“I long ago came to the conclusion that all life is 6 to 5 against.” I have to tell ya, I’m at the end of my rope, and it fits my neck perfectly. But that’s OK because I’m keeping my eye on the ball, and I’m not going to lose that ball. So far, I have put out two books: “Sparks-Tastic” and “The Plum in Mr. Blum’s Pudding.” One work is a non-fiction account of yours truly following a band (Sparks) I love in London, and the other book is a collection of poetry written in Japan. At this point and time, and looking at my bank balance, I really need to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
I haven’t worked at a paying job since 2012. At this time, I have lived on my wit and charm, but that can only go so far in today’s world. I somehow managed to purchase (well borrowed, to be honest) money to pay a one-way ticket to Tokyo, hopefully, to find not an adventure, but some sort of moolah. My only talent is to be able to write. I’m really bad at showing up at work or even working with co-workers. Usually, I’m despised by my fellow citizens of the time-clock, and I mostly made some dough on the side, by running an on-going crap game in the employee room at a specific retail store, even to this day, I can’t mention.
I’m the guy who came from nowhere - and I wasn’t going anywhere, but somehow I got I kicked off somewhere. At times, I feel like the dice are loaded, but not towards my favor. So dear people, my readers, and Facebook friends - I just need to ask you a favor.
I really do need to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and I can’t wait till next year, because there may not be the next year for me. It needs to be this year. Now, as I see it, my main competitor is the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. I came to Tokyo to plead with him not to accept the award if he is the chosen one. I ask, because I need the attention, and even more critical the cash prize that goes with this award. As I last heard, the award amount is now $1,100,000.00. Now, if I get the award (and the money), this will enable me to do nothing but write. I know you, people, out there are enjoying my daily postings on my blog and Facebook, and I have to remind you that I’m not being paid for this work. I did have an agreement with Facebook C.E.O. Mark Zuckerberg to get a certain amount of payment if people out there pushing “like” on my page. Sadly I didn’t get enough “likes” for his taste. That is what I get for working for a guy who was born in 1984 ... if you get my drift.
So now, I must call upon you. All of you. I want you to write a letter or e-mail to the Swedish Academy in Sweden and comment that “Tosh Berman should win this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature.” That is all you have to mention. I did send copies of my book to the Academy, so they know who I am. I understand that some members of the Swedish Academy even “liked” my page. Also, if you can, please do “like” this post, because that too could bring attention to the Swedish Academy. Also, it has been noted that the Academy has, at times, awarded writers who lean to the left. Well, I’m here to let you know that I’m a hardcore leftie. I don’t believe in any political party in the United States. Pro two-state solution for Israel and Palestine (hardcore pro-Palestine by the way), and for every left-wing movements that took place in Central, South, and North America. So I should fit in their category of a writer who does ‘good’ in their writing.
Here is their address:
The Swedish Academy
P.O. Box 2118
SE-103 13 Stockholm
Their e-mail address is sekretariat@svenskaakademien.se.
Do write to them, and tell them that you demand that Tosh Berman should win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Come on, people. You have read my books, you have enjoyed my daily writings here, so please do something and help support a fellow writer. A fellow artist. A fellow human being.
Also, if you can “like” (if you’re reading this on Facebook) this post, it may help me as well.
A very dense book regarding mostly the "Dandy" spirt or aesthetic through literature and art. Alexi Kukuljevic pulls out all my favorite heroes in this one volume: Buster Keaton, Kubrick's "The Shining," Marcel Duchamp, Charles Baudelaire, Alfred Jarry, Jacques Vaché and even the great comedian Andy Kaufman. A deep reflection on those who lived/worked on the outskirts of their interested field. Kukuljevic's book is dream-like on a subject matter that is very difficult to nail down. The above artists and writers (and performers) are hard to define for their 'absently' spirit, where in many cases, it is their art that speaks for themselves, and we reflect on what we think is their personality, but in the end of the day, who knows? "Liquidation World" got to me because I often think of these artists as major touchstones for my own aesthetic and pleasure. A fascinating book that keeps turning the wheels in my mind, long after I read the last page.
