RAY BRADBURY AT ACRES OF BOOKS

Sorry about the camera angle. I never used that function before. Now I know.

Famed author Ray Bradbury is known for lots of things, namely his books, which include Farenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles. Locally, people know Bradbury as a proponent of Long Beach's Acres of Books, a world class destination soon to be hit by the city's figurative and literal wrecking ball. Bradbury ain't no spring chicken, so he called the store (and the media) to make what could be his final appearance.





I'm lucky enough to be on the good side of Acres of Books and jumped when manager Raun Yankovic called me with the news. Yes, it took four days for me to post this, but that's the beauty of this blog thingy - I can update whenever I want.

Bradbury talked for about fifteen minutes in the store's music room, which doubles as the open mic lounge. It was hot outside and even hotter inside that cramped space during the middle of the day. He couldn't hear well, sat in a wheelchair and took his time. Most of the questions asked were of the amateur kind ("Why are bookstores important?" "Are you sad to see this place go?") and made me glad I wasn't covering this. Shit, now that I read this, I guess I was, which means my question of what he reads now is probably pretty lame too. Damn.




He talked about diplomas not meaning a damn, how stupid it is for the greater Los Angeles area to lack quality bookstores, how places like Borders and Barnes & Noble have a place if done properly, the meaning of the French medallion around his neck and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. But it was good, in a press conference sort of way. Most of the reporters seemed like an editor sent them there and I was disappointed that fewer fans didn't show up, but it was Wednesday at 1 p.m. Score one for the unemployed!

As you can see by my pictures, there were a lot of photographers. Most pissed me off. I mean, get your shot and get the fuck out of my way, but don't push two inches in front of me and stand there for a few minutes and expect me to move. We're in the business together, but come on people, show a little respect. I mean, look at my pictures below. They're just as good as anything the so-called pros produced from this event.

APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

The idea is enough to make me puke, but I changed my mind after reading Acres of Books' website. It reads "April is National Poetry Month! (take a poet to lunch)." I'm all in favor of free meals, so come on people. I'm a poet. Pony up and buy me some food.

Maybe I should try to earn that meal. So here's a new poem. I combed through my stacks of unpublished poems and found this nice ditty about religion. I thought it to be timely considering the pope, who by the way looks and sounds like a creep, is visiting the United States.

I hope you like it. If not, send hate mail to Tim Hull. He'll get right back to you.


I’M SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS
dumber words have never been spoken
except for maybe those in the bible
but I wouldn’t know – I don’t read fairy tales
a person who says they are spiritual but not religious
is obviously a young adult looking for a way to comprehend
their growing feeling of apathy toward a belief that was shoved down their throats
beginning the second they popped out of their mother’s nether region
or a slightly older misguided wannabe intellectual who thinks
before they speak and gets through life by regurgitating tidbits of info
they’ve overheard from mouths attached to brains they assume are smarter than theirs
saying a person is spiritual but not religious is like me saying
I’m gay but I don’t fuck dudes –
you can’t have one without the other
religion is spirituality and spirituality is religion
they’re both just words that mean roughly the same thing
those who say this silly statement are too close to the fire to see the flames
because if they could, they’d realize how the influence of religious leaders worldwide
has created an environment where supposed spirituality can’t be outrun
so when you say you’re spiritual, you’ve already lost
because you’re speaking their language
the preachers, pastors, fathers, rabbis, shamans, popes, gods, sheiks and monks
succeeded in planting their vocabulary into our brains, whether we want to pretend to dislike it or not
because saying what they really mean could cause harm in all sorts of ways
funny looks from strangers
scoldings from parents
disapproval from co-workers
no Christmas gifts from friends
these people are afraid to offend a higher power
but they shouldn’t be
there is no higher power to offend
but the implication of I’m spiritual but not religious suggests otherwise
it’s the PC way of telling the world a person isn’t happy with organized religion,
the kind that wastes Sunday morning sleep-in time,
but who is?
the world would be a much better place if those who preached this hypocritical mantra
would ditch the act and join forces with those who aren’t afraid to say in explicit terms
what they believe
and what it is these people believe, you ask?
not sure, but my guess is it has something to do with the ability to see how thousand-year-old works of fiction continue to wreak havoc on daily life circa 2008
shouldn’t we be smarter than this? the educated ask
yes, we should
but we’re not
because a major percentage of the population is more than happy to go along for the ride, even if that means ruining the one shot we’ve all been given to make this life as exciting and entertaining as possible

THE LONG ARM OF THE LONG BEACH REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY STRIKES AGAIN

Just checked out lbreport.com and read the sad news that famed Long Beach bookstore Acres of Books could be closing as soon as October or as late as a year. This is one more sign that the people in charge of this city suck. They don't care about maintaining anything already in place. They see areas they define as blighted and an opportunity to make a buck by knocking down buildings. Here's an idea -- why not work with what's already there and fix those structures? Anyone who's been in Acres of Books lately knows the building itself is one earthquake away from crumbling, but does that mean every old building in town should meet a similar fate? I hope Acres of Books relocates because it's an institution that has become synonymous with Long Beach. There are some really great people working there who not only know their books, but also care about local writers. I feel like going off on the city, but that would only detract from my main objective, which is to praise Acres of Books. Let's hope they stick around another year and find a better spot for their new location. I'd suggest moving out of Long Beach, but that wouldn't do anyone any good.

Click the link to read for yourself.

http://www.lbreport.com/news/apr08/acrebuk1.htm

Wait, I got a last minute idea...What if enough residents got together and decided to redevelop the redevelopment agency? First order of business: Demolish everyone who works there. Second order of business: There is no second order of business. Hooray for everyone!