Attention Dennis Potter Fans: Romance & Cigarettes Is Out In New York City

This long-unreleased movie inspired by Dennis Potter’s “serials with songs” is available to see in New York City at Film Forum.

A podcast interview with John Turturro is available at the Film Forum link.

Romances & Cigarettes wikipedia entry

Romances & Cigarettes IMDb entry

Dennis Potter puppet head from only God Knows Where

Update: A variety of YouTube vids are also available.

Previously in this blog:
Warren Ellis Quotes Dennis Potter!
Sad Anniversary: The Death Of Dennis Potter, June 7, 1994
Some Dennis Potter Links
Today Is The Anniversary Of The Birth Of Dennis Potter
The Greatest TV. Ever.
Ew.

They Want To Erase Bukowski’s Bungalow

5124 De Longpre Ave

Charles Bukowski lived at 5124 De Longpre from 1963 to 1974. It was during this time that many pivotal events occured in his writing career, namely; the beginning of his partnership with Black Sparrow Press, the writing and publishing of his first novel Post Office, his first public poetry reading, and the “research” which would later become his novel Women. It was also during this period that Bukowski begain to attain notoriety as a writer, so much so that one neighbor describes his having to sneak out the back door to avoid admirers lingering in the courtyard. The apartment is one of the last vestiges of Bukowski’s Los Angeles – stark, honest, and sometimes beautiful. It’s one of the only places he describes in his books, so noteworthy for their evocative sense of place, that remain faithfull to the time.

Currently the bungalow apartments at 5124 De Longpre stand empty and boarded up, ensconced in a chain-link fence. The property has been listed on Craig’s List as ready for demolition. We are currently embarking on a campaign to have these apartments declared a historic-cultural landmark before the property is sold and demolished. It’s a race against time, but we feel that one of Los Angeles’s finest writers and native sons deserves to take his place in the pantheon of our city’s rich and fascinating history.

Bastards.

Our President Admits He Is A War Criminal

OK, this is so damned important that it calls for me to embed a YouTube video in this blog for the fourth time.

Watch this, dammit!

And I repeat the first YouTube vid I’ve ever embedded, Paddy Chayefsky calling you to action:

If I Could Be You

Previously: Movies You Must See And I Guarantee You Haven’t!

A brilliant book, part of a trio

A stunning screenplay — not one wasted or dull word

Gulley Jimson, artist.

Disheveled, unshaven, chronically short of cash, oppressed by Authority and Suits.

I’d have his life any day over yours.

Reading: September 5 2007

Now Reading:

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon by Crystal Zevon
— went to the head of my Endless Book Queue because of this.

Just Read:

Dork Whore: My Travels Through Asia as a Twenty-Year-Old Pseudo-Virgin. by Iris Bahr
— see separate post.

White Corridor by Christopher Fowler
— separate post coming at some point.

About Time (short stories) by Jack Finney
(a re-read or 2nd re-read…)
— Finney is always a delight. Of the twelve stories, the final two are ringers and not about time travel at all. One of the time travel stories has a man who goes into the past using a car. Hmmmm, I’m looking at you, Back to the Future.

Ocean by Warren Ellis, Chris Sprouse and Karl Story.
— I surprised you with this, eh? It hadn’t been listed in Reading. Got it from the NYPL unexpectedly. It’s a neat little tale. The art is nearly like motion picture storyboards. It’s also been optioned for a movie. Someone page Ridley Scott or David Lynch. There’s one problem I had with this book: its presentation. It read like one book. It turns out it was a series and this is a compilation. I didn’t find this out until I saw a cover gallery in the back. That really pissed me off. I think the covers should have been chapter breaks. And what’s this — no page numbers?! How can I quote anything without citing a page number?!

Final Cut? Shred It For All I Care!

New “Blade Runner” cut is “how it should have been”

I absolutely cannot understand the cult that has surrounded the movie Blade Runner. I simply hate this movie.

That’s because I love the work of Philip K. Dick and there is just about none of him in this movie allegedly based upon his classic novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The novel is a stunning work of genius. The move is vapid, pretentious Hollywood bullshit.

Read the book.

