WHAT'S UP? Cool Filmshow, Phone Intramurals, Spring is Here!

SPRING IS HERE! All these beautiful people, lovely souls--they're all over downtown. Who says we at the Courtyard/Bonfires got a lot of things goin' on? I dont think so, not yet. I told Carlos "Devadip" Steward and Marta The Nicer Osbourne that we're not yet there. I feel like I still have maybe 6 idle hours in my waking hours to make good use of... by late March till Sept/Oct, the Courtyard will definitely rock the journey and jazz up the sublime madness!

[ ] AWESOME! Following a standing/squatting-room-only students (UNCA, mostly) night last Wednesday, we had a pretty "intergalactic" open mic last Thursday. We had this cool dude who played a kinda Sam Peckinpah/flamingo-tinged guitar... in between his strum/finger-picks, he went on long ruminations--while having his eyes firmly fixed on the wall (or painting?)--not looking at the audience at all, not breathing at all. Awesome! (Emcee) Jarrett Leone's "throat" singing/musings over didje... Sean's little, magical brass gongs, tiny bells, xylophone... Dr Love's spoken word over Emotef(?)'s percussions... Morella Poe's "dark" poetry... Ash D's group jam... Awesome! Awesome! (Imagine Vincent Price reading this piece... as thunderstorm rips the night.)

[ ] COOL FILMSHOW. We had the largest attendance in our Friday filmshows last night! "Mr Hulot's Holiday" from France, a 1950s movie. We didnt need to know French to appreciate a French jewel of a movie, indeed. Thanks, Rena Wright for continually spreading the good vibe to all your wonderful friends! Next Friday, it's "Das Boot" by German director Wolfgang Petersen.

[ ] WANDER INVITE. To writers groups in town, anytime you want to--the Courtyard Gallery is open to all of you, whether you wanna do a workshop on a Tuesday or Wednesday. It's not about Wander or Traveling Bonfires writers workshops--it's all about community workshop. So it doesnt have to be a "house" (ie Courtyard/Bonfires) workshop, we writers need cool shelter--relatively comfortable, intimate, quiet, sober, art-ambianced, free space. Our doors are open (uhh, well, you just to "find" it among the three entrance/s at Walnut, Carolina Lane, Lex Av--sorry... but we're working that out, next time you wont be confused anymore.)

[ ] THANKS TO GLENIS REDMOND. For continually silently networking The Bonfires... If negotiations/plans work out towards mutual benefits, the kick-off "multicultural interface" special events at the Courtyard Bonfires shall be through (1) a filmshow/spoken word/art exhibit by a visiting east Indian young (woman) artist from New York Univ this late March. Then this spring, (2) N A Sonje from Haiti, hopefully, will be here. These "multicultural" events also include food c/o Cafe Bouchon (Indian, Haitian etc)--so it'll be (culturally) thematic, sort of.

[ ] BONFIRE OF THE INDIES. By spring, we will also be preparing/designing the "gallery annex" (1st room before our office, before the apartment studio)--as a backup gallery, screening room, and "generic" backdrop design for the "Bonfire of the Indies" indoor set. But I'm still scouting for an outdoor spot to build a real bonfire... this visual image ties up the entire show.

Meanwhile, these are some of the subjects/topics that I've lined up as episodes: Courtyard Gallery/Twin Rivers, “Bonfires for Peace at Pritchard Park,” Coven Oldenwilde, Kelly Lee Phipps/Benjamin Bernstein (astrologers), Asheville's goth scene, Pure Energy (Jarrett, Sean etc), Emoke B’Racz/Malaprop’s, Lexington Av business, trance goa, downtown street buskers, Rosetta's Kitchen, Carolina Lane, activist smorgasbord. These topics shall be punctuated/counterpointed by little downtown shows, Courtyard shows, street interviews. I'm already drafting scripts/sequence treatments, making "storyboard" sketches... I'd like to make it funny, raw, grainy, handheld/shaky cam work, almost like "student theses" work, spontaneous stuff. As in most or all of my work--everything is a continuum, a workshop, hit-and-miss-hit-again situation, "I dont believe in one-time things" project philosophy. If I dont get anchorpersons that I like, I will most likely put on Noh theater or an Ace Frehley mask... serious. So please, recommend anchorpersons.

