The air is made of you today,
All your songs and smoke rings.
The empty throne
of a flower is waiting.
How many love poems
for no one
will I have to write
before you appear?
30 June 2010
24 June 2010
You're a good friend, but you're an asshole
A Large White Man and a Small Indian Man, both in their late-20s, are playing tennis in the rain. Night is coming on. There are no lights for the courts.
After a fervent volley, the Large White Man hits a shot that lands on or near the line. It goes past the Small Indian Man.
Small Indian Man: Out.
Large White Man: FUCK YOU!
Small Indian Man: What happened?
Large White Man: (walking toward the net, pointing his racquet in a threatening manner at the Small Indian Man) You are an asshole, Raj. You're a good friend, but you're an asshole.
Small Indian Man: What happened? I didn't see.
The Large White Man breaths aggressively. He walks back to the line.
The Small Indian Man serves. They play. The Small Indian Man hits it out of bounds.
Large White Man: YES.
It begins to rain harder. They continue playing as it gets dark.
After a fervent volley, the Large White Man hits a shot that lands on or near the line. It goes past the Small Indian Man.
Small Indian Man: Out.
Large White Man: FUCK YOU!
Small Indian Man: What happened?
Large White Man: (walking toward the net, pointing his racquet in a threatening manner at the Small Indian Man) You are an asshole, Raj. You're a good friend, but you're an asshole.
Small Indian Man: What happened? I didn't see.
The Large White Man breaths aggressively. He walks back to the line.
The Small Indian Man serves. They play. The Small Indian Man hits it out of bounds.
Large White Man: YES.
It begins to rain harder. They continue playing as it gets dark.
23 June 2010
Make It Right
Yorke and Matt in the kitchen. Afternoon. June.
Yorke: And-- I think that’s the way these priests are.
Pause.
Yorke: They’re nuts!
Matt: They are. They’re (mumbles)…
Yorke: They can’t find the bottom because they feel obligated to agree that they believe, but they really really don’t. (pause) You know what I mean?... And it becomes more than just a façade after awhile. It becomes like this dual personality…
Matt: Right.
Yorke: All the sudden…
Matt: Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde.
Yorke: Yeah. All of these guys, not just… one or two. Like it—if, if you took a cross section of, of a hundred people at random and you’d find like 2 or 3 pervs in there…but in the priesthood it seems like they’re more like 50 or 60 percent! And it ain’t because of the” left-wing news” that I think that. You know what I mean?... And they’re willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars--
Matt: To cover it up.
Yorke: To, to “make it right.”
Matt laughs.
Yorke: And Confess. That’s also a very—And Repent. And then you can go to Heaven with the rest of us, but you have to ride in the back. The whole idea, you know, the whole thing is such an obvious construction of a human mind, not a, and not a, uhh, sup- You know what I mean? It’s not a- even inspired. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a, it’s a—The first part of the Bible is like a, uhh…an instruction book of how to take over and dominate and, and--
Matt: Right.
Yorke: Have your- It’s like you had no no fucking chance of of thinking that maybe we shouldn’t have a “chosen people.” Maybe we should all just try to “get along,” you know, like somebody said on TV or… something (pause).That ain’t what they’ve got in mind. That’s why this so called “peace process” has been going on since 1948 (pause). That’s been going on since the first day they fuckin’-
Matt: Well yeah…
Yorke: ...took over. Since Truman…
Matt: Meaning, by peace, meaning suppressing the…
Yorke: It’s means, like, when you sue a big company because they totally fucked you over and instead of saying “You’re wrong” they just keep…
Matt: Giving you money.
Yorke: ”Justice delayed is justice denied.” Have you ever heard that? That says a lot in four words. That’s almost- I, I wonder what that is in Latin. It probably sounds really cool…It’s it’s true. And it’s their- it’s what they do. They know that—Like, for example, in this Exxon Valdez situation, 20 percent of the people who sued them are now dead, and they still haven’t gotten a fucking dime.
