Clint Catalyst's Blog, page 7

Because We Ain't Simple And Love Ain't Simple

TWO FREAKS IN A MEAN GOD'S SWEATY FIST

next morning over grits and aspirin

i remembered          jack oh shit honey

i can't believe i fuckin did that

convulsive recall cut through whiskey obscurity

like the knife

my knife in my hand and jack grinnin it off       just us

friday night drunk again except i was pitbull furied

about a blank spot

i was holdin' up steel to my lover

i was serious

what do you mean he asked me at the table

so i had to say before god and my coffee

i threatened to cut you last night didn't i man

more sorries and panicky lovetalk started runnin out of me

until the grin came back        he said oh

that's right    i'd forgotten all about it      he held that little smile

so long i wanted to scream motherfucker but  i started cryin

instead

he'd been as loaded as me        didn't know what issue

brought together me and him and the knife and something mad

enough to shank eight years of us

somethin that backed down when he just said

you know sparrow if i felt like it

i could get really pissed of about this            the movie stopped

there for both of us

he was holdin me while i came apart again

me and him know each other clear

to the marrowbones and black mirrors by now

me and him go on anyway

eight years or twenty thousand

sparrow and jack is the road we're goin down

without a simple love poem in sight

because we ain't simple and

love ain't simple

love has vicious motherfucker midnights curled up waitin in it

like when we were naked makin war words

about how if

ordinary common people are shit and i hate everyone

i must hate him too

right then i did but he was the one

who said i hate you first and got up to leave

i gave him my back like the finger      told him thanks

for tellin me one piece of truth tonight anyway

and i would have said more but he kicked me off the bed

before i could and if love was somethin simple

it would have busted like a wine bottle right there

it took us two days to cry about it together

but that man has hands that make me forget sometimes

how much i hate my body

that man can keep tellin' me after the first thousand

times i told him that was a

goddamn lie

that man is as smart as me and too weird to ever be boring

with his head full of politics and priestcraft and philosophical

terrors

he can tell me about because i've got em too

me and him know each other all right

it's our damnation to

it's our damnation to know that hate walks beside love

like a shadow that has teeth

it's our damnation each to live in the other's

valley of flames

because our demons are crazy drunk

on love for each other

the same way we are

two freaks in a mean god's sweaty fist

it's our damnation practiced to perfection

we've done it for years

we've done it for lifetimes and some of 'em ended like this

could have

but we keep comin' back

we've got stuff that ruins us for anyone else

we need each other's weirdness and rage like dope

it ain't simple           it's got thorns

it's got roots that wrap around bones and boulders

all the way to the heart of the earth

sparrow and jack is the road we're goin' down

together in this poem

this car with the back seat full of monsters

that were always driving drunk

the hit of murder keeps us awake for the ride

sparrow and jack it the road that starts and ends

in the worlds we have where the other one is the only man alive

and those are worlds

big enough for all the pain we throw around

because we're men and we can't help it

all we can do is wrap our arms around love

even and especially when it smells like shit and looks like

the black sponge soaked in blood at

the center of trust's shattered bones

and around each other after the storms die down



—Sparrow 13 Laughingwand

from Hell Soup: The Collected Writings [ Manic D ]

*Please note: some line breaks "auto-corrected" by WordPress.

[ Apologies, Apologies ]

There's A Term For Anyone Who Gets My Work/Resemblance/Words/Whatever Tattooed

[ & that 'phrase that pays' is ]

"V.I.P., For Life"

pictured above :

about as obvious a reference can get

to Cottonmouth Kisses

[ If you don't own a copy by now?

I don't even know what's wrong with you... ]

Massive Thanks

to

ßite Me ßlair ♥ !

