Ladies? All the ladies. Louder now.

Marcy Kaptur breathes some life into C-Span. And Wanda Sykes
needs to see some receipts.

What economy? What election? What war?

I'm a sucker for a good distraction. In fact, that gives me an idea for the title of my autobiography, "A LIFE OF DISTRACTION." Previously, I was thinking of calling it "NEVER BEEN PUNCHED." Until, of course, I was punched. Which makes me think that it might be premature to think of a title now. And with so much exciting news vying for my attention, who knows when I'll ever get around to writing it.

Oh, here's the deal with these pics according to the AP:

LONDON -- Trafalgar Square routinely serves as a stage for mimes, jugglers and other acts, but the tourist attraction drew an exceptionally curious crowd Tuesday when the shortest man who can walk met the woman with the longest legs.

He Pingping, of China, stands precisely 2 feet 5.37 inches tall (.7461 meters tall). The 20-year-old was born with a type of dwarfism.

He called Svetlana Pankratova's legs "very beautiful."

The two met, with He standing at Pankratova's knees, the publicize the release of "Guinness World Records 2009." This year's version of the popular book is due out Wednesday.

Pankratova, 36, who is Russian but lives in Spain, has legs that are nearly 52 inches (132 centimeters) long, or more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) long. Her upper body has nearly typical proportions, giving her a giraffe-like appearance.

She's got legs and she knows how to use them.

"Thanks, but no thanks"

I've been trying to understand why the McCain camp feels like they can continue to claim that Sarah Palin did not support this "Bridge to Nowhere." Anyone with the simplest research skills could quickly find out that she did indeed support the funding for that bridge. Clearly, the mainstream media has failed to hold her accountable. I think what Sarah Palin actually means to say is "Thanks...,." and then after 1 year passes, "No thanks!"

Don't step on the children

oh, i forgot to mention this.
Zoe and I went to Ian Svenonius' night at Santos just over a week ago.
Calvin Johnson was the special guest. And Heatmiser was the live act!
Just kidding about Heatmiser, but all the rest is true. (R.I.P. Elliott Smith).

Anyway, we were excited to go. Actually, we were more excited about the idea of going, but when it came to actually going there we really had to force ourselves. I told a bunch of people about the Ian Svenonius/Calvin Johnson one night only extravaganza. Everyone seemed interested, but at the last minute it was just me and Zoe who went.

It was upstairs at santos. There were live bands. This band called Crystal Stilts (i think that's their name) was really good. We watched their whole set. We only had one drink. I thought the music was great. Whatever Calvin was playing was a breath of fresh air. And Ian played those golden oldies that I expected to hear.

Zoe and I agreed that the night was more relaxing than it was exciting.
Maybe we thought we'd see other people we remember from the 90s.
The whole scene did feel sort of familiar in a comfortable way. For a second I thought that Bill Clinton was president again. We did see a guy raver who was really doing his own thing. When I was in the bathroom I saw graffitti about Harold Hunter. I took a picture of it for Zoe. In a very touching way, it brings everything full circle.

So, it's a fun party. My goal is to convince more people to go. Just remember - Monday nights.



Here's a nice picture of Calvin that i found. I wish I had talked to him just to hear his deep voice. Maybe he doesn't talk the same way he sings. I don't remember.

healing tears

Pollyanna is such a tearjerker.
I ended up getting sucked into watching it on the Hallmark channel this past weekend.
Whoever handles programming for the Hallmark channel is smart.
This film has all the sentiment that greeting cards try so hard to convey.
They should do cross-marketing!

I was feeling so ill over the weekend because of allergies.
My muscles ached like a motherfucker. I even got a massage
from this chinese place near my house. The masseuse really
hurt me, but i'm not used to getting a massage and i decided i should
just take the pain. Plus, one time when i did squel she just said "It's ok"
and then she kept on doing it. It didn't seem like it mattered to her.
I was worried, too, because she massaged my butt a lot. I guess I didn't
have a god way of knowing if this was a legit massage place. But I chose
it because I had a gift certificate.
Also, she sat on me.

Anyway, while I was feeling ill this weekend, it would have made me feel better to have received a 'Get Well Soon' card with a picture of a paralyzed Pollyana being carried down the stairs while the whole town came out to greet her. The entire town! The orphans, old curmudgeons, disgruntled servants, and even Jane Wyman who played her cold-hearted aunt! All of them moved to pieces by pollyanna's sweetness. I cried so much while watching that. I actually think crying helped with my allergies. I know it cleared out my nasal passage.