Yorke: And-- I think that’s the way these priests are.
Pause.
Yorke: They’re nuts!
Matt: They are. They’re (mumbles)…
Yorke: They can’t find the bottom because they feel obligated to agree that they believe, but they really really don’t. (pause) You know what I mean?... And it becomes more than just a façade after awhile. It becomes like this dual personality…
Matt: Right.
Yorke: All the sudden…
Matt: Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde.
Yorke: Yeah. All of these guys, not just… one or two. Like it—if, if you took a cross section of, of a hundred people at random and you’d find like 2 or 3 pervs in there…but in the priesthood it seems like they’re more like 50 or 60 percent! And it ain’t because of the” left-wing news” that I think that. You know what I mean?... And they’re willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars--
Matt: To cover it up.
Yorke: To, to “make it right.”
Matt laughs.
Yorke: And Confess. That’s also a very—And Repent. And then you can go to Heaven with the rest of us, but you have to ride in the back. The whole idea, you know, the whole thing is such an obvious construction of a human mind, not a, and not a, uhh, sup- You know what I mean? It’s not a- even inspired. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a, it’s a—The first part of the Bible is like a, uhh…an instruction book of how to take over and dominate and, and--
Matt: Right.
Yorke: Have your- It’s like you had no no fucking chance of of thinking that maybe we shouldn’t have a “chosen people.” Maybe we should all just try to “get along,” you know, like somebody said on TV or… something (pause).That ain’t what they’ve got in mind. That’s why this so called “peace process” has been going on since 1948 (pause). That’s been going on since the first day they fuckin’-
Matt: Well yeah…
Yorke: ...took over. Since Truman…
Matt: Meaning, by peace, meaning suppressing the…
Yorke: It’s means, like, when you sue a big company because they totally fucked you over and instead of saying “You’re wrong” they just keep…
Matt: Giving you money.
Yorke: ”Justice delayed is justice denied.” Have you ever heard that? That says a lot in four words. That’s almost- I, I wonder what that is in Latin. It probably sounds really cool…It’s it’s true. And it’s their- it’s what they do. They know that—Like, for example, in this Exxon Valdez situation, 20 percent of the people who sued them are now dead, and they still haven’t gotten a fucking dime.
15 June 2010
The Financial Crisis
I read "The Curse of the Starving Class" by Sam Shepard last night, an amazing play, and late in the play the character of Weston, the archetypical alcoholic Shepard patriarch, gives a speech that I thought articulated a lot of what I and possibly many others have been thinking about this whole financial crisis we're in, credit, "the cloud", etc. Here it is:
WESTON: (after pause) I remember now. I was in hock. I was in hock up to my elbows. See, I always figured on the future. I banked on it. I was banking on it getting better. It couldn't get any worse, so I figured it'd just get better. I figured that's why everyone wants you to buy things. Buy refrigerators. Buy cars, houses, lots, invest. They wouldn't be so generous if they didn't figure you had it comin' in. At some point it had to be comin' in. So I went along with it. Why not borrow if you know it's coming in. Why not make a touch here and there. They all want you to borrow anyhow. Banks, car lots, investors. The whole things geared to invisible money. You never hear the sound of change anymore. It's all plastic shuffling back and forth. It's all in everybody's heads. So I figured if that's the case, why not take advantage of it? Why not go in debt for a few grand if all it is is numbers? If it's all an idea and nothing's really there, why not take advantage? So I just went along with it, that's all. I just played ball.
WESTON: (after pause) I remember now. I was in hock. I was in hock up to my elbows. See, I always figured on the future. I banked on it. I was banking on it getting better. It couldn't get any worse, so I figured it'd just get better. I figured that's why everyone wants you to buy things. Buy refrigerators. Buy cars, houses, lots, invest. They wouldn't be so generous if they didn't figure you had it comin' in. At some point it had to be comin' in. So I went along with it. Why not borrow if you know it's coming in. Why not make a touch here and there. They all want you to borrow anyhow. Banks, car lots, investors. The whole things geared to invisible money. You never hear the sound of change anymore. It's all plastic shuffling back and forth. It's all in everybody's heads. So I figured if that's the case, why not take advantage of it? Why not go in debt for a few grand if all it is is numbers? If it's all an idea and nothing's really there, why not take advantage? So I just went along with it, that's all. I just played ball.
