Aug 29, 2008

my new book Gary Gygax...



is now available from Cy Gist Press!

The tradition of the Bestiarum vocabulum goes back to the 12th century; the tradition of Dungeons & Dragons, that cross between improvisational theater and light bondage, goes back to the 1970’s when it was invented by this chapbook’s eponymous hero. If you grew up in the 70s or 80’s you played D&D, knew someone who played D&D, or stuffed someone into a locker who played D&D. Whatever your feelings about game, there is no question that in their earliest incarnations, its rulebooks were celebrations of bizarre language and bizarre ideas, which undoubtedly had their influence upon poets-to-be who indulged in them. In Gary Gygax, John Sakkis brings bohemia back to its roots in its parents’ basement in this monster manual of beings malevolent and benign. Like an umber hulk, this book is a strange hybrid of disparate parts—snippets of language pulled from the game, from popular culture and from Sakkis’ subconscious. Like an umber hulk, this book will hold you rapt with its four terrible eyes.

Aug 28, 2008

not to spread the negativity but...people in Clayton don't seem to like me very much...

"re: Sakkis was 'allusion' to the antecedant "Monty Python"

Subtext meaning: Get him back to the blog ie: this has gotten so ridiculous Sakkis is like "King Arthur" and trolls the "Black Knight" that has lost all his limbs with blood squirting out everywhere and HE still persists in the fight though he's reduced to a stump.

ConcordCutie


Careful, Anon 3:01, those "ultra-tolerant", sneering, San Francisco avant garde, D&D playing pseudo-intellectual poets can really kick some ass.

anon

Another funny post by Sakkis! Gotta love when you or Apollo come here and threaten people through your keyboard! The funny thing is that people take your bait and get all offended like you want them too. You are a tool and should stay in San Francisco with all the other hippy freaks.

anon

John S. And here I thought that you were just a rageaholic. Peace be yours. Fascinating bio, by the way.

anon 3:01

Oh, but that's right, to some hippy freak Frisco "poet", anything that even just seems like an aspersion is grounds for, "oooh, you're a racist.

anon

Hey any way to get hold of John Sakkis outside this forum?

ConcordCutie

It's not a matter of them being "competition." It's this little matter of following the same rules to which everyone else must adhere. And shocker that you'd want to contact this Sakkis freak.

anon

"Hey any way to get hold of John Sakkis outside this forum?"

Ummmm maybe you could click on his name or picture above and post something on one of his blogs?

Seriously, are you that dumb or just playing up the airhead role?

anon"

...

last night i dreamt that i was a little black boy in Colorado...

i was singing songs in a Dunkin' Donuts...

my mom, who was a very large black lady, was making fun of me for putting so much sugar in my coffee...

my brother, who was also a little black boy, but older than me, joined in singing with me...

i remember we were by a river, on a mountain, in the snow...

if we didn't leave oranges for the people up the river they would steal our women...

someone fell out of a hotel room and died...

Aug 27, 2008

Young Kevin

Stephanie Young's Picture Palace is now available from SPD

in other news...

i might be an UFO abductee (i prefer "abductee" to "experiencer")...though i think abduction phenomenon has more to do with "sleep paralysis" and "astral projection" than extra terrestials...i'm currently reading Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: A Reporter's Notebook on Alien Abduction, UFOs & the Conference at MIT...and Animal Farm...when i say that i think my spirit animal might be a wasp or hornet i could also mean praying mantis humanoid...i've never seen the nordic aliens though...i'm not sure that UFO's are alien. i'm not sure that "alien abductions" have anything to do with UFO's...

i finished The Wire Season 5 last night...bully!

