Saturday, September 30, 2006

dead man

perhaps my favorite movie of all times

dead man
('acid western')
director: jim jarmusch (a prolific director, i like almost every single one of his movies)
sountrack: legendary neil young (check out this link! his blog is a bit busy but highly interesting/informative)
some words stolen from: william blake
a superb cast (gary farmer as nobody does an excellent job)
a black & white film

one instrospective travel on darkness and beauty
a must-watch film!



If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.
-William Blake

mies van der rohe

'God is in the details'

-Mies van der Rohe

Friday, September 29, 2006

the pink panther

la pantera rosa
probably my favorite cartoon when i was a kid
i didn't miss it every day after school
here one of my favorite episodes
enjoy!
Information Updated thanks to Ground Control
Episode: 'We Give Pink Stamps'
2/12/65

angry kid

an early Aardman!
Angry Kid Season 1 - Bone
note: do not watch close to dinner time
just the right amount of 'disturbing'

Thursday, September 28, 2006

the virgin suicides

whimsical neat movie
lovely & sad
that i count among my little collection of old VHS tapes
Sofia Coppola debut as a director
great soundtrack by AIR
yes! the same old french band we so much like

i couldn't decide what to include if
1. one of my favorite scenes from the movie (the record playing on the phone, ah!) or...
2. the lovely theme song of the movie by air

so here are both
with a recomendation of watch this movie
it is moody & dark but full of magical moments



sonic youth (again)

a fantastic show last night
it was actually my 3rd time seeing Sonic Youth live
but for far, the best

I am still amazed that they played songs from
Confusion is Sex, their first official album released in 1983
a chemical reaction in my brain when Thurston started to sing
Push it away
the world looks red
people with fish eyes
the ground sucks

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

sonic youth sonic truth

just a couple of hours to see sonic youth
now i am getting excited
one of my favorite bands of all times!

now, i know tonight's gig won't be like this video from
Poitier, France in 1983
it will be mellower, softer
they are a 25 year-old band after all
yet Rather Ripped, their 20th album is such a great one

then for dinner tonight: live in Sun Diego Sonic Youth
and i wish my friend Jaime would be here since he's one great fan
but he's on his way to Mexico City to meet his girlfriend, I wish him good luck

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

another day

nights days days nights days nights days days and nights
again
roll down from the upper heavens
mechanical expectation
long hope, lengthy anticipation

softly holding each day
till next spring
as (with a bit of luck) will bloom in
flowers
and in an inspirational verve
of new finer sensations

Monday, September 25, 2006

the autumn falls with Abraxas

I was 14 years old when I first read this name: Abraxas
And I am not sure why it has been appearing in my head for the past couple of days, randomly, maybe it is just a semantic game that my brain is playing with me

Yes, it was on Herr Hermann Hesse’s book Demian [link in English] that I read it

and yes 14 years old when I read Demian, and after reading that book I was never again the same adolescent, those images of Emil Sinclair, his friend Demian, his mother Frau Eva, and the bird giving birth to a new world, and other ideas did change me, and profoundly

Changes as the year changes you with its mutating seasons
the Autumn here, with a first leaf a couple of days ago gently falling
on the street cement

back on Hesse, then I was around 24 or 26 years old when I took a long vacation in Autlán, my grandmother’s and mother’s hometown in Mexico… Esperanza (my grandmother) handed me a copy of “El Lobo Estepario" Der Steppenwolf, this book gave me so many bloody nightmares! And I don’t mean “bloody” as in a British insult, but literally bloody, as in dreaming every night rivers of blood during the week I was reading it… I don’t remember this book being particularly ‘violent’ at all, but I do remember it getting into your subconscious and making it ‘tickle’… I also remember very well the one specific blood dream during the reading:

There was this big parking lot in a city, there were just a few cars parked, leaving almost all the spaces empty, it was dark at night and then a sea of blood with big waves of blood inundated the parking lot, big waves of blood, very ala Stanley Kubrick’s The Shinning elevator scene

