SWEET DANGO

STARPLANE BLOG #20

…continuing as we are our survey of popular culture
and the connection of it to SAN FRANCISCO
(and environs)…was not long ago at
one of my favorite localities in this town,
the EDINBURGH CASTLE, there on Geary near,
like, Van Ness…my good buddy of long standing Jack
had gone back to his crib at the Corinthian
after a pint or three, and I had decided to stay to try
my mind at the trivia contest held at the Castle weekly…
ten-year-old Scotch whiskey was to be had there
at a special price, but the price wasn’t
“special” enough for me, at that point…
had heard about this event from a good guy named Renzo
at VESUVIO – another fine spot - a coupla years ago…
was surprised to hear that he had been gone
from running the trivia game for some while…
hadn’t been to the Castle’s game for some while myself…
still, the game was on, and I was game for it…
every single player or team had to come up with a name….
mine, singly, was “Hamilton Starplane”…
the Castle was offering free beer for a good name…
I wasn’t around long enough to qualify for this…
maybe the name wasn’t funny enough anyway…
I hung ‘round for a coupla rounds…got a bit bored, I guess…
also, since I didn’t have the cash for any more liquor,
any of that fine Scotch whiskey – the place is,
if you don’t know, all about Scotland -
that as well made me less likely to hang around
for the entire game…the trivia master
who was asking the questions was taking, like,
twenty minutes between rounds,
and I was getting ants in my pants, so to speak…
plus, y’see, I was playing alone, and there were teams
of several who could combine their alcohol-fueled minds…
me, didn’t stand a chance, really…still, the first round,
I got four of ten right:
Eros, Death of a Salesman, Sonny Liston, and The Music Man…
I participated in a second round and left…
still, the Castle is recommended…the juke box is excellent,
and the décor is quite the woodsy sort…as I said,
Vesuvio up in NORTH BEACH is also worthy…
and in my new neighborhood, the TENDERLOIN,
the BROWN JUG SALOON at EDDY&HYDE seems cozy…
the juke box is a real draw at the Brown Jug…
there’s GRATEFUL DEAD on it…will be heading there
in a coupla days to play DIRE WOLF,
and whatever other fine selections are to be selected…
tribute to Garcia, y’know…maybe some DOORS
on the box as well – that’d be, like, groovy…

[HamiltonStarplane@Hotmail.com & http://starplane.blogspot.com]

STARPLANE BLOG #19: "Flight Continues"

…the flight continues…a survey of POP CULTURE here…
now, back to our feature presentation,
the DVD of SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK…
courtesy of the SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY,
free for you and me to enjoy,
all the literature and art and beauty and power,
all that and more, more, more…now…
there was a scene in some Barnes & Noble store
in “the Big Apple”…musta been that book outlet
since it was mentioned earlier in the movie…
the Heather Graham character, “Annie”,
and the Ed Burns one, whatever his name…
recommended by the Starplane is this flick, y’all…
and me, I am watching it all, just luh-uh-uvvin’ it…
like, in the words of SHERYL CROW,
“…like STEVE MCQUEEN, underneath your radar screen…”
…and…notably, there’s a character in the movie
who I found really amusing, giving advice
about dating and male and female relations…
he works in some Manhattan record store
and advises another character that he’s got to be
“thinking rock star and acting rock star”…
ya gotta see the thing to appreciate this, I guess…
and there’s this “Anatomy of a Scene”
bonus feature on the disc that is quite edifying,
at least into the great cinema mind of Ed Burns,
the former Mr. Heather Graham…altho’ he’s a light of his own…
so, so, so…that’s about it for that disc…
worth yer time, I must say…and then
it was to the electronic catalog at the library
to request a biography of JET LI that I’d looked at before…
and then, personally, I had an hour
until the free soup at MARTIN’S at 16TH&POTRERO,
so I headed on back to the JEFFERSON HOTEL…
had some MADEIRA left from the bottle
that dear affiliate b gave me,
which would occupy my time til feeding…
and before I knew it, it was noon-ish,
here in SAN FRANCISCO…got a KING COBRA
on the way to Martin’s…thinking, was I, of some characters,
female, by the name of THE BACK SISTERS…
two at least, and, really, more – the two are Jilly and Jenny Back…
more to come, rest assured…got to get more good scripts
to these actresses of HOLLYWOOD and beyond…
part of my mission, my per-mission,
my trans-mission, all of that, and more, more, more…
so it was on the MUNI to the food location…
talked to a little girl named Brandy on the way there…
a protective slightly older young woman on the bus
criticized me for my interest in that little girl –
in fact, the word “pervert” was bandied about, no lie…
but I meant nothing of harm, of course…
I am into women, or mature-enough girls…
but I could understand the criticism well enough…

[HamiltonStarplane@Hotmail.com & http://starplane.blogspot.com]

STARPLANE BLOG #18: “Main Attraction”

Alrighty, then…flight number 18 of the Starplane,
this is it…as promised, we are returning a few days
in this examined saga chronicle to…
the SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY…
we are looking at the DVD of Sidewalks of New York…
as I said, I don’t have a lot of experience
with this format…what’s wrong with videocassettes?
What’s wrong with audio cassettes?
Someone’s making money off the new forms, I guess…
but, like, there are charms enough
to the new formats, I spoze…
anyway…there’s the “scene selection” option for DVDs…
and “special features”…like, like,
the Ed Burns commentaries for his flick…
the man is quite earnest, that’s for sure, & talented, okay?
So…the main attraction for the item is…
she says something about a bed and breakfast in, like,
Saratoga…guess, like, she wants to run one in the future,
maybe…my notes aren’t quite clear on the subject…
alright, she is the main attraction for me on the DVD,
despite the excellence and earnestness of Mr. Burns…
uh…where were we? Hmm…
it must be noted that Rosario Dawson as “Maria”
is quite excellent and quite eye-catching…
one to watch, for sure…Brittany Murphy
is another fine performer…she plays “Ashley”…
a cute waitress and student at NYU…and on and on…
there’s talk in the flick about “getting laid”
and “semen buildup”, which I noted down…
more of this perhaps is required in cinema these days
…so…the main attraction plays “Annie Matthews”,
a real estate agent in New York…
and I am thinking, yes, she should be playing
a character named “Arena Fabulistic”…
I considered a line of iambic pentameter:
“Arena Fabulustic, interface”…she might play it
like she was at home…I noted a nice scene…
Annie is talking to her husband…
the camera sees her from the back, seated,
but she’s mirrored so we can see the front of her…
she’s telling her hubbie she wants to cuddle more…
she, like, cannot do much wrong, in my eyes…
she does a mouth move like she did in Swingers…
and one I am finding myself doing at intervals…
and a line from her character I like:
“Sex can be tricky sometimes.”
And I thought of a title for something…
this is directed to poets, artists, magicians, devils, actors,
politicians, businesspeople, whatever, whatever,
in San Francisco, in Greater San Francisco, and environs…
the title is: Lust Cost…can you dig it?
Anyway, anyway…there is the north and the south to consider…
this main attraction is, like, “The South”…
”The North”…well…I’m sure this city can provide
a fine and dandy, like, candidate…gotta go…we’ve landed.
[HamiltonStarplane@Hotmail.com & http://starplane.blogspot.com]`

