TIME TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK Gregory Zbitnew
Time Traveler's Notebook First eBook edition Š December 2014 ISBN: 978-0-9878862-4-8
Published in Canada 1992 / 2014 www.dreamlogiccorporation.com
Dedicated to my 'past' self for scribbling these clever lines ....
Also, as always, for my son; Jaman Jules Orion Lloyd-Zbitnew
The trees have gathered in the Cathedral Forest talking ozone talk in silent whispers on the summer breeze. I can see them from my window surrounded as I am by paperwork (my nest of printed material) Other birds sometime visit this nest. It is my sanctuary in the network of city streets... electronic communication. I try to keep everything clean and tidy. It takes many hours... Nature intervenes I receive mail i bring printed material home constantly in my briefcase. I buy books and magazines in my briefcase constantly I have to put them somewhere where i can access this information I must build structures to file this information. I must go through this information from time to time to determine what is relevant and important... to me now and in the future. This is speculation, on my part.
I build shelves clip images record information and create files building my Tower of Babel. Today I am in the search and destroy phase of the cycle. What I write is part of the formatting of accumulated material that has been input into creating my nest. Overhead dark storm clouds gather illuminated by a golden setting sun. Nobody is flying those planes. ~•~ I stand on the bridge the reflection is far below. A paddlewheeler (for the tourists) churns up the image as it passes under the bridge. Dinner tables on the deck are empty. I throw a cigarette stub into the wake. I am a courteous smoker. Sometimes I watch the news on television...
An airplane fell out of the sky! Narrowly missing playing children. They were sprayed with aircraft fuel but otherwise unharmed. They will remember this event in their lives. 'A heavily-armed man...' 'Blood-stained car outside the city...' I felt sick as the news continued I rushed to the toilet to evacuate my stomach. After I drank some water I had a cigarette. (Sometime later I will quit smoking these things.) "A digital diary for your portable device. A great way to get organized." said the television commercial. The sky is growing heavy with clouds and night. Smoke from the cigarette rises up to meet them. Plastic white folding chair black rubber DADA wires thick and twisted come snarling out #37 stencilled on that one across the lane are mostly darkened windows. The sound of dishes rattling... ~•~
I am trying to think... A jet passes above the clouds. The closing night the cool summer air the soft hum of traffic. The Tower of tarot the tower of business power scraping the skies above the squalid ragged glory of zombie street urchins hair flourescent orange like monks dressed in shapeless grey hidden robes panning for change Doc Martins strapped on fashion. Anti-fashion. The sound of a flute being played by a beautiful young girl with sad black eyes ultraviolet raven neon glow rainy sidewalks cult of concrete. What dreams? Remain? What do I hope for?
My lawyer calls me a 'hopeless idealist'. You can call me a dreamer but I'm not the only one. Conversations come back from discussions over tequilla and tapas and beer at the $2000 lunch on the sunshine patio in the courtyard. The jazz band played the soundtrack talking with a cameraman sitting by the sea in contemplation and laughing as the tide came in. Thinking, I walked out into the night to buy cigarettes and look at magazines co-incidental pieces of the puzzle there for me to find. I've had my days of Rimbauld and Baudelaire the self-destruction of the flaming machine spitting out chunks of molten metal deconstruction is a valuable phase of new construction.
Pheonix rising from the ashes and the flames the wheels grinding to a halt. Then continuing... in a new direction. The oil of the machine staining clothes with a pungent aroma running through veins pumped by an engine heart. The rising tide the cycle of birth and death enlightenment and illusion can make you go insane. It can fuel your passion open doors of perception the curiosity to see beyond the excitement of the new... the vision. To navigate beyond the edge of the horizon in a wooden boat to walk upon the moon to observe particles in a bubble chamber to experience birth and death is life.
'The Fool's Journey' is the ultimate adventure. Ignorance is bliss yet, knowledge is power or so they say. Some dive in at the deep end where angels fear to tread water. Medication and meditation the hare and the tortoise. The machine is running working night and day. ~•~ Exterior wide-shot Industrial Park pan past wet cement Xerox licence plate text, photo, rubber stamp the admission card. Security cameras scan the entrance arch stainless steel pillars checkerplate ramp. Contempt for the delay a Robotron rolls by. There is an elephant in Pheonix, Arizona that paints with it's trunk. Lithographs of it's artwork have brought in one quarter of a million dollars for the zoo.
From the glass womb to the lead coffin the organisms grow manifold alternatives options multiply devouring, voracious demanding instantaneous gratification while others in cryonic-suspension have their metabolic activity reduced to almost zero waiting their turn to experience the physical limitations of their biological body. Thoughts slowed to single concepts brain activity suspended over the interval of years. So there you sit a particle in a nerve net passes through the zone triggering a thought Something you have never thought before. The lights blink slowly you open your eyes. The gears are rusty rainbow streamers of wiring connect the components.
