Sat - September 1, 2007

Venice Loses Its Poet Laureate – Philomene Long, RIP


Philomene Long has died. She was the poet laureate of Venice, not just by action of the city council, but by the consent of Venetians. She was also known as the Queen of Bohemia.

Posted at 08:35 PM     Read More  

Letters


• Medical Marijuana - Dr. Allan Frankel
• Thoughts on the future - Nick Napolitano
• Another View of the Ocean Front - Annette Robinson
• Say No to Permit Parking in Venice

Posted at 08:00 PM     Read More  

RV’s – a nightmare for some a dream for others


By Della Franco

What is up with Venetians these days? It seems as if the spirit of this community is being broken down little by little just like the affordable housing and the free speech zone it really seems like it is all just being bulldozed away.

Posted at 07:45 PM     Read More  

Surviving After the Crash


By Jim Smith

Is Wall Street headed toward a depression-sized crash? If so, how will we be able to survive?
These questions are on the minds of millions of Americans, and not just a few over-extended Venetians.
But first, if you have your nest egg, 401(k) or other much needed wad of money invested in stocks, here is a word of advice: SELL!

Posted at 06:46 PM     Read More  

GOLDEN ETERNITY


Poems are the world asleep
where death cannot reside

March 10, 2002:

On the eve Jack Kerouac’s Birthday (March 11), Philomene reads aloud to John from Kerouac’s Scriptures of Golden Eternity. This is their last conversation at THE ELLISON in Venice, California. John Thomas passed away on Good Friday, March 29 at 2:56 pm.

Posted at 05:49 PM     Read More  

BE STILL AND KNOW


after Harry Zen Stanton & Peter McCarthy

Posted at 04:50 PM     Read More  

for Philhomene from David Amram


I just received the sad news of Philomene’s passing.

Just last March 16, we did a program together at Beyond Baroque.

Posted at 03:52 PM     Read More  

Journey of the Ring


By Nancy McCulloch

I arrived in Venice in 1960 and found a three bedroom house on Rose Ave ($135/month), half a block from the beach.

Posted at 02:53 PM     Read More  

To Philomene, my last letter to you from this cold earth


By Fred Dewey

To live one’s life according to the Muse, that so-jealous creature, strictly, by one’s passions, in utter commitment to one’s vows, of poverty, of love, of poetry, to suffer for these vows, to reject materialism and even ambition, to be single-minded and devout to the point of great tempestuous reversals...

Posted at 01:54 PM     Read More  

Missing Philomene


I am no longer afraid
Of this poem
From which
I will never return

–Philomene Long

Posted at 12:56 PM     Read More  

The Lincoln Place Briefcase


By Sheila Bernard

This briefcase, packed with the many legal battles of the last 20 years, has always been pretty heavy to lug around, but September 2007 promises to be a particularly heavy month.

Posted at 11:58 AM     Read More  

Life in a Venice Commune: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Ethereally Transcendent


by erica snowlake

Honey, the dog with the long eyelashes, is on lend to us for a while. She’s a greyhound/lab with the grace of a lithe blonde deer. Unconditional Love! Great timing! Someone I can sneak out with for my nightly long walks and petty flower thievery. My new best friend doesn’t complain about the rent owing, the sink piled up with dishes, or the super loud d.j. backbeats. She does, however, nip someone at a party on the weekend. Sometimes even a dog needs to be alone.

Posted at 10:59 AM     Read More  

A winner of last month's Philomene Long's Contest for Readers - Entry from Cary Shulman


This is very funny. –Philomene

1. Would you ever enter a bathing suit contest?

Now that Bert Parks is dead it’s highly unlikely.

Posted at 09:04 AM     Read More  

Poetry for and by Philomene Long


• America - Philomene Long
• Untitled - Jack Foley
• It is not the end but the becoming - Philomene Long
• They are already ghosts - Philomene Long
• goodbye little nun - Rex Butters
• Manifesto of Al-Cadence - Jim Smith
• Untitled - Hillary Kaye
• For Philomene - Hammond Guthrie
• For Phiolmene: Muse of Venice West in sad/glad memory - Bill Fleeman

Posted at 08:10 AM     Read More  

In Brief: Schwarzenegger Shows No Concern For the Homeless


Last week our movie-star governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has shown the power of his mean-spirited line-item veto on the California 2007-08 State Budget. It was a promise to his many Senate Republican allies to get the budget passed. Believe it or not, he has used his dictatorial authority to cut $55 million and thereby effectively destroy a highly acclaimed program called the “Integrated Services for Homeless Adults with Serious Mental Illness.”

Posted at 07:11 AM     Read More  

Astrological Cookery for September


By Judith Martin Straw

The forecast - This next month has a lot of emotion flowing, but Venus is in an unusual retrograde, so be aware of how it’s flowing for you- Maybe now is the perfect moment to write a love sonnet to an ocean, or pour out your anger in a poison pen letter to burn in a private ritual. Whatever emotion is calling you, return the call. You will get a surprisingly deep and satisfying response.

Posted at 06:13 AM     Read More  

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