THIS Rhett Butler Will Never Die

The last thing I wanted to talk about now is that I am tempted to yet again subscribe to T-Mobile's Hot Spot service so that I can use my laptop at Starbux . The Starbux in Danville is the one place I have found where I can sit and write that feels like going to "the office" to me. I can't write at home. There are too many distractions. T-Mobile only charges me $19.95 more a month for the service and I can stop at any time... blah blah blah... the thing is I feel like writing! And this is strange because I have another creative outlet right now that is working really well for me. See? This is a sign that my consciousness is heightening, that my abilities are broadening and that I'm becoming more empowered. Whether I'll actually follow through and do this soon, we'll see. I almost called to re-join last night but made a short film (wait for the debut on YouTube ) instead. The way you'll know (other than my telling you) that I'm sitting...

365 - Day 53 - {extra} another fairytale ends... , originally uploaded by daryldarko . See, I'm not THAT depressed! I drove to the top of Mt. Diablo yesterday to take photographs in the snow. You can see those photos here . Alas, while trying to pose an extremely creative self portrait (the mirror was balanced on a mossy outcropping of a huge oak tree) a brisk wind picked up and over toppled the mirror to the ground. It actually bounced once on it's crown and I could have dived to catch it but I stood frozen in disbelief and watched it fall onto it's face and smash. What does this mean... hmmm. I have only broken one other mirror in my life. It was an even more beautiful mirror than this one. An antique mirror purchased at a yard sale in Santa Cruz the weekend Billy (my son) and I moved into our apartment on the campus of UCSC. It was very large and quite heavy, made of very thick glass. There was a perfect wall to hang it on too. It was on the wall for no more than three m...

I have been deliberating the writing of this blog entry for a couple of days now, so before I get more confused, or end up leaving more pieces out - here goes. It's been a strange week. I'm not exactly sure when this mood and energy shift started (other than some recollection that I did not take ANY Cymbalta last Friday). I have not been to school since then either. A lot of thoughts and revelations have occurred this week. In particular deciding that I do not want to become a web-developer or waste precious time learning a skill I may only ever have minimal personal use for (why learn Dreamweaver if all I'm ever going to need to do is tweak my Blogger?). The matter of deciding to drop this class opened up a deeper soul investigation than I expected though. I was born with a mental framework that allows very little grey area into my visions. I see things in ultimates and absolutes. My greys are where my energies get muted into depression. When I can't see clea...

I've been having a bit of a depressive crash the past few days and didn't go to school today. When I finally got out of bed this morning and checked my email, what did I find but that my classmates from college had sent me photos from class time! They are the best classmates and new friends I have had in a long time. There must be something about how a camera can disarm insecurities or something that makes us more comfortable with each other. Does this happen in other/all photography classes? Thank you friends! That made my day!!

It's the birthday of one of the few contemporary novelists to sell a lot of books to young men, Chuck Palahniuk , ( books by this author ) born in Burbank, Washington (1962). He wanted to be a writer in college, but his writing professors didn't like him. So he got a job as a diesel mechanic at Freightliner Trucks, which paid well but made him miserable. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol. And then he moved to a house near a hill that somehow blocked his TV's reception. At first he was unhappy without television, but it inspired him to start reading on a regular basis for the first time since he was a teenager. He discovered the work of contemporary fiction writers like Amy Hempel and Denis Johnson, and they inspired him to start writing fiction of his own. The first novel Palahniuk tried to publish was turned down by a series of publishers because it was too violent and bleak. So for his next novel, he decided to write something even more violent and even more ble...

But the things you are meant to do can sure slide into place pretty easily at times. for about 3 months now I've been half planning on going to see Umphrey's Mcgee when they came into town. When I first heard of them via Robin Slick's blog i had no idea who they were, but trusting that she only writes about bands that I would probably be interested in (because her roots are pretty much in Zappa and Crimson, I mean I am now totally into Porcupine Tree after checking them out after merely hearing her mention their name!). So anyway, only news I heard about UM coming near California was that they were going to play in Reno. no possible chance of me getting all the way over there to see them. Then about a month ago, fellow-Flickrite and concert photographer Volker Neumann told me that they were going to be playing in SF at the Filmore in February. Right on! I thought, I can go. I tell you this complicated and convoluted story because it makes me reminisce of how I almost...

Well, I’m in trouble. Again. I was watching Harry Reasoner on The Early Show this morning while he interviewed an author whose newest book just came out. I was half asleep, but awake enough for the roots of my own, gestating novel to get watered just a little bit more. Without boring you with the bloom of refreshing ideas this insight gave me I’ll tell you about what is bothering me right now. I’m taking a college class in computer programming. And it is scaring up ghosts from my past. No, I’m not learning how to program in C++ or anything psychotic like that, but it’s a pretty innocuous and pretty sounding little program called Dreamweaver that is starting to give me a nightmarish wakeup call. I’m at a point in my very mature lifetime where I’ve stumbled upon a rediscovery of the second most powerful of my earliest callings to be an artist in my life. Photography. And I want to spend my time doing just that. Learning to master my equipment better and developing my vision. ...

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum : Museum : Calendar You can read more detail about the dedicated journey of 2/3's of the Power Trio's efforts to make it to this gig tonight here at Robin Slick's blog. Can anyone believe this weather they are experiencing back east and the fact that it is going to be sunny and in the 70's here in Cali this weekend?

How To Turn Your Flickr Crush Into Real Romance

My video of The Adrian Belew Power Trio performing DINOSAUR has been viewed 1,036 times! I would really like to get my hands on a decent video camera by the time they come back on tour (which I understand is going to be pretty darn soon) so that I could get some decent footage to share with the world that loves The Trio so, so much.

Santa Claus is clearly what Jesus would be if he was real. Nobody would ever consider nailing this omnibenevolent deity to anything, would they? Nor does he hold anything against you longer than a year. - Steve James

It's the birthday of James Joyce , ( books by this author ) born in Rathgar, Ireland, just outside Dublin (1882). He's best known today for Ulysses (1922), his attempt to recreate a single day in the city of Dublin, with all its sights, sounds, smells, as well as the many different kinds of people, the way they talked, and what private thoughts floated through their heads as they went about their daily lives. He wrote the novel while living in voluntary exile in Zurich, and he did all kinds of research to get the details right. He asked his Aunt Josephine to send him copies of anything to do with Ireland: newspapers, magazines, history books, guidebooks, maps, and photographs. Because he chose June 16, 1904 as the day on which the novel would take place, he made sure to include real details about things that had happened on that day, including sporting events, news items, and even newspaper advertisements that appeared in newspapers on that day. The first printing of...