whisper down the write alley
rain wind in my ears
sycamore shakes drips last wet leaves
good day to blog
THERE’S A NEW BLOG on the block that will have tips on writing and writing for blogs plus lots of links. not much there yet but watch for it to grow in the next few weeks! please whisper your words of wisdom there, too!
sigh, the art predator (who can’t seem to make the formatting she wants happen on her blog yet…ok, it’s only been 2 months and we’re STILL learning…)
writing in a dream: a new poem
in the dream i was a man writing in a cafe.
this morning i could remember the words
i was writing i was sure i would always
remember the words i was writing
but this afternoon i have forgotten
them: they are lost in all the other words
of the day. this is what happens if you
only write down words in a dream. they must
be written down in this world too. they say
we cannot read or write in a dream but
in the last few weeks i have done both. try
it yourself write read remember your words
keep them: write them down in this world & that
the art predator–on the prowl awake or asleep
crab, crab & more crab plus the best scrambled eggs ever
it’s been a coupla crabby weeks around here…
MINI REVIEW PIERPONT INN yes we were a little crabby with each other during the past two weeks, but after we got over that, we had christmas dinner at the pierpont inn where i had wild salmon with dungeness crab on it (the rice pilaf was dried out, but they substituted mash potatoes which hit the spot quite well). the big monkey is such a master at grilling salmon that it just didn’t measure up, even with the dungenous crab piled on top with some sauce full of onions making it too oniony to appreciate the sweetness of the crab). the service is always excellent however, and the view lovely, so i will always recommend it. my other meals there have typically been stellar.
MINI REVIEW: JOE’S CRAB SHACK the next night we decided to go for a walk from our house to the beach and use up a holiday gift card to joe’s crab shack, a place we’d been disappointed with two times before. great location, great winter beer from firestone, great fried calamari and spicy sauce but the crab? not great. ok, but not great, and we really didn’t like the oily BBQ sauce treatment we had on the dungenous. then, they had so much trouble with the gift card, they comped us the meal and gave us the gift card back! so i guess we will be trying it again…
AFTER A FINE DINNER of king crab at home a few nights later, we headed out to montana de oro state park near morro bay for a few days of camping where we had steaks the first night then the second popped a bottle of $4 Big Lots Lorikeet Australian sparkling wine (surprisingly good!), shucked fresh oysters for an appetizer, and then dined on sauteed in butter and garlic fresh off the boat prawns with pasta AND a barbequed pork loin plus a salad…quite the feast!
IF YOU EVER get the opportunity to get fresh prawns, do it, they are so much tastier than the frozen ones you will be amazed. they are so sweet and tender. (i do have to admit that i jumped and shrieked when i looked in the bag and they were moving–they were that fresh!) we have a fishermen’s market here every saturday morning in the harbor (like a farmers market but for fishermen) and i imagine many other coastal communities do too.
SINCE WE PLANNED to go to fishbon’s winter wonderland, we packed up new year’s eve afternoon and drove to los osos where, when we discovered the event was sold out, i bought the largest king crab claws i’d ever seen, some Chandon champagne, some eggs and bread, and headed back to the beach to join our friends still camping there. while we snacked on bread, brie, and pate, we heated up some rice we’d brought in olive oil and butter, we heated butter in another pan, and we put the crab onto the bbq wrapped in foil. when we could smell it, we pulled it off and it was perfectly heated and with just a hint of smoky bbq flavor…ahhh! after dinner we sat around the fire roasting marshmallows until the kids went to bed, and soon we were the last ones at the fire…well before midnight.
TRADITIONALLY IN MY FAMILY on new years day we have what we call sugar muffins–a plain muffin with some fresh nutmeg baked in it and fresh out of the oven, the muffins are dipped in butter then rolled in cinnamon sugar. but i couldn’t make sugar muffins out there camping.
SO HERE’S WHERE the best scrambled eggs comes in: for breakfast, i used the leftover crab dipping butter and sauteed a portobello mushroom in it, then set aside the mushroom and cooked scrambled eggs in the crab butter pan. when they were almost done, i added the mushrooms to the pan with a few chunks of cheese and a meaty chunk of crab i’d hidden away. i served these up with my famous pumpkin pancakes. nope, wasn’t sugar muffins, but the best scrambled eggs i have ever had in my life!
on the prowl for some good crab, some good meals, some good times, and a great campsite, i’m your art predator
btw, let me know if you want me to post my pumpkin corn pancake recipe…
If I Died at 55: 315 Experiment Poem 8/12/05
August 12, 2005 315am
Today’s my mom’s birthday.
She was born in 1937.
That makes her almost 70.
She seems much younger than that.
70 seems so old
and she’s not.
I used to think
55 was old.
My mother-in- law
she died at 54 and
I used to think
she lived a long life
that 54 was a good number of years.
It’s not. If I died at 55 Read more…
how i became the art predator 2: an obit for the ojai & ventucky voice’s jeff san marchi
i was doing a little arts writing for the ojai and ventucky voice , mostly promoting sculpture shows at art city, but also published the first article there about Burning Man in 1995 or 96, and the editor, jeff san marchi, wanted my writing, my perspective to become a regular part of the paper–he wanted me to write a Read more…
Winter Solstice/NYE Party: Fishbon Wonderland
On New Year’s Eve from 9pm-3am, Burners and friends in the Santa Barbara area are gathering to put on an extravangaza to honor the winter solstice and celebrate and welcome the New Year at the Fishbon Pescadrome. Wear white! My friend Jenessa will be performing and she says there will be stilt bars (!), and all kinds of wild and groovy activities plus dancing to 6 DJs.
