my new book; take a lick!

yeah, i didn't expect to start a new book tonight... like, its hot and i didn't really feel like getting down on the floor like, 'low-down' with the scissors and glue stick and glitter stickers and all that. its far more strenuous than one might think to get a cover on one of these things. seriously. but, as you artists out there well know, the wave just swept over me, and the next thing i knew, i was doing it. and it was a good thing the muses decided to stop by, because my last book was dangerously close to the final useable pages. so yeah, i pushed and cut and glued and placed and made a thousand and one tiny desicions and calculations. because, yeah... i never use rulers or anything to get my stuff straight... its all done by sight. so, i'm happy to say i'm pleased with it... i just wish my photo-equipment was better, but oh well, you work with what you have. so let's see what we have here, models-wise. it seems like my angel joe strummer has the rare honor of being on more than one book. he's a two-time cover boy. this is a great shot of him on the tom snyder show... back when he was on tom snyder. i have no idea what year it was. man, he's effing gorgeous. so sweet, and candy-deelish; hence the title, 'lollipop.' plus, i just like the way the word looks. now for the medallions. from left to right we have: actor richard dixon as oofy prosser in the 'jeeves and wooster' series; sylvie vartan snipped from one of jean-lucien's marvelous collages; the post-'babydoll' glamorous miss carroll baker; the one and only terry jones; the ...multi-talented...?? nell campbell from 'the rocky horror picture show' ; david bowie from 'the man who fell to earth,' ; and finally, but never least, semi-trashy disco chick, debbie harry. so um, dig it... my groovy new book. (click to enlarge)

ohhh, joe...

my sweet, dead joe. sigh... he's been showing up in my dreams. last night i dreamed about making out with him in the back of a van on a long, dark drive through the winding back roads of the Southeast. it was so vivid, i could feel his teeth on my lips. and he was chewing gum. white mint gum. if i was slightly crazier than i already am, i'd be tempted to say that joe and i share some kind of... i don't know, ethereal kinship that exists from like, beyond the grave or whatever. i have no idea what kind of girl he liked when he was 'down here with us,' but maybe he and i would've hit it off. so um, i found this picture of him from his Clash days a long time ago. wow. like, could he get any sexier? its like, '...hey joe, you don't have to check your face before you go onstage... i can assure you its all gorgeous.' joe, i love you. (click to enlarge)

oui, it is my new book, no?

oui, it is my new book YES! so yeah, thanks to my beloved jean-lucien sending me a sweet tasty bundle of new picksh, i was able to get my new dazzling volume of fantasy and laughs off the ground tonight. well, i just got the cover on. and i like it. let's see, as the Stars we have the gorgeous and ethereal miss georgina hale, as the sinning-and-seeking-absolution phillipe on the right, and mr. oliver reed as the trying-to-be-holy-yet-tormented-by-temptations father grandier on the left. the image is of course, from the ken russell masterpiece 'the devils.' (and wow, wow, wow.... if you can get your hands on an uncut copy of the film, then man, strap yourself in and get ready for the searing carnal ride. truly, not only is it one of the finest films ken russell has ever made, i daresay it is amongst the finest films of all the 1970's. it is as gorgeous as it is hellish and shocking.) and um, the title word, 'oui,' seems to speak for itself. it is an exotic and positive word. although i must admit i chose it for the look of the word as much as i did for the meaning. i have great hopes for this book, which was hatched on the first day of june. so okay, now for the medallions below the main picture... let's see, what do we have? from left to right, we have the late, great, tough and sexy mr. joe strummer, smoking a tough 'don't care' cig; then we have some random retro aqua lighting; then hey! let's hear it for the disco scene, because we've got a shot of the curvy and tough annette from 'saturday night fever,' lighting tony's disco cig. ('...but you'd ask me to lay down...') then we've got the lovely and legendary orchid-colored couple of lucy and dougie from 'sgt. pepper's lonely heart's club band,' doing 'you never give me your money,' ; and after them? well it's the marvelous karl malden as mitch from kazan's 'a streetcar named desire,' peeking through the drapes. then next up, in the blue circle, there's the loving sparring couple of 'empire's' princess leia and han solo, bickering in the south passage of Hoth. and last, but certainly never, ever least... we have the silver-haired and handsome, painfully sexy mr. ian holm, as tom frost in cronenberg's buggy epic 'naked lunch,' of course based (somewhat) on william s. burroughs great book. so here it is lovers, dig it... the clutch of blank pages that will soon be filled with literally thousands of separate inkstrokes. its always an odd feeling when i start a new book. like, i always find it hard to believe i'll ever get the whole thing filled up... but hey, i've got about nine year's worth of books like this, all full... so i guess it's all a matter of uncapping that pen, and starting with the first date, the first quote, and that first bit of wit that makes my darling laugh. thank you God. Seriously. (click to enlarge) (oh, and i've since realized that annette's not in fact lighting tony's cig. just wanted to correct that.)

