Travel, (mostly European), politics (although less than ever), the Los Angeles Angels Baseball Club, guitar playing, reading, writing, and verbal jousting.
Music
All music, where done well, translating deep and human sentiments into something understandable and moving. I grew up with the great English rock bands of the '70s and with The Who, The Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Faces, Deep Purple, Free, my heart still lies. But classical music of the nonbombastic type (piano etudes, French suites, chamber music, Mozart, De Falla) is also to my liking. I enjoy the type of classical music put out by the Armonia Mundi label who produce the choir quartet "Anonymous Four" and titles like "Music of the Spanish Renaissance" or "Arabo-Andalusian Canticles of the Middle Ages." Again, my interest in Old Europe shines through.
And certainly flamenco music, which I developed a passion for during 10 years of back-and-forth between Andalusia and California. The novel "Vedette or Conversations with the Flamenco Shadows" borrows from Kerouac, who tried to give his prose a jazz rhythm. I attempted the same with the flamenco "compas" that, after four years of living in Seville and Malaga, became a part of my natural body movements. What flamenco? Camaron de la Isla, of course, Pepe Marchena, Lole y Manuel and many others.
Movies
The Terrence Malik films, especially "Days of Heaven," but also "Badlands" and "Thin Red Line." I like the application of poetry to his work, the fragmented technique he uses to tell stories, and his constant attention to the vast world of nature always enormous and lurking just beyond the tiny tragedies of his flawed characters.
I thought "Moulin Rouge" was an original, breakthrough kind of film and thought Ron Bass' adaption of "Snow Falling on Cedars" was absolutely stunning. I like all the film noir of the late '40s and '50s, and pretentious foreign films like "Paris, Texas".
Although I like an arty film that challenges, I could not get through "I (heart) Huckabees" which struck me as cacaphonous, and soured on "Memento." Yes, it is a triumph of novel storywriting, but telling a tale in reverse didn't really seem to be much of an improvement on the more tried and true ways of doing so.
I'm a big fan of Almodovar's films, which are always connected to the strange street life of the world that Hollywood seems to eschew. I'm always surprised at how well his films are received in the U.S.
Television
I don't watch much television. I adhere to the rather overstated point of view that it is responsible for our trashy cultural diet and the ignorance of the world citizen. That said, we do watch a lot of "Seinfeld," and I think television does sports very well. We are big fans of public television and religious watchers of "Frontline" and other documentaries that help us meet the challenges of this tremendous world we inhabit.
Books
"One Hundred Years of Solitude" (and most other Marquez books), "Tinisima" by Elena Poniatowska, "Il Piacere," by Gabriele D'Annunzio, Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" (still), the memoirs of Spanish politician Manuel Azana, the works of Jean Paul Sartre, Louis Ferdinand Celine ("Death on the Installment Plan") the poetry of Rimbaud, especially "A Season in Hell," Luis Bunuel's "My Last Sigh" (a personal guide for living) and all of Gore Vidal's historical novels. I periodically re-read E.L. Doctorow's "Ragtime," which reconstructs an era, introduces you to history, and imparts a disappeared world without ever appearing to try. Every line a fact, but every fact a positive addition to a heartbreaking story. The same (re-reads) goes for Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian," the violent beauty of which stuns me with each new pass through, and Jeanette Winterson's "The Passion," for its compact and personal understanding of Napoleanic Europe that repeatedly holds up and never fails to charm. These last three are perennial favorites.
Heroes
Miguel de Cervantes, Jack Kerouac, Bobby Kennedy, Luis Bunuel, Javier Gomez Serrano, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Barack Obama, Vito Marcantonio, Vladimir Guerrero, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Luz Damron, and Arthur Siciliano.
the highway scribe's Details
Status:
Married
Here for:
Networking, Friends
Orientation:
Straight
Zodiac Sign:
Gemini
Smoke / Drink:
Yes / Yes
Children:
Proud parent
Education:
College graduate
Occupation:
writer/journalist
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Stephen Siciliano was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina and raised on Long Island, New York.