Cat Stevens - Father & Son

I like listening to Cat Stevens on car rides.
Michal just sent me this video.
She thinks he's on coke (cocaine) in this video.
I'm not so sure, but i'm used to my mom and my oldest sister
thinking that every celebrity on TV was on drugs.
Also, i've had friends with very obvious drug problems and I thought it
was just part of their personality. So, i'm a little dense when it comes to that kind of scrutiny.
Or maybe I just like to give people the benefit of the doubt.
Or possibly I think like a juror and I need substantial evidence.

Anyway, I guess this song is poignant.
If I were a dad, perhaps I would cry.
I'd like it even more if his son were gay.
But I can't agree with Cat when he sings "You're still young, that's your fault."
It's not his sons fault that he's young! He doesn't control time!
Sheesh, parents just don't understand. But for the most part I understand the dad's perspective in this song. sad . meaningful. human.

Hockey moms unite! Take back the night!

So, McCain chose Palin as his VP pick. It's probably a smart move on his part. I don't like her because she's incredibly conservative. You know how when some people are so conservative that it just seems like they're crazy? You know, people like Anne Coulter, creationists, Santorum, global warming deniers. etc. Well, Palin is that kind of crazy to me - someone who's so far off that using logic to discuss issues just doesn't work.
Also, I think it's important to point out that I haven't even been watching the news for an hour and I've heard three people say that she might only be a "heartbeat from the Presidency." It's frightening because I could see that happening.
Bring on the debates!

On Returning

What a trip! If anyone's keeping track, I am now back home in NYC. I've been back for a full week. The film I was working on shutdown because they didn't have all the funding together yet. It's a long story, but it's one i'm used to. This is the second time this year I've started working on a film only to have it shutdown before shooting.

I'm starting to think that 2008 isn't a great year. So far, nothing stands out as a noteworthy accomplishment for me. In fact, I was making great progress in 2007 and now it all seems kaput. So, right now i'm unemployed and worried that i'm not making the most out of my life. Years ago I would have been pretty depressed by now. Don't get me wrong, I am unhappy, but I also think that this slump will subside soon.

When I got back home last week it was all apparent to me that it's still August. Lots of friends were still out of town, activities were scarce, random businesses took their own vacation, and the temperature was such that I couldn't decide if i should just use my fan or turn on the A/C (I alternated both periodically).

For the sake of my own sanity and my budget, I bought a lot of food at the farmers market. To keep with my unplanned trend of making lists, I've made a shopping list of what I bought from the market with a note about each item

• SWEET CORN - I got a recipe for a simple summer stir-fry from some chef in LA. You can basically put anything from the market in it, but corn is the key ingredient. Just use your judgment. And you have to use butter, it doesn't really work with oil. Anyway, my stir-fry really tasted like summer.

• BASIL -some lady stopped me on the subway to tell me how great they smelled.

• KIMCHEE (from Hawthorne's farm) -The best! I use it as a garnish in all my dishes. In Edward Said's memoir, he talks about growing up in egypt and how a lot of his food staples were served cold. Same with me! Here are things i always eat: hummus, cheese, cornichons, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, kimchee, figs, olives etc.

• TINY SQUASH & YELLOW ZUCCHINI -adorable! but I didn't get a chance to eat them. I was just going to roast them, but i left them in my fruit bowl and they went bad faster than i expected.

• FRENCH BREAKFAST RADISHES - I had some of these for breakfast because it's part of their name. Anyway, it was good with sliced hard boiled eggs and some seasoning and flax oil. I basically bought these cause I just read that radishes are really good for you. But when it comes to making use of them, I have few good ideas.
  

• HARICOT VERT - This variety was actually purple! But it turns green once you cook it. This was thrown into my stir fry.
  

• RAINBOW SWISS CHARD - Yummy cooked with raisins and almonds. Also used some in another version of my summer stir fry.
  

• KALE - Maybe one of my favorite greens. I used this a lot.
  

• EGGS - They were out of brown ones, so I got white. I don't think there's really a difference in taste or nutritional value. Is there?
  

• FINGERLING POTATOES- The ones I chose were close to the size of golfballs, but i swear they had some that were the size of marbles. No joke!
  

Living in the past

On Sunday I went to an amazing antique mall in Salamanca, NY. It was huge and, at the same time, well organized. There were aisles and aisles of items in large showcases, along with plenty of furniture and Americana. Tons of Americana! It was like going to the Met, but everything was for sale (at least 15% off). I made a list of items I wanted but I ended up just buying a mid-century danish lamp for $30. And the thing is, I have no place to put it but I just couldn't pass it up.
Anyway, the more I rummage through vintage stores and flea markets i've become better at analyzing what catches my eye. Among the items that grab my attention, there are the things i'm always looking for and there are those things that I love but will probably never buy. I've broken it down below.

