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hey flaco. welcome.
I'd move if I were you, your neighbour doesn't seem the friendly sort.
glad you're here.
 
Bah. He's scared of my cat.

Thanks for the welcome. This place has been a refreshing retreat from all the political forums that I used to hang out at. I'm puttin' that stuff behind me and am in need of a new home.

Anybody else drink Shiner Bock?
 
Welcome flaco. Since you've been on board for awhile you know there's a beer thread and a boozer's thread.
I'm glad to hear you have a vicious cat. My dog was afraid of our cat but she died.
Where are you and how did you find Bukowski?
 
Hey, Gerard. Thanks. Sorry to hear about your kitty's demise. My Amos is 17 and he's healthy enough that I don't worry about him, but not sure how much longer I will enjoy his company.

I live below the Red River and above the Rio Grande. Northwest of the Gulf of Mexico.

I'm ashamed to admit that the film Barfly was my introduction to the man. After that I picked up Notes of a Dirty Old Man and Ordinary Tales of Madness which lured me into his poetry. I think I'm ready for his other works. Going by what I've been reading around here I believe I need to pick up Ham on Rye next.
 
welcome flaco! ham on rye would be a great novel to start with. maybe you should read them in chronological order which is what i wish i could go back in time and do. then next would be, let's see....factotum. anyway, enjoy yourself here, i know i do :)
 
Welome to the forum, flaco! You're living below the Red River and above the Rio Grande? That'll be Texas, right?
Barfly was a good movie and it served a good purpose - introducing people to Bukowski.
Ham On Rye is a great novel. I'm sure you'll like it.
 
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flaco Do you live near Waco?

Having lived in Texas several times, I can see why you think your neighbor is a serial killer. Amos is a good name for a cat. He'll live into his 20s. Enjoy your stay here and enjoy the fine reading.
 
Hey man, you needn't be ashamed of any reason to get into Buk. I would say that everything but the real writing is so much fluff for me, but that's just me. Read it all.

And welcome.
 
Hey, thanks all.

james -- Yes, good idea. I may attempt to do the reading chronologically.

Bukfan -- Yeah, Texas.

Father Luke -- The price of gas and food are up while the value of the dollar is down. The warmongers are up in arms while... aw, crap. Don't get me started.

Gerard -- Not too far from Waco. Don't pin me down, "sheriff's on my trail" :eek:

Purple Stickpin -- Help me out. What exactly (or inexactly) is the real writing and which is the fluff?
 
Purple Stickpin -- Help me out. What exactly (or inexactly) is the real writing and which is the fluff?

I didn't express that very well. What I meant was that Buk's written words are really all that's important to me. None of his writing is fluff to me; I was getting at the readings mostly. Buk always wrote about how much he hated doing readings, and from what I've seen, I think I enjoy them about as much as he did.

You mentioned that you got into Buk by seeing Barfly. In my opinion, that's one of his very few weak works. Mainly because it's the same sort of story he wrote about brilliantly elsewhere, but he had to fit it into a genre that I don't think suited him all that well. It's not a bad movie, especially compared to much of the drivel out there, but compared to the brilliance of the rest of Buk's stuff, it really pales in comparison to me. And let's face it, in the late 50s-early 60s, Buk wasn't hanging with the likes of Faye Dunaway.

Anyway, personally, I would save Ham on Rye for a bit later. I read that well after reading Post Office, Factotum and Women. It really worked for me to see who he was first, and then read Ham on Rye for a more complete explanation of why/how he got there. If you'd prefer to read his life more chronologically (in terms of novels), read in order: Ham on Rye, Factotum, Post Office, Women. Pulp takes place in another time continuum. ;)

Don't forget South of No North either.

Just some thoughts
 
I didn't express that very well.

And I don't always listen very well. :rolleyes: I see where I coulda followed the segue from my remarks to your original post re: Barfly.

What I meant was that Buk's written words are really all that's important to me...

Gotcha.

Pulp takes place in another time continuum. ;)

Oops. I did fail to mention that I have read that. So much for taking it all in chronologically.

Just some thoughts

And I do appreciate them.
 
If you'd prefer to read his life more chronologically (in terms of novels), read in order: Ham on Rye, Factotum, Post Office, Women. Pulp takes place in another time continuum. ;)

Don't forget South of No North either.

don't forget Hollywood. Some people like it. I'm not too fond of it. Still, it falls in right after Women chronologically, I suppose...

Bill
 
I guess it's funnier if you live in Los Angles and cross paths with those types from time to time.

But I think Hollywood is easily his funniest book. The descriptions of the house Barbet was living in in Venice, with the chickens and the kids robbing them and people living under the house - oh man.
 
Haven't gotten too deep into Ham on Rye yet. Had family stuff to do today. Anti-Bukowskiville, USA.

So, two votes for and one against Hollywood. Well, I dig funny and think that even some of Bukowski's sad poems have a humorous edge, so I'll definitely squeeze it in as well. Pro'lly should read 'em all as has been suggested anyway.

Peace.
 