Rationality of electronic movement fast as a lightbeam from a distant star ordered channels of structured movement the gears begin to turn... A satellite passes overhead relaying data flowing in streams charge and discharge positive and negative the wheel turns eternal black flowing into white day flowing into night eternally spinning into shades of grey as time reverses or the perception of time melts away. Sleek, shiny, smooth seductive sexual streamline of exterior surfaces hard black rubber charcoal grey stainless steel mirrored convex tiny little lights glowing like jungle eyes slim silver columns black metal screws checkerplate floor plastic-coated cables soft flowing surfaces...
... motor hum ... mainframe engine fans cooling towers concrete icons serial numbers perfectly formed instant feedback telemetry references are vital data at the main control console digital screen... ... restless... Transfer of meaning Manifesto status commodity culture advertising justice restless. Faith pathways myth progress words. Five usefull things Five useless things The structure The Plan The arrangement of parts Vision of truth The answers.
Restructure the fragments of the encoded message in an ever-changing mandala of patterns. Specific purpose. Answer me. Heading image body copy plastic icecream cone he lights a cigarette he is a little tired layout comprehensive comprehension sketch 22 black drawings exhibit them in a gallery call it art invite the public send out news releases screaming on the cassette tape now silence. On assignment. Got a lot of mouths to feed. Have to bring home the bacon. Iron kettle brewing tea wooden furniture stone fireplace.
Dusty floor small golden turtles swimmimg in a glass bowl. Five useless things: Can openers shoe horn letter opener paper weights dashboard compass. Serenity simpleness naturalness. History "This was their finest hour." Network of nerves from the fingertips. Object after preposition. figure/ ground intangible inner spirit. Hooded figures invisible in the dawn. Sound of a bell offerings of flowers persimmons sake and squid. 30 Km from Tokyo.
Bloodshot eyes search for wisdom in the mirror. To surpass your master repays the debt of what has been received. Decision is a process of elimination. Demons change their name every 49 years but the screwtapes ain't never heard about it secret agents delaying the urge for resolution imbalance is the watchword but nobody cares. Sacrifice indentifiable objects to create new composite forms. Derrida says collage is one of the most effective strategies for calling into question the illusion of representation. He said that on page 389.
Television is the collage machine producing simulacra of the life world. Use your faith to pray. They have created an unsocial monster. It's going to eat your brain cells. Inscribe a blessed candle in your name as an offering in the shopping mall. Heroic Modernism man becomes machine and hygene is a major motivation in design. Fetishism. Image has become an object used in ritual. Behaviour Psychology. People give immortality to ideas if they hold them dearly to their hearts. Ritual Primitive Pagan Referencial of an actual fragment. Art and life being a simultaneous experience.
The brick water tower is leaking camels stampeding through the eye of the needle. The factories are melting in the flood. The snake ate it's tail. Doppleganger wants the children. Steel rain. Two football fields laid waste from one alpha battery salvo 16 rockets with onboard computers that adjust for the wind and temperature. Video tape replay. Message... Picasso had a glass of wine in the Spanish sunshine. The reduction of creativity to the act of selection. this or that existence presence the snake crosses on the tiles.... Keep them cranked up tight Then one day... the hot shot like a venemous viper. Picasso goes for a piss.
Think alike repetition over and over again. Liking things everyone is good working without Communism or all your plans may fall assunder. Success or disaster. this or that mine or somebody else's somebody gets left out compulsive detatched painting without conviction. America was the model technology taking hold unpleasant smell of burning bodies. Later, as the party continues... In the steel houses and artistic cafe talk turns to fashion extravagant ornamentation haute couture un autre monde et fais page 82 veils, flowing gowns jugglers, clowns posters of femme fatales entertainment.
Cars race through the streets crashing through the heavily encrusted pastiche. The building was yet to be completed suspended by weights and string and straps of leather. broken pottery in the stone quarry studio skeletons made of wrought iron watercolour stains and streaks on the wall... The architect would be run over by a streetcar. (Gaudi 1926) The meteor lights up the sky like a fireball. The empire was coming to an end hidden cameras and toxic waste a dark line appeared around the periphery. Mystique and decadence. Beethoven was born in Bonn. Bread bone black holes...
Phoenicians symbols relate to sounds tougher than death tango by Rostropovich. Upper middle class princess in exile sweetness and light bone and shell bird and claw marks origin of calligraphy history starts attention a tension hung in the gloom like a chandelier reflecting deceptive rainbows in a silver slip of the moon. Blow out the candles broken glass shatters now the world is lit by lightning aroma of ammonia shouting and confusion. Religion protects and controls knowledge the Bible was written on papyrus the scribe with a reed brush and a stone tablet a bee and a leaf.
The narrator turns back time a poet with a weakness for symbolism emissary from reality the telephone man who fell in love with long distances. Idea formulation implementation buildings 20 miles high avenues 20 miles wide leap of faith into a sea of darkness silhouette of light behind a black umbrella trees along the boulevards fountains in the lobbies. The design distanced man from nature we are devolving from a state of grace industrial precincts living space for workers impinge on freedom the police rear their ugly heads... Deru kugi wa utareru [The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.] Thermal blankets in the dark night of the soul.
