Gemini Manor; a clue for the uninformed, a primer for the uninitiated:
When Jimi Hendrix asked that subtle but profound question; "Are you Experienced?...", so rife with illicit and impure implication, he most certainly was thinking of aspects of human activity and endeavor roundly encompassed by, albeit by no means exclusive to, the world renowned, yet mysterious Gemini Manor.
More famous than infamous, (though not by much, depending of whom you inquire, and their affiliation/allegiance to "The Man"), Gemini Manor has long been a bastion of the counter-culture planted in the 50's, germinated in the 60's, fermented in the 70's, cemented in the 80's, to be broken free in the 90's, and thriving into the new millenium, (despite the first 8 years). Its ideals hearken back to the Bohemian Movement of the 1890's, with its aspirations to "Freedom, Beauty, Truth, and above all, Love", which drew its inspiration from the philosophies of the early French Revolution with it's call for "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite", and our own American Revolution, mandating the "Inalienable Right of...Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." These Great Precepts themselves have roots stretching back through the ages, to some 561 years earlier (1215), "an English king named King John signed a Magna Carta at a roost called Runnymede ... an act of prodded royalty which liberated barons and bumpkins alike to roust with greater degrees of carefreedoms", and even and ever further back, to the founding principles of ancient Athens, and the earliest democracies of the human race.
Indeed the case could, and has been made that we are all, at our base, and perhaps our best, all just happy, horny cavemen and cavewomen looking for the weakest excuse to drink the fermented berries, make a rhythmic pounding on the logs, and dance to the beat in ever closer proximity to each other, till we, and stars, collide.
Isn't that right, Oog? (Oog breaks into a wicked/innocent grin and grunts in the affirmative)
Gemini Manor opened its doors officially in those fermented (hic!) 70's, and has been going strong, growing long (in many odd directions) and showing what the "Pursuit of Happiness" can look like, and how it can be resoundingly achieved, all while respecting the uniquely appointed cave itself and all its occupants. (You should too;~)
If Jimi Hendrix had made it to the Gemini Manor, he would have most assuredly felt right at home, and commenced to expanding his much vaunted experiences as well as enriching the place with his own. So say the people who knew him, as well as his disciples who keep his spirit and music alive, through their living tributes to him, when they have come, and beheld, and 'experienced' what Gemini Manor offers.
Gemini Manor is itself a tribute to all those great free thinkers, speakers and doers of the past, and a refuge for all those that carry on the torch of those ideals into the future, enduring all the repression and backlash of the relentless forces of fear that would extinguish it. But most of all, Gemini Manor is what you, and everyone else, makes it.
The aforementioned uninformed and unitiated might wonder why they haven't heard of Gemini Manor if it's so famous or renowned? And yet a lucky some may have already been here in years past, brought by a friend or blown by the wind, to party hardily or hardly, then departing merrily into the evening ether, only to forget where they had been, too "distracted" by the evenings mirth and musings to remember where they had been, who they were with, what they did, or who they did afterward. They may not have even learned that the place had a name, only that it was surreal and amazing.
Many are the experiences related of people who, upon looking around at all the mad decor and myriad objet d'art, have announced "hey, wait a minute, I think I've been here before!" At Gemini Manor, the appearance may change from week to week, month to month, with the decor and even the architecture. New rooms keep appearing, walls move, doors open, windows usher in a new look and luster, all wondrous to the senses. All resulting in new rooms appearing, walls moving, doors opening and windows ushering in a fresh sense of wonder to your mind. The only constant is the ambiance. Always welcoming, always inspiring, always intriguing, only fluctuating between cool, mellow, relaxing to hot, provocative and thrilling.
Why isn't Gemini Manor more famous? Because the cool people who've been there, only tell other cool people about it.
- posted on 09/22/2009
每次去一个好玩儿的地方,或者见到一群很妙的朋友,我都抑制着自己的冲动去赞美那个地方,我担心笨绌的溢美之词让那个地方失去灵气,担心笔墨污染了它的神秘。可是,Alex,我终于想把你美妙的家写出来,因为这样的年代,我们都知道维持这样一个充满创造力的地方有多不容易。我想让更多的亚裔朋友加入你的同盟,Gemini Manor是你的家,也是你给LA艺术圈里的朋友们创造的一个家。
在好莱坞的东边,Alex Lehr从70年代开始就开始搭建这个梦幻房子。从那时开始,这里就是LA艺术爱好者以及文化人的聚集地。他从各种垃圾堆、跳蚤市场上捡来宝贝,收罗在他的房子里,每个月的周末这里都聚集着上百的艺术家表演舞蹈、音乐、魔术,诗歌朗诵。
上面的这篇英文报道写得太好了,嗨,我的中文根本不能比这个写得更棒了。要用精妙地语言来描述你地这个魔窟,我必须去找我们的经典宝籍《西游记》。
- Re: To Alexposted on 09/22/2009
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