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SWEET DANGO
ANOTHER SET OF WORDS FOR YOU TO READ -/THEY QUALIFY AS LEAF AND BRANCH AND SEED...
Saturday, April 29, 2006
FAN DANGO #378 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 1) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…e-mail from my Pasadena friend A., which I reproduce here for you ‘cause I like it:
“From l.a., to n.b., to la mision, to the loin, and back to l.a. - soundslike a nice life. you're right, one thing a move to l.a. will be is adiminished experience with a dense population and the things that come withit.
but ahhh, the l.a. climate, the l.a. summer heat baking away allmicroscopic lifeforms - making the asphalt and cement devoid of smellydecomposing matter. all of california is beautiful - all it's places havegreat things going for them - but south of the tehachapis and the garlockfault... that's where life is desert clean. i like your geographic extentin l.a., although personally i'd move the box a little north.
i'll chill a bottle of sangria.”
…well, there’s a lot going on there, A. – yeah, I’d move the box a bit north, into the hills…north of, like, Los Feliz…but I absolutely don’t think “diminished experience” is how I’d typify L.A., bro’! No fuckin’ way! Maybe you think that ‘cause you’ve been there for these many years…me, I’ve been in San Francisco since ’97, and it’d be a fan-fuckin’-tastic change back to fantastic L.A. – got that from “Peace Frog” by the Doors: ”…bloody red sun of Phantastic L.A.” To be precise, just Googled on the lyrics…yeah, “fantastic” spelled that way, with a capital P…hmmm – I guess I’ll adopt that spelling…phan-fuckin’-tastic…and don’t mind the dense population at all…yeah, the Los Angeles summer heat, the concrete…I’m a city boy for sure…the country is okay for a brief visit, but gimme the city life…reminds me of “In the City” by the Eagles…more lyrics…just Googled on the song…well, it’s kinduv an ‘anti’-city song…mention made of the “neon sky”…heck, I used to be a Scorpio, but ‘Neon’ is ‘my’ sign now…
…yeah, that sangria, yum! I’ll have 800 bucks more in my account by the third…got a hundred-twenty something this morning…so maybe I’ll make that weekend excursion south sooner than perhaps expected…Googled on Southwest airfares – 88 bucks round trip, maybe…a red eye would do…will get back to you about this…gotta pay rent and other items, so I might just have enough to take a midnight flight, stay for a coupla three days, maybe…
Thursday, April 27, 2006
FAN DANGO #377 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…another nice e-mail from my Pasadena pal and former co-worker A. – he’s welcoming me to visit…it’s just a matter of the bus fare and a few walking-around bucks – I can stay at his and his lady’s place cost-free…so this is now on my mind…my renters’ rebate cash, about 300 bucks, might be mine in two or three months, so that could be spent for the trip south…
…and back to the usual: this morning took a Boone’s Farm bottle of Brita-filtered water out to my man P. on the street to keep him hydrated – he used to live in the hotel but didn’t pay rent for the longest, so the management hadda send him on his way…substance issues…well, he’s tougher than I am…I like a roof over my head and a locking door, I’m funny that way…couldn’t be at all happy on the street…
And thought of a good title for something, maybe a movie, or whatever: ‘Seeing Things’…I think I thought of that ‘cause I’ve got a stardusting of glitter on my face now and have been joking when people comment on it to the tune of: “Glitter? What glitter? You’re seeing things…” My sense of humor, such as it is…
And had a rare little sniff or two of speed yesterday – was with a coupla guys in the hotel who are into that…I’m not a white powder kinda guy, avoid it, but thought I’d go for it, what the heck – was a pretty good experience, actually – but I barely did any…one of the other dudes actually injected the stuff…did that myself just once, around ’89, before I moved to L.A. – was working with a guy who did it a whole lot with his girlfriend and I decided to try it…that was a bad experience, felt sick…won’t ever be injecting drugs again…but yesterday was mainly under the influence of the vermouth that Odd Fellow brother P. gave me as thanks for helping, trying to help, with a problem he had…
And on the tube this morning, in D.’s room, a news story about the authors of ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ filing, I think, a lawsuit against Dan Brown, author of ‘The Da Vinci Code’, for similarity of theme…haven’t read that second book…there’s a new movie with Tom Hanks…not gonna see it. As far as theatrical movies go, anyone reading this blog knows the one I want to see, that Bettie Page flick with the mindblowing Gretchen Mol, at the Clay, on Fillmore…getting money in three days, and it’s likely it’ll still be there – I’m willing to pay the seven bucks and 75 cents for that pleasureable viewing experience…
And thought of another title for something: ‘Brouhaha’…with the embedded word “bruja”, which is Spanish for a female witch, I believe, and the “ha ha” humorous angle – I like funny movies…could be a Gretchen Mol vehicle, maybe…she’s got
FAN DANGO #377 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
the stuff to inspire a scribbler like me do something else besides
blogging…something fictional, and funny, and high-energy…stay tuned…
And also last night was given six or so codeine “threes” – not sure what the number means – a designation of strength, I guess…had ‘em but didn’t really feel much to speak of…had two left this morning and gave one to a guy in pain in the hotel – he appreciated it…just recreational to me, and not a regular thing…
And have to mention watching ‘The Twilight Zone’ this morning, which airs on the SciFi Channel…saw the end of one, one of the rare humorous ones. Then there was a really hysterical one set in a small-town diner in which one of the patrons was a Martian but it wasn’t for certain which one…just Googled to get the title: “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?”…recognized one of the players, really chewing up the scenery, Jack Elam, a classic character actor…hadda get to the library to blog on a computer before it was over, but D., in whose room I was watching this, told me what happened, ‘cause I was really curious…well, it was kinduv a mindblower, ‘cause I believe the Martian was revealed and turned out to have a third arm. But that’s not all – the soda jerk also reveals his extraterrestrial origins, taking off his soda jerk cap to reveal the big third eye on his forehead – he was from Venus…great stuff from writer and show host Rod Serling…
And there was a commercial on the SciFi Channel for some drecky flick called ‘Mammoth’ – yeah, about some fuckin’ wooly mammoth wreaking mayhem in the present day. Notable only, perhaps, for featuring Tom Skerritt, who played the captain in the first ‘Alien’…geez, at least he’s working…in a choice role opposite a giant prehistoric elephant…probably a Juilliard grad, fercrissakes…
And checked into eBay for one of the first times in my life, in search of another L.A. friend of mine, Eugene, who sells music through it…hadda sign up myself to get to send a message to him, and didn’t wanna bother…don’t wanna somehow start getting junk e-mails ‘cause of this…gotta get through to him someway else…mutual friend A. says he works at a place called Poo Bah’s Records…just Googled…in Pasadena…can give the place a call and get in touch that way…
And actually fulfilled my jury duty responsibility today…hadda get to the building at Polk and McAllister, right across from City Hall, at 1 this afternoon…took an hour but was outta there, and gladly…they roll called dozens of names at the end, the ones dismissed from serving, and I was on that list…thought I’d hafta stay there for hours, but didn’t happen that way – was then happily out on the street with Pink on my Walkman as I headed back to the ‘hood…
FAN DANGO #376 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…great two songs in a row on some San Francisco FM radio station: Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” – first time I heard that one, and it’s fan-fuckin’-tastic – really love the other one by her I’ve heard a lot, “These Words” – the video is very cute as well – saw it several times on the ‘California Music Channel’…and the second in a row was “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire…Star one-zero-one-point-three is the number for that station…a tip of the backward baseball cap to them for those selections…
And just got a nice e-mail from my Pasadena friend A. – he said he ran into a mutual friend Eugene the other day at the post office…the guy sells music on eBay – A. says E. bought a Mike Oldfield record for a buck and sold it for seven-hundred-and 30! Now ‘that’ is how you deal in music, my friend…
…which reminds me of that quote by Steve McQueen’s Vin in ‘The Magnificent Seven’ – he’s talking to the Eli Wallach Mexican bandit leader, Calvera, saying “We deal in lead, friend.” Now, for a music trader and buyer and seller like my man E., it would be: “We deal in Led, friend…” – Led Zeppelin, that is – would be a good name for a music store…got that line from a magnificent site that has a whole lotta quotes from that super-quotable Western…Google on it – it’s through Wikiquote…
And opened up that Anthony Quinn autobiography at random and got a line that Marlon Brando told the man for some reason: “Who knew you had any talent?” Sounds like the kinda backhanded jab that Marlon would profer to a rival actor that he respected…if “profer” is the right word and spelling…
And thought about Jonah Hex, the Western comic book character…gotta get some of that one…a real anti-hero…probably recommended, if I recall the image correctly…and I think I do…
And last night got glitter in a tube from P., a friend on the street, and have that on my face and clothes, making something of a spectacle of myself…more than the usual spectacle, that is…
And that reminds me of that Mariah Carey movie, ‘Glitter’…she’s something…tho’ last I saw of her on the tube she might be morphing into Aretha Franklin, geez…used to be a real slim but built lady – that’s the way
FAN DANGO #376 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
I like ‘em, as I said…see the likes of Gretchen Mol for the look that flips my fuckin’ lid up one side and down the other then back again, repeatedly…
And speaking of Earth, Wind & Fire, have got a few of theirs from a concert in Rio on the side of a cassette, including their fan-fuckin’-tastic cover of “Got to Get You Into My Life”…love those guys!
And to be somewhat non-sequitir-ish about it – actually, checked on Google for the spelling of that Latin – it’s “non sequitur”…there’s the description in the Stephen Davis Morrison biography about how the Lizard King was ultra-royally pissed when the three other Doors members sold “Light My Fire” to a car company without his approval…the usage went: “Come on Buick, light my fire…” It signaled the end of band chumminess…
And thought of a joke phone number that somehow made me laugh: 1-800-FUCK YOU…do you like my sense of humor?