Utopian ideas individual freedom pastoral setting authority creeps in... New planning messianic perfectionism deus ex machina happily ever after frontier myth success ethic models of efficiency hygenic. The monster lurks below in the depths. Blood-thirsty insects swarm in the city of light plumbing dictated the height of the buildings. Irony is the grammar of dissapointment and frustration. I hear voices in the hall I wake up and it's nothing at all. Fire at the airport a building made of sticks...
Carry parcel 8 year old boy Ethiopian food shortage emaciated green liquid gruel war drought isolation bandits. He was going to die if we didn't make it somehow. June 22, 1941 4:00 AM Operation Barbarossa [ WW II ] 3 million died. Somebody upstairs was rolling the dice. Democracy takes advantage of higher prices. Economic duplication of one standard floor plan. Early this morning... Hmmm...
Not a pretty picture same as all the rest. Learning a nasty lesson on the stock exchange. Column head body brain outer space oblivion early this morning a giant asteroid crashed out of the sky a morning like every other with the radio on. Historical references recurring today in a TV sitcom. Image of a head zooms towards the camera in a field of stars floating above background '666' tattooed on its gums. 'Leisure is our right!' it repeats in a voice dry as sand large boats rusting metal high and dry on the bottom of the sea...
The eye seems to understand the mysteries and the knowledge on the sidewalk. On the bus in Zimbabwe breast feeding Coca-cola urban camouflage invisible hurricane of sound. They look back on the pathway they have come down the empty street the hero has beer for breakfast at a bar. He is a seeker of wisdom and truth the love of a good woman has made him see the light the miracle of life is the door and he has the key. Premonition glass monolith the red and the blue life and death rock and roll.
The Fool is like a cartoon character. He doesn't seem to notice he is stepping off a cliff followed by the laughing dog. Willing to risk everything moments of happiness. The Fool is tumbling into the Great Unknown. Humble stepping off a cliff being a fool he trusted everyone being a fool all the children loved him reminiscing in dusty rooms can be dangerous. The flowers that never bloom. 40,000 babies die each day of starvation in the poorest countries. "And in this harsh world draw thy breathe in pain." [Shakespeare 'Hamlet' Act 5, Scene 2] voice of conscience face on a TV screen with scroll bands like a mask floating over the eyes and mouth.
Constant hum uncontrollable insatiable like the sound of a magnetic head dragging over a weave of audiotape stretched out as a carpet on the floor. The hungry machine running hot oil dripping from veins like sweat. You can see the little stones from here, too each one labelled with a small white sticker like a prescription words impossible to decipher on a typewritter hieroglyphics from centuries ago. Now they come! There must be a sale on. It's like a religion. The priests look tired it's almost quiting time. Romantic mythical spiritual and metaphysical journey of the senses.
[ When he was young he would watch the old men telling stories. But the sea was in his blood. ] A white boat a blue backdrop in atmospheric perspective run aground on a rock in the sea. An evil spell cast by a spider crawling up a leg. Portal fragment... "This is the Dictator!" Dictaphone Dictator recording machine. A secretary named Gabby beautiful young woman long auburn hair streaked with blue black tattoo white gloves... Funky oily smell like someone else's sweat the broken scratch of static cuts through the radio conversation like new ice talking: "This is the Dictator..." One would complete the sentence of the other...
Talking leverage ~ borrowed more than can be repaid but the banks can't afford to collect talking "This is the Dictator" turn up the TV to full volume [ talking ] to drown out daily life [ the fishermen ] the picture is green amplified beyond recognition the ruined map ink dissolved by the sea from the drain holes of the sinks and sewers freedom once achieved wants to be escaped from "This is the Dictator" irridescent expressions confrontation is to be avoided Man of Honour hero in his own melodrama. Work is a form of beauty. In the spring when the branches are thin and shiny as spiderwebs in the sunlight I try to keep everything neat and tidy...
Alchemy.. The paperwork piles high like cold dark matter in a light blue haze paperwork on the marble tabletop. The night was turning blue alone at midnight with Mable. Alarms sound in the street someone set off an opera hat grenade it was a revelotution under glass. Mable smelled like sweat and gasoline alone at midnight on a cardboard island washed ashore on a paper tidal wave. The keys to the car were sent to the cleaners in the pocket of a jacket with leather elbows. The bottles were empty at the hotel the bartender served imaginary booze with a phantom limb...
One-eyed dog watched every move skinny heater... Good Heavens! Good dog. But it doesn't matter Mabel just got off work at the truck stop smelling of sweat and gasoline the record ends the needle slips on a groove. The paperwork is not done and no way to keep ahead of the paper waves too many times... no way to spend a night. Mabel stretched out on the couch the record skips ~ pull the plug behind a stack of paper bundles accidently unplug the fridge as well and not really caring because of all the damn paperwork.
"I am the Dictator" I am a toxic-fueled ocean machine I am the water moccasin wrapped around your feet. I'm the jacket with the leather elbows. The sun comes up slipping and sizzling into the sky burning glowing spots onto the retina the phone is buried under the paper wasteland hoping it will ring to provide a clue where it might be hiding. Room service! What's her name? Still sleeping. You can see up her dress. Another truckload of paper arrives at the door borrow four dollars from the delivery man your wallet is being drycleaned. Thats one view, there are others. Good Heavens! Good dog.
