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ztor

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

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Check out www.ztor.wordpress.com for Parts 1 - 8 of Anywhere But Here and a new Obverse poem

MY UPCOMING READINGS: I Will Be Reading At The Following Upcoming Open Mics (No cover or minimum except as noted):

Thursday, May 29, 2008 – 10:00 PM

Mic Club

Lucky Jack's

129 Orchard Street(just North of Delancey)

New York, NY

Tuesday, June 3, 2008 – 7:30 PM

DiVerseCity

La Negrita

999 Columbus Avenue (at 109th Street)

New York, NY

Thursday, June 5, 2008 – 8:30 PM

Featuring at:

Art Land

609 Grand Street

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

(I'll be taking the stage at about 10:30 but urge you to come early to check out all the amazing performers.)

Wednesday, June 9, 2008 -- 8:00PM

National Underground

159 East Houston Street (b/w Allen and Eldridge Streets)

New York, NY

Wednesday, June 11 -- 8:00PM

Spike Hill

184 Bedford Avenue

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Monday, June 16, 2008 -- 8:00 PM

Saturn Poetry Series Nightingale Lounge

213 Second Avenue (Corner of East 13th Street)

New York, NY

$6.00 Minimum

Saturday, June 21, 2008 – 2:00 PM

Make Music New York Festival

Soho Square

Avenue of the Americas & Spring Street

New York, NY

(This ain't an open mic; it's just me doing an hour of my own thing.)

VARIATIONS ON A THEME: #8

She laughs. Not

Riotously but softly

Sincerely as if she is

Truly amused by what he

Said recalls for a

Moment that passes

Like a shadow cast by the

Headlights of a

Passing car why they came

Together but not so

Much that she

Forgets about her

Concerns and the

Uncertainty that

Remains that they promised to

Discuss in the

Morning.

copyright © 2008 by zev torres

My Interests

Touching the sky, passing through my fears, experiencing things for the very first time, learning about what interests You. And -- writing about everything: fiction and fact, reality and fantasy, the grey area where feelings, thought and faith combust. Writing about things that happened and things that didn't. Writing about a person roaming alone late at night searching for compassion but too frightened to tell anyone what he needs. And writing about people hitting it off at the grandest most elaborate party ever; hitting it off, connecting and yet when the sun rises, they're unable to understand why they feel more alone than ever before. Tossing words around, lumping words together, finding new ways to say the same old thing, and finding those things that have never before been said. And, running around, playing basketball or football or whatever until I'm gasping for air. And, just for fun, banging on the 'ol piano.

I'd like to meet:

Anyone [who can read through what follows and recognize that I don't mean to sound so pretentious]: who craves and thrives on the creative charge that means we're relly alive; who knows that the spirit that counts is the spirit within; who appreciates that we're all on watch for something new and exciting, for something that expands our awareness and our sense of purpose; who understands that by listening we share the most sacred part of our being; and who can distinguish between the silence that we offer as a gift and the silence that rips us apart.

Music:

In No Particular Order: Widespread Panic, Howard Fishman Quartet, String Cheese Incident, Moe., Bela Fleck, Haale, Zappa, Oscar Lopez, Thelonious Monk, Hendrix, John Scofield, Dark Star Orchestra, Nirvana, Old Bones & Band Decay, Yonder Mountain String Band, Galactic, Dr. John, Janis Joplin (her performances in Festival Express really opened my eyes to her talent; she was freaking incredible), Miles, Bird, Pharoah's Daughter, Warren Haynes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rhythm Devils, Augustus Pablo, Burning Spear, A'Smith, Los Lobos, Medeski, Martin & Wood, God Street Wine (I miss those guys), Tool, The New York Philharmonic (especially on the Great Lawn on a hot summers' night; terrible accoustics but a magical experience). Currently under consideration to be counted as a Favorite amongst favorites: Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Arcade Fire.