Honored :: & :: Appreciated

D*Face: When Art & Vandalism Meet In A Cement Kiss

I've always been fond of artists who bomb urban landscapes, or 'drop' their works—even & especially when

the artists continue these guerilla interactions with the public after achieving success [ a subjective term, I

realize: though in this instance, let's skip the philosophical shit & stick with a more universal meaning...

namely, that of monetary success &/or a sense of notoriety ]. One example that immediately comes to

mind is Shepard Fairey. Late one night back in 2004, while I was in New York during a promo tour

for the Pills, Thrills, Chills, and Heartache: Adventures in the First Person anthology, I was out,

lurking the East Village, doing a bit of my own sticky-vinyl [Ahem!] 'beautification.' Speaking,

you know, theoretically. I tend to aim high when engaging in such endeavors—meant both

literally & metaphorically, Jay Ess Why Kay—so the sound of my palm slapping metal [ the

back-side of a sign ] followed by a louder sound: that of my landing, visibly startled a

man who, incidentally, looked over the shoulder from his own activity: sticker-

plastering a pole. It was Shepard, out in the same 3 A.M.—doing his part to

to spread the message, so to speak—& we shared a chuckle of recognition.

Not because I'm some big-shot artist, obviously, but rather because I was a contributing editor for

Swindle magazine [ R.I.P. ] at the time. & here's this guy—well, my boss, essentially—

& he's out…Oh, I'm rambling. [ Besides, YouGetIt anyway, right? You.Get.It ]

London-based artist D*Face lists Fairey among his influences, which—on the tip of phenomenology,

billboard re-appropriation, & the mutual interest in California's skateboard subculture—could be

considered a 'given.'  Nonetheless, neither the antics of, nor the artwork produced by, D*Face

is derivative…at least not directly [ or rather: singularly ].

& from that mention of art & antics, let us hone our focus on

this bitchen custom-made tombstone:

Not a work to be taken lightly, huh?  [ Cue the canned laughter here, kplzthnx ]

Well, the eve of "Going Nowhere Fast"—D*Face's solo show at the Corey Helford Gallery—

he did a drop at  2728 N. La Cienega Boulevard in Century City.

All 400 pounds.

You're following me, right? He left this amazing art piece for display, there on the street—knowing full well

that [ hello! Voice of Adult Reason on Line One] it would only be a matter of time until someone

came along, &…[ as far as I'm concerned ] 'got lucky'?

As has been cited, he also did two drops the night prior.

★ ☆ ★ Hollywood Boulevard, Walk of Fame ★ ☆ ★

Here's a shot as the infrastructure of GENIUS is assembled:

A tombstone

at the star of one 'Charlie Sheen.'

†ꝉ†

Is that excellent, or is that friggin' excellent?

The other grave-marker?

This beaut, at the Santa Monica pier:

I can't help but wonder where they are,

who has them now…

Did any of the individuals who 'liberated' the tombstones realize what they were taking?

If not, in what ways do you think their attachment to the objects might change

upon learning they're worth something more than cool points

among the neighborhood kids?

¤ O R ¤

If so—meaning, if whomever [ allegedly ] happened to find this piece of  'found' art is familiar with

the work of D*Face, do you think he/she was all "Jackpot!" about it?

Said another way:

This person wouldn't technically be stealing, so shouldn't we expect him or her to come forth?

In this city where it's not just about Keeping-Up-With-The-Proverbial-Joneses

but rather eclipsing them, the ascent to superstardom [ in theory ] so incandescent…

Doesn't  it seem incongruous for us not to have heard from a single one of these fortuitous beings?

AAAAAAAAAAH,   I T 'S   A L L   G O T   M E   J U S T   S O

I've spent hours on-line today, click-&-scrolling my way through re-blog after re-blog after re-blog

regarding the [ so-called ] drop; ditto, same re: last night's opening…opening… opening

& find it suspect that in all this media coverage,

there's an irrefutable gap between what journalist Amy Duran [ via Juxtapoz digital, April 9th]

describes having taken place the eve of April 8th, in her statement

"Considering that both the Santa Monica Beach and the Charlie Sheen tombstone had been removed so

quickly I suggest making you[r] way out to see this piece in person before it's gone."

& coverage of the exhibition itself, which Jack In Shows [ via Daily Du Jour ] summates

"included a D*Face Oscar appearance, two of his new tombstone pieces,

three 'dead' celebrity impersonators…"

Mmm-hrmm.

I've been wrong before, yet still—I'm of the mind that more than one form of the ⟣faux⟢ went on

in this scenario.

Mr. Dean Stockton, a.k.a. D*Face?  Seems to me that what he schemed is the opposite

of a 'drop'…as in: "catch" would be a more appropriate term.

