The Laughing Heart, by Charles Bukowski:

Your life is your life.

Don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
Be on the watch.
There are ways out.
There is light somewhere.
It may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
Be on the watch.
The gods will offer you chances.
Know them.
Take them.
You can’t beat death,
but you can beat death in life, sometimes.
And the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
Your life is your life.
Know it while you have it.
You are marvelous.
The gods wait to delight
in you.

- The Laughing Heart, by Charles Bukowski.

Writing, a poem by Charles Bukowski: August 16

 

Writing

Writing

a poem by Charles Bukowski
1991
 
Often it is the only thing between you and impossibility.
No drink, no woman's love, no wealth can match it.
Nothing can save you except writing.
It keeps the walls from falling.
The hordes from closing in.
It blasts the darkness.
Writing is the ultimate psychiatrist,
the kindliest god of all the gods.
Writing stalks death.
It knows no quit,
and writing laughs at itself, at pain.
It is the last expectation, the last explanation.
That's what it is.

Recommended reading – Post Office (1971)

Post Office

by Charles Bukowski.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0753518163

ISBN-13: 978-0753518168

Description:

It began as a mistake. By middle age, Henry Chinaski has lost more than twelve years of his life to the U.S. Postal Service. In a world where his three true, bitter pleasures are women, booze, and race-track betting, he somehow drags his hangover out of bed every dawn to lug waterlogged mailbags up mud-soaked mountains, outsmart vicious guard dogs, and pray to survive the day-to-day trials of sadistic bosses and certifiable coworkers. This classic 1971 novel – the one that catapulted its author to national fame – is the perfect introduction to the grimly hysterical world of legendary writer, poet, and Dirty Old Man Charles Bukowski and his fictional alter ego, Chinaski.

“Wordsworth, Whitman, William Carlos Williams, and the Beats in their respective generations moved poetry toward a more natural language. Bukowski moved it a little farther.” – Los Angeles Times Book Review.

Charles Bukowski is one of America's best-known contemporary writers of poetry and prose, and, many would claim, its most influential and imitated poet. He was born in Andernach, Germany, and raised in Los Angeles, where he lived for fifty years. He published his first story in 1944, when he was twenty-four, and began writing poetry at the age of thirty-five. He died in San Pedro, California, on March 9, 1994, at the age of seventy-three, shortly after completing his last novel, Pulp (1994).

Born on this day – Otto Messmer:

Otto Messmer

Cartoonist

Animator

Works include Felix the Cat.

August 16, 1892 – October 28, 1983.

Credits:

