David James and son Seven, atop the Los Feliz Club Apartments with Vermont Ave in the background. The Onyx Cafe was located on the spot (bright-strobe) in the photo behind them. This 'spot' now is occupied by Figaro Cafe.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
consulting the i - ching today. sun/li 5th and 6th line.
fifth line: as a king he approaches his family. the king symbolizes the way the Sage relates to us, his family. Love, not fear, is the basis of this relationship, and therefore it can be trusted. The love that the Sage bears us, by his ceaseless caring and trust in our superior potential, provides example of the selfless loyalty we are meant to develop for those in our charge. Although we often must disengage and let people go, we do not because we are indifferent, but because we care, and because we cannot give up on the smallest remnant of what is good in them, or on their potential to return to their true selves.
sixtth line: His work commands respect. Only through developing out highest nature can we influence others correctly and create order in life. this means that we develop a firm sense of values we are unwilling to compromise. This sense of values acts as a store house of inner truth. Through all difficulties we cling to it to provide the solutions and point the correct way to proceed. We firmly and resolutely follow our own path. We are glad when others walk with us (going toward the good in themselves) and we freely leave behind those who take different directions. When we succeed, we go forward without hesitation, not dwelling on our accomplishments. When we fail, we go forward without hesitation, without recrimination, without useless self-flagellation. Thus, our works commands respect.
i sincerely apologize for not getting back soon to my favored taggers in the blog community. i just got tied down with stuff and i had this "woca project" that i needed to get out of the way before i get back to my scanning and of course amidst all of this, are other household and important stuff that i had to take care of. so is it actually possible to clone oneself these days?
in a nutshell and not meaning to be semi-technical with all of this. i thought of making a cokin filter adapter ring for my "woca". and i hope my wife doesn't find out, i used one of stefani's old avent bottle piece that holds the nipple. the O.D. (outside diameter) of the piece was the perfect fit for the cokin filter holder. all i had to do is put an Inner Hole with a DIA. of 49.20 mm. which is the actual diameter of the end of the focusing ring on the woca, and this was easily done with a "dremel". do you see the hexagon piece (2nd photo), this piece screws onto the base of the woca and that whole assembly with camera rides on an old "quick release" bogen tripod. i made the little receptacle hole on the base of the camera with a exacto blade, a file and a deburr tool, then i shoved the 1/4-20 screw in. black tape had to be used on the inside of the camera to prevent light to seep through. next step is to shoot with the thing. photos will eventually follow.
I've just learned of the death of an artist/friend Talloy San Diego just recently. This photo above was taken at my pad a while back. Talloy together with artists- Rey Zipagan, Buds Floriano and the late-Comic book- artist Fred Alcala, dropped by for a visit and brought "pancit"--filipino version of Chinese noodles, that he cooked up. Everyone at the Onyx Cafe pretty much knew Talloy. Talloy just like all the other filipino artists were scholarly but Talloy was the "propaganda type" meaning, he would try to shove every manifestation of his "genius" in your face, which made him quite a character. He was a good chess player, a great cook and of course, he is an accomplished artist dating back --"Marcos" era. Talloy writes(below) as what he thinks an artist is..
" I believe that the Artist has a role to fulfill and that is the commitment to the honor and dignity of humanity as a living force of society, environment and history. The artist is the cultivator of civilization, like the farmer who perspires from dawn until dusk to let live the fruits of a bountiful harvest... Ours is a voyage for a step to that pathway of identity of who we are, never to transit to a blanket of dictums that could never patch wounds that shall never heal. The conception of opposites resulted in revolutions with humanity -- the sacrificial romance of lost civilizations and ecological devastations. The political animal in man is measured by one's greed for wealth and power. History never learned from mistakes, blemished by continuous bloody wars amongst races -- thus destruction! Time therefore passes pages of yesterdays with no turning back. The adventure of experience and acquired intelligence shall be one's pillar of force, strength, energy and wisdom -- Our guiding path as a worker of what is TRUTH! "
"I don't care about making photography an art," said Mr. Steichen. "I want to make good photographs. I'd like to know who first got it in his head that dreaminess and mist is art.
Take things as they are; take good photographs and the ART WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF."
the PHOTO GALLERY containing photographs taken at the Onyx Café is work in progress, most of these scanned negatives were recently unearthed. since i've benefitted a great deal from the onyx cafe(free coffee, etc.), it's now payback time to mr. john leech and to every soul i hung out with, with my photographs. enjoy!!!
the Onyx Café was more than just an institutional cafe to most of the regulars and myself. it was a "state of mind" without the aid of any mind altering pill. it was a place where you can actually feel how "timeless" the place was. it was a conglomerated convergence of people from all walks of life. from hollywood celebs to suitcase-geared travelling bohemians introducing themselves, and being welcomed (and not interrupting any intellectual arguments). it was the crossroads to every major city on this planet. it was happening! day and night, into day again. amidst the aroma of the coffee lingering in the air, there was also, all kinds of drama. but we will not go there. you can never complain about the taste of espressos and cappuccinos served here, nor how the architectural facade of the place appeared, nor even how people looked or dressed. people come here for the same one thing that everyone else is seeking --- and it's not just the java. it is.. NIRVANA. yep. and the whole crowd was experiencing it collectively.
