FOR MR. ROY...

I'LL BE WATCHING THIS TOMORROW BIG TIME!

Happy holidays to all my friends (Jon, Helga, Mr. Roy, Geo, Don, Charles, Susan, etc.) Plus anybody I forgot to mention. May all your dreams come true in 2019 :-)

LAST MOVIE I WATCHED: LIZZIE

I liked it. A lot. Not really sure what's up with the harsh critics? It seems like most of them saw a different movie.....

BEST SPANISH SONG EVER

HOW I LOVE IRONY (R.E.M. RULES!)

SUEDEHEAD (MORRISSEY MADNESS!)

James Dean: 1931 - 1955

MORRISSEY: EVERYDAY IS LIKE SUNDAY

WHAT I AM LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: EMMANUEL

PSYCHO

I can see Hitchcock's bloated face on my aching knee:
I know it's just a bunch of wrinkles in the
frayed fabric of my jeans.

But what am I to make of the black
shoe I see when I shift my gaze an inch or
two toward the east? I don't wear black

shoes. Is Norman Bates' mother paying me a friendly
call? Will this be a Happy Halloween?
Is this meant to be my final scene?

And whatever happened to Janet Leigh?

Poem Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

WHEN TRUTH IS OFTEN A LIE (8 FACTS ABOUT FRANCES FARMER)

Frances Farmer: 1913 -1970

Frances Farmer never received a lobotomy. Also, (despite Hollywood) she was a quite successful stage actress and TV hostess until she lost her battle with cancer at the age of 56. Odd how these "minor" details were not mentioned in Frances (the so-called biopic about her life).

The two most well known books based on her life (WILL THERE REALLY BE A MORNING and SHADOWLAND) are more fiction than fact.

1. Frances was never raped by dozens of soldiers while she was in ANY mental hospital.

2. She was never a Communist.

3. She might have been an atheist during her youth, but eventually found faith in God.

4. Hollywood DID say she was as talented as Garbo, but started singing a different tune once Frances had her quite minor encounter with the police (a petty traffic violation).

5. She was not a "basket case" when she appeared on THIS IS YOUR LIFE in 1958. In fact, she was more than polite given how obnoxious the host of the program was to her (I would have slugged him).

6. Farmer's best movies: COME AND GET IT, RHYTHM ON THE RANGE, TOAST OF NEW YORK, SON OF FURY, and FLOWING GOLD.

7. Farmer's worst enemy was not Hollywood but her deranged mother.

8. Kurt Cobain helped to raise awareness about Frances Farmer's plight with his song: FRANCES FARMER WILL HAVE HER REVENGE ON SEATTLE.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: THE MONKEES

My sister was a huge fan of this Pop group. She bought all their records. She watched their popular TV show each week. She even signed up for a contest to win a date with Davy Jones!

I liked The Beatles best, and she and I would often argue about why one group was better than the other. I do have one confession: I thought Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith were sexy as hell. I didn't really know what sexy meant (I was only eight years old), but their deep voices and handsome faces always made me feel all tingly inside.

And this is their greatest song I still want to get up and dance around to big time...

Pretty crazy, huh?

P.S. Takes a few seconds for the video to start - but it does start. Don't let the alarming darkness get to you...

WHY SUICIDE IS A MISTAKE

1967 -1994

I can still remember when I first heard that Kurt Cobain had taken his own life. I went into a deep state of  mourning that lasted for a solid month. Why? He had great talent, a young child, and a wife that wanted to see him more alive than dead (many people argue this point - I don't agree with any of the conspiracy theories about Courtney Love). To each his own.

What I will always miss most about Kurt is the music: He still had plenty of new songs he could have written in the future, but there is no future once you have offed yourself.

I know he was in a lot of pain (his music made that clear). But I wonder what might have happened if he could only have given life another month or two?

The best tribute to Kurt on the internet is by the author of THE BASKETBALL DIARIES - Jim Carroll. He fought his own demons during his youth, but managed to hang in there as best he could. He wrote more songs and books. He wrote some great poetry. He did not become a member of the 27 club. I just wish Kurt could have known how much he was appreciated and loved by many: This is true for all people that leave the world much too soon.

Poem Copyright by Jim Carroll

Essay Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

JANIS JOPLIN: KOZMIC BLUES (FOR JON)

POETRY: THE MAGIC OF FINDING YOUR OWN VOICE...