A Study in Crayon (1913); A Tale of Two Kitties (1926); Antics in Ink by Hy Mayer (1913); April Maze (1930); Arabiantics (1928); Arena (1985); Art for Heart's Sake (1927); Astronomeous (1928); At the Rainbow's End (1925); Backyard Serenade (1931); Baffled by Banjos (1924); Bargain Counter Attack (1946); Barn Yarns (1927); Bold King Cole (1936); Camera Three (1977); A Good Liar (1917);Cartoon Carnival (2021); Casper the Friendly Ghost (1945); Charley at the Beach (1919); Charley at the Circus (1919); Charley on the Farm (1919); Charley Out West (1919); Charlie in Turkey (1919); Charlie Treats 'Em Rough (1919); Chestnuts (1916); Daze and Knights (1927); Dough-Nutty (1927); Draggin' the Dragon (1928); Eats Are West (1925); Eskimotive (1928); Eye Jinks (1927); Felix All at Sea (1922); Felix All Balled Up (1924); Felix and the Radio (1923); Felix at the Fair (1922); Felix Behind in Front (1927); Felix Brings Home the Bacon (1924); Felix Calms His Conscience (1923); Felix Cashes In (1924); Felix Comes Back (1922); Felix Cops the Prize (1925); Felix Crosses the Crooks (1924); Felix Dopes It Out (1925); Felix Doubles for Darwin (1924); Felix Fairy Tales (1924); Felix Fills a Shortage (1923); Felix Finds a Way (1922); Felix Finds 'Em Fickle (1925); Felix Finds Out (1924); Felix Finishes First (1924); Felix Follows the Swallows (1925); Felix Full o' Fight (1925); Felix Gets Broadcasted (1923); Felix Gets His Fill (1925); Felix Gets Left (1922); Felix Gets Revenge (1922); Felix Gets the Can (1925); Felix Goes A-Hunting (1923); Felix Goes Hungry (1924); Felix Goes on Strike (1921); Felix Goes West (1924); Felix Grabs His Grub (1924); Felix Hits the Hipps (1924); Felix Hits the North Pole (1920); Felix 'Hyps' the Hippo (1924); Felix in Fairyland (1923); Felix in Love (1922); Felix in the Bone Age (1922); Felix in the Swim (1922); Felix Laughs Last (1923); Felix Left at Home (1921); Felix Lends a Hand (1922); Felix Loses Out (1924); Felix Makes Good (1922); Felix Minds His Business (1924); Felix Minds the Kid (1922); Felix Monkeys with Magic (1925); Felix on the Trail (1922); Felix Out of Luck (1924); Felix Outwits Cupid (1925); Felix Pinches the Pole (1924); Felix Puts It Over (1924); Felix Rests in Peace (1925); Felix Revolts (1923); Felix Strikes It Rich (1923); Felix the Cat (1958–1961); Felix the Cat 100 Years in the Making (2020); Felix the Cat as Romeeow (1927); Felix the Cat Braves the Briny (1926); Felix the Cat Busts a Bubble (1926); Felix the Cat Busts Into Business (1925); Felix the Cat Collars the Button (1926); Felix the Cat Dines and Pines (1927); Felix the Cat Ducks His Duty (1927); Felix the Cat Fans the Flames (1926); Felix the Cat Flirts with Fate (1926); Felix the Cat Hits the Deck (1927); Felix the Cat Hunts the Hunter (1926); Felix the Cat in Blunderland (1926); Felix the Cat in False Vases (1929); Felix the Cat in Forty Winks (1930); Felix the Cat in Gym Gems (1926); Felix the Cat in Skulls and Sculls (1930); Felix the Cat Kept on Walking (1925); Felix the Cat Laughs It Off (1926); Felix the Cat Misses His Swiss (1926); Felix the Cat Misses the Cue (1926); Felix the Cat on the Farm (1925); Felix the Cat on the Job (1925); Felix the Cat Rings the Ringer (1926); Felix the Cat Scoots Through Scotland (1926); Felix the Cat Seeks Solitude (1926); Felix the Cat Sees 'Em in Season (1927); Felix the Cat Shatters the Sheik (1926); Felix the Cat Spots the Spooks (1926); Felix the Cat Switches Witches (1927); Felix the Cat Tries the Trades (1925); Felix the Cat Trips Thru Toyland (1925); Felix the Cat Trumps the Ace (1926); Felix the Cat Uses His Head (1926); Felix the Cat Weathers the Weather (1926); Felix the Gay Dog (1921); Felix the Ghost Breaker (1923); Felix the Globe Trotter (1923); Felix the Goat Getter (1923); Felix the Landlord (1920); Felix Tries for Treasure (1923); Felix Tries to Rest (1924); Felix Trifles with Time (1925); Felix Turns the Tide (1922); Felix Wakes Up (1922); Felix Wins and Loses (1925); Felix Win's Out (1923); Fifty-Fifty (1922); Filmograph Cartoons (1913); Flim Flam Films (1927); Free Lunch (1921); Friend in Need (1924); Frolics at the Circus (1920); Fun in Film by Hy Mayer (1913); Funny Fancies by Hy Mayer (1913); Germ Mania (1927); Hilarities by Hy Mayer (1913); Hootchy Cootchy Parlais Vous (1930); How Charlie Captured the Kaiser (1918); Humors of Summer (1913); Hy Mayer: His Magic Hand (1913); Hy Mayer: His Merry Pen (1913); Hy Mayer's Cartoons (1913); Icy Eyes (1927); In and Out-Laws (1928); In Cartoonland with Hy Mayer (1913); In Laughland with Hy Mayer (1913); Jack from All Trades (1927); Japanicky (1928); Jolly Jottings by Hy Mayer (1913); Jungle Bungles (1928); Kill or Cure (1920); Land O'Fancy (1926); Leaves from Hy Mayer's Sketchbook (1913); Lightning Sketches by Hy Mayer (1913); 'Loco' Motive (1927); Los comienzos de la animación (1995); Lulu's Birthday Party (1944); Mess Production (1945); Motor Mat and His Flivver (1916); Movie-Wheels Presents Pat Sullivan's Felix the Cat (1960); Musical Mews (1919); Musica-Lulu (1947); My Hero (1920); No Fuelin' (1927); Oceantics (1930); Ohm Sweet Ohm (1928); Old MacDonald Had a Farm (1946); On the Wind Mill (1919); One Good Turn (1929); Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat (1977); Out of Luck (1921); Outdoor Indore (1928); Over the Rhine with Charlie (1918); Pedigreedy (1927); Peep in the Deep (1946); Pen Laughs (1914); Pen Talks by Hy Mayer (1913); Polly-tics (1928); Popeye, the Ace of Space (1953); Reverse English (1926); Rocket to Mars (1946); Sammie Johnsin and His Wonderful Lamp (1916); Sammie Johnsin at the Seaside (1916); Sammie Johnsin Gets a Job (1916); Sammie Johnsin Hunter (1916); Sammie Johnsin in Mexico (1916); Sammie Johnsin Magician (1916); Sammie Johnsin Minds the Baby (1916); Sammie Johnsin Slumbers Not (1916); Sammie Johnsin Strong Man (1916); Sammie Johnsin's Love Affair (1916); Sax Appeal (1927); School Daze (1926); Scrambled Yeggs (1926); She-Sick Sailors (1944); Sketches from Life by Hy Mayer (1913); Spree for All (1946); Stars and Stripes (1927); Summer Caricatures (1913); Sure-Locked Homes (1928); Tee Time (1930); The Adventures of Felix (1919); The Adventures of Mr. Phiffles (1913); The Cold Rush (1925); The Hypnotist (1921); The Last Life (1928); The Love Affair of Ima Knut (1917); The Love Punch (1921); The Non-Stop Fright (1927); The Oily Bird (1928); The Smoke Scream (1928); The Travel-Hog (1927); The Trials of a Movie Cartoonist (1916); The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995–1997); Them Were the Happy Days (1917); To 'Frisco by the Cartoon Route (1915); Topical Topics (1914); Topical War Cartoons (1914); Topical War Cartoons No. 2 (1914); Two-Lip Time (1926); Uncle Tom's Crabbin' (1927); War Cartoons by Hy Mayer (1914); Whimsicalities by Hy Mayer (1913); Whys and Otherwise (1927); Wise Guise (1927); Woos Whoopee (1928); Woos Whoopee / Comicalamities (1928); Woos Whoopee / Feline Follies (1919); Woos Whoopee / Felix All Puzzled (1925); Woos Whoopee / Felix in Hollywood (1923); Woos Whoopee / Felix Saves the Day (1922); Woos Whoopee / Futuritzy (1928); Zoo Logic (1926).