My theory: he used two gravestones, not three, & just "happened" to conveniently bring a writer along

for the ride.  The result?  Insta-PR, no need to add water. Unless, of course, a person

wanted to scrub clean the carbon stains from the night before…

[ photo submission I received after posting a frustrated tweet ]

Apparently, this image was captured while waiting in line for the opening: April 9, 2011

For the sake of clarity, please allow me to reiterate:

What I've presented is a theory, based entirely on speculation.

I was not present for any of the aforementioned events; hence,

none of my conjecture should be treated as fact.

However, within the scope of this hypothesis, I've gotta say: the name of D*Face's show

resonates with new meaning, all things considered.

But why wouldn't it?

The gravestones—testaments to bad behavior, on which "Going Nowhere Fast" was inscribed—went

[ well...] nowhere in this staged guerilla act, the [ theoretical ] Drop-Without-A-Drop.

I mean, when media is the medium an artist chooses to

make A Statement About The Media & A Celebrity-Obsessed Society—

yet that artist is playing the role of a guerilla artist; is "pretending to be" rather than being…

It's fucking 'meta': yeah, sure

Yet at the core of it all?  Chicanery, being 'on the grift'?

Is a material-obsessed society really being challenged,

or the challenge really how much monetary gain can be filched from it?

All I have are questions.

But after reading over a hundred blogs with the same regurgitated, rarely & barely re-worded praise

I wonder: Am I the only one?

Whatever your take, D*Face is a fascinating subject about whom

the following additional reading I recommend:

[ Liz Ohnasien's interview with D*Face : L.A. Weekly ]

Till Next Time,

Saturday Night: I'll Be Bouncing Off The Satellites, Into Your Living Rooms

…or wherever it is the telly's located.

[ Assuming, that is, that you own one! ]

&

jumping right in on that tip

[ the one by which I'm putting the ass in "assumption," yes ]

I dare say:

perhaps you recognize the following image, credited to a certain 'Dirk Mai'

Yeah, you know, the one in which I'm all gussied-up in the grand regalia of Mildred von Hildegard's

highly-coveted [ & oft-imitated ] line of conceptual bespoke brilliance

known as 'Mother of London'

[ ...? ]

Well,

the photo shoot was captured on film—

namely, the latest documentary by
entitled

The Adonis Factor

&

After a wildly successful round

in the festival circuit,

it's slotted to premiere at 8 PM

tonight

on MTV Network's Logo TV

Synopsis:

"Chiseled bodies, flawless skin, sculpted jawlines. At a time when popular culture objectifies men

more than ever, it's hard for them to avoid the pressure to possess such physical traits.

In his follow-up to The Butch Factor, director Christopher Hines exposes how far

some will go to attain the 'Adonis Factor'—the kind of god-like

masculine beauty only seen in ancient Greek sculptures.

Hines takes viewers on an eye-opening journey through circuit parties, gay porn, and [ AHEM! ]

avant-garde fashion photo shoots, all of which promote their own kinds of idealized physiques.

By capturing a diverse range of voices—from those who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of

mainstream male beauty, to those who openly spurn it—The Adonis Factor ultimately

poses the question: does a man's fixation on body image make him any happier?"

[  via Breaking Glass distribution  ]

Promotional Trailer:

[ Purchase : DVD ]

What

T H E Y  Say:

"Filled with more buffed-to-perfection muscular studs than what you can shake a waxing strip at…" [ L O V E ! ]

Hines "deliver[s] an eye-opening insight into the yin and yang of the gay world."

[ David Hall, Gay Celluloid ]

&

Hey ma!

C H E C K    I T   O U T

One that mentions me,

e v e n :

"…Willowy model Clint Catalyst (with a marvelous makeup sequence that magically employs

loose chains and spray paint to conjure up a compelling cover visage) has moved miles away

from the persecution of small-town bigotry to moulding his admiration for the likes of

David Bowie into a personal statement that can be truly savoured.

By journey's end, there is much hope that the queer amongst us will be accepted first by themselves, then

by their peers and finally by the world at large. As commentator-comedian Bruce Vilanch points out,

the ultimate male physique has been deified and envied since the original Olympics,

where competitors never had to struggle into skimpy spandex."