Hannah S. is in town for the week...some kind of big dance party out in Potrero Hill on Friday...or an opening at D-Structure on Friday...i might tend bar...i might dance...in any case, folks are back from Japan safe and sound...hot off the plane from the Able Video tour...

this weather is boner, this weather is ouzo! tonight i translate! going to finish up Agrafiotis's Now 1/3 and start his new book, Maribor...

i thought that Jesse just called me "Mohammad" but what he really said was "'Mohammad' must be like 'John' in the Middle East'"

Gary Gygax is out, though not officially...Mark L. (i always say "Mark L." because his last name is impossible) says that the Cy Gist website should be updated tonight...i have my copies, Mark did an amazing job with the design...as soon as an image is available i'll post it...you'll see what i mean...and then in Nov. i'll be reading with Carrie Hunter at Books & Bookshelves for a Cy Gist chapbook release party...holler.

i've been listening to a lot of Mike Ladd lately...and also "Classics From The Movies" and also Cass McCombs's "A" (Zuk's turning in his coff)...i think i've been listening to a lot of rap music lately, i'd like to stop...

Brandon Brown has been calling me "homie" a lot lately...

my brother is either sailing or sick...or both...or eating and sick and going sailing...i don't think he's an abductee...or his girlfriend...Emma wears belly shirts and cuts a mean hair-doo...she also looks a little like somebody i can't place...

and same thing Kevin Killian's Action Kylie

i've been going to bed by 10pm the last couple nights...not drinking, eating chicken wings with mayo and hot sauce...crazy energy during the day...i was telling Stephanie Y. yesterday that it's like this whole new world, sober-rested energy...i'm projecting/ oozing optimism into the world...stroking the world's private part so to speak...and the world is patting me on the head, massaging my shoulders, licking my ear...feels good, trying to keep it up at least this week...

Azikiwee owes me a sushi dinner, so he says, and some more money from bartending the last opening, i'm into that, though i'm not sure about the sushi, he just got back from Japan...maybe Indian food yeah? i'd like to eat a Nation's cheeseburger with extra "dressing" in the next couple days...

today i'm going to eat soup and an apple and an orange and a banana...i've already had a can of peaches and a peach and some trail mix...

i'm currently receiving a ton of awesome books...but none as awesome as Picture Palace and Action Kylie...buy that shit yo? that was one of my favorite parts of Spike Lee's Sucker Free City (and by favorite part i mean lame)...when the white dude says "we need to re-up kid..."...nobody in the history of the West Coast has ever said "kid"...there was a moment when a lot of us were saying "yo" after Kids came out...but we ditched that shit within a couple months...and then how they looked like ravers c. 1997 but they were supposed to look like thugs (lime beenies? JNKO baggy pants? polo shirts? backpacks? PLUR!)...and then when the dude who lives in the Mission is all "i ain't Mexican...full West Coast Bordiqua nigga..."...cause yeah, Puerto Rican's most definitely represent the Mission...i thought Spike got Hunter's Point right, not that i've ever been there...but it seemed correct...probably because a lot of (most of the) actors playing dudes from HP were rappers from San Francisco...JT The Bigga Figa et al.

...currently listening to books get handled with something Jesse is playing...UPDATE: me just now "Jesse what are we listening to?" Jesse: Stereolab!

Aug 25, 2008

Rocks and Deals...

i liked the part where me and Brett hopped into a cab outside Molotov's and the driver turns around and goes "you guys wanna beer?"...and Brett goes, "are YOU drinking?" and he goes "naw...i got a 22 of Prohibition though, you want it..." and i go "um hell yeah! thanks!" and Brett goes "Deco Lounge please..." and he goes "you guys can smoke in here...you mind if i turn this up?" and then me and Brett are riding through the LH sapping beer, smoking stogs (she's not) listening to some really great Surf Punk really loud with the windows down talking to the cabbie about detox...that part was pretty fun.

i also liked the part where i met up with Steve O. at Molotov's and Steve shit-talked The Machinist and then Christian Bale in general...Steve says "The Machinist?! that was one of the worst movies i've ever seen...i liked the part where he got hit by the car though..."...and then i was into the part where me and Steve sort of bro'd out over the fact that neither of us is comfortable with everybody kind of shitting on Tim Burton's OG Batman and Jack Nickelson's The Joker just because Chris Nolan made a good action movie...and then we had a conversation with Brett about "poo-ticles," she's an esthetician, can you deduce? and then it was probably a little weird when i told these two girls, who i hadn't seen since high school, one of the girls who was on a date with my roommate at that moment, that i had been "good, i mean, i was locked up for 4 years on a drug rap...but no, yeah, i mean, it's bullshit...i've been really good though...you?"...our 10 year reunion is coming up in Nov., egads!

