p.s. Hey. Thanks to first timer guest-host Jesse Hudson, splendiferous writer and d.l., you have a full, very rich blog weekend ahead if you so choose, and even a controversial one perhaps, given Peter Sotos' ability to draw as much ruckus as he does admiration. Please scroll and absorb and share your thoughts with Mr. Hudson and one another, and thanks in advance, plus, of course, my deepest thanks to Jesse for his beautiful efforts and generosity. The only really notable thing that's happened on my end since yesterday is that it apparently snowed in Paris during last night's wee hours since everything that was previously gray or green or brown is now a fairly solid white. This is a good thing. ** Alan, Wow, I'm not used to seeing you up in the less popular comments section. What a nice surprise. Well, that's an interesting question, of course, about the lack of reverence on and around HTMLG for Salinger. I don't really have a clue either, but, if I had to take a guess, I'd guess that Salinger's work is probably considered too acceptable, too lionized already by earlier groups of writers, and that the act of saluting him isn't tweaked enough. Knowing Blake's work, I'd guess that Salinger just wasn't an influence, and so he wouldn't have been in the top 20 list in any case. I see no signs of Salinger in his writing. As for the writers and people who comment there, I imagine there's a peer pressure thing going on in some instances, such that people who like his stuff are trying to avoid arguments and ridicule, and there's also a natural interest around there in championing writers who have been sidelined or excluded from the official canon. So giving a high five Salinger's work is less fun and provocative than having the back of an officially less acceptable writer like Richard Brautigan, for instance. Or else Salinger's work just isn't very interesting to that group of writers. That's also possible. I don't know, but there's my pragmatism taking on the question. ** Wolf, Wait, that's not an actual photo of SpankyBoy85? Well, I certainly hope it's a painting of him. No, I don't know who made that painting. It was in his profile unattributed. Nice, yeah. Yeah, I'll pass on Avignon news when I have it. All I know so far is that our run will be from something like the 7th to the 18th or something. Word is that it's going to be an unusually really good festival this year. One of the guest-curators is Olivier Cadiot, and I don't know if you know his stuff, but he's great and should pick some cool stuff. Um, I would guess I can get you in, but I really don't know a thing about how that will work and probably won't know for months. If I can, you're definitely in. ** Nicki, Hey, Nicki! A pleasure, pal. You showing yet? ** Allesfliest, Paris in April or June can't be beat, so great re: your plans. Hopefully there'll be some worthy art and theater and maybe even a guy who's not averse to end up rotting in a garbage bin around for you to see by then. ** Tonyoneill, You did it, good, and you made my hair stand on end with your description, which is good too. Take lots of self-portraits. I'm reading Justin's book too now, having just gotten it in the post. Fucking great stuff. Rest up. ** David Ehrenstein, Mm, I don't agree that Salinger flattered the young, much less slavishly. I think his work helped begin the process of eviscerating the flattery and romanticism and reductiveness with which young people had been commonly albeit not always portrayed in American fiction. I think he was attentive and sympathetic to the consciousness, sensibility, inventiveness with language, and emotional make up a particular kind of young person that was unprecedented in American fiction at the time and which I think remains virtually as powerful now as it was then. But his work keys in to very important concerns of mine, and a feeling of likemindedness has certainly shaped my opinion. ** Tomkendall, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather. That's tough, man, and I send you lots of love and strength. ** T H O M, Hey. Great that you're heading back through here. I'd love to see you then if you find yourself with some space in your schedule. Oh, if it would matter at all, please tell Mr. Pallett that a guy (me) on whose blog you comment thinks his new album is absolutely fucking amazing. And keep knocking 'em dead, Thom. ** Bernard Welt, I don't think I've ever read Auchincloss, or, if I have, it's been mere squibs. I'll correct that lack post-haste. What do you mean when you say Salinger had really, really bad taste? In what? I don't understand what you mean by that at all. Either that or my own taste is too bad in a similar way for me to pass that judgement? ** Tosh, I will go see him. I was just checking out the ticket situation yesterday, and I think I can score. And of course I'l report back. I was thinking of doing a post on him, but, as you said, there's hardly anything on the internet about him, which is pretty strange. ** Sypha, I need to learn not to get anticipatory and excited when you announce new projects, ha ha. Still, a short story is enough to keep me panting a little. Hope there's some progress on your feeling better, man. Oh, no problem on the wondering what I would think thing. Heck, I'll often come across a 'borderline jailbait twink-looking type' and think, Hm, I wonder what I think. ** Joseph S. Nockles, Greetings, sir, very nice to see you. Nice to hear you're feeling optimistic too. I kind of am as well. Strange. Is your friend's Conde Nast gig the sort of gig that might get you writing