionaries of Detectable Bosh; the Ancient Order of Modern Troglodytes; the League of Holy Humbug; the Golden Phalanx of Phalangers; the Genteel Society of Expurgated Hoodlums; the Mystic Alliances of Georgeous Regalians; Knights and Ladies of the Yellow Dog; the Oriental Order of Sons of the West; the Blatherhood of Insufferable Stuff; Warriors of the Long Bow; Guardians of the Great Horn Spoon; the Band of Brutes; the Impenitent Order of Wife-Beaters; the Sublime Legion of Flamboyant Conspicuants; Worshipers at the Electroplated Shrine; Shining Inaccessibles; Fee-Faw-Fummers of the inimitable Grip; Jannissaries of the Broad-Blown Peacock; Plumed Increscencies of the Magic Temple; the Grand Cabal of Able-Bodied Sedentarians; Associated Deities of the Butter Trade; the Garden of Galoots; the Affectionate Fraternity of Men Similarly Warted; the Flashing Astonishers; Ladies of Horror; Cooperative Association for Breaking into the Spotlight; Dukes of Eden; Disciples Militant of the Hidden Faith; Knights-Champions of the Domestic Dog; the Holy Gregarians; the Resolute Optimists; the Ancient Sodality of Inhospitable Hogs; Associated Sovereigns of Mendacity; Dukes-Guardian of the Mystic Cess-Pool; the Society for Prevention of Prevalence; Kings of Drink; Polite Federation of Gents-Consequential; the Mysterious Order of the Undecipherable Scroll; Uniformed Rank of Lousy Cats; Monarchs of Worth and Hunger; Sons of the South Star; Prelates of the Tub-and-Sword.
p.s. Hey. ** jay, Hey Jay! She’s singular. She was at a gallery opening I was also at once. I was completely awestruck but I managed to tiptoe over to her to gush and ask her for her autograph, and she was unsurprisingly incredibly kind and sweet and hilarious. Thanks for the props, my pal. I hope you’re still enjoying your home-shaped independence. ** kenley, True, all true, meaning I agree. One building, easy. *devil horns* How was your gig? I’m sure your charisma made your metalcore akin to a movie in which Shelley Duvall has a big part. Weekend: mostly trying to catch up on stuff. New possibility arose of showing ‘RT’ in Amsterdam, but it seems pretty iffy. Had my biweekly Zoom Film/Book Club. Watched ‘Megadoc’, the documentary about the making of Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’, which wasn’t so interesting apart from making me not want to see the film and proving Shia LaBeouf is an insufferable jerk, which I already knew. That was basically it. New week! Yours! So … ? ** Hugo, SD in ‘Three Women’ is one of the world’s all-time highlights. The best Brit fiction seems well behaved but is actually creepy and subversive. ** Steve, Not completely. Hm, I look at all kinds of outrageous sites on the blog’s behalf, and those visits have never followed me into Meta that I can tell. Double header. Everyone, Two recommended visits courtesy of Steve. (1) ‘The latest “Radio Not Radio” episode is up. Going from punk to jazz to soundscapes, it features Poison Ruin, Crass, the Subhumans (UK), the Cortinas, Zaviruga, Settimana Mistica, Huggy Bear, Anakonda, Jill Scott, Tomeka Reid, Adam O’Farrill, Alice Coltrane, Grupo Um, Bobo & Behaja, Midori Hirano, Clint Mansell & Kronos Quartet, Eliane Radigue, KMRU, Negativland, Vic Bang, Poppy Ackroyd, Flying Lotus and the Bug!’ And, (2): ‘My new song ‘Feedbackback’ is also out now‘. ** Thom, Howdy, Thom. Yep, agreed, about Bela Tarr. And cool that ‘Are People Out There’ sank into you pleasurably. How did the gathering and collaging go? Always so great to have a conducive collaborator. And you saw ear to ear without slug or fisticuffs? ** LC, Hi, LC. My total pleasure. I’ve never been to Nashville. It’s still on my dream list. That whole Tennessee/Kentucky area. I have been to Kentucky ages ago. All I remember are the caves. Cheers in return! ** _Black_Acrylic, Yep, yep, ‘Three Women’, few better things. I hope your sugar crash wasn’t too hard. ** fish, Hi, fish! It’s that easy? Huh. I’m surprised too about the number of comments considering the fairly giant traffic this place gets, and also grateful since I don’t know if I could handle many more. Literature and boys, no argument there. I love DFW too, obviously. I’ll try to culture you up, although you sounds pretty culturally with it. Thanks! ** T, T! My old pal! So proximate and so mysterious! Me too. It’s so good to see you! Zac and I are often saying, ‘I wonder what Thomas is up to?’ Both of those gigs sound delicious. We’re a bit hampered by traveling around to show our film, but I think I should probably be there on those dates. I’ll look into it, and let’s do it and more importantly see each other. Let me know when you’re free. xo. ** Bill, ‘Three Women’ and ‘McCabe …’ are my favorite Altmans. Interesting: yeah, I would have guessed Joy Williams would know it. Amazing you saw her read. I still haven’t been lucky enough to be in her proximity. Long trip to the far east, or maybe it’s more like west from you? ** ⋆˚꩜｡darbbzz⋆˚꩜｡, I was at the concert on the ‘Radio Ethiopia’ tour where Patti Smith fell off the stage and broke her arm. Trivia. Nice, the Machine Girl gig. I’m 6’1″ and I always feel bad for the shorter people at gigs, especially those who are standing behind me and quietly hating me. Mixtape! Accessible! Everyone, the great ⋆˚꩜｡darbbzz⋆˚꩜｡ made a mixtape! It’s still in progress but we can listen in. I say we do, what do you say? Join me in its presence here? Coolness. ** Carsten, I can or I mean could see all of that operating in the Carrington work. I actually quite enjoyed ‘Sinners’. It settled on me well. But I’m not a stickler about the authenticity aspect. I thought that, for a big Hollywood film, it was nicely dreamy. I didn’t expect it to be as pleasurable as it was, I guess. ** Diesel Clementine, Thanks for the Glasgow fill-in. The times I’ve been there I thought there was was something very strange about that city, and you may have just pointed me in the right direction. Yes, the only and best needless to say way to extract your writing from the middling category is through the hard work you sound like you’re putting into it. If you could see my early writing, and I pray you never will, you’d be very proud of yours. I like Robert Gluck a lot. He’s an old friend, but, nevertheless, I think one of the best fiction writer du jour. ‘Jack’ is my favorite of his. I didn’t see a burned up Glasgow on the news this morning, so I assume it’s still in tact if possibly blackened a little. ** Alice, Hi. Great about the mix being ours to overhear! Everyone, Alice has uploaded a DJ mix they made to youtube, and that’s your cue to gift yourselves by clicking this. Looking forward to it! Great hopes that you hear back about the interviews in a highly positive manner. My week: try to solve yet another snag in my visa application process, see some films, eat Ethiopian food, talk with Zac about the new film script, and the rest remains a mystery. ** HaRpEr //, Yes, she’s kind of a god. Nice Tobey Maguire info: I can see that. My hopes are high re: the chapbook submission, naturally. Great that you fed it to them. Let’s hope they’re wise enough. I haven’t heard the Fugazi/Albini tracks yet, but of course I will. ‘In on the Kill Taker’ is my favorite Fugazi. ** Uday, Hi! I haven’t played a card game in such a long time that I think my favorite is probably still ‘Go Fish’. ** Right. Today you get a restored thematic post directed towards those out there who appreciate stylish extroversion. See you tomorrow.
John Keene Annotations
Now available in North America 