Spirit Day

Today has been designated "Spirit Day" by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), a day to remember the young people who have recently taken their lives due to homophobic bullying and soul-destroying lies perpetuated by homophobic groups, both political and religious in nature (and some who think they are above the law and combine both without paying any taxes!). To show support to the young gay people still with us, today is a day to wear purple and demonstrate to anyone who might be feeling alone and worthless that there are many people in the world who believe in the value of their lives and souls.

In memory of the victims of hate:
Billy Lucas, 15 years old
Asher Brown, 13 years old
Seth Walsh, 13 years old
Tyler Clementi, 18 years old
Carl Walker-Hoover, 11 years old

"Dear gay teen contemplating suicide:

You are not wrong. You are not “bad.” You are not sick, defective, or evil.
You are perfect and beautiful just the way you are.
You have done nothing wrong and you have done nothing to deserve being humiliated, punished, or hurt, either physically or emotionally.
Bullying and discrimination are never ever innocent: the bullies are the ones who are wrong, bad, and sick for hurting you.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you are any less of a human being than they are. Don’t let them tell you it is a choice or that being gay is about behavior; you are who you are. Embrace yourself and be proud of being alive.

You have value. You have as much right to be here on this planet as anyone else.
It may seem like the world is against you, but there are people for you out there, there are places for you out there. You will be happy, you will get to live YOUR life the way YOU want to, without having to pay any attention to the bullies or whatever “bible” nonsense some people might throw at you… you are not "impure," "immoral," "unnatural," or "against nature." Those are just ridiculous lies they tell to hide their hatred, fear and prejudice.

You will survive and thrive, which will just annoy those who bullied you or discriminated against you! You get to live here. That is your RIGHT.
You might turn out to be an important author, a famous designer, someone who invents a new type of metal, an inspiring performer… or you might end up working with kids who need to hear that they have value and are perfect the way they are.
Please stick around.
Please.
We need you.

Love,
JEF"


To help, please visit:
The Trevor Project
Dan Savage's "It Gets Better Project" on Youtube
Please spread the word about this issue and these sites--you never know who might need to hear about them.

The Crushing Number

"Do you suffer what...French paleontologist [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin] called 'the distress that makes human wills founder under the crushing number of living things and stars'?"
--Annie Dillard
"And if you don't, you're not paying attention."
--JEF

Just watched...

…an unintentional double feature of the same story: “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” and the newest remake of “Clash of the Titans.”

Based on a popular series of books for children, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” is a film for children as well. It has a cute storyline, some very good special effects (the effect for satyrs with human upper bodies and animal legs has come a long way just since Mr. Tumnes in 2005's “The Chronicles of Narnia”), and a big-name cast featuring Sean Bean (“Lord of the Rings” trilogy) as Zeus, Kevin McKidd (HBO’s “Rome” ) as Poseidon and Uma Thurman as Medusa. It’s cute enough in a predictable way. It follows a modern day Perseus—a young man named Percy, in honor of the original Perseus, who is the son of Poseidon and a human mother—as he slays Medusa, defeats the Hydra, escapes from the Lotus Eaters and infiltrates Hades to rescue his mom.

“Clash of the Titans,” the 2010 remake of the 1981 film of the same name follows the original Perseus from Greek mythology as he slays Medusa, battles giant scorpions, and defeats the Kraken, a deadly sea monster created by Hades, God of the Underworld. The digital special effects are light years away from anything in the original film which unfortunately featured unintentionally comical stop motion puppetry—but hey, that’s what they had to work with then. This cast features Liam Neeson as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades (with a nose this time!—shout out to Voldemort!), and Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) as Perseus. It was a good time, but also predictable.

But of course it was predictable to me since I have loved Greek—and Roman myths—since I was a young child. My mother had a book—I don’t know where she got it or why, since she wasn't really interested in such things—called THE STORIES OF THE GREEKS. I started to read the adventures of the mythological figures of Greece at an early age and was captivated by them. This led me to check out more and more books about Greek mythology on our weekly visits to the library. And of course when I found out that the Romans worshipped the Greek pantheon under different names, I was fascinated, and had to read all about them as well: I spent hours learning the Greek vs. Roman names for all the deities. I even made a family tree of the Greek gods and how they were related using my crayons on that large-format scratchy manila paper kids used then. I taped it to the wall above my bed.