#17

Time enough now for a brief flight on the Starplane…
today we begin with a tribute
to dearly departed musician ROBERT PALMER…
I was at the VIRGIN MEGASTORE
on MARKET&STOCKTON not long ago,
I think wanting to listen free
to the new EAGLES best of compilation…
they’d taken that out and I had to look for a substitute –
there’s a new Robert Palmer collection out
and I settled in with that…
he had great titles: WOKE UP LAUGHING,
LOOKING FOR CLUES, SOME LIKE IT HOT,
WHAT’S IT TAKE, EVERY KINDA PEOPLE,
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, and STYLE KILLS….
I was really enjoying his songs…there’s this mantra in one of ‘em:
“…she’s so fine/there’s no telling where the money went…”
And thought of another song that mentions money:
“Proud Mary”, by Creedence Clearwater Revival:
“…you don’t have to worry/if you got no money/
’cause people on the river are happy to give…”
As I recall that one, the memory of the lyrics,
had me crying a bit at that point in time…
cash is just so short these days…then it was the next day after that…
apparently, according to my notes,
not much of interest happened in the intervening hours…
it was about eight the next morning…
was continuing the listening to of a cassette collection
of FRANK SINATRA radio appearances,
mostly from the long-gone days of the Forties…
additionally, I had a half bottle of a fine MADEIRA wine
that friend and associate and many other terms b had brought me…
she prefers port – when she’s drinking, that is –
and she’s no real drinker – she prefers port
but she experimented with a bottle of the related wine
on the advice of someone…but, fortunately for me,
she didn’t care for it at all, didn’t care for the woody taste
deriving from aging in oak casks, just plain had no taste for it…
but, myself, I am not so discerning in terms of wine…
so I had the Sinatra, the fine island wine…
and plans for the watching of the DVD of Sidewalks of New York
at the SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY
when the place opened at nine that morning…
before I was out the door b called and we chatted for a while…
our mutual friend DIALLO enjoyed their visit to the DEATH GUILD
dance club the previous night…I’d been there once –
good atmosphere, convenient to MUNI and CALTRAIN,
there in the CHINA BASIN area…then it was the departing onto Eddy
from the JEFFERSON HOTEL, the short walk to the library,
and the wait outside…had the Madeira in a Minute Maid plastic container,
to enjoy during the movie…while waiting, read the BRUCE BELLINGHAM column
in THE EXAMINER…he was talking about Rod McKuen when he wrote:
“Like all famous poets, he needs no home address…” –
then it was the stampede at the library’s opening…
me somewhat rushing to get a DVD player right away –
stations are limited, after all…and I got into the DVD…
I’m pretty innocent of that format…as for cinema specifics, next time.

#16

I’m here and ready to “throw down” this blog –
which is better than throwing it in the other direction…
but I am going over my notes and am finding them lacking…
same old mentions of the same old rock and roll songs I am listening to…
had a joke about PINK touring with a band named “Floyd”
and how that would look on the marquee,
but that isn’t worth mentioning, tho’ I did…
you see, this blog is about nothing if not poetic Bohemianism, okay?
Is that being conveyed to you, THE FIFTY on this e-mail list?
It seems I – we – have reached something of a plateau…
or maybe it’s just lack of beer in my system…
uh – one thing I’ve been doing, actually getting my body
on the line on the street, to a certain extent,
is taking my small but pretty powerful music box
on the street and playing it loud,
selecting songs from up and down the FM dial…
was out one wet morning recently
on the way to the VIRGIN MEGASTORE at STOCKTON@MARKET…
my dancer friend EDWARD JACKSON
wasn’t at his usual spot there at the Powell Street cable car turn so,
me and my can of STEEL RESERVE and my music box,
we took up a position
at the up escalator discharge spot
and played music for those emerging from BART –
okay, it’s not the fantastic physical display that Edward provides,
but heck, it’s, like, something, okay?
The selections were: SECRET AGENT MAN by Johnny Rivers,
SOAK UP THE SUN by SHERYL CROW,
FAITH by George Michael,
I FEEL FOR YOU by CHAKA KHAN,
and another song I like but don’t know the title of –
it goes: “It only takes a minute, girl, to fall in love, to fall in love…”
[Okay, through the wonder of GOOGLE,
we learn that the song is IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE,
from TAKE THAT…possibly a one-hit wonder…]
Then it was a meeting with b at the TAJ MAHAL Indian restaurant
at EDDY@HYDE…had my music box with me there…
THE BONE was counting down their top hundred-and-seven
listener picks of rock CDS…LED ZEPPELIN’s fourth one was third,
and AC/DC ranked second with BACK IN BLACK…
was recording this…b and I ate, on her dime…
and we had some sort of discussion,
including some words on the biomass of insects on Earth…
so at this point, readers, crank up that AC/DC
as this blog page comes to its conclusion…
I hope I’ve conveyed something of poetic Bohemianism
in San Francisco in the year two-thousand-and-four…
have this drink on me…

#15

Yes, ladies and germs, the Starplane's
in the air again...this flight is dedicated
to my long-time associate b - that's right,
small b...Warhol has his 'a' - check in the
SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY system
for that one - and I we have got this b...
it wasn't against my principles or morals
or ethics, such as they are, to dedicate
this blog to her in exchange for forty
ounces of KING COBRA from one of my
friendly neighborhood TENDERLOIN corner
markets...so, unfasten yer seat belts,
have yerselves a free drink from the
beverage carts, and feel free to move around
the cabin...

I am several pages of notes behind in
chronicling my daily and nightly events and
thoughts...back we go about a week...tho',
y'know, I am feeling that this is material of
a somewhat 'timeless' nature...and fairly
formless...

I'm at the San Francisco park at EDDY @ GOUGH -
business there: free grub at the JOHN COLTRANE
CHURCH...met the aforementioned b there -
she had gift socks for me from the Flax art store
at Market @ Valencia...she noticed the hole
in a pair I'd previously worn, and thoughtful
one she is, she brought me a new pair...
colorful, very, pimp-style, even...been reading
ICEBERG SLIM lately and have got that
methodology on my mind...b had the
catalog and we looked through it - the socks
featured, it said, "inspirational, geometric
designs"...also featured, ties made with
designs from JERRY GARCIA - slogan for
these: "Pay tribute to the hero." Also,
another line we liked, featured on some
item there: "Baroque...when you're out of
Monet." Worthy of HERB CAEN. (Be sure
to GOOGLE on all these capitalized words
and names when this flight's over.)

We got the Coltrane meal from the fine
church folks there, headed back to the
'loin - hadda do my laundry...brought
along a copy, from the library, of the
new TOM ROBBINS novel, VILLA INCOGNITO...
I washed my so-called wardrobe, b went
off in search of a decent toilet in one
of the high-rent hotels up towards
Powell...jeez, three bucks and change for
laundry...my dwindling finances were
hurtin' back then, as they still are...sheesh...

So I was reading in the new Tom Robbins
novel...featuring a tanuki, a character from
Japanese mythology...a randy one at that...
I liked a line about some woman he
encountered loosening her kimono...for
some reason thought of the movie based
on another Robbins' novel, EVEN COWGIRLS
GET THE BLUES...UMA THURMAN was in
that one...also HEATHER GRAHAM in one of
her early parts...

So b got back from her excursion...she
mighta gone to the PAN PACIFIC HOTEL...
the lounge area there is nice...they feature
a drink called THE VESPER...based on
one that James Bond says he created in
one of the IAN FLEMING novels...so b is
back, the laundry continues being washed,
and she's reading THE WAVE...not featuring
any Hollywood type I like on the cover...
b mentions the mentioning in that mag
of a new CHARLES BUKOWSKI spoken word
CD called 70 MINUTES IN HELL...look for it...
CITY LIGHTS up in NORTH BEACH has some
CD material by the man.

Also mentioned by b, a mention of
ROSICRUCIAN.ORG...for the ROSICRUCIAN
EGYPTIAN MUSEUM down in San Jose...
hieroglyphics there to be perused...gotta get
down there one a' these days...my North
Beach poet and mime friend LOR is a
Rosicrucian...

