VirtualTourist Member BeatChick
| Page Views: 25,308 | Monde de Beatchick by BeatChick - last update: Feb 11, 2008 |
I am the Beatchick - ku ku kachoo! | Violent Femmes - McFadden's - June 17th, 2005 |
~Seeking to edify~
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AND
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~Indulging in Interior Monologue~
I'm quoted in the 2008 Fodor's Paris Gold Guide - I'm so excited!!!
Here's a poem written by my daughter, which she won 2nd place for in a local contest about the Holocaust; it's another in the "I Am From" series:
I am from being a sibling of seven
Weekly visits to the library
From a small town but dreams of a big city
I am from nicknames to insults
From anti-Semitism
From waking up every day in fear for my life
I am from knowledge of these ghettos
Waiting for freedom
From cringing at the voices coming from the radio
I am from racism
From a stereotype based on my religion
God please end this persecution
I am from propoganda
From being seen as scapegoats
From witnessing lies to oppress my people
I am from war
From an order of chaos
A failure to breathe
I am from rattling
Listening to the endless rattle of a cage
From thinking of the past, as I see my future ahead of me
I am from death
Smelling it, hearing it, and seeing it
With no belief that my mother and sister could possibly be dead
I am from marching to my own death
From fleeing for freedom
A chance at a real life
I am from the Holocaust
From recognizing my path
Feeling the need to make sure the future doesn't duplicate it
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| Oscar Wilde - Hôtel du Quai Voltaire-#19 Quai V. |
|  | My Favorite Poet is my Daughter, Meagan (age 15): I Am From
I am absence in church but strong in faith.
I'm from aggravation to forgiveness.
From gossip and rumors to not really worrying.
An obsession with expression.
I am from smells of perfume to cat.
From, "I killed you, and you had me weak."
I'm from laughs and sorrows.
From recovery of a broken past.
I am from loud, hyper music.
And yet from sweet, soft rhythms.
Listening to rhymes to ease the pain.
I am from running then falling.
From a catastrophe that brought so many together.
I am from the clean, the messy, and the just plain rude.
From shouts and yells of "Go away, I'm not in the mood!"
I am from understanding wrong from right.
Sleeping in to miss the bus.
From hating to wake up.
I am from daydreaming of another life.
I am from learning to be me.This is a poem from my extremely talented daughter, written when she was 14, who has been making up songs since she was 2, complete with rhyming couplets. I don't know where she gets this talent from as I know both her father & I have always wanted to write songs but neither of us could. She's been writing down her songs since she was 8. I'm blown away by her talent. This poem has been entered into an anthology called A Celebration of Young Poets which also includes a writing contest; final winners will be announced here: www.poeticpower.com |
Some of my other favorite writers are... the Beats:
Jack Kerouac (On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Subterraneans)
Hey Jack Kerouac, I think of your mother
And the tears she cried, they were cried for none other
He is probably one of my favorite writers on the planet; when you read On the Road you'll understand ("The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars...") Jim Morrison considered On the Road to be his bible. Natalie Merchant (during her 10,000 Maniac days) crooned out songs of him & his cronies. He chronicled the jazz era of the 1940s & the mad desire to travel from NYC to San Fran (via "bop at the loop" in Chicago) along Route 66.
You chose your words from mouths of
Babes got lost in the woods
The hip-flask slinging madmen
Steaming café flirts
They all spoke thru you | | | Beat Hotel - Beats on the Wall |
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| Beat Hotel - Allen Ginsberg |
| | Allen Ginsberg (Howl, Kaddish)
Allen, baby, why so jaded?
Have the boys all grown up & their beauty faded?
This is the mad poet, friend to William Carlos William, admirer of Proust & Pound. One of my fave Kerouac moments is when he describes Allen reading Howl ("I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness") for the 1st time at a San Francisco reading. This was definitely the immediate precursor to the North Beach Poets.
I would've liked him more but when I met him at a poetry reading in Louisville October 1, 1992 (U of L) he hit on my then-husband. :D |
William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch, Junkie)
Billy - what a saint they've made you
Just like Mary down in Mexico on All Soul's Day
What can I say about Burroughs except that he was Burroughs? Crazy junkie. Influencer of Kurt Cobain ("The Priest they Called Him"). His book Naked Lunch was so surreal that it took 30 years and David Cronenberg to finally make the movie.
Photos: Taken April 2003 at the Hôtel du Vieux Paris formerly known as the Hôtel Rachou (Beat Hotel in the '50s). I am forever indebted to my friend, Mimi (CigaleChanta on Fodor's) for informing me about this place AND sending me the book for Christmas - what a great, supportive, indulgent friend! | | | Peter Orlovsky & Allen Ginsberg |
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| Time is Ticking! - Oldest Clock-Quai de l'Horloge |
| | I am the Keeper of Esoteric Knowledge My main goal in traveling to Paris is to seek out literary & artistic haunts: Oscar Wilde, F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest & Hadley (& Pauline) Hemingway, e.e. cummings, Sara & Gerald Murphy, Thornton Wilder, Gertrude Stein, Natalie Barney, Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Modigliani, Van Gogh. Please see my Off-the-beaten-path Paris tips to read more about these peoples and see the places they lived.
All photos are MINE unless otherwise credited (and I always credit people's work). Any that are not mine, I've been granted permission to use them per VT guidelines.