12 June 2010
A Short Play About Los Angeles
Two middle aged men waiting for their plane to board. A, in baseball cap, hoodie, cargo pants. B, larger, orange and white hair, goatee, lazy eye, all dressed in black.
B:
It introduces jealousy, it introduces sympathy, trust...
A:
Mmm.
B:
They're perfect for-- They're a perfect match, but--
A:
But they--
B:
They need to have this test. They need to see what--
A:
It's like all of those people you date--
B:
Exactly.
A:
You need to go through them, to prepare you. So you'll know.
B:
Yes. The audience knows they belong together. We see that.
A:
In the beginning.
B:
Right, but still--
A:
We still have to--
B:
The journey.
A:
Plus it's a test.
B:
It's a big fucking test.
A:
Cause what if, what if, they meet someone...
B:
And that's--
A:
What if they meet someone they can't resist. Could meet all kinda people.
B:
And that's where all these issues of, fidelity, uhh, you know--
A:
Right right right.
B:
Right. Sex. Lotta dimensions. Lotta "Ifs".
A:
They see what it's like, "It's a Wonderful Life" kinda thing.
B:
But modern. And that's how we can pitch it.
A:
I thought--
B:
Well, yes.
A:
I thought you had the meeting already.
B:
We did.
A:
Yeah?
B:
I mean, you know how these things are.
A:
They passed?
B:
No no no. Not-- They're very interested. They said-- Marty, he's a friend, but he's, he can be, shortsighted. I mean, that's his job, guys like him.
A:
Yeah.
B:
They see concepts and concepts and concepts and hear pitch pitch pitch...
A:
Sure.
B:
If it doesn't--
A:
If it doesn't--
B:
Exactly. Right off if it doesn't-- DING DING DING. They're gatekeepers. If they don't see dollar signs, if Brad's not attached, if you don't have a goddamn name--
A:
That's the business.
B:
And I know that. If you don't go in there with the whole goddamn--
A:
You gotta have the poster, you gotta have stars, you gotta--
B:
And we did that. Poster, tagline, notecarded the scenes, picked out the fucking caterers for chrissakes... I don't know. It's just so, to take something abstract and make it bankable, make it real to these people...
A:
It ain't that hard, John. Will Smith. That's all you need. That's what makes it real. Cruise....Well, maybe not Cruise.
B:
We've got Tucci.
A:
Tucci is not a name.
B:
Well...For a certain, you know, Big Night...Tucci is not nobody. He's not nobody. Tucci is very interested. He's on board. Julia and Julia, he's not nobody. Audiences are very familiar with him.
A:
Well, John, it's not like he's--
B:
Of course.
A:
It could be sexy is all I'm saying.
B:
And, okay, if this was Titanic, sure, but we're thinking a date night-babysitter kind of thing.
A:
And Tucci means something to those people.
B:
Yes.
A:
In all fairness, though, it is very conceptual.
B:
Well, sure--
A:
Which is good. High concept, easy to market.
B:
Listen, I just wanna tell a goddamn story.
A:
And you can do that, all I'm saying is you might want to consider thinking about a younger, as much as I hate the word, demographic. You've got this great idea. It'd be great-- put a couple of people you wanna fuck in there. Not Stanley fucking Tucci.
B:
Hey, if I could get fucking, you know, Jake Gyllenhaal, shit, if I could get The Jonas Brothers, I'd be a pig in shit. It's not about that.
A:
Naturally.
B:
And it could go either way. The script is not age specific. It could be anybody. Could be a Notebook thing. Could last eighty fucking years.
A:
Now that is interesting. The whole spectrum.
B:
Yes.