And I was thinking at the time about a
somewhat unpleasant encounter between
myself and a woman named Cynthia, friend
of my artist friend DIALLO...we were at
CELIA's Thursday night gathering and
she, like, called me a child for some reason...
well, I disagreed with this woman, whom or
who I hardly knew, and I responded by
called her the b-word - the one that rhymes
with switch - you know the one...so, we
exchanged a few words, and she got up
and stormed out...I was smiling throughout
this - the encounter was much more
unpleasant for her...thought about this
in days to come, and have not changed
my opinion about it, wouldn't have changed
my actions...she's on some sort of trip
through Asia now...not sure if even Asia
will remedy her state of mind vis-a-vis me...
just not sure if she's one that will ever
meet the criteria of my values system...oh
well...

And noted somewhere: HENRY ROLLINS
to be in San Francisco in March...coulda
been hearing IRON MAN on THE BONE -
that is, one-zero-seven-point-seven on the
FM - that got me thinking of this...a song
he likes...gonna be at THE WARFIELD, I believe.

Then it was back up in the room at the Jefferson
Hotel with b...had a rock and rock music tape
on...GEORGE THOROGOOOD singing "Bad to
the Bone"...b mentioned a fact that had
escaped me...it was a song used in the first
Terminator movie.

Then another song: WAR PIGS by Black Sabbath...
and notable after that, on a tape I'd done,
SISTER GOLDENHAIR by AMERICA...that from a
KFRC broadcast...I tell you, I guess The Bone would
be the one station I'd listen to if it hadda be
just one, but KFRC sure does play some great
numbers that The Bone doesn't...and frankly,
all up and down the dial there's choice material...
so The Bone gets my classic rock thumb up,
but it sure ain't perfect.

And, also, STING was at the time of notation
gonna be at the VIRGIN MEGASTORE down there
at STOCKTON@MARKET...didn't go...but was
enjoying his SACRED LOVE on the box
not a few days ago when I was sitting
"deejaying" from the live radio in front of
CAFE MACONDO...

And JUMP by VAN HALEN or DAVID LEE ROTH
solo also notable...and the POINTER SISTERS
song of the same name, also good...

...and, hurrying along...was gonna get in
more blogging time today but something
came up, hadda pick up a nice something...
but I guess I can pulse along for a few
minutes more...

it was the fifteenth of February, half past six
in the evening, two-thousand-and-four...
back to The Bone...they were doing their
countdown of the top hundred-and-seven
CDs, listener-picked...'Abbey Road' was
the selection...The Bone was playing three
tracks from each of the picks...the deejay
gave the low down on the famous cover
of that one...y'know, was Paul dead, all
that...

And in the literary field, CARRIE FISHER
has a new book out - number nine on the
Bay Area fiction list, in fact - the title
is THE BEST AWFUL...POSTCARDS FROM
THE EDGE, her first novel - recommended.

And album number 20 in The Bone's
countdown was from RUSH...featuring
their Tom Sawyer song...and then SGT. PEPPER
came on and I turned it up...and on 'my'
own tape - musta got bored with the Beatles -
NEIL DIAMOND..."...he ain't heavy/he's my
brother..." - for sure I love my Neil, okay...
and after that, a Seventies classic,
BLUES IMAGES, with RIDE, CAPTAIN, RIDE...

And on other media, was waiting for
THE SIMPSONS to come on, and on the
sitcom before it, there was a reference to
the ANDREA TRUE CONNECTION song,
MORE, MORE, MORE...I tell you, I am on
the look-out and hear-out for these things,
for what it's worth - hey, what's that sound,
everybody look's what's going down...

Well, the guard here says there's about
twenty minutes left for us this day, so I
should be wrapping this up...gotta e-mail
it out to "The Fifty" who are on my list...
and b, do ya feel ya got yer King Cobra's
worth on this one...probably not...but,
like, in addition to a hard copy of this,
you got my lovely company, right?

So, we have touched down the Starplane...
please observe none of the signs, signs,
everywhere signs, and have a fantastic
time at your destination, and please
fly the Starplane again...

#14

To continue what I began the last blog:
what I spent this month's food stamp
card money on - and this time, for your
reading displeasure - I mean, interest -
more specific information - do these
numbers tell a tale?

02/08/04
23:06:35 NEW PRINCESS MARKET
500 EDDY
Rockstar energy drink $2.00

02/09/04
11:58:21 NEW PRINCESS MARKET
2 cans Rockstar $4.00

13:00:00 EMPIRE MARKET
399 EDDY
Ruffles dip chips, one bag $3.19

18:38:xx RANDA'S MARKET
3131 16TH STREET
stuff for associate Black
King Cobra 40-ouncer $16.50
[Since alcohol can't be purchase on a
food stamp card, I got my associate
Black to go into Randa's...he can someone
get around this restriction...I told the man
to spend two or three bucks on himself
and get my, like, two dollar bottle of King
Cobra, but he returns having spent over
fourteen dollars on himself, to my chagrin...
he comes from an Arkansas bootlegger
heritage and says he can make honey wine
for me, but due to the outcome of this
transaction I am quite leery, Timothy, of
attempting that...]

[Same day, a little later)
RANDA'S MARKET
Liquor store sandwich for Poppa 2.98
[Being a nice guy, bought something to
eat for a man I know from 16th Street.]

22:13:xx
RANDA'S MARKET
Bag of chips
Toblerone chocolate bar for friend b 3.69

02/10/04
15:59:59 EMPIRE MARKET
sardines, one can 0.99

22:43:30 NEW PRINCESS MARKET
Ruffles, big bag 3.19
Rockstar 2.00

02/11/04
09:28:15 RAINBOW GROCERY
1745 FOLSOM
kombucha, two bottles 5.38
rejuvelac, one bottle 1.49

02/12/04
16:18:46 EMPIRE MARKET
Minute Maid orange juice 1.25

02/14/04
11:57:25 CADILLAC GROCERY
499 EDDY
Minute Maid orange juice 1.25

02/15/04
10:28:27 RAINBOW GROCERY
2 kombuchas 5.38

20:10:05 EMPIRE MARKET
Ruffles dip chips, big bag 3.19

02/16/04
23:54:09 NEW PRINCESS MARKET
Minute Maid orange juice 1.25

02/17/04
17:20:16 NEW PRINCESS
Rockstar, one can 2.00

23:09:xx SAFEWAY
2020 MARKET STREET
"Honest Tea", one glass 1.69
hummus container 3.59

[So that's the entire countdown, from
a hundred-and-twelve bucks and sixty-nine
cents to sixty-three cents left on the card...
there are thirty-cent bags of chips in the
Tenderloin that I might be able to buy,
unless the store has a dollar limit or
whatever on food stamp card purchases...
that last one, I might mention, was
another favor from associate and/or friend
b...she got that tea and hummus,
and she gave me the cash for it...
which I spent on King Cobra, no doubt...
well, my time is up for this blog at
this free computer place on Eddy, or else
I'd harm 'n' charm y'all with even
more information about my spending
habits...]

#13

I receive a bit over a hundred-and-twelve
bucks a month on my food stamp card...
it's been about two weeks and that total
is gone...here's what I spent it on:

LO-CARB MONSTER ENERGY - two bucks...
it's like RED BULL...this at the CADILLAC
GROCERY at 499 Eddy near
the TENDERLOIN hotel I live in.

ROCKSTAR - two bucks - another energy
drink - the one I prefer - it contains
SIBERIAN GINSENG, GINKGO BILOBA...
good to combine with KING COBRA -
to make a drink I like to call RED COBRA.
Got that at the NEW PRINCESS MARKET
at 500 Eddy, across from the Cadillac
Grocery, which doesn't have Rockstar.

Then, eight bucks at RAINBOW GROCERY
at 1745 Folsom - for a Jamaican herbal
drink called PANAXEA ROOTS - Google
on that name...and a bottle of G.T. DAVE'S
KOMBUCHA, from Beverly Hills...plus a
bottle of REJUVELAC.

