Why Vegan?

If a three year old knows . . .


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/luiz-antonio-vegetarian-where-meat-comes-from_n_3366242.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Sobriety is Over Rated!

KGB Lit Magazine - The Drunk Monologues "Sobriety is Over Rated"

http://kgbbar.com/lit/non_fiction/the_drunk_monologues_sobriety_is_overrated

News That Should Piss You Off

Oklahoma Republican Senators Jim Inhoe and Tom Coburn, repeatedly voted against funding disaster aid for other parts of the country (most recently Hurricane Sandy) in addition to opposing increased funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers federal disaster relief.
Both have twitter accounts where they asked for prayer for Oklahoma. 

What are the odds they will ask the big bad government for aid in secular cash?

Republican Oklahoma Governor Marry Fallin has refused to accept Obamacare’s optional expansion of the Medicaid program, denying 130,000 low income people access to health care. Under OK law, families can’t get Medicaid coverage unless annual income falls below $6,996 for family of four, despite the fact that Medicaid would actually save OK $48 million per year if expanded to include families with dependent children with an income up to $30,000.

News that brings a smile:

The Oklahoma tornado survivor, Rebecca Vitsmun, while holding her baby, responds to Wolf Blitzer's inappropriate question:

"I guess you got to thank the Lord right?"

Silence (her home was demolished)

"You got to thank the Lord....?"

"Actually, I'm an atheist."

Yes! Thank you Rebecca. you are a hero. It takes courage to look at that dour CNN face and say who you are, and then to laugh.

KGB Lit Magazine - Interview

KGB Lit Magazine - The Drunk Monologues "Sobriety is Over Rated"

http://kgbbar.com/lit/non_fiction/the_drunk_monologues_sobriety_is_overrated

The Dark Side of the Moon

Charcoal drawing

when the dark side of the moon

becomes two

they huddle together

and walk toward silence

masses move as one

men without women

men without children grieving for

what could have been

once sons of men

who went to war now

they send their own sons and daughters

to a war with no end

Waihonga, NZ

2007

The Next Big Thing Project

Update: I will be adding two more self-interviews in the coming week
Susan Sherman and Dawn D'Arcy both said yes.

JOHN McCAFFREY'S NEXT BIG THING

John McCaffrey graduated from the City College of New York’s creative writing program and currently lives in Hoboken, NJ.  His debut novel, The Book of Ash, will be released by Boxfire Press in October 2013.
John has posted the interview on his blog: John McCafferty

What is the working title of the book?

My debut novel is titled THE BOOK OF ASH.  It will be released in October 2013 by Boxfire Press.  (http://boxfirepress.com/products/the-book-of-ash)
Here’s the cover.  Although I did not pose for the picture, I do own a white towel and often use it as a substitute for pants. 

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I’d like to say a white towel, but the idea to write THE BOOK OF ASH came from a serious and sad situation, a response to the 9/11 attacks in New York City.  At the time, I lived (and still do) in Hoboken, New Jersey, directly across the Hudson River from the former World Trade Center, and worked in downtown Manhattan, blocks from the tragedy.  Like many, I was deeply saddened and shook by the event, and given my geographical proximity, reminded nearly every day of what was unfolding at “Ground Zero.” I began to consider what could be done to prevent such needless loss of life and suffering, questioning why our world is always besieged by violence, and thought that the issue lies with the individual – that if we can help each person reach an optimal state of “mental health,” then we can prevent violence – on small and large scales.  So I began to create in my mind a society predicated on forming “mentally healthy” citizens, and came up with the Circle, the fictionalized world in the novel.  However, in developing the concept in my mind, and writing about it, I began to see that such a society could never flourish, or, more aptly, forced anything never works, and the book began to take on this form, of a people in rebellion against authority. 

The inherent strength and, for lack of a better word, sanity of nature is another prevalent theme in the novel, and one that also got its inspiration from 9/11.  Going back to that time, I was very moved, one night, while smoke still rose from the former World Trade Center, seeing a flock of geese flying south.  It made me realize that while the human world was out of order, the natural world was not – that no matter our struggles, geese and animals, plants and fish continued to follow an inner guide, a purer instinct.  This comforted me and so I infused the Circle, where the book takes place, with a more primitive natural setting, albeit one that might have been formed by earlier generation excess and pollution.

