Desire

A Student in Expressions

I've been watching Vivien Leigh movies to get a full appreciation of her talents and to assuage my overwhelming loneliness. As a result, I have slightly changed my opinion on her rumored mental illness. I'm starting to think she actually sacrificed her life and reputation to delve into the character and relationships and drama of men and women...in real life...in order to have more experience to draw from when her character called for certain depth. I'm painfully aware of the costs to take ones art to another level. Most artists are content with pretending to act...drawing a line between their work and their life in order to maintain some kind of normalcy. A Hollywood mantra I heard more than once is, "The best acting isn't acting." Leigh seemed to decide that in order to really bring something new to the stage and screen she would need to dig deeper than usual into the heart of people and in order to do that she would have to break some rules. Eventually the lines became blurred and she couldn't or didn't want to return to normalcy. Such is the price of the intrepid explorer. Of course I will leave room in my theory for the possibility that she really was bat shit crazy and I'm merely being a foolish romantic...defending my lady's honor even after she is dead. Her acting mannerisms were developed on the stage, which explains her annunciation and professionalism, but her personality was definitely developed on her own time and at the cost of many broken hearts.* How else does one refine that kind of charm and dynamic charisma than by playing the field? I recall a woman cut from the same cloth as Scarlett O'Hara showing off my ring on her finger and lying to some lustful men in a Mexican cantina, "See? We're married."
"Married?" They asked.
"Of course," I replied. "Can't you tell by how miserable I am?"
And no one laughed.

Rapture

You know you're in the deep south when you're standing idle with a shovel in hand and the boss walks by and says, "Is that what yew want to be doin' when the Lord comes back? Holdin' a sh'vel up and daydreamin' about gerls?"

The answer is yes, but since it was my boss I said no and got busy digging a trench.

Isaiah 5

¹⁸ Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

Strumming chords of vanity

²⁰ Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
²¹ Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
²² Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
²³ Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

Woe Unto Vain Oggy traitorously singing Lynyrd Skynyrd

Photos by Tom Ward

Home Slice

Ricotta and Broccoli and garlic white pizza. The Oggy Special.

I suffered for three months with lock jaw...following 5 years of poverty and nullified family values, harmonic demons burning me at the stake, packing lobsters for one month with an infected foot so swollen I had to wear rubber boots. hunted, starving, one apple for breakfast...one cup of noodles for dinner...for three months...left over Salvation Army chicken, free bread at the soup kitchen for junkies. Times have changed...

Forgive my table manners because I was starving after five years of decay and self abuse.

Don't ask me how I ended up at a casino hotel in Louisiana.

How to Play Blues Harmonica

One day I'd like to blow harp like a blind black man.