and then the part where it was Sunday and i felt like crying, but happy crying so i watched Smoke...that movie gets an intense cry-smile out of me every time, Smoke and Holland's Olivier Olivier are my go to weepy/ get it all out movies...and then i ate that spinach quiche with a tin of nacho cheese dip on the side and then Jon came home and i said "Sunday beers at Molotov's?" and he said "yeah, now?" and i said "yep..." and then at Molotov's Jon and i talk about girls and Concord and the horrors of camping and hangovers and the lameness of Rhythmic Gymnastics as a "sport" (i say it's "entertainment"...like juggling)...but Jon left and i'm still there and then the part where that girl sat next to me, and she was hammered, and she touches my wrist and says "you're furry..." and then i go "no i'm not, look..." and then i pulled up my sleeve to show her how not furry i am, but she goes "yes, furry..." and then she introduces herself as "Allison...with two 'l's'" and then i'm like "is there another way to spell 'Allison'...?" and she says "with a 'y'" and i'm hella confused, but anyway, so she buys me a shot of Dewers which tastes like Appalachian-hippie-sweat and then she's really drunk now and giving me the come-hither google eyes, so she touches my knee and says "do you want to makeout...?" and rabbit out of the hat i say "haha, um...no thanks, i'm with somebody..."...and then she says "i'm pretty upfront..." and i'm like "that's cool...thanks for the drink..."...and then it gets awkward and she hands me 6 of her business cards...turns out she works for Dewers, she's in marketing...

and then the part today that i'm not so into is being really hungover at work...so i've decided that i'm not going to do the "Sunday beers at Molotov's" thing for a long time or at least the "Sunday beers at Molotov's while being fed shots of Dewers whiskey by a sloppy drunk punk rock girl with GZA blaring in the backgroud and some MMA fighting crap on the TV with a stomach full of Kirkland Brand quiche and 2 day old nacho cheese dip from the corner store" thing...but then i talked with Geoffrey Young on the phone this morning and he's cool and he wrote a little chapbook called Rocks And Deals that's sitting on my desk right now...

...currently listening to Philip Glass be minimal

Aug 22, 2008

also...

Logan's girlfriend, Beth L. looks a lot like Dana Scully

i'm just sayin'

this weekend...

tonight is pretty open, what the hell is going on? let's not hang out in the TL? well i guess i haven't been doing anyways but yeah, that's not an option tonight...i'd like to see ORTH tonight...i flaked on him last night...just wanted to drink vodka sodas and watch the Olympics and go to bed...i did that. hey ORTH, let's hang!

tomorrow night (or maybe afternoon, i never got details) i'm heading to Ocean Beach with Brett for her sister's boyfriend's birthday...

and then later on Kimbo is having a Zombie party at her place in the Mission...i'm told i have to dress up. blah.

and then a Poetry Marathon "after party"...um, probably not...UPDATE! BRANBO SAYS POETRY MARATHON NOT UNTIL NEXT WEEKEND!!! well, i can safely say i won't be attending that one either...

and then on Sunday possibly drinking beers with Branbo in some neighborhood somewhere in San Francisco...

after a hellish week i'm finally feeling better today, it's sunny out, my body feels fresh, The Wire Season 5 is in the mail, Biggie says "skies the limit!"

i found my notes!

Books & Bookshelves reading

Logan Ryan Smith

as twitchy-motherfucker…stompy, sigh’y, pause’y, drumming finger’y on podium’y, cussing’y

Logan reminded me of Dylan Thomas falling down the stairs at Vesuvio’s

Carrie Hunter

like Woody Allen reading a script in 1983 or ’76…but to himself in a bathroom…I wanted to YouTube Carrie’s reading and watch it on a Sunday hungover

Kalicia Pivirotto

as E. Bishop would read if she channeled a stylish girl in purple sequined top who works for a medium sized University Press…I want to be read Shel Silverstein poems by Kalicia at night on cold medicine

Aug 21, 2008

recently read...