What genre does your book fall under?

My idea is that it is part Sci-fi, part mystery, with lots of action and romance and absurdist humor.  I like to describe it as Fight Club meets 1984 meets Clockwork Orange.  Then again, I like to put potato chips into my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so I might not be a reliable judge of genre. 

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

The main character in the novel, Baldwin Wallace, is 33 years old, in a difficult marriage, and facing a life crisis.  He also has a shy humor and naïve outlook on people – he looks for the best in everyone.  I think James Franco would be a great choice to play the role or, if somehow resurrected, Art Carney.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

A promiscuous wife, a sadistic stepfather, and a seductive young woman who promises to love him as long as murder is involved, are just a few of the issues Baldwin Wallace is dealing with as he tries to survive (and just possibly find happiness) in this comedic thriller.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

It took me one year to write the first draft – three more years to edit, and one year to find a publisher.  In that time, I gained greater perspective, wisdom and weight.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

In addition to the 9/11 factor, I also wanted to challenge myself to write a novel.  Before that, I had stuck mainly to short stories, so finishing on a novel was something I thought important for my writing practice and career.  

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I think it’s surprisingly sexy, perhaps not in a Fifty Shades of Grey way, but more in the understated, underhanded, and unhinged manner that befits most romantic relationships. 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m grateful to Boxfire Press for selecting the novel to join with their other great titles.

What is it that you want of a book?

I think it would be wonderful to see someone on a bus, or a subway, or somewhere public reading my book.  Then I could go up to them and ask if they like it.  And if they say yes, I’ll buy them a hot dog.  If they say no, I’ll buy myself one.  

Dangerous Diane's NEXT BIG THING

The Next Big Thing Project has been going around the internet. I was tagged by Bonny Finberg. We all answer the same five questions and then tag five others.

See Bonny's self-interview:  http://bonny-finberg.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-next-big-thing-self-interview-project.html

THE NEXT BIG THING PROJECT

What is the working title of the book?
The Drunk Monologues. Not "The Drunken Monologues. Some people say the grammar is incorrect. But they don't get it. In some way it's sort of a play on the "show don't tell" idiom, isn't it?

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was drinking a beer in a brown paper bag on Second Avenue when I saw a group of men looking under the hood of a car. I leaned against a deli wall and watched their ritualistic moves and thought it was hilarious. I went home and wrote it all down. That was in the 80's and I've been writing monologues about drinking ever since.

The Drunk Monologues, Fringe, NYC ph: Guler Ugur

What genre does your book fall under?

I don’t know. Poetry, prose, a solo play, fiction, creative non-fiction. Excerpts have been published in fiction anthologies, arts magazines and monologue books. It’s part memoir. It could even be horror or thriller although those genres usually reject me like ex-husbands.

So I guess it’s a novel. Hopefully literature.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in the movie rendition?

Lily Tomlin or Tom Waits.

Tomlin is also from Detroit, where a lot of the stories take place, especially the music. And since there is music, my original drummer, Leonard Paul Johnson would play drums. Waits once said that he’s a musician because it was either that or air conditioning repair. That’s how I feel about being an artist.

I was the first actor. I read the monologues in all the usual poetry venues in NYC and then performed the solo show in a Horse Trade production, which they produced and directed (by their theatre director at the time, Russ Dobular). I went on to do it again at the NY and New Zealand fringe festivals. If Tomlin or Waits turn it down, I could be persuaded to do it myself but I don’t like pretending I’m drunk anymore. I want the real thing now. It might be because I’m in Florida at the moment visiting folks.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

A tragic-comedy about one woman’s drinking addiction with absolutely no reference to recovery.