Movies:

Looking for Richard, Usual Suspects, Memento, Night at the Opera, Pulp Fiction, The Great Escape, Postcards from the Edge, Devil's Advocate, Bull Durham, Philadelphia Story, Chicago, Raging Bull, Time Code, The Kids are Allright, Steetcar Named Desire (Saw that as part of a double feature with Splendor in the Grass; had a brutal headache after that twinbill but it was worth the pain), Chinatown, Casablanca. Waiting to pass the test of time: Match Point and Little Miss Sunshine.

Television:

Any program in black in a white in a language I don't understand. Also, that weird movie that was on a few weeks back (maybe it was years) when I awoke in a haze during the darkest part of the night in a place that didn't seem at all familiar. I fell back to sleep and woke up in my own bed but ever since I've been trying to figure out what it was that I saw.

Books:

Crime & Punishment (Dostoyevsky), Sirens of Titan (Vonnegut; most things by Vonnegut are a hoot and worth the read), Milagro Beanfield War (Nichols), Cider House Rules (Irving), Libra (DeLillo), For Whom the Bell Tolls (Hemingway), The Gospel According to Biff (Moore; I think the title is wrong. I'll correct it), The Human Stain (Roth), Blood Meridian (McCarthy), Chronicles, V. 1 (Dylan), Canterbury Tales (Chaucer -- there are a million versions; I don't recall which one I read), The Fountainhead (Rand; Incredible. I can't believe I waited so long to read this). The Phantom Tollbooth (I'm drawing a blank on the author's name -- I'll get it. But the drawings are by Jules Feiffer. Find yourself a kid and read this book to him or her. They'll toss away their Harry Potter collection afterwards). Any short fiction by Thomas Mann (especially Mario the Magician), James Joyce (the entire collection called "The Dead"), Raymond Carver (Check out his fabulous collection, "Where I'm Calling From" ) and Paul Bowles. And don't forget America's answer to Shakespeare (who's damn good as well): Dr. Seuss. The Good Dokter was so prolific but his stuff is incredible easy to read!

Heroes:

Gil Evans; anybody who's ever been down on their luck and managed to pull themselves together to produce fabulous work while staying connected with the world (can't say that Gil ever fell into that category; he was just a cool guy).

My Blog

The Next Round is On Me (If You Can Make Sense of This)

             "Are you going to the protest?"              "Of course not."    ...
Posted by ztor on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:48:00 PST

The Tantalizing Lure of Danger

             "What's that?"              "What?"        &...
Posted by ztor on Thu, 03 May 2007 01:18:00 PST

What's In a Name

             "Consider how much better off we'd be if nobody had any names.  Names are the root cause of everything evil."    ...
Posted by ztor on Thu, 08 Mar 2007 07:52:00 PST

Grandma Bizarro

"I can't believe it.  I just can't believe it." "What's wrong this time, Sequel?""My grandmother's been arrested." "Again?" "Again.  I can't believe it,  Blizzard.  She promised us...
Posted by ztor on Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:31:00 PST

Election Play

             "Vote for me and I shall fill your mind with superlatives and pleasant fantasies."         &n...
Posted by ztor on Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:04:00 PST

The Re-Emergence

"Where were we?" "Where were we?  Where were you?" "I don't know.  Where were you?  Do you know?" "Of course.  I guess I don't.  What happened?" "I don't know.  We were h...
Posted by ztor on Mon, 31 Jul 2006 09:45:00 PST

Zigzag's Idea

    "Listen to this."     "Shhh."     "No, you got to hear this."     "In a moment.  I'm communing."     "Can I watch?" ...
Posted by ztor on Fri, 02 Jun 2006 10:07:00 PST

The Endless Party

     "I'm back from surgery, another useless life saved.  What's the point.  Bring out the fruitcake."      "Sorry, no fruit cake today.  How abo...
Posted by ztor on Wed, 24 May 2006 01:24:00 PST

The Endless Party

     "What's Sequel up to?  Planning party games?"      "That was earlier.  He's back to building the shrine.  You know, the usual Sequel stuff.&...
Posted by ztor on Wed, 17 May 2006 11:04:00 PST

The Endless Party

     "Anybody see Glee?"      "She said she was going to be late."      "But she was here already.  I saw her".     ...
Posted by ztor on Fri, 12 May 2006 11:15:00 PST