Undead Ambitions

copyright Gordon Stettinius

Saturday morning here. My blog has been coming back to haunt me of late. I have recently had two different people contact me about older, long forgotten loose threads. One person was kindly interested in a long stagnating attempt at some longer fiction and the other person was using my admittedly lifeless blog as an example of solid self promotion ( which made me laugh because the three posts I have managed in the last year or so hardly represent a man on top of his game ).

As for the old writings, it was strange for me that I couldn't remember much about these and so I went and read them with some interest. I have been writing a lot lately and so it was interesting to find someone else, namely me from three years ago, that writes so much like I do. It is kind of like that classic movie, The Lake House, where I am both Keanu Reeves' and Sandra Bullock's characters. Have there ever been two more wooden leading actors in a romantic smarmedy?

So, in this charming tale of misbegotten cross-temporal love shenanigans, Keanu and Sandra carry on a written relationship that involves mostly hockey and mutual masturbation... okay, I never saw this movie actually... but the movie, if the advertising is to be believed had something to do with two people living in the same place and writing letters to each other that somehow travel through a magic mailbox or something such. Which is just like me! But without the paranormal post office bit. Basically, this is all to say that I reread some old stuff and even though I may not resuscitate that specific literary effort - found in January 2005 - I just may breathe a little life into this blog's dead body. Thus the zombie image above - from Richmond's 2007 Zombie Walk.

If you are interested in a recent story, you might hyper your attention on over to Like So Many Broken Toys, which is a little strange something that I sort of enjoy.

Otherwise, I am basically writing a lot these days and though I am going to keep some of it to myself for now, I can certainly see spilling my guts here now and again.

Upcoming Posts May Include:

Suddenly Gordon
Meditations Upon Me
Why I am Significant
Recent Stool Diary Entries
Me, A Primer

...and so much more. Nice to see you again! I know I will have to regain your trust. I want you to like me.

The Long Emergency

Read this book. I am finding myself repeating myself so often these days because I am continually promoting this book or discussing the concerns that it presents.

Here is a short synopsis of The Long Emergency, by James Howard Kunstler, which was run in Rolling Stone. Basically, it is a chilling collection of thoughts as we turn the corner in our ability to pull oil out of the ground and what that may mean for everything from the suburbs to transportation to alternative energy to medicine to agriculture to social and political landscapes...

Also, I have recently read The Ominvore's Dilemma , by Michael Pollan, which serves up an effective indictment against large scale agriculture and what passes for diet and nutrition in this day and age.

Usually, I read fiction and am an escapist by nature but these books, and a couple others recently read, have me rethinking a lot of things. My son went vegetarian about five or six months ago and so I am really overhauling my efforts in the kitchen and have established a fairly ambitious garden at our new house. I am now vegetarian myself, though I will eat seafood on occasion, and though I don't much miss the meat, I do miss the variety of dishes but I have picked up a lot of new wrinkles in my cooking repertoire.

Naked Pilgrim ~ Opening Friday, April 6th

Here is the exhibition announcement for a show I have opening this week at 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Virginia. There is an opening reception this coming Friday should any of you be in the area for any reason. It will be Good Friday in fact which was coincidental but seems perfect somehow given the amount of religion in the show and the Naked Pilgrim theme.




This is the cover to the catalog for the show. The flip side gives the other artist, Gareth Jones, top billing and the book pages in both directions.

Gita Lenz, Project Begins

copyright Gita Lenz

Last week, I met with my interns for the first time, to begin the project of conserving and organizing the work of photographer Gita Lenz. Below, is a very loose chronology of her life as I understand it so far. There are some large holes but right now we are trying to read through old correspondence and notes and pay stubs, etc. in hopes of pulling together a better understanding of Gita's life.

Anyway, here is the Chronology:

Gita Lenz, Photographer, Writer

Born Gertrude Maslow October 9, 1910 to Louis Maslow (seamstress) and Yetta Youkeles (piano teacher), in New York City. Parents immigrants from Ukraine. One younger brother who later died in car accident in Los Angeles (date unknown).

Married George Zoul, a Czech immigrant, in mid 1930’s. He was a communist and later joined the Lincoln Brigade with whom he went to Spain in late 30’s to fight against Franco. He was shot in combat and was buried in Spain.

Married Richard Lenz in 1940. Marriage lasted 18 months or so.

Moved to 65 Carmine, in the East Village, in 1940. Lived there until October 2001.

Some correspondence with Mel Most (died 1990) a foreign correspndent and PR agent.

Friends with:

Julien Beck, founder of the Living Theatre
Bayard Rustin, a prominent civil rights and worker activist
William Packard, poet and playwright, founder of NY Quarterly
Aaron Siskind, photographer

Part of Brooklyn Museum photography show titled ‘The Third Eye’ in 1952
Part of MOMA ‘The Family of Man’ show
Published in ‘Modern Photography’ monthly periodical in a few issues early 1950’s.

Held odd temp jobs entire working career. I think was an officer with “NY Quarterly” from inception in the early 1970’s Wrote poetry and studied under William Packard in 60’s / 70’s.

Was interested in socialism and anarchism as it applied in the 30’s through 1960’s.

Only known travels were to Mexico in 1960’s (?)