FREE TIBET

I was supposed to have 3 visitors over the weekend, young people with which I am presently collaborating on projects. None of them showed up or called. This total lack of civility is so typically Hungarian. They talk and promise a lot, but their words mean absolutely nothing. Slave mentality rules here. Hungarians in general lost their self-respect long time ago and this ethical disability is in their genes now............. My co-workers did not come or call, but almost two months after we were supposed to sign the ‘Karl-Heinz Koala’ audio book’s publishing contract with the on-line publishers Mr. Zsolt Prieger called, as if nothing has happened. Last time I have heard from him was at the beginning of February (see ‘Karl-Heinz Koala’ blog). He has no time right now but he will contact me soon, he wrote me then. He has forgotten his promise, he says now, without bothering to apologize. Anyway, he is keen on publishing the audio book now, which I started to redo with other musicians since. We shall meet soon, he urged me on the phone, but right after saying so, he stated as usual that he is incredibly busy. It means that it could take months again to organize a half an hour long meeting with Mr. Prieger. These people are always so damn busy, like some household servants at the court of King Richard the 3^rd, yet they do so precious little. We started the 'Karl-Heinz Koala' project with Mr. Prieger & Co. exactly one year ago, yet it is still not completed, in terms of getting it to the on-line publishers. If I would have worked on it alone, it could have been done in two months flat………… Mr. László Moldován, owner of Katalizator Publishers called last week. We did not get the long awaited publishing grant from the Hungarian Book Foundation, without which he cannot possibly publish my ‘Caribbean Book’, he said. Now he wants to apply for a grant to the National Cultural Foundation. Based on my past experiences with this government controlled organization I am not too optimistic about our chances of getting a grant………… I have completed my 30 minutes long ‘FREE TIBET’ video, with which I will open my ‘My Tibet’ show at the Merlin International Theatre tomorrow (April 3) night. The piece was inspired by the great book 'The Rose of Tibet', by Lionel Davidson (Gollanz, Great Britain, 1962). The book was indirectly recommended to me by David Bowie. Back in 1983, while I was living in Toronto, Canada I have read an interview with Mr. Bowie in the Vogue magazine. One of the photos which accompanied the interview they showed his New York hotel room. On the photo 'The Rose of Tibet' book was laying on his night table. I have always trusted Mr. Bowie's taste and guideance. He has never cheated or disappointed me. With great difficulty I managed to locate the book in the Coles The Book People bookstore, on Yonge street and promptly stole it, along with a small Bible (King James version). For the coming months I read and re-read 'The Rose of Tibet' many times over. Along with Abbie Hoffman's 'Steal This Book' and the works of Louis Ferdinand Céline it became one of my all times favourites. With research, it took me two weeks to complete the video, the first piece I created with the Adobe Premiere editing program. I have also learned the use of the Cubase sound editing program in the meantime. If I want to get anything done in this country I must do all aspects of the work myself, because people are so unreliable here. Does not matter how noble the cause is it is totally impossible for me to find any reliable collaborators in the 21th Century Hungary. It is not because I usually can't offer much financial rewards for their efforts. It is because the locals are so fucked up. Occasionally I manage to get some funds together, which enables me to pay my collaborators fairly well, yet even then they are not dependable. They change directions with the wind. They do not feel any remorse for screwing me up. Just as they do not respect themselves they are not capable of respecting others.............. Mr. Zoltán Géczi, a long time associate called a few days ago. He wants me to write articles on the history of soul music, funk and punk for a new cafe table book on the history of popular music, which he is presently putting together for a mainstream publishing house. They will pay only pennies for my work, but I had to take up the offer because I am totally broke. Have to complete the articles by the end of this week.................. My eyes are bothering me a lot. My vision often gets blury and my head aches. I haven't had a vacation since 2001 and it shows. I have spent 12-14 hours a day staring at my computer's monitor, on a 7/7 bases in the past 7 years. That is my Tibet.