I see the humor coming through in Ham On Rye. This Chinaski dude puts up with a lot of crap yet endures the mundane and hypocritical. I love the dialogue in the hospital when initially diagnosed with the acne vulgaris.

"Is he asleep?"
"Why?"
"He seems very calm."
"No, I don't think he's asleep. Are you asleep, my boy?"
"Yes."

Good stuff.
 
One down (two actually, as i have read Pulp).

So, who is Becker? Might he be another alter ego? That part of Chinaski that wants to fit in with the crowd? Wants to live within the mainstream?

Next up, Post Office.

Have a great weekend.
 
Welome to the forum, flaco! You're living below the Red River and above the Rio Grande? That'll be Texas, right?

It was the Shiner Bock that gave Texas away to me prior to the general landmarks. Can you only get that piss water in the Lone Star State still.

(Actually, I don' t think it's piss water. It's actually a real decent beer)
 
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Pearl is the more undrinkable of the brews o' Texas. Didn't stop me from chugging a few cases in my time. Been a while tho'. The original brewery ain't even a brewery anymore. They're making it up in Fort Worth these days. At a Miller brewery.

PearlBrewery2000.jpg
 
Got started with Post Office. Love it so far. Reminds me of too many of my former work situations. I've put it aside for the time being as I picked up on Cory Doctorow's Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town. Tough to put that one down.
 
Many, many years ago, when Lucky supermarkets on the west coast were experimenting with a generic foods product line -- plain-wrap stuff, no fancy packaging -- their contract for canned BEER (that's all it said on the white can, in stark black lettering: BEER) --was given to Pearl Brewing. I was told at the time by a friend who worked in corporate at the market chain that the generic beer was literally the swill from the bottom of the brewery kegs. Drank a 6-pack of the shit once and it rendered an unbelievable hangover and a knot in my gut. But, hey, it was something like a buck-fifity for a six-pack.
 
Many, many years ago, when Lucky supermarkets on the west coast were experimenting with a generic foods product line -- plain-wrap stuff, no fancy packaging -- their contract for canned BEER (that's all it said on the white can, in stark black lettering: BEER) --was given to Pearl Brewing. I was told at the time by a friend who worked in corporate at the market chain that the generic beer was literally the swill from the bottom of the brewery kegs. Drank a 6-pack of the shit once and it rendered an unbelievable hangover and a knot in my gut. But, hey, it was something like a buck-fifity for a six-pack.

On a very hot Saturday at a little art studio in Orange County Ca. I drank like 12 cans of that generic beer.(our art teacher was cheap) I never felt a buzz I just felt like crap that evening. Heat stroke plus bad cheap generic beer.
It was cool and refreshing for a bit.;)
 
This has reminded of the generic products in the film Repo Man. White cans labelled Beer, or Drink or even just Food. Sure some were real but they must have stretched it.
Well, I smiled anyway :D

repo-man_l.jpg
 
I see the humor coming through in Ham On Rye. This Chinaski dude puts up with a lot of crap yet endures the mundane and hypocritical. I love the dialogue in the hospital when initially diagnosed with the acne vulgaris.

"Is he asleep?"
"Why?"
"He seems very calm."
"No, I don't think he's asleep. Are you asleep, my boy?"
"Yes."

Good stuff.

The funniest bit for me in Ham on Rye is when he's swimming. I won't give it away, but the comment by some guy at the pool who says, "Lady, he probably..." absolutely made me howl with laughter.
 
I was told at the time by a friend who worked in corporate at the market chain that the generic beer was literally the swill from the bottom of the brewery kegs.
All the beer from a brew tank is uniform, there is no "bottom of the barrel," so to speak. There is a bottom of the fermentation tank, but at a commercial brewery, the beer is conditioned and filtered after leaving the fermentation tank.

Cheap (hangover producing) beer is high in sugar, brewed with cheap ingredients (like rice, hello Budweiser!) and not as richly hopped as a more expensively produced beer.

Used to brew beer, so I know far too much.
 
It's surprisingly easy to do. Well, it's simple, I don't know if it's easy. It's time consuming though, which is one of the reasons I stopped doing it. That, and I don't drink as much beer as I used to.

I read recently that good hops are becoming scarce and expensive. Hops are the heart and soul of the beer. A friend of mine - who is completely consumed with brewing - grows his own hops. If you have a knack for growing things with buds you can create your own hops.

My crowning achievement was a black stout that I bottle-aged for two years. Oh lordy, that was good. So good that I retired after I made it. Didn't think I'd be able to equal it again. ;)
 
The funniest bit for me in Ham on Rye is when he's swimming. I won't give it away, but the comment by some guy at the pool who says, "Lady, he probably..." absolutely made me howl with laughter.

Yeah, well, she was a "steamship of a woman".

Got myself far enough into Post Office to see where your moniker comes from.
 
I read recently that good hops are becoming scarce and expensive. Hops are the heart and soul of the beer. A friend of mine - who is completely consumed with brewing - grows his own hops. If you have a knack for growing things with buds you can create your own hops.

I was told you can graft marijuanna onto a hop plant and vice versa. Maybe we should be on the "BEER" thread. Or the "Pothead" thread.:)
 

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