OR

Sobriety is over-rated. 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I never stopped. The first monologue was around 1988. There are more monologues than what ended up in the show so I'm excited to get all the monologues together again. Since 1988 I moved three more times in Manhattan, six times in New Zealand, once to Woodstock, three house sitting gigs in NYC, one sublet in Brooklyn (same hood as the Bensonhurt Butcher), and one roommate share in Hoboken, NJ.  In 2004 I went to New Zealand to try a second hand romance. The marriage was in front of a portrait of the Queen of England!. It ended not well because that husband was drinking and I was jealous. My moving for the past ten years has a lot to do with writing and drinking, I’m just not sure exactly what it is.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Steven Canon invited me to be a feature reader at the now defunct Avenue B Social Club where the audience included people drinking and people in recovery. Because they all laughed at my stories I was encourage to go further. When I saw John Leguizamo's “Freak” I knew I had a Broadway show. I never got that far but off-off broadway has been good and getting some of the monologues published is  inspiring.

Now Bonny Finberg has invited me to do this. I couldn't say no. I'm inspired to go forward and finish. Thanks Bonny.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest.

Chapter One: Train Birth

I was born in motion. The train rocking and surging,  metal against metal I popped out on a double seat in a little town called Puce - which is French for flea or so  they tell me - fifteen miles east of Windsor, Ontario. Canada. Water blood afterbirth and my mother's tears mixed with clapping and cheering and a champagne toast. Some fell on me, and at birth I was already moving and drinking. 

Horse Trade Theatre, NY, ph: Guler Ugur

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I would have more control if I did it myself. My last novel was rejected by twenty-two top publishing houses. At the same time I had been dating a poet/cab driver who asked me to marry him over a few bottles of vodka. We flew to San Francisco.  In the middle of the ceremony the judge admonished me for laughing because  it was a “solemn occasion”. I stopped laughing, we got married and my friends Bobby and Marcie took us to a revolving restaurant in the sky where we ordered champagne. However, my new husband wanted a bloody mary instead and I knew I married the wrong man. 

I want to publish visuals and music with the chapters. There are old songs and cartoons that are appropriate and I want to create new stuff with sound and ink.  A blog is the only way to control that. 

When done, I will toast the project with a glass of red wine. This is an incredible incentive. After sixteen years sober, I think I deserve a drink. Recovery is so over-rated. I’m not having any fun since I hit bottom.

What is it that you want of a book? 

I want my book to do what books do for me: EVERYTHING.

Truth! 

Gore Vidal says...I'm paraphrasing..."... a writer must tell the truth and the best way to do that is in a novel."

 I like deadlines. 

My Birthday and i found art

Yesterday
was my birthday


On the eve of my birthday I received an unexpected gift.
At the Farmers Market I was hanging at the Suncoast Food Coop stand when I saw a brown paper bag sitting on the lip of a white board easel.

The tag on the bag said FREE ART: a gift for you!
It was wrapped in paper and a ribbon. The gift: A ceramic heart by "Sherry".
Thank you Sherry.

i found art (by Sherry)

From the "A Gift for You" tag for i.foundart: "Art Abandonment is a group of artists sharing what we love to do by leaving artwork in random locations across the globe to find and enjoy. Today the universe picks you to receive this gift with the hope that you enjoy it or pass it onto someone else. If you wish you can send a message to i.found.artwork@gmail.com t let us know it was found."

itunes too? More household gods win

2nd day of the year and I need an iTunes upgrade.
This upgrade changed the look of my iTunes and prompted the question do I want to SHARE? This way iTunes can send me what THEY think I would like to listen to. Should I agree? Do I really want a computer program to suggest cultural choices?

I don't own the music in my iTunes, even the cd's i put there that I bought and the music I buy (not cheap) at the iTunes store. I can transfer 11 times only to other devices; and 7 times to a CD.

Clicking on AGREE to any digital contract is the same as signing a contract. And that includes renting the music.

So, the household gods win again.

 Got kids and partner? How many devices to play music all together? You could deplete your right to transfer your music to your next device in a year!  So, say five years from now I can't transfer myLeonard Cohen and Patti Smith to my new digital device?

Technology is a necessity. But the cost is not affordable for everyone.  Add up how much today  phone, internet, cable, mobile devices cost a month. All permanent costs that didn't exist a decade ago. I wouldn't care if there was a choice. The only choice I have that is loosing ground is not being on Facebook. Ever since a gov official said the future is using facebook to "inform" the public, I have lost faith in a thinking society.

