As the democratic party continues to splinter itself, I look for ways we can repair it once Obama is finally granted the official nomination. Because whether the folks backing Hiliary like it, that is what is going to happen. Once it does, we all need to buckle down and support our candidate to make sure we win the White House come November.
I have several close friends who remain solidly on the Hiliary train, and while I respectfully disagree with their opinion on this matter, ultimately, we all know that we'll have to move on from and, more importantly, heal this fracture in our party.
Growing up watching classic episodes (and re-runs) of M*A*S*H, and through many years perusing Reader's Digest while sitting in our bathroom (our toilet library included, Time, RD and various and much beloved issues of Alfred Hitchcock Presents)...I've learned that humor is a healing force.
With that said, I hope those folks - hell, all of us - can get through this by laughing a bit.
While surfing, I also came across what I think - in a very specific way - could be the 2008 equivalent to "I Like Ike."
Obama...Obama...Obama...O-BA-MA. It's got a ring to it, don't cha think?
I did it again. Third blog. I have to say that I really feel at home over here in vox. I'm not a fan of the layout, but they make it so easy for the luddite in me to just be a lazy mofo and make my shit look nice. Still, I threw my other one up at blogger. Not sure why. Not much there yet, but you can check it out.
I mentioned that I wanted to start a blog specifically for the documentary. It will be where I put notes about the trip and general production notes. And as I mentioned to my friend Ravin, to keep all the suckers I conned into helping me make this thing up to speed. Can I just mention that his post mentioning "incidental music" and "music fragment" makes my heart skip! So awesome!
With my travel schedule in June and Metaluna starting mid-July, shooting will probably be spread out over the summer and editing will probably start in late Aug. (fingers crossed.) I have to remind myself that this is a process and a project meant to be fun - and not to stress over. Words I shall endevour to live by.
In the meantime, we are one week away from the trip. The countdown as begun.
In other news...no sound (or smell) from the bird. Which we've decided is good news. BirdGate 2008 might, like so many scandals before, just fade into the distant memory.
If you are an occassional youtube lurker, like myself, you might enjoy this new video from Weezer's new album, Red. It features some of the more popular youtube personalities and/or folks who got caught up in a moment of brief semi-celeb status. The thing I like about it, is the same reason I enjoy an occassional dose of Weezer...a bit of self-depricating humor has always been able to charm me.
And even if you don't lurk about on the tube...it's still pretty funny. Enjoy.
Points off though for including Federline. Seriously. When will he go away?
I could care less how this season's American Idol ends up. While I'm sure they are perfectly lovely people, the finalists are equally unappealing to me musically and this season (like most seasons) was produced as if the American veiwer has the musical IQ of a potato.
My favorite singer (and only favorite) that that the thing-that-is-Idol has spawned was the World Idol winner back in 2004. I was visiting my sister in North Carolina for Christmas...it was just the two of us and I remember us running around last minute trying to buy dinner rolls at a gas station because all the grocery stores had closed down for the holiday. After many rounds of backgammon, I remember flipping around and landing on World Idol. I wasn't really into it and was about to flip when Kurt Nilsen started to sing.
This gap-toothed, pudgey, former plumber freaking killed it. For me, it was what music is all about. It's not about the slick packaging and the "productising" of the artist. It's about a guy who can just sing (and write his own shit to boot.) And while he's yet to blow up the Billboard charts in the states, he's, ahem, he's HUGE in Norway. Yeah. I said it.
So this season (once again) blows and it made me wonder what Mr. Nilsen was up to. He just finished an album with Willie Nelson at the producing helm. This remake of Lost Highway sounds pretty damn good to me.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been released in the states yet...but I'm thinking, I might have to break down and get this. While Rodrigo Y Gabriella were the soundtrack to summer 07, I'm thinking this alt-country song might be my extremely laid back summer jam for 2008.
Some possible sorta good news on the bird-in-the-wall front. We know that the bird entered from a 3rd floor exhaust vent. In communicating the "haps" to the condo board, I have an email convo with my upstairs neighbor. She says....
I've been in touch with (maintainence) a few times this week. He finally got up on the roof yesterday and said he could see a lot of bird droppings around, but no evidence of a nest in any of my vents. Meanwhile, the noises I'm hearing from inside have gotten quieter (like maybe there's only one bird left now...?) but I'm still definitely hearing rustling and squawking noises on a regular basis.