He began his professional writing career at the Los Angeles-based Apparel News Group in 1983. Following a year of journalistic apprenticeship, he signed on with Washington D.C.-based Bureau of National Affairs Inc., in 1985. During eight years Mr. Siciliano served as the information agency's L.A. correspondent covering environmental, financial and labor issues.
Meanwhile, he developed a parallel literary career. In 1986 he published a poem, "The Six Prostitutes of Comayagua" in the L.A. Weekly. In 1987, he published the short story "Sammy Beneath the Freeway," in L.A. Style magazine, which applied magical realism to the Latino gang world. That same year he published another poem, "Lament for Jose Carrasco", an homage to a Chilean journalist murdered by the Pinochet regime, in "The Guild Reporter" -national organ for The Newspaper Guild.
In 1988, he edited the fanzine "READ," which spawned a group of poets known as The Elegant Mob and two series of poetry/happenings at Gorkys Cafe in Downtown L.A. and Zatars bar in Hollywood. Soon after, the poets produced his screenplay for the avant-garde feature film "Believe in Eve," which was accepted at the Leeds Film Festival, New York Film Fortnight, AFI/Los Angeles and won the Silver Medal for best feature at the Philadelphia Film Festival. In 1992, he wrote the screenplay "Lunches w/ Actresses" about a pair of unsavory step-sisters working at the film industry's margins and the middle-class guy who is ruined by them.
Looking for something other than Hollywood to write about, he moved later that year to Málaga, Spain and composed the novel "Vedette, or Conversations with the Flamenco Shadows," which recounts the liberation of a young flamenco singer during a revolutionary takeover of her town at the Spanish Civil War's outset. He finished the book in 1994, along with a script adaptation, which won a grant from the European Community's media program in 1996, and was optioned by the producer of Spanish films, Esicma S.A.
In the summer of 1994 he wrote the screenplay "Chasing Cuqui Molina," which spins the comic adventures of an English rocker and a Spanish Gypsy guitar player traveling through the newly integrated Europe in pursuit of an idealized woman.
That same summer he prepared a special travel section on the region of Andalusia for "Newsweek International." In the autumn he traveled to Asturias, Spain where he wrote the screenplay "La Xana" (The Water Witch), in Spanish, treating the clash between modernity and tradition, using regional folklore to enrich his love tragedy. Meanwhile, Mr. Siciliano continued contributing poems to the literary gazette "La Estrella Vandalia" (The Vandal Star) in Seville for which he also wrote a series of articles under the pseudonym Camilo Berneri.
Running out of money, he moved to Seville in the winter of 1995 and launched the urban weekly "La Otra Orilla" (The Opposite Shore), which covered political and cultural issues on the Sevillan right bank. During the summer of 1995, he settled on the Atlantic coast of Cadiz and penned the libretto "La Vara Magica" (The Magic Wand) in Spanish, based upon the life and work of a legendary local poet, Fernando Villalon, a prominent figure in the novel "Vedette."
In the summer of 1996 he returned to Los Angeles and worked as a script reader for the United Talent Agency and Creative Artists Agency. He adapted Christopher Wren's African adventure novel, "Hacks," to the script form. In 1997, he wrote the screenplay "Un Mes Con Marife" (A Month with Marife), in Spanish, based upon real-life experience with squatters in Seville. Later that year he wrote the screenplay "Fool for Love," a romantic comedy that examines the true meaning of personal beauty and takes place in Manhattan during the opera season.
In 1998, he wrote the screenplay "Kooks," based upon a David Bowie song of the same name, which tells of two urban gays suddenly forced to raise a 15-year old girl.