THEY SAY: Fishbon Wonderland is a fantasy environment that celebrates the return of the light at Winter Solstice. In Celtic countries (Ireland, Scotland, Northern France) this time has been celebrated with Mumming Plays which follow a common death and resurrection theme. In traditional mumming events, the protagonist is St. George who is killed by the current villain (during the conflict with the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, it was the Turkey Champion). In this version, based loosely on the Snow White story, it is the wicked Queen mother who slays the innocent Snow White. Thanks to the intervention of the Huntsman/Prince, she is revived and all is well in the world.
Another theme that Fishbon Wonderland explores is seduction and the island of the Sirens. Seven beautiful maidens replace the dwarfs in our tale. They are both protectors and destroyers..welcoming Snow White into their circle of protection and repelling invasion of opportunistic, libidinous woodsmen.
 |
805-453-5246 Add to Address Book |
favorite t-shirt 2008: Ventucky
someone found my blog looking for ventucky t-shirts: wild planet on main street in ventucky has posters and long time burners Peter, Christy, Jeff and crew would be the folks to ask about t-shirts. in fact, was it Jeff Burroughs or musician Jeff Kaiser who first used the term ventucky with me?
giving back 2: Art City
an open letter from the Fundraising Arm for Art City…
Dear Friends:
Please join as a community in taking a stand for the preservation and renovation of Ventura’s Art City and to assist its founder Paul Lindhard. http://www.artcitystudios.com/contact.htm
Art City is at a critical stage and there are immediate funding needs of $25,000 to legalize the structures that have not been torn down and building the ADA compliance bathroom which would include architectural and engineering fees, permit fees, materials & electrical. These are costs that Paul is facing right now, 2007.
We are making this appeal today because the end is upon us for anyone who needs to make donations this year and would consider taking a stand for Art City. The enthusiasm is there for building this project and fundraising will make that possible. But there isn’t time for fundraising for these immediate needs.
Art City has applied and awaiting the stamp of approval from the State for its 1053C status, the San Buenaventura Artists Union Gallery has arranged to accept checks payable to Art City:
http://www.venturaartistsunion.org/contact.htm
or mail directly to: Art City @ 197 Dubbers Street
Ventura, CA 93001 805-648-1690 805-653-6380
It takes a community!
Joy and Peace to you and yours,
If you would like to be part of making Ventura’s Art City thrive and flourish by donating services, labor, laughter, communication, ideas, donuts, coffee, everyone and everything makes a difference. Please contact me.
let it snow: giving back
Matt at WordPress wrote this cool code to make snow on my blog–here until Jan 2 so enjoy!
This snow falling is just one example of giving back…
more on this topic soon…
Shells: 3:15 Experiment Poem 8/2/02
In keeping with the season, for this week’s Poetry Train I submit this poem from the 2002 3:15 Experiment(where you wake up at 3:15am every night in August and write poetry believe it or not…there’s even 2 poetry collections of work written at 3:15am!).
BTW, it’s a lovely warm day here in Ventucky: clear and you can see the Channel Islands, a light breeze wafts the ocean air our way, the hills around Two Trees are finally starting to green after recent rains. I scrubbed out the hot tub and it’s filling with water. Be too cold tonight but should be great tomorrow! The sunset may even look like the one in the Sean Kirkpatrick painting above; this painting was on the poster for the Hillsides Conservancy Music Festival a year or two ago…
I produced the Broadside below. If you’d like a copy of it, let me know and we’ll make arrangements! Thanks!
We hike up to Two Trees
fossilized shells under feet
one spiral whole in my hand.
When I was five maybe seven or eight
my grandpa and I walked up
the steep dirt hill
walked on seashells.
Why Grandpa how Grandpa–
my mind trying to wrap itself around
someone carrying these shells
up here to leave behind–
did they live here?
I knew the Chumash
left piles of shells in their middens
shells as trash
shells as beads
shells as money
the shells deep in the dirt.
I kneel and want to pick up the pieces:
there are more shells here
than I have ever found on the beach.
My grandpa tells me
these are ancient seabeds we walk on
high now above the shore.
The mountain used to be underwater.
The mountain used to be the beach.
This is sand.
I would be swimming.
I would be underwater.
It was very different then he says.
The shells I have found
he holds in his hand.
He may have named them.
He knew these things.
He was a tough man, a sharp man
funny sometimes but not friendly
to children always.
I knew he put a caterpillar in his mouth
telling a child they were tasty.
The child didn’t believe him.
My grandpa rolled the caterpillar
under his tongue but the child
saw it—so he swallowed.
Was I too being fooled?
They tell you so many things
these adults and they expect
you to believe them:
dinosaurs, planets, Santa Claus.
From the 315 Experiment: August 2, 2002
(Note: this was submitted October 2008 for Read Write Poem‘s prompt to write about dinosaurs, fossils or monsters.)
art predator 
