NYC Journal

Austin,

Thanks for the link.

“Maggie” and I already found our tiny dream home. I can see why our location is still within commuting distance, but we are also a gateway to other dreamy places besides the Hudson Highlands.

The Empire State Trailway is another huge asset for at least my lifestyle.

Cal
 
The gig at NBC studios was a 5 minute feature at 12:45 that was a live broadcast.

We walked 10 miles yesterday and ended up in Washington Heights. We picked up an outfit for a TV broadcast that is an ABC talk show with a live audience.

These are clothes that get lent to the stylist, and in turn are lent to “Maggie.” They have to be returned.

Know that all this is mucho legwork because wardrobes are assembled to select from.

Washington Heights is getting more gentrified.

Today is the book launch in the U.K. The book has a different cover.

Cal
 
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Heading out today to a rather famous black owned bookstore for a book event.

In our walk around Madhattan we stopped by the Patagonia store on the west side. I ended up buying a funky “Calzone” shirt in a size small and bought a Patagonia canvas work jacket for the fall book festivals we will be attending that “Maggie” is involved with.

I ended up buying one for Maggie also because it sports a non urban look and presents an image of country living.

Our identities are changing and evolving.

I found the city to be loud and in my face. The pace is a bit slower than I remember, perhaps because so many are smoking weed. The tourists seem to be present, but not the overwhelming amount of them that are a nuisance.

Anyways I don’t miss the city.

We are catching a train today.

Cal
 
I am happy to report my friend Tim is alive. We don’t understand why his phone was out of service. I had called his brother-in-law to try and find out an explanation, and his brother in-law-told Tim causing him to call me.

I just got back from Washington DC, where “Maggie” had a book event, and I checked my messages. What a good surprise. I have to check her schedule, but Tim and I might try to get together Monday or Tuesday.

In Washington DC it was a love fest. There was a sense of community there, and pretty much it was sponsored by Mahogany Books an African-American owned business. We were well embraced and made so many friends on a level where we invited them to New York.

I was in heaven shooting all these glammed out black women before, during and after the event.

I made a serious friend with the photographer who covered the event. He has a 25 hundred square foot studio in DC, and another just outside DC. He comes to New York often.

On the train ride down I figured out that the truck will get into a usable state and on the road (head job and tires). The half garage made into a studio with mini-split, and well insulated.

It also seems that my performance art/spoken word might become my medium. Devil Christian has said the way I shoot is even like a performance because I cause an interaction. Maggie says she sees how I draw and audience and kinda go into performance mode. Even my writing is performative, especially when read aloud.

On June first and second is this years Peekskill Open Studios. I intend on wheeling my work book on my hand truck and pretty much setting up in this public gathering space weather permitting. Pretty much you can’t get much more open a studio than that. I guess it will be somewhat performative, crazy enough to do what I do, which is garner more than my own share of attention, even though just minding my own business.

I also figure the trucks long bed is a kinda performance space that I could use to invade the downtown as a mobile gallery/stage. Certainly is a great idea, and I think a really great trademark that would be highly visible. I might have to pay 25 cents for each 15 minutes to a parking meter on workdays 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, but on weekends parking is free.

I can see using the tailgate as a table. How cool is that? Perhaps next year.

At these public events I have to be careful not to draw the spotlight. Maggie and I talked about how innocently how I garner interest and focus, then the “performance” mode engages because I have an audience.

A friend of ours here in Peekskill wants to set up a spoken word venue. I’m kinda interested in that.

In Washington DC we walked around near Chinatown before heading to Union Station to get our train. We stumbled into the Leica Store and I got to handle a Leica SL3 that was the first camera they received. 60 MP, articulating screen, faster autofocus, 10K video, and some new larger/faster memory card in one of the slots.

I got on the waiting list just to find out how long the wait. I have no need really for all these advances, but I wished Leica would make a Monochrom version just for me. 60 MP with APO L-glass without a Bayer Filter Array would be a game changer for me.

When I did the focus group we had asked for an articulating screen for the SL2. We also asked for a Monochrom version. My hope is that they do it now. Right now.

I inquired about a Q3’s weather proofing. The SL2 and SL3 have superior weatherproofing over the Q3.