[ James Wegg Review ]

[ Laughter over the thought of me in spandex; fond affections for the JWR—ditto, Canadians in general ]

& with

Full Disclosure

of the Short Notice

Given:

The Adonis Factor Airs Again

☆ ★ ☆ on Tuesday, April 5th at 11:30 P.M. [ Eastern Standard Time ] ☆ ★ ☆

[ Official Website ]

[ Credit, Droste TV (Animated GIF) : Froomandoonian ]

Protected: [ .GIF-Giving ] : A Special Treat for The Glatulash & Miss Lisa Mraz

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Call for Submissions: Queer Episodes

Hello You Gorgeous, Wildly Creative Creatures!

So,

Here's The Deal:

I'm co-editing an anthology with the phenomenal Lucie Barât—

founder the publishing house, social network & international non-profit Little Episodes,

an organization that "promotes the arts…"

[ get it? got it. good! ]

— & —

we're eager to check out your visual art & writing.

Entitled Queer Episodes, Lucie describes the anthology as "a celebration of queer literature:

loves gained, loves lost, loves shared, coming out, staying out, &

how the world looks from a queer eye."

In Catalyzed vernacular?

This one's for the rest of us.

As in:

the eccentric, unconventional, out-of-the-ordinary, marginalized, unique…

Wondering about that phrase 'queer eye'?

Well, it's got nothing to do with a reality TV program—

We're going for REALNESS up in hurr

instead!

While I've no interest in regurgitating opinions I've been vocal about in the past,

a veritable [AHEM!] Clint's Notes version goes something like

THIS:

Do you identify as trans?

Are you in a heterosexual relationship but aren't, you know, 'straight'?

Do you feel that your sexual orientation isn't a viable option among the standard choices available

on the drop-down menu of this Scantron test we know as our day-to-day?

For example…

When creating one's profile on a social networking site?

[ In the past, I went back & forth: either opting to not answer—which made me feel like a closet case, TBH—

or acquiescing & selecting "gay," cringing at all the connotations I'm far too aware accompany it:

I'm not "Happy!"; I don't spend a minimum of 30 hours/week at the gym; I hate musicals;

tl;dr/et cetera ]

Sparing [ further ] snooze-fest from excessive elaboration:

Ultimately, I believe queer is a far more inclusive term than 'gay.'

T H E       P A R T I C U L A R S

First & foremost?

Submissions are only accepted from members of the Little Episodes on-line community.

[ quotation about LE ]

Before you get your bowels in an uproar, or commence the requisite whiny

"But I Don't Want To Have To Sign Up For Another Social Network" response

I've been known to espouse, short of the long is this:

Little Episodes is an excellent resource for artists, including

a Notice Board where information regarding visual & verbal-based competitions/various

calls for submissions is posted [ that's information is, grammar police—don't try me! ];

a collaborative group in digital story-telling, discussion groups for Creative Writing,

the Visual Arts, Performance Arts—even On-Line Promotion

Moreover, there's really no reason for trepidation.

I mean, what are you thinking: someone's gonna show up at your front door if you haven't logged in

in three days?  Umm, yeah—sure thing.

Moving right along…

N O   P R E V I O U S L Y   P U B L I S H E D   W O R K

As in: not only other anthologies, but also magazines, 'zines, journals,

any sort of on-line anything.

You will retain the rights to your work upon the release of Queer Episodes;

we simply don't want a book that's full of repeat performances.

[ This ain't no "K-Tel Presents"; know what I'm sayin'? ]

S I M U L T A N E O U S    S U B M I S S I O N S

A C C E P T E D

However, you must designate them as such.

R E G A R D I N G

M O N E T A R Y      C O M P E N S A T I O N

At this time, there isn't any.

Before you ask…

Your work will appear in a perfect-bound, professionally-printed book—as in: the kind that's all certified & bona-fide,

complete with an ISBN-listing & a downloadable electronic companion [ read: Kindle Edition ] available.

In addition to bragging rights, there will be promotional events, at which you'll have the opportunity

to perform your work—or perhaps have your work performed by others.

Plus, you also might want to know…

"Little Episodes donates all profit to its outreach side: promoting awareness, & destigmatising depression

& addiction through the arts. There is also a 'Mental Health' group on our social network that

is for people affected by depression or addiction to chat & find helpful support information.

We provide visits to residential units or day centres. Little Episodes is keen to reach out

to people who can't get to other Little Episodes events. These visits can include

art, drama, music & writing therapy workshops, readings from the books,

performances &/or a general Q & A."