And got four appointments today, which is unusual: one pm, gotta get to the jury building and see about my possible duty…hopefully, whoever is choosing will take one look at me and my glitter and ripped jeans and long hair and such and tell me my services aren’t required, but thanks anyway…
Then at 2 this afternoon, possibly I’ll see my Zen reverend friend Jana at the Pierre Hotel – she’s having a meditation group there…with homemade baked goodies…
Then at 5, there’s a tenant meeting at the hotel…and at 6, one of the bi-weekly Odd Fellows meetings…so that’s a pretty full schedule for me…and I didn’t mention the computer center time that I wanna get to somewhere in there to blog out another two pages and add to that stack o’ verbiage…
And…got myself some rum last night…might go with that…two bucks for a plastic half-pint…pirate drink…and here’s a heroic couplet – rhymed lines of iambic pentameter – reportedly introduced by Chaucer, none other than: “…empirical enforcers empathize,/and Alvin Lee is Cat’s Banana’s prize…”
And happy with two Al Stewart songs a friend put onto a cassette some while back, “On the Border”, and “Year of the Cat”…gotta go…see ya!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
FAN DANGO #375 by Dr. Agon Fly
...here after a short visit to the artisan market, Wednesday edition...last booth checked out, the overpriced popcorn one - don't know how they get seven bucks for a bag of the stuff...and the fishmongers - can smell their wares a mile away...jumbo squid available there - reminds me of the father of my Former Lady Roommate, who cooked in the Army - he made a mean squid dish with the ink intact...and the egg sellers - "They are the egg men..." - "cage free" brown ones cost two bucks for a dozen, twice as much as the regular, cruelty-intact ova, in case you care about the welfare of poultry, which I do...and there's that Andean wooden flute guy - playing "Amazing Grace"...and nearby, three daikon wrapped together with the greenery removed...the market was crowded and the day is sunny...enjoyed orange samples, and bread dipped in olive oil...and back at the hotel, friend D. was loaned two bucks today, which he didn't spend on a 40-ouncer of beer last time I checked - he's getting into wine, apparently, because of my example, and he needs three bucks and 41 cents more to get a liter-and-a-half of Carlo Rossi Sangria...he just went to the military healthcare facility out at Fort Miley, near Ocean Beach, and got Vicodins for a hurt left shoulder, which pill he says worked well for him last night in combination with the sangria I'd given him...and on the FM band, Duran Duran's "The Reflex", which I couldn't listen to...I mean, I like a lot of their songs, like "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Girls on Film", for example, and can listen to those over and over, but cannot say the same for "The Reflex"...and near the hotel, at "the fence" at Turk and Hyde, street seller had an unusual item I wanted: a pamphlet, maybe from the Sixties, featuring a transcript of a William F. Buckley interview with Jorge Luis Borges...pretty rare...didn't have a penny for it, tho'...but 30 seconds later, crossing Turk going south, found a dime in the middle of the street and stopped even tho' the light had turned red to get it...not sure if the seller of that pamphlet woulda taken a dime for it, tho'...and there was Warlock Will and his friend M. a few minutes before that at the Cadillac corner market, checking out the beverages - told 'em I was gonna meet a friend at about 1 to get something to drink, like maybe vermouth - told 'em I'd bring it back and share...and just leaving the hotel, turned on the FM and got something I could listen to, Madonna's "Vogue"...was thinking of how I could fit Bettie Page into that rap she does in the middle of it: "...Bette Davis and Monroe, Dietrich and DiMaggio..." See, Page is a single syllable, Davis has two...
FAN DANGO #374 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…e-mail from my man C. about why I should switch from Hotmail to the Google e-mail system…3 reasons, only the last of which is relevant to me: unlimited space (am using currently only, like, 1% of my 250 Hotmail megabytes and don’t intend to use anything near even that big amount of memory), better spam filter (I very rarely get any e-mails I don’t want), and thirdly, “your emails are threaded, like a discussion”. Yeah, that last one sounds like a good idea…but heck, with my Blogger.com account supposedly I can look at responses and get more of a discussion, but I’m not using that function…well, if someone reading the thing wants to comment they can just e-mail me…
Also got a message from my friend A. in L.A. – or, actually, Pasadena…glad to have him and at least two others I am in touch with down there…really would be great to be back down there again, even for a few days…heck, a lotta people commute there and back again every day…
And to current noteworthy items, at least to my mental capacity…on the way here to the Main Branch, scanned up and up and around the FM dial but couldn’t find one darn song I wanted to listen to – usually I find ‘something’ well within a minute…the Walkman unit I’m carrying has a cassette as well, so I could get that happening…gonna be going down to Los Altos soon on Caltrain to visit a friend who’s got a massive collection of discs and vinyl, there to compile cassettes of wall-to-wall sound I like…
And was in hotel friend D.’s room this morning – he had soup cooking in his crock pot, and enjoyed that, with added cayenne…and made some iced coffee…and watched the network morning tube…case of a 19-year-old Harvard beauty who is accused of plagiarism…sample side-by-side text reveals the conclusive evidence that many sentences in this lady’s book were the same as in the supposed source document. The woman says it was not deliberate, and I am tending to believe her. The possibly-pilfered-from original author says this is “disingenuous”…gotta Google on that word…it means: “not straightforward or candid...insincere or calculating…”
And our man Barry has hit homer number 700-and-ten…just four more to tie the hot dog-luvvin’ Sultan of Swat…and it’s the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl today…interview with a young woman, I guess American, who’s caring for kids affected by the radiation…my Former Lady Roommate’s
FAN DANGO #374 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
friend was visiting that Russian area at the time of the accident while she
was pregnant and suffered a miscarriage afterwards…
…and listened to quite a lot of that Stephen Davis Morrison bio last night and some this morning – appropriate drink was a Boone’s Farm Sangria bought me by a friend in the hotel last night, who also shared some of her excellent soup with me…anyway, Davis says, of that infamous early 1969 Florida concert where Morrison supposedly exposed his penis to the audience, that this incident never happened, tho’ there was a whole lotta hassle for Jim and the Doors afterwards…
Well, not long before this, Morrison had gone under the spell of the Living Theater, a radical traveling acting troupe…they included a whole lotta nudity in their performances, and that was, apparently, affecting the Lizard King’s idea of what a rock ‘n’ roll show should be like…and speaking of the Living Theater, one of the main persons in it, one Julien Beck, starred in the second ‘Poltergeist’ as a really creepy character…one site describes the role as: “…a Jim Jonesian spirit hell bent on retribution…” Stayed in ‘my’ mind at least, that performance…
And got a call from my Odd Fellow brother P. last night…we chatted a bit about this and that…suggested taking a long walk on Geary out to the veterans’ health site out at Fort Miley…not sure if I care to walk all that far, frankly…but I’d like to spend more quality time with the man…he said I should come ‘round the lodge ‘round 1pm this afternoon and he’d give me something to drink…maybe some vermouth…yeah, I love those sweet red wines, like sangria, port…
And learned that the Staple Singers opened for the Doors at a Madison Square Garden show once…and they also performed “The Weight” with the Band on ‘The Last Waltz’…they’ll take you there…
…and it’s interesting that when Led Zeppelin first played L.A. in early 1969, it signaled a new era of rock and made the Doors seem like old fogies to the Sunset Strip teen music-going audience, says Stephen Davis…and enjoyed the inclusion of some of Lord Byron’s iambic pentameters at the start of one of the chapters in that Morrison biography…so there you go…gotta get to Googling on Gretchen Mol’s turn as Bettie Page, look at the trailer…
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
FAN DANGO #373 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…and wanted to recommend again the Bettie Page trailer…and if you Google you can find clips from the flick…like the psychedelic effect at the end of said trailer…
And as for Aleister Crowley – my Former Lady Roommate traded me a little ceramic pot with a honeybee-and-honeycomb motif on it I got for free for the guy’s Thoth tarot deck…which I have currently on loan to my hotel neighbor S. Nice little booklet comes with it that explains a whole lot…and there are, for library use only, at the Main Branch, several rare Crowley books. Gotta do that for the man’s work, protect it, since he’s a prime candidate for ripping off.
And San Francisco featured in a recent TV commercial for something called “Weekend Khakis”, from Dockers…a spin the bottle theme in it, if my notes are correct…never played that – would rather drink from one, unless the other players are cute women – didn’t have, especially, the optimum teen sex life, ha ha ha – but how many did? And there’s that Tom Waits quote: “…I’d rather have a free bottle in front of me than a pre-frontal lobotomy…”
And like I said, gave my 28-inch TV to friend in the hotel…not especially missing it…gonna get a DVD player and a new, smaller tube sometime, I spoze, but in no rush for that…I ‘do’ miss the David Spade ‘Showbiz Show’, tho’…can get my neighbor S. to tape it. Something about it I liked a lot…I mean, I’d watch each episode four times, like…every show he inserted himself into some regular program, like ‘24’, and made fun of it…
And I miss ‘Minoriteam’ as well – it’s very, very recommended, just super-wild and crazy material, based on the Jack “King” Kirby comic book art from Marvel…just 15 minutes, but it’s a very action-packed 15…
…and noted that both Charles Bronson and James Coburn, not to mention Steve McQueen, are in ‘The Great Escape’ – like a reunion of ‘The Magnificent Seven’…not to mention the Elmer Bernstein score in both – tho’ I just did…prefer the Western, tho’…
And noted Tom Ammiano talking at a Board of Supervisors meeting…on SFGTV…thought for a sec that that might be San Francisco ‘Gay’ TV and not ‘Government’ TV…
FAN DANGO #373 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
And missing also the ‘Vegan Vixen’ cable public access show …good and unusual stuff – more cute chixxx need to promote veganism…and there was an episode of ‘The Addams Family’ from ’64 that had a “Zen yogi society” reference I liked…don’t think any other show of that time (or even now) had that…but ‘Dharma & Greg’ has a lot of excellent references of that sort…
And also noted something called ‘Mechanical Bride TV’ on public access…amateur-looking production values but enjoyed watching some woman making mussels with white wine…liked it that she said “Aw, shit!” when she made a little cooking mistake…Julia Child never did that…
And did a little cooking in my hotel room myself at about that time…had free sweet onions and cut ‘em up, and my eyes started tearing…thought that might not happen since they were sweet, but that shows how much I know about it…and also in that meal – made up on my hot plate and a sauce pan I found on the street: curry given me by a guy at the Odd Fellows lodge, and a potato from somewhere…I’m okay at tending a meal like that on low heat for hours – it’s fun…tho’ I’m aware of the virtues of the raw…
…and want to note again a good free item I got on the street, that slow jams soul cassette with the worn-away lettering – reworked versions of songs like “You Are My Starship” by Norman Connors, and “Float On” by (surprise) the Floaters…and there’s the parody of that last song by, I thought, Cheech & Chong…but Googling reveals that it’s by someone else…parts of the song itself are originally pretty ridiculous, the astrology angle…
And…was at Glide for lunch this afternoon – someone said something about no more pork chops…thought she said “blow jobs”…made me think of some humorous combination of those four words, like “pork job” and “blow chop”…and while waiting to get food, down there below ground level at Glide, considered the massive weight of the building above us…and went through twice for a second wrapped sandwich, not a regular item – ham on the first, then got a second ham one that someone wanted to trade for a turkey, and so I did – didn’t care either way…discarded the bread and consumed the animal protein…and glad to run into Warlock Will when I got back to the hotel – he turned me on to a big bottle of Guinness, tho’ I am jonesing for Carlo Rossi Sangria…and called the jury duty automated number again – gotta call again tomorrow…might just be dismissed…
