Another one from the Chelsea Flea Market.
3.5 x 4.5". I'll probably mat the photo,
cropping it like this:

trees in snow

Here's a tiny snapshot from the Chelsea Flea Market.
Nevr-Fade stamp on verso, Feb 18 1937
2.75 x 1.75" with deckled edges.

Popeye

a reading by Zachary Schomburg

Wednesday June 11 at 6:30pm.
Jefferson Market Library
425 Avenue of the Americas
(at 10th Street)
NY, NY 10011





"The Man Suit, a darkly comic debut from poet Zachary Schomburg, assembles a macabre cast of doppelgangers, talking animals and dead presidents in poems that explore concepts of identity, truth and fate. The resulting body of work walks a dynamic line often reading like anecdotal fables or cautionary tales in the form of prose poems. Through it all, Schomburg balances irony with sincerity; wit with candor; and a playful tone with the knowledge of inevitable sorrow."

The Man Suit was chosen by The New York Public Library as one of 25 Books to Remeber for 2007.

Photomatic photobooth photo, Feb. 1, 1942

talking to cats

“One of my all-time favorite jazz pianists is Thelonious Monk. Once, when someone asked him how he managed to get a certain special sound out of the piano, Monk pointed to the keyboard and said: “It can’t be any new note. When you look at the keyboard, all the notes are there already. But if you mean a note enough, it will sound different. You got to pick the notes you really mean!”

I often recall these words when I am writing, and I think to myself, “It’s true. There aren’t any new words. Our job is to give new meanings and special overtones to absolutely ordinary words.” I find the thought reassuring. It means that vast, unknown stretches still lie before us, fertile territories just waiting for us to cultivate them.”

This is an excerpt from an essay titled Jazz Messenger by Haruki Murakami.

Music has always played an important part in the work of Murakami, from the cool jazz of the 1950s to bands like The Beatles and Radiohead. Nakata, from Kafka on the Shore, and his ability to talk to cats probably has its roots in music, in particular with Bossa Nova great Joao Gilberto. Joao talked to cats. He sang to them. I like to imagine cats mesmerized by Gilberto's whispery soft voice. One day his cat Gato was asleep on a window sill and fell to its death. Gilberto's friends joked that the cat, sick of listening to Joao's voice, didn't fall in its sleep but instead jumped and committed suicide.

Miles Davis later stated that Joao Gilberto “could read a newspaper and sound good".

I saw Gilberto perform about four years ago and it was beautiful beyond words. He’ll be back in NYC at Carnegie Hall on June 22.

Open Studio

Yes, we're South of the Navy Yard Artists,
respresenting Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy...

Saturday May 17 and Sunday May 18th.
Noon to 8pm. 66-68 Washington Ave. Brooklyn, NY
Artwork by:
Sinclaire Alkire
Matt Miller
Billy Parrott
Jeff Tyack

ida - shotgun

ida - what can i do

Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson

Some reviews have stated that Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses is one of the best novels to come out of Scandinavia in recent years. I'd go so far to say it is one of the best novels to come out in recent years. Period. It was the winner of this year's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and Dublin's IMPAC Award, beating out the likes of Cormac McCarthy, Salman Rushdie and J.M. Coetzee.


I'll post more thoughts on this one soon. It is definitely one to watch.

Kockroach, by Tyler Knox

Imagine Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis turned inside out by Tim Burton and you’d get something very much like Kockroach by Tyler Knox. Tyler Knox is a pseudonym for William Lashner, a lawyer and established writer in the legal crime genre. I haven’t read any of his other work but its probably safe to say that Kockroach is somewhat of a departure from his norm. Thank goodness for departures. Kockroach is a fever pitched satirical crime noir novel featuring Jerry Blatta, a cockroach who awakens one day to find himself changed into a human. Thus begins his metamorphosis into the strange world of humans. The novel is set in New York City in the early 70’s but if there hadn’t been a mention of Nixon and Watergate I would have placed the action in the hard-boiled 50’s. There are three narrators: Jerry, his sidekick Mickey "Mite" Pimelia (taken from the genus Pimeliaphilus, or the common roach mite) and Celia, a woman who loves them both. The dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny and the casts of characters are all memorable. Unlike cockroaches that operate on only two levels (hunger and fear) this book works on multiple levels. Kockroach is real pleasure that I could easily see making its way onto the big screen in glorious film noir black and white.

