saffron gone astray

next day was a saturday and i was supposed to attend a zinfandel wine show in frisco sometime after lunch. this didnt happen however, for various reasons. the day began innocently enough with nathan and myself hitting the shoppes for both breakfast and lunch foodstuffs, which would be prepared & served at the unmarked west oakland warehouse. no doubt we acquired some jug wine, probably carlo rossi. the sun was out. there may have been a hike in the hills or was that the day before. i was due in the hills near redwood city for dinner, preferably well in advance for the wine and appetizers. much to my surprise, nathan agreed to wisk me over in his own motor car, with oliver the dog. no problem!! (i have never cared much for the transportation system in the 'bay area' that tries to pass itself off as a subway). we arrived emerald hills sometime before 5, and it was a very warm day. we were lucky to get out of oakland however, as the occupiers were somehow engaged in some more foolishness and the roads were temporarily backed up. and arrival at the home of longtime friend and comrad riley the irishman, and his longtime paramour kathleen. hot damn. the wine begins to flow. we get a tour of the grounds. oliver the dog is free to roam and run!! some stellar dead on the box (kings beach feb 1968). a neighbour, s the anarchist, was also invited. a moroccan chicken was being prepared. but there was a small problem: the hippies at the market neglected to put the saffron into the bag!! holy shit!! how can there be a moroccan chicken without the saffron!?! well....the meal presented us some hours later was impeccable. 'no saffron required'. more wine. side dishes?? cous cous? vegetables? odd, but i dont really recall. we were all having a good time. a tour of the grounds next door. nathan saw a boat he wanted. (and may still want). the warm afternoon was evening & then nite. but the madness would continue tomorrow...

signspotting out west

the arrangements had been made some weeks previously but i was definitely not in the mood to travel when jan 24 came around. balmy providence had not yet allowed winter thru the gates (in fact it really hasnt arrived). but there were several appointments (& meals) i just didnt want to miss, and off i went. i knew pirate could take care of 'all & everything' here at the citadel while i was away (& she did). i didnt see much of oakland, but my mainman there drove me hither and yon to mendocino and marin, & on evening 3 or was it 4 my attorney got loud and said how bout dinner at his place, in north berkeley (he's a damn good cook folks!). naturally we began with some red wine around 2, toured the garden, listened to some fabulous music (usually vinyl), most of which i cant remember cause i'd never heard of some of the bands. maybe when he reads this he can gently remind me! were there appetizers? had to have been. no doubt some superb cheeses from the board etc. the main course was to be guineau hen, which i had never had. another bottle of red. my oakland road manager was due back for dinner at 6 and he may have been in touch via mobile. eventually my attorney's wife arrives, but on finding out dinner was still some time away, she split quick for the safety of an upstairs sleeping room. ho ho....(she missed a damn good dinner folks!!) N finally arrived and the three of us ate.....some sizzling grateful dead on the box.....the au jus and cabbage with the hen out of this world! more red!! ho ho....but this was just the start of this little west coast venture, ostensibly to remind folks of all i do and continue to do......(stay tuned!)

those london chimes from yesteryear

it was probably in january, 1965 that the rolling stones became important to me. certainly i had heard of them in 1964, and maybe even seen them on tv. but they hadnt sunk in. fortunately, there was good radio where i was living then, a 9 year old out on the delta. and the station dug the stones. maybe 'the rolling stones now' had just been released. i knew this was my music and i hadnt even seen a picture of the boys yet. and because all things british were big that year we even got the news from london. this may have been my first time hearing about winston churchill. cause he checked out on 24 jan '65 at the age of 90! and after the news, the station had a show known as the 'gear hour' and it was all things british and my boys, the stones, were often featured. there was even a full hour of the stones one saturday nite!! transistor radio under the pillow! tho as a rule, i dont really like janurary tho it is the month of my birth. (i later found out the stone themselves were down under that month, stopping off in L.A. to record 'the last time' after the aussie tour.
might still be their best single! (b/w 'play with fire').

between the buttons

it was a festive wknd for reasons aplenty (& some of you may even know why) but it may have begun thursday with the rain and a viewing of tinker tailor soldier spy, which, while not as good as the alec guiness 4 hour interpretation was still enjoyable and gary oldman was indeed superb as smiley/ alas, the rain split quick and the cold arrived (rain due back tonite folks). and those le carre books usually put me in the mood for pink floyd's meddle which will spin some nite soon/ saturday was another excursion, this one to 'loie fuller' restaurant on the west side (one of our favourite providence eateries). sunday and we never left the citadel but for an electric evening at the big house : potato raclette and chili with a superb california cabernet/ everyone in good form/lazy monday with simon wells' book on the '67 redlands bust as the clouds are welcomed back! the circus will resume soon, do be patient...

anonymous proposition

we musta hit 62 or so on the porch today, windows open...finally a tequila sunrise, like those oakland daze of yesteryear...tho the burgundy was flowin also....and now its halftime : saints & lions...just a quick word...we can often be outta here by now...this january the exception and the weather godz in our huddle for the moment...gotta get back to the inks and pastels...still some typing to do on the word collage...another lazy saturday....

hwy to another song

was out in oakland last february and nathan made a superb coq au vin, a version which i made tonite (w/ bacon) and it turned out pretty damn good. but that isnt why i am here today. the following was first composed in 1988 and has been modified to fit your screen and your mood.
***
i see you/timeless injectory. desert sky & pink wolves.
SHE SINGS. integrity of a madman. isolation/solitude. orkus orchids & a pinochle deck to go.
foliginally/juxtaposition notwithstanding.
a jig-saw of nerveless fever. piece it together as the:
soup of your vein
soup of your mind
soup and you're MINE
ode to a transparent misunderstanding or didnt our times mesh...

along for the ride. your nerve cut, raw-edged existence has eaten away at my
SOUL
MY BEING
MY EXIT VISA
MY SPHERE
& my kaleidoscopic determination to make you something other than you are:
to make you see me thru a 3 dimensional warped obsession.
But: it IS you. this i can not deny. the ballgame is yours, cant you see?
keep your dreary cesspool, i dont want it!
stay off my fucking com lines you suffocate me.
glassy eyes/bitter connexion. glass bootheel. far west
i decided it might be a good time to change my phone number. not that i dont want to hear from you its just that i cant contemplate the chamber within your sawed off misanthropy. but: do knock cautiously & we may be able to connect for a bent snowball. your presence is in my fedora & i sing for you.
***

fragmented ink

there have been many periods of writing, scribbling...and of course drawing & painting and both continue to this day. yet there were no diary entries until 1982. and since then they have been more or less constant, without revealing much. in 1980 i arrived in london for a lengthy stay and over a month or so of that time composed 'fragmented ink', my first published piece. it amuses me now in retrospect, as i informed people i had a book coming out. the book was fotocopied sheets in a smartly designed 'folder'. no 2 were alike. it still reads well. and there are still out-takes as it were. but the most joy of the scribbles was 'piano key transparency', begun in 1975, and finally published in 1982, the 2nd inkblot publication. recently released on compact disc. the new year may finally see the release of 'tropical delusion', my long threatened fractured memoir. hold your breath...