Crow Haiku #6

watchful messengers
of magic and creation,
by your side i'll stay.

A Series Of Steps

"It may be when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey." ~Wendell Berry

(An)Other Plane

somewhere there I dreamed
spaceships descended from clouds
abducting my heart.
awake in your galaxy,
in your starlight ... forever.

Now Screening

"Here's looking at you, kid."

... in the spirit of the evening, a melancholy cinephile would like to thank:

The Academy of Mobile Phone Arts and Blogging; ancestors; my moms; my boy Moon; BlackBerry; my Adidas; all street photographers, artists, musicians and poets; Alfred Hitchcock; La Nouvelle Vague; Cantinflas; Roger Ebert & Gene Siskel; Whoopi Goldberg; Martin Scorsese; Aurora Guerrero; and last but not least, Georges Melies and Thom Yorke (... i told u, i was melancholy). Merci. Thank You. Gracias. Tlazocamatli!

"For me, films are born in the same way that poetry is born for poets ... Some words, some images, some concepts come into the mind, and they all mix together and become poetry. I believe that the same thing happens with cinema. Everything we read, hear, think, and see at a certain moment sets itself in concrete images, and stories are born from these images." ~Michelangelo Antonioni

2 The Sky

Sears

Jupiter, Chemtrail, Waxing Crescent Moon, and Venus

Uh, OK ...

 [Note To Self: Don't Forget To Look Down! How creepy cool would this  picture of a child's hoodie hanging on a branch of been if I had taken it of the shadow they're casting on the driveway, instead? It's been one of those slow mobile phone photography weeks ... maybe i just need to focus more, a new format, a job!?!]

Crow Haiku #5

off in your own sky
branches await your secrets
come on home, baby.

Cuahuiyotl

"Tree Heart"

"If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees." ~Khalil Gibran

Six-String Blues

... play it for me fellas. i could use all the magic i could get during these hard times.

... And Then There Were 2

Seriously, i'm too young to be that "crazy cat guy"... Right?

Solar Haiku #3

don't wanna feel u
passin' me by as i ride
closer to my dream ...

The Big Sleep

... There were times this week when i thought how i'd ever get by without this guy. (What's a February afternoon without a little cat noir inspiration?) Thanks Moon!


"If you want to write, keep cats." ~Aldous Huxley

Cafecito

... still thinking about all that wonderful coffee i sampled on Wednesday. Especially these beans: let's research and discuss together. Salud pues!

$135 Cash, or $180 Credit?

... I packed my gym bag with a total of seventy-one CD's (a couple of which were double-CD sets) to take to the Amoeba Music store in Hollywood today. I can't remember the last time I was there to shop for music. My previous visit had also been to sell a few CD's sometime last year. I also included three VHS tapes: a couple John Coltrane documentaries--one of which I have on DVD now--and a concert by the famed Keith Jarrett Trio.

I love Amoeba. The first time I stepped into an Amoeba Music store was in Berkeley way back in 1996. I didn't visit the San Francisco store until 2002 by which time the Hollywood store had just opened. By far, Amoeba's Hollywood location is jaw dropping by comparison. I've spent hours in there. Mostly in their jazz room: my Disneyland.

I've never been one to download music much, I love buying CD's. But my music consumption habits have changed drastically over the years, reflecting the changes undergone by the music industry in general. The way I listen to music has also changed with internet and iTunes radio, even YouTube. As much as I'd love to see my shelves still stacked with CD's (and, of course, sexy vinyl, but that's a whole nother story), I just can't afford buying new CD's like I used to. Slowly, my first stop for music has been the iTunes Store, even Amazon. I haven't bought or downloaded a whole lot of music from the internet, but the fact that I'm recognizing a trend in the ways I consume-download-hijack music sucks! It sucks for everyone. There's even a free download for your computer that extracts high quality MP3's from YouTube videos directly to your iTunes library.

I haven't bought CD's in such a long time I don't even know how or what to shop for anymore. I'd rather save up and buy an attractive box set of a jazz artist's music over an individual album. It can be daunting at an Amoeba store but, despite a large selection, there are just other factors that come into play now. From reaching for a CD for the player to having it all at the touch of a key on the laptop. I love all kinds of music, but 95% of my purchases are jazz CDs--which, like my books, I just won't sell. It's easier for me to buy other genres of music via the download.

So, I'm financially strapped. Priorities change, right?

I opted for the cash. $135. It was more than i expected. (I imagined the sweet jazz boxed sets and vinyl i could've walked out with from the $180 credit). Seventy-one CD's. But I returned home with twenty-four. Guess they're not buying much R&B right now ... and so the slow jams, my Smooth Grooves collection, came back home with me.

On the way home i stopped by Target for cat food for the week (for my still unnamed stray) and made a payment on my Macy's card. Fortunately, i have enough to make a payment on another bill. This is how it be right now ...

Until the next hustle.