A can of sardines from New Princess -
about a buck.

RED BULL at the Stop and Shop
at 3000 Mission...they didn't have
Rockstar...two bucks.

At New Princess, a Hansen's "Diet Red" -
another energy drink like Red Bull...
plus a small buck bag of RUFFLES.

Then at the Cadillac, a buck-fifty
orange juice (MINUTE MAID) and
a three-buck-plus big bag of Ruffles.
Then, the next day, another Rock Star.

Then, at the BI-RITE MARKET
at 3639 18th Street, an ART BAR -
got this for friend b, who gave me
two-fifty in cash for the purchase I
made on the card. (She likes these
chocolate bars because they include
a small card with a reproduction
of a work of art on it.)

Another Rockstar...then sometime
after, back at Rainbow, another
kombucha for a bit under three bucks,
and another Jamaican Roots drink -
nearly four bucks for that.

Then another Rockstar...then back
at Rainbow, two kombuchas...another
trade for cash with b - got
about six bucks in the cold and hard
for this transaction.

[Well, gotta go, gotta appointment
to keep...the above was only for three
days...got eleven more to go, or so...]

#12

Okay - back in this blogger again/
out where a friend is a friend...

01. Let us begin with ROBERT BURNS...
since EDINBURGH CASTLE makes such
a big deal of the guy, I took the time
and get an audio cassette of a reading of
some of his poems and a collected book volume
of the guy's work from the (repeat after me)
SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY...
kinda hard going, since he is writing in a thick
Scottish dialect - literally every third word
has to be checked for in the glossary...

02. Example: "The best laid schemes o' Mice
an' Men,/Gang aft agley..." - famous line...
whaddya think it means? Give up? "Go oft askew"
is what those last three words mean.
Isn't that special?

03. Still, he's a rewarding poet...he has one
about a flower, another about a mouse...
he wrote "Auld Lang Syne", that famous
New Year's Eve song...BUCKMINSTER FULLER
quoted him...the dialect reminds me of
the droogspeak in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
by ANTHONY BURGESS.

04. To change the subject briefly: please
read BARNEY HOSKYNS, British journalist -
his book WAITING FOR THE SUN is all about
music in LOS ANGELES in THE SIXTIES,
and much recommended. Part of it deals with
a comparison of SAN FRANCISCO and L.A. -
he quotes someone, maybe DAVID CROSBY,
who says San Francisco is the only city
in the U.S. that can "contain a scene"...
musicians, actors, creative types - this blog
is addressed to y'all...what can we make of this
city?

05. One more phrase from Robert Burns to
show you the difficulty of reading him:
"unco guid"....what can that possibly mean?
It means "rigidly self-righteous". (For my
interest currently in the Dead Poet Game,
I think ol' WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
is the poet to read...)

06. Another random thought: was
finishing off a KING COBRA forty ouncer
last nght in my TENDERLOIN hotel room
and thought I saw an owl in the plaster
of the wall...reminded me of the
LEONARDO DA VINCI recommendation
to painters to look in just such rough
surfaces for ideas for pictures.

07. Accompanying the malt liquor last
night was also music, mostly rock and roll,
that I taped from the radio onto cassettes.
I will be naming and capitalizing what I
think are good songs...suggestions for
your listening pleasure. For example,
DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER, by
CROWDED HOUSE...lovely song...also
that one by I don't know who, maybe
KOOL AND THE GANG - "get down on it,/
c'mon and get down on it..." - you know
the one. Great work.

08. Also good recently, UNCLE KRACKER,
his remake of the DOBIE GRAY song
DRIFT AWAY. Also, I was really liking
the LADY MARMALADE cover by the
four singers, including the talented PINK.
(Her recent CD TRY THIS is recommended
as well, particularly the track TONIGHT'S
THE NIGHT... it's not the Rod Stewart song.

09. Nice inadvertent segue on a tape I made:
DON'T LET ME GET ME by Pink, followed by
LED ZEPPLELIN's LIVIN' LOVIN' MAID
(or whatever that one is called).

10. Was at DELIRIUM last night briefly to
meet with a friend who had some work for me...
it's okay there, after ten at night, in the
back room there at 16TH STREET & ALBION,
near VALENCIA...good photo of STEVE
MCQUEEN near the front door, good jukebox...
the deejays spin the stuff I like, usually...
SOUND AND VISION by DAVID BOWIE
was on the box before the deejay began
his labor of love.

11. The first song the Delirium deejay
played was LOVE AND HAPPINESS by
AL GREEN...his new CD is available for
the free listening at the BORDERS on
Union Square...sounds like his Seventies
famous songs...but, frankly, as I was
standing there groovin' to the Reverend,
my eye was caught by a FIREFALL disc
for sale...sorry, Al, but I woulda much
preferred to hear YOU ARE THE WOMAN...
but you're really fine and great also.

12. MISS YOU by the STONES was
played by the Delirium deejay after the
Al Green...another good choice...it was at
this point that one of the bar personnel
comes up to me and says I'm gonna hafta
buy something soon and not just sit
around taking up space...not that the joint
was crowded, but I guess that's just the
policy anywhere...so I got up and left.
The security guy at the door gave me
a little grief for having a can of STEEL RESERVE
I'd brought in from outside...again, rightfully
so...he said it was "offensive", and I told
him that well, I 'am' offensive, or can be,
and defensive as well...he wondered if I
brought animals to the zoo, and I said
sure...so I was out the door and back on
the street...still, Delirium's a fine place
to relax and enjoy music, despite what
happened last night to me there.

[I am gonna stop numbering these paragraphs...
this blogger has a small window and I am
going on and on and not remembering what
number I was on, necessitating the scrolling
back up...waste of effort.]

A song I'd like to hear soon: BUFFALO
STANCE by NENEH CHERRY.

Am listening to an audio version of
THE TEACHINGS OF DON JUAN by
CARLOS CASTANEDA, from the library...
great stuff...there's a movie about
Castaneda due soon. Don Juan - now
'there's a "dee-jay" to consider -
is considered a 'brujo' - that is, a
sorceror, medicine man, a witch, a curer.

Another song: REO SPEEDWAGON,
ROLL WITH THE CHANGES. Also, BEDS
ARE BURNING by MIDNIGHT OIL. And I
guess SATISFACTION by BRITNEY SPEARS
is okay. And PRINCE, I WANNA BE
YOUR LOVER. Some Z.Z. TOP too - like
LA GRANGE, maybe...THE BONE at 107.7 FM
in San Francisco plays a lotta the classic
rock I like.

Also, a message again to MISSES POLIA,
LIU, YEE, and the mysterious LOREENA,
there at FRANCISCO MIDDLE SCHOOL -
their zine is fun to read...picked up a copy of
it at MIMI BARR on 16th near Guerrero,
run by the charming DIANE VARGAS.

I tape mostly rock and roll onto the cassettes
I make, like I said, but sometimes I include
a bit of rap, some classic, some news,
weather reports, just to get a, like,
'cinema verite' audio effect, y'know...
sometimes rap has to be listened to
very closely...one from last night: was
50 CENT actually being, like, "dissed",
on this song I was hearing? It was hard to say.

Another fantastic song: SEAL,
KISS FROM A ROSE.

Random thought: "Steal your face."

Thought of a line of iambic pentameter:
"Perceptual intenser lineage."

Title for something, writers and musicians
and actors: MUSE QUEEN.

Good song: BENNY AND THE JETS, by
SIR ELTON.

Line of iambic pentameter for friend b:
"Yourself to trust - that is a special key."
We were talking about trust and love
at Delirium last night...also, b, a title:
IN LOVE WE TRUST.