A:
Tucci, or whoever, could be the guy when he's old.
B:
Get a young guy to play him when--
A:
Right. Old, young.
B:
This is good. This is a very good way to go.
A:
It could be eighty years they're apart.
B:
The longer the better. Undying love kind of thing.
A:
Then they finally wind up together, and they both croak.
B:
One of them dies, then the other.
A:
They can't live without each other.
B:
Yes. Yes Yes. But they get to spend the last few years together.
A:
Right. Then they go to Heaven or wherever together. Eternity.
B:
Fuck yes. I think I've cracked it. This is a whole new approach. This is gonna crack the whole thing open.
A:
Hey, we cracked it together.
B:
You certainly helped me talk it out.
A:
Glad I could help.
B:
I'm excited to get on the plane to work on it.
B:
It introduces jealousy, it introduces sympathy, trust...
A:
Mmm.
B:
They're perfect for-- They're a perfect match, but--
A:
But they--
B:
They need to have this test. They need to see what--
A:
It's like all of those people you date--
B:
Exactly.
A:
You need to go through them, to prepare you. So you'll know.
B:
Yes. The audience knows they belong together. We see that.
A:
In the beginning.
B:
Right, but still--
A:
We still have to--
B:
The journey.
A:
Plus it's a test.
B:
It's a big fucking test.
A:
Cause what if, what if, they meet someone...
B:
And that's--
A:
What if they meet someone they can't resist. Could meet all kinda people.
B:
And that's where all these issues of, fidelity, uhh, you know--
A:
Right right right.
B:
Right. Sex. Lotta dimensions. Lotta "Ifs".
A:
They see what it's like, "It's a Wonderful Life" kinda thing.
B:
But modern. And that's how we can pitch it.
A:
I thought--
B:
Well, yes.
A:
I thought you had the meeting already.
B:
We did.
A:
Yeah?
B:
I mean, you know how these things are.
A:
They passed?
B:
No no no. Not-- They're very interested. They said-- Marty, he's a friend, but he's, he can be, shortsighted. I mean, that's his job, guys like him.
A:
Yeah.
B:
They see concepts and concepts and concepts and hear pitch pitch pitch...
A:
Sure.
B:
If it doesn't--
A:
If it doesn't--
B:
Exactly. Right off if it doesn't-- DING DING DING. They're gatekeepers. If they don't see dollar signs, if Brad's not attached, if you don't have a goddamn name--
A:
That's the business.
B:
And I know that. If you don't go in there with the whole goddamn--
A:
You gotta have the poster, you gotta have stars, you gotta--
B:
And we did that. Poster, tagline, notecarded the scenes, picked out the fucking caterers for chrissakes... I don't know. It's just so, to take something abstract and make it bankable, make it real to these people...
A:
It ain't that hard, John. Will Smith. That's all you need. That's what makes it real. Cruise....Well, maybe not Cruise.
B:
We've got Tucci.
A:
Tucci is not a name.
B:
Well...For a certain, you know, Big Night...Tucci is not nobody. He's not nobody. Tucci is very interested. He's on board. Julia and Julia, he's not nobody. Audiences are very familiar with him.
A:
Well, John, it's not like he's--
B:
Of course.
A:
It could be sexy is all I'm saying.
B:
And, okay, if this was Titanic, sure, but we're thinking a date night-babysitter kind of thing.
A:
And Tucci means something to those people.
B:
Yes.
A:
In all fairness, though, it is very conceptual.
B:
Well, sure--
A:
Which is good. High concept, easy to market.
B:
Listen, I just wanna tell a goddamn story.
A:
And you can do that, all I'm saying is you might want to consider thinking about a younger, as much as I hate the word, demographic. You've got this great idea. It'd be great-- put a couple of people you wanna fuck in there. Not Stanley fucking Tucci.
B:
Hey, if I could get fucking, you know, Jake Gyllenhaal, shit, if I could get The Jonas Brothers, I'd be a pig in shit. It's not about that.
A:
Naturally.