love

mmm, hey, i took the night off to watch the oscars. needless to say, it ran a little late, and i'm pretty tired as a result. but please remember i love you all and i'll be back in the driver's seat soon. i'm leaving the blog in joe strummer's skilled hands once again. sweet dreams.

joe in greece

ah yes... air travel. i suppose i've become somewhat phobic; but i don't care if i never have to do it again; namely, get on a damn plane. like, i've flown enough in my life. like, as i often say: the day i fly is the day i HAVE to. like, i'm not all that afraid of crashing... its just that i 'rainman' do not like, indeed cannot handle, such situations over which i have almost zero control. like, once you hand over your ticket and strap yourself in, that's it. zero control over almost every single possible variable. that's why i prefer to stay grounded for travel. hey, if you're on the ground, worst case scenario... you can always conceivably 'get out and walk.' still, here is a charming shot of my darling joe strummer in some grecian airport, awaiting his flight. i have never been overseas, and, if i end my days never having ventured from this great expansive slab of land that IS north america, then so be it. call me square. i have absolutely zero desire to 'go rock climbing in dublin,' or to 'go clubbing in amsterdam' or to 'cruise the shops in paris,' or any of that. i'm not knocking it, its just not in my blood. any wanderlust i once had has been contentedly replaced by a wild real need for Security. so, enough airports and train stations for me. when all is said and done, i'd rather be right here. (i guess i really didn't say much about joe strummer, did i? oh well... i got sidetracked. perhaps he'll forgive me... he was known to be a generous soul.)

experimental joe

i don't have a lot of energy tonight. maybe its a lunar thing. (did i already say that last night?) anyway, i was messing around with my camera tonight, and a clash video came up in my shuffler, and i thought, like, why the hell not take a shot of the screen, and see if you can get a half-way decent image. and, not to brag, but i think i did. sure, its a little hazy, but still worth having in my files. especially since i had to make my video player 'full screen,' and had to 'sharpshoot' without pausing, but all that considered, i think it looks pretty darn good. then i cropped it, brought up the color a little, and decided it could make it to the final picture file. so i might try to mess around with photographing the screen in the future. like i'll get all 'nick-rhodes-conceptual' and pretend to be weird and... all that junk. (its from a performance of the clash song 'tommy gun,' by the way.)

radio clash

man, i'm sleepy tonight. i'm just about to crawl into bed. so, with snow on the ground, i'm leaving the cool planet in the hot hands of joe strummer once again. let him play you some tunes and listen to him spout unconventional philsophy until the cold winter sun creeps up over the horizon. god bless you all; i love you. (and i miss little hand-held radios like the one he's holding... i know i owned at least three in my lifetime, and i drove them until they died.) click to enlarge.

joe

i wish this picture was a little bit sharper, but i'm glad to have it, regardless. its a picture of joe strummer, needless to say, quite young. he was always a raging bohemian, from what i can glean from his published history. i have no idea how old he was, exactly. but that face remains familiar and graceful. i'm not sure if he was still being called 'john mellor' at that point. i know he tried to go by 'woody,' for a while, after woody guthrie. i think this may have been right around that time. it looks like he's in a graveyard, but i can't be sure. i would've loved to just sit out there, smoke some cigarettes, and listen to him talk. i've read he was always tender towards his girlfriends, but admittedly, a bit distant. i keep having dreams that i'm kissing him. (i know, that sounds crazy... like i believe his ghost is visiting me in my sleep or something, to reward me for my devotion.) so dig the rare picture, and, as usual, wherever you are tonight, sweet joe... i ardently kiss you good-night.

