WHAT'S THE USE?

June 7, 2016

Election Day in California.  I so wish we'd have the stinkeen election today and get it over with. the rants on FB are ranty and my patience for it all with stupid photos of the Orange man popping up with all the vitriol they can muster, cluttering the site and making me tire of deleting and deleting and deleting and wishing that the apparent manipulation of the system would vanish, though it's clear that it will never vanish and opinions will fly like spattered blood at a murder scene and the real death, looming on the horizon of the United States is ignorance and pap and stupidity and redundancy and the stuff that drives religions, the fervor of beliefs that are so embedded in the fabric of not only Americans, but in the world... that the ending of T.S. Eliot's THE HOLLOW MEN ekes its way into my memory, relentlessly.. relentless and sad and hopeless and inevitable..  this is the way the world ends.. this is the way the world ends.. and now, the final frames of DR. STRANGELOVE with Slim Pickens and his twentygallonhat riding the nuke to the end of civilization as we know it and wishing for a direct strike on this tired old porch, this sylvan retreat, this quiet street with lesbians and gays and artists and retired folks and Emmy winners and artists yes artists and musicians and iconoclasts and mystery blondes with lemons and oranges: our California bounty, here really not on the main drag, but safely tucked away might, in the flash of that final moment just turn to the dust that will in eons coalesce into a fragment of some other thing of life that may, in time, rise to another level of destruction. 

June 7, 2016  Primary Election Day

michaelsheehan

 

BEING CLEAR

June 6, 2016

Being clear.

I'm bailing out on most activity on FB.  This darned political stuff has me wondering about my ability to communicate effectively and so, rather than pound my head against a wall, I'll just bail. 

For the nice folks who stop by these, my daily musings, what I've been trying to make clear on FB is that the campaign that Bernie Sanders is running is a populist deal that is filled with idealism and very little rancor.   I'm an idealist, I think. Thus, even though the Clinton campaign supposedly has a lock on the nomination, my attitude is that a vote for Sanders is... simply... just a statement:  a message that there are still millions of California voters whose voices count.  And, so.. by voting for Sanders in the Primary.. all we do is send a message to Clinton and the Democrats and to the nation, that California embraces the ideas and ideals that Sanders is espousing.  This is not an anti-Clinton thing, it is a pro People thing that Sanders represents...  at least to me and so.. if I convince one more person to vote for him in the Primary then, I've accomplished something.

For my dear friend who has pledged for him tomorrow I am very grateful. 

Hopefully, this will be all the political crap that I'll ever discuss here.  

Meanwhile, there's a terrific production of Hedda Gabler up at Antaeus in NoHo.  Here's my review.  

 http://onstagelosangeles.blogspot.com/2016/06/hedda-gabler-shines-pistols.html

  Make Art!  Be well.. 

June 6, 2016

michaelsheehan

VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE ON TUESDAY! SANDERS, YES!

June 6, 2016

Pat Willson, posts almost daily on Facebook, bits of historical information.  Today she reminded us of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.  With politics making me crazy today.. (gripe to follow), this incident stands out as one of the worst memories from my past.  Bobby may or may not have had an intimate relationship with Marilyn.  That romantic notion is intriguing because of the pure celebrity of it.  The 'apparent suicide' of Marilyn and the rumor that Peter Lawford and Bobby may have been on hand that terrible night will never be confirmed.  The death of celebrity: show business, politics, athletics/sports.. bring us all into the same arena with feelings.  

Feelings get stirred up now and then and today, I noted some feelings in me with my attempt to convince one former friend that a minority vote makes a 'statement.'  If one candidate declares victory before the votes are cast, I seldom want to support that idea, even if eventually I might be happy with the candidate.  I want to make MY statement and in a way it is like the young man in Tiananmen Square all those years ago: almost thirty now..  who stood in front of an oncoming tank in the protest for democracy in China.  One kid.  One vote. One gesture.  The difference is that he didn't call on his fellows to join him.  He just stood there and the image is indelibly printed on my mind.   So, I'll stand at the polls on Tuesday and cast not a 'loser vote' but a vote for progress and hope that won't necessarily be lost if Mrs. Clinton moves forward, but I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that I made my comment.  

If I can convince one person to, at least, in the California primary, to vote for Mr. Sanders, then, my point has been made.  Coming up against any machine: a tank or a political movement or even an institution like my alma mater, only to be ignored, that proves a challenge that is hard for me to ignore.

Bobby Kennedy.  Shot on this date in 1968. 

Years later, I was with my friend, Johnny Gunn, when we were checking out the facilities at The Ambassador for a gathering.  We left the ballroom where the event would take place and he rushe in front of me and stepped onto a rubber mat that opened a doorway into a kitchen.  It looked familiar, but I didn't know why.  It was the kitchen where an assassin robbed the world of a legacy and potentially a world more inclined to peace.  It was chilling and as in important times in our lives, stays with me in a complete moment. The lighting.  My friend. The door opening into the murder scene. Indelible in memory. 

Pat's FB post quoted Bobby's brother. Ted delivered a simple eulogy: eloquent.  As  you read this, can you hear his voice?

"My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world."

June 6, 2016

michaelsheehan 

THE CHAMP IS DEAD. ONE OF A KIND!

June 4, 2016

The tributes to honor Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali are many and wonderful.  I was surprised how many folks I know have had personal encounters with him.  It's sad to acknowledge the passing of an icon.  The Parkinson's Disease that he courageously lived with for over thirty years took its toll and yesterday, we lost him.  Of course, this is all old news and even this story has been told many times.  This one:

I was invited to a gathering at a restaurant on La Cienega many years ago.  It may have been to honor Ali or some other reason.  The place was packed.  Suddenly there was a parting of the gathered throng and Ali came in.  He waved. And..  and.. he was glowing.  Literally.  The man was surrounded by light.  We did not meet.  But, to see this guy in person and surrounded by a blue white aura was a moment that I'll never forget.