Next week Maggie is going to be a guest on the Tamron Hall show. There will be a slide show of some of our pictures. Most are mine, but there is one that Maggie took of us using her CL and a tripod of the both of us. I have to sign a release giving them rights for one-year. So indirectly I’ll be on TV.

Not sure if the show is taped or live. ABC is the network. I’ll be in the audience, or perhaps in the wings, but Maggie will be on stage.

Life is a little crazy, but crazy is good.

I can’t wait to show Tim my progress on guitar. The 1966 C-10 as a mobile stage for performing is a genius idea.

Cal
 
For clarity I will be using my “work-book” as a prop to gather an audience. This was a mock up for binding up a book of large prints where the pages are actually made of prints. I used linen tape as hinges.

This book has a thick spine and caused the book to be like a wedge in a manner like a loose leaf. On the rear is written my Lightroom settings, file number, and other information. The size and weight requires the use of a hand truck to transport.

I learned how to make my newer books lay flatter, I designed my new books to fit into archival boxes for a museum like presentation, and for sure my new binding system is more evolved and advanced.

I have two archived books that create a different experiences due to their different sizes. THe smaller book is more of a personal experience, but the bigger book provides a group experience. To an extent my books transforms photography into sculpture that is highly interactive.

If you knew my work as a painter I had this 3-D sculptural aspect to my paintings because I painted on layers of glass that presented overlapping images that created interaction.

I learned that one-off books that are the possession of the artist are mucho high value. These archival books use rag papers and are very elevated. Each page has a archival tissue cover separating each page. It is as if a museum bound a book.

My workbook is much more crude. While it is still refined, it is meant to be handled and suffer wear and tare. The scale of this book and it’s weight is over the top. I maximized the page/print size for a 24 inch page width, and perhaps the weight is in the 60-70 pound area. Actually a bit too big for a coffee table, and perhaps sized for a kitchen or dining room table.

I find that books have a sculptural element. There is a real tactile interaction that is “performative” in nature, and is also a bit linear in nature like a motion picture scene to scene. I also think a book is the best presentation of my work. The photograph is naked and does not “hide” behind glass.

My printing is glossy and the gloss overcoat makes the print durable and able to handle the handling. Pretty much my style is that my Piezography prints look like and get mistaken as wet prints.

Because I was a jerk, I kinda set up and did a performance at PhotoPlusExpo. I brought an 11x17 print to gift to Robert Rodriguez the artist in residence for Canson. Over the years Robert became my friend an mentor who taught me a lot.

I had my film SL2-MOT that Sherry had built from two SL2’s to kinda build a perfect camera. One camera had a dead meter and a delivering prism, but the other had a perfect prism and working meter, even though it looked like it had been used as a weapon in many a street fight. The lens mount was so worn it needed to be replaced.

I go over to the Leica booth to kinda bully them. I had them as a captive audience, so I asked them, “Why do I need a new SL2 when I have an old one.” The minty SL2-MOT drew in lots of attention.

Then this one guy in the booth inquired into what I do, and then I told him to wait a moment and I would be right back. I went back to Robert Rodriguez and asked to borrow the print I gave him.

When I went back it created a bit of a sensation. I was asked if it was large format film, and I replied “No Leica Monochrom.”

The guy I was talking with happen to use a Phase One back and shot large format. He inquired about Piezography, and then said I had to show this print to Ebi.

I showed Ebi who had a thick German accent. He gave me his card and told me if I ever get to California that he would give me a show.

Yesterday at the Leica Store in Washington DC I told Werner the salesman who was helping me and answering my questions, I revealed meeting this man who evidently was someone big at Leica. When I indicated that he had a thick German accent, Werner asked if it was in Germany, but when I told him California the name Ebi came up.

The impact of one print is one thing, but a book is another.

I suspect that Leica was saving/keeping the idea of a Monochrom SL3 shelved to have a later/bigger impact. The APO Leica “L”-glass is still good out to about 120 MP, a few more generations out. Will Leica release a SL3 Monochrome? Is 60 MP enough or the right time to release a Monochrom version?

Remember I was part of a focus group that helped design the SL2. My SL2 is about 5 years old.

I own a version 2 50 Lux in R-mount. Pretty much a rare lens that is mucho costly. This R-glass is held in high esteem for video. Not sure I need 10K quality, but the SL3 could be a great video rig. Hmmm.

My SL is still a great camera for manual focus lenses. I have the capability to mount M-mount, R-mount, and even Nikon glass like my Noct-Nikkor 58/1.2.