Not long ago I moved around a lot. Through the years I gave up my vinyl, my cassettes, my CDs (although I still buy CD's). Transferring music from old computer to new has been a challenge. Albums, artists and songs have disappeared. It's just me listening to music, but some of it is gone.

Some artists (like Jack White a fellow Detroiter) are recording on vinyl again because  it SOUNDS better. This is not a discovery. It always sounded better.

Music comes from the heart.  Without it we loose our love and compassion for life.

Women dressing as strippers and gyrating on the stage is not music or love.
Men vocalizing about smashing women's teeth for better blow jobs is not love or music.
It's commerce.

It's only commerce.

The Beginning: Listen

The beginning of a new year, brings gray skies here in Hoboken.
At dawn silence.
A silence so beautiful I had forgot it was there, offering itself.
Now, the above neighbor stomps around her apartment as if no one lived under her. Neighbors return to the stoop, to smoke and argue, so inside their own heads and addiction, they wouldn't recognize me if i walked past them, knowing their secrets.

Silence at Dawn. Sensual.

Why Resolutions?

What one thing can I do that will make a difference?

LISTEN.

The news is full of hatred today as yesterday.
The technological revolution brings junk comments from hateful people I avoid in 3D time, people who don't have any compassion, tolerance or sense of equality for all life.

...speaking of comments...i had to put in place a procedure to limit the crap of anonymous comments trying to get on this blog to sell everything from viagra to ugh boots.

Exactly one year ago 2012 looked scary. Would the racists get rid of Obama? Would my mother be okay? Could my father still play tennis? Would my daughter still love me despite my faults? Would I find another job?

It was worse.
Then there was the weather. Hoboken was under water, the apartment below me, completely gone. I watched the water slowly flow and then suddenly smash the front door down, race inside and lift up heavy furniture. Gone. Yet, the landlord is rebuilding, will move back in. He says he has no choice. But will there be another Sandy? How could there not be?

LISTEN.

It's my only resolution.

Netflix shares your viewing choices.

congress passed a law, netflix can now share your info to whoever it wants.

check out this article with detailed info:

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/12/netflix-video-privacy-facebook-sharing

Employers Demand Your Social Media Passwords

Just stick a camera up my ass and call it a day.

Illinois and Maryland have actually passed legislation to prohibit employers from requiring applicants and its existing employees to disclose their social media passwords. California has similar legislation in progress. Will Employers find a way around it. Will they say there is no such thing as privacy anymore. Or, what's the big deal if you got nothing to hide?

Laws were once passed about women's rights' to privacy too.

Anyone remember these questions that violated the law?

Questions asked by interviewers (men) to me personally:

1. It's against the law to ask you if you intend to have children but you can volunteer the information.
2. I'm looking for someone who is going to be around. If you get pregnant that's a problem for me.
3. I don't want to hire someone who has children, you might call in sick because your kid is sick.

Instagram has rights to sell photos but denies it - A Romney

Pulling a Romney, Instagram denies what it said but stands behind what it said, whatever it was but is asking for time to clarify what it really meant.

From a 12/19/2012 BBC website article:

Instagram's policy to users:

"You hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the content that you post on or through the service..." and "...a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos, and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you."

translation: kill me.
just in case anyone has forgot, Facebook bought Instagram for $1billion in April, 2012. Is the language now clear?

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

Ladies and Gentlemen. May I have your attention please? You can pick up your mirror immediately following this announcement.

Here’s the thing about the mirror: it doesn’t work if you just had sex. Something about your essence trumps its magic, so make an appointment with the mirror and if you had sex just before your appointment, break it - the mirror won’t care. But don’t go anthropomorphizing the mirror because it hates that. And never say, “Mirror mirror on the wall.” It has a dark sense of humor and could crack or worse, shatter, and you could end up in the hospital. But most of all, whatever you do, don’t turn it on when you’ve been drinking. The mirror can drink you under the table - believe me.

           

Despite advertisements that the mirror will grant riches and the celebrity of your fantasies, it’s not true.  The mirror will shut down if there is any request for fame and fortune. If you are a celebrity, please do not use the mirror. It does not understand the difference between who you are and people who want to be who you are. We expect this problem will be solved soon.