I fill her in with my last 36 hours of bird-fueled fun.
Hmmm. As late as this morning, I was still hearing a scratching noise. What I heard initially on Saturday/Sunday was definitely outside/on the roof/in the duct work, but the past couple of days, it has sounded more like it's inside the wall. I thought it was just a trick of how the sound was carrying, though, because all of my noises have been very isolated in the furnace closet area. Rebecca, perhaps you haven't heard it for the past day or so because it's flown back up inside my wall again. It definitely sounds like it's going to be an unlucky situation for one of us. I guess we'll know soon enough...
So, who knows? Maybe it did climb up and out of my wall...and into her wall. Is it wrong to hope for that? I mean, she's right...it's more than likely that one of us is going to get screwed on this deal. I feel bad hoping that it's not me that has to deal with the aftermath of BirdGate 2008.
Unless that bird is at least 30% "Stuart Little" and will stop at nothing to get back home...two shall enter...and one shall have to have summer construction in her unit! Oof.
Sunday...11:00 am. Sound of heavy, rapid scratching detected in wall. Immediately go into denial.
Sunday....10:00pm. Release denial and realise that there is, indeed, some form of life stuck in my wall.
Monday....10:00am. Inform Management company of situation. Wait for Pest Control company to contact and set up "evaluation of pest incident." Take day off from work to wait for Pest Control company.
Monday...3:00pm. Finally confirm that Pest company can not make it out until following day.
Monday...11:00pm. 36 hours after "first contact", scratching sound fainter. Conclude that animal is dying. No further sounds from wall.
Tuesday....1:00pm. Pest Control company arrives promptly and on time. No sound/movement detected. Exterior third floor vent is discovered as point of entry. Pest Control believes 99.9% that beastie would be a bird.
Now. We wait. There is a 50/50 chance that the "bird" found it's way out. Or it has already expired. Which means we wait until 1) I can smell the rotting decay of the beastie and 2) the insects drawn to the rotting corpse lay their larvae which will hatch and I will then find flies all over my place. This should take about 7-8 days to complete it's cycle. If I detect rotting or bugs, then they open the wall, remove the carcass, delouse the wall and then have to redrywall...and I get to paint my bathrooom.
While I was completely grossed out at the idea of some rodent birthing it's little rodent spawn in my wall, I'm gagging at the idea of the decomposing/larvae/flies scenario.
Let's all hope that Mr. Pigeon got out and flew home to safety. And that he's dancing with Bert. (okay...I couldn't find that clip...so this will have to do.)
In the meantime, I'll be belatedly celebrating IFSFY day...and trying to keep my perspective on yet another glorious chapter in homeownership.
I can't get this song out of my head.
So, it's not in my kitchen...it's IN THE WALL. And I'm not sure it's a rat. More likely, it's a squirrel. How it got inside my freaking wall remains a mystery. I've put a call into the management company and am waiting for a call back while they set up some kind of pest removal company to come over and...remove the pest.
The thing is, I feel sorry for the squirrel (I can't deal with the picture of an actual rat, possum, raccoon or other mammal/rodent in there)...but, I want it the hell out of my house. The longer it's in there, the more it thrashes around. The more it thrashes around, slamming around and scratching at the wall, the more Olive is flipping out. The more Olive flips out, the more stress is settling in my back.
It will settle down and be quiet for like 20-30 minutes at a stretch...and then it goes berserker. Which makes me jump. Listening to an animal try to claw it's way through your drywall is a bit unnerving, to say the least.
More than once, I've addressed the animal, "Dude! Shut up! I'm sorry you're scared out of your peanut brain, but you are freaking me out!"
I am not a girly girl. I could care less about Jimmy Choo shoes and I couldn't tell you what's the haps on Grey's Anatomy. I can't remember the last time I hand a manny/peddy (although I could use both)...I still have a real streak of tomboy in my veins. So, it's a complete humiliation to me, that if I am alone and I see a mouse (years ago, I had a mice situation in another apt thanks to the tenent below me moving out and leaving his place trashed), I scream like a little girl.
To some extent, I'm having that same reaction now. For what is a squirrel, but a really big freaking mouse. A possibly rabid mouse - that's half the size of Olive. And it's Trying. To. Get. Me.
Uh...crap. I just had a flashback to college when I dropped LSD during a late class and then, during my walk home across campus, when it started to peak, I was convinced that a squirrel was chasing me across campus.
