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Last weekend, I had the pleasure to see “It Might Get Loud”, a documentary that any fan of rock n roll should see.
The subjects are Jimmy Page, the Edge from U2, and Jack White of White Stripes/Raconteurs.
Wow!
The premise is these three guitarists are to meet in a warehouse in an undisclosed location, and talk about guitar, playing rock n roll and swapping secrets and licks. What these guys do with their axes, the sounds and textures are phenominal. I also like there’s a representative from each of the last three generations of rock fans, so everyone has a guitar hero. There’s also lots of behind-the-scenes footage. Woven into this are vignettes or glimpses into each guitarist’s career. Lot of bio material, great achival film and anecdotes. It’s a gold mine for rock fans.
I had the whole theater to myself, which allowed me to talk to the screen, clap, cheer…I did everything except torch up a lighter and hold it above my head.
Favorite part of the movie were the scenes with Jimmy Page. I’ve been a closet Led Zeppelin fan for awhile. Of all the hard rock bands of the 70’s, they can’t be pigeonholed. When you listen to them, you mostly hear the blues, but you’ll hear different styles from folk (Goin’ to California) to funk (The Crunge). I’m not a metal guy, but I love these guys. The bridge to “Whole Lotta Love” is big, bad and full of attitude. Just the full sound from the bass and drums makes me reach for the volume and crank it to 11.
You should check this flick out. My guess is that it has a limited run and will get pulled before too long. It’s a movie that begs to be seen on the big screen. Plus, if the theater has Dolby digital, that’s makes it sound so much better.
I mean it, GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!
It is the end of the workday, but not the end of my week. I would love to be able to sleep in tomorrow, maybe fix a breakfast of pancakes and bacon, and go wherever thewind will take me.
But, sadly, so. I’ll be up way-too-early when the majority of the world is enjoying a relaxing start to the weekend.
This will be one of those posts that has something for everyone. Maybe not everyone. How about 4 out of five dentists? Choosy mothers? The Pepsi generation?
Alright, enough.
Tonight is the last home game for the Red Riots football team. So far, they are 4-2 with tonight’s game vs. Gorham, then The Battle of the Bridge. I found out yesterday that My Son sustained a concussion during practice. He failed the computer tests that are conducted with potential cranial injury but was told he could be back for the last game of the regular season. I understand that football is not a gentile sport, that injuries happen. But how does a kid sustain multiple blows to the head..IN PRACTICE. I understand he’s disappointed he may not be able to play for awhile.
My Daughter and I had a great dinner last night. Since we have a similar sense of humor, we can get silly and that’s how it was last night. The spaghetti stayed on the plates and there are no stains in the rug or on the couch cushions. I cherish times like this when I can be Dad instead of her Father.
A good friend tipped me off to an interesting concept. It’s called Meet Up (www.meetup.com ) and there are all kinds of groups where people can socialize. If you are into cooking, coffee, wine, adventure activities or just want to meet people, there are groups for all that and more. I found a writers group that I wanted to join. But I was detained while picking up My Son from his team dinner last night, so I missed the beginning. Actually, I missed the whole thing. I went to the address provided on the website, but when I rang the doorbell, no one responded. Bummer. I’ll have to arrive earlier next week.
One of the things I will need to change, whenever I start dating again, will be to forget what I knew with My Love. I have to re-learn how to date. Not so much the flowers/dinner or a movie/kiss at the door stuff. Instead I need to change how I think about the structure of the relationship. I will want to date someone who isn’t balancing another relationship against ours, but I want to be able to focus on the present. I want to take it step-by-step, savouring getting to know her. I want to be secure with myself and my life so I’m not so quick for exclusivity. I don’t want to define myself by the relationship. I am a LONG way off from dating again, despite desiring the intimacy of a relationship.
I am loving internet radio. I’ve logged into Free Form BCN several times this week while at work. I love the idea of not know what song you’ll hear next. Having worked in radio, I know what good radio sounds like and I haven’t heard it for awhile. It’s where the DJ’s had personality; they identified with their audience, could program their shows and select the music. It’s easy now to tune up and down the dial and hear the same presentation, just different music. They tell you the same thing no matter the format. Every station is ”playing a better mix of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s”, “more variety, less talk”…..you get the idea. Now that I’ve discovered internet radio and can pinpoint music that matters to me, the only use for the radio will be news/weather and the ballgame. That’s actually kinda sad.
