Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Doing donuts in Wall Mart baby
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Rest in Peace, My Brother
Sunday, September 13, 2020
First Birthday without Tim
This is the first birthday I’m celebrating without my twin brother, Tim, who passed away last November. I put together this little video of us playing in our backyard in 1959. Tim is wearing the red-striped shirt and is already quite the adventurer.
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Home Movie No. 1
Monday, July 27, 2020
Hart Winery
I made a short road trip to the Hart Winery in Temecula today. Seating was outdoors only, mask and social distancing required. This was the first and probably the only getaway for me this summer of Covid-19. I did enjoy sitting in the dappled shade on the patio, gazing at the expanse of vineyard. The wines were served on a tray, poured into small plastic cups so the waiter didn’t have to keep running in and out of the indoor tasting room to serve those outside.
I could’ve sat out there for hours, but the heat was kicking up and it was time to leave, but not before purchasing a case of three different red varietals.
Wednesday, July 01, 2020
Anne Sexton — Smith Corona Typewriter
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Sea Breeze
Monday, June 22, 2020
My Brother's Retirement
Wednesday, June 03, 2020
They Closed My Favorite Starbucks
This was my Starbucks of choice, the place where I got my coffee most mornings before commuting to work, where I visited every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, where I dropped by almost every day during summer vacation. Call them a victim of Covid-19 because once they closed “temporarily” at the peak of the pandemic, that was it. Starbucks decided to take down the sign and board up the place. With no drive-thru business, they probably weren’t making enough profit to justify keeping their doors open. The place was always packed when school was in session, but that was part of the problem. The college kids from the surrounding Claremont colleges would park themselves there with their laptops and not move for hours, which meant little money flowing into the store’s coffers.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Digital Graduation
It’s always an honor to be one of the teachers selected by the senior class to read their names at graduation. We held today’s digital graduation in our new gymnasium, a fantastic venue. The video will be posted to Sonora High School’s website later next week.
Monday, May 11, 2020
At the Melville Winery in Santa Barbara County
I found this video in my file of old Flip Videos. The Flip Video was great, true point-and-shoot. Just a couple of buttons, easy to use, the ideal video camera to put in your pocket and carry around.
Thursday, May 07, 2020
Student Portrait Project 2020
The Student Portrait Project is now completed. For those students who requested one, I drew their portraits in Adobe Illustrator. I’ll be sending them each a copy.
Saturday, May 02, 2020
Somatic Tinnitus
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Moonlight Sonata
Wilhelm Kempff’s magisterial performance of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” remains my favorite.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Student Portrait Project — First Nine
These are the first nine student portraits I’ve drawn for my annual student portrait project. My process is as follows:
I do a quick drawing with a couple of favorite black markers. I then scan it into Adobe Illustrator, vectorize it, clean it up, and add color. No sooner do I finish one portrait, than I move on to the next. I plan to draw portraits of all my students since I won’t see them again this year. For those who want a copy, I’ll send them the digital file.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Tim's Video from May 10, 2009
In this video my brother, Tim Fasano, makes a preliminary excursion to Withlacoochee State Forest. This was one of the first videos my brother made.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Student Portrait Project #1 — Paige
At the end of the school year I do portraits of my students, in a different style each year. This year I’m going for an abstract look with flat colors and thick black lines. Inspired by Matisse, I tape a paint brush to the end of a bamboo stick.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
My Cow Pasture Backyard
This is what happens to a yard when you don’t do anything to it for months. You don’t mow it. You don’t trim it. You don’t even go out and look at it. You end up with a cow pasture. We do have some nice California poppies growing wild.
Saturday, April 11, 2020
My Smith-Corona Electra 210
This typewriter is an elite machine which types 12 characters per inch. It’s a good, steady typer and I use it often.
Thursday, April 09, 2020
Robert Lowell and Tom Fasano
The older I get the more I look like the poet Robert Lowell. If I could write poetry like Lowell, I’d be set.
Tuesday, April 07, 2020
Typing on a Smith-Corona Electra 210
Monday, April 06, 2020
Smith Corona Electra 210
This was one of the first typewriters I ever acquired — before I learned that Robert Caro types all his books on an Electra 210, a fact that turned me into a devotee of this old typer. Typing on this machine is a pure joy and makes me think that something important has gone out of the writing process in the digital world. This is not my opinion, but that of a few serious thinkers.
Sunday, April 05, 2020
My Famous Typewriter
An upcoming book about the history of typewriters and keyboards used a photo of my old Woodstock No. 5 typewriter. The author said he’d been unable to find a machine that still had the decals on it, which is rare for a typewriter manufactured in 1917. Whether it was owned at one time by the infamous spy Alger Hiss is another matter. The typewriter, by the way, works beautifully. How many of our digital gadgets will still be operational 100 years from now?
Wednesday, April 01, 2020
COVID-19 Diary #2
After teaching school all day online, I got out for my afternoon walk. For the first time this year, it felt like an actual spring day, temperature in the lower 70s and a cool breeze. It was a welcomed change from being cooped up all day teaching from home.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Covid-19 Diary #1
On my daily walk I’ve been noticing these signs on the campus of Pomona College, a favorite strolling site of mine.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Tim Voting 2012
Photo by Linda Davidson/The Washington Post |
From the Washington Post: TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 31:
Tim Fasano, 55, shows off his “I Voted” sticker next to his Buccaneer patch at a voting precinct in north downtown Tampa, Florida on January 31, 2012. Fasano is Italian, has lived in Tampa the last fifteen years and said he voted for Newt Gingrich over Romney because of “Romney’s negative campaigning”. He said Romney failed to explain his Romneycare in Massachusetts. Ybor City, nearby, is home to a lot of hispanics, Italians, African Americans. Its history dates back to the day when cigars factories were steady work here.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Starbucks Laptop People
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Karl Shapiro
This is the only filmed interview I’ve been able to find of the great poet Karl Shapiro. It’s sourced from a 16mm film by Karl Shapiro and Arthur Hoyle, Santa Monica, CA: Pyramid Films, 1976.
Charles Lawler Sculpture
I spotted this sandstone sculpture in front of the Pomona College Art Museum. The sculptor, Charles Lawler, taught at Pomona College at Claremont from 1949-57.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
My Writing Process - the Planning Stages
Using manual processes to write in this digital age might appear odd or anachronistic — perhaps even an affectation. But I don’t care. I us...
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This audiobook is now hosted at https://tomfasano.com/2021/01/the-crucible-audiobook/ .
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I’ve been driving around town scouting locations for my independent film. Today in Griffith Park I found a beautiful bench designed by loc...