W H E R E   ,   W H E N  ,  &   H O W   ?

Prose, poetry and narrative non-fiction should be submitted in Word (*.doc/rtf) format

H E R E

Curious in terms of word count?  Aim for a max of 3K.

☆ ★ ☆ The deadline for submissions is April 29, 2011. ☆ ★ ☆

W H A T    A B O U T    A R T W O R K  ?

To celebrate the launch of Queer Episodes, we are inviting artists, photographers & illustrators

to submit a piece of visual work to be used as the cover illustration on the theme of  'Celebrating the Different.'

All visual submissions should ideally be submitted in pdf, jpg, gif,png or tiff format,

resolution should be set to at least 300dpi, & suitably sized for a 7 x 9″ (17.8 x 22.9cm) printing page.

Zap us those retinal treats

HERE

[ please & thanks! ]

Other queries, Marys?

Contact us at submissions@littleepisodes.org

&

DON'T FORGET!

☆ ★ ☆ The deadline for submissions is April 29, 2011. ☆ ★ ☆

"…like a captured moon might be."

Rushing

Wild moths beat your eyes wide.
You are the candle and arc of light.
You find the fragile blue pulse.
You say it's all in the smell
of alcohol and ripening lemons.
The lightbulb, glistening yellow metal
like a captured moon might be.
It's sailing the harbor at Puerto Vallerta,
swimming warm water and black sharks
to a cove of wild boars and waterfalls
choked by ferns. You taste it,
filling your mouth and lungs
as you ride into the Salinas Valley
drought-hot November, vineyards
and walnut trees gone red. It's behind
your eyes. It's on your tongue.
It's the field where Daddy took off
your training wheels and you careened
that first bicycle through stakes of stiff
ash-colored birch.
It's learning to tell time again
and not get in cars with strangers.
Thirteen years of psychiatry
and they're right. It's mother,
unbuttoning her blouse,
giving you her great white breast at last.
You bite through her startled ribcage.
It's day breaking over Hollister, California,
land of pine cones and artichokes
hills of horses caught behind the spoils
of fences as you ride to the white caps
and ice plant clawing the slow dunes
at Moss Landing, fields viridian, fields
salamander and coral, all edging into harvest.
And it's Mazatlan and Moss Landing,
Massachusetts and Mallorca.
My God, it's the fields of Mars.
Stiff winds cutting paths through
red grasses, beneath the twin amber breasts
before the moons went blind and the vines dried.
So, you've swallowed it all. Dust trails and ridge
of shadow gouged by a stagecoach ninety years ago.
Your arms? Your arms have been carved by stars.
A Santa Ana wind slams through your lungs.
This is love, baby.
You are young, naked,
your navel filled with platinum.
It's a sea breeze curling in soft swirls
across cliffs just born on the moon.
And it's all of your childhood,
all at once, before you pull the needle
out.

Kate Braverman , copyright 2005 – 2006

"When Is An Ice Cream Truck NOT An Ice Cream Truck?"

"…When it's run by this dude":

"A Drug-Dealing 'Mr. Freeze'"

[ on ]

Segment: "Ice Fiend Man" from Episode 320

[ Watch Full Episode : Better Them Than Us ]

N E X T    A I R    D A T E :

Tuesday, March 29

at

8:30 P.M.

Synopsis:

"A billionaire bottoms out; it's hard out there for a Russian pimp; gang bangers play doctor;

a pyromaniac gets burned; an ice cream man gets iced; a bad actor needs a hand;

a Greek gets his brass handed to him."

About The Series:

"1000 Ways To Die showcases some of the most outrageously true stories about those who succumbed to

the Grim Reaper in the most unorthodox stories."

[ Direct Link : This Segment ]

S P E C I A L    T H A N K S

to

&

Although, merely a

¤  J S Y K  ¤

but

other than writer/director
entitled Brown Bunny?

Nada clue what the gun-wielding tweakasaurus was tryin' to cop.

Nada. Clue. At. Allll !

[  sicktastic visual radness credit : Wupar ]

O H

&    C H E C K     T H I S   :

A Soundtrack !

