A tipping point
I was inspired by another Sagittarius, just the other evening. I was basically killing time, toying with some web development work that I should be doing, and not really willing to stretch my brain too far. So I was clicking through some Austin stories, and I reread this lad’s entry about tipping points.
So it was a touchstone, for me, as I got to thinking about tipping points, little intersections in a time and space where something happens, and I make a decision, for good or for ill, and everything changes from that point forward.
Books: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Alburquerque by Rudolfo Anya. Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Neuromancer (et al, ad nauseam) and Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. Islands in the Net and Heavy Weather by Bruce Sterling. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
That list spans more than a decade, and I can’t recall all the material I had to consume for classes, but that list of “literature” affected me. Those are books I don’t want to part with, and that I do, on occasion, refer back to.
There’s another book, I don’t have, but it made a serious impact, in fact, there’s a series of Florida newspaper authors, Carl Hiassen (Double Whammy), Dave Barry (Big Trouble), and Tim Dorsey (all of his books so far) that have scenes, snippets, dialogue, or just a little piece of action that served as a point that changed me.
Like, with Tim Dorsey’s latest book, when I took off for Corpus ten days ago, the manic driving behavior was inspired by one of his main characters, sort of an anti-hero.
There was a Hank III show at the Continental Club, Robert Earl Keen at the Music Hall, and the Jerry Jeff show with special guest Jimmy Buffett. Wayne Hancock on the lawn in front of Threadgill’s one night. Transition points.
Robert Rodriguez “Mariachi” trilogy. That one played out Saturday night, in Lubbock, all over again.
I remember a comment, dropped off-hand, from a Scorpio, “Man, you can write this stuff.” Fishing Guide to the Stars – a simple comment, probably suggested in jest.
A buddy gave me a copy of REK’s “Live #2” and if it was possible to wear out a CD, I wore that one out.
Last fall, I saw a half-dozen performances of Shakespeare’s work. Another tipping point. Many years ago, I saw (before he was knighted) Ian McKellen’s Richard III. Again, a performance that was a transition point.
The Cormanc McCarthy trilogy, it gets echoed through my mind any time I’m passing through El Paso. The stark, harsh reality, the desert sands, the bare mountains, the wind whipping down from New Mexico.
Books, movies, music, live performances, events that left me with a different perspective, that’s clue.
This isn’t all about happy events. I can still recall nasty notes from far-flung locations, and there’s some messages that do have an impact on me, and it’s not always positive. Losses are as important as wins.
I was plotting some of these points, just trying to conjure up the relevant ones, trying to recall what made a lasting impact.
For me, wandering around London during a heat wave last fall, seeing some plays at the New Globe, plus that outstanding performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, those were points, intersections in time and space where my life changed. There’s one line from the Jerry Springer Opera, a song, that had me laughing so hard, and yet, there was an element in that emotion, those emotions, that ran straight through my own life – stories I hear from clients.
All I’ve done so far is list some of the points when something happened, and I was changed. Interaction with a piece of artwork. Listening in a workshop at SXSW, something clicked.
This is an aggregate collection of those tiny points, where by chance, by fate, guided by stars, whatever, some kind of interaction occurs. It’s like standing in front of a painting, for me, it was a picture of some of Dali’s tarot cards – yes, I use them from time to time – and seeing the original.
Coming into Big Bend, a recent frost on the ground, the morning sun providing one of the most incredible scenes I’ve ever experienced, backlighting the Ocotillo as the leaves were just turning.
Transition points. Changed forever.
John Updike’s A&P is a story that’s taught quite a bit, I must have two or three copies in various leftover lit compilations. I heard him speak one time, and he bemoaned the story because, even as its author, he couldn’t explain. The story makes sense – now – but not until your comment.
Shepherds and such
It’s the feast day of St. Bernadette, I think, allegedly the patron saint of shepherds.
Ferret? Methinks he needs to read that Gemini’s material.
Strange road notes: I had two requests for my lecture, on tape, from disparate sources. As far as I know, there’s only one place to get the tape, and I don’t think many are left: Whole Life (formerly New Age) Books, 1006. S. Lamar, here in Austin.
When those are gone, I’m hoping to cobble together a couple of the lectures, and do it as an audio CD. But until that’s done?
“The world’s large tongue
Proclaims you for a man replete with mocks.”
Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost [V.ii.832-3>
I looked over from the desk, perched on top of a speaker, there’s the iPod, the camera, the phone, and the palm, all recharging. Thought it was about time to take a nap, myself, just like all the hardware.
I fished a little, I mean, nice day and all, then I wandered towards the edge of Shady Acres, saw a neighbor’s car in the slot, so I knocked.
“Kramer! You must’ve known I was thinking about you! Everything I touch turns to shit!”
No Mercury isn’t backwards. It’s just a function of, sort of depends. Nothing a little tequila can’t cure. Despite my experiences, I still recommend tequila for Virgo’s. Seems to sooth a chapped and sore mind.