I still have that old copy of THE STORIES OF THE GREEKS and I get it down from the shelves of my library often to reference a particular figure or adventure. I treasure it…thanks Mom!

Recommend the films? For your eleven year old boy, yes, he will enjoy “Percy Jackson.” For you, you might enjoy “Clash of the Titans”—or you might not. See it only if it is something that attracts you. Otherwise, move on.

BEAUTY: Painting--Christopher Sousa

The harlequin masks and long johns add a peculiar touch to the exquisite, masterful, and painterly images of Christopher Sousa.


Top to bottom: Light Pours Like Honey; Early Morning; Snow; Far From Home; Like Fire Around The Brim; Horns & Lemons; Little Johnny Jewel; Paper, Skin

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Elie Nadelman

Elie Nadelman, 1882-1946

Even though much of what is posted here was created by Nadelman between 1909 and 1916, it feels so fresh and sleek and modern.

BEAUTY: Art--Andrej Dúbravský

Czech-born, Slovakian-based Andrej Dúbravský is only 23 and still studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava but his work shows the skill and sensibility of an accomplished artist. His gestural expressionism is loose, appealing and fascinating while his anthropomorphic boy-bunnies hint at a complex inner mythology living and growing within the artist. Bunny soft sculptures showed up at a recent gallery show, "Brush and Bitch," featuring the work of Dúbravský.


http://www.dubravsky.sk/

His Holiness The Dalai Lama, October 14, 2010

Photo: Linda A. Cicero

It was a special privilege and honor to be in the presence of His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama. The official topic of his talk was “The Centrality of Compassion In Human Life and Society” but since his constant message has always been about compassion, the topic mattered little to him. He even joked with us that no matter what the topic is, he always says the same thing anyhow.

His talk was both expected and surprising. Expected in that his constant message has always been one of compassion—it is so primary that we teach children in kindergarten to treat others as they want to be treated (adults somehow forget this lesson as they age); surprising in that he stressed the importance of secularism and science. Indeed, what I interpreted from his speech was that if anything good is ever going to happen in this world, it must be done through secularism. It seems to be the only way to bridge the gap between all the differing faiths and beliefs of this world. And his interest in science stems from his interest in secularism. The Dalai Lama is the founding—and largest donating—benefactor of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education located at Stanford University. The research they are doing involving neuroscience and how the brain works proves and bolsters the beliefs of Buddhism which concerns itself with the mind. The Dalai Lama stressed that there is no “Creator belief” in Buddhism, only the practice of achieving a “happy life” in the here and now, being able to have complete control over one’s mind and mindfulness. And the important research in neuroscience is both uncovering new and exciting areas as well as supporting the basic tenets of Buddhism.

His words on compassion were a pleasant surprise as well. The Dalai Lama maintains that compassion needs to be coupled with WISDOM: to act out of compassion is a good thing, but to do so in a way that depletes you is foolish. But what really interested me was the idea that, when someone is coming at with you with malice, intending to harm you, intending to deny you what you need for you to live a "happy life," it is your duty not only to protect yourself, but to stop them from harming you out of compassion for THEM. You should think of your enemies’ well-being: correcting their harmful ways can be done out of compassion, out of a concern for their OWN happiness in the long run. Compassion does not mean that you sympathize with anything anyone might be doing or thinking or feeling--it means "right-doing" in the Buddhist sense. And if they are not practicing "right-doing," you can feel compassion for them--and prevent them from doing wrong and living wrong. That was very inspiring to me, especially considering the plague of the Radical Christian Agenda that is infecting and harming our society right now.

It was so refreshing and nourishing to hear a spiritual leader extol the virtues of secularism and science, and recognize that those things are not the enemies of a sense of the spiritual in daily life. His message was such a lovely, encouraging voice of reason, and gives me hope that this country will not be taken over by the divisive, hurtful, sick Radical Christian extremists who are really akin to the Taliban. And it gives me hope for the world.

Above: My ticket and program from the Dalai Lama's appearance on 10.14.10.

http://www.dalailama.com/

LIFE

“I think that life is so important and, in its workings, so upsetting, that nobody should be spared, but that it should be rammed down their throats from morning to night.”
--J.R. Ackerley, British novelist, editor and playwright


(Thanks to Mr. Laurence for inspiration and photo juxtaposition)

Being Boring

I can safely say that I have never been bored in my entire life.