The window on my garage/studio faces due south. Not only is my workbook a prop, but so is my truck…

Hmmm…

I guess I’m a bit out of control because I don’t know where all this is going.

Maggie kinda flipped the switch and sees how the truck is suddenly a trademark that leads to branding. Suddenly it is a great thoughtful asset. She wants me to have the garage as my own space. It is understood that as a detached separate workspace that it adds mucho equity to the valve of our property without increasing taxes.

It took some time to distill, but I kinda have a path now. Will video ever be important to me? Hmmm…

Cal
 
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“Maggie” has a library appearance at the Harrison Library in Croton today.

WE are a bit tired from the past busy week that included travel and late nights.

Cal
 
My thinking about the 1966 C-10 is that it is a survivor, and keeping it as OEM as possible at this point is the most value added. The goal here is to make it a driver and a Rat-Rod that celebrates the almost 60 years of wear and tare. There is a great beauty in the patina and the tiny touches of surface rust.

A mistake would be to clear coat the finish because this can’t really be undone. The better long term idea is to apply a specialty wax to preserve the patina that could be easily removed. There is a certain amount of maintenance required with this approach.

Parking the truck in our driveway adds charm to our house and lifestyle. It in fact compliments the house because both the truck and house are old. Retro expression…

The Tamron Hall show is taped and I guess later broadcast in the afternoon. I have a Hematology appointment that conflicts with the Cosmopolitan Club book event. Oh-well.

The Woodstock Book Festival is also coming up.

Things should settle down shortly soon, but then in the fall are book festivals so things will pickup again.

My summer goal is to pull the head on the truck so it can be sent out, strip and reshingle the garage roof, and make a pair of carriage doors to replace the roll up garage doors.

Now I’m thinking of adding a double sided 1 inch radiant barrier on top of the sheathing that would create a sealed envelope and add R-6 worth of insulation. This would also kinda provide a thermal break to avoid thermal bridging (conducting of heat and cold through the rafters).

Devil Christian in the past recommended insulating the floor. My garage has a stucco’ed exterior, but the walls are made of modular ceramic blocks. It makes sense to not use studs and somehow create a SIP like design to create a sealed envelope and to also prevent thermal bridging through studs.

Using a mini-spilt for heating and cooling I don’t want to be expensive. A high SEER unit will carry a premium in cost, but will save over the long term. I will use this space as a “clean room” where it will be well suited for a digital studio. Should also somewhat be sound proofed. Could also be a small intimate recording studio.

I’ll figure out the attic at a later time. I will just insulate the floor with rock wool and lay down a plywood floor.

The roof is a hip roof. The ceiling will be cathedral. I have a cool library ladder to use, and mucho ELFA shelving. Also have lots of hospital furniture that includes a hospital Landry hamper to use as a garbage pail; doctors stools, a therapist like lounge; lab equipment; and articulating platforms for electronics.

I expect this studio to be somewhat lab like.

Not sure where a darkroom will fit best, but at this point the basement seems like the place. This reminds me that I need to pick up my darkroom sink.

As you can see I have a lot of things going on to move forward.

Cal
 
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We had delivered NZZamSonntag Magzin delivered. Included was just one chocolate bar.

They picked a very cool shot of us as “Vintage Hipsters.” I kinda look gansta, we both wear dark sunglasses to look evil, and because “Maggie” is so short and small I look kinda big and oversized. LOL.

I wished the were not so cheap with the chocolate. Cheap bastards… LOL.

Somehow I feel like a jet setter as of late. The ground swell I predicted is happening.

I guess next is my turn so expect the drama queen in me to get amped up. Dragging out my workbook into public view is a very bold move and idea. Mucho crazy and crazy is good.

Also EZ-PZ and a genius of an idea. All I need is good weather on June first and second. I know how to create drama.

Cal
 
I was minding my own business and now I have the opportunity to hang a one person show at the Harrison Library and separately do a presentation on street photography.

Know that hanging a show involves the expense of framing, so I’m reluctant to pursue this opportunity.

Doing a presentation on street photography is different, and pretty much I would want to talk about and share things involving book making, my approach to galleries, and pretty much why I do things the Calzone way.

A presentation could exploit using my workbook without any outlay. EZ-PZ.