Previously in this blog:
Another Egghead Out To Fuck Writers (And Other Creators) Out Of Their Just Rewards
Of Course, I Will Now Burn For That Last Post
OK. This Just Freaks Me Out. It Better Freak You Out Too!
Philip K. Dick Freaks Me Out Even While He’s Dead (And He’s Still Dead, Isn’t He?)
Philip K. Dick Called It A Printer

Quote Of The Day: The Genius Of Jack Kirby

Jack Kirby, a Comic Book Genius, Is Finally Remembered

He created a new grammar of storytelling and a cinematic style of motion. Once-wooden characters cascaded from one frame to another — or even from page to page — threatening to fall right out of the book into the reader’s lap. The force of punches thrown was visibly and explosively evident. Even at rest, a Kirby character pulsed with tension and energy in a way that makes movie versions of the same characters seem static by comparison.

Kirby was — and is still — so far ahead of everyone. He will be stolen from by generations to come as the tools to create dramatic imagery via software becomes more powerful, affordable, and spreads out to the masses.

Jack Kirby (Mike Royer inks) panel from his neomythic New Gods epic series

Previously in this blog:
Another Thing That Will Ensure I Die Poor…

What? They’re Making A Movie I Want To See?!!?

According to the Paul Lynde MySpace Page(!), this is in pre-production. Produce it! Produce it!

Previously in this blog:
That Funny, That Nasty, That Charming Man

NYPL: Writer Lafcadio Hearn

If you don’t know who Lafcadio Hearn is, look him up. No, I won’t provide a link to wikipedia for your lazy ass. (Oh, all right then.) Another one of my gods. Kneel!

All images from NYPL Digital Gallery, The New York Public Library

Previously in this blog:
The NYPL Won’t Know What Hit Them Now…

The NYPL Won’t Know What Hit Them Now…

I’ve mentioned several times how I’m stuck in New York City because of the great the New York Public Library (NYPL) is. It’s my religion; its buildings are my churches, my temples. It is holy ground. Other people go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral to seek God. My cathedral has lions guarding it!

Source: NYPL Digital Gallery, The New York Public Library

For several years now, the NYPL has been building a web presence that I think is probably the best in the country and a model for all other public libraries to emulate.

One of the absolutely stunning features of the NYPL’s website is its NYPL Digital Gallery which contains over a half million photos and other images that are generally in the public domain.

Today I was searching for Red Moon and decided to peek into the NYPL Digital Gallery. I plopped Baudelaire into the Search box and whoa! Some images of one of my gods I had never seen before!

Source: NYPL Digital Gallery, The New York Public Library

Source: NYPL Digital Gallery, The New York Public Library

I wanted to run them here. But there was a User’s Guide that mentioned fees for publication, including non-commercial use. Close reading revealed these fees seemed to be for actual higher-than-screen resolution prints and there was no mention of publishing in non-profit, non-commercial blogs such as this one.

I wanted those images here, so I emailed the NYPL:

I’ve read over all the relevant FAQs, User Guides, and even PDF files.

It all still leaves this question: Can images that I see on the screen — not ordering special TIFFs or anything else — be Saved As… and then used on a *blog* without any fee?

I’m a quarter-century user of the NYPL and a published author and it just seems screwy to me that you would charge for reproducing public domain images that are no more than captures of what’s shown on the screen.

My interest in this was piqued when I came across some images of Baudelaire I hadn’t seen before. (There are probably likewise images of other dead writers I’ve not yet searched for.)

My blog is not ad-supported and requires no fee to view.

And since I’ve already mentioned I have a blog, your reply may well be published in it.

Within minutes I got a reply!

Dear Mr. Cane:

Yes, you may use images from the Library’s Digital Gallery free of charge on your web Blog. Please credit as follows:

NYPL Digital Gallery, The New York Public Library

Sincerely,
Thomas Lisanti
Manager, Photographic Services
& Permissions
The New York Public Library
476 Fifth Avenue, Room 103
New York, NY 10018
phone: (212) 930-0091
fax: (212) 930-0533

Is that great or what?

As word of this spreads, I expect many bloggers to go there to get images for posting.

In fact, you can expect more images from there here too.

Thank you, NYPL!

Be sure to support your local library. Ebooks aren’t enough, neither is the Internet (both, by the way, which many public libraries now offer). Public libraries are the difference between civilization and civil degeneration. Do you have a library card?