I guess Herr Hesse’s words did take me to the Magic Theatre with protagonist Harry

I have read before and after other works by him… when I was 19 or 20 I read "Narciso y Goldmundo" [Narziss und Goldmund], a beautiful book on growing and many others of his tales like Baden, Baden and of course I have read his famous Siddhartha… a great writer that I haven’t read in many years but whose shadow is in my life as it seems, permanently

Worth mentioning that almost all the Herman Hesse books I have read have been in Spanish

Maybe after this little blog acknowledgment/tribute to Abraxas, his name will stop flying inside my head. I have my theories maybe I think of this name because I think more of Germany these days, and I relate Hermann Hesse with Germany, who knows how my silly brain really works? Not me for sure, but it is just curious that I think of this name, and not Demian, or Emil, or Eva, or not another character of the book that I am actually reading (still on A Line of Beauty The story of Nick Guest, a handsome young gay man and Oxford graduate, who is actually a guest of a rich family and with high politic hierarchy in London, it is the 80’s, when AIDS was unleashing, there are tons of Margaret Thatcher as "the Lady", and cocaine snoring stories & references, and also some of the most beautiful sentences that I have read in English literature lately, the book by respected Alan Hollinghurst)

oh well, a strange head & thoughts, and a slightly skewed perception of life
I sometimes carry over my shoulders, and no, I am not crazy...
well a maybe a little… but nothing too serious ;)

björk... for a dear friend on his birthday



this little clip of Björk's beauty with a Clavichord
for a dear friend who is Björk's enthusiast on his birthday

Friday, September 22, 2006

a beer garden on my street

Adams Avenue Street Fair is this weekend
my street will be closed and it will be a beer garden at the end of it

Southern California's largest free music festival, they wrote


article on the San Diego Union Tribune

the main site Adams Avenue Street Fair
it will be my first one in this neighborhood, let's see how it goes...

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

sonic youth - the empty page



the words to the song:

these are the words
but not the truth
god bless them all
when they speak to you

but that’s all right
on an empty stage
sing out when
there’s no other way

come drift the town
where secrets lie
where friends & neighbors
keep drifting by

but that’s all right
you’re here to stay
sing out tonight
the empty page

i always thought i’d see
your name in flashing light
you did it all for free girl
& freely ripped the night
(yr free to fight)

these are the words
but not the truth
god bless them all
when they speak to you

but that’s all right
you’re here to stay
sing out tonight
the empty page

do you remember the time
when you were new in town
you smashed yr head in the mirror baby
and kissed the frozen ground
(yr ripped up sound)

the empty page has wasted down
the empty page is ripped
the empty page will waste this town
the empty page has slipped

Monday, September 18, 2006

one year at 23

september 18 2005, a year from today
first time posting photos on 23

as today are 1313 photos
about 3.597 photos per day (smile)

but just 0.597 % of the total of images are 1/2 decent
the rest is sort of bad photography habit trying to make an autobiographical bookkeeping :)
for how long it lasts the project
and for one day maybe... when i get to grow even older
watch them & remember

the date has been recorded...
a bit of an aloof monday

Sunday, September 17, 2006

strange sunday

if life would have come with a set of printed instructions
for sure, i would be right now reading them
one by one
fine print and every single hidden clause

unfortunately
i have no instructions
and i keep on going where i shouldn't

and then all of a sudden i read above
yep! it makes sense
chronology of my own stupidity

i don't know why i can't shake off me this feeling that
i ruined something... some remorse or guilty tastes like

like when you break without bad intention
a precious crystal object that your parents told you not to play with

but it looks so pretty that you want to touch it and get closer
and then you handle it wrong, and you broke it
that moment before your parent find out about the accident
is how i've been feeling this sunday

because i am not sure if my actions are amendable or
again how to fix what i might have broken
i don't have instructions :(

why do i click in too many places?

again that feeling as the smiths song
big mouth strikes again

a sunday night and it is quiet and eerie atmosphere
in the evening

i tried to water the little plants outside
your flower included
and the garden hose i bought is gone
some workers or the new neighbor probably took it
but just was strange because i thought that would distract me

ironic also

and i took this photo a weekend ago
of the funny trunks
and life was sad and still too then
but different
how life twists on a week
from weekend to weekend

time is magic you wrote me one day
time is magic and i hope one day i can
float on it gently
maybe?

