Vera's Diary

8th August 2008

vera — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:40:42 +0000

8th August 2008

~The entrancing effects of Hollywood~

Los Angeles is a place where you can find beauty on every corner and trouble behind every turn. A place where people come to graft their titles into the sidewalk and stomp on the names of the famed. I’ve fallen in love with the city of angels many times and as I sit here on Venice Beach, escaping my creative duties for the morning, I reflect upon an incident this week that gave me a new ingredient to my own personal Hollywood.

Julie was a friend of a friend of a friend. One of those that no one seems to know particularly well but one whose atmosphere everyone seems to enjoy. Ruby hair with streaks of gold and SoCal blue eyes to be sure, an energy about her instantly led me to surmise that she was a transplant out west living fast trying to make it on the silver screen. I was half incorrect. We were out drinking Irish whiskey at The Rainbow, our

19th July 2008

vera — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:34:26 +0000

13th July 2008

~Experiencing the Witch City~

Summer night air is the sort of thing that everyone seems to have a strong memory associated to. The first outing of any given July is often filled with nostalgia and reminiscing of former lovers, childhood adventures and general mischief. I myself have many memories associated to the warm dark skies but my latest home of the Witch City, Salem Massachusetts will yield yet another.
The Old Spot Tavern in downtown has been a favorite spot (pardon the pun) of mine for years. Many of my local adventures start right beyond the red curtain at the bar and that’s exactly how my night commenced this evening. I made my entrance, took my seat at the London style bar and hailed the barkeep. The Old Spot is a magnificent English pub that collects the most amazing collage of clientele and passer-throughs. The night was still quite early when I first met eyes with a most intriguing character. Long perfectly curled garnet hair framed two of the most brilliant grey eyes I myself have seen. Now I’ve seen many modern day

25th May 2008

vera — Sun, 25 May 2008 22:41:42 +0000

13th January 2008

~Travel and good company~

Of the many experiences I believe to be a necessity to development as an artist, one of the highest ranking is solo travel. A friend in tow will always play the role of the comforter, which is something better off left behind whenever setting out in the name of adventure. Being a lone traveler, you discover how truly courageous or supremely naïve you can be. Curiosity often kills the cat, but it also fuels the artist and the intellectual so a feline’s death for me it is!
I’ve secured a window seat on a southbound train. Diary in hand and grandiose sunset commencing I marvel at the satisfaction of track travel. Modern trains, though inspiring in their own right, lack that romantic sense of travel that the locomotives of old had. Crammed in the middle of nauseatingly earthy shades of naturally vibrant colours. I tend to have a drink, or the like, and envision elegant crimson brocade,

6th May 2008

vera — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:34:11 +0000

27th December 2007

~Holidays, for what they are. For what they should be~

“Has it been this goddamn cold all month?” a friend of mine said over his heady pint of ale. I hadn’t seen him for a good fifteen months and though I’m sure we had plenty of things to fill each other in on he only seemed to want to discuss the wretched New England weather. I suppose small talk habits never die. His name is Thomas (doesn’t answer to Tom) and he’s even more of a gypsy than I. Quite literally. While I’ve spent a great deal of my life on the traveler’s road he calls it home, so naturally him and I became great friends very quickly. It was Christmas Eve and he was in town to spend the holiday so what else do two vagabonds do in celebration besides find a pub and catch up over our chosen poisons.

Captain John Stone’s Inn is where we landed. A haunted tavern in sleepy Ashland with a local history and legacy. He had never been there and I had terrifyingly fond memories from childhood of