1. Goodnight Voice- Dana Ward

2. Mirage #147

3. You Better Ask Somebody- "Young" Brandon Brown

4. Book 6- Alan Davies

5. Tourmaline- Dorothea Lasky

6. Patzcuaro- Joanne Kyger

7. Mirage #148

8. Stone Marmalade- Kevin Killian and Leslie Scalapino

9. Work #7

10. Work #8

11. Try- July 08 issue

12. The Grand Piano Part 5

13. Thrall- Susan Gevirtz

14. But I Like It- Joe Sacco

...i was going to write a tiny reading report from last night's Books & Bookshelves event but i guess i lost my notes...

Aug 18, 2008

Becky Ohlson Dolores Park memorial bench dedication 8/16/08

everyone was there faux-ga...and then an afterparty at my house...love forevs...






Aug 15, 2008

poet/ celebrity doppelganger thingy...

Ron "Recently Received" Silliman



and

Lord Richard "Jurrasic Park" Attenborough

Jay Slack (as Duckie)



is in town for tomorrow's memorial dedication...whenever Jay visits i get sad...i have so many amazing friends in NYC...some of the best people i know on earth...but NYC is NYC...far far away...last night at Molotov's we were talking about rounding up all of our folks in San Francisco and New York City and moving to Kansas City, MO. starting some kind of Midwestern coastal-expat cult. living on the cheap. eating lot's of BBQ.




Meg couldn't make it this time around...but at least she's in California...so at least we're state-simpatico...can't we just fold the country in half? geography's boring. i want to eat BBQ and jump on trampoline's with all my friends, Pacific and Atlantic...

Aug 14, 2008

E-40 buys Timeout Bar in Downtown Concord...



"Put Your Clothes On Darling,
Let's Go To Tommy T's
The Comedy Club,
Up In The Contra
off Of Willow Pass Road,
Up In Concord."
--E-40

um...awesome!

Aug 13, 2008

arrivals

anticipating the touchdowns of

John Greiner

and

Jay Slack

KCMO and NYC respectively

anticipating the Becky gathering of friends in Dolores on Saturday

looking forward to semi-all night country jams with Johnny G.

looking forward to possibly hitting up the Mission with folks tomorrow for art crap and drinks

about to fix an ouzo and water and watch Sucka Free City or the Olympics

i just did laundry, i think doing laundry gets rid of negative energy

my sister wants me to help her move...again

that's not a whine

but she does this (moves) all the time

my mom will be happy

saw Gevirtz and Dickison the other day walking on Valencia...Steve D. shouts "it's John Sakkis not in Greece!!!"

sad i'm going to miss Tetra B.'s play on Sunday

sad i'm probably going to miss Sunset in Novato on Sunday

but not really because i'll be with Jay Slack and Johnny G.

...currently listening to Windfall by Cass McCombs...

Olympic Opening Ceremony = Singin' In The Rain



"The premiere of The Dancing Cavalier is a tremendous success. When the audience clamors for Lina to sing live, Don, Cosmo and R.F. improvise and get Lina to lip-synch while Kathy sings into a second microphone while hidden behind the curtain. Unbeknownst to Lina, as she starts "singing", Don, Cosmo and R.F. gleefully open the curtain behind her, revealing the deception — Lina flees in embarrassment. When Kathy tries to run away as well, Don has her stopped and introduces the audience to "the real star of the film."

viva Yang Peiyi!!!

Aug 11, 2008

"don't call me Rootbeer..." or, Sunday Beers at InnerMission...

photos by A-Dub w/ Alli, Brandon, Lindsey and Matthew





OMG



"and then there was light...we need each other. lets face the facts here. even these cartoons know the deal. i'm totes gonna hammer yr face in when yr asleep."

currently wanting to raise a family with Sabrina C....