[ going for realness, baby...REALNESS ]

fauxreal.fauxreal.fauxreal

The Photography of Kasia Bielska

To Start:

Seven Images from the Ben Trovato Blog,

in which Bielska's editorial "Three Colors — RED" appears

"Three Colors – RED is the story of a creature that transcends to another dimension by means of an unreal space and color. The photos have been inspired by an enclosed space – the interiors of the Park Inn hotel in Cracow, Poland. I had some graphic visions in my mind prior to the shooting, a shape forming from two colors – white and black. As soon as I saw the interiors, however, I knew it was going to be a story of three colors."

— Kasia Bielska

Photography – Kasia Bielska

Stylist and Producer – Kamila Picz

Make up – Marcin Szczepaniak

Hair – Tymoteusz Pieta @ Claudius Hair Dresser Team

Model – Ania K @ Mango Models

Next:

The Retinal Pleasures Continue, With

Beauteousness Filched From The Artist's Site . . .

[ Check I†—Someone's Serving A Proper







…& I Ain't Mad About It! ]

&

In Closing?

Snaps from a Sleek, Chic Editorial

That Conveys a Sense of  "Tomorrow's Old News Already–I've Taken It"

Bravo!

…& To The Future, Indeed!

Illustration of Vintage Camera by Rebecca Jones

An Incendiary Matter [The Creative Spirit Is Contagious]

Δ

Greetings, Beloved Darklings, Queerios, Style Fiends

& Ne'er-Do-Wells…

As the sun begins its descent here in this Babylon-on-the-Pacific

commonly known as Los Angeles,

I propose a 'Theme for The Evening'

[ to do with as you will—or conversely, as you won't,

if that's the case ]

Inspired by this GIF-tastic little gem I've reblogged,

courtesy of the kind folks at Three Frames—

[ attribution hereby duly noted, please.&.thanks ]

The motif proposed is that of

ᐞ△ᐞ · f i r e  · ᐞ△ᐞ

Represented by a certain symbol

with ancient ties to the practice of alchemy,

Fire is Elemental.

"The energy of Life manifests in two forms, Fire & Air. While both are predominately active in nature, fire is the more active of the two, with Air being slightly passive because of the partial Water Element in its makeup. Potential Matter manifests its energy as Water & Earth."

"The Alchemical Sulphur, or Soul, of a thing predominates in the animating principles of energy (Fire) & intelligence (Air); Alchemical Salt, or the physical body of a thing, predominates in unconscious forces, psychic, & instinctual intelligence (Water) & solid matter (Earth); Alchemical Mercury, or general life force, predominates in intelligence (Air) & instinctual forces, & psychic energy (Water), as such it is the link, or bridge, between the higher forces of Sulphur & the lower body of matter."

[ source ]

Nevertheless, my intent behind this post is not to point you in a single direction,

But rather propose a topic to set one's rhetorical embers ablaze, so to speak…

SΔID ·  ΔNOTHER  ·  WΔY :

What role does fire play in your life?

Is it astrological?

[ Aries, 8th of April, in my case ]

Psychological?

[ Something you fear/something that incites desire, or is erotically-charged? ]

Or, better still:

Upon seeing or hearing the word,

Are there connotations that have little or nothing to do with what I've mentioned?

[ "Firestarter (3)" by Elizaveta Porodina ]

Whatever medium[s] of communication you might choose—words of your own, or that of another;

photography, [ ditto, self-created or reference points of inspiration ]; technology

[ case in point: the animated .GIF ]; paint pencil canvas paper spray paint graffiti

billboards buildings a keyboard the cello lit candles incantations magic mayhem…

However, by whichever/whatever means you might choose,

I look forward to seeing not just how you respond to 'me,' but rather

something infinitely greater: the universal dialogue of creative expression, &

the means by which it connects us, asserts our relevance

at a specific moment in time

within/among/& along the infinite umbilical cord that connects humanity,

the splendor of nature, & the universe.

Please Note: Seeking Attribution for Photographs &/or .GIFs Without Credits Listed

[ "Unsourced" posts discovered via ImageShack, Imgur, et al ]

— Thanks! —

[ "The Dispossessed" by Bansidhe ]

[ "Hell" by *Rog* ]

[ "Fimmvörðuháls 3" by Rüdiger Þór ]

[ source : Three Frames on tumblr ]