FAN DANGO #372 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…and thanks to Odd Fellow brother P. for giving me jobs here and there…last one was to take a handcart over to Costco at 10th and Harrison to pick up a case of small bottled waters…got six bucks for that little labor, and glad to get it…and got some beer on top of that, I believe…good exercise…
…at least that day it wasn’t raining like the previous time I did the same job, and didn’t have to pick up as much. And I knew my way around Costco better, so all in all I got back to the lodge building faster than before…
…and P. said I could use his card there to get stuff, but I, as a bachelor, don’t need 80-packs of, like, giant size Doritos guacamole flavored…guess I could distribute the stuff in large quantities to those in need, but not those in greed…but where I am now, wanna support the local small merchants and not consume-mass-quantities Costco, anyway…
…and have grapes and a coupla strawberries from a Rescue Mission delivery to the hotel covered in soil so as to start some sorta composting…
And the rest of that Rescue Mission delivery basically I ate…pasta with shrimp, and very spicy sausages…more hot than I really cared for, but I ate ‘em anyway…I am generally vegan, but the price was right for that meat…really gotta go to Whole Foods there on California near Van Ness and get super-nutrient substances and spend less on cheap wine – better idea for happiness and health…those I ‘am’ partial to that C.R. Sangria…
And loaned neighbor S. my library copy of Camille Paglia’s ‘Break, Blow, Burn’ poetry analysis text…she’s so fantastic, like the perfect way over-the-top English teacher. The introduction alone shows me a whole lot…much recommended…free at the library…
…and good meal at Glide recently – a breaded chicken patty, with rice and gravy, very satisfying…and salad with a nice light dressing…but before that, a super-long line at St. Anthony’s, so skipped that…took the 10-minute walk up to Glide and got in okay, had that chicken patty…went through twice for that, as I recall, and I don’t usually do that there…
And heard Seals and Crofts’ “Diamond Girl” on the FM recently – great one…”Summer Breeze’ also fine by the Ba’hai duo…
FAN DANGO #372 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
And wanted to thank Odd Fellow brother P. again for the great turkey meat and plain turkey meat, from up north somewhere…
And desired a dozen eggs recently for a dollar at the farmers’ market at U.N. Plaza, but didn’t have that then – one thing I can cook is a dozen hard-boiled eggs…
…well, it’s my choice – spending the money instead on Carlo Rossi Sangria, and that’s well spent…gotta find a source of more cash…still haven’t checked Craig’s List for short-term employment…Brother P. is doing all he can for me in that regard, and much appreciate it…and that reminds me – he says he’s got a major job coming up for me – putting together a handbook of some two-hundred-plus pages…he’s copying those pages now, and my job will be to assemble the actual text, for some Odd Fellows seminar, I think. So that’ll be major cash for me, to the tune of hundreds…
…and there’s a flick I missed with Fetchin’ Gretchen Mol – ‘New Rose Hotel’, from 1998…based on the William Gibson short story in ‘Burning Chrome’…I recall that it mighta played at the Roxie there on 16th near Valencia, but didn’t see it then…will seek it out if it’s got Mol in it…playing “Hiroshi’s wife” she is…directed by Abel Ferrara – also starring Asia Argento…more should be done with Gibson…they’re still trying to do something with ‘Neuromancer’…and ’Johnny Mnemonic’ wasn’t the best treatment that coulda been done with the guy’s work…
And that reminds me, my Former Lady Roommate, b, bought a copy of Gibson’s ‘Pattern Recognition’, his latest novel, and that’s special in itself, that she would seek that out to buy…as for myself, he and Tom Robbins are my favorite novelists, for very different reasons…recommended is his new collection of short pieces, ‘Wild Ducks Flying Backward’…
And speaking of Mol, she’s the cover girl on the current ‘Interview’ mag…
…and got an invite from pal A. in Pasadena to spend at least a weekend, maybe more…he and his lady – don’t think they’re married – are friends of mine from my Nineties L.A. time…so there’s a definite place to stay for at least three days, which might be enough…maybe when I get my rent rebate of about 300 bucks in a coupla three months I can head down there…
FAN DANGO #371 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
...and been watching stuff I hadn’t been before since giving my 28-inch TV to friend D.’s room, like morning news, both local and network...some okay stuff that holds my attention, especially if I’ve got a cup or three of Carlo Rossi Sangria to enjoy along with the viewing...some chef from Sonoma was, I think, in New York, after winning a contest – he prepared a delicious-looking calimari dish...I like seafood...when I see food, I eat it, ha ha ha...
And that made me think of a name for a chef: Al Dente...and his catering pal who specializes in outdoor settings, Al Fresco...
And considering some fiction...written by me, a guy, in the first person voice of a woman – thinking of calling it ‘Heavy Dates’ – maybe heavily sexual...could use the pen name “Ezo Gelin”, which is actually a type of vegan Middle Eastern soup – available for about three bucks at the Gyro King place on Grove across from a Main Branch library entrance...
And gotta get some W.C. Fields out from the library...at Vesuvio, at one end of the bar, there are a set of playing cards with quotes from the man on them, so that’s worth a visit to that famed Barbary Coast watering hole...
And am thinking of dyeing my hair blonde – or would that be “blond”, without the “e”, for a dude? They say blondes have more fun...seems like many of the icons I am drawn to have tresses of that color...
And there was our President Bush live in Irvine...tuned in ‘cause it was on my friend D.’s tube...really should pay more attention to him...
And also good, at least to ‘my’ so-called mind, are the airings of the soap opera ‘Passions’ on the Sci-Fi Channel ‘round 9am...happened upon these recently and was really caught up...helped by the sangria...never been into much daytime tube in general, and soaps specifically, but this one is capturing me...it’s not science fiction, but it’s really weird enough to somehow qualify for that designation, seems like...might just be a new pleasure, and not a guilty one, either...
And my immediate hotel neighbor S. turned me on to an audio book on disc called ‘The Know-It-All’, by A.J. Jacobs. Subtitled ‘One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World’. Now, my man S. is not
FAN DANGO #371 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
one easily impressed by a damn thing, but this one musta gotten to him. It’s the story of a guy who read every word of the thirty-two volumes of the ‘Encyclopedia Britannica’ and lived to write about it...sounds pretty good...might check it out after I get through that Davis Morrison biography...
And more about ‘Passions’, a thing I really liked: a character actually quoted the Lord Byron poem “She Walks in Beauty”...which, by the way, is in iambic octameter – that is, only eight syllables per line, unlike the pentameter, which has ten...Jim Morrison likened to a present-day Byron...
And liked the name “Mid-Day Mind Games” for a segment of FM radio on KFOG...a soundbite from ‘Taxi Driver’ used in it, a good thing...and proud of myself for recently identifying the KISS song “Beth” when I tuned into it near the end during an instrumental portion, after only a few notes...
And, variously: my composting in my room is in effect – not sure how successful it’ll be...got discarded grapes and orange rinds covered in soil...and on the street the other day, traded some Carlo & Rossi Sangria for a videocassette labeled “The Doors” – what sold me was the interesting fractalish Hindu drawing whoever made it put on the case...thought it was a Doors concert but after checking on neighbor S.’s VCR, turns out it’s just the Oliver Stone movie. S. had a few choice and cutting words about Val Kilmer...guess I agree, but the man was absolutely ‘born’ to play Morrison...
And having a hard time getting Fetchin’ Gretchen Mol off the so-called mind. Inspiring of a line of prose: “...slim, yet totally built like a proverbial titanium gazebo...” Just the way I like ‘em...
And thanks so much to hotel friend E. for the fine homemade sea bass soup he shared with me last night...I provided some of the ingredients, like the noodles and seaweed he included...the guy can make a mean dish...
And money’s coming in about six days...gotta get more of those magnetic three buck bracelets from the artisan market. And the blue Diesel clone mirrorshades I’ve been wanting for some while...yesterday gave away the green mirrorshades I’ve had for months to a destitute and ill woman who asked for ‘em, that after giving her earlier the magnetic bracelet I’d been wearing ‘round my neck...sucker for destitute and ill women, me, I spoze...
FAN DANGO #370 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
...as said previously, am slowly getting through the Stephen Davis fantastic biography of Jim Morrison...the man is perhaps the best biographer of parts of the rock and roll world we have now...first turned on to him because of his Led Zeppelin band bio, ‘Hammer of the Gods’...a lotta good facts about the life of the man they called the Lizard King...”Love Street” is Morrison’s take on his lady love Pam Courson at her 1812 Rothdell Trail home in Laurel Canyon, above Los Angeles...”she has robes and she has monkeys/lazy diamond studded flunkies...” Same location for “Our House” by Joni Mitchell – the partners there were her and Graham Nash...
...and got a hard copy of a blog entry to my friend J.J., night desk man at the hotel...mentioned him in it...how he gave me money to buy a Boone’s Farm bottle one morning...
...and...Davis isn’t make a whole lot of Morrison’s acid use, at least so far...thought the guy was literally living on the stuff...but there are 5 discs left, another six hours...just getting through the European tour, the one with the Jefferson Airplane, and the tryst with Grace Slick, documented personally by the lady in her autobiography ‘Somebody to Love?’, in case you are interested...she said the dude’s ‘thing’ was larger than average...
And interesting part about Mick Jagger visiting Morrison in L.A. in the summer of ’68 – at the time, the Doors were the hottest rock band in the world and buzz was big about their upcoming European tour...Mick was five months older than Morrison, and a rock star at that time three years longer...Mick apparently didn’t think it was important that Morrison was living in some cheap motel – tho’ by that time Mick was living in total rock star mansion luxury in London...
And mention made of William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, the Jajouka musicians of Morocco, in the context of Morrison, Jagger...Burroughs made a lotta scenes. In the indexes of many volumes about the countercultural there’s generally an entry for ‘el Hombre Invisible’, as Burroughs was known because of his ability to blend in and not be noticed...
And speaking of things Sixties, Jane Fonda in town – I think it was yesterday – to promote her book ‘My Life So Far’...delivered a lecture somewhere on Nob Hill...thought about ‘Cat Ballou’, ‘Barbarella’. Told
FAN DANGO #370 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
about this visit, which I read about in the ‘Ex’, to a guy in the hotel lobby –
he said Fonda was one of her favorite celebrities of the Sixties, that Hanoi Jane thing. Well, another guy in the hotel, a Vietnam Era vet, just ‘hates’ Fonda for the stand she took critical of American soldiers...
And...to change the subject somewhat...there’s a new film by one Stanley Nelson about Jonestown...has Kool-Aid’s reputation ever recovered from that debacle? What the fuck was up with that nut Jim Jones, anyway?
And Governor Arnold also in Frisco the same day, to attend some environmental awards...guess the guy’s sincere...saw him briefly on a TV interview...well, ‘I’ have got other more significant things to think about, like Gretchen Mol’s great ass...that Bettie Page flick is still at the Clay, I believe...checked movie listings in ‘The Onion’ and it had ‘The Princess Bride’ listed...but this just could be a midnight showing, with ‘The Notorious...’ still on during the daytime...hope it’s still there in 6 days, when I get some cash, so I can toddle over on the Geary Muni and check it out...there’s the trailer and clips of the flick on the ‘net if you Google...
