Here's summer coming at you like a dog rocket, er, rocket dog...ready?

Let’s get this out of the way…

 No big secret here. Stage 4 cancer in bones. Undergoing protocol at KU Med Center, a leading cancer treatment complex. Hormones, steroids, shots, scans, chemo will be a part of it. So, treatment, maybe, will postpone inevitable we all must face.

I’d like a bit more time, more writing, maybe another book (not about this bummer subject—just poetry, essays) and would like some more time with the best caregiver in the world, the woman I was lucky enough to convince to marry me almost 40 years ago. Wow. She made that time pass so fast.

Two Australian Shepherds are helping; fulfilling their contract to make me laugh, and they do now and then.

A good neighbor (not an insurance company) has been helping with chores. I’m in good hands, and paws.

Moving on…

Follow this, first-ball pitchers…

This is Takashi Murakami, renowned artist and pretty good pitcher. Earlier, when MLB opened the season, lots of games had notables on hand to toss out the first ball, but this guy is in a class all his own. He put some steam on it. And theater, humor, spirit, color, verve, and deep respect for the game, bowing in all four directions. Check him out at Gagosian, the world’s best gallery. And look up the videos of the pitch.

Books I’m reading…

Crumb will gather dust I’m afraid, quite repetitive in his deeds and misdeeds. Not bad writing, just not punchy enough. Notes to John, on the other hand, is Didion’s writing and that transports me; always has.

I’m about halfway through Crumb, the exhaustive biography by Dan Nadel; Nadel is a good writer but I can’t get past Crumb’s “accomplishments” in underground comics, as I have some in my comic collection, and the truth is, some of it is pretty raw pornography. I bought some Crumb years ago (Zap #2 is an example).

At the same time I was renewing an old affair with underground tabloids and magazines (East Village Other, Berkeley Barb, Ramparts, Village Voice, Evergreen, etc) some of which I subscribed to in the 60’s. I bought some on eBay for old time’s sake and folded them into my collection, after reading ads and articles. Some contain milder Crumb cartoons, “truckin’” and Mr. Natural zeitgeist stuff I always liked.

Joan Didion is one of my top favorites, and this book, Notes to John, is in what F. Scott Fitzgerald called “the high white notes” sweet spot that authors often struggle to attain, and which, for Didion, was always there. She never missed, whether novel, essay, article or journal notes.

Precise, elegant and clear, the language is pure Didion, and I finished this book in a couple of sittings, though I tend to read her more slowly for the heady enjoyment of her polished sentences. The subject matter is notes to her husband, taken at therapist meetings. Highly recommended to anyone who loves vintage Didion and what she brings to the language. Six stars. Ten stars!

Easy the Hard Way

When Living Legend, midwest jazz treasure David Basse sings, we listen. He makes cool sound so easy, so attainable, and most of us know it’s not. This guy was born that way. Also with ryhthm, timing, jazz genius, kindness, many other admirable attributes. I found this gem buried in Vimeo—and it is a gem. (link—must click) A rewarding one. Watch. Listen. Enjoy.

The screenshot (above) is static. You’ll have to click the link in the text (above screenshot) to access the vimeo, easy. The easy way. And well worth it. Happy summer. Look for a July blog.

XXO G-man