Pretty much a spin on my idea of my open studio approach that I want to do June first and second in Peekskill, but in a library special events space that held today about 50 people as an audience. The space is large enough to perhaps hold 80-100, but it would be packed.

The room/space was perhaps a 35x50 so there was a lot of wall space.

So I was solicited by the director of the Harrison Library, and I figure this is just because of the ground swell caused by “Maggie’s” book. Vague enough to pretty much to do whatever I want. I guess this director does not know what I’m really capable of doing.

Looks like tomorrow I’ll have the opportunity to pick up my stainless steel darkroom sink. It is 50 1/2 inches long and 9 inches deep. If I remember correctly it is something like 29 inches wide. This thing might be heavy. It might have to stay in the car until I get some help to unload it. No legs or base are included.

I’m thinking a steal deal for $225.00 plus tax and a lucky find. Really great for dip and dunk, and also makes for a good wet counter with a drain. A wonderful centerpiece to build a darkroom around.

I see that I likely will have to trim an extension of what I would call a joist on the pergola to accommodate a thicker roof due to the added radiant barrier rigid foam. I also have to figure out how to extend the drip edge to cover the foam. Hmmm…

At today’s book event I met a photo editor from the New York Times. I also met a gerontologist who gave me her contact info. I have to dig in and see what this could be really about.

BTW I thought Harrison was near Croton for some reason. I think I was made to believe the name Harrison was assigned to a library in Croton. Perhaps Maggie just said, “South of Croton.”

Anyways it is actually located near the Connecticut border on the Long Island Sound near Rye.

Another thing is happening, that is Maggie is getting all these solicitations, and pretty much that commercial mind field that involves marketing products and being an influencer again.

We are avoiding the here we go again. Also know we have one more year on our modeling contract which so far has amounted to nothing. Pretty much we want it that way, and if possible we want to end the contract early if possible to be free. We see how the book launch could lead into a life we want to leave behind.

We can see through how the book launch is an opportunity to try and snooker us into that life again.

Also know that we want to stay small and local. We are getting too old to roam the world and being jet setters. We actually had more than a taste of that and had our fill. When we travel we don’t want any responsibilities or even an itinerary. Total freedom without any obligations is what we want.

Also some of these proposed events involve guest speaking and are not about the book. Pretty much Maggie wants to advocate, but then again is unwilling to work for free. She needs to get paid or compensated. The here we go again is trying to get traction.

The days of working for free (slavery) we hope are gone.

Cal
 
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I will try and pick up my darkroom sink later today.

I also need to call Tim to firm up about getting together tomorrow.

The thought did come to mind of creating a book of just the photography we did in the role of Accidental Icon. Perhaps two books: one in B&W; and a second in color.

Understand that in the beginning we only had the Leica Monochrome for the first few years, and because we did that it stood out, got traction, and was noticed. The moral of the story is if you want to get noticed don’t be like everyone else: Stand-Out.

It seems standing out is innate and natural for me. A blessing and yet also a curse. Pretty hard for me to be “extra-medium.”

I have been daydreaming a lot about building out my studio as part of my homestead. I think it will come over as being kinda clever and thoughtful, and that kinda goes with the rest of the house. The changes, investment, and remodeling seem to be kinda engineered.

Because we are moving at a pace instead of a race everything seems evolutionary with a high degree of design, unified vision, yet in a way modular.

I think because of all this the Baby-Victorian has a kinda magical appeal and charm. It is not just a house: it has personality. I think when the faded green patina of the 1966 C-10 is displayed in the driveway it will garner big time attention.

To get to the Hot Rod Hotel you have to approach our house. The C-10 will be on display as an ornament.

I see super cars in my hood all the time, as well as vintage and muscle cars. I even see enclosed car trailers ferrying vehicles discreetly. The road to the Hot Rod Hotel is the same one-way-in/one-way-out for Renold’s Hills the leftover hippy commune from the 60’s that are just summer homes except for the 3 all year residents.

One of those all year round residents is my friend Andrew who is a boat builder.

I have two doctor’s appointments coming up: one is for my annual physical; the other is with a hematologist to begin monitoring my Cold Agglutinin Disease (CAD). Because of the Hematologist appointment I will miss out on the Cosmopolitan Club event that is followed by a dinner. Oh-well.