Eyes beginning to see things that are not there the sun turns from violet to red her lips are moving in sleep like an animated character lip-synched to a slowed down re cor ding! The window glass shatters in a prism of refracting light like a crazy person scribbling on the walls with a fist full of felt-tipped markers. The city is coming to life like a Pachinko machine. Another load of paper for the fireplace face white as a Kabuki actor bird canary shit white folded white paper white. The test of manhood is pain gold tooth girl named Mabel or maybe Gabey girl talk secretaries legs you can see up her dress...
Sitting by the window chain smoking until she has gone back to work. Placid tranquil lake scene serene gentle waves a motorboat blasts by ashes of paper drift from the fireplace floating around the room lighting a cigarette from the last drop of an empty bottle of Scotch torture endurance business negotiations a small avalanch of paper slides into the corner but the banks can't afford to collect. Sixty percent of the children are aging faster than any other place on Earth compressing space and time...
Throwing paper airplanes drunkenly out the window possessing the metaphor of paper while the fireplace burns the sun moves slowly across the sky round trip ticket blues. Adapt rather than adopt their social structure revolutionary concepts are not tolerated in the ruling strata individuals affect decision making primary building blocks immaterial beyond logic. A hero in his own melodrama. Victim mentality never appear to be quiet confrontation is to be avoided.
The airplane falls to the street below run over by a passing car chewed up by a one-eyed dog. Good Heavens! Immaterial never appears. "It's okay!" age is a hazard of existence therefore beauty. Language is not structured for a minimum of artiface he was sweating now. She would come back. Overhead leaflets drop from a passing plane paper piles up like snow drifts blanketing the city with shovels they emerge from their houses they are dressed differently in the same way what they are about to do is not important. It sounds good on paper.
He gets busy with a pen and makes marks on the various surfaces signing his name in red ink a wasp buzzes around the room... A Warwick Nightingale. Home box office satellite digital information faxed simultaneously to eleven locations in the United States spews a glossy wax length across the floor industrial leisure products. Old hat casino gasoline red herring kleenex ghost the papers were reminders of all the things to be done of all the things that could be done...
All the things he wished he had done with a pair of scissors Good heavens! Stone deaf Bad dog. Meanwhile more paper arrives through a slot in the door another armload for the fireplace to ward off the chill of approaching night she arrives and talks talks talks about work is she my secretary? she stretches out on the couch primitive pagan upper-middle class What is her name? His hand is tired from signing paper his hand is a tired bird looking for the nest...
He can see up her dress "I am the Dictator" but she is asleep now forming words in silence to someone in her dreams. A children's book falls open to a picture of a wooden mill some people create work for others. A cat lets out a scream in the night the credits scroll up the skyline. The light is cheery in the fireplace he didn't recognize the flames they must be new ones rookies, he thought helluva way to make a living end of the road nothin' but pushing paper it pays the bills... He could have been a gardener.
She would have read to him if he was a gardener. She could have read him stories while he was pulling weeds (he surmised) He really didn't know anything about gardening all he knew was paper illusion and representation without historical references another page falling from the book another leaf in the garden. Mouth closed four o'clock in the morning eyes like glass face like a Noh mask possibility of action he gets busy like every other morning with the radio on.
Doctor blade cleans the plate steel die capillary action "Do you want to see my etchings?", he asked her dryly. Ballet slippers of silver, bronze and gold collecting dust on the shelf "I should have known", she said. A kiss on her cheek all those years ago a teardrop in the dust as soft as a phantom kiss lingers on a moth flies toward the oil lamp. In the blackness a train wreck coma semi-colon return the computer screen shuts down only the sound of music in the distance rain remains dressed in shapeless skies.
Paper chairs paper bed paper hat paper plane just as good as anything you can buy in the store made of metal or wood and a helluva lot cheaper. The fire is toasty.
Time Traveler's Notebook [ TWO ]
The chemist eyes the glass containing fluid reflecting his image vials, beakers, cylinders and tubes coloured substance piped through crystal veins. Brain synthesis the body of god a psychedelic sacrament...
The visions glow with soft illumination the bitter aftertaste remains the maze of scratched chalk lines on the blackboard detail a partial journey through the senses cryptic symbols dot the map repeating the question. Huge black hornet shiny black as plastic black as night buzzes against the dusty window view of industrial park. Sunlight gold on the rusted metal. Cactus dry on a dusty wooden crate. A halo of cigarette smoke encircles the thorns thin line dangling from thin lips.
Heavy metal scratches on the mesh of high-fidelity speakers ants walk the floor the smell of gasoline exhausted he sits back deep in thought deep in the human aroma of stale cushions stained and rippled itchy small red bites appear on the skin and always the everpresent cigarette glowing brightly between thoughts now rapidly closing in on the nervous system. Hollywood directors hardware and software programmers entertainment has become a religion floating in the think tank incubating fear and delusions virtual reality is the only reality...