[ ] BLUE SKY. Blue Sky Asheville (the 3rd magazine under Loved By The Buffalo Publications) isnt going to be exclusively about specific, particular "spiritual/religious/cultural belief." Like the TV show, it'll be about all-peoples. Catholics, pagans, free spirits, witches/covens, Protestants, Christians, Moslems, Taoists, Hindus, Ananda Marga, Hare Krishnas. It's not all about making other faith/beliefs feel like they're wrong, evil, inappropriate, bad. Blue Sky is all about blue sky--it's humanity, it's over us, it's around us.

ASIDE: When I was new here in Asheville, I tried to volunteer layout/graphics work for a "spiritual" publication in town. The publisher/editor asked me about my views/opinion about "spirituality," "yoga," "religion." She said that my views dont vibe or agree with their publication's views about spirituality, so they cant possibly have me in their organization (although my supposed work was graphics/layout, not as a writer.) Three years ago, I had a cool almost-four months online communication with the editor/publisher of a women's magazine for a collaborative fundraise project. She thought I was female... when I suspected that, I asked her to make sure. The moment she realized I was actually male, she dropped the project altogether. So when the marketing/advertising staff of both magazines solicit ads from me (for The Traveling Bonfires), I cant help but wonder... It's because it's business, it's okay? [Why do we have to be exclusively this and that?]

[ ] EPICUREAN. Food and art. Food isnt confined to/with vegan, inorganic, vegetarian--we'd like to feature food from different cultures, irrelevant whether it's pasta or boar meat or string beans. Same with art. NOTE: You dont have to place an ad to be covered by "Epicurean." We need good stories, good art, good food. Uhh, well--I still have 17 ramen packets, 11 cup-a-noodle -- but I am happy to say that I am now cooking good, cool food. Not microwaved, not canned food -- but "food." Both Blue Sky and Epicurean come out March, next month--so next month, we will have four magazines. Four down, three more to go--my target is always seven. When people ask me (well, man, I get a lot of this kind lately)--"Do you ever sleep?" Thing is, I still oversleep. These are only four magazines, others make daily newspapers and weekly magazines. I worked with dailies for many years before--I closed four to six broadsheet pages everyday of my life. Why cant I work on seven magazines in one month? Before, we didnt have fast research (via internet), no computers at all--but we had output.

[ ] COURTYARD SPECIAL SHOWS. We are currently preparing a spring-to-summer calendar of events. Any recommendations? Apart from the acts/performers (local, visiting) that I already announced, we still have to fill up slots.

Oh, the first 2006 "Bonfires for Peace at Pritchard Park" happens on the last Saturday of March. We might have a "Loud and Peaceful" all-metal/goth bands show somewhere in town, and a "Dark:30" gathering on Feb 21. Red roses to couples, gift certificates to lucky lovers of the night!

Lastly, anybody called the new Indie/Bonfires number? Sorry, that's wrong number. No, I wasnt wrong. Charter gave us that number but realized it was wrong... then they failed to file our name in their system, then they couldnt find a way to hook up the cable (after installing the cable TV and internet pipeline), then... So the phone isnt hooked up yet. They said, it'll be next week (Tues, the 7th)--but they assured Marta that we will get one-month FREE (no bills) because of the hassle of their doing. We probably lost three or four ads from that phone situation.

Oh, the right number is 828 505 0290. Now, time to hit Wander presswork. It's almost 2:30am, I'm watching the Food Network while Bjork keeps me company. Wander Issue #2 should be out on the 14th.

--Pasckie