Born on this day – W. Howard Greene:

W. Howard Greene

Cinematographer

August 16, 1895 – February 28, 1956

Credits:

Meet Mrs. Swenson (1956); Three for Jamie Dawn (1956); The Violent Men (1955); Man-Made Miracles (1954); Of Men and Molecules (1954); Gun Belt (1953); Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953); The Girls of Pleasure Island (1953); The Brigand (1952); It's Only the Beginning (1951); When Worlds Collide (1951); Quebec (1951); Oklahoma (1951); High Lonesome (1950); The Big Cat (1949); Tycoon (1947); Pirates of Monterey (1947); Slave Girl (1947); Night in Paradise (1946); Salome, Where She Danced (1945); Can't Help Singing (1944); The Climax (1944); Gypsy Wildcat (1944); Cobra Woman (1944); It's All True (1943); The Story of Samba (1943); Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1943); Phantom of the Opera (1943); Salute to the Marines (1943); The Jungle Book (1942); The Shepherd of the Hills (1941); Blossoms in the Dust (1941); North West Mounted Police (1940); The Bill of Rights (1939); Jesse James (1939); The Declaration of Independence (1938); Men with Wings (1938); Nothing Sacred (1937); Little Pioneer (1937); A Star Is Born (1937); Under Southern Stars (1937); Give Me Liberty (1936); The Garden of Allah (1936); Changing of the Guard (1936); The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936); Kliou, the Killer (1935); Legong: Dance of the Virgins (1935); Hollywood Beauty Hints (1932); Sports of Many Lands (1929); West of the Golden Gate (1929); When Dreams Come True (1928); Springtime of Love (1927).