joe stands guard

man, this year is getting off to a slow start, 'planetcool'-wise. once again, i find myself with nothing much of consequence to post. i'm just not feeling that wild inspiration... yet again. and i'm in a decent mood and everything, i just haven't had the time to go on a pearldive or stumble upon anything that i feel the need to spotlight. so, once again, i'm leaving the planet in the capable hands of one of my chivalrous gentleman friends. tonight, the stunning joe strummer gets the honors. i love this picture. facially, his gorgeousness is off the rockin' charts, you know? and i love the hat and long coat. it looks like he's standing in line for rocky horror. mmm, what a face! he looks a little suspicious, though... maybe someone is trying to get him to 'be brad tonight,' or something. (mmm, i have zero reason to believe joe ever went to rocky horror, but hey, you never know... he was 'movin' and shakin' in the late 70's.) he looks great here, though. what a lovely pale complexion. sigh. (click to enlarge)

howl joe, howl...

okay, i do have an expert 'on hand' if i'm mistaken about this one. there was no clear caption available when i snagged this shot on a recent pearldive, but i'd be willing to bet some bucks the man my darling joe strummer is talking to is none other than the indisputible beat poet master, mister allen ginsberg. it wouldn't surprise me at all if joe and allen had something to say to eachother; like, something to talk about. i mean, they're both fully qualified howlers. neither one of them care all than much what 'other people think.' and hey, if anyone out there doesn't think its ginsberg, please let me know and i'll remove this post within 48 hours. but i think its him. oddly, i remember where i was when i heard that ginsberg died... i was in a bookstore in new york city. but i don't remember where i was when i heard that my darling joe died. it is entirely possible that i didn't really know until recently. still, i love the picture. i would've loved to listen in on whatever those talked about. two wise sexy ghosts... god bless them.

my date for new year's eve

this should surprise noone. there's no question about it; my dream date for the midnight kiss is saint joe strummer. here's a younger picture of him, smoking what does not look like a 'store brand' cigarette, if you know what i mean. what an angelic profile. that nose is divine. and so fierce and talented. so joe, sweet darling, where ever you are tonight, please know my kiss to you will be passionate, reverent, wet, deep, slow, intense, and infinitely romantic. on 'earth,' however, i am lucky enough not to be alone in the physical plane... my wonderful new cat joanna strumbelina is here with me, perched atop my burgundy easy chair. she never had it so good. but back to joe... i've dreamed about kissing him, literally dreamed about it, several times. part of my brain would like to believe that his spirit is drifting down to earth to sneak kisses from sleeping girls. its like part of me knows what it would feel like to kiss him, just from hours and hours of studying his mouth. this is one schoolgirl crush i never saw coming. like, i've known who 'the lead singer of the clash' was for at least two-thirds of my life, and i never thought i would be dreaming about him. but i can't help it. he drives me totally absolutely crazy... crazy-from-beyond-the-grave. sleep well, joe. i love you. and happy new year. (click to enlarge)

joe is tired

and i know how he feels. i mean, i only did a tiny fraction of what most people did over the holidays, and i feel pretty wiped out. like, i did zero driving, maybe wrapped two things, had one dinner, and still... i'm glad to have a normal week coming up. i'm sleepy, so this might be the only thing i post tonight. i'm leaving the planet in the capable hands of joe strummer. which is really only a flimsy excuse to post this real hot picture of joe on a tour bus or something. my cat's been great... she's starting to exhibit her own groovy personality. like she digs being spun around in my swiveling desk chair, and she thinks its cool to walk over my journal-while-i'm-writing to get my human attention. she's meowing more, so i guess that means she's getting comfortable with me. (mmm, somewhere joe strummer's ghost is like, '...hey, i thought this post was supposed to be about me...!') so, i'm gonna mess around in the videos for a while, then i'm gonna try to get some quality sleep for my mind. love you all.

my newest book

here's a photograph i took of my latest book. i just christened it a couple of days ago. forgive the lopsided-ness. it didn't scan it, i just took a picture of it. not bad... but that accounts for the skewered slant. the model is, of course, the legendary and self-proclaimed 'punk rock warlord,' mr. joe strummer, from his 'clash' days. he's lovely. i was lucky enough to find i already had the name 'john' printed out, which was joe's real first name. the ribbon of color underneath him is made up of shots of military helicopters, a purple galaxy, soldiers in battle, helen mirren, and a tiny rock poster for 'jefferson airplane.' i chose that array of shots for several reasons; the most valid of which was the color of each one. content-and-or-context was secondary. i added some prismatic stickers, glued on the title, and there you are. it probably enlarges real big... my camera works better than i thought, considering i just propped the book up on my phone, which i keep on the floor, and just took one snap. soon it will be full, full of black inkstrokes and truly great, great literature.