More suggested songs: NO MORE MISTER
NICE GUY from ALICE COOPER,
and SHERYL CROW, ALL I WANNA DO.
And WAR, SPILL THE WINE (which was
used in BOOGIE NIGHTS, which I just
saw at the library...the HEATHER GRAHAM
nudity in that one was sanctioned by
the public library, I guess.)

Also to listen to: JACK AND DIANE,
by JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP. And
THE END OF THE INNOCENCE, by DON
HENLEY. (The Bone recently had a
listener-selected countdown of the top
hundred-and-seven CDs of all time...
HOTEL CALIFORNIA by the Eagles,
with much input from Mr. Henley,
ranked really high...the song THE LAST
RESORT really got to me...there's
a line that goes, like, "...call something
paradise/and kiss it goodbye..."

SQUEEZE BOX by THE WHO...another
suggestion.

And in the cinema, LEATHER TONGUE,
the video store on Valencia, is a
recommended stop...ALEXANDRO
JODOROWSKY is stocked there last
time I checked...also, it's my source
for the good and free ARTHUR
magazine...check that out sometime.

More songs: BOX OF RAIN by the
GRATEFUL DEAD, YOU OUGHTA KNOW
by ALANIS MORISSETTE. RHIANNON
by Fleetwood Mac. I DRINK ALONE,
GEORGE THOROGOOD. WALK LIKE AN
EGYPTIAN, THE BANGLES. USE ME -
both the BILL WITHERS and GRACE
JONES versions.

Got to listen to more of the new OUTKAST.

SANTANA, SHE'S NOT THERE - remake
of the Zombies song. MUSIC, by
MADONNA. LOVING YOU by MAXINE
NIGHTINGALE. SHAME by EVELYN
"CHAMPAGNE" KING.

Hello to GENE MAHONEY and
HARRIS ROSENBLOOM at the
"STUDIO 52" location at 52 MASON...
there's the big "HERE" sign out
front...clothing for sale there...and
it's a good party space as well...
Harris is gonna have some big
party there soon...and he's working
on some sort of magazine project
called "Junky"...a WILLIAM
BURROUGHS connection there...
and speaking of which, "cut up"
your text at REITZES.COM, in
the manner of Old Man Bill...funny
results often, uh, 'result'.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE by SLY AND
THE FAMILY STONE. And SECRET
by MADONNA. (I was really enjoying
that last one last night in my room,
me and my good buddy King Cobra.)

Recommended reading:
ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST, his one
about Studio 54, ANDY WARHOL,
that whole scene...I think the book is
called THE LAST PARTY, available
in the public library system here...as is
a companion music disc featuring
the disco hits that were so big at that
time.

Also good on the radio last night:
HOOCHIE KOOCHIE MAN by...uh...
Muddy Waters? You know I was really
liking it because I taped over some
AC/DC I had previously recorded, and
I NEVER do that.

Title for something, musicians and
painters and actors and all you all
usual and unusual suspects:
SHE'S THE 1.

Line I thought of for something:
"She's got the rhythm method."

THE BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO
is listenable...played on The Bone
last night. Also worth the listening:
SUITE: JUDY BLUE EYES...by
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young...
maybe without Neil Young.

Line I loved from MARVIN GAYE's
LET'S GET IT ON: "If the spirit
moves you/let me groove you..."

Line for some character: "Let's get
real, OK? This is the Motel San
Francisco, after all."

LYNYRD SKYNYRD has a new disc
called, I think, 'Vicious Cycles'.

DOORS, BREAK ON THROUGH.

At two a.m. this morning, the Bone
played IN THE CITY by the Eagles.

[So that's about it for the current
state of my consciousness
and conscientiousness...more later.]

#11

01. Now...sequences of songs to listen to...
apologizes to my man Clark...he loves
his streaming audio Radio One from
the UK off the Internet...

02. Four songs in this order:
I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER by D. Warwicke,
LET'S DANCE by D. Summer.
CISCO KID by WAR,
and the SEALS & CROFTS number -
the title escapes me...
it goes: "...darling if you want me to be/
closer to you, get closer to me..."

03. And five more songs:
MA CHERIE AMOUR by STEVIE WONDER,
SMOOTH OPERATOR by SADE,
LET'S GROOVE by EARTH, WIND & FIRE,
HEY 19 by STEELY DAN, and
WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS
by the Fab 4...

04. And another 5 songs:
SEXUAL HEALING by MARVIN GAYE,
LOVE AND HAPPINESS by AL GREEN,
PEACE OF MIND by BOSTON,
AIN'T NO WOMAN LIKE THE ONE I'VE GOT
by, like, who?
And: NO ONE LIKE YOU by THE SCORPIONS.
(Who have got a new CD due very, very soon.)

05. Reminder of the free show at
CLUB DELUXE at HAIGHT & ASHBURY
on the 21st of this month...9pm...
SHIMMER KIDS on the bill.

06. Another reminder:
BREAKFAST WITH HUNTER
about HUNTER THOMPSON
at the ROXIE - February 27th
until the third of March...check the
theater for times.

07. LADYFEST also happening...
got to get more info about this
myself.

08. JIM CAMPILONGO,
fabulous guitarist, is playing in
PETALUMA in April...check GOOGLE
for more information.

09. ALLEN COHEN,
THE SAN FRANCISCO ORACLE...
Google on these names.

10. SUFIS...check into this topic...
ROBERT GRAVES and IDRIES SHAH
are names in this field.

11. PISCES ISCARIOT
by THE SMASHING PUMPKINS...
version of
A GIRL NAMED SANDOZ...got to
look into this.

12. JAMES CARSES and
FINITE AND INFINITE GAMES...
Google on that, y'all.

13. LEON RUSSELL...

14. HERBERT HUNCKE.

15. AMY TIPTON - shout out to
her and DUSTIN WELLS...
of the NEW COLLEGE
ROCK AND ROLL WRITING class.

16. Consider this group of
individuals:
RALPH "SONNY" BARGER,
WILLIAM IRWIN THOMPSON, and
XAVIERA HOLLANDER...start
Googling, y'all.

17. CHET HELMS...
ARTEMIS GALLERY...
digital photographs by the man
there...545 SUTTER...check it out...

18. LOST SKELETON at
THE LUMIERE...

19. BLIND WILLIE MCTELL...
STATESBORO BLUES...he did it
before THE ALLMAN BROTHERS.

20. MISS GODDARD ESSEX...
character name...any takers?

21. ALDOUS HUXLEY in
LOS ANGELES.

22. Line of dialogue I thought of:
"Sunset or La Cienega, motel-wise?"

23. WALKING ON THE MOON
heard this morning...STING at
VIRGIN MEGASTORE...that was,
at time of this blogging, about
one-point-five hours ago...guess
he's on his way elsewhere by now.

24. "No need to ask." - line from
Sade's "Smooth Operator".

25. Hello to FRANCISCO MIDDLE SCHOOL -
notably TINA, KATHERINE, KATY, and
LOREENA ("the ever mysterious")...and
also to those not pictured...picked up
a copy of their zine at MIMI BARR on
16th near Albion recently...DIANE VARGAS
runs that fine establishment...another
event is happening there soon...
check there for more information.

26. This morning, a little before eleven,
finished off forty ounces of KING COBRA,
my current pocketbook's choice of
beverage...listening at that time to
PEOPLE ARE STRANGE by THE DOORS,
and having thoughts of JET LI.

27. THE BACK SISTERS,
Jilly and Jenny. And more to come.

28. Beginning of another song list:
Doors, "People are Strange"...into
HOTEL CALIFORNIA by THE EAGLES.
Then MOTEL SAN FRANCISCO,
by...

29. ZONE HOME - title for something.

[Sheesh - look at the time!
Gotta go 4 now...later...
e-mail at hamiltonstarplane@hotmail.com]

#10

01. Thanks to my man CLARK
for the advice about the
CLICKABLE LINK - see
http://starplane.blogspot.com
for this, like, clickable link, OK?