In French, one does not say “I am bored,” one says “Je m’ennuie,” which means “I bore MYSELF.”
The psychological implication of that marvelous idiomatic syntax is of course, that you are responsible for your own good time and no one else. If you are “bored,” then you need to become “un-bored.” If you do not want to become “un-bored,” then you are relaxing, enjoying doing nothing. Relaxing is not the same as bored. Daydreaming, spacing out, thinking, lounging—none of these are “bored.”

Even when I was growing up, I was never bored. My mom taught me early on that there was always something to do—not out of some deranged, Puritanical “idle-hands-are-the-devil’s-workshop” belief but simply that there are wonderful, interesting things all around us, all the time. If I did not want to play with my toys or games or be inside, I was not bored… I was restless. Perhaps I needed to be outside running around or rollerskating. If I did not want to run around outside or play tag, I was not bored… I was feeling introspective. Perhaps what I needed was to sit down and color or create a puppet show.
My adult life is the same way. Bored? The word has little meaning to me. What I do and want to do depends on my moods. Perhaps there are times when I pace the house, not wanting to do any of the things on hand or any of the things I should be doing… again, that is being restless. I am yearning for something else. And I must find what that something else is.
Really, there is no such thing as “bored.” People mistake other emotions and desires for boredom. "Bored" is an excuse for laziness or lack of imagination, or perhaps an unwillingness to simply acknowledge the fact that one is currently happy doing nothing.

The core of all of this is in the French phrase, “I bore myself.” I personally have never been bored. How could I? I am not a boring person. I do not bore myself.



“She refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn’t boring.”
--Zelda Fitzgerald, “Eulogy On The Flapper”

"Zelda"

Zelda

I met Zelda Fitzgerald
at the supermarket the other day.
She was on the produce aisle
squeezing fruits and vegetables.
She poked her thumb into a tomato
and started to cry.
I accidentally backed into her
and knocked the tomato from her hands.
Surrounded by xylophone corn
and swelled-head eggplant,
I apologized.
She was wearing a black dress with white pearls.
She was wearing a black coat with white fur.
She called it her Elizabeth Arden outfit.
She grabbed a handful of kiwis
like bearded gourds,
little elves with whiskers.
“I want to go swimmin’,” she said, “come back to
La Paix with me.”
We got into her car, it looked so familiar,
the monstrous length of cream colored metal,
a million, tiny, swiveling windshields
that reflected a million suns.
“Why do I know this car?” I asked.
“This is the one in...oh, I never did like
that book.....what was it called? the one
about that pushy little man who ended up
in his swimmin’ pool...”

She wore a one piece bathing suit
and she climbed up the ladder,
dive after dive after dive after dive;
after a while, she made her body limp,
letting it splash into the water
whatever side first
and she explained to me
that she feels like a blade
cutting through a cinderblock
when she does the breast stroke.

Back at La Paix, Zelda bubbled like seltzer,
she wanted me to see her things,
so we talked in the study
and Scott entered, nursing a drink:
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
He set his glass down, took his shirt off,
“Let’s see what you can do, young man.”
Zelda: “Scott, don’t...”
He whirled around me, fists whistled past my ears,
he lost his balance, then caught it.
Zelda quickly said,
“Come look at the lampshades I’ve painted!”
She held one up, waving it desperately.
Scott grunted, “He’s busy, Zelda...”
She begged me to read a passage from her novel;
she tried to hand it to me,
but Scott knocked it out of her hands.
She ran to the gramophone,
cranked it furiously
and set the needle down.
Cellos and violins
bounced off the parquet
to the frescoed ceiling.
She jumped, she floated, she twirled
as Scott cornered me by the bookcase,
she slipped and fell, screaming,
“STOP IT! STOP IT!”
I looked into Scott’s glassy eyes
and said, “That’s enough.”
He bounced back and forth on his tip-toes,
“But I’m not through with you.”
“I said, that’s enough Scott...”