           

Before you turn on the mirror have the answers to your security questions available: your pet’s name, your favorite color, and where you want to be in five years. When you see yourself in the mirror, be sure it is a clear image. If there are any ghostlike movements, you may have to start over. Just select “escape” and begin again. If the image is still wavy on the third attempt it will shut down and you will have to wait forty-eight hours. The most common reason for blurry images is insincerity.

Do not ask the mirror more than one question. Do not use compound sentences that are really two questions. And do not make statements. Believe me, the mirror is not interested in your opinion.

 If the mirror shuts down for no apparent reason, do not call the Ministry of Mirrors - you probably did something to piss it off. Read the manual and try again. However, if the mirror laughs at you, call the Ministry, but only between nine and five. Be prepared to wait due to high volume. Once the mirror laughs at you, you can no longer use it until it is reprogrammed. If the mirror tries to coax you into asking it another question, do not answer, it has a sick sense of humor and is using you for its own amusement. Believe me.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says Yes to Disco!

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says yes to Disco.
And it says no to Joan Jett?
At least Joan Jett wrote her own songs.

Perhaps Katy Perry, whose only talent is deep cleavage, will be inducted following her "woman of the year" award in music because her acceptance speech opened with, "I am not a feminist."

When I was growing up, popular predictable music was called bubble gum because only kids liked it and they would grow out of it, like their taste for sugary gum. Why do adults now like it? Is it because they are afraid of art? because there's nothing to think about, nothing to give beyond what is already there? Test Bieber and Perry against Patti Smith, Springsteen, Dylan, Cohen, Hynde, Robinson, Lennon, Costello, McLachlan, Waits, Chapman, Young,.....et al. These artists are creating art instead of drama and contrived statements that gets them their publicity fix in media.

Do Not Call Dangerous Diane's PSA

The do not call registry is a government service. Visiting folks in Florida, the phone rings about ten times a day. Caller ID is not enough, and scammers call claiming to be this agency, offering to register your number.
2 ways to register your number:

go to: donotcall.gov and fill out form.
Or,
From the phone you want to register call 888-382-12222.

Every action causes a reaction!
Go for it!
FYI: copied from public site:
The National Do Not Call Registry gives you an opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls you receive. Once you register your phone number, telemarketers covered by the National Do Not Call Registry have up to 31 days from the date you register to stop calling you.

Things I can do without: Leggings. Especially on women.

I have yet to see anyone who looked good in leggings . . . especially women in white hair who walk around the neighborhood where my parents live in Florida.
One exception:  Ron Reagan:  independent political commentator & atheist.

Add caption

Why don't We care about privacy anymore

Today I read in the BBC news that attractive photos of women are being copied from various sources (FB, photo accounts) and used in porn sites and twitter accounts and that more parents and teachers are stealing images of attractive girls for phony FB accounts to get friended by their children and students, so they can spy on them!!

On NPR radio the other day the outgoing president of the FCC said the government is aware of the importance of social media (ha ha) and will use FB to inform users of actions to take in emergencies.   During Storm Sandy, I had no heat or electricity and my cell phone did not work for a week. How would FB help in this case?

Is anyone surprised that Verizon has applied for a patent for a device in future TV's that will detect watchers' emotions?  If you are watching a movie, you will see an ad for popcorn; if you are getting cozy with someone, you will see an ad for condoms. What would be the ad for two women holding hands? "Buy one pair of shoes and get the second one half off?

When I was thirteen I received a diary for xmas. It had a lock, which I lost. My father made me a new one. It never occurred to me that he could make another lock and open my diary. I wasn't given the gift to be spied on. I was given the diary with the understanding it was mine. Private. I knew my father would not make that lock.

Not everyone keeps a diary but apparently every teen has a FB page. The results for marketers and advertisers are clear. The consequences are pretty scary.

I have not had and never will have a FB account. It is Big Brother. It will sell you to advertisers for it's own profits and it will sell you to the government as well.  Join me!

Any takers? Tea party members?

dangerous diane scam. dangerous diane is not on face book

A facebook post entitled:  dangerous diane scam.
This is bizarre. I can't always google my name to see who is using it - there are too many listings but this one is a bit disturbing.