And noticed this: ‘The Examiner’ is ‘half’ sports! Well, it doesn’t present itself as the fuckin’ ‘New York Times’, I guess...
And managed to get another credit liter-and-a-half glass jug of Carlo Rossi Sangria from my man Wa’il at his New Princess T.L. corner market – I call him “Wally” sometimes, as in Beaver Cleaver’s older brother, but I know the Arabic name...so it’s now twenty bucks I owe him...nice of him to do that...I suspect the fella mighta been whacked out on Vicodin or something ‘cause he’s had tooth problems, so that mighta made him more susceptible to my suggestion to let me have another jug with payment forthcoming...
And like the line in Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind”: “...a movie queen/to play the scene/of bringing all the good things out in me...”
...and...speaking of Pam Courson and Morrison...there’s also Patricia Kennealy – Courson and Morrison weren’t married, but Kennealy and the man were joined in an Celtic “handfasting” ritual, so she in effect was the guy’s wife...she wrote the book ‘Strange Days’ about life with Jimbo, and for sure those days and nights musta been strange indeed, don’t you think?
FAN DANGO #369 by Dr. Agon Fly [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
...three songs in a row I liked on a local FM radio station, and that doesn't happen often. They were: Duran Duran's "Union of the Snake", "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles, and "Jet Airliner" by the Steve Miller Band...usually, I am constantly pushing the digital numbers up and up then back down to find something, in the words of the Vanity 6 singer in "Nasty Girl", I can "use"...but there's enough on the Frisco FM band to satisfy me...and in that last song, some censoring - "funky shit going down in the city..." was changed to "funky kicks..." - and liked KOIT's choice of "Hotel California" - the album version and not the Nineties re-doing from the 'Hell Freezes Over' tour with the acoustic guitar intro...the line "they stab it with their steely knives" refers to Steely Dan...I think it was in the Barney Hoskyn's book about L.A. music, 'Waiting for the Sun' (very recommended), that I learned this...at the Seventies time the song came out the listening public apparently confused Steely Dan with the Eagles...the Dan's Fagen and Becker had an Eagles reference in one of theirs: "...turn up the Eagles the neighbors are listening..."...and: got a buck from immediate hotel neighbor S. the other night - spent it at the Empire Market for a buck canned pint of Miller Genuine Draft, which cost a dollar and a quarter...and getting through that Stephen Davis biography of Morrison on compact disc, slowly but surely - surely it's the final, definitive word on the man and the Doors...excellent details for those interested in the subject - such as the short poem written by the Lizard King to a flight attendant on an air sickness bag during a European tour...Davis had access to documents previous biographers didn't, and it makes a difference - and another fact: did you know Harrison Ford, about 12 years before 'Blade Runner', was on the Doors crew as a carpenter? And reportedly he also got the guys their reefer. And been listening to some Stevie Wonder on cassette from 'Songs in the Key of Life' from '76, including "Knocks Me Off My Feet" and "Pasttime Paradise" - which was used by some rapper recently for a tune called 'Gangsta's Paradise"...and was up the day after buying that MGD and still had most of it left...and emulated Jimbo Morrison from "Roadhouse Blues" - "woke up this morning and I got myself a beer..."...and shaved recently after not doing so for weeks...and listening also lately to some Three Dog Night - "Joy to the World"...so there you go - another 15 minutes worth...heading to St. Anthony's after this for whatever they're dishing up...about six days left til I get paid...well, I'm used to it...
FAN DANGO #368 by Dr. Agon Fly [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
...by happenstance, or perhaps it was synchronicity, met person I knew from my many months delivering Salvation Army meals into Tenderloin hotels named Raychell - or could be Raechel, or whatever - a transgender Hawaiian-originated individual, and a lotta fun to be around. Invited him or her or whatever to my hotel room and shared some vodka with him (gonna go with that), and he had a can of beer to share, and we just conversed, with background music - hadn't seen him in a while...and gave him a lotta stuff I had lying around that was very welcome, and good stuff, too...he's camped out somewhere South of Market...told him to gimme a call later...and the Main Branch had a bag of 10th anniversary gift goodies for patrons...pencils, Post-It pads with the name of the library, like that...and as far as my jury duty, am on standby with 'em - called Friday, was told to call Monday, called Monday, told to call today...hopefully, I'll be excused from duty...and thought of two separate heroic couplets: "...poetic navigation's energies,/designed for nothing else than thee to please..." And: "...regardless of convention's practices,/Bohemian intent is what it is..." That first qualifies as muse-inspired poetry as described by Robert Graves...and got a found empty 5-pound can of honey filled with dirt (or rather, soil) and discarded fruit pieces, to make compost...and have 68 cents left on my credit card, but the minimum withdrawal is 25 bucks...unless I go to B of A and ask my personal banker about withdrawing 65 cents - the price of a can of Milwaukee's Best - and even 'that' might not be possible...prefer Miller Genuine Draft (no additives) but I'd go for that cheap ass can o' suds just now...and thought of a line of prose: "...poised for greatness - or at the very least a lateral move into another sort of mediocrity..." And looked this morning at my copy of the early Sixties Margot Patterson Doss book 'San Francisco at Your Feet', a classic guide to walking in this Bohemian town...well, a lot has changed in the past four decades...she talks about finding sand dollars at Ocean Beach - yeah, try doing that now...yer more likely to find Ambrose Bierce's pocket watch than a fuckin' sand dollar...and thanks to my friend K.B. for a tape of music he compiled for me a while ago that I hadn't listened to...included were two great Al Stewart songs from the Seventies, "On the Border" and "Year of the Cat"...and...noticed a tiny fish skeleton in the soil I'm using for that composting project, from a pot in the hotel lobby - for the calcium or minerals...and been noticing a lot of little birds lately with twigs and such in their tiny beaks - spring is a-comin', I guess, and those nests need creating...so that's about 15 minutes worth...
FAN DANGO #367 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…e-mail from my long-time good friend J.B. – he was getting some unsent messages from me for some reason…e-mail correspondent Jerseyorker says he didn’t have that problem, so it’s a thing with J.B.’s machine…he says the three periods I always use – as in “three-dot journalism”, which is what this is, basically – he says those marks turn odd when he receives them for some reason…not gonna give up my beloved periods…tho’ some women prob’ly wouldn’t say that – some ladies seem to have pretty painful ones…
And more from J.B. – he’s been commenting on a title for a song he’s writing called “Trouble, You Can’t Find Me Now”…there’s Pink’s “Trouble”…she’s saying she herself is that…gotta get her new one, ‘I’m Not Dead’…subtitled ‘…and Not Grateful, Either’? Liked her recent MTV special from New York called ‘Flash Mob’…whole lotta talent there, and an acid tripper to boot…among all those of her entertainment type of her age, guess she’s my favorite. But they stand on the shoulders of giants, not the least of which is Madonna. Who’ll be in the Bay Area at the end of May…
And J.B. also mentioned picking up a free Lyndon LaRouche booklet – so did I…have read the guy’s stuff before…very anti-Bush and anti-Cheney…comprehensive overview of history and politics…well, I picked ‘em up but just passed ‘em on…have got a lotta other items on my plate, not the least of which is the audio version of Daniel Defoe’s ‘Moll Flanders’, pretty mind-bending in itself, and a challenge to comprehend, since it was written in a fairly elevated style, and it’s from the early 1700s…like it that Dafoe, as a dude, is writing in the first person voice of a woman…thought I’d try that myself…basically, it’d be this material here, but somehow transposed into that narrative voice…
And, in recent noteworthiness – glanced through this morning ‘Datebook’ from the ‘Chron’, since I saw Bukowski’s name below the flap…Matt Dillon’s got a new film about the L.A. poet based on the ‘70s book ‘Factotum’…this at the S.F. International Film Festival, which is running at the AMC Kabuki…yeah, I’d go see that…that and, of course, that Gretchen Mol Bettie Page flick, which I feel compelled to mention every entry…
So there were quite a few paragraphs about Dillon – he has a connection with North Beach and France’s Ford Cupola…well, it’s the two movies he was in directed by the guy in the early Eighties…Dillon said to have been at
FAN DANGO #367 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
the Cupola N.B. restaurant recently…not really special to me…been there once with my former lady roommate, had some wine, a few years back…
Lili Taylor also in that Bukowski movie…she’s also in the Bettie Page one…also in ‘I Shot Andy Warhol’ (same director as the Page)…and remember her in the recent remake of ‘The Haunting’, with C.Z.J.
So, Dillon’s got pretty big brass ones to do Bukowski when Mickey Rourke did a fine job of it with ‘Barfly’…well, among the male actors, of course Depp remains my one and only icon, but gotta give Dillon a big tip of my backwards baseball cap for stuff he’s done – not only ‘Drugstore Cowboy’ (he went toe-to-toe with William Burroughs in that one – and Heather Graham co-starred, in an early role of hers), but of course ‘There’s Something About Mary’…and also the complete reading of ‘On the Road’…and he got the recent Oscar nomination, so he’s riding high…
And in the lobby of the hotel this morning…there’s former resident B., waiting for someone…she used my cellphone to get ‘em downstairs…asked her for a buck for a beer, but she was broke…she’s promising a bottle of wine sometime we can share in my room…nice lady, true hippie – she told me she used to walk down Van Ness in the Sixties barefoot, heading for a show at the Avalon Ballroom…
And…had myself a morning dump – heck, my life is an open blog, so you get all the details, basically…no constipation issues with me – I get the “evacuation” done in seconds and I’m on my merry way…I take steps to ensure this…there’s the theory that all sickness is related to basic constipation, and I subscribe to that…
And this morning in my room, alone, no wine, just yerba mate tea…had on a worn cassette I’d acquired on the street – worn ‘cause the words on it were obliterated from use, a good sign – the tape has slow soul jams, like “You Are My Starship” by Norman Connors, and that Floaters float on song…great romantic stuff – but no lady to share it with – astrally, perhaps, but not physically…and then on the street for a morning walk…”No Parking on the Dance Floor” by Midnight Star was the first song…thought it was the Bar-Kays at first – thanks to Google for clearing that up…walked ‘round to Union Square, picked up a copy of ‘The Onion’ – as always, hilarious…
Monday, April 24, 2006
FAN DANGO #366 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 1) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…a recommended visitation is the July 8th opening of the MISSION BAY BRANCH of the SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY…
Was down visiting a friend at CHINA BASIN LANDING Sunday and that’s when I happened to learn about this new branch opening…yeah!