02. I am beginning to CUT UP
these blogs, in the fashion of
WILLIAM BURROUGHS and
BRION GYSIN and
THE SURREALISTS...see
REITZES.COM for the software
to do this yourself...please, please,
please, in the words of JAMES BROWN,
do this to yer own material, and
this blog as well, OK...thanks.

03. T. ARTHUR COTTAM - a good
filmmaker, by my humble estimation...
see his APATHETIC PORNOGRAPHIC
at the recent SAN FRANCISCO
INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL -
at sfindiefest.com...for info...
he has got a new one with no
female nudity, a character piece,
that he's working on...more power
2 him.

04. Oh, yeah...this is how the
Far West was 1, OK?

05. LUCIFER'S OUT OF WORK STRIP
CLUB BAND was featured at
"humble host" Clark's recent
benefit for the club at DIVISADERO
& HAIGHT...check it out...at
2012AD.com.

06. ALLEN COHEN - of
THE SAN FRANCISCO ORACLE -
is ailing...DONNA at CELIA's
weekly event is concerned.

07. THE LOST SKELETON at
THE LUMIERE at CALIFORNIA &
POLK is a film worthy of the seeing.

08. GOOGLE on all of this.

09. CLUB DELUXE - the 21st
of February...9pm...free show...
HAIGHT & ASHBURY...
SHIMMER KIDS and, like,
SUBPOP CONSORTIUM...
or a name like that...great flyer -
really Sixties!

10. STING at VIRGIN MEGASTORE -
tomorrow...noon.

11. LIBERATIONRADIO.NET...
check it out - 93.7 FM.

12. MYSTERIOUS POWERS -
a concept to consider.

13. A line of iambic pentamer -
please check out what the
first letters of each word spell:
"Vibration aura gives - it never
asks."

14. Requested a biography of
JET LI at the SAN FRANCISCO
PUBLIC LIBRARY.

15. MARTIN'S...great place
every day for free soup -
at POTRERO @ 16TH STREET.

16. BREAKFAST WITH HUNTER -
film coming up at the ROXIE
movie palace at 16TH & VALENCIA...
February 27th to March 3rd...
inquire about times..all about
HUNTER S. THOMPSON,
a great journalist.

17. LADYFEST is coming up soon...
get involved...saw a flyer for it at that
clothing store near 16th &
Valencia...Google on it, yeah!

18. Guess that's about it 4 now,
y'all...contact me at
HAMILTONSTARPLANE@HOTMAIL.COM...

Alrighty then, droogas 'n' droogs...
number 9, number 9, number 9's on line,
'n' here it is:

IN #0009 by Velcro Fly
A song to lissen 2:
AC/DC, "What Do You Do For the Money"...
from 'Back in Black'...
check that sh*t out, all y'all...
"The Bone", 107.7 FM,
has been doing a great countdown
on listener-selected CDs...
AC/DC ranks high...check that stuff out...
altho' my man Clark luvs hiz British house...

Also, LiberationRadio.net...
on the f*ckin' 'net...check that
out as well, hell...
it's damn local, awright...thanks...
and perhaps open 2, like, change?

Also, why not lissen 2 more
AVRIL LAVIGNE, okay?
She's Canadian - give 'er a break, OK?
And other good singers that we will
name at this site in days 'n' night 2 cum...

Also, ZAP...COMPUTER LOVE...
maybe download the lyrics...try it, f*ck.

And the lyrics to FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH...
by CSNY...was NEIL YOUNG, a Scorpio,
in on that 1? And DAVID CROSBY
ain't 2 bad, either...try SOUTHERN CROSS,
OK...thanks 2 U.

And IN DA CLUB...50 CENT...
GOOGLE on "da" lyrics, okay...thanks.

Here is pertinent information:
hamiltonstarplane@hotmail.com...

The VIRGIN MEGASTORE...what th' f*ck.
At STOCKTON at MARKET STREET
in SAN FRANCISCO...thank you.
Sting will be there this week...Wednesday...
noon...worth a visit.

And: SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY....
maybe you can "hang" there...get a card,
get some books or audio books or
CDs or videos or VCRs...thanks.
Jet Li would thank you if he had any
material there...not sure if he does...
he should.

And: REITZES.COM to cut up
yer material...check it out...that's in the
direct lineage of WILLIAM BURROUGHS and
BYRION GYSIN and THE SURREALISTS
of, like, freakin' Paris, France, okay?

Also: did Orson Welles do a version
of 'Don Quixote'...I thought so, but maybe
I'm wrong.

Lyrics to FIREFALL song YOU ARE THE WOMAN
- download that sh*t, OK?

Try some MADEIRA wine, OK? It's mellower than
port, which is fine, which is what my
very long-time colleague b likes...but me,
I like madeira...have sum madeira, m'dears...
awright, awright, awright...

[That is about it 4 now...
"shout out" 2 good buddy Clark...
good work @ th' cabaret...
luv'd yer work on th' photos...
am lookin' 4-word 2 yer work @
liberationradio.net, their site...
and in th' live words of
James Douglas Morrison,
"...awright, awright, awright..."
peace - I mean, war...out...
I mean, golden mean, in...]

IN #0008 by Velcro Fly

[This blog today is dedicated to my fine
and good man Clark - spent an hour with
him in his office at Geary near Powell this
past week - he's always informative...and
I also helped yesterday setting up a bit
at the benefit cabaret he was involved with
at the club on Divisadero near Haight...
he got me into the mode of getting back
to this blog instead of e-mailing pages...
so here it is.]

Okay, okay, awright...been a long time since
we rock 'n' rolled this blog, droogs...don't have
but twenty minutes to get this installment
thrown down...we are going back in this
time machine six days...several images and
ideas seemed noteworthy enough to
scrawl onto the paper I'm working on:

01. Was passing the ROXIE THEATER there
on 16th and Valencia after having visited
a friend and was glad to find free boxes
of popcorn lined up outside - celebration-
related to the SAN FRANCISCO INDEPENDENT
FILM FESTIVAL, I guess...there's an upcoming
film about CARLOS CASTANEDA to be shown
there at that theater also.

02. Back in my room in the TENDERLOIN
close to midnight - I tuned in "THE BONE"
classic rock station, which I do just to
see if their programming is listenable -
which it often isn't...they had played
some of the new COURTNEY LOVE,
'AMERICA'S SWEETHEART'...

03. Am listening to a twenty-cassette
set featuring FRANK SINATRA radio
appearances, mostly from the Forties...
FRED ALLEN really kinda rocks, if you
want my opinion of ancient history.

04. Quote from Sinatra I liked:
"..a shabby piece of miscasting..."

05. Then, the next note is after
a night of sleep, at eight a.m. -
had some AC/DC playing, the
second side of DIRTY DEEDS
DONE DIRT CHEAP...good quote:
"...if you've got the dollar/we've got
the song..." - which would've
applied to Sinatra as well, Goddess
bless his soul.

06. On the Bone about that time
as well, Tesla, their cover of
THE FIVE MAN ELECTRICAL BAND's
"SIGNS", from the Seventies.

07. Played, on my little music box,
side two of 'AFTERBURNER',
by Z.Z. TOP...rock and roll doesn't
do much better than "Planet of
Women".

[Freakin' Christ...there are real
buttholes talking way too loud in
this drop-in computer center...
am having some difficulty
concentrating due to the
effluent emerging from their
absurd pie holes.]