The year of 1999-2000 was spent as managing editor of the "L.A. Downtown News," where he wrote on urbanism, theater, literature and politics. Mr. Siciliano did a brief stint at the "L.A. Business Journal" during the summer of 2000. Among his assignments at the journal were the Democratic National Convention and the Screen Actors Guild strike.
He has appeared on KCRW radio's "Which Way L.A," and KNX's Business Hour. Readings of passages from his novel "Vedette" to the accompaniment of flamenco guitarist Omar Torrez have been aired on WBAI radio in New York and are available on a separate My Space page at http://www.myspace.com/omarscribe
He is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and also the Society of Environmental Journalists
In 2002, Mr. Siciliano finished a commission job for submission to Antonio Banderas' Green Moon Productions called "Golden Shadows." A second commission job for a noir feature-length thriller, "Hopscotch" was followed by the completion of a small-town feature-length drama entitled "Signs of Serenity (Based Upon
Things Without Meaning)".
A second novel, The Sidewalk Smokers Club is available for purchase or reading at http://sidewalksmokersclub.blogspot.com.
He has a 50-piece collection of poems entitled "Spit in a Flower Pot (If You Must)." Vedette is available from online publisher iUniverse.com and at Amazon.com.
There is almost nothing he cannot pretend to write about with authority.
His popular blog, highwayscribery: Politics, Poetry and Prose, can be found at
Who I'd like to meet: People with an interest in Literature and Poetry, anarchists, trade unionists, painters, environmentalists, stuffy intellectuals who take themselves way too seriously, guitar players, hispanophiles, and (of course) sexy fashion models (kidding).
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music. ~George Eliot "She says it so well"
Hello Stephen! Thank you. You truly honor me with your gift of friendship...
Yes amigo, in 2007 i was on the boat for the tribute to Kerouac in Paris. So i read your name in the friendlist but i was not sure you were the good one : because i don't find the pic of CELINE in your friendlist ! I remember In L.A. it was so surprising to see this french author in your kitchen ! Now we have JACK as go-between and maybe ...FANTE ? We'll try to talk soon. "To the end of night" ! Amities. THIERRY.
long time no talk how are you how is the family? how was that angels game that you went to the last time we talked? hope dinese is better.. hope to see you soon..
aww I am sorry to hear about the dog.. and How is denise doing is she feeling any better..I hope she feels better send her my love stephen.. thats good that you and the family are getting to see the angels play. I hope they are keeping a good record streak(angels) cause they are becoming my favorite team now.. keep me posted on denise cause I hope she is getting better..
hi, !!!!!!!!!!!! how are you?? Ps i LOVE ANNA! SHES KOOKY :) SHES TOLD ME ALOT ABOUT YOU AND I LOVE LITTLE WESLEY HE'S A CHARACTER AND I'M CONVINCED WE'RE SOUL MATES :)
Bad is never radd it’s sad screaming evolutions will dreaming for ecstasies bliss to fulfill change and rearrange societies depravity la la la exploding bombs bla bla bla more goddamn crime and war or new elements which are sure above their heads these caveman days extinctions way feeds fears said again and again our bloody red TV ripping high definition white bones in rotting depravity or goddamn society screaming global warming coughing pollutions cancer industrial waste booming solutions fate efficiency sustainable energy organic bliss just mystic vegans kissing my parched lips screaming for all equality seeing safety as a matter of thought itself brought to action … paying your dues dude …you who chose to live a positive life stop all the negative fights what is right is right it’s time for meditation in life so begin whatever gets you to win a moment of bliss thankful of this amazing life like the fact Mother nature is at the control behold the flow goes and goes the big boss knows humanity blows chance after chance this is the last dance before the party ends my friend but it is just in time for your mind to get it because it’s so very very hot global warming got to take action now dude good god hit me this time we got to find air in common stops the burn loves meditation learns the truth puts it all to use proves such a nightmare of fear that it is already here faster fast it’s time for a cure before it’s too late clear energies without hate of our planet protect it for our future race great place to live open green eyes with cyber cries awake awake spoken great words of art part of god's hope that needs to feed and seeds eco deeds done by you dude who is meant to go through this so don’t flip out keep the faith and shout it’s reality love a purity digging it so such a positive flow of truth knows that with this heavy juice goes real action and kicks ass hits your face call it fate at last fast past pollution of the