Born on this day – Liane Haid:

Liane Haid

Actress

August 16, 1895 – November 28, 2000

Credits:

Die fünf Karnickel (1953); Die unvollkommene Liebe (1940); Peter im Schnee (1937); Wer zuletzt küßt... (1936); Mozart (1936); Tanzmusik (1935); The Trip to Youth (1935); An Evening Visit (1934); At the Blond Katherine's (1934); Keine Angst vor Liebe (1933); The Castle in the South (1933); Ihre Durchlaucht, die Verkäuferin (1933); Roman einer Nacht (1933); The Star of Valencia (1933); Sag' mir, wer Du bist (1933); Polizeiakte 909 (1933); A Woman Like You (1933); Madame Wants No Children (1933); Der Diamant des Zaren (1932); I Do Not Want to Know Who You Are (1932); Der Prinz von Arkadien (1932); Madame hat Ausgang (1931); Die Männer um Lucie (1931); My Cousin from Warsaw (1931); Opera Ball (1931); Grock in Grock (1931); Zirkus Leben (1931); Kaiserliebchen (1931); Petit officier... Adieu! (1930); The Song Is Ended (1930); Zweimal Hochzeit (1930); Der unsterbliche Lump (1930); Schwarzwaldmädel (1929); Spiel um den Mann (1929); S.O.S. Schiff in Not (1929); Der Weiberkrieg (1928); Marquis d'Eon, der Spion der Pompadour (1928); Vienna, City of My Dreams (1928); Zwei rote Rosen (1928); Die Dame in Schwarz (1928); Die Csardasfürstin (1927); Die Dollarprinzessin und ihre sechs Freier (1927); Der goldene Abgrund (1927); Der letzte Walzer (1927); The White Slave (1927); Die Czardasfürstin (1927); Der fesche Erzherzog (1927); Der Sohn des Hannibal (1926); Als ich wiederkam (1926); Im weißen Rößl (1926); Der Provinzonkel (1926); Two Brothers (1926); Liebesfeuer (1925); Die Insel der Träume (1925); Ich liebe dich (1925); A Woman's Secret (1924); Bride of Vengeance (1923); Der Pantoffelheld (1923); Schlagende Wetter (1923); Lucrezia Borgia (1922); Geld auf der Straße (1922); Das Geld auf der Strasse (1922); Lady Hamilton (1921); Der Roman eines Dienstmädchens (1921); Die Filme der Prinzessin Fantoche (1921); Die Frau in Weiß (1921); Sein Lebenslicht (1921); Doktor Ruhland (1920); Verschneit (1920); Eva, die Sünde (1920); Der Leiermann (1920); Die Stimme des Gewissens (1920); Der tanzende Tod (1920); Freut Euch des Lebens (1920); Durch Wahrheit zum Narren (1920); Lasset die Kleinen zu mir kommen (1920); Der Herr des Lebens (1920); Die Ahnfrau (1919); So fallen die Lose des Lebens (1918); Der König amüsiert sich (1918); Der Doppelselbstmord (1918); Der Schandfleck (1917); Der Verschwender (1917); Mir kommt keiner aus (1917); Lebenswogen (1917); Auf der Höhe (1916); Die Tragödie auf Schloss Rottersheim (1916); Die Landstreicher (1916); Mit Gott für Kaiser und Reich (1916); Sommeridylle (1916); Mit Herz und Hand fürs Vaterland (1915).