By then the dinner guests had arrived,
they breezed through the foyer,
buzzing, anticipating
a traditional Fitzgerald floorshow.
Giggling women dropped sable and mink,
groomed men dropped ashes and names--
they were all from the literary world
and Ernest Hemingway ran from guest to guest, saying,
“I love your new book. I think it captures the
essence, the spontaneity of the Great American
Novel. Do you have ten dollars I could borrow?”
and Scott said to Ernest,
“I love your new book. I think it captures the
essence and adventure of the Great American
Novel. Here’s ten dollars you can borrow...
Zelda?...Honey?...Did you read Ernest’s
new book?”
“Yes, I read it...bullfighting, bullslinging and
bullshit.”
Although the bustle of the table didn’t falter,
everyone heard.
No one dared to look Zelda’s way
and everyone said to Scott,
“We love your new book. It captures the essence
and clarity of the Great American Novel.”
Zelda stood up and shouted,
“TALK! TALK! TALK!
THAT’S ALL YOU PEOPLE EVER DO!”
She wriggled and pulled her panties
down around her ankles.
She stepped out of them
and dropped them on the table.
Seizing my arm, she dragged me
up stairs, down corridors,
to an empty bedroom.

Trunk after trunk,
she piled her clothes
in an old fireplace in the corner:
a French dress with a big bow,
a wrap of Chinese silk,
an eyelet summer smock,
a sailor suit
and her Elizabeth Arden outfit.
“I don’t want them anymore. I can’t stand them.
I never could. I hate them. I HATE THEM.”
She dropped the match and watched them blaze.
She knelt, wild-eyed,
excitement shook her hands
like a child watching fireworks.
She made a nervous noise
like boiling water
and before we could stop it,
the roof was on fire,
the heat and smoke forcing us down the stairs.

Out on the lawn,
Zelda gasped for air
as firetrucks split the night
and shrieked toward La Paix.
Scott ran from guest to guest,
shaking their shoulders,
holding each head between his hands,
repeating, “Faulty wiring...
faulty wiring...”
He grabbed me
and cradled my face
between his palms and
slender blond fingers:
“Faulty wiring,”
he whispered, close enough for me
to smell brandy on his breath...
close enough for his lips to brush mine.

©JEF 1985

Just watched...

...Fellini's "Intervista."


This penultimate film by The Maestro Fellini is what you would expect from the master of Surrealist Cinema, but the manic imagery and the dizzying rush of the story from his earlier days had mellowed by the time he made “Intervista” (or “Interview” in English) in 1987. Like a wine whose flavors have blended and smoothed with age, Fellini’s imagination too had blended and become more complex. “Intervista” is an intimate glimpse into the thought process of one of the most creative figures in film history and it could only have been made by a mature, skilled and experienced Fellini. The film shows the understanding and acceptance of a man who has lived, a man who has cultivated a life and been cultivated by life, a man who is wise; this is not to say a man who is perfect and understands life in toto, but one who has reconciled himself, one who has acquiesced to all that life is and can be.

“Intervista” is a bit like a set of Russian nesting dolls with films within stories within films within preparing to make a film. It starts with a simple enough premise: while Fellini is directing a film, a Japanese camera crew arrive to interview him for a documentary. But that premise quickly takes on an additional layer as Fellini tells them the story of the first time he came to Cinecittà, the Roman studio compound where he ended up making most of his films. This story turns out to be something that Fellini is filming. We become immersed in watching the construction of sets, and casting actors for this memory, only to seamlessly enter the memory itself without any warning. From there we bounce back and forth between Fellini’s interview, his memories, his directing the filming of said memories, Fellini casting for and shooting an adaptation of Kafka’s AMERIKA, and a film about it all. Fellini’s actual entourage and crew play themselves in the film, including his real-life cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli and assistant director Maurizio Mein. But the most surprising cameos come from Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg, the two stars of Fellini’s 1960 masterpiece “La Dolce Vita.” At Cinecittà, Fellini stumbles upon Marcello who is making a commercial for a brand of detergent. Fellini and entourage whisk Mastroianni away to the Roman countryside where they arrive at the home of Anita Ekberg. An impromptu party ensues and Marcello magically conjures up a sheet on which is projected scenes from “La Dolce Vita.” From the privacy of the opposite side of the sheet, Mastroianni and Ekberg reunite to watch their iconic Trevi Fountain scene, and to watch themselves frolic in the water nearly thirty years before. It is a lovely, poignant, heartbreaking, and heartwarming moment in cinema history, one which makes us yearn for other such reunions. Imagine Bogart and Bergman, as themselves sometime in the 70s, watching themselves in “Casablanca.” It gives me goosebumps.

