bobolog

clown house in boulder

boborey — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 07:44:39 GMT

I'm headed to Boulder for clown school the month of September. does anyone have a lead on an apt or room I might rent from a friend, enemy, or ex? I have some cash, so not looking for a freeload. I'll leave the desert early & head east... with undying gratitude. x

Vonnegut.. and so he goes.

boborey — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:17:17 GMT

Kurt Vonnegut died today at age 84. Author of 1960's-defining novels, bitter & funny and frequently compared to Twain, he complained that he should sue Brown & Williamson Tobacco because he chain-smoked unfiltered Pall Mall cigarettes for 60 years and he still hadn't died. Read the NY TImes obit http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/books/12vonnegut.html?hp.

R.I.P., Rudie

boborey — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 07:27:02 GMT

squashed like a bug by a truck, my beautiful and loyal red BMW R100 Mystic motorcycle is as dead as 2,597 door nails. Rudie - rude boy. oversized teardrop gas tank, narrow tail, hard bags, straight bars. I liked to lean it over far enough to scrape the center stand, and also to ride hands free & standing on the pegs down long gentle hills in san francisco. riding led eventually to a book I will recommend with highest confidence - Twist of the Wrist II: The Basics of High-Performance motorcycle racing, by Keith Code. yes, the book improved my speed-riding - Code explains in the simplest terms the counter-intuitive physics of a gyro in motion, and what that means for navigating any 2-wheeler at speed. I also like his attitude towards fear: how much of it can one take & still keep your hat on? reading Code's counter-intuitive instructions for riding at 55 in a 25 mph zone, I realized how appropriate his rules would be if applied to other parts of life - aside from motorcycles. a sample? when in doubt, accelerate when the road gets rough, loosen your grip pick a line in a turn & hold it (follow through) look at the hole, not the obstacle riding a two wheeler takes me to the edge of who I know I am. my body in motion in balance in the wind feels like home. poor rudie. the best part of the whole episode was that the accident occured while I was in getting a massage. aside from a bit of a harshed mellow, i rode rudie home thankful, not wishing I was there when it happened. after 12 years together, I miss rudie more than I would have imagined...

help me speak Japanese !

boborey — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:55:24 GMT

hello... I'm acting in a play where I have a few lines in Japanese & so I am in dire need of someone nice (cute is good too) who will help me with pronunciations etc. call or write anytime... oh yes, the character who speaks Japanese is a seal pup child on the Galapagos Islands. show weekends in April, from the Kurt Vonnegut novel. www.boxcartheatre.org... thanks, x

de Niki, avec amour...

boborey — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 23:33:37 GMT

last Friday I went to a lecture about the 1960's-80's visionary artist, feminist, activist, etc. Niki de Saint Phallle. I'd forgotten how much her work touched me 10 years ago when I first saw a number of drawings she'd done when her long-time lover & collaborator died. Friday's addition of her story, and slides of more work have shifted something for me... while Niki was most famously a sculptor, she was first a painter. in 1961 she started experimenting with constructions that would include bags of paint, which she would then shoot at with a rifle or pistol. I love that all those yahoos enjoying their firearms in the name of art can also thank Niki for blazing a trail. she said: "In 1961 I shot at: Daddy, all the men, small menr, tall men, important men, fat men, men, my brother, society, church, school, my family, my mother, all the men, Daddy, myself, men again." Niki had a difficult early life, and there's no evidence that she stopped suffering along the way to her death in 2002. still, she very consciously made art to delight and to spread love. last week I found a new inspiration in her life-long commitment to art for justice, peace, and joy. check this wiki link for a good start, then try a google image search http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niki_de_Saint_Phalle

viva! los mariachis!

boborey — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 22:54:56 GMT

arriving home, cooking always is the best way for me to get re-grounded. next door on Lexington St., my neighbors are rehearsing: playing the saddest, slowest Mexican records I've ever heard. their singing & strumming along bleeds through my walls & fills the back yard with, well, dolor. of course there are always extenuating circumstances: just back from Phila visiting 2 old folks who've been fighting tooth & nail (to no avail) to stay out of assisted living, my motorcycle was recently run over by a truck (it was parked & I was elsewhere), pulled my back picking it up off the street, choosing a new roommate, strugling.... so today I feel so awful emotionally & physically, that I'm surprised. this is Home — the sf sun & cool breezes, succulents surrounding the back porch, spaghetti & cauliflower, punching down the 1000 lbs of fermenting Zinfandel grapes in the yard. and the discomfort of not-knowing what comes next, anger & loss. this is mine; and I wouldn't trade with anyone else in the world.