I know poetry. I suffered through too many creative writing classes during my youth, and quickly figured out academic poetry is too false and easy: Where are the powerful voices: Keats, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Dylan Thomas, William Carlos Williams,  Charles Bukowski, etc.

You can scan and rhyme until the sun hides its face in shame, and darkness surrounds you forever, but without an authentic voice you might as well throw away your pen (or computer). This little rant is the result of discovering how the academic world continues to reward those poets with too many degrees (and very little talent) - and ignores the powerful voices that are out there both in book form and online:

Walt Curtis, Don Kloss, David Elsey, Jon Varga, Sherry Asbury, Virginia Davis, Douglas Spangle, Guy Kettelhack, James H. Duncan, E. D. Ridgell, Dylan Mitchell (yes, I dare to include myself because I know I ONCE had an authentic voice. However, it was gradually silenced by the academic world which only allows deluded members of quite expensive "workshops" to be called a poet).

Oh, and my best poems are hidden in newspapers, zines, and my private journals which will most likely be chucked down the garbage chute when I finally escape from this crazy money hungry world. Sadly, This is the fate of some of our most gifted poets.

Appreciate the great ones while you can! Don't let the academic world (and its many bitter critics) tell you what to read: Let your heart and mind lead you in the right direction. Trust me, you won't regret it:

Jon Varga, Don Kloss, David Elsey, Walt Curtis, Sherry Asbury, Virginia Davis, Douglas Spangle, James H. Duncan, Guy Kettelhack,  E. D. Ridgell, Dylan Mitchell (saved myself for last). If you like real poetry, these are the poets to seek out and discover what the meaning of life (and death's) really all about. Just do a quick Google search. It's as simple (and profound) as that.

Oh, and stay away from the pretentious University presses: That's where the worst poetry is found. And they charge an arm and a leg big time - just adding more insult to injury. Don't let them play you for a fool.

Poem Copyright 1934 by William Carlos Williams

Rant Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

THE STORY OF MY FATHER: CAT'S IN THE CRADLE - HARRY CHAPIN

I first heard this song on the radio in 1975. It totally reminded me of how my father (if you can call him that) treated me all of my life: I only actually got to meet him around ten times. He never paid child support. And my last "meeting" with him was during my late teens in which he took me to a bunch of bars and pool halls (where he liked to hustle people for money), and had no problem at all telling me my new shoes and long hair made me look like a faggot. Nice.

I decided right then and there that I no longer wanted to try and get to know this monstrosity of a man that had no business bringing children into this world ( because he was so good looking, he forever used women as a meal ticket). He couldn't care less about any of the many children he brought into this world.

Much later, I was astonished to receive a phone call from the latest woman he was involved with asking me to come and live with them to help take care of my dying father. I was polite to the woman, but when my "father" picked up the phone, I told him if he really wanted to know my feelings on the subject - then listen to this great Harry Chapin song. He didn't even know who Harry Chapin was. That speaks volumes alone. (My so-called father was a musician).

P.S. BTW, I am NOT saying Harry Chapin was related to me in any way. I am merely saying that his great song reminded me of my abusive relationship with my own father big time. Harry Chapin was a true artist. My father was a total bastard.

Music Copyright 1974 by Harry Chapin

EDWARD GOREY AND HIS CATS (FOR JON)

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FINALLY WATCHED LOVING VINCENT DVD...

This film is a miracle: It's like the best of Vincent's paintings come to life! If you love fine art, then I suggest you take a very long peek.

Oh, and the music is far from shabby: You cannot do much better than Don McLean's ode to Vincent:

Watch. Listen. Learn. Vincent's art and life will forever remain an enigma. His mystery continues until this day.

Paintings Copyright by Vincent Van Gogh

Music Copyright by Don McLean

ONLY MUSIC AND POETRY WILL SAVE THE WORLD...

Tom Petty - Rock Poet

PINOCCHIO IN THE WHITE HOUSE ( AND HIS NOSE IS GETTING BIGGER...)

ELIZABETH WARREN SPEAKS THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUMP AND WHITE HOUSE CORRUPTION: VOTE!!

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY! (MY TRIBUTE TO DONNA SUMMER)

1978? Damn - I really am getting old big time! I first experienced THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY waaaaay back in the day with my younger brother at a movie house in Chicago. A ticket was only a dollar on Tuesdays, so we decided to give it a shot. I was not disappointed.

However, my brother hated both the movie and the music big time (he wanted to be Superman when he grew up - I wanted to be a poet). I agree that disco was an appalling mistake (thank God most of us have figured this out in the end). But what about Donna Summer? Listen to THAT voice! Even disco could not diminish her great gift. And that's really saying something...