I am not in Spain. I am not stranded. I am not asking for money.
I am not even on facebook, an advertising device to obtain personal information to sell to marketers.

But if you want to send me money, you can always make a comment here about why you want to send me money and I will consider your offer. Being unemployed (not by choice) for the first time in my entire life, all donations will be considered.

A little research revealed that this facebook page was posted by Casey of Ch 2 news in Utah.

President's Diary 9-11-21 WHAT IF?

What if.....
The President of the USA was just another Reality TV Show.

The President's Diary

(Books are So Yesterday)

Monday September 11, 2021. 

Today I had to do a commemorating thing for the 20th anniversary of 911, but I didn’t have to go to Ground Zero. Thank god. New York is full of highfalutin weirdoes who want to take me to the ballet or talk about education. Just the word education is so yesterday. I gave a speech in the Oval Office about freedoms – without a teleprompter, thank you. I wore my red dress with the blue and white trim.  It matched the flag. I got a lot of compliments from the staff.

I met a new secret service agent at the after party after the press conference last night. He looks like Justin Bieber, only younger. I invited him to run my eight miles with me this morning. He is so cute. He showed me his six-pack and I winked at him. (I’m so bad.) The run cleared my head - too many daiquiris last night.

The renovations are finally done. A lot of stuff they said I couldn’t touch.  Are they kidding me? I’m the President. Please! Anyhow, I didn’t care because the trophy rooms are perfect. The gold and silver trophies and all the rhinestones in the tiaras are so beautiful and sparkly they hurt your eyes. The gold is not real, of course, but it looks real and that is better than the real thing. Sugar Baby’s trophies are on display in her own trophy room. Now all those people who come for the tour won’t be asking me the same question over and over: “Which trophies are Sugar Baby’s?” Only six years old and Sugar Baby has already won thousands of trophies, just like her mother. She is not only beautiful – even more so since her highlights – she is smart.  She said when she grows up she wants to be Miss America and the President!  (How cute is that?)

Afternoon tea (Ha Ha) was spent with the girls from my jewelry-making class. They loved the champagne and double chocolate cake - made with real cane sugar, thank you. They were a little nervous with the cameras but it’s routine for me after growing up in my mother’s “All American Scrap Making Reality TV Show”.  The champagne went straight to my head! I told the girls that I dropped my towel one morning when I came out of the shower to give the secret service in the control room something to wake up with.  (They really laughed at that one.)

Before the girls left Sugar Baby performed her Marilyn Monroe routine and sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President.” (So cute). I’m sewing an Elvis outfit to prove that I am not sexualizing her. Even saying the word sex with pageants makes me ill.  Rehearsing Sugar Baby’s pageant routines is hard work but as I remind the VP everyday, I’m a pageant mom before I’m the President.

The best thing I have done in my presidency is to repeal Roe vs. Wade.  Now I am part of every future mother’s happiness in this great country of ours that was founded on freedoms. As soon as I get “legitimate rape” into the abortion ban law, I’m a shoe-in for a second term.

Before bed I drank a cup of cocoa and worked on my book, a memoir for prosperity. Why they still call them books anymore is beyond me. Books are so yesterday! 

The Making of a Psycho Killer on the Bus

Found Drama: Mother & Son on the Bus
Dollar Bus, North Bergen, NJ.

The Making of a Psycho Killer on the Bus

Mommy, can we go to the park?

No.

Why?

Because I said so.

But why?

I said so!  That's why!

I wanna play in the park.

Play.  Play.  Play.  That's all you think about.

No it isn't.

Hello?

Mommy!

Shush! I'm on the phone.  Hello?

Mommy!

Shut up.  Sorry, I'm on the bus.  Hello? What?  Hello? Shit!

Mommy, can we go to the park?

No is no!  What part of no don't you understand fool?

I'm gonna play at home.

Play.  Play.  Play.  All you do is play.  All I do is work work work so you can play play play.  Hello?  Hey baby, how you doing?  I'm doing good now that I hear your voice again.

Mommy!

Shut the fuck up.  Can't you see I'm talking!  I'm on the bus.  With the kid.  Oh, baby stop it.  You makin' me hot.