Woodstock Book Festival is coming up. Certainly we will meet a lot of creatives. Like I said the Hudson Valley is full of artists, but it is a bit spread out.

Peekskill has its limitations, but I believe has the potential to be a Blue Zone because there is a strong sense of community here; it is walkable; and there already is a great framework for interaction. Certainly the geography gets people outside and promotes outdoor activity.

In many ways Peekskill is more advanced than say Woodstock because of the advantages I mentioned as far as having much of the qualities of a Blue Zone. Vast wilderness is nearby also, so location-location-location… Currently housing is in a very short supply.

Cal
 
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I wonder what is happening. I reached an epiphany of sorts and realized what I do here is a form of journaling, blogging, and just plain going way off topic.

But I rant. These rants are performative, and I realize there is a broadcast like quality to my very being. I could be doing nothing, yet I draw an audience. How and why does that happen?

Perhaps obvious to all of you, but I never thought about it because it seems so organic, and that’s the point and why it is a bit of an epiphany, at least for me.

How am I so well known if I am somewhat reclusive and private?

I am wondering why this happens and perhaps the deeper meaning of all this.

I also figured out today that pretty much I need to double up the drip edge of the roof to kinda create an inverted staircase to accommodate the added 1 inch of foam with the double sided radiant barrier. EZ-PZ.

I also studied how easy it will be to frame in a removable insulated wall to hide behind the carriage house doors I will build.

Cal
 
I guess I am finally recognizing and embracing my native talent as a performance artist that I seem to embody.

At age 66 I’m finally figured out what I should be when I grow up.

Cal
 
Garages make cool studios. High ceilings. Now you've got be thinking about me building out my garage. Nice big set, room for lights. Privacy. Put C10 on an Oriental Carpet. Funky Weird Furniture. Nice Big Sofa.
 
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Devil Dan,

Will make a nice studio in my case, even if only 10x20. An angled ceiling to bounce light off is a mucho good feature to diffuse and soften the light. My garage has 8 foot tall doors so I have an extra foot tall walls.

The pricing on a 12,000 BTU Mitsubishi mini-split that has the highest SEER for efficiently is about $2K for the compressor. This is a single zone unit. Devil Christian says Mitsubishi is the way to go for the small modular units. No noise and also works as a dehumidifier. This drying effect is bad for me in the winter on my skin and nose.

I highly recommend Mitsubishi mini-splits.

If you want to go crazy like me consider doing a really good job insulating with the idea of also sound proofing.

I’m actually considering getting the plumbing done to perhaps make the half of the two car garage into a 10x20 darkroom. Stage one, then stage 2. The basement has its limitations.

Pretty easy to laminate plywood and rigid foam to create your own Structural Insulated Panels (SIP’s) to seal off the garage door. May I suggest staggering the plywood to create overlaps and prevent seams in a modular manner.

With my hip roof I have no rafters, so my ceiling is open.

The 1966 C-10 is for me a mobile stage and a prop.

The privacy issue is huge. Having detached separate workspace allows one to work without intrusions.

According to Devil Christian, even if you insulate and heat a garage, it is not considered “living space.” Pretty much I don’t want to pay higher taxes, and it is not against the law to have a heated garage. You just got to be able to still park a car inside. This requires one to be both sneaky and clever.

The insulated removable SIP wall is crossing the line perhaps, but I won’t call the town building inspector on you if you don’t report me and my evil ways.

As you know having big work space, or more of it, is not a bad thing.

How big is your garage? What kind of roof?

BTW I had a friend that added a car lift in his one car garage. Effectively he could park his Corvette on top, raise the 4 post lift part way, and park his Honda underneath. Effectively he made a one car garage into a two car. Also he had a lift to work on his cars.

Remember, “No one ever got rich by paying taxes.”

Cal
 
I have my darkroom sink on hand.

I started cleaning it up and also hosed it down after a soapy scrub.

Tomorrow I’ll find a place in my basement. Not too heavy. I can manhandle it.

This sink has stubby legs so it could fit on a counter, but there is a provision to bolt on a round leg. Hmmm…

No backsplash, but two sides are made to fit in a corner, and the other two have a rolled top to avoid any sharp corners.

Kinda the ideal size for my purposes. An install in the basement would be EZ-PZ.

Today it goes like this: Garage as a digital studio and High Fi room; Attic music guitar, bass and amp room; and basement darkroom.