I just wish more people would focus on her exceptional voice, and stop calling her the quintessential Disco Queen: She was so much more than that, but the music industry marketed her as such. And it's a pity. A lot of money was made as a result, and Donna Summer got less than she deserved (in more ways than one).

You can tell she's not comfortable on the stage belting out this Academy Award winning tune. It all really was beneath her big time. But she made a very lonely boy want to smile and dance a wickedly wild dance in the dangerous streets of Chicago fortysomething years ago: I'll always love her for that alone. May her great voice live on. May the beautiful singer rest in peace.

1948 - 2012

Essay Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

"GRETA GARBO WAS A MAN!!"

1905 - 1990

Jesus, I just watched a documentary about the forever great Garbo - and was totally shocked by the illiterate and reactionary (what else is new?) comments left on YouTube. Do such idiotic people really exist? What does this say about this world we all must somehow figure out how to best exist in?

Social media is fast becoming a kind of cancer of the soul. Ignorant people think they can hide behind their computer screens (this is no longer possible) and say the most vile things about people without any true research to back it up. No wonder Garbo wanted to be left alone.

The bottom line is this: Garbo had a luminous quality that has rarely been seen on the big screen. Marilyn Monroe also was gifted with this quality (I guess she also was a man?). I think not.

What I don't get is this totally weird fixation on male/female labels? And that's really all they are - labels: An easy way for the majority of people to feel comfortable in their very own safe little bubbles.

It comes as no surprise that I see more and more of this ignorance since Caitlyn and Trump began making the headlines. They both belong to the same political party, yet Trump is hailed as the second coming of Christ, while Caitlyn Jenner is often viewed as a freak (read the angry and insane YouTube comments).

I don't think for a moment that Garbo was anything but a major talent and star. And she (yes, I used the correct pronoun) will be valued and remembered long after Herr Trump and Caitlyn Jenner have ceased to dominate social media. In fact, rumor has it that both Facebook and Twitter are getting old big time. What will become of Donald and Caitlyn?

Garbo survived on her own.

Essay copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

GWENDOLYN BROOKS: WE REAL COOL

Poem Copyright Gwendolyn Brooks

SUNDAY WORDS OF WISDOM (ON MONDAY): QUENTIN CRISP

P.S. I met the late great Quentin Crisp twice. He was always performing (even with an audience of one), so it was not so easy to crack the infamous persona the world knows and loves to this very day.

However, I also chatted with him on the phone at least a dozen times or more (his number was listed and he always welcomed a friendly chat or two with open ears). Towards the end of his life, I was rather shocked to hear of his constant traumatic abuse in England during his youth (info not included in his autobiography).

It would seem that The Naked Civil Servant only touched the surface. Having been bashed both verbally and physically in America on a regular basis during my own youth - I related to every word Quentin wrote/said big time.

God bless, dear Mr. Quentin Crisp. God bless...

PATHS THAT CROSS (FOR MY SISTER)

ANOTHER FRAMED PRINT I LOST WHEN I LEFT CHICAGO...

                                 

Photo Copyright George Barris

SMARTPHONES ARE NOT FOR SMART PEOPLE: I NEED HOT STUFF!

Dear God!

Hot stuff!

Toys for the lazy
I still have my red landline:
The world has not stopped

Haiku Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

SUNDAY WORDS OF WISDOM

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: BALL AND CHAIN...

A SIMPLE PRAYER...

We all are suffering:
Rich, poor

Beautiful, ugly,
Old, young,

Democrat, Republican,
Intelligent, impaired,

Male, female,
Straight, gay

American, Russian,
Black, white,

Literate, illiterate,
Poet, cop,

Me, you
Sick, healthy

Free, in jail
Mother Teresa, Buddha

We the people:
Do those words echo -

That old familiar bell?
The music is still there:

Listen, listen...

Poem Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

GETTING RID OF THE WALL (GO PINK FLOYD!!)

Too close for comfort?

TRUMP'S AMERICA: CERTAIN CHILDREN ARE NOT WELCOME HERE...

I THINK IT'S TIME TO LOSE THE FRAMED POSTER HANGING ABOVE MY TRAGIC DESK...

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: COUNTING CROWS - MR. JONES

MOVIE MADNESS MONDAY: ROPE

Guess what I'm watching tonight? This is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies...

