ROAD TRIP- JANUARY 5TH, 2012

(the ugliest motel in the world- exterior)

(the ugliest motel in the world- interior)

jan 5th- 4am

i'm @ the ugliest motel in the world!
i''ve got to get out of here... i take a shower.. ohmygod..
the shower looks like janet leigh from psycho! this place is the worst. and it's scary!

(the shower of the ugliest motel in the world)

jan 5th- 5am..

i am very excited to leave this pit of a trash hole called GLOBE AZ..
 i travel thru the morning desert @ the speed of light.

jan 5th- 10amish

i am in QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA. a very small transient town known for gem & rock shows and precious metals.

i stop by my fave books shop called  READER'S OASIS BOOKSHOP.

 it is run by  paul winer who is a nudist. he has been nude since 1967. he used to be hot in that hippy sorta way. now he is an eccentric old man.

there is a cowboy from colorado with a display of his books about horses and humor.

he told me he used to have 300 horses, but now he is retired and has none. 

all he does now  is ride the hired hands.

10:40amish~ quartzsite

i have been traveling thru quartzsite  for many, many years and always use as a pitstop for gas, pickup books. never food.

well this time around quartzsite turns out to be magical. the guy at  reader's oasis bookshop as me to be part of their  "author's afternoons" where they host various authors and their books. they put them in a tent with a chair and display. i told them i would be interested for next year.

can you imagine me with my book- 13 YEARS OF BONDAGE in a tent in quartzsite?! 

in the middle of nowhere! what a hoot.

i checked out hi jolly's outpost- internet cafe... 

just because i was "jonesing" to get online and blog.

 i noticed a black doll in a carriage in front of the cafe.... humm....

 i wondered dear readers what your opinions were of this?

(a collie was watching me as i took pics)

(Dorothy & Toto's ice cream shoppe)

this sweet little lady in a wheelchair was running a leather shop and saw me with my camera. she insisted i take a pic of her doggie , "coco" so i did.

she also sold me this amazing dream catcher. i loved it.. i didn't think is was for me since i already have two. i thought about giving it to chris bag, but he didn't respond to it. 

ultimately i gave to my neighbor nick. he LOVED IT.. 

and i though it looked perfect in our las palmas  patio. so it found the perfect home.

jan 5th- 12noonish

i am driving thru Blythe, california. i sleepy little farming town that has landed on hard times.

BLYTHE is so cute.. here are some sights & sounds of little Blythe~

(the horny toad salon!)

(this is where i bought my durango boots and blue strip socks for chris bag)

2pmish

i drive by DESERT CENTER.. it is a lonely little town.. population 4, but i remember they have a great looking diner. not for eating, mind you... only to take a pic.

THE NEW YORKER WRITES ABOUT PASOLINI

36 YEARS LATER, BUT FINALLY, THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE WRITES ABOUT PASOLINI~

PASOLINI’S THEOREM

reposted courtesy~ Richard Brody

The second-to-last interview that Pier Paolo Pasolini gave before he was murdered in 1975 

(a case that still remains mysterious) and that was long believed 

lost has turned up. 

Eric Loret and Robert Maggiori tell the story in Libération—

Pasolini was introducing his work in Sweden, a round-table

 discussion was recorded for broadcast, 

then held, then lost, until his Swedish translator, 

Carl Henrik Svenstedt, recently found his

 personal recording of the talk. The Italian weekly L’Espresso

 has published a partial transcript of the discussion, 

along with the audio recording. 

The principal subject was Pasolini’s most recent 

(and, as it turned out, final) film, 

“Salò,” an adaptation of the Marquis de Sade’s
“120 Days of Sodom,”set in the last bastion of Italian fascism,
 under direct German tutelage, in the waning days of the
Second World War. It is, of course, a legendarily difficult
movie to watch, because it depicts torture and sexual
 violence with a frank and explicit realism.
Pasolini said,In this film, sex is nothing but allegory, 

the metaphor for the commodification of bodies

 subjected to power. I think that consumerism manipulates 

and violates bodies neither more nor less than Nazism.

 My film shows the sinister connection between 
consumerism and Nazism.

Later in the interview, he restates the point: 

“I consider consumerism to be a Fascism worse than 

the classical one, because clerical Fascism didn’t
really transform Italians, didn’t enter into them.
It was a totalitarian state but not a totalizing one.”

