evening comes no more
responsibilities so
we drink like a fish

it's sunday. take a break. make breakfast and lay around.

we packed up our stuff
arriving in the moment
headed for unknown

corky

amazing what can happen with a little free time and some household objects. in the hands of a child they suddenly come alive. my son made this little guy recently. he calls him corky. he's had all kinds of adventures including a perilous trip to the kitchen sink. good thing he can swim...

this is my camera. there are many like it, but this one is mine. my camera is my best friend. it is my life. i must master it as i master my life. my camera, without me, is useless. without my camera, I am useless...

winchauu?

i love when a new business moves into an existing location, and instead of replacing the old sign frame, makes a budget concious decision to go ahead and make it work with the old one. this one used to be our old winchell's doughnut shop. i guess the new owners thought "why fight a good thing? we could spend all this money creating a new image and branding campaign and try and make inroads into the already super competitive doughnut market, or we could just make one subtle change and slip into people's subconciousness." i can just see people walking out of this place and thinking "hmmm, these doughnuts are terrific, but something seems different. winch-wow!" but then again maybe i'm wrong. maybe this was one of those happy accidents of fate where a struggling entrepreneur named harry winchauu suddenly found himself thrust between opportunity and success!

swirl

dark clouds gathering
storm is on the rise see now
approach of thunder

all my troubles spill into the sea
running down from hills and mountains
they make their path
until they reach
the shoals and shores
and finally ocean’s great expanse
to mix with other sorrows
and swirl back and forth
west to east and back again
cleansing themselves
in the torrents, squalls
rising up
to meet freighter captains
bobbing like corks
in the lonely darkness
of empty crossing
soundless echoes
of rolling souls
they make their peace under the horizon
of creator’s watchful eye
until at last
the wind blows them
back
through this gate
into this pool
of st. francis’ naming
to lap up again
near my feet
and trouble me no more.

dizzy's diamond

came across these great images of dizzy from one of my cd's. they were taken in 1962. not sure what the story is here, i just like the idea that maybe this was diz's mode of transport during that time. like maybe the band would pull into town sometime in the afternoon and diz would put this little scoot together to cruise around before that evening's show. you know, to clear his head. scooting down city streets he'd have a pulse on the town. riding in and out of the shadows cast by buildings overhead. seeing the light dance and change. feeling the temperature change as he rode through hot and cold spots. and the smells of the neighborhoods would waft into his nostrils and fill his brain with new magic. maybe he'd work out some of the kinks from the night before and imagine some new phrasing that he might later introduce to just like, blow everybody else away that night including his musicians. the other guys in the band would be like "wow, where'd that come from?" and diz would just smile, his secret two wheeled inspiration tucked safely in the back of the station wagon in the alley. crazy.

we sat and drank beer
on swings side by side happy
and talked until two

unlimited

so, tomorrow morning the tickets go on sale for this jet blue thing, where for $600 you get an unlimited pass to fly as much as you'd like or can during the month of september. which got me to thinking, what if you had no obligations and the hankering to take maximum advantage of this offer? what would that look like? i mean how would you do it?
would you try and fly to every spot jet blue flies, like that guy who visits every starbucks? or would you sketch out a plan to get to all the states you could by adding in rental cars here and there? or how about criss-crossing back and forth from east to west, north to south living in this continual state of jetlag and timelessness? that i think would be the way to go: maximum coverage. virtually living on board airplanes and terminals. sleeping and waking, digesting small amounts of airline food to stay energized. carrying on endlessly meaningless conversations with the person next to you. it sounds like "fight club", right?
what would happen to your brain? to be in a continual state of flux, moving all the time until you can't get on a standby anymore. until you're forced to sit and wait, or then wander through the man made maze of airports. maybe you'd actually make it outside every once in a while. exploring the cities of america with great freedom. "no need to act like a tourist, i can always come back tomorrow after my 6000 mile round trip flight to seattle and back".
too bad i'm stuck with all this dry obligation.

now is lonely time
sit and wait for things to come
afraid of changing

coffee break

i've been going into work earlier this week, (started today at 6am) and one of the perks (seriously, no pun intended) of my job is the free java that is always flowing from the lady with the mermaid arms. except today, when i got there at a quarter to 6 and discovered (gasp) nobody makes coffee that early!
so i rolled up my barista sleeves and made three air pumps. that's right, so the next time you walk in and see that it's already made, look around to find and thank the unsung joe that helped start your day off right.