So likely three discreet studios with some crossover of guitar and bass in the garage. Today the attic seems less practical.

Even though the attic has more square footage (240 verses 200) the half garage has more usable space due to the vertical walls.

A future option would be to take down the dividing wall and insulate the second half of the garage. Now we are talking 400 square feet, tall ceiling and a more serious workspace. Know that the 12,000 BTU is big enough for 400 square feet, but the high ceiling would certainly be a burden. Creating a tightly sealed heavily insulated enclosure could make it work.

Also know that a serious wood stove is about $2K, but that is only heat, no A/C. I like the idea of wood stove with a pot of hot water to add humidity. In our house we have no fireplace, and a fire stove produces negative ions that you kinda get stoned on. Very relaxing.

BTW Devil Christian recommends insulating the floor.

I forgot to mention that I have a 100 amp service in my garage already.

Cal
 
I am doing a different kinda wandering now, and it basically involves getting lost and finding myself.

The rush of life and the frenetic city pace is behind me, I can now coast along at speed and take in the scenery, and it is beautiful. I have no destination in mind and it is just endless rolling hills with sweeping turns and vistas ahead.

This is a kinda reawakening, but it is a position of power I will not squander. I surprisingly gained some excess weight, my fitness routine keeps getting disrupted, but the big tasks on the house have already been performed.

At this point we are trying to complete the first floor to have house guests and travelers visit. We have made so many friends, and many of them are not in New York.

These are people who are building communities, activists, accomplished writers and artists, advocates and people that are putting themselves out into the world. Meanwhile I selfishly have been on the sidelines.

In “Maggie’s” book is mentioned that I was in Foster Care, and now it is public knowledge. For the UK edition I had to sign releases for this disclosure.

Not in the book is that I was in long term foster care which is defined as more than 7 years. I was in foster care for a decade, and was “removed” at a tender age. Know that long-term foster care has 5 highly probable outcomes: homelessness; mental illness; drug or alcohol addiction; criminality; and lastly suicide.

I am acquainted with all of the above, and somehow I am an exception that became now an old man.

All my art degrees define an arc where I painted abstractions to try to organize jumbled thinking and all the confusion created by deep traumas; then I got a Masters in TV Broadcast Journalism and Screenwriting to be able to write stories with a beginning, middle and end in the third person; then finally after September 11th in 2005 I got my MFA in creative non fiction to be able to write in first person.

Along the way I have had many breakdowns, but I also had resilience.

So here I am in a safe place that I kinda created, and I’m putting myself out there. I’m at a point where pretty much my creative life can begin. I am so terrified of being misunderstood, and I saw what Maggie experienced publishing her work.

BTW not many people know my history…

I wrote a screenplay about a man who looses his mother twice: once through mental illness; then her death. This leads to an epiphany of sorts, where out of 5 children the artist had projected upon him by his older siblings that he was the one that would continue the legacy of mental illness because he was the most like his mother and embodied her.

The real tragic circumstance was the mother suffered what we now call Post Pardon Depression and was destroyed by the diagnosis of schizophrenia, Thorazine and Electric Shock Therapy.

In the end the artist realizes that of all the children that he was most like her, he embodied her, he had her temperament, and that he was a painful reminder of the mother that they too had lost.

Know that when I finished writing this screenplay I had a breakdown. Also know that this screenplay got some attention, but like I said those times 30 years ago were different. I feel I was marginalized and excluded.

Then again today is different and a good story is timeless. I think I could do a rewrite and have a very different more successful response.

There is a lot going on here. Foster Care is a different form of homelessness. Now there is an understanding and context for my street photography and urban landscape of NYC because I needed to have some form of permanence and a sense of “home.” This was my response to the housing crisis.

It is almost 20 years ago when I wrote a memoir, but those were different times, and I was a different man then. I wonder if I should go back there again, but what is the point? I don’t want to dwell on sadness, I want to move forward.

So at least here I have a safe place, but here is not the real world. Perhaps the biggest difference though is now I have a home.

Cal
 
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John,

I was an angry scary guy. People were afraid of me, including my family.

I know plenty of people stuck in their past and pretty much that is a sad death spiral.

I can appreciate that I am a complicated person that has had an interesting life. I achieved a lot, escaped poverty, have a terminal degree (MFA), and have really meaningful relationships that matter.