Apocalyptic gods made out of air stuffed stars who do not care cough and laugh full of cash while super rich think of what to buy another starving person cries why then dies like evolutions mice stuck in a maze ice melts our last days by all the ways we stop the Earth but it burps and keeps on getting hot hot hot its not a lot just more of what you got got got that's not what its all about shouts the helpless soul of a saint then faints from the pain a head smashed insane against a wall this is what we call the latest news in a time about to choose between extinction peace or war are you sure you want more more more what's it all for your greed while the other guy bleeds and dies why do we ever try just listen to the lies and say that I will burn a flame a statement came and went dogs a barking down below words a sparking hell I won't go eating dead fish or a well done steak yum yum this is great create hate or use the sun I am a vegan one from a universal flow yoga glow glow glow inner bliss all of it good shit again pretends its all going to be ok let the others keep on saying and playing their games my back is straight I am awake god can not be killed and is still in change somehow we live and scream awaken to that which seems to matter buying illusion delusions and shattered fear for more fun hear you have come to this just kiss your ass good bye trick or treat eat and eat don't ask to be free or why reality has come just for you its so much fun as it rips through some broken hearts a part creates more art art art is my fate our mortality awaits bit by bit as it starts to hit another saintly victim of a super ego set to fly why humankind dies trying to be clean and hip as the vultures pick and lick
Electric cars run by sun as we race and speed just for fun lose control run run run god dam speed limit fate my tires burn and can not wait on loves internet were still alive and got to surf and live or dreams we have got to race our machines and if we die behind the wheel do not cry for what they steal we have lived our life for what is real as the red blood war crazed screams attempts to take and break our dreams remembered you who raced and won and helped them use the power from the sun
SURF CITY Surf City rules my minds waves a crashing every time I'm hanging five staying alive rock it beats complete on those waves atop life's board surfing hucker dudes a blaze pure moving to musical hair flying wipe outs reality coo coo good sets crashing pure creatures in air spraying ocean seeing beauty wireless internets foaming endlessly moving life's floating heart beats faster
A Yogi is able to do miracles and create psychic phenomena and manifest tremendous powers by falling in psychic rhythm. Everything in this world has motion. Wherever there is motion, there is rhythm. When you fall in swing with the rhythm, you are able to accomplish greater results with lesser efforts. Yogies, in their inner research, discover the higher rhythms of Nature, and also they worked out a scientific system of techniques to enable them to fall in swing with these rhythms mechanically, which will enable them to draw the higher forces of Nature to them, which they can use in the creation of the psychic phenomena.
Various techniques for the creation of the psychic phenomena are based on the law of psychic rhythm. These techniques swing you mechanically into this rhythm of psychic powers. Once you are one with these higher forces, you feel free to draw as much as you want and need at a specific time. The various breathing techniques taught and practiced by the Yogies to help them fall in psychic rhythm are based on these principles.
The main purpose of these Yogi breathings is to control, direct and apply the Prana, which is the vital force or force of thought. Prana is the sum total of all energy, mental as well as physical. Energies ethereal, electrical, as well as magnetic, are all part and parcel of Prana. Yogi breathings help you control the forces of Prana by operating on the rhythm of breath. If you can control one wave in the ocean, you will be able to control all the waves in the ocean. If you can control Prana, which manifests in your body through your breath, you will be able to control all physical and mental energies which fill space. Control of Prana through Yoga breathings opens the door of unlimited powers which will enable you to control and use the finer forces of Nature, and also to fall in psychic rhythm at your will.
Yogies discovered that Prana contains life and intelligence. Prana manif