Rebuilding the world inside the former one nested subroutines replicating the passage and the journey toward the new lands out beyond the map revelations downloading conciousness into a black box. Edgy energy stored in magnetic charges fragile encoded like a genetic twist. The Great Escape from the body into the mind into the intangible. Channeling psychic streaming... The narrow band of debris a comet tail reaching for the sun not realizing it will be destroyed innocent the ice and the fire absolute zero and infinity alpha and omega.
"There doesn't seem to be anybody out there", she said looking through her telescope at a distant galaxy the light from one million years in the past burned into her retina. Later she would write it all down and have a glass of wine. She started a list item one: buy cat food. Andy Warhol made a print for his wall. He put it up with masking tape... Who knew? He would become famous. If you could talk with God, what would you talk about? The preacher was shining his shoes early sunday morning. It was almost show time.
We're ready for you Mr. Gordon in five... she could barely write her name she listened to every word she was almost six years old. The writer sat chewing on the end of his pen a saxophone was playing on the radio in a few minutes the telephone would ring it would change his life suddenly nothing would be the same. Memory storage files he had accumulated so much data over the years believing that by hoarding it, it would become valuable like a baseball card of Roger Maris.
There was no nostalgia to outdated information a flood of the new stuff arrived through every orifice in his small apartment mailslot phone computer television radio magazines and books and so on... Now he realized the truth it was time to stem the rising tide of information surging in to insulate himself from the constant barrage before it engulfed him swallowed him alive kicking and screaming into the belly of hell. Mountains of data spikes rising on the graph to towering peaks programs to improve your memory the speed of your brain your CPU.
High tech high anxiety cyberfusion lost on the information highway drifting along Inca roads psychedelic confusion red, yellow blue and orange a Mexican priestess a near-death experience have you seen any signs? Listen take this you'll see! Who knows what will happen angels come and angels go there is never any vacancy at this motel the door slams embattling convictions undaunted the voices excempted they have nothing to declare that is their custom it's relatively obscure. Sometimes she appears to be faithful...
The laundry never gets done glassy-eyed the chemist sits in a folding chair outside a mobile home it is almost night now time to turn on a light and see. Take a look at the detailed history study it for many years. What have you learned? Aha, I thought so! See, I have never studied but i do have a sense about these things. I can't explain it. Don't you believe me? He emerged the champion the contest was not clear but the implications are everywhere I'm certain you have read about them. You talk too much! Rush back and tell everybody on your cellular phone. I'll turn off my hearing aid.
The air is warm and as bright as a urine sample in a plastic bottle with an orange lid. She certainly was well-funded he was certainly well-endowed. They made a wonderful couple! Candles glow the battered steel red door white powder in a glassine envelope a weird sense of the absurd where is the wisdom? It's in a shopping cart over in the alley under the bridge. The dynamo pounded hard in the distance. The screen flickered to life film scratches flicker past tired eyes working hard for the money.
Nothing is sacred used car lots chinese restaurants brand name furniture black velvet waterbed sheets apocalypse poetry mysticism a dark room the smell of cat piss the old bed surrounded by small fruit trees bearing miniature oranges fluorescent grow lights suspended by chains from the ceiling sensimilla wood paneling white bars on the windows security a hockey game on TV the reproduction of a Dutch master in a tarnished frame strange animals in the folds of the woman's dress and table cloth luscious highlights in the bowl of fruit booze in dusty old bottles on a light green painted dresser.
Outside in the rain ( always rain ) on the highways through the city cars are driving in the night passing large trucks hauling freight lights splashing off the shiny pavement wheels howl under the overpass. A shopping cart rattled down the back lane the crowd at the hockey game cheered loudly the writer threw another armload of paper into the fire. Scrabble letters strewn across the floor on linoleum tiles a group on one tile formed the word: 'MOO' He polished off a half-full bottle of rum that had been there for over 20 years.
He was born in an abandoned car at the edge of the desert down in Arizona now he is selling real estate and making a healthy commision. The telephone is ringing the beasts have taken to showing diabolical impressions terrible smile nail polish remover rebellious they photographed themselves doing it dizzyness nausea and neurological damage from prolonged exposure. I'm sure you have read about them... Soul radiation airport security x-rays of photographic cameras passengers on a journey carry the weight of the world on their shoulders suntanned skin in patches toxic advice and the buzz of cheap wine...
Into the deep blue high over clouds deadly skies containing cyanide. A sneeze! Travel investing fragrance shopping etc... selective ventures art youth the good life that's all I want. Scribbles on pages in a notebook the city around you breaking the routine fine dining take in the sights dozens of vistas desktop snapshots of private places where achievers scheme and dream. The web stretches taught Spiderman drives a pickup truck with the radio on... The rocket plant near the edge of town. Top secret.
Satellite boomtown tomorrow's money planet-friendly recycling controversial but poplar. Reshape yourself sew on a rug welcome to the world of fakes smaller nose great big boobs want the new secret weapon know the gossip get the power blue button bottom line later she would write it all down and have a glass of wine. Sometime she appears to be faithful pink dress swaying from rounded hips fashion, beauty business, health food, humour knitting, divorce large earrings short story. The battered steel red nose powder holes carpet burns...