It's ... Abandoned

... after sampling six different kinds of coffee (plus one espresso shot!) this afternoon--from an "eclectic premium" coffee roaster in Alhambra--i found myself just a few steps up the block, struck by this abandoned industrial warehouse. From the rain earlier in the day, the paneled exterior looked liked soaked corrugated cardboard ready to collapse. I wondered what kind of factory this had been and why places like this feel not only creepy, but also, so otherworldly?

The Bus Rider's Verses

Haiku
by Sonia Sanchez

i await your touch
come magnify our smell 
make of us a long journey.

Si tú me olvidas
by Pablo Neruda

Quiero que sepas 
una cosa.

Tu sabes como es esto:
si miro 
la luna de cristal, la rama roja
del lento otoño en mi ventana,
si toco
junto al fuego
la impalpable ceniza
o el arrugado cuerpo de la leña,
todo me lleva a ti,
como si todo lo que existe,
aromas, luz, metales,
fueran pequeños barcos que navegan
hacia las islas tuyas que me aguardan.

Ahora bien,
si poco a poco dejas de quererme
dejare de querrerte poco a poco.

Si de pronto
me olvidas
no me busques,
que ya te habre olvidado.

Si consideras largo y loco
el viento de banderas
que pasa por mi vida
y te decides
a dejarme a lo orilla
del corazón en que tengo raíces, 
piensa
que en ese día,
a esa hora
levantare los brazos
y saldran mis raíces
a buscar otra trierra.

Pero
si cada día,
cada hora,
sientes que a mí estás destinada
con dulzura implacable,
si cada día sube
una flor a tus labios a buscarme,
ay amor mío, ay mía,
en mí todo ese fuego se repite,
en mí nada se apaga ni se olvida,
mi amor se nutre de tu amor, amada,
y mientras vivas estará en tus brazos
sin salir de los míos.

fingertips caress
your spine, contour the pages
write the love i ride.

Crow Haiku #4

miss how we would play
in the wind i chase u still
each time i look up

Interlude ... 5-OH!

A Cat & His Poet

... today i mark my 50th post on this blog/daily photo journal/poetry-haiku workshop. I've posted a picture (sometimes two, sometimes more) taken with my BlackBerry Tour everyday this year--with the exception of one sick day (i tried, but felt too crappy to post on January 9).

Fifty posts. Never mind that my Blogger Profile lists that i've been a member since 2004. I didn't really know how a blog worked (and i don't remember posting anything back then either), i just thought i should have one because i knew it was a place where writers wrote. In a way, i was anticipating my move from the pen and page to the laptop keys. It's been a gradual transition. But, i still carry a pocket-sized notebook and pen almost everywhere. It's a habit i hope i never lose.

Fifty posts. Cumulatively, in this blog's current incarnation. I can't say i remember any postings from 2004-2008. But there may have been (... surely they now travel in an alter-cyber galaxy far far away). From 2009-2010 i posted a total of maybe five times. Poems mostly. But i deleted them. During that time there were two things that would shape the nature of this blog: Facebook and my BlackBerry. Together they changed how i approached what to share and how to share it. I kept just one post from that period because it best represented what i wanted this blog to look like: a picture with some text uploaded from my BlackBerry directly to this site.

In the Fall of 2011 i knew i wanted a space "outside" the current social media where i could more freely share whatever i wanted to share. While doing a little research on my favorite small town in the big city, i came across one particular blog that served as a template for how i wanted my blog to look like (take a glimpse here). Not many of my friends even know i have this blog. And if i believe Blogger Stats to be accurate, i have a big following in Russia. Welcome global readers! I guess this way, for now, it feels as if i truly am writing in the pages of my own personal journal that only i see.

This blog has also gone through several name changes. "Hugo's Jazz" (2004-2009), "Estilo AmericaNO" (2009-2011), and presently, "... This Day To Live Fully". I've wondered if i will change it yet again in order to give visitors a more concrete description of my blog. I don't know. I do know that i want to keep this blog organic (and fair trade), growing and evolving as i, my art, grows and evolves. For now, i'm committed to uploading a pic daily--accompanied with a quote, a poem, haiku or tanka, a music link, or just my thoughts ... And i've been satisfied with the direction and with what i've shared so far. Hopefully i won't be unemployed much longer. I expect this blog to change then, we'll see.

Tlazocatmatli. Gracias. Obrigado. Salamat. Merci. Danke. Spasibo. Thank you everyone, anonymous followers, everywhere, for sharing in the journey.

[A Note: other than on the obvious profile pic, and on the introductory post from this year, pictures of the author in any posts will be a rare event ... unless, of course, accompanied by his cat.]

Haiku Solar nu.2

recuerdo alas
entre nubes subiendo
hacia tu cielo

Art Show

painting city lights
a hue of you brushing sky
untitled portraits.

(Still) Coloring Flamingos

... in first grade i went on a class field trip to the Los Angeles Zoo. I remember the class assignment upon returning was to draw a scene of what we liked at the zoo and write a sentence or two about it. I drew the flamingos. I colored them all but pink. Maybe i didn't have a pink crayon in my box; i still don't know the reason why i chose the flamingos, much less why i chose a multi-colored palette. I've recounted this moment time and again over the years: that day Mrs. Goldman called me to the front of the class, held up my [pencil and crayon on newsprint, 12"x18"] drawing while i explained why i chose the flamingos, and complimented a near accurate rendition of my rainbow-colored flock.