e.e. cummings

boborey — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 00:52:05 GMT

when god decided to invent everything he took one breath bigger than a circustent and everything began when man determined to destroy himself he picked the was of shall and finding only why smashed it into because

i love the rain!

boborey — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 19:56:38 GMT

something about this week is making me feel all warm & cozy & comforted. the grey blue green of the sky & ocean. the steaming smell of wet asphalt that is the same from Buffalo to Bangalore. the damp that nourishes my thirsty skin. and my favorite — raindrops on the roof, gutters, and window panes: a murmuring gamelan in the wash of night through my window - perfect for lounging in the dark with someone naked & quiet. ok, maybe that last part will arrive next week. no rush....

1000 lbs of wine grapes

boborey — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 07:49:07 GMT

Today I drove with Steff to Dry Creek Sonoma to pick up 1/2 ton of grapes to make wine. haven't done this since 1998. We drove literally into the field where the guys were picking grapes, and they loaded my 44 gallon fermenters (food-grade plastic trash cans) to the brim with fresh, sweet grapes — 800 lbs Zinfandel, 100 lbs Petite Syrah, 100 lbs Carignan — classic Sonoma Italian field blend. Best of all, as grower John Teldeschi showed us, we got grapes from his private, non-irragated side of the road. The other side of the road is irrigated so the grapes grow faster & more reliably & these are sold to commercial wineries. we could definitely taste the greater intensity of fruit & sugar in the non-irragated grapes. I love that we tasted the grapes today, and will taste along the way. when we finally pull a cork from a bottle, we'll be able to identify & recognize some taste aspects that have unchanged from today. that's a nice moment. well, here we go — crushing, fermentation, pressing, fermentation again, racking, storing, bottling. many hours & a few years until we can enjoy these grapes in a bottle. want to come help Monday morning with the crushing? clean your feet first & jump on in...

waiting for what's next...

boborey — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 19:09:09 GMT

We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered. — from Tom Stoppard's play "Rosencranz & Guildenstern Are Dead"

small number theory

boborey — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 07:05:06 GMT

I think I have finally solved a math problem I've been working on for the past 8 years. WIth any luck, I will sometime soon win some big prize and a lot of money to keep doing exactly what I'm doing now — winging it as far out into the network as possible & finding a hand hold. Thank god for a healthy disregard for personal safety. I'm the luckiest man alive...

this feels like a gift...

boborey — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 04:08:53 GMT

So I'm researching The Gong Show, watching 25 hours of television from 1978 as preparation for our upcoming production at the Darkroom in February. A guy mangles singing "Put On A Happy Face" and as Chuck Barris takes his place in front of the camera to introduce the next act (wearing a yellow floppy knitted hat and holding a hockey stick), in his worst northwest suburban Philadelphia accent, he says — Ladies and gentlement, just consider this as you mull over those dirty dishes — Do you know what would happen if Ella Fitzgerald married Darth Vader? She'd be Ella Vader! I've been telling this joke for as long as I can remember, but I forgot long ago where I stole it from. Yesterday, I put it on my list of jokes to tell — worthy material for my role as The Unknown Comic on the Darkroom stage. So I've been telling that joke for 28 years? since The Gong Show episode #400. and so now the chickens have come home to roost... (sorry, Malcolm) The Gong Show - 3 weekends in Feb - http://www.darkroomsf.com/