Mr. Magic at the bar the Dark Queen image machine get real big wheel big daddy meals on wheels let's make a deal treating her the same in the boardroom or the bedroom. There, I said it. Ink stained hands fingerprints safety tips they let down their guards green light on the runway constant awareness in a plain brown wrapper perpetual notions bad habits in-flight movie headphones cranked to slack-key guitar heart pounding like a surfboard into a coral reef the scenery moves past at 500 miles an hour. Living letters to each other...
The sculptor lives happily in the crowded elevator enjoying cakes and ale three cheers for everything this beautiful courtyard was an ingenious idea the architect created a home that reflected our lifestyle more cakes and ale a gut-wrenching elegant belch... In the winter the moat is filled with snow. I'm sure you've read about them in Hollywood press releases written by some pretentious bore the jaded moviegoer and his wife Gilligan and the skipper too also Jello Biafra. Opinions expressed are not necessarily attributable statements nor do we guarantee accuracy said the archer as he drew back his bow. It made the audience quiver.
The patron saint of junked cars and demolition derbies smiled as rats jumped out of a toaster it's party time at the Royal Bear West Valley Highway near Auburn evil medicine Satan's kool-aid 100 proof. Memory debased irresponsible malicious ignorant misinformation manipulative parasites devious self-righteous cretins on the disaster bandwagon. Your memory will be cursed forever that's pretty strong language there pal maybe you should seek medical advice. She lip-syncs one of her gospel songs complete with choir and full band ( What in God's name? )
She talks and talks about her rise to stardom from commercials and game shows spin the wheel 50 points spin the wheel where real estate prices are heading spin the wheel economic meltdown the TV reception really sucks in the limo turn off your hearing aid. We are the time travellers suprise your friends with a handful of pesos from the 1800s my partner is in the grip of the dogs you know what that means put a lampshade over your head and turn out the lights experience christmas in a modern world it is the new age thing to do surprise your friends!
Metal burning my skin green peeling like a sunburn looking at the postcard behind dark glasses 'I like it here! ' was all that was written. The postage stamp was a lampshade. Brown sun-stained copy of the New Yorker and a plastic dinosaur were his only possesions a musical comedy about changing your address and area code. He didn't recognize her in the line-up for the sunday matinee. She listened to every word the search engine running in the background she wore a slim black Dirnol skirt and smoked a big fat cigar there were no windows in the crowded elevator some kid pushed every button should have called to make an appointment.
Gold front teeth room full of cups a larky little musical based on changing your mind should have made an appointment she said... to a tall man in a Hawaiian shirt big golden smile room full of tiny paper cups water cooler no bathroom the air thick and humid stirred like soup by an overhead fan waiting room four hours your memory will be crushed forever before it swallowed him alive should have made an annulment found an envelope full of paper dots with a white triangle on them. Mailed them to a friend.
Bedbugs burgeoning backstage glass eye surveys the scene Hoboken, NJ. 07030 primitive drumbox acoustic ocean Scandinavian clubs and a full orchestra should have made an announcement porcupine with it's head cut off drunken trolley clam cakes and ale what are they talking about? Mystery virtue combat fatigues album sleeves guitarist's anger cockroaches scamper across the stage and back to the motel for the night remember not to phone late. Mandolin strings helium flotation tank the energy channels are open vacancy intuitive holistic release gift certificates available.
Spin the wheel ink-stained hands great performances gone but not forgotten... She loved Elvis more than Jesus. More than 200 kilograms wind up missing. It took awhile to get adjusted to downtown said the terrorist to the gay priest burned out buildings blank eyes window frames something cool flowing over his hands stained with ink. Place your bets! Black hole king sandblasted silver why don't they mind their own treasures? Copy, new, return paste... "I am the Dictator" the conqueror the greatest performance ever fabulous picture tables in fifteen minutes temptation or just hold your breath and shiver...
Comfortable dependable and ~ above all ~ safe! Goodbyes good wishes and good intentions the convict shook the warden's hand standing in the doorway to the prison. In South America he had stolen a journal without a twinge of conscience. It really was phenomenal. He waved a boney arm in farewell to 'The Doc' whose face appeared in a window. Eager to attain freedom he was getting nervous and anxious to depart. Things get weird I mean wired the flying carpet magic the artist 4600 lenses the vision of an insect eye Kafka was on set his face appeared after a moment under the clock he was getting nervous.
A cat screams out like a baby. Endless study and patience details the meanest man in the world. The tapeworms sing like a nightingale in heat. Get that camera out of my goddamn face or you'll eat it clams and chips churros green salad combo other bits of nature's floatsam. Red wool suit your satisfaction matters to some women quality is your most important feature to some women guaranteed velvet leaves silencio en la cabina. Feed your dog as well as you feed yourself...
The writer sat chewing on the end of her thumb. It must have been an accident. Forget them enjoy finest selected tobaccos Yes, great idea! Ha! This is the fastest switch I ever made, says Tex. Most headaches are caused by tension a harvest of toxin the pain builds so sheer so durable aggressive often imitated never duplicated don't blow your top full-flavoured sour mash spray deodorant. I got the fear half-empty satelite dish an armed pancake they let their guard down the web stretches taught The Scanner that's what they call me.