ONE OF MY FAVORITE FRAMED PRINTS I LOST WHEN I LEFT CHICAGO

TUESDAY TUNE: TO SIR WITH LOVE - LULU

SUNDAY WORDS OF WISDOM...

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: DWIGHT YOAKAM - SUSPICIOUS MINDS

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: JIM CARROLL'S POEM FOR KURT COBAIN

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: PINK HOUSES

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: SMALL TOWN

CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL...

Yolko

Sunlight and freedom

And a gentle human's touch

Most of all I love

Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS...

Bernie Boston's iconic "Flower Power" photograph

DUMP TRUMP: KEEPING IT REAL! VOTE!

Click to make text larger

Text Copyright 2018 by Rob Boyte

DUMP TRUMP: THE 2nd AMENDMENT? THIS IS WHAT IT LEADS TO. VOTE!!

DUMP TRUMP: IN GOD WE TRUST? VOTE!

I've loved this Joan Osborne song forever. And I'm not even a Christian. I think the song is more about lies and hypocrisy and how most people condemn those that don't fit the norm. You know, the sort of trash Trump posts every single day on Twitter?

May God have mercy on his dark little soul big time...

Dylan

DUMP TRUMP: BILLY JACK THEME SONG (VOTE!)

I remember hearing this song as a young child during the early 1970s.  I liked it a lot, even though I had no idea what the lyrics meant. Plus I never saw the movie, so I was at a huge disadvantage.

Today, most people consider the movie and song utter trash. I don't agree. Yes, it's a bit simplistic and sentimental at best - but compared to the insane hatred Herr Trump posts on Twitter every single day - this song is a masterpiece big time.

P.S. As to why I no longer allow comments on my blog? Because suffering fools gladly is not my idea of having a serious debate. Plus I started this blog as a personal diary, and so that is what it shall now remain.

Peace to those that mean
most to me: There are one or
two or three - or thee?

Dylan

DUMP TRUMP: EVE OF DESTRUCTION: VOTE!

JAMES BALDWIN KNEW HIS STUFF BIG TIME...

DUMP TRUMP: THE MASK (MAYA ANGELOU)

April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014

DUMP TRUMP: STILL I RISE (VOTE!)

Poem Copyright by Maya Angelou

DUMP TRUMP: MAYA ANGELOU : KEEPING IT REAL

ENDING WITH A BEAUTIFUL CLASSICAL PIECE (NOTHING CLASSY OR CLASSICAL ABOUT TRUMP)

DUMP TRUMP: BOB DYLAN (VOTE!)

CAT WATCHING GEESE & DUCKS

Observe the world now
For it is not meant to last
An image on film

Haiku Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell
Photo Copyright RoyP

LOVE STORY...

Okay, I still don't know what this means? And I first saw this film 40 years ago. I just wanted to express myself before Valentine's Day is long lost to history in 2018.

My guess is this: If you truly love somebody, then there is no need for an apology - even when you have done something wrong?  Forgiveness is all? Or perhaps it is silent? As long as the love is mutual.

What are your thoughts on the subject?  I'd really like to know...

P.S. This post is inspired by Jon @ Lone Wolf Concerto.  His blog is one of the best to be found. Give it a very long peek :-)

UNWANTED

I found an old book in the
gutter today: A battered blue
hardcover unwanted by the
world. It had been kicked
about by a brutal foot - more
than a few pages were wrinkled
and torn. So I plucked it up
and carried it home. After I
wiped off some of the dirt
I saw a cover as blue as
the sea. I wiped some more
until a familiar face appeared -
the Belle Of Amherst - my breath
stood still - Emily Dickinson in
the gutter? Imagine that! Her
good poems once fed my hungry
heart, when the busy world
wouldn't throw me a bone. Now
I'd plucked her from the gutter,
and given her a better home -
so who really saved whom?

Poem © 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

THE ROSE (DEDICATED TO THE ONES THAT KNOW)

Mr. Roy, Jon, Helga, Geo, Charles, Don, James, Karen, The Bald Vegan, Bruce, Virginia, Rob  - This is a special shout out to you. You really do keep me going...

Dylan

JAMES BOWEN AND A STREET CAT NAMED BOB

BRYAN ADAMS (BOUGHT THE POSTER, ALBUM, AND DANCED LIKE A FOOL IN PUBLIC)

A QUIET PASSION (THE REAL EMILY DICKINSON STORY)

LOVING VINCENT IS A MASTERPIECE!

JANIS JOPLIN (UNPLUGGED)

                             

January 19, 1943 - October 4, 1970