I am very slowly getting my pages up and running. I do hope you like your visit with me and that you feel I've offered something of value to you.
Please leave a comment if you like what you see. I once promised to answer all e-mails and I will continue to try. However, I just started a new job as a Coder Abstractor I at University Hospital (a Level I Trauma Center) in Cincinnati, I'm finishing writing my first book, I'm studying for AHIMA's CCA exam (to be taken in February) and will subsequently sit for their CCS exam 6 months later. Somewhere in all that time I'll be returning to school in order to complete an associate-level RHIT degree then a bachelor-level RHIA degree. But don't worry, I already have one bachelor's in marketing so it shouldn't take long. However, the next 2 years are going to be swamped with nary a spare moment so forgive my frequent long absences on VT. I love this place but it's just not a priority right now. :D |
BEST OF THE BEST!! ~ ~ ~
One of the very best, most informative Paris pages is undoubtedly shrimp56's, a lady I am proud to call friend! You can't do better with restaurant finds, photographs (spanning a few decades - she even includes old photos of pre-I.M.Pei-pyramide Louvre), and cultural tips. Even nicer - she agrees with me that Guyon's Paris page should ALWAYS be #1!! Which proves she is a wonderful & gracious lady.
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My newest find is tpal's SUPERB Venice page! NOTE TO MY SISTER, CATHY: YOU HAVE TO CHECK THIS PAGE OUT IMMEDIATELY FOR OUR TRIP TO VENICE! He truly paints Venice in a beautiful sepia-toned light complete with funny, informative, "experiential" narrative. Check it out!
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Please check out my very close friend Henrik's CALCIO page. A very charming, nice, intelligent, FUNNY individual he's an extremely talented football (soccer) sports journalist & his love of the game shines through every word/photo. He's constantly updating so go check out his pages to see what he's up to next!
Please also check out his other Henrik_rbb travel pages for they are just wonderful overall, but you will be CERTAIN to notice his irreverent humor & honest commentary of the places he visits viewed thru the eyes of a true sports lover, ESPECIALLY his Italy pages!! As he says "There are always new things to see"! Kudos to my lovely, kind Swedish prince!! ;D!
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I was just tipped off to Muttleymilano's excellent pages from my bon ami, Henrik. One of his great friends, Christian is a top-notch photographer and you would be remiss not to check out his pages. A visionary who is visually focused, you will just drool over his travelogues, particularly his Norway, Iceland, Russia, Olumuc & Prague pages. Let's give him a reason to constantly update his pages with his top-notch photos - leave him a nice comment telling him how much you appreciate his work!
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Then there is skywalkerbeth! I've known this chica for 4 years, first thru fodors.com and then thru other private message boards. Like me she is very knowledgable on literary affairs & music (we have so much in common), a most well-rounded individual. This bubbly blonde attorney is one of the most well-traveled people I know! She even took 6 months off to find a job in Europe! She is just starting her pages so please let's give her TONS of support & encouragement. Her photos, her joie de vivre, her lively commentary, well you will see what I mean when you visit!
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Check out my great & loyal friend, AussieDoug's Paris page. If you like the literary bent of my pages, you're sure to love his art lover's bent even more! And you MUST check out his Sydney pages - he will take you on an artsy walk throughout his fair & acclaimed city.
He's slow to getting his Paris pages updated so maybe if we all (gently) harrass him he'll get up off his patootie & give us more to ooh & ahh over! | | | Nôtre Dame - Famous Stained Glass Windows |
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| Place St-Michel - Where Better to Meet Friends? |
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Please check out Stephen-Karen Conn's wonderful, excellent Cincinnati pages - I deem them to be the best! You'll also want to check out their Sharonville pages which showcase their hometown to its best advantage!
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Ah, and then there is Callavetta's pages - she is one of my best friends and deserves MANY accolades for her pages! Please do check out her San Francisco (she shows it off to excellent advantage) & her Keystone pages (her new other adopted hometown). Oh, and her Rome & Paris & London... She is an extremely well-traveled individual and now she lives in 2 places - I'm so jealous! Go, chica, GO!
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I URGE you to check out these cool pages. I surfed onto these in February and they are just the coolest. I could not resist checking out someone's pages who calls herself MissAntarctica2002 BUT that's the whole irony of it - it actually stands for Mission Antarctica 2002, which she joined to help in the clean-up effort of Antarctica. You'll also want to check out how cool she makes Toronto sound. Dude, she'll make you want to visit both!
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For my other favorites please check out my Paris pages for recommendations of France & Paris pages! |
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 Comments for BeatChick | | | | |
Callavetta Sat May 10, 2008 15:26 UTC
Hi Chickie! Are you going to be treated like a Queen tomorrow? We are headed to North Beach later today for an Italian feast! My mouth is watering already; bruscetta, caprese, calamari fritti, tortalinni alla noci, and of course... prosecco! | craic Mon May 5, 2008 05:32 UTC
well they must because they accepted my scrappy page | moiraistyx Sun May 4, 2008 21:37 UTC
thanks for visiting my home page, yes quality and quanity would be optimum. lol | tommyt1971 Fri May 2, 2008 15:53 UTC
Yeah, well, I 1st went there March of last yr, fell in love w/the city instantly. Now I wanna live there! It'd be a dream for me to live there & be a high-paid freelance photographer! |
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