Tom Fasano Articles.
I recently contacted Bob Marshall at Typewriter Muse about these three parts machines I have. He showed an interest, so I told him I planned to be in Riverside later this month and would drop the machines by his shop. I’m always happy to put typewriters in the hands of people who can use them.
By the way, here’s an excellent write-up about Bob (“Meet Bob Marshall”) in a local magazine.
They were filming Tuesday at this house on the corner of College Avenue and 10th Street. I don’t know if the house is occupied or not, but the film crew had taken over for sure.
They were filming at another house on Wednesday, big lights everywhere.
On the campus of Pomona College, past the Sonntag Greek Theater, is the Frank P. Brackett Observatory, presented in 1908 to Pomona College by Llewellyn Bixby, class of ’01.
The city and colleges had warned about movie crews in the Village, and on Monday, they set up at the Village Grille on Second Street and Yale Avenue, causing traffic issues along College Avenue with equipment trucks parked near Pomona College’s Marston Quad. The workers were tight-lipped, but it’s known to be for an upcoming Netflix production.
Sandy’s best friend in the world, Ann, paid us a visit today. It’s been several years, and we enjoyed catching up with our lives.
Paul Auster, a celebrated American author known for his love of typewriters, has died at 77. He gained fame for his “New York Trilogy” and was a notable figure in postmodernist fiction.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1947, Auster’s writing career began at the age of eight when he missed out on getting an autograph from his baseball hero, Willie Mays — who was outside the players’ locker room after a game — to not having a pencil. From then on, he always carried a pencil with him, and his writing journey began. After graduating from Columbia University in 1970, he moved to Paris, where he began translating French literature and publishing his own work in American journals.
Auster’s big break came in the mid-1980s with the publication of “”City of Glass,” the first novel in his “New York Trilogy.” This trilogy cemented his reputation as a master of postmodernism, as he blended detective fiction with existential questions about identity, space, language, and literature. The trilogy brought him worldwide acclaim and established him as one of the signature New York writers of his generation.
A major theme in Auster’s work was the role of chance and coincidence. This fascination can be traced back to a life-changing event he witnessed at the age of 14 while hiking during a summer camp. He saw a boy standing just inches away get struck by lightning and die instantly. This experience profoundly impacted Auster, and it became a recurring motif in his fiction.
While Auster was born in New Jersey, he became synonymous with Brooklyn, where he settled in 1980. He was seen as a guardian of the borough’s rich literary past and an inspiration to a new generation of novelists who flocked there. His works often used New York as a backdrop, with Brooklyn featuring prominently and his characters grappling with life’s randomness and chance occurrences.
Auster’s body of work includes over 30 books, ranging from novels to memoirs, poetry, and screenplays. His notable works include “Moon Palace,” “The Music of Chance,” “The Book of Illusions,” “Leviathan,” “4 3 2 1,” and, of course, the “New York Trilogy.” His writing imposed a sense of irreality, inviting readers into a world where the lines between reality and fiction blurred.
Paul Auster’s passing is a reminder of the profound impact writers can have on our lives. His words will continue to resonate with readers for generations to come, and his influence on contemporary literature will forever be felt. As he once said, “If there’s a pencil in your pocket, there’s a good chance that one day you’ll feel tempted to start using it.”
In an interview, Blake Andrews engages in a conversation with photographer Mike Brodie, offering insight into Brodie’s unique journey and his approach to photography. The analysis of this interview reveals several key themes and provides context for Brodie’s body of work.
Transience and Youthful Exploration: One of the central themes in Brodie’s photography is his fascination with transience and youthful exploration. His subjects are often young people on the move, embracing a nomadic lifestyle and seeking adventure. Brodie himself embarked on a similar journey, hopping trains and documenting his experiences, which lends an air of authenticity to his work. This theme of transience reflects a sense of freedom, rebellion, and the search for self-discovery often associated with youth.
Raw and Intimate Documentary Style: Brodie’s photographic style is characterized by its raw, unfiltered nature. He embraces a documentary approach, capturing spontaneous moments and genuine emotions. His images are often devoid of formal composition, instead focusing on the candid and the immediate. This raw aesthetic invites viewers into the intimate world of his subjects, offering a glimpse into their lives that feels authentic and unstaged.
Use of Natural Light and Color: Brodie’s work is also notable for its use of natural light and color. He relies on available light, often shooting in harsh sunlight or in the soft light of dawn and dusk. This lighting adds a layer of realism to his images, enhancing the sense of place and the passage of time. The colors in his photographs, often vibrant and saturated, contribute to the overall sense of vitality and youthfulness in his body of work.
Capturing Moments of Transition: There is a strong sense of narrative and storytelling in Brodie’s photography. Many of his images capture moments of transition, whether it’s a person pausing between destinations or the shift from daylight to dusk. These in-between moments offer a sense of anticipation and potential, reflecting the larger theme of youthful exploration and the unknown future that lies ahead.
Social Commentary and Empathy: Brodie’s work also functions as a form of social commentary. His images provide a glimpse into a subculture that is often overlooked or misunderstood. By documenting the lives of these nomadic youth, he brings attention to their experiences, struggles, and unique way of life. There is an underlying sense of empathy in his work, a desire to understand and connect with his subjects, which adds depth to his photographic narrative.
In conclusion, this analysis highlights the key themes and stylistic choices that define Mike Brodie’s photography. His work is a testament to the power of documentary photography to capture intimate moments, tell stories, and offer a unique perspective on the world. Brodie’s images invite viewers to consider the beauty and complexity of transience, youth, and personal exploration, leaving a lasting impression of a fleeting way of life.
I took a typing class at my high school in 1975, which looked a lot like this — big Royal manual machines. Loved it!
I spotted this weathered garden statue today of a young girl positioned against a brick wall. The statue has a textured finish, giving it an aged appearance, and it portrays the girl in a standing pose, wearing a bonnet and a dress with a sash, and she is holding what appears to be a basket. The details on the statue are worn, which suggests it has been exposed to the elements for some time. There is a wire or cord of some kind looped on the ground near the statue, and to the left, there are dark patches of soil and possibly some kind of fungi or bark. The bricks behind the statue show signs of deterioration, with chipped paint and eroded mortar, emphasizing the statue’s rustic setting.