I write at www.thepaltrysum.com
Tents on Geary, Tents on O’Farrell. Tents on Union. Tents on Civic. No tents on California. No tents in the Marina. A few tents on the Embarcadero More on Willow. No tents on Russian Hill Where it is an eternal May Tents in the ‘Loin: All work, no pay. Tents in Mission, But none in […]
MoreThere are some bands that are just meant for you, some albums that seem to be made to measure, fitted and nipped and tucked until they are a soft suit that you can fall into, they feel like a second skin. The Velvet Underground. Lou Reed. John Cale. Sterling Morrison. Mo Tucker…and later Doug Yule. […]
MoreCass Lake Minnesota winds along in a gentle bustling flow of summer life. Wood and bait is sold, pontoons and boats transported, campfires made and deer spring alongside the roads and sometimes into them. I went to use the laundry service at a casino truck stop, the woman serving behind the counter looking shocked and […]
MoreSo here I am, having a little party of my own…some tofu, a little green tea,some Stones…when my phone tells me in the not too distant geographical area there is a report of a Clown (noun, not adjective) wielding a cane sword. All my childhood fears coming to life in one terrifying package. I love […]
MoreI actually have some energy today! If the world wasn’t shut down and gone insane, I would feel like heading out to listen to some music, or have a drink in some cool downtown bar. But considering there is no social life and everything is decidedly unsafe for my unvaccinated self, there is nowhere to […]
MoreSo, thanks to food intolerances I have not had Japanese sweets – wagashi – in years. I love mochi, the pounded rice cakes, stuffed usually with sweet red bean paste, but have not found ones that are sufficiently gluten free to risk. That is until the Boy, fired up his blender and made mochi, using […]
MoreWho anointed Basho with curses of wandering, Who bade him lay down in fields all flowering. Who commanded him sleep while sakura blossomed, Who told him to wait winter out while spring it floundered? Who gave voice to the plover, the keening of the loon? Who invited him to stare into darkness only to find […]
MoreMarket shrine: man claps. “Protect these children!” he cries: Wooden prayers. Wind blows.
MoreI have never had much money, there was a period in my youth where I spent a little on clothes, but mostly clothes were free, or very cheap, I rarely had more than three changes of clothes – and still don’t, all my money went on guitars, drugs and travel. What I wore really didn’t […]
MoreCute is a harsh mistress who demands a heavy price from her followers. The word cute is amusingly close in sound to the word for scary, I wander around Japan Town snorting with laughter as legions of devotees pick up a small gudetama egg charm and shout KO-WHY! KOwai…one less i, an ‘o’ not a […]
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