dear diary

not through yet with the book-form of late poe biography, but the audible title says he briefly associated with jesuits, so late theory is they killed him; prob because of eureka. as you know i had tried to get through it my twenties, so will go through it again now

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Check out this title on Audible

Nevermore
By Troy Taylor
Narrated by Darren Marlar

Listen on Audible:
https://www.audible.com/pd/B09WT33PKZ?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=player_overflow


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dear diary

 the 3i/atlas thing makes everyday like leading to Christmas as a kid, all kinds of conjecture about what's gonna be under the tree

Check out this title on Audible

W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919
By David Levering Lewis
Narrated by Courtney B. Vance

Listen on Audible:
https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F1BMJ98P?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=player_overflow


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https://music.apple.com/us/album/higher-truth/1440816954?i=1440817357


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dear diary

 so much going on; the political science project; orienting folks to the arts, etc.

Email to principles

 With further investigation found Malibu Art Association was incorporated in ’63, ran for ten years, then failed to file until 2005, when you guys picked up the ball.

I was under the impression that there was a through-line going back to ’53. You guys did the work, I don’t want to blow that up.

I have been in touch with the City and the Arts Commission, and having read the deed to Legacy Park, trying to get them to adopt/promote passive recreation (sharing art [what the park was deeded to nurture]). In fact they're already adopting a new approach to encampment, so it dovetails, and maybe one day Legacy will be a place where any vetted artist can show and hang out and have fun talking art with folks.

Again, you guys picked up the ball, and I appreciate the opportunities; some weight needs to be pulled, I’ll do it.

I owe MAA about $100 from the last day of sales.

Sincerely,
John

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recent email

 Dear Council Member Conrad,

I’ve been a member of the Malibu Art Association for some time and as you know we set up in Legacy Park one Sunday per month. I’ve noticed that homeless folks will be there in the morning occupying the stalls, but as soon as the artists start setting up, they vacate the premises. I have been there on Sundays when there are no artists, and the homeless stay put, and the folks shopping those Sundays have homelessness to look away from.

The deed to the park, found in City records, states it’s to be used for education and/or passive recreation. The latter includes anything from bird watching to sharing art. A link below testifies to the idea that art/educational displays as passive recreation in a park brings health to the community. If so, a vision might be to vet artists/artisans who are studied in their genre, and allow them to educate/provide passive recreation, while simultaneously mitigating the homeless situation. Action by the Council in this regard could and would turn Legacy Park into a wellness hub: 

https://www.nrpa.org/our-work/Three-Pillars/health-and-well-being/

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/53045b41ea204719a6aace92481f99ee

Records show that a main component of the Legacy Park Project was/is to develop it into a public amenity with educational/passive recreation offerings, so actually, no heavy lifting is required, the City just has to put word out to artists, and in due time Legacy Park might evolve where locals and visitors alike, with a little free time on their hands, will be keen to go see what artists are showing. It really is a beautiful park, and really could become the place where neighbors meet to catch up and be surprised by the work of an accomplished artist/artisan; a place a parent can take their kids to learn and get inspired—a wellness hub.

Sincerely,

John De Herrera

805-708-1965

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dear diary

 May this year my automobile registration expired, and knew it was going to be a problem for it to pass the smog test, to get that little red sticker on the license plate, so I started the investigation and going through the motions of what could be done by myself to get it to pass. Did some repairs, got a little diagnostic device, and began the effort to remedy the codes so that the monitors would set. I successfully removed two codes, one by buying an additive for my catalytic converter and implementing that. In California, if your Volvo is 1998 or older, you don't need the monitors to set and the smog requirement is waived; in fact, a number of states have waived the requirement for Volvos that old. My car is 1999, so in California I could only have one of the monitors blinking, meaning it had yet to reset. After disconnecting the battery and taping cables together overnight, to drain memory from car to begin anew, the codes were removed, meaning there’s nothing wrong with the car, but I still had the oxygen sensor, the catalytic converter, and the evaporation system monitors which needed to be set. In order to set them one must successfully complete drive cycles. The factory drive cycle is to drive twenty minutes at 45-50 mph, stop, and then do another twenty minutes, and I’m like, where in southern California am I going to be able to drive forty-five mph for twenty minutes? And yet if you go to car forums, some mechanics suggest alternate drive cycles, and some say you have to just drive it in all conditions until they set. So I commence with a drive cycle on the 23 between Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. I get it down to the CAT and EVAP blinking, then another day driving back and forth, kind of sweating being pulled over for no tag, but confident I could reason with any officer about the situation. Then one day, I do a cycle, pull over, plug in diagnostic tool, and all the lights go green; I quick get over to a smog station, and the guy says it won’t pass. I take the failed smog to the Bureau of Automotive Repair, and via patience, am kicked upstairs to admin, and told they’d send notice to Sacramento for temp extension on registration, they guy telling me I’m just under the wire, because a few days more it would’ve been too late. So I go back to drive cycles and get it down to EVAP only, then another test and the CAT monitor goes back on, then the Check Engine Light goes back on, and I’m crushed. I call the mechanic who had walked me through a previous repair, and afterwards had dropped off a work of art in appreciation, and he says bring it on in. When I pull into his shop the radiator light goes on, ugh. Anyway, we run the test, and he says it’s only the EVAP showing and I should try to get it smogged. I get it smogged, and go to get the sticker, and when the lady opened the draw and I saw that little stack or little red stickers, I couldn’t believe it. I had all my documents in my composition book, one of those black/white marbled ones anyone can get at the store. I put it on top the car while I affix the sticker and drive off. I stop to get some supplies, and realize the composition book is gone. I have about twenty of them dating back to 1984, with notes/updates/poems, and that one was like two years old. I’m sitting there, thinking are you kidding me? The highest of highs tempered with a low of lows? I call to see if anyone has turned anything in, and answer No, so I race back to see if I can find it. I come around the corner and see something in the middle of the street, looking like it might be it. It was.