Saturday, September 16, 2006

urgency

urgency of the city melting
ambulances’ sirens cooing for shelter
fast cars & planes sounds sketched
animals looking for shelter
this city, me, evaporating

at foyer of life
one day
won’t be more waiting

the end of the summer

5 hrs broiled
tuna aji w/tangy sauce
mojitos
3 women

the dying sun
and a soft almost obscene soft pink
background came
fluffy bubbles left by a small fuzzy octopuss on my chair

grilled brie w/custard and bed of sweet peaches
we ate
shiskabas (beef & chicken)
shrimps
and some memories of you
for a sweet marinade

i took a nap
that was the dream more
a sweaty short nightmare
under a sun of a-5pm
you & an another, unknown too siluotte
a woman
walking hand in hand

3 women then
my friends came...

and is that end of the summer fear
like when you finish a good book
of not knowing what might come next...
that
with the autumn now to me came...
that you might,
just fade

strange day
warm day
a bit sad like if it was a half day
an ending summer day
i think

some fever might be left
i think of a fever one
is my mid-day nightmare
tall woman & obscene pink dream
case...

Friday, September 15, 2006

día de la independencia de México

hoy se celebra el día de la Independencia de México
y dijimos: muchas gracias señores Españoles, por las pulgas, la guerra y la matanza
pero ya vayanse de regreso a su casa...

un link...
----------
not feeling very fine today
friday at least is

Thursday, September 14, 2006

cafeína y cuentos de aparecidos

then sometimes coffee is not enough

newspaper morning & is not news
the paper is from 3 days ago
took me a while to figure that out
the date, the time, and the colors of an expected soul

this sunset from almost a year ago
from 2005, september 19
some days seem like minutes ago
a year with its seconds
vanishing but not lost

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

george gershwin alone


at the distinguished san diego's old globe theatre
tonight
hershey felder did a good job on the play
george gershwin alone

although i didn't expect this kind of play at all...
one-shot music play, no intermission
over an hour
it was different, good, but after all not of my fondest choice

and then he threw a little surprise at the end
& got the public singing along
freaking george gershwin's songs

which makes it the most fun monologue
-yes it was just him
that i have seen in a while
but...

a well-known director
and nice work on the lighting
projecting old photos, graphics
and scenes from the 20's new york
over one long tailed steinway & sons
and a minimalistic almost scenario
of george gershwin's own...

the music
didn't expected either
was good to see & of course listen to
a piano well-payed by an actor-performer
he did the complete version of
raphsody in blue at the end
which is always nice to listen to, oh! live...

good night

point

staring at one point,
over an hour or who knows?
feet naked against kitchen floor
fixated
fixed –on
window, –the front
can’t turn around while
blending stinted-peace
with lumps of involuntariness

grows

the point is deeply white
blinding
enrapturing
agonizing lure

on, –not off

around it
little light-purple flowers
some barely-green leaves
in a blurring twirl
skip, tap, smile, hop

while they wait
while they hope

central and white
still
the point motionless
moves

if i could just move
if i could just turn away
i wouldn’t stop
again
as i did before

in an wintry –summery– point

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

M83

because back in april 2005
i got a plane ticket to NYC
just to see them in concert...
(ok the concert was on my birthday day and i saw a sign there)

yet another superb french band
hope you like them too

M83

from their album before the dawn heals us
the song Don't save us from the Flames
a lovely video & story of a girl who very much likes ghosts..
being in love with one, take a look...



