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of artists asking themselves, 'is this relevant for 1971?' ...this slavery to the moment is far more [tyrannous?] than any other constructions I can think of."

W.H. Auden - N.Y.T. Oct 1971 p 52

Have not been able to finish writing on Bellocq - Walked to Franklyn Ave. by side streets, the decay of buildings is shocking. This part of Brooklyn looks like the bombed out leftovers from some past war. Thinking of doing some work on this theme - "In the Death of the City." Also been thinking about the Miller piece in the times - retracing his steps 60 years later.

Have not done any shooting in 10 months and feel frustrated creatively. The thing of shoppers at the "job lot" is also on my mind. Must do some new work. Today I spent testing different papers for printing. Tired of darkroom work.

...Edgar Snow, an expert on China, once wrote of seeing the aged headwaiter at Peking's Hein Chaio going through Tai Chi Chuan (pronounced tie tee chawan) on the terrace every morning at 6:30. "It's good for personal contradictions," said the old man.

Nov 4.71 N.Y.T. p. 58

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"Sight does not master the pictures, it is the pictures which master one's sight. They flood one's consciousness. The cinema involves putting the eye into uniform, when before it was naked"

Kafka from "Conversations with Kafka" by Janouch quoted in NYT Nov 21.71 p12 book section

"...because of the absolute barrage of images to which we are subject so that we become blunted. Remember that a hundred years ago there were relatively few images, and people living in a more simplified environment, a farm environment, encounter very few images and they see those quite clearly. But if you're absolutely bombarded with images from passing trucks and cars and televisions and newspapers, you become blunted and this makes a permanent haze in front of your eyes, you can't see anything."

The Job Interviews with Burroughs - p20

"Asked about the increasing simplification of his technique, he was reminded of something that had happened when he was directing "Stromboli." He