Mommy!

What?

I want to go to the park.

You give me a fucking headache.

Pleeeeease mommy.  Please, please, please.

Five minutes.  When I say it's time to go home I don't want to hear no shit. You understand?  No fucking shit.

Thank you mommy.  I love you mommy.

I love you too baby.

Found Drama: Mother & Twins Hoboken

Since my continuing unemployment status I have a view of the world I didn't see when I was shut up in a 9 to 5 cubical: other people's children.

Mother & Twins. Hoboken

Willow Avenue.  Morning. Mother drinking coffee pushing her twins in double stroller.

Baby Twin One:

I wanna go to the park

Baby Twin Two

I wanna go to the park

Mother
Do you mind sweeties if we go the CVS first? We can go to the park after. Is that okay? Do you mind? Sweeties?

Baby Twin One
No. I wanna go to the park.

Baby Twin Two
No. I wanna go to the park.

Mother
I only need to pick up a few things. Okay?

Baby Twin One
No.

Baby Twin Two
No.

Dangerous Diane & The Dinettes

My first record: "Potentially Dangerous" is currently up for auction on ebay with a suggested start bid of $125.00.

I used to give the record away, even toss it to the audience at The Detroit Institute of Arts during a performance.

It's a 45 rpm.  I don't have a record player anymore.
 Side A is about child abuse.  Side B is about how easy it is to make art.
Vintage.  Punk.  Detroit.

Also in cyber space is a  photo of a woman identified as me watching a rugby game.  It is not me.  She looks very Conservative.  Is it possible to know if someone is a conservative by the way they wear their hair?  Choose their clothes?

Ray Johnson interview Detroit Artists Monthly

There is an interest in the many interviews I and Randy Delbeke did in the 70's and early 80's in Detroit for our magazine, "The Detroit Artists Monthly."    A favorite interview was with Ray Johnson, (1978) a New York artist originally from Detroit who Randy and myself interviewed in our Detroit living room. Ray was in town for a visit to see his mother.  He was so deadpan and wonderful that when Ray left we kept our private comments in the interview at the end.  Ray loved that.

Jim Pallas published the interview in its entirely at his website: Jim Pallas Website with photos of artwork by Ray that were published at the time with the cover of the magazine featuring Ray with a photo earring.

Check it out the Ray Johnson Interview: 

http://www.jpallas.com/hh/rj/DAMintervw-RayJ.html

Why Internet Dating Doesn't Work

The first thing I noticed about this dating thing is you got to answer a lot of questions.  Your age, your height, your religion, hair color, things you like, things you don’t like.  I goggled how to answer Internet dating questions and it said be honest.  Except everyone knows that women lie about their age and men lie about their height, so I said I was six feet tall.  Even though I’m five foot eight.

The picture is the Holy Grail.  You have to have a good one.  But nothing naked or skimpy even if you have a good body and everyone has to say what kind of body they have.  You can check only one body type: athletic, thin, average, a few pounds or jumbo.   I’m a couch potato so I checked average.

I looked at other profiles to get some ideas on what kind of a picture to upload. Men pose with things like lawnmowers and cars, motorcycles and dogs.  Boats.  I live in an apartment and I don’t drive.  And, my landlord doesn’t allow pets.  So all that is out.  Men also post pictures of themselves with grandchildren and sons and daughters at graduation ceremonies.  That’s also out for me.  Some men have pictures of themselves sucking in their stomachs on mountaintops, holding up kayak paddles and straddling bicycles.  Or in bars holding up a drink, an arm around a buddy or a barfly, looking like they’re having a good time.  Those days are over for me.

I took a picture of myself in the bathroom mirror.  After I posted it, I noticed that the mole on my left cheek was on the right.   I said in my profile that my picture was backwards and I got an email from a woman who said she understood.  That’s what I want, a woman who understands me.  She had black curly hair and wore a low cut red blouse with lots of cleavage and her breasts were not wrinkly for her age.  She said we could have a good time and should meet for drinks.  I told her I only drink coffee these days and she emailed back: “Look me up when you fall off the wagon. Ha Ha Ha.”