That will go on permanent record. Andy Warhol could barely write his name I turn off the hearing aid barbed wire by the sea you thought I was foolin' the good life that's all I want plants and small fruit let yourself dream of life roaring song tears us apart let yourself fear life's too good strap down the killing pancake unchain the sea a room full of cups. Airport security cowards horny as hell checking for weapons strap down the pancake it's killing me nothing wrong that's pretty strong language there pal!
Get that camera out... those statements will be included on permanent record. A Mynah bird screech in the library a cooing duet on the subway she laughs at her own jokes she can't help it they are very funny. In a field of broken light star clouds moons of Jupiter water cooler dive in degree of difficulty. Government idealist propaganda moral lessons about civic participation about aural exploration textural planes. Black leather gear money hand-held communication device.
Scribbles on pages in a notebook. No matter what you name it it's already been named. Angry French woman on the other side of the hallway always yelling at her child water boiling chicken soup. He turned off the hearing aid before it engulfed him. They call him underdog they whistle and he comes running across the lawn. Strange birds delusional parasitosis the 'coke bugs' were crawling all around Kafka's face.
Halloween skeletons frantic kinetic dances rolling around thrashing the sound of Sepultura screaming from the speakers in the nearby house somebody will call the cops let's get outta here. Free stuff !!! that's what we want go on the internet and see how much stuff you can download and squirrel away blank-eyed window frames staring at the screen in the night here he comes running across the lawn someone called the cops set the tasers to stun let's get outta here!
Elephant foot ashtray stinky foot burned raw around the rim and on the toenails nothing is sacred. Daybreak digital phosphorus glow cognition observation organized complexity memory chip not working good now too tired turn the pages look back at the information trail. Art lies in the narrow margin between the real and the unreal the art of blank whiteness delineate space draw all over yourself with a ballpoint pen. Schwitters 759.3
People are always standing in line who knows what will happen human randomness poetry freedom to liberate creative insightful passion connect construct complete sacrifice. No I got more into it seems to be the way to sense the world the revolving Earth the fall from grace the air is warm and bright. When sales double in 30 days there's got to be a reason.
"Those men have to learn they are not gods they can't go around smashing up buildings", the voice came from the bottom of his boots. "You should have made an appointment", she said. I need another cup of coffee. Painting doll's faces at the toy factory assembly line every day every face was the same as it was in the beginning another armload of paper for the fire another paper plane out the window. A ringing telephone a sneeze...
Another face another cup of coffee telephone ring... 'Hello?' this better be good news fuel guage the letter 'F' the letter 'E' before and after another cup of coffee. Water saver control lets you select water levels from eleven gallons for small washes up to full capacity for big washes the letter 'F' the letter 'U' the letter 'C' the letter 'K' alphabet town is closing down for the night. Black-eyed window frames black coffee darkest night. She would still be awake...
Sitting before the typewriter consuming chemically enhanced food products paranormal hotel room edge of town her new novel is entitled: 'Women, Sex and Anger' normal paramilitary hotel room I feel like I got a hangover the size of Peru a handful of capsules fingerbones hinge painfully a glass of Salamander brandy aphrodisiac a handful of capsules taken for granted improve memory prevent blindness these babies do it all...
The face a pale reflection of reality 40 watts on the inside of a blank night black window. Zero time sick tracks contents under pressure ecstacy under duress explosion in a shingle factory countdown... the clock is running crash for hi-fi 200 kilograms the luxury of horns. Data dump on the permafrost slaughterhouse invitation velvet leaves spin the wheel of process for rebellion from acid dreams.
The friction and contradictions remain non-mimetic the part the whole the word the fragments the contemplation of moments.
Time Traveler's Notebook [ THREE ]
Intermittence of the zoetrope
intervention of the machine the relationship of the parts to the whole the relationship of the parts to the part the contemplation of moments.
The portrait has been there for many years nobody even knew who the person was anymore somebody once knew. Who knows what will happen human randomness frame guilded tarnished and dusty outside it was raining. On the shelf were other perceptual apparatus a kaleidoscope phenakistoscope next to the zoetrope intermittence a prism faintly glowing in the overcast light dislocate reintegrate shatter motion intermittence
Fluid unity of natural grace the horse jumping endlessly an infinite loop never weary never erring intermittence the portrait had been there for many years staring out solemn and stern frozen... intermittence the wheel ceases it's revolution on the dusty shelf. Presence fate causality motivation and the soul beyond the surface. The parts the whole the word the fragments the contemplation of moments.
The zoetrope spins motes of dust drift off the shelf the rain pounds on the window like a hammer the fall from grace the wheel ceases it's revolution frozen [ fade out ] Black voices in the darkness whispers barely audible over the hum of the machine. The light returns slowly creeping filling up the shadows the horrible faces of terror are revealed in the wax museum faces translucent in the glowing dawn.