boys scoop stones to throw
fish come gobble up cracker
in murky water

small houses 02

location: hwy 49, between auburn and grass valley, ca
a couple years ago i was working at a job where i travelled all around northern california. one morning i had to head up to grass valley from sacramento and i figured i'd take my little honda cb360. the weather forecast mentioned spotty showers throughout the day, but as i woke up that morning and went outside, the sky looked mostly clear. so i loaded my stuff for the ride and the overnight that i would do up there and headed out. at the time i didn't have real riding gear. i'd usually put on some thermal underwear if it was cold, and then jeans and a t-shirt over that. i had a decent leather jacket though and a pair of doc martens boots.
the ride started out beautifully. it was cool and grey and occasionally i felt a little spit from the passing clouds, my favorite conditions. but as i moved off hwy 193 and onto n49 the spit started to turn into a more constant drool. my helmet was an old open face and i was wearing cheap imitation halcyon goggles that didn't really shed the rain. so every few seconds i had to lift my hand from the grip and wipe each lens with my left finger. this worked for a while, until finally the steady rain opened up and started coming down hard. i lifted up my goggles and spotted a little road that turned off the highway and pulled over. i looked up the road and there was a little shelter. so i rode up and parked inside.
it couldn't have been a more perfect gift at the time. here were me and my little bike, both ill-equipped for the pounding storm, and suddenly a refuge. at first i was a little upset, i was on this business trip. and now i was running late because of a little weather. but sometimes it's good to stop, even when it isn't our choice. i stood there checking out the beautiful rolling mist coming over the green hills as cars raced by on the wet pavement. i studied this little structure that was now my temporary dwelling, no doubt a place where the local kids waited for the school bus on days like these. surprising how dry it was. yeah, sometimes it's good when we get stopped. we're forced to just look at things.
anyway, the rain finally lifted enough for me to head out again. by the time i got to grass valley i was pretty well soaked, but i felt like i had earned the journey. now with some decent gear, i regularly ride in the rain with no ill effects, which is great, but there's something raw about being in direct contact with the elements. on another trip up to gv (a little sunnier this time) i stopped and snapped this photo as a reminder to stop and take a look around every once in a while.

we work all week long
feeling only half fulfilled
waiting for weekend

frankenjotto

i used to be a really big fan of j. otto siebold. i say used to like i'm not anymore. which isn't true. i guess i mean i used to be a bigger fan, before so many other distractions came along. i still love his work though and will always treasure my signed copy of "olive the other reindeer" that i picked up at one of his in store readings in san francisco one very rainy night. he handed out these little plastic records as well that night with a recording of one of the "john's" from they might be giants doing an original ode to olive. maybe when x-mas rolls around i'll put that one up as well. anyway, since it's friday i figured i'd share my frankenjotto tribute. can't you hear frank saying "grrr-sope. make things clean" i just checked and his site is still up if you wanna go and make your own sope box. so race on j. otto!

the price of milk oooh
hits sky high we pull the clouds
against the steel ground

i sit in one place
all life passes time stands still
staring at the sea

lost stories from hwy 40-part 2

i always notice this little cafe sitting just off west 80 as you're leaving vacaville. yesterday on my way to the ocean i finally decided to stop and have a closer look. as i exited 80 and wormed my way through town i turned down the main street in the old part of town and made a happy discovery. i was suddenly on old hwy 40! i had read that parts of it still existed in fairfield and vacaville and now it was all coming together. the town had a great old feel with the small businesses and homes that make up these old neighborhoods. seeing that hwy 40 marker, it felt like the wren's had been calling to me all those times i passed on by. time was pressing on my ocean destination and i only had time for a few quick clicks. and although i didn't have a chance to stop inside the wren's nest, it is now bookmarked for a future ride.

favorite things 02

just about every morning this gets used at my house. it's a part of my morning ritual. last new year's eve the glass broke and i wandered around in a daze until the replacement arrived. fortunately, my mother in-law lent me her mr. coffee (blecch) while i waited. still, this doesn't need an outlet, just a source to make boiling water. and it brings me so much joy. i noticed the other day the stem is slightly bent from forcing it over the years. ah well. anyway, i can't imagine the morning without it. would that i can do the same. God bless the germans.

i'm lost come find me
i'm scared and want to come home
i'm loved where are you

fat guy skinny tie
cold walls warm hearts
night day
come stay at del-ray

fire hydrants 001

i started collecting photos of fire hydrants after reading george nelson's "how to see". they're brilliant, and we take them for granted because they are always there. but the closer i've examined them i realize how very different they are from each other. yet they must all perform the same function.
this one stood (stands) right in front of my old house in san leandro. if you look closely you can see it was made in 1951! this little silent sentinel has been there in all manner of weather year after year. i especially like the added texture of the rust as a result from a slow leak no doubt.
amazingly the local water crew would come around regularly and inspect this little guy as well. i do so love things that are built to last a very long time with minimal maintenance. brilliant!

rocks stare at the sun
all day long they do battle
sun stares back at rocks

classic movies

went to our local library's silver screen showing saturday. they show a free classic movie the first saturday of each month. this month's picture was "witness for the prosecution" with marlene dietrich, charles laughton and tyrone power. i had never seen it, and it turned out to be a great courtroom drama. definitely recommend it. it's based on an agatha christie story. one of the fun things they do at "silver screen" is ask a trivia question and give out prizes. this month's trivia was "name one of the two famous detective characters agatha christie made famous - spelling counts". i guessed poirot and won! i now have a dvd copy of high sierra for my effort. love the classic movies.

continuing in the vein of music i thought i'd share some more images from the fabulous bel canto demo record and a link to a local story about a man who recently picked up some old 45's which had belonged to his mother who died thirty years ago. these 45's made the journey from san lorenzo, ca to sacramento. it just goes to show that good things happen when you buy old records...

bel canto

new music time again. i scored this little gem from brooks records in old town sacramento. brooksy will sometimes leave some orphans and strays out on his front bench for suckers like me to adopt and take home. i love demonstration records and this one's pretty good. it has all the classic late 50's-early 60's feel including a simulated atomic explosion!
the front side is all demo with local radio personality jack wagner taking you the listener on an audio tour of los angeles and then ending up in the bel canto studios to share the history of wax.
at first i wasn't going to include the flip side, as it has the typical fare of the label's music for you to enjoy on your new hi-fi. but it's pretty groovy stuff so i included it anyway.
so enjoy. put on your robe, mix a highball and dig this crazy new thing the kids are calling STEREO!