Well, since this is the last week for my friend down there, won’t be going there much…but there’s a lot to see and be and whatever there anyway…
Was having a stogie in my mouth I found in the gutter like in a CLINT EASTWOOD spaghetti Western when I went to CBL…
And also of interest, for FREE…the BETTIE PAGE trailer…GOOGLE on GRETCHEN MOL…been watchin’ it every day for a few days…
And there’s the CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER across from one-85 Berry to consider as well…tho’ I am NOBODY’S DADDY, don’t wanna be.
And some fuckin’ Church of Christ shit happening at the same location…isn’t that fuckin’ special? Who thought of that? Satan?
And gonna get down to Los Altos on CALTRAIN soon to see my good pal who’s got an awesome music collection …cassettes in the works…
And my man – ‘one’ of ‘em, anyway - turned me on to eight quarters, and thereby got a good beverage which – witch…made yesterday flowing-er...
And have heard the AC/DC tune DIRTY DEEDS DONE DIRT CHEAP recently a coupla times on FM – fantastic music, yeah…
And some time the rock ‘n’ roll A to Z begins with Abba and ends with ZZ TOP…don’t quite see how that works…
...gotta disagree…Abba, tho’ fine, isn’t, frankly, rocking…it starts, that A to Z, with AC/DC, and ends, well, w/ those Texas fellas…word up and down…
And perhaps a suggestion to the delectable Mol Flanders: a GEORGINA SPELVIN biopic might be a way to go…I would like to see that, 4 sho’…
Sunday, April 23, 2006
FAN DANGO #365 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…frankly, never much cared for Aerosmith – Steven Tyler’s daughter is very cute and fine, tho’, much so…but heard on San Francisco FM recently “What It Takes”, and ‘that’ is very, very good…if yer into Aerosmith and Steven Tyler, Bebe Buell’s book ‘Rebel Heart’ is recommended…available at the San Francisco Public Library. Which also has in bound volumes back issues of ‘Playboy’, one of which contains the one featuring Buell as a Playmate, back when she was the squeeze of Todd Rundgrund…
And a second song that was excellent: the Stones, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”…a game is to select, like, twelve songs that would make a good movie soundtrack…
And got on this rented hour machine here the trailer for ‘The Notorious Bettie Page’, the only movie out there now that I’d actually go to a theater to see…it’s free online to look at, the trailer is…just Google on keywords and there you are…still haven’t seen the actual flick yet…maybe when, in a week, I have money, and it’s still at the Clay there on Fillmore…actually, not that far from where I live – just gotta take a Geary bus west, across Van Ness…and I very rarely go west of that boulevard…
And a third song that I liked on the radio recently, “Landslide”, covered by the Dixie Chicks…at least I ‘think’ it was them…I believe it’s the only cover of the original by Fleetwood Mac…Stevie Nicks kicks real ass…
And thanks to fine lady Berniece in the hotel for the bean soup she turned me on to the other night…very tasty…a remarkable woman, she…
And a fourth song that I found much favor with, Madonna’s “Into the Groove”…followed by another song by the lady, a recent one, that I didn’t like as much…but, geez, she’s gonna be world-touring again…second show added in this area due to the sell-out of the first…good for her…
And was watching ‘Dragonheart’ in a friend’s room yesterday – Dennis Quaid as the knight, the voice of Sean Connery used for the dragon, this on the Sci-Fi Channel – great work, great special effects…
And thanks to hotel neighbor S. for the four brewskies he gave me yesterday…they were cans of “Natural Ice”, which he called “Natty
FAN DANGO #365 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
Ice”…online definition for “natty” is “marked by smartness in dress and
manners”…is this the meaning of the word in the Rastafarian/Marley sense? Could be a variant of “natural” for them, and us…
And a fifth song…”Betcha By Golly Wow”, the Stylistics absolute fuckin’ total classic…covered super-well by Prince on his ‘Emancipation’, as a matter of fact…and “La La La Means I Love You”, the Delfonics sonic wonder, also covered by “the Purple One” on the same disc set…seek that out and ye shall not be much disappointed…
…and yesterday took out my paper and pen to write down this quote from my friend Thomas: “You can’t substantiate health unless you’re happy.” Think about it…there’s a lot there…haven’t gotten to the bottom or top of that one yet, frankly…or maybe I have and don’t know it yet…
And got to thinking of Seventies porn stars for some reason…names like Annette Haven, and one I haven’t thought of in a while, Georgina Spelvin…just Googled on her filmography for the fuck of it…not as lengthy as I woulda thought…but she was working in the days when they made actual movies…today, with the quickly-made video porn, the “filmographies” for these “starlets” would run into the 100s…but Georgina’s is a mere 82…first is a ‘57 French thing…born in 1936…in Texas…
Then twelve years later, she began the porn career ‘I’ am familiar with, somewhat…everyone knows Marilyn Chambers, but Georgina’s star didn’t rise that high over the pop culture area…’Sexual Witchcraft’ with her in ’73…of course, her biggie, ‘The Devil in Miss Jones’ the same year, portraying “Justine Jones”…never saw it…’High Priestess of Sexual Witchcraft’ the same year…that title intrigues me…here’s the synopsis, a real classic of the genre: “A young runaway escapes from abusive men, and finds a happy home with a cult of devil-worshipping lesbians.” Based on an episode of ‘Leave It To Beaver’, I believe, when June Cleaver really gets down with Ward…
And to close this…was Earth Day yesterday, or the day before…well, ‘every’ day is that to the likes of fuckin’ me, geez…and on “the Bone”, at the very far right (not in the political sense) of the S.F. FM dial, Boston’s “More Than a Feeling”, a number that is so very fantastic…
Saturday, April 22, 2006
FAN DANGO #364 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
….four books renewed unto my account at the San Francisco Public Library: viz. – ‘videlicit’ – “that is to say”…that’s Latin – tho’ I’d study Greek before I’d study Latin…a notebook of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s – please Google on these names…and secondly, the sound recording, unabridged, of A.S. Byatt’s poetically-inclined novel ‘Possession’, and Iceberg Slim’s simply incredible ‘Pimp’, for the glossary of terms alone (on loan to a fella in the hotel, currently)…and finally and fourth, the very, very recommended rock journalism classic by Stephen Davis, ‘Hammer of the Gods’, about Led Zeppelin…see also, on DVD or video, ‘The Song Remains the Same’, about a “Zep” concert, ’73, Madison Square Garden…so there y’all go…
…and also on my mind…was watching the sequel to ‘Fortress’ – the Christopher Lambert science fiction flick – in D.’s room – on my former tube, now in ‘his’ possession…he’s getting a great sharp picture now…got me thinking of the makings of what ‘I’ would consider a truly great movie…four elements there would be, at least…the fifth, I spoze, would be twelve women…the four, the first four, are these: science fiction aspects, a rock ‘n’ roll on the soundtrack (classic and current), love, and humor…so work on that, Hollywood, or whoever…’I’ am no filmmaker…
And wrote with a pen on the top of my left hand, since I had no paper, the names of some sci-fi flicks: ‘Outland’, ‘Starship Troopers’, and ‘Total Recall’ (the first is excellent…the second has Denise Richards, if that means anything to you…and a nude co-ed military shower scene, which is always welcome, at least to my so-called mind)…and ‘Cube Zero’…
Now…’Cube Zero’ is very fantastic…from two years ago…definitely, most fuckin’ definitely ‘not’ for everyone…the horror aspects are quite extreme, very…but it really delivers some specific goods, and you might seek it out…
And then there’s good ol’ Gretchen Mol…currently through Google here at the library have got the sex scene with her from 1999’s ‘Forever Mine’ cued up…Paul Schrader directed, and that is a very good sign – a real cinematic artist, not to mention ‘artiste’…for good background information on him and those directors who came up at the same time as he did, see Paul Biskind’s ‘Taxi Drivers, Raging Bulls’…I mean, ‘Easy Riders, Raging Bulls’ – Googled to get the right title…but you can see where I woulda made that mistake most easily…
FAN DANGO #364 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…well, can’t get that fuckin’ 1999 “love” scene with Gretchen Mol going for free, so gonna skip that for now…but the trailer for her Bettie Page flick is available without charge now, and is fairly psychedelic, even…
…but back to seeking moving pictures of Gretchen…MrSkin.com has the scene from ‘Forever Mine’ in question, but again, it costs…and my Bank of America credit card is maxed out, else I’d go for it, what the fuck…shit, even, at whatever sites I’ve “visited”, even nude ‘still’ photos of the woman cost…geez…I mean, cost to ‘enlarge’ the fuckers…
…well, from what I gather in a quick Googling, Mol – the wife of former journalist and now movie director Tod “Kip” Williams – or whatever his last name is – has done only one topless scene in a flick, in ‘Forever Mine’…so that bodes well…nice tits…maybe a bit ‘too’ large for my simple tastes…but now that gets me to contemplating her ass…well, fuck it…”gretchen mol ass” didn’t get the best Google results, for your information…but onward and downward…I mean, sideways…
…to my Hotmail…two from my Odd Fellow friend and brother in the lodge P. – one is a fuckin’ long one I won’t read…hey, Pete! If an e-mail is longer than a few lines I most likely won’t read it – but thanks anyway…it’s about testimony by one Darrell Scott – father of a Columbine shooting victim…testimony at a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee…House of ‘Representatives’, I guess…I’m not so political…’personal’, but not political…but personal is political, I spoze…fuck, not even gonna read the whole thing…was watching the tube this morning – some other possible school shooting situation was averted, apparently, somewhere in the United States, Columbine-like…too cool for school, these suspects, I guess…
And P.’s second one: something about the American flag – also known as “Old Glory” – as opposed to, like Old Spice, or Ol’ Dirty Bastard – somewhere in the L.A. area, students at some school put the flag of Mexico above the U.S. one…geez, guess they want their land back, maybe…well, the population of California will soon be, if not already is, 50% Hispanic and rising…got no problem with that, shit…I just fuckin’ wish more taquerias would add more fuckin’ guacamole to their fuckin’ burritos, that’s all I gotta say…so that’s it for now…please check out Gretchen Mol’s superior ass…the trailer for ‘The Notorious Bettie Page’ is free, and fantastic…
Friday, April 21, 2006
FAN DANGO #363 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…Camille Paglia’s recent poetry analysis text, ‘Break, Blow, Burn’, is ready for me to pick up at the San Francisco Public Library, so that is a good thing…first had a copy at the Borders Union Square and spent worthwhile time with it on the second floor coffee and comfy seats area a few weeks ago…a memorable interlude with a great mind via the magic of text…she and I are so very different people in many ways, but I still very much admire and respect her erudition and style…
