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OY Vey
Hello Friends:
I was having coffee with a dear friend and she asked me how I went about getting into the places I’ve somehow managed to stumble into. When I think about it, it’s pretty amazing that my work has been read and performed in some of the venues that’s it’s been performed or read in. Of course, I’ve had an unusual family life. There’s absolutely no doubt about that. However, my accomplishments – and by this I mean the three short stories of mine that have been published, my playlab selection at Great Plains and Hawthronden, while far and few between have been shocking to me. They’ve also had nothing to do with my family. (well, I did use a sample writing piece of Tranny and the Mime for Hawthornden, but my proposal was completely different). So, I told her.
I always imagine I’m the selection committee and then I look at my proposal or story from THEIR eyes. That’s it. I guess it’s a form of mediumship. I hope this helps anyone who wants to write and perform.
Speaking of performers, I’ve been watching a LOT of Kenneth Williams on BBC. What a great, funny actor!
P.S. I haven’t been submitting nearly as much as I want to.
HAWTHORNDEN
I am an official Hawthornden Fellow for 2013!
This is really exciting and I’m looking forward to going and getting work done. My proposal was accepted. I applied as a playwright/ performer. Hawthornden is a well-known writers’ retreat in Scotland and fellows get to stay a month in an ancient castle. Cool, huh? As you may know, I’m mostly Scotch and German, with a brush of Native American (just a spash). So I’ve wanted to go to Scotland for some time now. Also, I’ve wanted to visit Findhorn and check out the plants. So the plan is to start in Findhorn, rent a car and drive to the castle and stay for a month. I’ll also get some whisky and take some strolls in the country side. Really looking forward to an overseas writing trip. Check it out!
http://www.stonecanoejournal.org/MemmerCastle.html
Greg Dean and Mark Anderson.
Greg Dean, James McGuire, Marc Anderson, Cara Raymond— with James Royce McGuire.
Trophy!
ames on the bus with his trophy. — with James Royce McGuire in Corpus Christi, TX.
New Reading
I’ll be reading some of my story/ one man show with some fabulous other writers at Pedaler Society in Long Beach this Saturday at 8:30p.m. If you’re in the ‘hood come check it out!
http://www.artslant.com/la/venues/show/27056-long-beach-pedaler-society
http://www.artslant.com/la/venues/show/27056-long-beach-pedaler-society
ArtSlant – Long Beach Pedaler Society
Contemporary art venue information including artists, exhibitions, map, reviews and contact information for Long Beach Pedaler Society.
Pablo and Paco
I had forgotten all about The Modern Lovers. I was reading that Jonathan Richman still doesn’t have a cell phone or a computer and still tours singing his songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc2iLAubras
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc2iLAubras
New Posts
Well, I’m now officially in Long Beach and I must say, so far, I LOVE IT!.
Next on the agenda is job hunting. I’ve been reading about the Theta State of mind through brain waves. It’s pretty interesting stuff.
Thoughts about so-called modern art
A lot of people feel insulted when they see modern, which I sometimes love. But remember, it’s been around for a long ass time.
From Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind
“Beginner’s mind was a favorite expression of Dogen-zenji’s. The calligraphy of the frontispiece, also by Suzki-roshi, reads shoshin , or beginner’s mind. The Zen way of calligraphy is to write in the most straightforward, simple way as if you were a beginner, not trying to make something skillful or beautiful, but simply writing with full attention as if you were discovering what you were writing for the first time; then your full nature will be in your writings.”
Tiny Homes
I’ve been reading all about small homes. I would simply LOVE to build my own home in the woods somewhere, a la Thoreau. I’ve been reading Home Work and Building Green, two books about how to build your own shelter. Here are some quotes I like so far.
“Who could deny that the human body is a mind-boggling miracle? Imagine: each of us is safely housed within a bundle of blood, bone and guts nurturing a little glow of life while suspended in a sea of constant change and danger… Housing, likewise, originally developed slowly within particular cultures and in response to specific climates and environments. Using materials from the site and techniques developed out of long experience with an exact location and climate, each culture around the world crafted a unique style of housing from the fabric of their surroundings. In other words, traditional housing approaches were specific to the culture, climate, and environment from which they sprung… We live in a different world today. People are moving around; cultures are intermingling. An urban lifestyle predominates that doesn’t change with the seasons and isn’t connected to a specific climate or locale. The glue that holds us together is a world economy of frantic buying and selling to each other… The strength of this approach, its apparent flexibility, is also its fatal flaw. Housing solutions that don’t arise out of a slow, intricate interaction between a place and a people cannot possibly hope to nurture the delicate interaction between that place and those people that’s required for the survival of both”
–Building Green
And from Home Work:
“22 years later my reaction to the place in my dream started to take shape. I soon realized the start of the shape was something I’d had the whole time.”
–Mike Basich
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