I was wandering around Iidabashi in Tokyo when I came upon a small movie theater. They were showing “La Roue, ” which is a French silent film made in 1923. It appears that they only show silent films in this theater, and the auditorium fits only six or seven people. I was the sole customer there. You can hear the projector behind you, and as for sound, the projectionist actually hums various melodies through an ancient sound system in the theater. The film is very long. I lost count, but I think it lasted over nine hours, and I went there in the afternoon, and came out in the very late evening. Yet, I couldn’t remove myself from my seat. I was struck by how odd it was to see this film here in Iidabashi, off a popular street, Kagurazaka-dori, that seems to lead to a Shinto shrine.
As I sat there, and losing track of time (and space) I was amazed with myself in that I could make a narrative out of this picture. The titles were all in French, a language that I don’t speak or read, and even that was odd since I was in Tokyo. I was drawn here, due that it started to rain, and I wasn’t wearing proper clothing. So for about ¥1000, I thought it was worth it, just to avoid the weather. What appeared in front of my eyes changed my life forever.
It wasn’t the film itself, but more of my mental state, which to be honest, is not so good. I’m on a track that is losing ground quickly. In fact, I even considered suicide. But I haven’t the foggiest idea how one does that. That point when you want to do it, yet I lack the proper skills in completing such a drastic act. I even wrote a suicide note, and after finished writing it, I re-read it, and it made me laugh hysterically. So, even that, I don’t really have the talent for the ‘death’ angle. Iidabashi is a great neighborhood to wander, due to the shops and restaurants. So many happy people here, maybe due that it’s Halloween and some are dressed in their favorite manga character. My costume and role is someone in misery, but no one could tell my outfit whatsoever. So yes, going into a movie theater with only that in my thoughts, send me to a world not of my making, but almost like Buster Keaton in “Sherlock Junior” I’m finding myself in the oddest landscapes, here in Tokyo.
After exiting the movie theater, I needed some food. But no place was open. It was around 3 in the morning. The subways and the JR train was closed down, so I walked towards the canal that runs through the area. It is as at that point I thought I could throw myself into the water. I don’t swim, so I thought the combination of my lack of skills and nature itself will be perfectly compatible with each other. Of course, I walked among the canal by practically falling down the hill to get there. My initial thought, do I need stones to fill my pockets so I would be dragged down to the bottom of the canal? I took my shoes off, and dipped my big toe in the water. It was cold! Then I had the thought in my head of having my clothes wet, and how uncomfortable that would be as I’m drowning in the canal. So I took my clothes off, and since I was in Tokyo, I decided to fold the clothing up very neatly. There were no rocks around, just pavement. Nevertheless I walked up to the canal and dived in. When I did that, I hit my head on the bottom, and immediately got up on my feet. The water was just three feet. It was cold as … I was about say hell, but that doesn’t seem appropriate for this sentence. I got out, and put my clothes back on, and began to walk back to the movie theater.
The funny thing is I couldn’t find the theater. It was gone! Then I started wondering if I somehow made this up in my sick mind. More likely I couldn’t find it due to the combination of my despair and the winding streets of Iidabashi. The amusing thing, at that very moment, I felt my life as being complete, and it didn’t matter if I killed myself or not. What mattered to me is to find the film “La Roue” and somehow enter that world again. But one can never go back home or their dream state. We live only once, and the art of living is capturing that moment for one to come back to. I did that, and now I can go on.