Co-creating 2006

boborey — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 23:10:24 GMT

As the seasons & year change, we’re reminded of an opportunity to connect with, and to focus on what nourishes & energizes us in life — values, aspirations, and actions. Below, I've sketched out a few quick exercises for completing 2005 & co-creating 2006. As you work through the process, try to focus on what you want to co-create with others. Think in terms of your Relationships — with colleagues, family, lovers, money, your creativity. How would you like your relationships to these to change & develop? Its a modern myth that we live & thrive as individuals. We really live in groups, in clumps or clusters. And our perception of "happiness" is deeply dependent on relationship issues such as recognition, communication, and acceptance. Often, what we believe to be an individualized issue (like getting a promotion or being more creative) can be understood in new & constructive ways if we look through a lens of relatedness. Whatever we do, we need other people — to help us achieve, to help us celebrate, to help us mourn. 1. Reflection for ‘05 — Think about & list/write some key events/relationships from the past year: A) what were your Successes & Breakthroughs? B) your Failures & Breakdowns? C) what are some Lessons Learned from all of these experiences? 2. Completion for ‘05 — From your lists of Breakthroughs & Breakdowns, on which do you feel "complete"? Completion can mean "finished", and can also be about making things whole. When we feel incomplete in an area or with a particular person, it drains our energy. Think about losses you haven’t let go of yet. Or perhaps a win that hasn’t been fully leveraged or celebrated. Or just something where you need to let him/her/it be what it is & stop trying to change it. About what would you like to feel more complete in the coming year? How would that help you close that chapter & move on to what's next in your life? 3. Visioning for ‘06 — Sit back, close your eyes, and dream about a year from now — writing your Reflections of Successes & Breakthroughs for 2006. What’s on your list? Write it in the present tense, e.g. I started a new business. Or, I improved my relationship with my kid. How or what would you like to be different by the end of 2006? Be idealistic, be bold. And imagine specifically about How it would look & feel for you when this all comes into your life. 4. Actions for ‘06 — "Just Do It" is a popular slogan, but not particularly helpful advice. Most change initiatives require some planning, and lots of support. Thinking about your Visioning goals... A) What would be a first step towards making that happen? B) What kind of support (people, materials, information, etc.) do I need to get started? Starting a big project at the beginning offers small wins, which build momentum & confidence. And thinking about support needs helps to develop the plan, and can connect you to your community instead of thinking that its all up to you & you alone. Lastly, you might consider donating or throwing away or BURNING One Item from your past that symbolizes something you'd like to let go of & move beyond. The physical act of letting go can be powerful, aside from alleviating a bit of perhaps unnecessary clutter. Yearning for a bit more? More info about my relationship & team coaching at http://widgetwonder.com/coach/ Wishing for all your dreams to come true…

Post-Mash

boborey — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 18:24:55 GMT

Thanks to all who came to the Mashup Salon. For me, a great success: • feedback about my mind maps • hacking into other artists' process & work • co-creating stories/images during the week that were used by musicians & dancers as text to read & respond to during their improvisations on Saturday night. • And a fantastic collaborative trick involving a few wooden springy clothes pins. Good people, quality connections. The subject is the relationship — how we make together & how we support each other. Focus here, and the content will take care of itself. More info about Million Fishes Art Collective here..http://millionfishes.com/about.htm

Mashup Salon

boborey — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 02:51:13 GMT

Hello — I'd like to announce my very FIRST visual art exhibit, a group collaborative show, a MASHUP, actually: "Mashup Salon" @ Million Fishes Artists Collective 2501 Bryant St @ 23rd, in San Francisco Saturday, December 10, 7-11:30p What's a mashup? Well, digital music tools have made it easy to take two or three (or more) different songs & mash them together to make something totally new & interesting. The term can also apply to computer application programs that do things like combine a database of real estate sales with Google maps. In short, an invitation to MASH is an invitation to find new connections, to pirate others' work, to fuck up the status quo. Our "Salon" will exhibit work that mashes content, mashes media, and mashes our creative processes together as installation, design, performance art, photography, sound / noise, painting, interarts, new media, music composition and improvisation, and theatre. What am I contributing? Two things: First, over the past 10 years I've made a series of drawings (most 18" x 24", ink/pencil on paper), mind maps actually, or charts of my brain spinning on some ontological contradiction, or wondering what human evolutionary purpose is served by our belief in an Intelligent Designer of the Universe, or exploring my pattern of falling in love with women who I think are emotionally unstable & need to be saved. If you've been to my house recently, or in the late '90's, you've likely noticed these charts pinned up all over the walls. For the "Salon", I've proposed hanging out in the space all week & mapping & mashing what's happening there amongst & between the various contributors. So, what I'll hang & show will be something site & time & people specific. In other words, I have no idea... Als, I'd like to play some improv games to interrupt people working to help artists bond, connect, share, mash, and change each other while we are all working. In this case, the week before the opening will be part of the performance. so...tensions between collaboration & individual work, what it means to Mash and to Be Mashed, and the notion of mashed art as an expression of Relationship. Marriage is perhaps the ultimate mashup, which raises suggestions of mashing as a process that pushes towards instability & of notions that mashing doesn't always work out the way we plan.... What turns me on is making a commitment — saying Yes — when I don't really know what to do next, or how to do it, or where its all supposed to end up. Leaping without looking. Its a high-risk, high-reward strategy that seems to be working for me so far. But I digress. If you'd like more info about mashups & their history, check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_%28music%29 or http://www.slurrymagazine.com/manriki.html Here's a music mashup of The Clash vs. The Jacksons (its interesting that the music world mashes by using "vs." instead of "&", as if there might be a winner declared somehow...) http://www.looandplacido.com/news/LOO%20and%20PLACIDO_SHOULD%20I%20STAY%20OR%20SHOULD%20I%20BOOGIE.mp3 Hugs & looking forward to becoming together that which is unavailable to us as individuals...

