We’re going to Cafe Rose Nicaud tonight to see a movie the New Orleans Afrikan Art and Film Festival is presenting, Abel Raises Cane – showtime is 7:30. Be there or be a big blob.
Flannery O’Connor called it the habit of art, the practice of sitting down daily to write and develop an idea that is never precisely the same. What about the repetition of winter days – of the winter blahs? I was speaking to someone today who told me that she went home with a six pack of beer and cigarettes and even the simple pleasure of cracking open a cold can of beer and lighting up a smoke did not win her over, so she opted to curl up on the sofa and watch a movie instead.
What if you are have repeatedly done the same thing for more than a decade and the thing itself dies inside of you? How does that develop into a work, much less a work of art? Bach endlessly toiled on those fugues, repetition, repetition, repetition. Poets endlessly turned a phrase, a word. What if the repetition is actually something you need to put a halt to – stop, stop, stop.
How do you make lemonade from lemons that have gone sour?
A neighbor sent this link that is great departure from the norm. What I also love is this comment:
i wish I could read every book in the world – 57 thousand views
i wish i could fuck every girl in the world – 9 million views
The music industry sure is messed up.
Last night one of Tin’s favorite babysitters came to watch him while we went to a dinner party. She was still enthusiastic about a game that her friend had put together last weekend, where she and her friends spent four hours going from thing to thing they had to do – making a stranger brush your teeth, walking someone’s dog, and all sorts of (for a teen) outlandish things. Listening to her excitement just made you smile.
We, on the other hand, were on our way to a dinner party. Earlier a friend had called and asked what we were up to and I told her and she said, ‘That sounds so wonderful to go sit at someone’s house and have them serve you dinner and meet new people.” Really? I thought. Is this play for adults?
Dinner parties are fun and we were headed to a friend’s house who is a particularly wonderful and warm hostess and we were meeting new people, and the conversation was lively spanning politics to culture. But when I got home and climbed into bed after a little too much red wine and dessert (I made Bananas Foster), I did not feel as enthusiastic about the event as our babysitter had been when she described hers.
Then again, if someone told me to go out into the streets and perform all of the tasks she and her friends did, I would have simply said no.
I am a notorious list maker and I’m trying to stop it. But today I sent a list of things to do to some people visiting here for the first time and it was sort of ridiculous. Take this one night on February 17th – an ordinary Thursday right? Luke Winslow King playing at Three Muses, Jon Cleary at DBA and the Stooges Brass Band at HiHo. And of course that competes with Vaughn’s with Kermit if you’ve never been on Thursday. Why even go further? Then I was listing parades and upcoming events and it was sort of ridiculous.
We’re are entering the no festival left behind period here in New Orleans.
My writing table is so beautiful, I could only hope that anything I write on it would approach its beauty. Here is a shot of the top before it was assembled – this is a piece of bookmatch walnut (split down the middle) – just gorgeous. My neighbor is a wood artisan and collects gorgeous pieces of wood and then makes beautiful pieces of furniture. You should see the pecan table he made for their kitchen – unbelievable.
Getting the word out that 14 year old girl needs blood – A negative – very rare. If you have it and would donate, here is the link.
End of last week, I was walking through the park on a lovely day and the ducks were fucking like mad. All I could think was more ducks. Because come spring there would be ducklings galore from all this carrying on. Well today, I saw nasturtiums in one neighbor’s yard and daffodils in another. What goes on? Is it spring already?
Sure enough I had been thinking about the groundhog and what he saw and when he was supposed to see it and found out Groundhog’s Day took place on February 2nd and indeed he did not see his shadow and so an early spring is predicted.
Seems like I have come this far in life only to be able to read the signs of nature – harsh winter means pelicans come back early, early spring fucking ducks in February, and so on.
Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval
and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.