He emphasizes that he chose to film “a world at its end,”
the end of Fascism, for its “poetic” qualities—

and that, had he chosen to film Fascism at its
moment of “great glory,” in the late thirties,

 it would have been “an intolerable film.”
 He calls “Salò”a film “on the true anarchy,”
 on “the anarchy of power.” 

And when Pasolini speaks of poetry,
he does so literally: born in 1922,
he had already published several books of poetry

 and a novel before turning his attention to movies;
asked about his cinematic training, he said he had none—

“Or, rather, that of a spectator, but I started
 immediately with two big specific loves which
continue to this day: on the one hand, Chaplin,
 and, on the other, Kenzo [sic; actually, Kenji] Mizoguchi…..

” Whatever else these two cinematic colossi of drastically
different styles are, they are both among
the great political flimmakers; the discovery of
this double filiation makes perfect sense—

and says as much about their work as it does about Pasolini’s. 

(“The Gold Rush” is still playing at Film Forum—

today is the last day of its run—and, seeing it again recently,
I was struck by the sense of outrage and 

revolt that it propels along with its derisive humor
and wounded romanticism.)

 It’s for such illuminations that interviews,

 a kind of view into the artist’s workshop and library,
are such treasures.

And as for Pasolini’s vehement rejection of
 postwar liberal modernity—

it’s a founding notion of art that it offers speculative visions that life can’t, 

and it’s also a reminder that there’s no better reason to look
to artists for guidance  regarding political practicalities than to
turn to politicians for their views on artistic creation.

READ MORE-

ROAD TRIP- 1/4/2012

jan 4th- 7amish

i have to leave this beautiful hamlet. raymond makes me a farewell tamale and some burritos for the road. also some pumpkin bread that he made from scratch. he is so thoughtful.

8:30amish
ok i hit the road.... sorta depressed.. i don't really want to go back.

i decided to take the scenic route hwy 53west to 60- southwest...
it goes thru the highlands of new mexico & arizona.

12noonish
very beautiful and very desolate.. i literally don't see a living soul for hours and there are no businesses.

after many hours, i finally come to a gas station market. i ask the proprietor if i'm in the right direction to globe, AZ. he says, "it depends on which way you are going." i ask him how much longer. " 3 or 4 hours depending on  traffic." TRAFFIC?!! i'm in the middle of nowhere and there isn't a soul in site!

is one cow crossing the road considered rush hour?

3pmish

i'm in the middle of nowhere.. the scenery is beautiful but i am bored outta my mind!  i haven't seen civilization for hours.. who ever thought i would miss it.

6pmish

i finally reach GLOBE, ARIZONA. my destination for today.

i was here many years ago with my friend mouse.. 15 years ago to be exact. 

at the time i thought it was a cute little victorian town with charm and quaintance..

 i even had a chat with a proprietor who moved his business from san diego to globe and was very happy.. 

well that was then.... this is now.. the economy or something has turn this town into a PIT.. 

AND I MEAN A TRASH PIT! this place is awful. i do not recommend. 

this is definitely the low point of my road trip. yuck.

i eat raymond's burrito & pumpkin bread and try to go to sleep.

ROAD TRIP- 1/3/2012

8amish- jemez springs.

raymond made me this breakfast burrito.. it is amazing!!! look at that red chili.. he makes it from scratch!

it is as red as blood!

(look i found occupy jemez springs!)

11amish

raymond & i spend the day in Albuquerque, NM. 

he takes me to his fave tortillaria and and then we go "tiquing."  

(the auntie way of saying-shopping for antiques)

wow~  i found us a place to have high- tea!

i take raymond to the ST. JAMES TEA ROOM. they only high tea room in albq. 

raymond is a high tea virgin so i'm excited to "pop his tea cherry".

THE ST.  JAMES TEAROOM! 

what an absolute one-of-a-kind gem!

each room has an individual decor. for us the proprietress mary ellen chooses- 

THE AFRICAN ROOM.

i guess since it's two guys having tea, this room is the most "macho."

i introduce raymond as~ "MR. SANDOVAL."

mary ellen likes this.

here is our tea menu for today~

The Nutcracker teaserved December 6-January 7Act I ~ Savoriesserved with China Keemun Traditional Black Tea

Godfather Drosselmeyer's Beef Wellington
Mother Ginger's Creamed Sprouts & Mushrooms*
Toy Soldiers' Truffled Potato
Mouse King's Cheddar Quiche

Clara's Traditional Tea Sandwich:

Orange, Turkey, and Cucumber with Chevre

Intermission ~ Breadsserved with Sparkling Sugar Plum Scented Black Tea

The Prince's Stollen
St. James Traditional Cream Scone
Cranberry Curd and Clotted Cream

Act II ~ Sweetsserved with Ginger Peach White TeaMirlitons' Framboise Custard*
Waltz of the Snowflakes
Dancing Sugar Plums
Russian Trepak Chocolate Truffle*

JOGGER ON MAIN STREET

FUR SHAME

PETA PROTESTER & MODEL BITE IT..

THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR 2012

ROAD TRIP- 1/1/2012

december  31st, 2011- NEW YEARS EVE.

raymond made me red chili tamales. they were soooo good..
raymond is a great cook.. he would make someone a wonderful wife.

we decided to watch the movie- 2012- it seemed appropriate.
i open a bottle of wine from bowie, az.. their shiraz is great.. their  red table wine needs to be tossed.

this film is awful! if the end of the world is going to be this boring why even bother.
i fall asleep @ 9:30pm


JAN 1ST, 2012

wow, it is new years day....  what a beauty... raymond's bed is so comfy.. it's all fluffy & soft.

it's like sleeping on a large version of my white cat- SYMPATHY, but without the dander.

raymond has to go to work, so i have the place to myself.. and the huskie dogs..

(azula- raymond's huskie)

so peaceful.. calm.

i decided to walk to los ojos bar, (where raymond works) and check out jemez springs.

raymond has a river running thru his property.

next door to raymond is a catholic church... i never see anyone there.. ever.

the sign reads- PRIVATE PROPERTY.

the rumor is this location is a retreat for priests who need to be out of the public limelight.....

if you know what i mean.... priests that have received to much "publicity"... if you catch my drift.

you would think it would be packed to the rafters.

next to this is the nunnery. HANDMAIDS OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD.

what a name! why are these people so morbid?

they have a "sister cemetery" where all the local nunnie's are laid to rest. 

and of course the world famous, (made famous by me) NUN WALK. 

a meditative path where nunnies can contemplate where they came from and where they are going.

in most cases nowhere.

after all these years of visiting jemez i have never seen a living soul on these two premises. 

suddenly it happened! .... i spotted a nun!!  i real live nun! she is wearing a burgundy habit with a black shroud over her hair. she looks like a pterodactyl. can it really be the real deal?! maybe i am imagining this. maybe she is a vision. she looks so other worldly.. i've never seen a nun costume like hers.. it looks   like from another era. like the nun's story with audrey hepburn.

the nunie is sitting on a burgundy wooden bench next to the "sister cemetery." she is so still she looks like a decoy for game hunters.

(the sister cemetery)

i must take her picture!.... is that a sin?! i must document my nun spotting.. otherwise no one will believe me.

i take a photo and my camera reads- BATTERY EXHAUSTED.

wow! a nun whammy!

i walk pass the nun walk and i'm so exhilarated... i just have to get a shot of her.

i turn my camera back on and it's working.. i use my zoom lens and hon on in to my target a rare nun in the wild. an endangered species. i snap a pic.. 

(here is what i captured- NOTHING!)

the nunnie put a curse on my camera!

JAN 2ND, 2012

9:30amish
downtown santa fe~

raymond & i are driving to santa fe today. we are going to visit the writer ALEX GILDZEN.
he creates these amazing poems about hollywood lore and the black dahlia.
alex lives a a desert home surrounded with books & art.

i could talk with him all night about the black dahlia and all his hollywood tidbits.
we decide to have dinner. alex loved to photograph meals~

(our meal @ even cowgirls get the blues~ santa fe)

look what i found! OCCUPY SANTA FE!

3PMISH- SANTA FE, NM.

raymond & i are looking around for a "panchca" for a gift to my dear friend iris, she is

 "the cat whisper" and saved pyewackett's life.

we are walking pass this cute little house that is an independent bookshop.

i say to raymond, "let's go in there. i love these kind of bookshops and maybe they'll let me use the restroom."

the proprietress is sweet and allows me to use her old fashion bathroom. when i come out raymond says, "look what i found"

he has found an out of print hardback copy of my first book- CASTRO!

published in 1990 by the tom of finland company.

amazing! what are the chances!? i haven't been to santa fe in 20 years. we just happened to walk by this shop, and i randomly decided to use the restroom!... what are the chances?!