(I returned to the zoo--and the flamingos--today for the first time in almost thirty years, joining my brother WIlliam and 2 1/2-year old nephew Dominic. Not a lot of animals, but a lot of fun here. Next time, i'm taking my crayons!)

Sky, Can You Feel Me?

branches shake off a
blue sky melody leaving
my heart to the wind

Howlin' at the Moon

... February's full moon is known as the Snow Moon. It is also known as the Hunger Moon, as well as the Wolf Moon. And since we aint got snow in L.A. ( ... i could literally count the amount of raindrops we got today), for the sake of this post i'm going with Wolf Moon.

An overcast day would not hold back this month's full moon. I watched as the remaining clouds gave way to the light of tonight's rising Wolf Moon:

This FULL MOON represents a time of RESOLUTION. It is a time to express change through dynamic actions. The energy of this [WOLF MOON] is about CHANGING through simplifying and resolving stuck energy ... on this FULL MOON, we Make Declarations on what we have learned thus far and what we are ready to resolve about ourselves.*

In a way, this daily photo journal/haiku workshop-blog has been a kind of dynamic action on my part, exploring (r)evolutionary expression to get unstuck and find healing. It's been a year since I learned I would no longer be a student at CSU Long Beach, going on three months since i quit my job, and five months (to the moon) since my relationship of five-years came. to. an. end ...

I've learned the road back into academia will be a slow one (i've dug myself quite a hole ... but i know i'll climb out of that hole no matter what) and that i'm OK with that; that despite my confidence at landing a job it's an extremely brutal economy--still, i remain positive that a change is soon to come (i'm blessed with family members who've offered their assistance even though their money's tight); and that i'm no where near "over" her ...

Since it did not rain today, the roads are nice for a moonlight ride. If i had a car, i'd surely go for a drive, howlin' haikus at the moon, hungering for the sensation of your smile, baby, won't you ride with me tonight?

*Taken from Dr. Elena Esparza's Facebook event page.

Walkin'

How We Roll

A whopping quarter-inch of rain is forecasted for tomorrow: I have a feeling that won't stop these two from their morning stroll ... and it'll be a good day for this, too.

Shadowy Feeling

Industrial Halo

Mobile Uploader

Unmarked Grave

Here stood one of the more than twenty trees toppled at Old Town Pasadena's Central Park by the windstorm of 30 November 2011.

Us Cats

"Most people think that shadows follow, precede or surround beings or objects. The truth is that they also surround words, ideas, desires, deeds, impulses and memories." ~Elie Wiesel

Come And Talk To Me

"You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats." ~Colonial proverb

Sepia In Green

my graphite lips trace
smeared kisses l e a v i n g your bare
vertebrae branches

Crafty Cipote* at CAFAM Part 2

... returned to the that wonderful treasure along the miracle mile, the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM), for this month's "Etsy Craft Night". I was excited when i found it would be a night of making personalized journals. This was my second Etsy Craft Night; last November i attended a holiday paper ornament workshop led by Mark Montano. Tonight's personalized journal session was led by Letterista, Lisa Engelbrecht. She's super skilled with a calligraphy pen and i was impressed with her unique letter styles--fused from calligraphy, graffiti and tattoo lettering.

All the materials i needed were provided: scraps of paper, magazines, glue sticks, scissors, pens and colored pencils. I felt like an anxious kid about to make a mess and have fun doing it ... which i did. Enjoyed an Indian pale ale and pretzels but worked slow taking my time to cut (from a book on Hindu art) and tear and paste the scraps to my journal (which were pre-made, the only downside). I'm still way too methodical--and, like the last craft night, i brought some scraps of paper home to finish and add further personal touches with some materials of my own. I marveled at the crafty folks at my table at how free they seemed to work, creating wonderful, even whimsical, journals. It was like sitting at the table with my loud jokester tias ("Oh my god i've desecrated the Virgin!", exclaimed one woman when she colored in a photo she had cut out of a sculpture of the Virgin Mary).

I love collage. I think the reason i've always chosen the medium to express myself, to make crafty personal gifts, is because of the beauty in its freedom, texture, and inimitability. There are no mistakes. And every person who sits to compose a collage is an artist.

The highlight of the night was seeing my friend Marisela Norte, poet, photographer, and Admissions Assistant at CAFAM. Not only did she give me the heads up on tonight's craft night, but she so also gave me a beautiful cadmium yellow sheer throw, and an old school MTA bus token! What a treasure ... and what lovely gifts.

Can't wait for the next Etsy Craft Night!

*Cipote: Salvadoran term for boy.

Repeat 1 > Track 2

this tender nocturne
fingers slide across melo
dies formed on your lips
each caress playing a note
in the key of my blue tongue


(Inspired by this lovely, lovely piece of music ...)