Aug 8, 2008

Friday OBVS...

what's up tonight?

i'm maybe going camping on the American River for the night...probably not though. i'll decide after work...i'm still a little bubbly-wubbly from last night's The Page session...

tomorrow is Andrish's birthday BBQ party in the neighborhood...that will definitely be interesting.

last night i hung out with Leslie...one of my oldest friends in the world...she couldn't stop saying "shut up..." and then stacking shit on my lap/ chucking stuff at my face...she's been doing this going on 13 years now...we kind of say "i want to bash your brains in you little shit...i want to sock you in the tummy as hard as i can, shut up...i want to tackle you to the curb you asshole, moron, whore, shut up..." and then we laugh and laugh and tell each other stories...and then we repeat, this is my relationship with Les, i love this girl...last night Les was fixated on my clothes "nice jeans nerd...coolguy...really cool Shell Toes idiot...shut up...i miss you..."...yup, one of those i-only-see-you-a-few-times-a-year-but-things-never-change-
between-us-because-we've-been-through-so-much-together-that-
we're-bonded-like-whoa bestfriends...

woke up this morning with an ache in my left shoulder...

Andy Peterson is publishing a bunch of my MTV poems...in one of those poems, which is actually a Myspace message to someone, i talk about my left shoulder hurting and how if they massage it it will give me boners...

i haven't been drinking enough water...i've been watching bad Showtime TV shows and not drinking enough water...i've been eating plenty of soup though...soup and nuts and tuna fish salad and salami and cheese and not enough vegetables and plenty of chewing gum (hi mom!) and trail mix and granola bars and fruit and peanut butter and tomorrow i'll eat rotisserie chicken...

Bully is terrible, i mean really really really stupid...oh Larry Clark you let me down buddy...i think i have a 1/2 hour left...i keep laughing at the movie...i keep laughing and saying "this is stupid..." out loud, to myself, in my living room...that kind of movie...like when i was on Ios, Greece watching The Bucket List...and all the Australian girls were weeping, and i was the dude in the room cracking up as Morgan Freeman is giving his death speech to Jack Nickelson...and my brother is kind of elbowing me...and people are crying, and i'm that asshole...

i'm looking forward to seeing ORTH this weekend...ORTH is a fantastic human being...

gmail chat is a white-collar salve...

but now i'm tired, i think i'll chew some chewing gum (hi mom!) and get back to work...

Aug 6, 2008

Becky, benches, SF, Dolores, Aug 16th...



Someone Great Video

"Hey Everyone,

We will be having Rebecca's Memorial Dedication in Dolores Park on Saturday August 16th. at 12PM.



There will be food & refreshments for everyone.



Please come out to celebrate one of the best people any of us has ever had the pleasure to have in our lives.


Ill be out in SF from the 14th thru the 17th. i wish i could make it longer.



I cant wait to see everyone

Please repost this, as i don't know everyone from the area.



See you next weekend!
Jay Slack"

...if anybody needs more info, directions, whatever call Jay or me or my brother...or email merkoneus@yahoo.com, or myspace me...looking forward to seeing everyone...

love,
john

...

my phone is dead

last night i dreamt about surfing and cats

S., cooked scallops and rice with a watermelon and feta/ mint/ olive oil salad on the side...it was good

Brent Cunningham is profiled in the new issue of Publisher's Weekly

i might visit Becky in Dolores after work, her bench was installed today

watched half of Mean Girls last night, yep, still really funny

lately i've been putting a spoon full of Ghiradelli's hot chocolate mix into my coffee, it is good

Clay Banes says "don't go to your 10 year reunion" "go to your 20 year"

i'd rather be watching America's Next Top Model with my mom and Deme and Gina eating leftover cranberry-biscuit-turkey-stuffing-mayo sandwiches

i'm going to LA at the end of the month

Hannah will get a profile in 7x7 magazine and a show at D-Structure, maybe

i'll be heading to Portland mid-Sept on a business trip, i'll be seeing Rodney Koeneke and maybe Jared Hayes, i have a per diem, this is neat

i met Michael Cross yesterday at SPD, we talked, he's cool

maybe a kickball thing in GG Park on Sunday...the evite says "bring beers and sandwiches"...

anybody else read that article on hipsters in the new Adbusters, it's pretty good, until the end when dude starts masturbating his own profundity...thanks S. for sharing

in the last 2 weeks i've given my roommate two sweaters

i need to go shopping, want to go shopping with me this week(end)?

Aug 5, 2008

just crap from the weekend...