B:
And it could go either way. The script is not age specific. It could be anybody. Could be a Notebook thing. Could last eighty fucking years.
A:
Now that is interesting. The whole spectrum.
B:
Yes.
A:
Tucci, or whoever, could be the guy when he's old.
B:
Get a young guy to play him when--
A:
Right. Old, young.
B:
This is good. This is a very good way to go.
A:
It could be eighty years they're apart.
B:
The longer the better. Undying love kind of thing.
A:
Then they finally wind up together, and they both croak.
B:
One of them dies, then the other.
A:
They can't live without each other.
B:
Yes. Yes Yes. But they get to spend the last few years together.
A:
Right. Then they go to Heaven or wherever together. Eternity.
B:
Fuck yes. I think I've cracked it. This is a whole new approach. This is gonna crack the whole thing open.
A:
Hey, we cracked it together.
B:
You certainly helped me talk it out.
A:
Glad I could help.
B:
I'm excited to get on the plane to work on it.
02 June 2010
Song of the Open Road - Extracts
Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune— I myself am good fortune;
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Strong and content, I travel the open road.
The earth—that is sufficient;
I do not want the constellations any nearer;
I know they are very well where they are;
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.
(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens;
I carry them, men and women— I carry them with me wherever I go;
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them;
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)
-Walt Whitman
Song of the Open Road
Humans are not made to sit at computer terminals or travel by aeroplane; destiny intended something different for us. For too long now we have been estranged from the essential, which is the nomadic life: traveling on foot. A distinction must be made between hiking and traveling on foot. In today's society - though it would be ridiculous to advocate traveling on foot for everyone to every possible destination - I personally would rather do the existentially essential things in my life on foot. If you live in England and your girlfriend is in Sicily, and it is clear that you want to marry her, then you should walk to Sicily to propose. For these things travel by car or aeroplane is not the right thing. The volume and depth and intensity of the world is something that only those on foot will ever experience. I have never been a tourist, for a tourist destroys cultures...Cultures around the world visited by tourists are having their basic dignity and identity stripped away.
The world reveals itself to those who travel on foot
Tourism is sin, and travel on foot virtue.
-Werner Herzog
"Why think about that when all the golden land's ahead of you and all kinds of unforeseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you're alive to see?"
-On the Road
The Road is better than the Inn
-Old Spanish Proverb
I hopped off the plane at LAX
with a dream and my cardigan
welcome to the land of fame excess, (woah)
am I gonna fit in?
-Miley Cyrus
Party in the USA
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune— I myself am good fortune;
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Strong and content, I travel the open road.
The earth—that is sufficient;
I do not want the constellations any nearer;
I know they are very well where they are;
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.
(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens;
I carry them, men and women— I carry them with me wherever I go;
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them;
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)
-Walt Whitman
Song of the Open Road
Humans are not made to sit at computer terminals or travel by aeroplane; destiny intended something different for us. For too long now we have been estranged from the essential, which is the nomadic life: traveling on foot. A distinction must be made between hiking and traveling on foot. In today's society - though it would be ridiculous to advocate traveling on foot for everyone to every possible destination - I personally would rather do the existentially essential things in my life on foot. If you live in England and your girlfriend is in Sicily, and it is clear that you want to marry her, then you should walk to Sicily to propose. For these things travel by car or aeroplane is not the right thing. The volume and depth and intensity of the world is something that only those on foot will ever experience. I have never been a tourist, for a tourist destroys cultures...Cultures around the world visited by tourists are having their basic dignity and identity stripped away.
The world reveals itself to those who travel on foot
Tourism is sin, and travel on foot virtue.
-Werner Herzog
"Why think about that when all the golden land's ahead of you and all kinds of unforeseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you're alive to see?"
-On the Road
The Road is better than the Inn
-Old Spanish Proverb
I hopped off the plane at LAX
with a dream and my cardigan
welcome to the land of fame excess, (woah)
am I gonna fit in?
-Miley Cyrus
Party in the USA
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