gigs under their umbrella. T'would be very nice. I know CN publications used to pay about as well as magazines can pay, and hopefully the economy hasn't turned their products into fanzines. Hey, your blog is really getting packed in with great, great stuff! Everyone, if you haven't made a visit to our friend Joseph S. Nockles' blog CONglamourART lately, there are fascinating things and wonders galore there in whose company one could happily wile away hour after hour in an act of self-enrichment, I assure you. Have a look. You're positively killing it over there, man. ** JW Veldhoen, I'm not down on Cy's stuff really. It just seems like most of the people I know who are really into his work have a lot of money and are well positioned in society and all that, i.e. like Gere. Yeah, I'm not into Banksy's shit at all. McGee gets a shrug at best. Tape and rope are two very different things. There's no better or worse. The choice is aesthetic, although rope burns are maybe more hassle than ouchy tape removal. Cuffs are more practical than either, but they cost more. ** Christopher/ Mark, Well, that's a most interesting thought and question to which of course there is much thinking going on but no answer really. Obviously, there are those who say the rise/consolidation of so-called terrorism and the way it has or will effect the power, influence, and pervasiveness of organized religion marks the beginning of a definition of the 21st century. Time, ugh, will tell? ** Ken Baumann, Right back at you, buddy. ** Pisycaca, Based on my experiences, at least, it ends up being pretty much all about living day by day, especially at this mysterious early stage. Your father's thinking will evolve. It doesn't matter how hard edged his opinions and beliefs were yesterday. I saw that happen with my mom. It's a strange, strange and surprising process. You guys and he will accustom yourself to the process and to the new kind of powerlessness you're facing and to how little or how much you can do. So a good day is a good place to start, you know? I hope for another good one today. ** Jose, Yeah, that live action 'Akira' is such a bad, bad idea. Get a fucking imagination of your own, Leo. You know? ** Chilly Jay Chill, From what I read in more than one place, ultimately true or not, is that Malick was Salinger's favorite film director, and that he came fairly close to agreeing to letting Malick make a 'Catcher ...' film at one stage, but then he changed his mind. 'Tree of Life', good question. It was scheduled for release in February as recently as a month or two ago, but apparently Malick is still working on it, and I don't think there's a solid release date now. Fantastic about your piece on Wadada Leo Smith! I tried to have a quick look, but the site is hard to negotiate quickly, so I'll read it later. Everyone, the awesome writer and jazz aficionado/expert Chilly Jay Chill has written a piece about the very great Wadada Leo Smith for Jazziz Magazine, and if you hit this link and then follow the instructions, you can read it as well as check out some great related photos, and I highly recommend you do, of course. ** _Black_Acrylic, That Tony Blair Iraq thing was gruesome to behold. What a self-deceiver and, consequently, liar that guy is. ** Steevee, You got me. I haven't a clue what he meant. And that text wasn't even a Babelfish victim. ** Bill, Okay, here's what I suggest. Wait, first, I talked to Chrystel and Sonia, and Sonia just seems very disorganized, and I would try writing to Chrystel directly, explaining that you haven't heard anything, that you're concerned, and casually referencing yourself as a friend of mine just so she connects you with the Bill I keep talking to her about, and let me know when you've done that. Then I'll go talk to Chrystel directly about you and the residency. There just seems to be a misfiring communication thing going on at the Recollets end of things. ** Tigersare, Hey, man, no problem. Ahem ... Everyone, you know Tigersare either by his d.l. handle or as the great songwriter, recording artist, and record label honcho behind the top-notch Aussie powerhouse Chapter Music, Guy Blackman. Well, three of his label's artists -- the sublime Swedish singer Frida Hyvonen, the really, really great American band Deerhoof, and the ultra-splendid band Tenniscoats -- are about to set off on Australian tours, and I am here to alert those of you who are in Australia to make it to any of these gigs that you can. So, the tour info for Frida Hyvonen is here. Tickets for the Melbourne show featuring Deerhoof are available here. And Deerhoof and Tenniscoats are doing a collab sideproject gig the night after Deerhoof's Melbourne show, and the info on that show is here. Got all that? Before I leave you, one more important thing, and here's Tigersare/Guy to explain: 'Also I finally have a new, kinda off-the-cuff song called Reunion Island, recorded with my Japanese friends My Pal Foot Foot and released with literary magazine The Lifted Brow, which has contributions from the likes of David Foster Wallace, Trinie Dalton and Rick Moody!' Check that out right here. Okay, hope that helps in some way, pal. ** L@rstonovich, Nonsense, I really liked it! I just want more where that came from. Oh, yeah, no, I was confused by the hostility towards Patti Smith's reverence. I haven't listened to her in years, but the early stuff at least is sometimes great and generally important. ** Chris (British), So, it was well worth the big bucks, obviously. Awesome and congrats. I think the only one of those three I've never seen