And…had a few minutes before my computer was on at the library so I paused a while at the Friday U.N. Plaza artisan market – the usual fine goodies in abundance…including M.C. Escher prints I’d not seen before…and the usual three buck magnetic bracelets – gotta get a buncha them and give ‘em out as sweet gifts to those who would appreciate them…
And this morning got the great 28-inch TV that Odd Fellow brother P. sold me for 25 bucks about a year ago (original price 700) to fellow hotel resident D., so he could get a clearer signal…but we had major problems getting the darn thing to work despite best efforts – one thing I’m not is a technical sorta guy, unless it be precisely where a comma might best go, let’s say…
…but at least D.’s got a second groovy tube, and ‘I’ am disengaged from that signal after about twelve months of steady watching. Glad to be off that “plug-in drug” (title of a book by Marie Winn about television)…had some fine entertaining times with it, I must say, added a lot to my knowledge about movies and pop culture in general, but it’s a happy thing to be off it, at least for a while, maybe longer…turning off the tube is one of those hundred simple secrets of happy people…and this blog is about nothing if not happiness, #1, then health, or best, a dynamic balance between the two…
And as said before, listened many times recently to the section in the audio version of Paul Theroux’s ‘The Old Patagonian Express’ where he visits writer Jorge Luis Borges at his place in Buenos Aires – something about the whole episode is really interesting…a lot of thought-inspiring observations made by the great South American man of letters – for example, he often laments the fact that there is so much that can be expressed well in English that has no felicitous Spanish equivalent…”felicitous” defined as “pleasant, delightful”…have gotten on a real Borges kick, in fact, and have
two of his out from the library and am much enjoying them…
FAN DANGO #363 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
And speaking of my good Odd Fellow brother P., he had a little job for me yesterday that earned me 10 bucks (just hadda to get staples from a hardware store for a staple gun…spent it fast – bought a 32-ounce Miller High Life for D., a Boone’s Farm for me (which I shared with several)…and a new magnetic bracelet from the artisan market…and gave a buck to another guy in the hotel…and the rest was well-spent as well, tho’ I don’t necessarily remember where it went…had 50 cents left over today so I can make a hard copy of this – often I can’t even afford that…but it’s my choice…
Also, P. also turned me on to a beautiful antique lamp from the Club Rom at the lodge building that now graces my hotel room…there’s the matching one that goes to hotel friend D. when I get ‘round to picking it up at the Seventh and Market location…and not to mention an additional amount of wild turkey from Northern California P. gave me, consumed by me with relish…
And good song heard yesterday on the radio, “Strange Magic” by the Electric Light Orchestra…they have a few I like a lot…where are they now? Perhaps, like the Mr. Bojangles of song, they are playing at “minstrel shows and county fairs”…but just Googled on those lyrics to check accuracy – well, I was wrong…it’s just “minstrel shows”, not county fairs…still, you get the idea…a friend has a boxed set of ELO I’d like to listen to again…
And found a little bag of Cheez-It crackers yesterday…messy things…when done, hadda wash the hand I used to pluck them from the bag in the waters of the United Nations Plaza fountain…not my favorite snack food, but the price was right…I tell you, I’ve had more, much, much more, than my share of possibly my favorite junk food, Classic Lay’s potato chips…geeziz, at least I am curtailing that fuckin’ bad habit…and replacing it with that real good habit of Boone’s Farm bottles…but consumed with balance…
And learned that Gretchen Mol, on the collective movie-going consciousness now due to her current Bettie Page flick, is married, to some joker named Tod Williams…just Googled for his biographical data…nicknamed “Kip”…tall sucker at 6 foot 5…studied at Bard College (where the Becker and Fagen, the Steely Dan guys, met as students). Worked once for the L.A. bureau of ‘The New York Times’…writer and director of movies…married to Mol on June 1st of two-thousand-four…geez, sounds like a real loser…poor girl, must have bad taste in men, tsk-tsk…
Thursday, April 20, 2006
FAN DANGO #362 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…ready for pick up at the San Francisco Public Library this morning, a collection of letters by Robert ‘The White Goddess’ Graves…written between 1914 and 1946…didn’t bring my card this time, and purposely so – wanted to travel light, and even a piece of plastic can be heavier than I wanna carry sometimes…and it gives me a reason to come back later in the day to the library…there’s a method to my madness. As well as a madness to this method – but a nice kind…
And a sample solitary morning to show what I do with myself – when not, oh, entertaining lascivious thoughts concerning the photos of Gretchen Mol I have taped to my hotel room wall, that is: was brewing fresh mint leaves in my tea pot – they’d been brought into the hotel yesterday, with the Trader Joe’s mark on ‘em…and burning Indian incense approved by some guru, looks like…had Janis Joplin on cassette on my music box (“Piece of My Heart”)…and was kicked back on my bed reading a Jorge Luis Borges short story…so that’s pretty much how I do it when alone in my room…
And my immediate hotel neighbor S. gave me two cans of beer yesterday…he keeps to himself a lot lately, but there have been times in the past when we enjoyed conviviality…and I hope to share good times with him again, when he feels like it…a smart and very funny fellow, and I’m glad to know him and have him as a close neighbor…
And in my room still, two oranges I dumpster-dived for yesterday at U.N. Plaza after the farmers were through – one of ‘em tosses hundreds of oranges out on a regular basis, it seems, rather than keep ‘em…a bit bruised, most of them, but I was not the only one seeking these pieces of fruit out…and as I said, one of the hundred simple secrets of happy people, according to this book I have, is to eat fruit daily…and those oranges were so sweet, with little citric acid to sting the palate, and I was happy getting them into my mouth…my tongue was happy, to be oral about them…
And as I and three others were going through those dumpster’d oranges, two officers in a patrol car passed by and told us to put whatever trash we took back into the dumpster…I told him we’d do so…the others were less compliant – one said, like, ‘Fuck the police…” Well, for me, I was gonna obey the simple and correct request…they apparently had authority issues, but not me, at least not with members of the thin blue line asking us to
FAN DANGO #362 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
help keep the streets cleaner…will do, officer…
And as far as my honey wine manufacturing is going, the Carlo Rossi one-and-a-half liter glass jug I’m fermenting it in is just sitting there…smelled it this morning and it seems okay, would drink it, or at least have a small taste…one thing is that the honey I used came with a waxy comb, and that wax is still floating on top – next time, if there ‘is’ a next time, I’ll get the honey, local honey, from the farmers’ market without the comb…initially thought it’d be good to have that in there but I’m thinking differently now…so the honey wine, first batch, might still be on, but maybe not…maybe I should heat it up again, add more yeast, see what happens…I mean, it’s not fuckin’ rocket science, geez…
And one half-hour of tape I’m listening to over and over and over is the visit by Paul Theroux to the house of Jorge Luis Borges in Buenos Aires – this in the audio version of Theroux’s ‘The Old Patagonian Express’…the entire thing is very excellent but for some reason his description of time spent in the company of the great literary man is so very listenable…and like I said, have a Borges collection called ‘A Personal Anthology’ out from the S.F. Public that is virtually blowing my mind…fantastic fiction…read some of him in the late Seventies when I was in Berkeley (first as a student, then as a dish washer and resident and pot smoker and acid tripper and whatever else…for one thing, there was sex two nights in a row with a young lady there I still recall – her brown eyes were magical and deep…)
…and more about recent sexual activity – me with the ‘Sexual Body Talk’ book – a very recommended sex instruction manual, by the way…and accompanying fantasies about the aforementioned Gretchen Mol, who’s currently very hot in that Bettie Page flick at the Clay. (And it’s the Clay, there on Fillmore – said it was at the Bridge on Geary by mistake in a previous posting…still haven’t gone…and it’s likely to be outta town soon – not for everyone…had the money but chose to spend it on wine…maybe if the movie was closer, at the AMC, like, I woulda gone, but that trip west of Van Ness on the Geary bus seems like a long excursion right now…)
And surely wanna thank my man K.B. for recents gifts, including a beautiful little rug, European underarm deodorant, and a Sony Walkman – he had two – got that always on me and scan up and around the S.F. FM…later…
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
FAN DANGO #361 by Dr. Agon Fly [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
...much thanks to my Odd Fellow brother P. for the two turkey - 'wild' turkey, I should add - sandwiches today...he's got a relative up north who killed it and gave it to P., who turned various onto the meat, including myself...and to his ol' lady b., gave a disc called 'Rare Pearls' (Janis Joplin rarities), plus a spirituality text called 'The Quiet Mind', and a Wonka Bar I stole from a corner market (don't know what got into me), and a birthday card with George Bush on it (also stolen, from Walgreen's)...now, I generally don't pilfer things, but I've kept the company of those who had that unhappy habit...and there's an upcoming fantastic concert at Shoreline with Tierra, Malo, and War, not necessarily in that order...saw Malo at a Mission District street fair maybe four years ago - of course, "Sauvecito" was a crowd pleaser...and on my FM receiver today, heard "Southern Cross" by Crosby, Stills & Nash (minus Neil)..."...she was making for the trades on the outside/and the downhill run to Papeete..." - Crosby is something of a sailor and the song reflects that...Peter Fonda also a sailor...and managed to get another Boone's Farm bottle on credit from the Empire at Leavenworth and Eddy...the last one for me this month, said the lady there...so that makes it three times two-bucks-and-59 cents I owe her...looking for work to supplement the less-than-thousand-bucks I get a month...half that goes to rent...and Comcast just downgraded my service - a suspension, but not a termination...funny, they seem to want money...and there's a dumpster out in front of the hotel - the maintenance guys are cleaning out some room...last night scored three pairs of jeans and a black plastic-y pair of pants with a lotta pockets, so I'm set in the blue jeans department for a while...so there you go...
FAN DANGO #360 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…one of my requested books via the San Francisco Public Library is ready for pick up after this posting: the Anthony Quinn autobiography called ‘One Man Tango’…good for juicy details about Hollywood of the man’s era. (And must take a sentence to thank the library for the daily use of a computer – I fully take advantage of that free service and am very grateful the machines are there...thanks, San Francisco!)
