bits & pieces

it may or may not be a secret that i've been suffering a spate of mild blues that comes and goes these past several weeks.  no big whoop and nothing, in the words of the late george harrison, to get hung about.  still, this weekend, with gorgeous weather, i was doing my usual mope and drag.  perhaps it is a bit of pressure and stress as the cause of my moroseness because last week was crazy busy and this week is crazier busier yet.  this afternoon i had a couple of hours to myself.  i wrote a book review for eileen tabios' galatea resurrects.  still i was feeling like rl burnside after he a long night at the juke joint.  then i went shopping at trader joe's and listening the satellite radio, the old school alternative show with bands like sleater-kinney, misfits, fugazi.  yesterday nick and i went to see godzilla [more on that later, perhaps] with b. and j.  before the movie i was discussing music and bands with b. and c.  i told c. one band i would love to see live is slowdive.  if they every reunited, i said, and got close to sac, i'd fucking see the band!  guess what.  i learned as i pulled into the driveway via the old school alternative show that slowdive has reunited and are on tour this summer with all original members!  holyfuckingshit!  they are playing festivals and the closest they get to sac is los angeles.  nope, not even for slowdive will i drop my life to chase down a chance to see the band live.  they have to get closer like the bay area for me to rearrange my schedules.  at any rate, the news of the slowdive reunion jumped me -- just like that -- out of my blues.  it was like turning on a switch of pure energy.  i leaped for joy and here i am tapping out these goofy words from a middle-aged poet about a band that broke up 20 years ago and i am happy as a goddamned clam.

* * *

do check out these wonderful articles and poems by and about venezuelan poet rafael cadenas translated by guillermo parra.  please, please, oh please guillermo publish a book of your translations of this magnificent poet!

* * *

found this cool video of omar perez reciting a poem 'rigmarole' during a walk along what looks like the amsterdam waterfront.  i can't embed the video so click here to watch it.

* * *

yes, i did see godzilla.  it was worth the price of admission.  the pic had some really cool spooky special fx but the story was rather dull and predictable.  but when we got back to b.'s house we watched a very good indie feature called little birds [2011] about two teenage girls who leave their home in the salton sea for a few harrowing adventures with three street kids in l.a.  b. knows i love decrepitude and the salton sea so he turned the tv on and streamed this flick via netflix.  the film, directed by elgin james, who, according to b., was a fixture in the straight edge scene in boston.  the girls were utterly without guile and completely believable as awkward and dumb teens.  their adventures climax to one intense scene where one girl proves herself a survivor and loyal friend while the other is still rather obnoxious.  thus is the beauty of this flick, james is not afraid to produce characters who are unlikable because they are so flawed.  these kids do not rise above their vulnerabilities and relative stupidity.  they are, like many of us, messy human beings.  this pic was a breath of fresh air.