live is Grohl. I'm a reasonably big fan of installation art, when it's, you know, good, obviously, so I say seek. I'll check out that Lehman person's site later since I see by the clock that I'm way behind schedule here for some reason. Are you collecting the sites just to collect them or for some project you're thinking of doing? ** Creative Massacre, I know, weird about that slave wearing a Zach German t-shirt. I mean, there can't be more than eight or ten of them in the world, I'd reckon. It was maybe either a bizarre coincidence or at least partly a fishing expedition to see if he would end up in one of my slave posts possibly. I don't know if I'll ever know. As hard as it is to do, I've always found giving people who ask for space their space is best way to go, especially when one hopes for reconciliation. The other option almost never ever works, I think. It's not a happy solution, but, yeah, it might just work, hopefully. Ha ha, I'm almost tempted to track down your number so I can hear how you answer the phone now. That guy sounds like he's awfully insecure. That's great about 'The Willows'! Yeah, let me know, 'cos I'll definitely see it if I possibly can when the time comes. I sure hope those chest pains leave you alone. ** Inthemostpeculiarway, Oops, on your uncooperative weather. Mine cooperated last night, i.e, snow, but I just went over to smoke a cigarette at the window, and the snow's already melted away, fuck. Oh, yeah, my headache was a 24 hour thing. Atmospheric pressure related maybe. Yeah, I guess I read that the Super Bowl turned down some gay dating website ad too. You couldn't pay me enough money to watch the Super Bowl. American football is my idea of spectator hell. My Friday was yet again uneventful. I'm in work mode, as I keep saying. That erases my having an entertaining life. So what did happen? It rained all day. That was a problem. Wrote, duh, and my good idea might be panning out. I'm more optimistic re: my novel than I was a few days ago. Scott Treleaven has been trying to get me to go with him to this apparently very eccentric, cool, legendary movie theater here in Paris called Le Pagode. Wait, let me see if I can find something about it. Okay, here's a description: 'A pagoda in Paris ? It all started in 1895 when the owner of the Bon Marché department store purchased a pagoda in Japan and had it shipped to Paris , stone by stone, as a wedding gift to his wife. The marriage didn’t last, however, and in 1931 the beautifully-carved pagoda and its Japanese garden were transformed into a movie theatre, conserving as much of the original décor as possible.' Sounds nice, right? Here's a picture of the front of it. Anyway, blah blah, Scott called to tell me the new Coen Brothers movie is playing there, so I guess we're going this weekend. Other than that, and a coffee and tete a tete with Kiddiepunk late in the day, I just worked between bouts of eating and smoking and showering. Only one bout in that last case. How was your weekend? ** Killer Luka, I can't remember the last I watched MTV. Wow, years and years and years ago. No, wait, I do watch their award shows. So, not so long ago. Love love plus one more love, me. ** Math, Favorite Patti Smith songs, hm ... okay, her 'Hey Joe' cover, 'Piss Factory', 'Free Money', 'Pumping My Heart', 'Frederick', ... those are all I can remember at the moment. I think Zach's book is in the mail to me, I hope. I only read the original mss. ** Justin, Mm, I think the octopus accoutrement thing was in his new collection of a couple of weeks ago, but I only saw runway photos, and maybe they were just things that looked like octopi and squid. No, Yury can't afford Gareth Pugh's stuff. I'm sure he'd love to snag something. I think he owns a Rick Owens thing or two. ** Lord_s, I think I can get the scoop from O'Malley. I'll do a sneak attack, and, if I'm successful, I'll try to change the subject before he says, 'But don't put that on your blog, man'. If he does, I'll sneak to you. If all else fails, I'll say Tony Iommi asked me to ask him. He won't say no to that. Dude, an EP's worth is fine. I'll take whatever you decide I can get. ** Misanthrope, Oh, I've long since given up on deepening you re: the slave and escort posts, truth me, ha ha. I am surprised you had nothing to say about the inclusion among the slaves of none other than Damien Lucas. I spent no small amount of time wondering if it was real or a mean prank being played on him by some mean fellow porn star or ex-boyfriend or something. I smell a prank, but, gosh, you never know with those Helix Studio veterans. Nice that you got sort of paid plus new work for which I surely hope you'll be sort of paid again. ** Slatted Light, Hey, buddy. I've missed you. That's not a guilt trip sentence though, you know that, right? I don't do guilt. So, how about seeing your old comments on Sotos pop up here today, eh? Ah, the good old days. I'll be curious to see if you have anything to add. Wow, your site launches on Monday! Amazing news! Wowzer, I didn't know that. Party time. I have to do some sort of blog homage thing/post soon about the site. That's killer news, David! Gosh, I guess that porn producing headache does mean I'm pretty special, doesn't it. Here's to me! Well, I wish you a fine weekend, and know that Monday can't roll around fast enough for my money. ** We're there. Again, please spend some of your valuable time this weekend and beyond with Jesse's valuable post about the valuable Peter Sotos, okay? Know how much I will value you if you do. Back here on Monday, what do you say?