“I long ago came to the conclusion that all life is 6 to 5 against.” I have to tell ya, I’m at the end of my rope, and it fits my neck perfectly. But that’s OK because I’m keeping my eye on the ball, and I’m not going to lose that ball. So far, I have put out two books: “Sparks-Tastic” and “The Plum in Mr. Blum’s Pudding.” One work is a non-fiction account of yours truly following a band (Sparks) I love in London, and the other book is a collection of poetry written in Japan. At this point and time, and looking at my bank balance, I really need to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
I haven’t worked at a paying job since 2012. At this time I have lived on my wit and charm, but that can only go so far in today’s world. I somehow managed to purchase (well borrowed to be honest) money to pay an one-way ticket to Tokyo, hopefully to find not really an adventure, but some sort of moolah. My only talent is to be able to write. I’m really bad at showing up at work, or even working with co-workers. Usually I’m despised by my fellow citizens of the time-clock, and I mostly made some dough on the side, by running an on-going crap game in the employee room at a certain retail store, even to this day, I can’t mention.
I’m sort of the guy who came from nowhere - and I wasn’t going anywhere, but somehow I got I kicked off somewhere. At times, I feel like the dice is loaded, but not towards my favor. So dear people, my readers, and Facebook friends - I just need to ask you a favor.
I really do need to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and I can’t wait till next year, because there may not be a next year for me. It needs to be this year. Now, as I see it, my main competitor is the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. I actually came to Tokyo to plead with him to not to accept the award if he is the chosen one. I ask, because basically I need the attention, and even more important the cash prize that goes with this award. As I last heard, the award amount is now $1,100,000.00. Now, if I get the award (and the money) this will enable me to do nothing but write. I know you people out there are enjoying my daily postings on my blog and Facebook, and I just have to remind you that I’m not being paid for this work. I did have an agreement with Facebook C.E.O. Mark Zuckerberg to get a certain amount of payment if people out there pushed “like” on my page. Sadly I didn’t get enough “likes” for his taste. That is what I get for working for a guy who was born in 1984 ... if you get my drift.
So now, I must call upon you. All of you. I want you to write a letter or e-mail to the Swedish Academy in Sweden and comment that “Tosh Berman should win this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature.” That is all you have to mention. I did send copies of my book to the Academy so they know who I am. I know that some members of the Swedish Academy even “liked” my page. Also, if you can, please do “like” this post, because that too could bring attention to the Swedish Academy. Also it has been noted that the Academy has at times awarded writers who lean to the left. Well, I’m here to let you know that I’m a hardcore leftie. I don’t believe in any political party in the United States. Pro two state solution for Israel and Palestine (hardcore pro-Palestine by the way), and for every left wing movements that took place in Central, South, and North America. So I should fit in their category of a writer who does ‘good’ in their writing.
Here is their address:
The Swedish Academy
P.O. Box 2118
SE-103 13 Stockholm
Their e-mail address is sekretariat@svenskaakademien.se
Do write to them, and tell them that you demand that Tosh Berman should win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Come on people. You have read my books, you have enjoyed my daily writings here, so please do something and help support a fellow writer. A fellow artist. A fellow human being.
Also if you can “like” (if you’re reading this on Facebook) this post, it may help me as well.
Probably one of the most obsessive books ever. John Bengtson located every location Buster Keaton shot his films on, and re-photographed it, usually at the same angle or shot of the original film. So what we have is a book that is about Keaton and how he used real locations for his classic films, plus a visual history of Los Angeles, and what that location looks like now. It's a stunning way of looking at space and what happens to that space. Strange enough a lot of the locations haven't changed, and some of course one would never recognize it in the film. This book is an extreme tour of a region via the eyes of Keaton and much later Mr. Bengston. The amount of work he did for this book is pretty much jaw-dropping 'wow.'
The fastidious Rene Ricard’s reckless past *
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* (restored) “I pledge allegiance to the living, and I will defend art
from history. I will rescue art from the future, from its attrition into
taste, an...
Happy Birthday Elliott Gould
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Happy Birthday to one of the all-time greats and one of the coolest of the
cool Elliott Gould. From my 2019 New Beverly interview with Elliott Gould
about ...
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