THINGS I'M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR:

HUDSON BAY BLANKET
Reason: Warmth! History! Family Heirloom! Canada!

McCOY POTTERY
Reason: Originally I kept my eye out for these because Jessie's mom collects them. But then I started getting into them too. I'm really specific, though. I don't like the ones that are flowery or cheap looking. Just the simple modern pieces for me.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Reason: He has a nice look - kinda scary, kinda gentle. Totally gay.

BUFFALO ITEMS
Reason: I love buffaloes! They're better than horses.

OLD COOKBOOKS
Reason: People ate strange things back then. And what is American Cuisine? We may never know.

50s & 60s ATOMIC/AMOEBIC/STARBURST DESIGN PLATES & CUPS
Reason: Memories of an idealized past

OLD KITCHEN TOOLS
Reason: Back to basics. A lot of this stuff was really well built - cast iron skillets, marble rolling pins, metal mixers, cutlery with cool bakelite handles, pyrex bowls, etc. Plus, it all has a lot of character. I think it's better to use a pyrex refrigerator container than tupperware.

EARLY EDITIONS OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS
Reason: I collect various printings of Don Quixote because I like how different cover art depicts the story. And I look for old Willa Cather novels because it brings me closer to her.

OLD POSTCARDS
Reason: Cheap to collect. Fun to send to people. And I'm obsessed with nostalgia, even if it's not my own.

FUNNY DOG FIGURINES
Reason: This is for Joe. He already has a great collection, but I love giving him one everytime I visit him upstate.

BUTTON-UP SHIRTS
Reason: I'm an old soul.

THINGS I ALWAYS PICK UP BUT NEVER BUY:

QUILTS
Reason: Expensive! I would probably buy them if i had a nice country home.

NICE FURNITURE
Reason: I have no room for it! Again, if I had a house in the country.

SALT & PEPPER SHAKERS
Reason: I know where to draw the line. I see tons and tons of Salt & Pepper shakers that I think are pure genius, but I could see myself easily caught up in this endless web of kitsch. I have one nice set and I'm going to settle with that.

RANDOM TCHOTCHKES
Reason: Again, I don't want to go overboard. So, i try to keep it to Abe Lincoln and Buffaloes.

NAZI PARAPHERNLIA & THOSE BLACK FIGURINES
Reason: I'm not racist, but I did see tons of that shit at the Antique Mall and I couldn't help but stare at it.


Ok. Please don't start buying the things I like.

into the Wilds

Update: I am now employed!

The morning after I wrote my last post, I was asked to work on a film in northern Pennsylvania. I decided to take the job and I spent most of my day yesterday driving to Bradford, PA. I'm here till the end of October. Rather than think about all the things in NYC that I'm missing out on (MBV, All Tomorrow's Parties, the Buckimnster Fuller show at the Whitney, Autumn),
I've decided to make the most of the situation and find out what the Pennsylvania Wilds*
has to offer.

Since I've only been here for about 24hrs, I think it's too premature to discuss my new job and surroundings with much depth. But I will make a quick list of "Likes" and "Dislikes" based on my initial impressions.

LIKES:
-Architecturally noteworthy old buildings
-Cool nights
-Allegany State Park (potentially!) and nature in general
-Nice Co-workers
-Office dogs!
-Per Diem
-Planning weekend excursions
-Scenic Route 6
-Getting a lot of reading done
-Bargain hunting

DISLIKES:
-Subway sandwiches & food options in general
-Meth addicts
-Ugly Oil Refinery
- Lack of physical activity
- No bookstore!
- Talking about work and the film industry after working all day.

*I found out today that this region of the state is officially called the Pennsylvania Wilds

What's in a word?

Something's wrong with this guy.

This is the newest thing I can think of.

It's August! According to the Farmers Almanac, August is the 8th month. For some reason, everything slows down in August - museums, random businesses, relevant news stories, big projects, ideas, old people, fast-paced walkers, lazy people, fat people, nappers, slugs, dogs, artists, etc. When Morrissey said that everyday is like Sunday, he was referring to August specifically.

To me, August is a real paradox. You see, if I weren't so bored I wouldn't have started this blog.
And this blog is not slowing down. I owe all this to the 8th month.

Full Disclosure: I'm unemployed right now.