we work while the clock, she is a'ticking

I love being able to quote from Dr. Emilio Lizardo (the title of this missive). One of the more amusing characters in cinema. John Lithgow nailed that part. It is a shame that both he doesn't survive the movie and that they never made a sequel to it (Buckaroo Banzai)...but we get awesomely bad films that have no cultural resonance (don't get me started on big-budget remakes like "War of the Worlds"...whassamatter, all out of ideas in Hollywood? Or just taking the lazy way out?)

Okay, back in my skin. Been talking to my friend Steph, who is letting me know that she's planning to return to the Golden State in the near future. Hey, we all might find ourselves exactly where we were 8 years ago, all over again. This could be a do-over! This time, I won't be so quick to believe in people who are eager to spend my money (or destroy my property).

Got a long email from a fellow (I presume it is a fellow, his name was not one I have encountered before, and I am not certain of the gender of it)...he was schooling me on the meaning of Bodhisattva. Long story, but it relates to the whole "holy man" miasma. I am pleased to be able to say that the label does NOT apply to me. That state of definition requires a belief in reincarnation, and since I most decidedly do not, I'm off the hook.

People, again...who and what I am is uninmportant, even irrelevent. The art - the poetry, the thought - is what is important. Whether you want to examine it as simple eloquence and creativity or as some kind of "message", fine...but every time I get someone trying to make me the focal point I want to run off into the woods and find a cave.

Here's hoping today I hear from the model...I'd like to wrap that all up this weekend, and get the CafePress goodies ready to roll. She is breath-takingly perfect for the cover and I would love to wrap my hands around her on a coffee mug.

I see where the "opinion is more important than the facts" media is having a field day with the revelation of who "Deep Throat" was. Seems some people don't want to encourage whistle-blowers, it makes for a bad precedence when we value truth. I think the media commentators today show a shocking lack of moral courage and character, engaging in name-calling and spin at a level unheard of since the Hearst sent us into the Spanish-American War. Irresponsible, overpaid children with microphones.

Mark Felt, you did what you thought you had to do to reveal high crimes and misdemeanors in the federal government. Regardless of what foreign tabloid businessmen (who own "American" outlets, at least one in particular) can't grasp...we are a government of laws, not men. You are a patriot, and a hero. I liked Nixon, don't get me wrong...but truth is more important than politics (try telling that to the current Administration and Congress, all who seem to love their party more than their country and their people...what next? Brown shirts?). That guys and gals who get big money for doing little more than reading the boss' memos on the air would take offense at you getting recognition, more than thirty years later, on an act of personal heroism that placed you in harm's way and helped our country prove its character to the world, sickens me.

Actors aren't heroes. Pop stars aren't heroes. Talking heads with book deals aren't heroes. Heroes are heroes. We have one, and thank God we live in a society where personal heroism can still evolve and act.