I am a bit scared of the challenges ahead. I really don’t know where all this is heading, but it does seem that no matter what I do I am getting propelled into the spotlight again.

I don’t want to be a public figure, but I am to an extent.

On one hand my story is unbelievably sad, but the end is happy.

The ground swell continues…

Tomorrow early is the Tamron Hall Show. It will get taped in the early morning and I believe broadcast later tomorrow afternoon. Live audience. My photography will be used and also a shot that includes me with “Maggie.”

The writer who was in “Discussion” with Maggie at The New York Public Library was twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her Partner is Matt’s Davis who is a dancer presently featured and on the covers of BOMB magazine.

The point is we are meeting and friending some big time personalities and influential people. We get invited to house parties where the owner of the house is a National Book Award winner.

The Woodstock Book Festival is another spotlight event.

I’m trying to stay under the radar, but it is getting hard.

Cal
 
Only perhaps an artist would salvage moldings and try to strip off the paint.

I started that job today, and I’m glad I did. Underneath the non lead white paint the wood is clear old growth. The cost of replacement would of been huge even for just clear pine, so pretty much sweat equity to save money. Cheap-cheap-cheap…

My hand to eye skills made the task not so hard. The moldings for the most part are simple and flat, but the 4 windows have ornate crown moldings. Also required is a certain amount of upper body and arm strength.

I figure my skills get transferred to my guitar playing.

Yesterday I was unable to contact Tim. His phone is on the fritz again. I tried several times today also. Getting together is not happening as planned. Oh-well.

With my guitar playing I’m looking into doing a cover of the medley that begins with Neil Young’s “The Loner” then leads into “Cinnamon Girl” and then “Down By The River.” Normally I’m a Jazz/Blues guy, but this will be a test of sorts to see if I can sing and play at the same time.

If you look on the Internet there are all these tutorials and lessons available for free, as well as covers. The thing here is there is an acoustic version of Neil Young doing “The Loner” that segues into “The Cinnamon Girl” that is when Neil Young was very young, and his voice is passable and a lot smoother.

I found it amusing how many of the covers of the medley had guitar players who’s voice was worse than Neil Young’s.

Pretty much if you can’t sing then don’t hurt my ears.

Know that I actually have a good voice, and I can capture and convey those songs really well because I grew up with them. The question is if I can get my playing up to speed where I could sing and play together.

The idea here is to perform a cover where you kinda steal and get to own the song. Jimi Hendrix did this with Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower.”

I think Eva Cassidy’s version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” steals the song.

The three Santa Cruz guitars are supreme as far as voice, tone and volume. These are crazy guitars, and as far as acoustics go are the very top of the food chain. The voice of these instruments along with my voice and persona would be a deadly combination.

I think the Santa Cruz guitars offer an advantage, where I can slow down the playing a bit because the tone provides a rich enough space to dwell and get lost in. Also the projection and dynamics are somewhat amplified to garner additional depth.

The idea here is to follow the advice of my friend’s father, a guitar player who also sang. Pretty much perform like you are having sex with a beautiful woman, don’t be in a rush, and savor every moment, to finally provide an orgasm of sorts.

For Ron playing guitar and singing was sexual and was like sex in public.

I also studied the covers of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” The Norah Jones version is particularly hot, and then there are others trying to do the same. It is a pretty good hook. At least I fall for it. LOL.

Also I have taken a liken to just guitar and vocals with no band. Something pure and simple for me says more and speaks to me. It would be my dream to be a singer/player.

Because of my past I have my struggle with anxiety. In the past I had my share of full blown panic attacks. Some of my OCD tendencies is about control, like printing big, or shooting 150 rolls of film a month sustained over a shooting season.

All out on the table, I know I have and display some crazy behaviors, and when I have said “It takes one to know one” in reference to the vast amount of crazies that seek me out and engage with me, this kinda holds truth.

So I have a persona here, but in real life it seems I too also have a persona. Someone actually told me that I have “Stage Presence.” I don’t really blend into a crowd.

The idea of performing or playing out would be the goal of being in the moment, which an anxious person can never be.

Performing is a form of exhibitionism, so I guess that is where I am heading and struggling with. I have said, “Artists are by definition are exhibitionists,” but I’m not comfortable being in the spotlight, at least not yet.

Anyways more ranting later…

Cal
 
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