And had opium on my mind recently…never have and never will do heroin, but I could see smoking the plant that white powder is derived from, maybe. There’s probably some source in Chinatown…and Iranians around town might have it: it was Persian base opium, I’ve read, that really sent Jerry Garcia down…well, it’d be hard to get under any circumstances…gotta know the right people…it’s not high on my agenda of things to do. Had it once in Berkeley in the late Seventies – shared a small amount with a coupla others at a restaurant I worked in…didn’t do much, as I recall – didn’t do enough…
And back at that time of month when I’m getting wine on credit…at the New Princess at Hyde and Eddy, Wa’il gives me ten bucks on the books…as I was getting two jugs of Carlo Rossi sangria yesterday I told him, hey, I’m not going anywhere – meaning, I’ll get the money to him. And he adds: “Yeah, and your ‘life’ isn’t going anywhere.” I laughed at this and said I didn’t ‘wanna’ be going anywhere…and that reminds me of another dialogue between him and me: he once asked me how I’m doing and I said “The same.” – he didn’t get this and asks me why I can’t tell him how I’m doing. I repeated my answer and he still didn’t get it…was it not an understandable response? He’s from Jordan…
And yesterday was zero-six quake anniversary day – many call it the “oh-six” quake, but I’m reminded of my friend John Brady’s remark that “oh” is a letter and not a number…anyway, apparently ‘thousands’ turned out at the ungodly hour of 4am down there at Lotta (Crabtree’s) Fountain on Market to mark the occasion. I myself actually had the alarm set for the time and was gonna join in, but when the hour came I decided against – for one thing, didn’t like the sounds emanating from the Tenderloin street five blocks down…read in ‘The Examiner’ this morning about the event…surprised at the turn-out – thought it was just gonna be Mayor Newsom and a few die-hards…
And glanced through the ‘Ex’ this morning since it was left in the hotel lobby…generally I avoid news media…learned that the Mayor of Paris is in town…and the Board of Supervisors have okayed a longer Market Street bicycle lane…and Mussolini’s granddaughter will be running for the mayorship of Rome (lotta mayor news in today’s paper)…well, as far as the ‘Ex’ goes, if the only thing I read in a week is Chris Caen’s Friday column then I am feeling I’m doing quite fine…
And…took a little walk this morning, up ‘round to Glide for breakfast…line way too long…also stopped in at the Coronado to see if a friend of mine was working the front desk, but he wasn’t…on the way heard a good tune on my FM receiver, Enigma’s “Return to Innocence” – reminded me of my former lady roommate, b., who had just about all the discs by that group when we shared a hotel room near 16th and Valencia –
FAN DANGO #360 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
then back ‘round to the hotel…had time to wait ‘til the reserved library computer was
happening at 9am, so I amused myself with that and that and the other thing…
And in the morning yesterday, furthermore quake commemorations, I guess, in the Civic Center area – including acrobatic cheerleaders, mounted officers (the horses were intense)…and there were police in old-style uniforms from a 100 years ago, I guess…well, it was all just too much of a ‘spectacle’ for me and I went my own way…there’s the song “I Love a Parade”, but I don’t identify with it – just too much…
And…in other news…requested a collection of Robert ‘The White Goddess’ Graves letters from the library…I generally don’t go to the open stacks themselves and get books – I just order online and they get down to the first floor hold shelves when they get there – usually I’m in no rush to get the stuff. Went personally to the shelves to pick up the Stephen Davis Led Zeppelin band bio ‘Hammer of the Gods’, tho’…tho’ I have wound up not reading it much, just listening to the actual music…
…and have Lotta Crabtree on my mind…Googling…born on November 7th of 1847 – a Scorpio girl, a member of my own astrological tribe – tho’ as I have said before, my sign is ‘Neon’ now…a performer of some kind who, I spoze, was in town on the fateful quake day and took it upon herself to pay for that fountain…maybe she was, like, the Madonna of her day, like that…yeah, the site says she was very wealthy and beloved…
And there’s that damned pigeon I tried to rescue…well, turns out the thing ‘did’ die overnight…kept the body on my ledge for a day or so…put a colorful bracelet around its dead neck by way of memorial, plus an orange band I was wearing ‘round my right wrist…well, this morning I just put the ex-pigeon in a plastic bag and, frankly, fairly unceremoniously put it into a trash room bin. Did the right thing by that silly creature…
And speaking of Madonna, heard a good remix of “Papa Don’t Preach” on the radio the other day…it was a station that plays dance hits put together seamlessly, the way a deejay would, one into the other without pause…and before that on the same station, Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” into “Stacey’s Mom” by Fountains of Wayne…which song is about, I believe, Rachel Hunter, former wife of Rod Stewart, if I have my facts right…
…and chatted a bit recently with the Salvation Army food delivery people who bring one meal into the hotel I’m in…used to do that myself for about 7 months in 2-thousand-one, I believe – first time I spent much time in the Tenderloin, and now I call it my home…
…and the other day, hotel friend D. asked about my drinking, thinking I’d been doing too much lately…I appreciated his concern…I’ve turned him on to much drink in the past…recently, gave him half the Cutty Sark my Odd Fellow brother P. had given me for work…told him not to worry, that I regulated my drinking and didn’t do that much, really…and…from the abovementioned Wa’il at the New Princess, traded a Carlo Rossi “Paisano” for a bottle of the “Blush” – really wanted a sangria but there was none out…
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
FAN DANGO #359 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…and glad to add Odd Fellow brother Sam Toole to my Hotmail contact list…gave him a call last night while waiting for that Book Club of California event…he’s into a lot of artistic ventures and I like him for that…
And got an e-mail from Chris Caen responding to my comments about his last column…he and his friends hold forth at some salon (and perhaps something of a ‘saloon’ as well) at the top of Nob Hill each Monday…I joked about crashing that soiree, but perhaps it wouldn’t be appropriate…I think something mid-way between the depths of the Tenderloin (where I am) and the top of Nob Hill (his place) would be more agreeable…
…and there’s a hooker of my acquaintance – never partook of her services, tho’ – but saw her standing on the corner the other day as I was zooming by – joked to her: “How much?” And she tells me, joking back, to shut up…I mean, I have a certain high standard for women – they’ve gotta be in the VGL – Very Good Looking – category, for one thing – some tired crack whore speed freak woman doesn’t quite flip my bippy…
And helped a member of the pigeon tribe yesterday – was walking down the street and there it was, obviously ailing – someone had put the poor thing on a piece of newspaper. I felt compassion for the stupid bird and decided to get it to a better place…like the tot lot at Turk and Hyde. Now, no entrance allowed there for adults without children, so I stood outside, wanting to get the pigeon onto safe dirt within…signaled to a daddy with kids about this intention and he would have none of that, and, I guess, rightly so…
…so I wound up taking the bird up to my hotel room and setting it in an empty shoe box on the ledge – propped the lid up with an incense package for air…well, this morning, looks the darn creature, to paraphrase the Monty Python sketch, is “one ex-pigeon”…could just be fast asleep, but I don’t see any signs of breathing…so, well, I did what I could do…now I gotta find some patch of ground to inter the deceased winged beastie, geez…
And speaking of hookers…yet another one in the hotel made a deal with a hotel guy friend of mine…it was interesting to talk with her a bit…she took a liking to my friend and it wasn’t only for the twenty dollars that transaction would cost…at one point they wanted me to leave the room and they did their thing…he informed me of details later, but there are some
FAN DANGO #359 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
things I just don’t need to know, okay? Kinduv a sweet lady, tho’…
And had a bad interaction with a guy at the North African food joint across Eddy from the hotel…kinda testy, him…was just going in to look at his wares, not buy anything…did this once or twice before, not buying, just looking, and he gets upset at me this time…he tells me he doesn’t want to do business with me, his exact words…hey, so be it…well, if I have money I’m buying wine, tho’ his food looked pretty good…I can always get meals for free at Glide or St. Anthony’s. It’s the third eatery there in, like, the last few months…not a good location, and the prices are kinda high…I can understand why he’s not the happiest camper, sheesh…too bad…
…and got 68 cents in my Bank of America credit card account, down from 500 clameroonies…went a little maniacal with the plastic, I confess. Wanted to get eight bucks for a music box with a working disc – the machine I’ve got now only plays cassettes…well, that can wait, as can most things…
And wanted to mention details of that Book Club of California event last night, held in the same building as the World Affairs Council offices, at Sutter and Grant…got the time wrong and made it there at the end of the two-hour event…still managed to pick up some good free literature and check the whole situation out…and there was a lot of free drinkage there was well…was expecting cheap ass wine, but there were expensive bottles of whiskey and such…
…so had myself a cup of sherry (I like sweet wines – burgundy sucks, to my educated palate)…made some conversation about, oh, William Makepeace Thackeray novels, which author’s ‘The History of Henry Esmond’ a woman there said she was currently reading…and there was an excellent collection of rare books…guess you hafta be a member to access these…looked in the card catalog (not electronic) for Robert Graves…a volume of his about ancient bardic tree lore was one I’d like to look at…
…and passed by Harrington’s the other day…food served – sign outside said “ROAT CHICKEN”, omitting that “s”…and a neon sign outside for Miller Genuine Draft…just talked to a guy on the street who had a keen nose to detect unnatural additives in beer – he said that brand of suds was the only one that didn’t have toxic ingredients added…so you are informed thereby…
Monday, April 17, 2006
FAN DANGO #358 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…and helped a damsel in distress – was it yesterday? Geez, these time frames…anyway, it was a lady, B., in the hotel, who needed to get packages over to the Union Square Macy’s post office – which, she told a surprised me, is open even on Sundays! So I pulled her handcart with stuff to mail to relatives those few blocks…and then she spent quite a bit of time getting a cute little outfit for her newly-born grandchild, I think it was…’I’ was the one who made the selection B. liked…and then escorted said damsel back to the hotel…got a Boone’s Farm apple wine for my labors and I felt quite adequately compensated thereby…
…and B.’s an interesting person, a genuine hippie…had some personal connection with great musician Alvin Lee and other luminaries…
And tonight, the Book Club of California is holding a reception for some new publication (some ancient Greek philosophy something or other) at three-12 Sutter, suite 510, 7 in the evening…gonna be there and not be square…gonna be dressed in my usual Bohemian casual (I can dress no other way, and proud of that – tho’ today I found another nice tan trenchcoat on the street – gotta dry clean it for six bucks and I’ll be spiffin’…) – so that book event will be fun…you know there’s gotta be some free wine…saw the notice for this at the four-86 Geary location of the Thomas Goldwasser rare books dealership…go there for signed Robert Graves editions and so forth…
And former lady roommate – FLR, that is – b. called to inform me about special 19-zero-6 prices happening at various places ‘round town to commemorate the big ass shaker and baker…Lefty O’Doul’s, for instance…and the Hotel Rex at five-62 Sutter will be having 5 cent cups of coffee, either today, the 17th, or tomorrow…well, checked this deal out a bit…would be more impressed if these joints turned the price clock back to zero-six actual prices…it’s more like shit will be costing 19 dollars and 6 cents – get it? They should move that fuckin’ decimal over westward and sell shit at, like, a buck and 90 cents, but nooooooooooooooo!