thank you...

boborey — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 09:47:53 GMT

Humble appreciation for a lovely success: 12 of us on Thanksgiving morning making sandwiches, adding an apple, water, fresh veg, vitamin C, pumpkin bread, and chocolate-covered espresso beans to the lunch bags. After cooking two 20 lb turkeys & 4pies & 2 pumpkin loaves the day before, I limited myself to making coffee & waffles, while the crew took over. When we had 50 meals, we scattered in our separate cars, hitting the streets to feed the hungry. Lots to be thankful for — the caring of the folks who showed up to make this happen, especially my students. Clearly, we all got more than we gave…''

feeding the streets?

boborey — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 21:30:20 GMT

hey, want to join heading to the street on Thanksgiving with food for people living there? i've done this before & its a good way to do something positive &/or shake away the icky family stuff that you're avoiding. soup, sandwiches, anything & everything is appreciated. the Haight, the Mission. its not difficult to find folks in need. let's join up. or let's start something...

Trickster's Credo

boborey — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 05:47:14 GMT

"No one should rely unduly on his competence. Strength lies in improvisation. All the decisive blows are struck left-handed." - Walter Benjamin

oh god, i fell for you...

boborey — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:42:55 GMT

at moments during tonight's poetry reading by Patti Smith at SF's Victoria Theatre, I just closed my eyes & listened to her voice. her growl, beyond familiar, softened by the years; the playfulness sparkling around the edges of her rambling stories involving bad donuts, or enormous frogs in Namibia. she's still angry — against right-wing politicians, for gun control, saddened by human indifference. and she's still the same trickster — burping in the middle of a story, forgetting the lyrics to a song. and yet she charmed us with her gentleness, by laughing & making no excuses: just a rock star of the ages, talking on stage the way she talks to herself in the bathroom. at least that's what she claimed... "Horses" was released in 1975. Patti's voice tonight with a single guitar, she was comfortable. or perhaps she was exhausted as she said. and there was the same ability to reach quiet places inside. lovely. my only complaint — we got there late, and had to go upstairs. from the back, where we were sitting, with the lights high overhead, Patti looked a little like Willie Nelson...

not suitable for children

boborey — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 17:59:16 GMT

flilckr link to a set of self-portraits from last week... http://www.flickr.com/photos/27359260@N00/sets/1273760/show/

the story straight...

boborey — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 05:43:09 GMT

let's get this right once and for all — 5 years ago I made an important decision that changed everything: its ok for anyone, at anytime, anywhere to hit me in the face with a pie, and without warning. its purely about the joy i'll be giving you at that moment. xx

once upon a forehead

boborey — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 07:58:47 GMT

sometimes its difficult to tell whether i am standing still or moving backwards, given the experience of hurtling forwards at great disorienting speeds day in & day out. i see the same street signs — they're in my handwriting. is it space & the temporal line which are curved, as einstein postulated? is it our experiene of language, as the post-modernists sign? is it the moon & the stars & the infinity of which we cannot in the small depths of our limits.. darkness. its night. late, when most others are asleep. what's more real now? which story more true?

here & now

boborey — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 21:51:53 GMT

how i've been feeling — blue, washing out, down the falls without a paddle...

cool shoes

boborey — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 07:21:08 GMT

I spent the weekend in Brooklyn at the Applied Improvisation Network conference — 80 people from US, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Finland, UK who use improv as part of our businesses as coaches, facilitators, consultants, therapists. Wow, what an incredibly heartfelt community. Everyone believes improv can save the world. I finally got a chance to do some contact improv. Ok, so now I have to do a lot more of this. Very natural for my body to move this way... It was also a lot of fun & games. On the last day, I posted a session — "Cool Shoes? Games we can play with our Feet". I noticed a recurring theme of expressive footwear, and became curious: What kind of connection might there be between shoes & improv. So we got together and played games with our feet for 90 minutes. Of course, we showed up with no one knowing what to do, so we made it up. Try to make next year's conference in SF Nov 15-18 (http://www.appliedimprov.net/blog/). You won't regret it.

systems theory

lightning_bolt_lottery_winner — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 02:07:02 GMT

we are all products of our own imagination. the things we call True are those we agree on. only by seeing ourselves in others' eyes can we know we exist. feedback defines identity.