All that hard play can be hard work, and the deeper it gets, the realer it becomes. From degradation to grace and back again, turning forever on itself like a mobius strip. Beat, Beat-Up, Beatitude: words to fly by from the jam-sweet lips of angel-headed hipsters. Top or bottom, sometimes retreat is a good option. For those times, just outside the dungeon (aka The Heart Lodge) mildly hidden in the landscaping, a small magical nishikigoi (koi) pond waits. A rock ledge provides enough room for a semi-lotus, and a fine venue for adventures in ego dissolution. Flash of Orange. Take me…OM…country roads…splash sky water…gone.
Tag Archives: Beat
Beatitude and Beat in NorCal: Saratoga Springs Nishikigoi Pond
California’s Saratoga Springs used to be a stagecoach stop. That was way back in the 19th century day. Now it is a “retreat and conference center.” Yoga retreats, raves and weddings are part of the draw, but they also host Leather and S/m Club Runs. The 15 Association does the annual Boot Camp run every June. Leather Levi Weekend does a mixed ‘Twisted Summer Camp’ run in August, and this year, a new mens’ run called Gear Up premieres in late July.
Posted in ANIMALS: Human and otherwise..., Gardening, History, Leather, Nishikigoi, Northern California, Photography, Spirituality, Subcultures
Tagged 15 Association, BDSM, Beat, Beatitude, California, Culture, Gay, Gear Up, Koi, Lake County, Leather, Nishikigoi, Photography, Retreat Center, S/m, Saratoga Springs, Spirituality, Stage Coach, Yoga, Zen
London’s National Theatre opens “Angelheaded Hipsters” photos by Gay Beat Alan Ginsberg
Timothy Leary and Neal Cassady 1st meeting in Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters' 'Further' bus which Neal'd driven crosscountry SF to NY via Texas before Fall 1964 presidential election.
Beat. Beat Up. Beat Down. Beatitude. Beatnik. The mid-century, cold-war-era Beat movement exemplified movement – from degradation to grace and back again. And again. On the Road. Howl. Its literary and poetic icons were painful and exultant. The same productive tension appears in Angelheaded Hipsters, the new exhibit of photographs by Gay Beat Alan Ginsberg that just opened at London’s National Gallery. Caught by camera are Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey and other artists, writers and cultural figures who defined a moment. A BBC slide show of the exhibit is available here.
Posted in New York, Photography, Road Trips, San Francisco
Tagged Alan Ginsberg, Angelheaded Hipsters, Art, Beat, Beatnik, Culture, Gay, History, London, National Gallery, New York, Photography, San Francisco, William Burroughs
The Gay Highwaymen 