Born on this day – Mae Clarke:

 

Mae Clarke

Actress

August 16, 1910 – April 29, 1992

Credits:

100 Years at the Movies (1994); A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966); Adventures of the Falcon (1955); AFI Life Achievement Award (1974); American Masters (2008); And Now Tomorrow (1944); Annie Get Your Gun (1950); As the Devil Commands (1932); Ask Any Girl (1959); Batman (1966); Because of You (1952); Big Time (1929); Boo! (1932); Boy with a Knife (1955); Breach of Promise (1932); Broken Arrow (1957); Brother Can You Spare a Dime (1975); Callaway Went Thataway (1951); Cinemassacre's Monster Madness (2007–2011); Code 3 (1957); Come Next Spring (1956); Coming Soon (1982); Compression (2023); Confidentially Connie (1953); Cowboy G-Men (1953); Crossroads (1957); Daredevils of the Clouds (1948); Dragnet (1954); Duchess of Idaho (1950); Engagement Party (1956); F Troop (1965); Family Theatre (1951); Fast Workers (1933); Fearless Fagan (1952); Fireside Theatre (1952); Flaming Gold (1932); Flying Tigers (1942); Footlights Theater (1953); Four Star Playhouse (1954); Frankenstein (1931); General Electric Theater (1954); Great Guy (1936); Gun Runner (1949); Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius / Universal Horror (1998); Hats Off (1936); Hearts in Bondage (1936); Here Come the Waves (1944); Hitch Hike Lady (1935); Holiday for Sinners (1952); Hollywood and the Stars (1963); Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963); Horizons West (1952); I Died a Thousand Times (1955); Inside Straight (1951); Insight (1971); It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein (1994); J. Edgar (2011); James Cagney: That Yankee Doodle Dandy (1981); James Cagney: Top of the World (1992); Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre (1957); King of the Rocket Men (1949); Kitty (1945); Lady from Chungking (1942); Lady Killer (1933); Let's Talk It Over (1934); Lost Planet Airmen (1951); Love Is Better Than Ever (1952); Lux Video Theatre (1954–1957); Magnificent Obsession (1954); Matinee Theatre (1956); Medic (1955); Men on Call (1930); Mohawk (1956); Mr. Imperium (1951); Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950); Nana (1934); Night World (1932); Nix on Dames (1929); Not as a Stranger (1955); Outlaws of the Orient (1937); Parole Girl (1933); Pat and Mike (1952); Penguin Pool Murder (1932); Penthouse (1933); Perry Mason (1962); Playhouse 90 (1957); Public Defender (1954–1955); Reaching from Heaven (1948); Reckless Living (1931); Ride the High Iron (1956); Royal Wedding (1951); Sailors on Leave (1941); Saturday Afternoon Mad Theater (1986); Screen Snapshots (1932); Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 7 (1937); Silk Hat Kid (1935); Singin' in the Rain (1952); Skirts Ahoy! (1952); Streets of San Francisco (1949); Talking Pictures (1988); The 2th Annual American Cinema Awards (1985); The Catered Affair (1956); The Dancers (1930); The Daring Young Man (1935); The Deputy (1960); The Desperados Are in Town (1956); The Fall Guy (1930); The Final Edition (1932); The Ford Television Theatre (1953–1956); The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster (2002); The Front Page (1931); The George Sanders Mystery Theater (1957); The Good Bad Girl (1931); The Great Caruso (1951); The House of a Thousand Candles (1936); The Impatient Maiden (1932); The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1959); The Lineup (1954); The Loretta Young Show (1954–1958); The Man with Two Faces (1934); The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952); The People Against O'Hara (1951); The Public Enemy (1931); The Reformer and the Redhead (1950); The Skipper Surprised His Wife (1950); The Texan (1958); The Unknown Man (1951); The Yellow Cab Man (1950); This Side of Heaven (1934); Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967); Three Guys Named Mike (1951); Three Wise Girls (1931); Thunderbirds (1952); Trouble in Morocco (1937); Turn Back the Clock (1933); Undercurrent (1957); Voice in the Mirror (1958); Waterfront (1954); Waterloo Bridge (1931); Watermelon Man (1970); Wichita (1955); Wild Brian Kent (1936); With This Ring (1954); Women in War (1940); Women's Prison (1955); Your Favorite Story (1954).