There are a lot of good-looking women out there.  I emailed all the ones with big hair. Some had French twists like my mother still wears.  She says her hair is her best feature so I always ask her how her hair is.  I called her and told her no one emailed me for a date and she wanted to know what age group I was looking in and when I told her she said, “Older women don’t want a lover, they just want someone to take them to dinner.” She said that maybe she should look at my profile and give me some pointers. I said no.

I asked her if she thought I should pose with food.  Some guys have pictures of themselves with the food they cooked, men pointing to fish on platters with the heads still on them.  Some men pose with fish on fishing boats and then there are men with guns. If I was a woman and opened my email from a message that said, “happygoluckyguy wants to meet you!” and he’s aiming a rifle at the ceiling, I’d hit the delete button.  I cook pasta but my mother said she wouldn’t bother posting a picture of my pasta. 

After a few months I took my profile off and created a new one.  Now I’m sexybadboy7823.  I lied about everything.  I get a lot of emails from very attractive women.  Some want to meet me.  Onetruelove7572 says she is sure I’m the one. We have been getting it on in the emails, chatting back and forth and stuff.  Lots of sexy stuff.  She is really hot. And, she’s intelligent.  She says she likes to read.

My mother called and said she was trying the Internet dating thing too.

“Why should you have all the fun?” she said.  “Some men are very sweet and nice and some are very naughty.”

“Ma!” I said, “I don’t want to hear this.” 

 “Sexybadboy wants to meet me.”

“What?”

“He says I’m the one.”

Maybe it was just a coincidence. 

                                                                            clipart

I Don't Care Song (Click to Hear)

click to hear song:

I Don't Care

The "I Don't Care" Song

Reading the entry of yesterday I noticed how lyrics from my songs entered my prose. (everything is a memory)

Curious when that happens. Is it true that an artist must "care" immensely to write a song called "I Don't Care"? There are many songs out there with this title, (in addition to You Don't Care, We Don't Care, They Don't Care, etc.), so I think I am probably in good company. I wrote "I Don't Care" for the Dangerous Diane Band in 1978 when my daughter was two and I cared about everything because the world got so much bigger! Listening today, I think it still kicks.

I Don't Care

What's wrong with the immediate/most things are

It may be false/but it's splendidly false

I don't care if it's temporary/everything is a memory

I don't care/I don't care/I don't care

It takes talent to transform useful into useless

There was no sadistic intention

It's not enough to live/just to be creative

I don't care/I don't care/I don't care

copyright 1978, 2012 Diane Spodarek

You get to go home

Here there is no there.

I am one of four siblings. For two months I have sent emails to my brother and sisters and bc to my daughter to keep everyone up to date on what is happening here: the doctors, the hospital, the diet, the weather, the outings, the armadillo.

I will not forget what it feels like to sleep in a chair for two weeks next to my mother in her bed, my father next to her. Like a new mother who knows when her child stirs, I knew the moment my mother lifted the blanket. I went without sleep for two weeks. This is possible. It takes caffeine. And something else. Duty? Love? I think it has always been there, deep in my soul. It is a pain that does not yet have a name. It is wrapped in sadness, and is one a daughter knows.

In the fog that is my life today, I have found yoga classes, a state park with turtles, a grocery store. The lavendar plant my daughter sent reminds me of her. I pinch a flower and carry it in my pocket each day. But there is no art. That somehow eludes me. I do not try to get it back. I wait. Trusting it will return when it is time. It always does.

My youngest sister has visited twice to help me out. When she left I said, "You get to go home."

She gets to go home, she, like my bother and other sister have their own lives far away from here. Sometimes I think that this is right. They are the professionals, they could never give up their lives, their families, their day to day responsibilities. They wake to normalcy, they go to jobs, eat and sleep and make love. It is I, the artist, who can give up everything because I never had anything to begin with. Even a successful art career can be seen as the one that should be given up when a family shifts. I know it cannot happen unless the artist agrees to it. It's temporary. Everything is a memory. I must be here now than give up. I could never give up my daughter and so I could never give up my parents.

I imagine there are others like me. ­

Care Taker in Florida

Another time. Another place.

A small town on the Gulf in Florida.

Left New York at the start of 2012 to help out my folks.

I imagine there are others like me.