…and in my sexual news, recently spent more quality time with that 19-year-old Russian girl Yulia, from the ‘Vice’ mag I picked up free at the Virgin Megastore…spent more quality time with her ‘picture’, that is…turned on a tape of Jackson Browne “afterwards”…didn’t have that clichéd cigarette, tho’…I believe this relationship is really going
FAN DANGO #358 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
somewhere…under the rainbow…
…and recently flashbacked to a time in my room with hotel friend P. – he was drinking beer, I had Boone’s Farm, maybe…he was smoking menthol tobacco…I brought out a little bit of “oregano” and he rolled up a joint of that – good blend with menthol…we were watching stuff on the tube but I cannot for the life of me remember just what…I think we tuned in a bit of ‘The Sweetest Thing’, which flick the two of us had watched in its entirety some weeks ago…man, that is absolutely one of my favorites of all time…
And J.J., one of the hotel night desk guys, loaned me an Average White Band best of disc…just okay, really – “School Boy Crush” is good…they sound a bit too polished…they remind me a lot of a group I love so much more, Tower of Power…
…and was enjoying a bag of Tierra brand “exotic vegetable chips” – that’s what it says on the bag…these from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods – they both downloaded a huge amount of great food into the hotel last week, courtesy, I believe, of the Foodrunners distribution organization…
And the Odd Fellows – of which I am a member in good standing – is having an art auction event soon…gotta get the exact date…e-mail me if you want more information…and there’s the art auction at the Martin Lawrence gallery there on Geary as well…expose yerselves to art…
…and I am ‘not’ in such good standing vis-à-vis Comcast…owe ‘em nearly 200 bucks…service will be suspended shortly…but it’s not a tragedy…just gotta get bucks to ‘em by the tenth of next month to avoid total termination, and I’ll have more money by then…fuck, I can do without the tube…I believe I’ll still get basic cable despite the suspension, tho’ the digital video recording function will be in hiatus, I think…ah, fuck it…got audio books to listen to (just got the unabridged ‘I, Claudius’ by Robert Graves, speaking of that fantastic literary figure), and straight up regular books, and music a-plenty…it’s nice to have the cable viewing option but my existence doesn’t center around that fuckin’ boob tube, fercrissakes, at least not now…
And other key words recently: Aleister Crowley’s ‘Thoth’ tarot deck, ‘The Notorious Bettie Page’ at the Bridge…11-cent Burger King cups of ice…
Sunday, April 16, 2006
FAN DANGO #357 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 1) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…selecting some MACHIAVELLI from the SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY…good ol’ Niccolo…gotta luv th’ guy…a prince he is, yeah…
Selected THE ART OF WAR, the ELLIS FARNEWORTH translation, by the bay…was gonna go for THE PRINCE, but this one is new to me…
…and lemme tell ya…SURGERY ain’t no CHILD’S PLAY, y’all…
And: SOMETIMES PARENTS DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO W/ THEIR KIDS…tell me about it…but it’s ALL GOOD now, for the most part…
And looking into CAMILLE PAGLIA as well…please, y’all, do so as well…Aries, lesbian, RADICAL FEMINIST, and all that, plus a chip bag…
BREAK, BLOW, BURN by the inestimable Camille is one to get…
…requested the Paglia, did I, and it’s gonna get to the HOLD SHELVES soon…the S.F. PUBLIC LIBRARY will get it to me when they get to it…
And AMERICAN PRAYER by THE DOORS could could be something to listen to…here’s a SANGRIA cup to JAMES DOUGLAS MORRISON..
THE JOKER is always smiling, says a current song, a dance song…
And the THOTH CROWLEY DECK – see FIELDS BOOKS for that…OCCULT…TAROT, y’all…metaphysics and more…
And there’s SGT. ROCK to GOOGLE on as well, y’all…
And SISTER SLEDGE, WE ARE FAMILY…
And am creating a character – she’s created…her name is MISS YAKIMA HERALD…fuckable as they come…great ass, all that, bag o’ chips…
…and you must think WARLOCKERY’s an easy trip…well, lemme teller ya, it isn’t quite that...nothing wrong with the hard, tho’…take it easy…
…so there you go again…TWELVE WOMEN are after y’all…
Saturday, April 15, 2006
FAN DANGO 4/15/06 01:56pm by Dr. Agon Fly
...don't know how I got onto the Borders e-mailing list...unlike some of my acquaintances, 'I' don't get a fuckload of e-mails, and gladly so...but Borders ain't bad...at least it provides some literary influence into that fuckin' Union Square merchandising Babylon...
...and Borders, yeah...could do worse than hang out at the coffee and tea area, leaf through th' current magazines...pick up some cute chixxxx, or attempt conversation...or just read, oh, CAMILLE PAGLIA...she has a new one out, analyzing poetry...Paglia is fantastic, very, and so very recommended...
But Border isn't an INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE...like FIELDS at Polk and Pine, or ADOBE in THE MISSION, or ABANDONED PLANET there in the same area on VALENCIA...but it's not a bad place to hang out, if hanging out is on yer agenda at all...
And in other news...just bought another half pint of ROYAL GATE VODKA at the store across from THE COMPUTER TRAINING CENTER run by SAN FRANCISCO NETWORK MINISTRIES - two bucks, the going rate...got some leftover Sprite to mix it with...I'm STRAIGHT AS FUCK, but don't drink my harder liquors straight...and the HONEY WINE I'm fermenting in my room seems to be doing okay...I could get the proportions of yeast and water and honey better, tho'...
And flashing backwards into the future...there's the STEPHEN DAVIS biography of JIM MORRISON from the SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY...not gonna get through it all, I think...but it's recommended...and didn't get through 'any' of the THEODORE ROSZAK excellent THE MEMOIRS OF ELIZABETH FRANKENSTEIN, on cassette (the Davis is on disc)...am working my CD player on batteries now, two double As...gotta get an AC plug in for that to save costs...and there are the digital flash drive units and so forth to consider...but, fuck, 'I' still use cassettes, fercrissakes...
And that Rasta guy at the U.N. PLAZA ARTISAN MARKET...joked with him, asked him: "Where are the GANJA-related items?" He said he didn't have too much...which means they comprise about 90 percent of his merchandise...smoked a bit of the stuff rolled by hand with some menthol tobacco the other night...
And back to Morrison...THE ALTA CIENEGA MOTEL in LOS ANGELES...60 bucks a day now, and 65 for the room Jimbo stayed in - it was 'one' of the places he lived...and THE EAGLES...HOTEL CALIFORNIA...interior photo of the band on that album was taken at some place on Yucca down there in Hollywood...THE LIDO, I think...
And thought of a GOLDWYNISM: "...her sexual habits are, in two words, gro-tesque..." About some starlet, maybe...that's said like it's a 'bad' thing...
But don't get me wrong - that Stephen Davis bio on Jim Morrison on disc is very great, if you are into that sorta thing...about 16 hours on 15 discs, like that...
And the above-mentioned Theodore Roszak book is so very recommended as well, particularly for the menstrual blood and tantric references, scholarly...
So that's about it for now...plenty more in my voice recorder, but gonna get back to my room to drink vodka and consult the ALEISTER CROWLEY THOTH TAROT DECK that I traded my FORMER LADY ROOMMATE for...and COMCAST, and music...and incense...and maybe hang out in front of the hotel...later, gators...
FAN DANGO #354 by Dr. Agon Fly (1 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
…there’s a Mexican place on Geary across from A.C.T. that caught me eye…a wide selection of high-priced bottles in the window is the main attraction – shit, you’d be doing yerself more of a favor in the food department seeking a groovy down-home burrito at some Mission District hole in the wall. But the drinks are another story…‘Tres Mujeres’ tequila, like that, in that window…
…well, it’s a place where, in the words of my counterculturally-opinionated e-mail correspondent Jerseyorker, the “Corporate Yuppie Fucks” hang out and spend their ill-earned cash…and the fuckin’ actors from the stage as well – well, the actors are okay enough – most especially cute female ones.
…and tho’ I love my Boone’s Farm (just found an Eddy Street store with flavors I’d not seen before, like “Country Kwencher” and “Sun Peak Peach”), I can be quite at home in a so-called “classier” establishment…just get fantastic plastic in my hot little fingers and watch me work magic…
And speaking of cute female actors, gotta recommend Gretchen Mol in the new Bettie Page biopic…if only for the lady’s killer ass…gave some thought to actually going to a movie palace to see this cinema queen do her silver screen thing…appears to be only playing at the Bridge on Fillmore, one of the Landmark chain, which includes the Embarcadero, the Opera Plaza, and the Lumiere…didn’t go yet, but might get around to it…
And there’s an art auction coming up at the Martin Lawrence gallery in that same Geary fun zone…two-hundred-and-46 canvases up for bidding…liked the last one, called “Wash and Where”, a depiction of the Golden Gate Bridge with giant clothes drying on the towers…said hello to lady dealer Cyd yesterday when passing by…she doesn’t, I think, know quite what to make of me, but I put a smile on her face with my zooming-by comments…
And wanna thank my Odd Fellow brother P. for turning me on to some Cutty Sark last week…finished it last night – gave half to a guy in the hotel…who’s got my San Francisco Library copy of Iceberg Slim’s ‘Pimp’…guess it’ll be safe – he seems to hang out with some questionable characters who might not hesistate to rip off a paperback like that one…if it was my own copy I wouldn’t worry if he just kept it, but don’t wanna hafta owe the library anything…
FAN DANGO #354 by Dr. Agon Fly (2 of 2) [sweetdango@hotmail.com]
And back to the gallery auction…there was a Dali Dante-inspired image that drew my attention…and a Keith Haring…and in the place of honor at Martin Lawrence, facing the entrance, a Chagall canvas, replacing that Warhol Marilyn I mentioned previously…Chagall’s just okay to me…fuck, I prefer Sixties comic book art by, like, Jack Kirby, about ten zillion times more…
And yesterday got nearly simultaneous calls from Megan of RADCO (an eviction-avoidance non-profit), Michael (from the Tenderloin Housing Clinic) and Amy (a “roving” social worker) – all concerned about whether I got the three-part rent deal done…it’s all good and taken care of…
And took a Market Street promenade yesterday from the Civic Center area to the Bank of America at Powell in order to secure 25 more bucks…wanted to get a different magnetic bracelet at the artisan market…an essential, of aesthetics…the one I have now is too dark blue, as I said previously – something more brightly red or green or whatever would be preferred…
And have been cooking in my room more lately, using my hot plate and a large saucepan I found on the street…fixed up a curry potato and radish and sweet onion dish the other day…the curry was a bit too hot for my taste, tho’ I dealt with it, and ate it all myself…
And last night took great advantage of the enormous amount of food of all kinds delivered into the hotel by Foodrunners from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods to create another sumptuous dish in my room – salmon steaks were the basic thing, along with a buttload of vegetables and flavorings…it was fun tending to that for literally ‘hours’, on low heat…gave most of it away this morning…now I’m thinking I shoulda kept more, since I’m beginning to feel a little hungry now…well, I like to share…I can make a decent plate of food if I have half a mind to get busy like that...
And…watched a ‘SNL’ with Sarah Michelle Gellar hosting from four years ago…she just turned 29, I learned in the ‘Examiner’…on the show, she did a hilarious parody of Christina Aguilera’s slutty stage persona…Gellar had a revealing little outfit on…cute physique on her…was never into ‘Buffy’, tho’…I much prefer the sisterly San Franciscan witchery of the three ‘Charmed’ sisters…just watched some of that as well…Alyssa Milano has always been one I liked doing her acting thing…so there you go again…
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