dora's crush

once again, jean-lucien has proven his credentials as a magician. here is one of his latest gorgeous works. as soon as he sent it to me, i applied it to my desktop. the colors are so delicious i can almost smell the perfume of it. i suppose its no secret to anyone that lately, i've been carrying on a shameless, necrophiliac, time- traveling, emotional, imaginary love affair with mr. joe strummer. well, jean-lucien has indicated that this collage is gently commenting on that. we see the deft and dreamy miss catherine deneuve, amidst florid paint near the top, (apparently symbolizing myself) ...and the stark, black and white, dead, gunslinging greaser mr. john graham mellor, joe strummer, near the bottom center. i am immeasurably flattered and deeply honored when jean-lucien can find such inspiration in any of my girlish crushes and impossible infatuations. all that said, herein lies the beauty of jean-lucien's work: you don't have to know ANY of the backstory in order to simply enjoy looking at it. my dearest love, he is a genius. (click to really enlarge)

joe driver

hey, its joe strummer's drivers license! man, i can't sleep. i've been watching youtube clips like i'm scarfing through a bag of snack chips. everything from funny kitties to rare clash clips. i guess i should just like, lie down and close my eyes, but that sounds real boring to me right now. i guess it serves me right for sleeping until 2 in the afternoon. so, yeah... the only thing i have for you tonight is saint joe's drivers license, featuring his real name, john graham mellor. not a bad picture. actually, i don't think i've seen a bad picture of him yet. beautiful thing.

pearldiving

my nets have been running a little low, i've noticed. therefore, i need to take some time for some high-intensity pearldiving. so, i'm leaving the planet in the very capable hands of joe strummer, who'll stand guard, gun at the ready. he's assured me he'll 'look cool' for you, while i get some work done. wish me luck, and i hope to be back at the keys with some new groovy stuff tomorrow night. kisses to you all.

bobby and joe

hey, as if i needed another reason to dig robert de niro, here he is, digging in some conversation with my new darling, clash frontman, mr. joe strummer. hey, i guess i shouldn't be too surprised. mr. strummer was in fact, in a major movie directed by mr. martin scorsese. yes, if you're able to get your hands on a nice, letterboxed copy of the fabulous 'the king of comedy,' you can see joe strummer, on the street, hanging out with ellen foley, and fellow 'clash-man' mick jones. yeah, its kind of a 'blink-and-miss-it' kind of thing. as far as i can remember, its during the scene where sandra bernhard is yelling on the street about, '...i cover the waterfront,' etc. they cut to these punks like, jeering her... and yes, one of those punks is joe strummer. hey, i'd like to see that movie again. its one of my 'scorsese' faves.

joe smokes

i found this gorgeous shot tonight. man, is he pretty or what? he died at age 50. he was born in ankara, turkey. apparently his father killed himself and joe had to identify his body after it had been dead for three days. he went to a welsh art school. he busked in the mid 70's. he was naturally left-handed, but taught himself how to play guitar with his right. he and the clash signed with cbs records in january of 1977. in the following years, joe was involved in anti-nazi causes and spoke out against racism. and the rich. in may, 1980 he was arrested for almost killing a violent member of their audience by striking him with a guitar... an incident which he later deeply regretted. if there's one thing i dig, its a complicated man with a great face. so dig him, he may be the only thing i post tonight.

joe: page one

jean-lucien sent me this gorgeous notebook illustration a couple of months ago, and i hope he doesn't mind that i'm posting it now. it shows the cool genius joe strummer in the hat, with a generous amount of jean-lucien's colorwork surrounding him. i love the colors... like, i can literally almost taste them. and i've discovered what i love about his face: it fools me. like, he can move his face mere millimeters, and i get a completely different impression. he can go from repulsive to sublime in a matter of split-seconds. i love to watch him play and perform. he's lost, but he always delivers. anyway... i don't want to get too poetic. the artwork speaks for itself. dig it.

the clash : english civil war - video

let joe show you how hard he can be.