A piece of brain in my hair...
A ghost screaming your name...

Voltaire provides the quote of the day

Voltaire once said:

'Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.'

but he also said:

'A witty saying proves nothing.'

what leaves me right to where i started... mmm?
oh, well! to deal with the circle of the unknown doubted, yet always well-regarded, life...

where the only condition that is not to doubt, is the certainty that one day we will all die...
(but when?)

therefore, try to enjoy in the meantime...
Voltaire would've liked that

Monday, September 11, 2006

bad news and good news

the bad news
as i parked my car tonight
i hit a piece of sidewalk i didn't see
then tired starts to deflate...
it has a big hole (about 2.5 cms slot)
and by now the left side in on the floor

tomorrow to fix it
tonight was too late to call the tire place
i need to buy a new one

the good news
before the slashed tired
and after work
i stopped by one of the cinephile's best friends in san diego
that is
kensigton video

and old fashioned store
where you can find, anything! almost
any cult, foreign, old, mute, classic, or of any genre
film that was ever made

and they did have what i was looking for

carlos saura's film "deprisa, deprisa"
they just had it on VCR tape, but that's how i have 1/2 of my own movies too
so my VCR is ready to roll

tomorrow tuesday will be movie night for sure
this recommendation came from a nice remarkable source
so i am sure it is worth to watch!

oh yes, one thing i don't need with a spanish movie
is the english subtitles...


september 11 note
another sad anniversary
being 2001, i was working then at the san diego blood bank
i remember how the blood donors made a line that needed to go around the main blood bank building, there were so many blood donors, that they didn't fit in the building

the blood bank staff (me included) worked for 3 days about 16 hrs per day, trying to assist the donors

i was intense to be there...

sadly these days, the blood levels for hospital use in san diego is so low that there's an emergency shortage in blood, sad how it seems that a tragedy needs to happen to call our attention

Sunday, September 10, 2006

the squid and the whale

a superb film
i truly recommend it!
funny and ironical
sad and happy too
the acting is great
the kids characters are one fresh surprise

and with a cute web-site
the squid and the whale

and you have to watch it to find out why
it is linked to a pink floyd song

Thursday, September 07, 2006

windows xp says

that i might be victim of software counterfeiting...
(?) ah, mil gracias

& still is it mostly clear and 63° F (about 17° C)
here in california

for the first time in a long time
a little cold in san diego

sweater & feels more comfortable a little chilly

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

a late café

café cup 4.47 pm
not a good sign
tired, sleepy...
aura of the day

different from yesterday
and now a marvin gaye song started
not sure how made it to my hard disk
but doesn't fit now, although is a good song

my job is not hard
but...
designer (i know sounds fun)
but some days...
i usually administer my own time
the eternal double edged sword
therefore, i procrastinate
until creativity has to come
because the dead-line is barely open
or has closed

visual aid doesn't come easily around
not today

coffee and a thought of you
a view of your small photo again
a little pinch of energy might bring
a distant imaginary smile of yours while you sleep
and some caffeinated hope

the knee still... {and thanks for good wishes clare :)}
is bringing me down
seems like double of work to walk anywhere
every where

a mental chair, to seat back mentally & relax.. would be fine
for a change

Friday, September 01, 2006

i


understand now better the people who can't walk well

what usually takes me 3 minutes walking
with 1 and 1/2 knee, now takes me 10...

mmm? patience test? not going to pass this one

some dragons documentary on the tv sounds on the back
on how dragons developed similar in very distant cultures
as chinese, medieval european, native american, mesoamerican, etc.
will distract me
and today on the dvd service got this movie
http://www.unfortunateeventsmovie.com/main_flash.html

but worth checking this site better
the real freaking thing

dragons, knees, a friday night
if you please
and a simpsons episode to finish it
visit the forbidden donut!

the apartment near by is empty now
empty house