I'll never forget another connection to The Champ. It was the winter of 1964.  I was working at a Disney owned Celebrity Sports Center in Denver.  The night of the fight, the guy who tended the pin setting machines (it was an eighty lane bowling alley with other sports activities) had placed a bet on the 'kid' who was coming up against Sonny Liston, the bruiser from Arkansas, ten years  (or so) his senior.  The pin setter guy had a radio back in the bowels of the bowling lanes and had placed a sizeable bet on Clay.  The bowling lanes were set up in two sections of the Center and I was on the intercom with the pin setter, so I could hear the radio narration of the fight.  When  Clay  knocked Liston out, the pin setter was ecstatic! He'd won a bundle!  I remember being excited, too, though I was not really a fan. Immediately,  I got on the PA system to announce the result and the whole place erupted in cheers!   There's a wonderful photograph of Clay standing over Liston moments after the final punch.  He whupped the ugly old bear!

Our heroes come in many guises.  Muhammad Ali (does "Ali" really mean 'sword of light?' Well, it does mean 'high' or 'exalted'),  this extraordinary man, embodied every guise that an admirer would ever need.  He spoke his Truth.  He lived his Truth. He made us laugh.  He was so pretty!  

Hopefully, there is no 'rest' in peace for this hero.  If there's an opportunity to have fully functioning functions again, that would be my sincere wish for a man who touched the hearts of millions with good will and honesty.  What a legacy. 

June 4, 2016

michaelsheehan

SIXTEEN KIDS

June 3, 2016

Random thoughts as The Beaver deals with a dilemma and his third grade teacher has to wrangle a class of SIXTEEN KIDS!..  

In an early Johnny Weissmuller  Tarzan movie, there's a scene where Tarzan has to travel into a mysterious and misty realm.  I recall one scene (probably a well painted backdrop, but still.. ) where the lone Ape Man stands facing a long foggy canyon to right a wrong or something.  The image from the porch reminded me of seeing that film a long time ago.

Compare this with the upcoming 21st Century take on Edgar Rice Burroughs' foundling starring again in The Legend of Tarzan where painted glass backgrounds give way to green screen jungles and probably London, as well.  In the trailer, there's an chilling moment with Greystoke (Alexander Skarsgård) literally flying through the air to face an also flying adult gorilla. With the death of Harambe, the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla, watching the film may be difficult.  I was grateful to read Jane Goodall's impassioned letter to the zoo director. With the definition of 'sentience' expanded now to include non-humans, I wonder about the comfort level of enjoying the film.

Each day, as I work on this art project (still not positive it'll be accepted!!) I awaken with ideas for it on my mind.  Current events crowd in.   "Multiple loose rounds of ammunition" The murder a couple of days ago  at UCLA. "Go check on my cat."  This will make no sense out of context.. as time slips by.  

June 3, 2016

michaelsheehan

HAYDEN'S BIRTHDAY? TAKE ONE

June 2, 2016

The weather folks say it's going to be record heat today.  Though we've had overcast the past few days, the sun is shining. That's that w/ the weather.

Tom Hayden (not THAT Tom) is having a birthday pretty soon.  He doesn't like attention and "says" that he can't do email for reasons that, of course, make no sense.  He may be in the witness protection program and will probably support the loud orange man if it comes to that.  He did me the honor of calling me for my birthday, probably because his lovely wife saw my day listed on Facebook, but you cannot fault a friend for making an effort.  Happy Day, Hayden, whenever it is in the next couple of days.  The guy is very generous, but really doesn't take compliments or gifts very well.  He may see this!  But would never admit it!

I need to find a new long distance carrier.  My old penny a minute service bites the dust next month and won't let me reup my reserve.  It's been a deal for many years.  Chatting with foreign helpers has been a bit of a challenge when the service went wonky, but those days are done.  Sigh.  Suggestions for cheapo long distance?

What a boring entry.  Reading Krishnamurti, I now know that it's all on me!  Into the day!

June 2, 2016

michaelsheehan

 

MOM AND MARILYN FIRST OF JUNE

June 1, 2016

Norma Jean Mortenson Baker: June 1, 1926.  She'd be ninety today.  The circumstances of her death, is discussed in a re-run of the Dick Cavett Show with Norman Mailer who talked about her suicide in his biography "Marilyn, A Biography."  Was it a suicide?  Did Bobby Kennedy and Peter Lawford accompany MM to the hospital but return to Marilyn's home when she died?  Why was there no trace of any drugs in her stomach?  It's still a mystery.

My mom's birthday was also June 1st.  Happy Birthday, Mom.

////

What is being called a 'murder / suicide' at UCLA has been reduced to an investigation.  All local channels covered the situation from the air and on the ground while students and others secured themselves: "sheltered in place" with tweets and instagrams collected and expanded upon by news readers on all network channels.  

I spent a little time on Facebook repeating what I heard and saw on local news.  What bothers me is that the 'tone' of reporters and repetition of dramatic specifics that really were not specific at all. Speculation and tone may exacerbate fear.  Caution, of course, is an imperative.  Exacerbating the fear really serves little purpose.  

Tough day.  Life goes on.  How will the terrible situation at the Cincinnati Zoo be overshadowed by the UCLA shooting?  Our attention is jerked willy nilly from one over amped situation to another by exploitative rumor and 'news.'  

Happy Birthday, Mom.. and Marilyn.

June 1, 2016

michaelsheehan