Friday night bar tending the Josh Lawyer show at D-Struc...(photos soon)

saving "...." from an ass beating after he chucked his cup at the DJ for not playing the song he wanted...and then tried to fight 3 security guards and 4 graf dudes...walked him down the street and tried to calm him down...he said "i'm just from a small town in AZ, i just wanna dance, why they wanna hate, i love you..." i said "be positive and stay away from this side of the block..."...and then i went back to the party he went and got his "blade"...haven't seen him since Friday gacking out on the corner of Church and Duboce. i hope he's okay.

and then Molotov's with Brett...and then back to my apartment with Brett for some Fat Tire and Nebraska listening and grilled cheese...and then it's late and Brett takes off and my brother never makes it for some reason i can't really remember having to do with credit card mix ups...

and then Saturday...

firstly, it's hot, really hot...like 78 degrees hot...so, i walk over to my brother's around 10:30...Dempsey is already there...we crack some EJ Phair's (Concord beer!) for breakfast...and then Steve H. arrives with the Tecate and lime...so we crack some Tecate's and lime...and it's probably 11am by now...my brother and Steve H. cook up some breakfast taco's for the gang...eat those (not me) drink more beers, try and decide what to get into for the day...duh, Dolores Park...

so we head to Dolores, we hang at Dolores, we drink at Dolores...James and i decide to bounce around 4 or so...i'm about to pee my pants so i run into a cafe...the door to the b-room is locked...i run up to the counter, "what's the cheapest thing i can buy to use the bathroom?!" "...a banana..." "i'll take it!"...she buzzes me in...i go...

James and i walk to Molotov's...i have beers, James does not, James has to pick Emma up from the airport, he stays sober...

i leave Molotov's and go home and watch some episodes of Queer As Folk...i chat with S., i text with people, i order Chinese food, i eat it...i don't go out...i go to bed...

Sunday...

i don't remember...i watched a really good documentary about Joe Strummer...his real name is John but he used to go by Woody, before he changed it to Joe...Johnny Depp didn't need to be in this movie...esp. since he was obviously in the middle of filming The Pirates of The Caribbean and looked silly talking about The Clash dressed as Jack Sparrow...

...currently listening to KALX...

they're here!



BOTH BOTH
stickers, series 1...the LRS edition...limited to 25. coming to a bar bathroom/ light pole/ street corner near you...

Aug 4, 2008

M.L.

"P.S. Sakkis isn't crazy, just Greek."

Aug 3, 2008

this girl...



gets back from NYC on Tuesday...yeah, i'm excited to see her...

who else, on a Sunday night, can you talk to about Joe Strummer, the Dali Lama, Peking Duck, camping, snuggling, siblings, beers, high-school foods, Alice Waters, "slow" movement culture, parents, knife-fights and kisses...

hi S., i know we just talked about it, but i hope you had a great show on the Right Coast...

...currently listening to The Knife Silent Shout...

Aug 1, 2008

2 brothers and a dog...

last night met up with my brother and Buddy (Emma's big stupid hilarious dog)...walked over to The Page for beers...

ran into James's friend John who looks exactly like the dude from Link 80 (except John is black)...full Bay ska, full mid-90's Bay skank.

grabbed a booth and watched Buddy slobber all over the place...

met up with Laura and Dusty and Tim/Kim...

ordered more Anchor...

duded out with Dusty about the Low Card skate aesthetic...into it, i think their aesthetic is fun, i think those dudes privilege fun...they're like what skateboarding was in 1988, or maybe 1992-94...

planned a pot luck with my brother and Laura at their apartment. Sunday Summer Pot Luck On Page Street bonanza forthcoming...i invited myself into the fold, i'm actually planning nothing, it's not my apartment, but i think this is a good thing...

Steve H. came down...he was wearing a Cory Feldman Summer Music Institute t-shirt...he said "it's my 'house' shirt'"...

ate burritos from The Little Chihuahua...new Mexican place in the neighborhood, Divis and Page...tasty.

went home and fell asleep watching Under Siege 2 staring a very young rosy cheeked Katherine Heigl...

tonight we dance!