The Thunderbird immense drifts slowly over the horizon tentacles of fog cling to the glistening forests in the golden intensity of the rising sun. Vampire rodents flee the museum the wax figure The King of Tarts slowly melts filling the air with the aroma of paraffin and strawberry preserves. Red drops congeal on the surface the skin marked by the metal tip... kick that habit. Perhaps it wasn't an accident. Blinking eyes at the end of a thought hitting the spacebar at the end of a sentence. No answer on the phone voicemail...
Information warning message internal dialogue factual statements contemptuous of death. Sunlight through the water drops falling off the shed roof explode like a flare liquid flames welcomed by the parched ground randomness creative passion filter people through your life draw all over your body with a ballpoint pen. The video screen crackles with static from surveillance cameras around the world randomness with audio. Type a letter on the keypad to contact the multimediator...
What's your problem? greed fun justice jealousy more fun business corporate envy spirituality entertainment politics compassion fear death. 'You name it!' Faces translucent and the soul beyond the surface the cursor moves across the screen like a OUIJA board magnetic fields chemical growth decomposition sound ice pressure. Typewriter gas burner paper piles up like snow drifts blanketing the city perhaps it wasn't an accident...
The portrait stares solemn and stern unblinking the writer presses the spacebar it's just a metaphor soft drop of water falling into the sink marking off a much slower passage of time. Contract chameleon creating art content unprocessed data freelance brain drain bring in fresh blood headhunters talking on cellular phones. The stars burn brightly painfully bright in the deep purple pool of space a long time ago before animals changed into humans. Textured polygons change and transform according to thoughts of the traveler viewpoints track and shift abruptly like memories and dreams...
The horror the zoetrope body sensors the hum of the machine. The crumbling towers nine skeleton keys one drowning in the ocean one new kind of water. Plant lover spirit leap over boundaries in the infinite world mirror translucent faces glowing in the dawn African map lightning dead leaves decapitation. Behind the portrait is a safe combination lock. The bombing caused extensive damage. Our ideas are fire The Wax King slowly melts perhaps it wasn't an accident. La Natura Vulcanica Suolo "Thanks", she said, "Now why don't you get the hell out of here?"
She belched the odour of rotten flowers. What was her name? This was a popular movie of its time the screen had an image projected onto it then everything went dark while the projector quickly advanced to the next frame the illusion of motion was convincing intermittence of the zoetrope He did not notice that flourescent lights went dark 120 times every second which was due to the slow response of the photoreceptors in his eye persistence of vision anything faster than 20 times a second is just a blur blinking eyes at the end of a thought. The darkness barely whispers. green fields in deep freeze...
Draw all over the moment with a ballpoint pen. Perhaps it wasn't entrophy the second law of thermodynamics. A wasp flew across the sky one million years ago what did you do today? The wasp was flying 15 miles per hour It's wingspan was four feet. Natural evolution progressed slowly until humans intervened. He could taste the lead in the water pipes in the soup and in the coffee. These new machines are wonderful we have given them life skeleton keys epiphany bliss nirvana.
Innovators live at the edge of the cultural habitat the furthest reaches of the known world evolutionary changes occur quickly under stress species living at the edge of their habitats mutate quickly. The light returns turning the old ones into the new ones tracking stations monitor cosmic debris fragments the size of a schoolbus. Language is a virus speaking in imperfect and unfinished words mutating and evolving moving and revolving the light returns the zoetrope turns tropism ~ tendency of a plant or animal to turn or move in response to an environmental stimulus. The 'Ode to Joy' played very fast on the hand-cranked Victorolla fluid a new kind of portrait stares stern sinking.
Reconstituted art just add water. Excitement fear poetic sense dreamlogic these new machines are wonderful! Sunday morning dead leaves image projected onto everything the door slams flourescent light the roof explodes like a flare for this reason it is evident. Millions of people swimming and dancing. Last night someone bypassed the security software. Five ... one thousand nine hundred and ninety six ... one thousand nine hundred and ... I hope you don't have pneumonia.
Create your own culture logical structures architectural framework simplify complexity drag icon to trash ... Relax! The traffic has died because of the recent disaster. Perhaps it wasn't an accident. I hope you don't mind me sending you this... evolution was progressing slowly the zoetrope spun lazily in the breeze from the window the portrait smiled unblinking 'Conquered with evidence' Hieroglyphs what do they mean? filters broken language talk written shell smooth. She exudes the aroma of raw sensuality. The love of my life breasts firm and ripe She is beautiful !
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gregory Zbitnew has previously authored the ‘generator’ series of e-novels through his independent production entity; Dream Logic Corporation. Throughout his career, Gregory has also produced interactive CD-ROM projects, documentary films and animation, and created magazine illustrations and collage artwork. 'Time Traveler's Notebook' was originally handwritten in 3 journals while living in Vancouver, Canada during the period of 1992-94. These journals were dormant for some 20 years before being transcribed and digitally formatted in December, 2014.
Novels in print by Gregory Zbitnew available from Dream Logic Corporation: generator [volume one] floating-point ISBN 0-9686729-1-4 (2000) generator [volume two] eternal golden light ISBN 0-9686729-0-6 (2005)
For information about Gregory Zbitnew's projects, visit his website: www.dreamlogiccorporation.com Email: gregoryz@shaw.ca