{sounds of scratching}
I fear, this day shall not end well.
On the drive home last week, I got completely caught up in an NPR story about two six year olds who are transgender. I couldn't pull myself out of the car, I was so riveted. If you have 23 minutes to spare in your life, I really think you should give this a listen. It's very compelling stuff.
As I've said, I'm a big fan of Terkel and Morris. Mainly because I think the way to improve life on this planet is to learn from each other. Learn how we are the same, learn how we are different - embrace them both. We are so variant and diverse...and yet so very similar. I'm a big believer in letting people tell their stories...be it on a stage or the radio or in a book or in a song. The more you expand your bubble (lest I repeat myself) the more you learn about yourself. The more you learn about yourself, the more (I hope) you're open to others. While I abhor the collective mind of the Borg, I delight in the individual. The key is remembering that within every part of the Borg lies that individual...who is worthy of being heard. It's a lesson I continue to learn.
Tomorrow, there will be 10 folks expressing themselves (with the assistance of a few other folks) at the Peter Jones Gallery. You're welcome to come listen.
So, I'm thinking that I might start a third blog. Wait. WHAT? I'm still not sure why I have two blogs. I was going to give myself a month to choose and pick a winner, but I'm still sitting on the fence. I like vox a lot. Being completely useless with programming and html, it makes blogging pretty easy. But, I have more compadres (who regularly blog) on blogger - so I'm a bit more social on that site.
I know I have to shit or get off the pot on that score. I keep thinking that I should make one about my personal musings and stories and crap...and one about my more arty stuff. Eh. But that sounds pretentious and fatheaded. Bah.
But, the third one, I really do need, as I think I want to create a blog to capture the experience of creating this documentary we're embarking on. Things are coming together quickly, and in a "planets are aligning" most amazing kind of way. I can't help but want to pour my excitement somewhere to keep track of it all. This is something I have a bit of experience with - but it's also something I haven't really done in a long time, so I'm feeling a bit like a novice as well.
I'll probably start one up this weekend. Keep your eyes peeled.
I think I've previously mentioned some of my friends and myself get together on Wednesday to partake in the nerd party that is Quizzo. Well, the National Finals are coming up in June and our team, Double Secret Probation, decided to represent the great city of Chicago in beautiful, Atlantic City, NJ!
We're renting an RV and driving there... Everytime I say that in my head, I have to pause. But we are, 6 of us are loading up an RV and driving overnight to AC and then spending the next afternoon playing Quizzo for a few short hours. I suppose we've got a good as chance as any to win it all, but I think we're all mainly geeked out at the idea of going all the way to Atlantic City just to play trivia.
Anyway, I've decided to make a little documentary out of it - with the help (fingers crossed) of my friend Geo. There's just something wildly hysterical about a group of 30-40 somethings hauling ass to Jersey just to play in some silly competition. I've already started putting together a script (documentary's have scripts, shocking, I know) for the narration and for the types of interviews I'd like to do - along with a shot list. I'm even considering contacting a friend about maybe writing a little original "traveling" music for it...uh...if he's up for it and has time before he heads off to record an album in Nashville this summer.
I'M SO GEEKED OUT ABOUT THIS. I'm not sure if a lot of folks know, but in my other life, long ago and far away, I was a film major. I became a bit disallusioned and overwhelmed by some family/financial stuff and I walked away from all of that. This was waaaaaaaaaaaaay before the digital/video revolution. When I think about picking up a camera and editing these days, I feel like a complete luddite, so I've really been avoiding it for a long time.
Recently, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life...and while I'm facinated by the youtube generation, I'm less interested in that and more interested in moving in the direction of two of my greatest influences - Errol Morris and Studs Terkel. Suddenly, this opportunity lands in my lap and seems to be a combination platter of the two.
I think this project might be the first step in moving in that direction. Get my feet wet on this and see where it leads. As I mentioned to Geo, I don't want to make a "home movie" - but a true documentary. Something short, but crafted well enough to possibly enter in a few festivals. (I'm hoping that doesn't scare him off. Erp.)
I LOVE MY THEATER COMPANY very much and I'm very excited about our upcoming events and productions and my role in each of them (in front of and behind the scenes) - - - but, I really feel like this idea, more than anything, has put a fire back in my creative belly.
That fire's been nothing but tepid embers for much too long. Working Title: Nerd Party...is about to crack it open.
