Shel Graves' Sensorium

Taste: sugared milk Touch: water drops on hair Smell: patchouli on my husband's hair; sweet kukui oil in the shower Sight: the chocolate syrup color of black bean soup; the nervous trembling hands of an interviewee Sound: the onomatopoeia - sursurrus - a whispering or rustling sound Extra: "He talked much about pride of country and love of parentland, but little about shifgrethor, personal pride or prestige...He wanted his hearers to be frightened and angry. His themes were not pride and love at all, though he used the words perpetually; as he used them they meant self-praise and hate." p 100-101 "And I wondered, not for the first time, what patriotism is, what the love of country truly consists of, how that yearning loyalty that had shaken my friend's voice arises: and how so real a love can become, too often so foolish and vile a bigotry. Where does it go wrong?" p263-264 Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness

Taste: wet chewy sweet dried mango, burning hot chile, waxy dark chocolate: chile mango chocolate Touch: the world continues rocking 24 hours after I disembark the cruise ship Smell: the woman's deep blossoming scent as she passes by in dark on the street smelling strongly of honey and compressed tropical flowers Sight: the twitching of the dog's paw Sound: the sighing cynical words of an old man, "ah well" Extra: David Foster Wallace commits suicide at age 46

Taste: papaya, lime, mint, light, fresh, sweet Touch : rolling relaxation, the rapid flow of the gyroscope, steady flow of the waves, and miragelike memory of feeling the flow and tilt of the waves when on the land again like a light lucid drunk Smell: curry Sight: orange-red magma looking up through skylights in the new volcanic rock; the pale blue of the morning doves beak and the dirty pink of its breast; the Na Pali coastline Kauai Sound: chanting for Pele Extra: lovers in sympatico we both order tropical fruit, polenta, and molten chocolate flourless cake with Kona coffee; relaxation prana, halfway through the vacation you take a deep breath, halfway through the massage you take a deep breath, halfway across the rope bridge you take a deep breath, halfway through the gut wrenching gyroscope ride you take a deep breath, each time settling into a deeper state of relaxation and determination, this is the power of prana; experiencing the elements: earth, air, water and fire

Taste: the sour coffee fruit dries my mouth like alum; a lime and mint martini by the sea Touch: the jagged edges of the pineapple round and rough in my hands Smell: lime, mint; fertile jungle earth and greens Sight: the pale yellow to mango blush of an unpolluted, pure, ocean sunset; the reddish-purple pear-shaped fruit of a feral coffee plant Sound: mourning doves coo in all my favorite places Extra : bliss on bliss

Taste: pineapple Touch: the lift and rise of the boat; my body alone floating in the sea Smell: warm, spicy international fusion a breakfast buffet of fried pineapple, pork, curry, and miso Sight: waves of sand on the ocean floor, light through turquoise water-snorkeling Molokini Crater; hand-sized slim fish flying out of the water one extends pale wings Sound: wind and waves and the shuh, shuh, shuh of the boat Extra: romance, moonlight on the ocean, arms upheld in the shape of the moon

Taste: pineapple guava-a small yellow round fruit pear and guava flavors and the gritty texture of the seeds within Touch: light warm rock almost razor sharp Smell: sulphur and sandalwood Sight: lava, steam billowing, bright orange light flowing into the ocean, passing by land, moonlight on sea waves, a flash of fire; five small perfectly white seabirds; sparks; what would the native peoples think?; volcano fields, perfectly new land, creating new land, less than 40 years old, an island less than 3,000 years old; cerulean water in the Pacific Ocean; red spiny blossoms on shrubs with waxy leaves in the black volcano fields-ohi a lehua (man=ohi the bush and woman=lehua the blossoms); red spiny cylindrical sea urchins; red on a field of barren gray-black, shriveled ferns rising out of the cracks where seeds blow down from the cliffs into the basin around the volcano, Kilauea Caldera Sound: the low constant hum of the ship's engine Extra: "The smell of sulphur is strong, but ...

Taste: saltwater waves, I can attest for certain it is still sea water here Touch : sand soft and gritty; the granular and the whole Smell: seaside salty air Sight: the club-shaped crest and the yellow and green rectangles on the head of the Honu, sea turtle; morning fog across the ocean; windblown sand the movement of each grain and the collective Sound : the sizzle and rush of the waves, the inhalation of the Honu as it pokes its head out of the water, my own gasp of surprise Extra: observing up close and far away; breath

Taste : apricot chutney, guava and passionfruit Touch: skin soft from soaking in hot tub chemicals Smell: sweet, spicy frangipani on shore and mixed with fish at sea Sight: clouds of mud brown churn from the deep green close to shore, and clouds of turquoise churn from cerulean waves far out to sea as the ship sails Sound: waves fall and engine thrums Extra: sleeping on waves

Taste : light green, tomato spice, warm fat-guacamole Touch : my husband's hand Smell: onions, cilantro, tomatoes, habenero hot spices penetrating my cold Sight: the dried jerky leather leg of a cat and half a tail, it has become an object, a piece of material on the sidewalk after many days: How many days does it take for this disconnection to occur? Sound: a man's proper English accent Extra: a cleverly written opening gambit Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog her time-lagged unreliable narrator; Sam draws one tarot card, the Knight of Cups, the magical otter skin, he and this card have much in common