The mood of “Intervista” is tender, loving and surprisingly upbeat and buoyant. Fellini allows us to slip effortlessly with him between memory and current life, between film and reality, in front of and behind the camera. It is a loving ode to cinema, to this kind of storytelling, and to a life dedicated to this pursuit.

Recommend? I am a huge Fellini fan so of course I am going to respond with an enthusiastic “Yes!”

http://www.federicofellini.it/

The Ecstatic Ballet of Destruction and 1969

The incredible final sequence from Antonioni's film "Zabriskie Point," and a fan-made video using footage from Woodstock for the Boards of Canada's 2002 song "1969."
They go together...

"Although not a follower of 'hseroK divaD' [David Koresh played backward], she is a devoted Branch Davidian." "1969 in the sunshine."

http://www.boardsofcanada.com/

Ode To Fog

This gorgeous study of fog in the San Francisco Bay Area is breathtaking. It is a lovely ode to the enigmatic, elusive element--not quite water, not quite air--that bathes, permeates and soothes us all here in this most beautiful part of the country: "The Unseen Sea."

Images perfectly captured and video expertly produced by Bay Area photographer Simon Christen. http://www.simonchristen.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Gareth Pugh

The ominous, futuristic vision of desinger Gareth Pugh.
About far more than "just clothing," this mesmerizing video directed by Ruth Hogben featuring shape, pattern, and movement has an awesome, threatening soundtrack and amazing, nearly-abstract art direction and visuals.

http://www.garethpugh.net/

There Will Come A Day...

Dear gay teen contemplating suicide:

You are not wrong. You are not “bad.” You are not sick, defective, or evil.
You are perfect and beautiful just the way you are.
You have done nothing wrong and you have done nothing to deserve being humiliated, punished, or hurt, either physically or emotionally.
Bullying and discrimination are never ever innocent: the bullies are the ones who are wrong, bad, and sick for hurting you.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you are any less of a human being than they are. Don’t let them tell you it is a choice or that being gay is about behavior; you are who you are. Embrace yourself and be proud of being alive.

You have value. You have as much right to be here on this planet as anyone else.
It may seem like the world is against you, but there are people for you out there, there are places for you out there. You will be happy, you will get to live YOUR life the way YOU want to, without having to pay any attention to the bullies or whatever “bible” nonsense some people might throw at you… you are not "impure," "immoral," "unnatural," or "against nature." Those are just ridiculous lies they tell to hide their hatred, fear and prejudice.

You will survive and thrive, which will just annoy those who bullied you or discriminated against you! You get to live here. That is your RIGHT.
You might turn out to be an important author, a famous designer, someone who invents a new type of metal, an inspiring performer… or you might end up working with kids who need to hear that they have value and are perfect the way they are.
Please stick around.
Please.
We need you.

Love,
JEF

In memory of the victims of hate:

Billy Lucas, 15 years old

Asher Brown, 13 years old

Seth Walsh, 13 years old

Tyler Clementi, 18 years old
Carl Walker-Hoover, 11 years old

To help, please visit:

The Trevor Project

Dan Savage's "It Gets Better Project" on Youtube

And spread the word. You never know who needs to hear it.

Secret Oktober

Video by JEF. All photos by JDG and JEF.
Song: "Secret Oktober" by Duran Duran

BEAUTY: Installation--Tokujin Yoshioka

This past summer, Japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka participated in a group exhibition at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. The theme of the show was “Sensing Nature” and each artist created physical manifestations of grand, amorphous or immaterial concepts of nature such as wind, starlight, water, mountains and waterfalls. Yoshioka’s piece called “Snow” consisted of a fifteen meter-wide floor-to-ceiling glass box filled with thousands of pounds of feathers blowing and swirling in a mock snowstorm. Captivating, evocative, and beautiful.


http://www.tokujin.com/en/

BEAUTY: Men--Vintage Military

Vintage sexy sailors, soldiers, and fine flyboys: BFFs.