Tag Archives: Charles Bukowski

Hell and back

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“Lost” by Charles Bukowski

they say that hell is crowded, yet,
when you’re in hell,
you always seem to be alone.
& you can’t tell anyone when you’re in hell
or they’ll think you’re crazy
& being crazy is being in hell
& being sane is hellish too.

those who escape hell, however,
never talk about it
& nothing much bothers them after that.
I mean, things like missing a meal,
going to jail, wrecking your car,
or even the idea of death itself.

when you ask them,
“how are things?”
they’ll always answer, “fine, just fine…”

once you’ve been to hell and back,
that’s enough
it’s the greatest satisfaction known to man.

once you’ve been to hell and back,
you don’t look behind you when the floor creaks
and the sun is always up at midnight
and things like the eyes of mice
or an abandoned tire in a vacant lot
can make you smile
once you’ve been to hell and back.

“Lost” by Charles Bukowski, from Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame

Rebels at the Beach

Andre the Giant at the beach picking up chicks
André the Giant at the beach picking up chicks at Cannes, 1967

As I type these words, many of you that are reading them right now are probably in the midst of a pretty nasty heatwave. So I thought posting some amazing photos of people way cooler than us, looking even cooler than usual (with one or two amusing exceptions) while hanging out at the beach was in order.

Albert Einstein at the beach, 1945
Albert Einstein, 1945

You may have seen a few of the 24 images in this post before, but hopefully the majority will surprise you, especially the one of André the Giant literally picking up chicks at Cannes, or Albert Einstein (above) wearing some interesting footwear while the waves crash around his feet. Whenever possible, I included locations and dates of where and when the photos were taken as some were taken before the subjects became famous. Man, I feel cooler already. More reach-the-beach images follow.

AC/DC in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1985
AC/DC in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1985

Slade in swimtrunks at the beach
Slade, 1974

Charles Bronson at the beach, 1974
Charles Bronson, 1974

Robert Mitchum at the beach, 1942
Robert Mitchum, 1942

Iggy Pop at the beach, 2000
Iggy Pop in Iggy Pop beach-style attire, 2000

Siouxsie Sioux at the beach
A young Siouxsie Sioux at the beach

Baby Charles Bukowski on the beach 1920's
Baby Charles Bukowski on the beach 1920’s

James Dean relaxing on the beach with his girlfriend Barbara Glenn
James Dean relaxing on the beach with his girlfriend Barbara Glenn, 1954

Cary Grant and Randolph Scott running on the beach, 1935
Actors Cary Grant (in socks!) and Randolph Scott running on the beach, 1935

Mick Jagger and Ron Wood walking the beach
Ron Wood and Mick Jagger

Sammy Davis Jr. on
Sammy Davis Jr. on “Chicken Bone Beach” in Atlantic City, 1950’s

A young Frank Sinatra on the beach in New Jersey
A young Frank Sinatra on the beach in New Jersey

Debbie Harry on the beach at Coney Island
Debbie Harry on the beach at Coney Island

Joey Ramone and surfboard at the beach
Joey Ramone and surfboard at Coney Island, 1977

The Runaways, 1977
The Runaways, 1977

A brunette Brigitte Bardot in Cannes, 1953
A brunette Brigitte Bardot in Cannes, 1953

Andy Warhol and Corinne Kessler on a Fire Island beach, 1949
Andy Warhol and Corinne Kessler on a Fire Island beach, 1949

Keith Haring at the beach - 1984
Artist Keith Haring, 1984

Alfred Hitchcock on a Santa Cruz beach, with his Sealyham terriers, Geoffrey and Stanley Cruz
Alfred Hitchcock on a Santa Cruz beach, with his Sealyham terriers, Geoffrey and Stanley Cruz, early 1960’s

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis at the beach, 1950's
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, 1950’s

Winston Churchill Churchill after bathing in the waters of the Channe
Winston Churchill Churchill after bathing in the waters of the English Channel, early 1940’s

Hunter S. Thompson on the beach in Cozumel, Mexico, 1974
Hunter S. Thompson on the beach in Cozumel, Mexico, 1974

Posted by Cherrybomb
Source: http://dangerousminds.net/comments/baby_charles_bukowski_andre_the_giant_frank_sinatra_and_other_rebels_hangin

It’s a Bukowski kind of day

Except I’m sober of course 🙂 I’ll take his writing though, absolutely.

I’ve posted his chart below which shows a Uranus-Venus opposition. This aspect is dominated by Uranus, and creates sharp rebelliousness in a person. Bukowski was the epitome of this influence with his unconventional attitude – asserting his unique identity, not caring a wit about people’s opinions. He was a natural rebel who questioned the foundations of our culture. Saturn is very close to his Venus in Virgo too, giving a cold, realistic edge to his writing.

And if that wasn’t enough, his North Node in Scorpio continually drew him to the underbelly of the life.  And with Mercury, Sun, Neptune and Jupiter in Leo in his 10th House, he HAD to stand out.

© 2016, Elizabeth R. Sheldon. If you use anything, be sure to include my name and a link back to this site. Thank you.

I’ve included a fantastic documentary on his life along with his chart. In the meantime, here’s a dose of Saturnian reality for you:

Born like this
Into this
As the chalk faces smile
As Mrs. Death laughs
As the elevators break
As political landscapes dissolve
As the supermarket bag boy holds a college degree
As the oily fish spit out their oily prey
As the sun is masked
We are
Born like this
Into this
Into these carefully mad wars
Into the sight of broken factory windows of emptiness
Into bars where people no longer speak to each other
Into fist fights that end as shootings and knifings
Born into this
Into hospitals which are so expensive that it’s cheaper to die
Into lawyers who charge so much it’s cheaper to plead guilty
Into a country where the jails are full and the madhouses closed
Into a place where the masses elevate fools into rich heroes
Born into this
Walking and living through this
Dying because of this
Muted because of this
Castrated
Debauched
Disinherited
Because of this
Fooled by this
Used by this
Pissed on by this
Made crazy and sick by this
Made violent
Made inhuman
By this
The heart is blackened
The fingers reach for the throat
The gun
The knife
The bomb
The fingers reach toward an unresponsive god
The fingers reach for the bottle
The pill
The powder
We are born into this sorrowful deadliness
We are born into a government 60 years in debt
That soon will be unable to even pay the interest on that debt
And the banks will burn
Money will be useless
There will be open and unpunished murder in the streets
It will be guns and roving mobs
Land will be useless
Food will become a diminishing return
Nuclear power will be taken over by the many
Explosions will continually shake the earth
Radiated robot men will stalk each other
The rich and the chosen will watch from space platforms
Dante’s Inferno will be made to look like a children’s playground
The sun will not be seen and it will always be night
Trees will die
All vegetation will die
Radiated men will eat the flesh of radiated men
The sea will be poisoned
The lakes and rivers will vanish
Rain will be the new gold
The rotting bodies of men and animals will stink in the dark wind
The last few survivors will be overtaken by new and hideous diseases
And the space platforms will be destroyed by attrition
The petering out of supplies
The natural effect of general decay
And there will be the most beautiful silence never heard
Born out of that.
The sun still hidden there
Awaiting the next chapter.

– Charles Bukowski

Bukowski – Born into This Documentary