08. Later that morning,
at the downtown library,
was able to play the library
copy of 'BOOGIE NIGHTS'...
noteworthy:

09. BURT REYNOLDS is
great in it.

10. A sequel idea:
BOOGIE DAWNS...
SAN FRANCISCO alleys would
be a feature.

11. ROLLERGIRL...she's
"gotta go pee", touching her
crotch.

12. Line I thought of about
Rollergirl: "Tits dat just don't quits."

13. Real porn star NINA HARTLEY
appears.

14. Extreme close-ups of Rollergirl
in her high school class, and of
the Burt Reynolds character.

15. Angelic look on the face of
HEATHER GRAHAM as Rollergirl
as she's about to perform oral sex -
that's what I call acting.

16. "Aim it at her tits." - theatrical
direction...Rollergirl starts up
Melanie's "Brand New Key" on the
stereo.

17. "Spill the Wine" by War on
the soundtrack.

[Whatever else...a combination
of beer and the irrititating loudmouths
in this drop-in center and the
shrinking time limit have got me
on the verge of going ballistic...
I am capable of a better blog than
this...please check, if you have
any sort of mind to, the previous
seven blogs in this series...]

IN #0007 by Velcro Fly

Meant to do my usual Wednesday selection
from the local San Francisco freebies,
but got caught up in text manipulation...
see the JUST novel pages I am e-mailing
along with the CUT UP MACHINE pages...
the poem THIS is continuing to be worked
on long-hand style - will get back to that...
but JUST is consuming attention...
I am sending these new pages in the body
of the e-mails, so you won't have to bother
with opening attachments...
anyway, feedback desired...CUT UP MACHINE
results from sticking the straight pages
of JUST into a text rearranger, and editing
the results into a desired state...
wilder and crazier text, I think...
I have got the pulled pages from the freebies
in my pocket and have got to get to 'em
at some point...whatever...anyway,
a lot of what you can use immediately
is contained in JUST and in its rearranged mode...
later.

IN #0006: "Local Freebies" by Velcro Fly

Okay, it's Wednesday in San Francisco,
and that can mean any number of things,
but for sure it means that our local freebies
are out for the delectation thereof...
as I did last week, I pulled select pages
from the two papers and am listing them
here for you, so you don't have to bother...
these are 'my' selections, anyway...
and you are not free to differ...

01. THE DECAMERON, the PIER PAOLO PASOLINI
take on the BOCCACCIO classic, from the
Seventies, will be showing at the Yerba Buena
Center for the Arts. From what I know of his
work I don't think I like most of it much,
but this one might be excellent. Had to
read excerpts from the big book back in
Berkeley when I was schooling there -
a lot of material for the ambitious filmmaker.

02. FOOL ME ONCE, a novel set in
"post-Beat, pre-hippie" San Francisco -
never heard of it, but it sounds good...
author is BILL PIEPER...much of the action
takes place in NORTH BEACH, so that's
good...it's from 1964...and he'll be appearing
free at the North Beach branch of
THE SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY, too.

03. MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY event
at the Randall Museum...never been there,
but I'm up for learning more about
mushrooms, especially of the magical variety.

04. ACTIVATING THE MEDIUM FESTIVAL
at the SOMARTS CULTURAL CENTER...
"sound art"..."sound artists create works
that are limited by neither the rules of melody
nor traditional instrumentation." This
might start getting on my nerves after a
while, since I mostly prefer straight up
rock and roll and audio books, but
it's interesting...former roomate b
brought me a card for this event last
night when I met her at Mel's on Van Ness
(and thereafter quickly moved across the
street to the much-more-excellent
TOMMY'S JOYNT)...

05. WILLIAM GIBSON to appear tomorrow
night at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books...
he's always been a favorite of mine...
his PATTERN RECOGNITION is out in paperback...
free admission...saw him a while back at
a Fort Mason book fair when he was
pushing another book...

06. SAN FRANCISCO INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
from tomorrow til mid-month at various venues...
my e-mail correspondent T. Arthur Cottam has
got a short flick there...and as I said before,
the movie about ROBERT ANTON WILSON is
my choice for best of fest.

07. AXUM - ad for the Ethiopian restaurant -
actually, the ad was for AXUM WEST on Polk -
there's another in the LOWER HAIGHT...
what makes this place for me, and all
Ethiopian restaurants for me, is the HONEY WINE.
CAFE INTERNATIONAL, also in that
eastern side of Haight,
also has the stuff per glass. Yummy.

08. FREE WILL ASTROLOGY by the
incomparable ROB BREZSNY...I really feel
his column this week has a lot to say to me,
a Scorpio..."spacious silence" is what he
recommends for us, Scorpio tribespeople.
Final word: "Quiet your thoughts, slow down
your pace, and drop out of every frenetic
game, at least for now." Gotta take that to
heart and mind.

09. LISA DOMICO, lovely model in the current
24 Hour Fitness ads...Olympic hopeful in the
long jump...there's a joke in there about the
jumping of her bones, but I won't go there
any more than I already have.

10. NEW COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA
SCHOOL OF LAW...of interest to me
since the great JOHNNY SPAIN was
teaching there, last I heard...GOOGLE
on his name for a book about him
and his historical past. (And, of course,
Google on any of these capitalized items.)

11. INDIEFEST - shorter name for the
aforementioned San Francisco festival -
article on it and some of the highlights...
'Haute tension' is talked about - some
really bloody movie...not of interest to
me...

12. DAVID BOWIE - full page color ad
for upcoming Berkeley Community Theatre
performance...he was just in San Jose
a few days ago..."there's a star man
waiting in the sky/he'd love to come and
meet us/but he thinks he'd blow our mind..."

13. INTERSECTION FOR THE ARTS -
review for the new Denis Johnson play...
I'm not into live stage that much...
mostly I'd like to get friend Joe Albert
hooked up with this organization somehow
when he gets back to San Francisco...he
worked for ACT for years and loves the
atmosphere of the live theater.

14. GOOD VIBRATIONS - big color ad
across several pages...several of the books
advertised I'd buy...but I can't even afford a copy of
'The Chronicle', sheesh...whatever.

15. JOHN CLEESE of MONTY PYTHON
to be in the area soon, including at the
Herbst Theatre and San Rafael. He's
made me laugh so much over so many years.

16. GALLERI ad...porn DVD sellers in
South San Francisco...knew a person who
worked there over Christmas...I've seen
about one thing in the DVD format ever...
the main library has DVD players for free,
I think, in case I need one...
I'm not seeing many movies lately -
just got SWINGERS out from the library
and watched it at one of their stations...
and on request I've got THE SIDEWALKS OF
NEW YORK and BOOGIE NIGHTS...so you
see where my filmic interests are.

17. THE BIG BOUNCE reviewed, but the
print ad with the superlative ass of
SARA FOSTER is nowhere to be found
this week...so it is on its way out...
and I already gave my opinion of
this movie last week. The only recent
movies that I wanted to see were
PAYCHECK and HONEY.

18. Full page ad for the INDIEFEST...
sponsors, two of them, that are of
the most interest: THE PHOENIX MOTEL,
there on Eddy at Larkin in the Tenderloin,
very close to where I'm living now,
and RAINBOW GROCERY. Will be getting
my food stamp card's account refilled
at midnight tonight and will be going to
the superlative Rainbow for REJUVELAC,
KOMBUCHA, RED BULL, and PANAXEA,
an herbal drink of Jamaican origin that
I find excellent.

And, while I'm at this, might as well
mention the few items from the recent
ROLLING STONE that I find most
interesting - someone bought me
a subscription once, so it is also
in the freebie category:

01. JET LI featured in new video game
called RISE TO HONOR. This looks like
it features the actual moves of the man -
y'know, like he was fitted out with
body electronics to transfer his precise
moves into the computer...

02. Article on TIM LAHAYE, who is
telling up that the Apocalypse and
Satan are here now.

03. SKYY VODKA ad featuring
HEATHER GRAHAM. (Already saw
this one...when I first saw it, wasn't
sure it was her...thanks to Google
for verifying this for me in nearly
no time.)