American Youth, by Phil LaMarche

American Youth is a compelling story about teens, peer pressure, gang violence, and firearms. After an accidental shooting in his home, Ted (referred to as "the boy" throughout most of the novel…ok Phil, we understand he’s alienated) becomes entangled in a web of lies and falls in with the wrong crowd. That crowd is a straight edge gang called American Youth. They abstain from sex, beat up jocks who drink alcohol or smoke, and vandalize new housing developments that represent unwelcome change in the community. The pacing is ideal in creating a tense atmosphere which suits the seriousness of the subject matter, but you don’t really come to like or care for any of the characters. Overall there is a young adult tone and feel to the novel and in the end it comes across as a serious young adult book rather than serious adult literature.

LaMarche was a writing fellow at Syracuse University, the stomping grounds of George Saunders who has a four sentence blurb on the back of the book. Saunders calls LaMarche a “young master” and a “young genius”. That’s young twice in four sentences. Maybe George Saunders is trying to tell us something.

friday's found photograph

friday's found photograph

friday's found photograph, one day late

There is no shortage of post-9/11 novels. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid barely manages to stand out.

The novel is a one-sided conversation between the protagonist Changez and an unknown American he's just met in his hometown of Lahore, Pakistan. Told as a monologue, the conversational tone of the story grabs you from the outset. But this narrative device does eventually get a little tiresome (What's that? You want some more bread? Why look, here comes our waiter! ). I wonder if diary-like entries as opposed to a running one-sided conversation would have made the narrative flow more realistic.

In the conversation which takes place over dinner Changez recollects events from his past: coming to America, adjusting to Western ways, succeeding in school and the world of finance, a failed relationship with a woman named Erica, and his eventual rejection of the West with his return home to Lahore. The present-day Changez seems very open, forthcoming, and eager to discuss his life. The Changez described in the recollections seems stereotypically subdued and introverted. Someone who is not particularly religious but observant of his country's culture. A reluctant fundamentalist. This contrast between the past and present Changez tries to show how exposure to Western views had changed him. A lot of attention is also paid to Erica and her troubles getting over her boyfriend who died at a young age. She cannot seem to escape the past and it eventually consumes her. Similarly, Changez cannot get over Erica and continues to obsess over her for years. The parallels are a little heavy handed and more than a little obvious. Towards the end as the tension mounts it becomes clear that Changez and his views have become more radical.

At the heart of the novel is the idea of change. The similarity between the names Changez and changes and Erica and America is no coincidence. The novel is at its best when the monologues are long and uninterrupted. Over the course of the entire novel this literary device is sophomoric and not effective. The ending was easy, weak, and expected.

The post 9/11 emphasis of the novel is more about the relations and conflict between India and Pakistan and America’s stance regarding the two countries in the years after 9/11 as opposed to the traditional post-9/11 novel which concentrates on fear, America’s recovery, and the war on terror. The Indian-Pakistani view is interesting but it is not enough to overcome the rest of the novel’s faults. A half-hearted recommendation for The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Budapest, by Chico Buarque

Chico Buarque has been a fixture on the Brazilian music scene for over 40 years. His novel Budapest showcases the lyrical prose that followers of his music have come to know and love. It presents an interesting take on ghostwriters and a linear narrative that beautifully and subtly overlaps upon itself until the memorable ending when events come full circle. It is poetic and magical. It came out a few years ago and falls under the catagory "one of those books you've never heard of, much less read". Read it. You will thank me.

For your listening pleasure check out Chico Buarque de Hollanda Volume 1 (1966), Volume 2 (1967) and Construcao (1971).

No Country For Old Men

The Joel and Ethan Coen's new film No Country For Old Men, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, has opened at Cannes. Variety has a review. It opens in limited release in the U.S. on November 9th. Nationwide on November 21st.

Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name, by Vendela Vida

Vendela Vida. Who? Vida Blue? From the A's? No. Yes he was. Vendela. Isn’t she that model? No. She’s married to Rick Ocasek. No she’s not. Vendela Vida. Who’s that? Oh. Mrs. Dave Eggers? Vendela Vida?! Ohh, her! Oh yeah, I know her work.

All kidding aside: Vendela Vida's new novel Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name is quite simply stunning.

Clarissa’s mother disappeared when she was fourteen. Her father dies fourteen years later. In going through her father’s things Clarissa finds her birth certificate and everything she thought she knew changes. She travels to Lapland in search of a priest who might have the answers. She discovers more than she expected.

In succinct and beautiful prose Vendela Vida tells the story of a woman’s search about her past and her true identity. It is funny, compassionate, and considerate.
The details and descriptions about the Sami and their land are fascinating. The unfolding mystery of Clarissa's and her family's past is truely compelling.

Mrs. Dave Eggers? Well, yes, but with Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name Vendela Vida has surely made a name for herself.

friday's found photograph