Taste: sweet sour vodka tang in a strong raspberry jello shot Touch : gentle face massage, light fingertips to forehead, fluttering silk dress Smell: propane, roasting meats Sight: braided bare breasted serene yoga instructor; vibrant pink and glittering red toenails Sound: poof-bursts of fire and air Extra: inside the digeridoo, inside the whale, sound immersion

Taste: soft, subtle, woodsy spice, faintly sweet, evocative of squirrels, elves, dryads: cinnamon Touch: small gritty ground particles: cinnamon Smell: slightly fermented bark, a decaying nurse log: cinnamon Sight: the brightness of water, the restorative power of dust removed: washing thick white clean looking playa dust off of everything, bags, dresses, clothes removing the clean stain as it finds its way back onto my fingers and clothes with its distinctive white patina and soft chalky feel Sound: the dog grunts as I stroke her head and ask her, "Do you want to go for a walk?" Extra: Found the morning after: one flip-flop, one fur bunny tail, one small bottle of energy drink, one used red condom, one used green condom, cardboard fireworks tubes, a burnt page of The Bible

Taste: grilled butter crisping thick white bread; mango liqueur Touch : fuzzy pants, the legs of a pink gorilla costume Smell: a perfumed body passing in a crowd of dusty sweat; a cologned body passing in a crowd of dusty sweat Sight: an athletic 25-year-old man somersaults naked every morning on the trampoline; a blue and white lit weeping tree adorned with paper wishes Sound: the confluence of healing music, thumping techno, drumming, lazy 70s rock; humanities multivariate rhythms Extra: the art of nature rising majestically over the barren landscape in the backdrop of desert and classical dance; ballet bodies folding, leaping lightly, flittering, lean and lithe; a tuft of grass at the base of the mountain and the edge where the desert ends

Taste: cool water, iced coffee Touch: clumps of dust beneath the back while sleeping the test of a less sensitive Princess and the Pea Smell: salt, sweet, fat--bacon frying Sight: a fey gothic boy, lean, black lined lips, lace, leather straps, sharp feminine features Sound: 60s folk music, "Here comes the sun."; 70s disco "Another one bites the dust."; bells, bike bells, soft honeydew hungover hippie voice "San Francisco" Extra: The Return, reconnecting, seeing someone again after a long time who you enjoy but have never spoken to two-years later the connection

Taste: light, watery lemonade; Absinthe a distillation of flavors: anise, curry, cinnamon Touch : sticky slippery, spongy a sweat slick yoga mat in the sun Smell: ganja, sweet, acrid, lemon Sight: dimpled flesh twisting in yoga poses, sparks and flame Sound : Oonch, oonch, oonch techno across the desert uncontained by the geodesic dome Extra: Elation, different kinds: wide-stretched smile, wide-stretched sky, transformative, Buddha Bar; flavor tripping, synesthesia, when scent and flavor do not match

Taste: port wine, bitter sweet, the bitter sweetness of free ass wine Touch : soft, dry dust, my skin feels like a chamois cloth, or as if its covered in a nylon Smell: eggs cooking Sight: a fey gothic boy, lean, black lined lips, lace, leather straps, sharp feminine features Sound: drums in collusion, 15 players hit a rhythm; "I'm tripping balls." Extra: Sanctuaries: Bombay Tea Company, pillows, shelter, enclosures, curtains, zipping up a tent, welcoming people

Taste: arid dust alkyline Touch: cool skin Smell: propane, campfires Sight: small town breakfast joint women's bathroom decor, a pink seashell filled with pink snapdragons; sky fire dust Sound: drums, cheering Extra: Dusk falls in the desert the smells of nomadic tribes, preparing for the evening meal and festivities, warding off the night

Taste: apple cinnamon jelly Touch: slippery playing cards, a fresh deck sliding Smell: passing through a field once occupied by cows Sight: yellow block letters on square brick building, "Surprise Valley Electrification Corp" Sound: rattle like an airplane shaking apart, Sonic Care in my mouth, sex toy on my nether lips Extra: hips stretching in a small fetal ball, like a gymnast sleeping in somersaults, finding a place to sleep like a dog on the one small soft place in a cold transient room

Taste: pineapple coconut fruit leather, soy sauce salty and light nutty and bitter tang Touch : dry, matted, chalky clumps of hair unwashed for one week in the desert, painfully stretched raw lip, dryness inside my throat becoming crisp from the inside out, drying out Smell: the absence of: no shit, no urine, no lemon Sight: pink hair in the grocery store Sound: "This time I want to be vampire Indiana Jones," says a little girl with a bob haircut as she rushes down the steps of a house with a ray gun. Extra: We think $825 together. Sir Thomas More's Utopia , the longevity of good ideas, why not a movie about Utopia and Sir Thomas More instead of "The Other Boleyn girl"