04. YES, the rock band, new three-CD
set, ad for this...ROGER DEAN art
on the cover - I could see really
immersing myself in their sound just now.
Along with a good supply of Skyy.
And some good food from Rainbow.

05. Review of THE DREAMERS,
new sexy film from Bernardo Bertolucci.
Inset is a photo from LAST TANGO IN
PARIS, MARLON BRANDO and
Maria Schneider in a seated position.

06. Review of 'The Big Bounce'...reviewer
says all the actors are fine, even Sara
Foster, but nothing at all works except
for one scene. One star. And no photo
of Foster.

07. CHARTS page showing what's hot in
music...glad that SHERYL CROW is up at
#2 on the album charts, second only to
OUTKAST...her song about STEVE MCQUEEN,
I must've played that four dozen times
when I first got turned on to it...
and also, I'd get the LUDACRIS CD,
CHICKEN-N-BEER...and THE EAGLES new best
of...and that is just about darn it on this
list...I don't have a CD player just now,
but I'm getting by okay on stuff I already
recorded on cassette and what's on the
radio - specifically, THE BONE at 107.7 FM...
and audio books, several of 'em...
and Brezsny's "spacious silence"....
tho' I am tending to fill it with verbiage.

[So I've taken up enough of your time
with my interests for now...
still got to list the three dozen other
books I've got out from the library
or have on request...I'm sure you
can't wait to get your eyeballs on that, eh?]

IN #0005 by Velcro Fly

It's been a few days since posting...
just, like, getting the ol' head together a bit...
there's a growing archive of material to check...
this is meant to be something of an inspiration
to do your own research and whatever's clever...
I mean today to be a look into the thirty-six
items I've got checked out from
THE SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY...
available 24/7 online at SFPL.ORG...
but before that, there's some e-mailed
material that got to me that you might find
interesting:

1) The latest newsletter from the good
raw food folks at RAWFOOD.COM...
I think the system outlined in the book
NATURE'S FIRST LAW is worthy of attention,
even though I'm not following it too much...
gotta start doing more REJUVELAC
and KOMBUCHA...will do so, at RAINBOW
GROCERY, when my EBT food stamp card
kicks in in less than 48 hours...DAVID WOLFE
is a main man for this group...check him
and all the capitalized words on GOOGLE.COM...
expanded edition of his book EATING FOR BEAUTY
is out...

2) The band LUCID is playing at StudioZ soon...
knew a guy that was in DIONYSIA, which is
related somehow to the Lucid crew...I think
this group's into 21st-century paganism...
a smart bunch from what I have heard of
Dionysia...Google on them.

3) Message from filmmaker T. Arthur Cottam,
who'll be having a short movie at
THE SAN FRANCISCO INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
this month soon...he's into some stripe
of arty pornography, I think...not sure exactly
what his flick's about...but my choice for
absolute must-see at that festival is the one
about ROBERT ANTON WILSON...SFINDIE.COM
for more information...there will be a few
screening locations in THE MISSION DISTRICT,
plus parties at the fine 500 CLUB
on GUERRERO @ 17TH...oh, I've read T. Arthur's
message more carefully: the showing is six
days hence, at THE WOMEN'S BUILDING -
3543 18th...he'll be giving away free
"post-coital soap", plus Astroglide lubricant...
this after the entrance fee's paid...I think it's
ten bucks...that leaves me out...maybe he'll
trade some poetry for entrance, the THIS
material...or maybe he'll trade some of my
food stamp card money...whatever.

And now, the promised rundown of the
items I've checked from the library:

01. FOOD OF THE GODS
by TERENCE MCKENNA - remember, Google
on all these capped items...the late
mushroom master does a wizard's job
of telling about psychoactive substances
across a vast panorama of history.

02. THE STRAIGHT MIND
by MONIQUE WITTIG - essays by the
lesbian feminist scholar...she has
also authored a novel about a group
of women declaring total war against
men, so that's intriguing.

03. TALES OF BEATNIK GLORY
by ED SANDERS...fantastic
chronicle of the Yippie's days and
nights in New York in the Sixties.

04. A GRAND GUY - about
TERRY SOUTHERN...he wrote a
lot of amazing text...the screenplay
for DR. STRANGELOVE and
EASY RIDER among those he took
part in.

05. THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS
by ROBERT HEINLEIN - an audio book,
unabridged...must admit that I am
having a mental hassle getting through
these eleven 90-minute cassettes...but
I'm almost there...I'm not a big Heinlein
fan, but since ABBIE HOFFMAN, another
Yippie like Sanders, was said to have
liked it, I got into it to...good ideas, but
not for everyone...revolutionaries on the
Moon.

06. VAN MORRISON - a biography...
one of my absolute favorite singers.

07. BREWING MEAD - honey wine
recipes...got a man I'm gonna get
two quarts of honey plus a bit of yeast
to, and he says he can ferment this.

08. THE ACTIVE SIDE OF INFINITY
by CARLOS CASTANEDA - another audio
book...have in text, also by the man,
THE WHEEL OF TIME and MAGICAL
PASSES - all recommended. And
THE ROXIE on 16th near Valencia is
screening a biographical film about him
this month too, so Google for all that.

09. THE WHEEL OF TIME...just mentioned
that...more Castaneda...selections from
all the Don Juan books - nice intro to
this material, short excerpts, with
additional explanatory material from Carlos.

10. THE RUBA-IYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM -
the classic Persian poem...not the Richard
Burton translation.

11. TO THE LIMIT - a biography of
THE EAGLES...I like these band bios...
DON HENLEY, solo and with this band,
is just another of the greats of music in
our time...the mead maker to be gave me
a cassette copy of THE LONG RUN, and
have been enjoying that much...especially
"THOSE SHOES"...wanna get a copy of
ONE OF THESE NIGHTS sometime...

12. MAGICAL PASSES - the aforementioned
Castaneda book...presents in text and
pictures some sort of shamanic physical
system...this is also available at, like,
FIELDS BOOKS in video format, which
would be a better way to see how the
moves go.

13. RAGE & ROLL: a biography of
BILL GRAHAM...good material about
JIM MORRISON...Graham was reportedly
upset with Morrison's prima donna ways...
he called The Lizard King "God Jr."...

14. WAITING FOR THE SUN
by fantastic British journalist
BARNEY HOSKYNS...all about the
LOS ANGELES music scene in the Sixties...
lots of pictures, and a great list of songs
about L.A. at the end...

15. THE MEMOIRS OF ELIZABETH
FRANKENSTEIN...by scholar THEODORE
ROSZAK...interesting for the sections
of editorial comments about things
tantric.

16. PLAIN SPEAKING - HARRY TRUMAN
talking.

17. NOW DIG THIS - a section of
material from the career of Terry Southern.

18. WORMHOLES - essays by author of
THE MAGUS, JOHN FOWLES. (Got put into
this guy's work again since TIM LEARY
quoted from 'The Magus' in HIGH PRIEST...
available for library use only at the
Main branch in the Civic Center...
it's one of those items no one can
check out...there's a very special
Jim Morrison item called STRANGE TIMES,
from Germany, that's kept even
more reserved, on the 6th Floor,
in the San Francisco history department -
check for "Grabhorn" in the electronic
catalog if you are interested.

[Well, dear blog readers...there are 18
more texts to describe, but I'll leave
that for another day...not to mention
the 18 items on hold that have yet to
arrive...I am pushing the envelope on
just how much the library will allow any
one individual to take out...but I get
the material back in time...tomorrow,
the 'Weekly' and 'Guardian' come out,
so, like last week, I'll probably pull out
items of interest and relate those to you...
feedback desired...ciao 4 now.]