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dear diary

 So, was able to get a Malibu City Council member on the phone to hear me out, and with that conversation in my back pocket, sent the following email to the two top dogs of the Malibu Art Association:

I wasn’t upset when Pamela ended a call last Sunday afternoon, saying her blood was boiling, saying I’m out of the MAA and hanging up. I was like, gosh, didn’t think it would come to this, but as I’ve processed things over the past couple days, reviewing past emails, I wouldn’t say my blood is boiling, but I am feeling indignant.

The expository information is, I went to Legacy last Sunday and made sales, and someone told on me. The charge is I jeopardized the MAA and its relations with the city, which is untrue. I wasn’t wearing an MAA lanyard or t-shirt, or had anything on my table with MAA on it; in fact MAA never comes up interacting with folks. I always say I’m an artist who had a studio in Santa Barbara and show them a laminate verifying that; and should I be questioned by an enforcement agent with nothing better to do, I would not drop MAA into the discussion. In the decades of selling on the street, the two or three times I’ve been questioned, I say I’m just sharing my art, that I love talking about art with people, and that I’m not actively seeking donations.

At the first Legacy gig earlier this year I said to Bonnie and Martha and another, I had already left an art association based on internal politics. Then I had an amiable conversation with Bonnie, her telling me she wanted help. During one conversation Pamela told me Tim wasn’t all that great at Membership. At that point I knew I needed to see the by-laws to determine how much time/energy I was going to expend.

Then, an email round-robin about the by-laws—someone has them, who has them, aren’t they on our website? I then texted Pamela playfully, saying I cease and desist from asking about the by-laws, I’m just happy to be a member and provided opportunities to sell work.

Last Sunday Bonnie plied me again, that she wants to pull back from obligations due to circumstances in her life, and Martha was there, and I said I had already suggested, we just need a Zoom to get on the same page.

Ideally, you’d put out word to membership about a Zoom, at the top briefly detail where MAA is today, then open discussion about what needs to be done and what might be done (and I have been in contact with city officials, and there are options available to MAA). If, you’re like, No Way, this rogue artist is not going to get involved in our polite society—too many of us don’t like him—and guess I’d understand—then let’s discuss what that looks like from here.

I’ve been involved in writ proceedings when it comes to the arts, and it wasn’t because I had nothing better to do, it was because when it comes to the arts there are certain lines if crossed, mandate I act. I know how to look up local court rules for pleadings and so forth, but I’m not interested in drama, I’m interested in sleeping at night, knowing I said/did what any serious artist would under the circumstance. If I’ve been accused of anything, list those accusations and allow me to admit or deny; the by-laws certainly contain language concerned with removing members, and if you show them to me I can show you how to legally remove me, keeping the integrity of MAA in tact, while honoring the work and legacy of Marjorie Knowles.

For now this is the nicest and most gracious email I could compose in over an hour. As far as I’m concerned I’m a horse that could and would pull weight for MAA, and you guys have spooked me. Do I want to put hoof to stall and file a Writ of Mandate with MAA on the hook? No, I don’t, but if it turns out that’s what needs to happen to honor Ms. Knowles, I might be forced to.

Please consider how the present drama can be turned into comedy and harmony. I’m not a bad person, I’m an old artist who still cares about the arts. I don’t want to be president or an admin, I just want to be able to sell art, and do the work the association needs done.

Sincerely,

John