I will not be dressing up for Halloween. I’ve never been big on the holiday. maybe it was the pressure of finding an original costume. My best costume was a Christoper Columbus outfit, complete with crushed velvet cap and ragmop hair. My mother made it from scratch. You don’t get much of that anymore. As I grew older, it was just a day when you got lots of free candy. A few years I had to “Trick or Treat for UNICEF”. Usually we got the boxes in our Sunday school classes and were expected to return them on the Sunday following Halloween. That activity reminds me of the scene in Woody Allen’s “Radio Days”, an autobiographical film about growing up during World War II. The scene takes place during Hebrew school class. These Jewish boys are sent out by their rabbi, to collect funds to promote a Jewish home in Palestine. Being kids, they end up taking some of the money and spending a portion on candy, ice cream or Secret Avenger Decoder Rings. The young Woody gets hauled up in front of the rabbi by his parents. Do you remember collecting for UNICEF? How many of you skimmed a little off the top? Did some of it end up in the till of the neighborhoodstore? Do I see a few hands rising hesitantly? C’mon, ‘fess up. But don’t worry because it’s ancient history, you won’t be held accountable.
It’s too damn cold for this time of year. Where’s Indian Summer? Where are the temperatures in the mid-50’s?
Enjoy your weekend no matter where you are. Hopefully, there will be lots of color, interesting people, and stuff to make you go “hmmmmm”.
I know I am coming out of my latest funk when I want to start cooking.
Last night, while coming home from the library, I had a Cosmic Dope Slap moment. I got the idea that since it was my day off, I should make myself blueberry pancakes. It was a good thing becaue I had berries in my freezer that needed to be eaten. So after the meeting with my son’s teachers, I came home and put a batter together. I like to use a splash, OK maybe a large splash, of vanilla in the batter. Because I was cooking for just one, I had to cut the recipe in half. Otherwise I’d be eating pancakes for the next three mornings. There was some leftover maple syrup (the real stuff)in the fridge, and it was just enough for what I wanted.
YUMMMMM
When my relationship with My Love ended, I lost the desire to cook. I was sustained by pizza and takeout. One would think that having food as a comfort, but I didn’t have the desire to put dished together. Now I’ll cook when my kids come over, and for myself when I want a good meal. What I have discovered is it’s good therapy for me. I enjoy putting simple ingredients together to make something satisfying.
I watched LA Confidential last night. It seems that the majority of the movies I’m screening lately are films that I’ve always wanted to see, but they didn’t appeal to The Ex-. Last week it was “Like Water For Chocolate” – a very powerful, sensual film with alot of symbolism. Also “Waiting For Guffman” and ”Boogie Nights”.
I did have a Pina Colada moment with The Ex- during last week’s conversation. A Pina Colada moment refers to the song by Rupert Homes, where the couple discovers things about the other they didn’t know. I didn’t know she liked Hitchcock movies and some film noir.
The things one discovers AFTER a divorce.
Things with my Jetta aren’t all beer and skittles. Last week was the good news when I found out that the loan was paid off. Now I need to have rear brakes replaced. It’s always somethingIt only has 125,ooo miles on it, so it’s barely broken in. I am hoping to finish the repairs before my vacation next week. I don’t like the idea of hanging around my apartment all week.
Every so often I have bits of thoughts that need to come out, but I can’t flesh them out into a full posting. You might say it was a late summer cleaning.
I have to give props to native Mainer Ray Lamontagne. This past week, I visited the library downtown (not the one I usually haunt), where they have an awesome music collection. I had heard Ray’s music on radio and liked what I heard. Not having bought any CDs in awhile, I took a chance and borrowed his first album, Til The Sun Turns Black. I am so glad that I did. His voice has a rough and smokey quality, full of pain and lament. The music could be described as a fusion of acoustic blues and R&B, but don’t be quick to label it. Lamontgne has two other albums and is getting radio play in the UK.
I had a chat with The Ex- yesterday. It’s the first talk we’ve had in a couple months. There were issues that needed clarifying and resolution. You may have read my rant on how she drives me nuts sometimes. I explained to her that, in my mind, this was water under the bridge and I didn’t hold a grudge. We haven’t had many opportunities to talk and confrontation is not her strong suit. I told her that she should ask for what she needs. It would make our lives so much easier. The issue was I was low on cash and needed to do some laundry. I asked her if I could use her machine, and the response was delayed in coming. Did I strike a chord? She agreed, but later I discovered that she would’ve preferred if I had waited until Sunday. I understood, but I made a gentle suggestion that she could’ve said, “yes, but could you wait until Sunday. I need some space.” I would’ve honored that request. I grateful she allows me to use the washer at all. Long story short, we both need to improve our communication skills with each other. But the end result was very positive and that’s encouraging.
I have come to the conclusion that, although I am trying not to be a slob, my apartment continues to be a mess. In other words, my Hole In The Ground looks like a hole in the ground. It is a challenge for me to get up the energy to clean. It’s easy to be complacent because I am the only one who lives there and I don’t expect company in the near future. My biggest challenge is the dishes. I dislike washing dishes. Alot.
My car is finally paid off!! I had been adding extra money in with the payment every two weeks. The last time I checked with the credit union, I was told that the final payment was due in February 2010. But when I made the electronic transfer, I got a prompt that informed me I needed to pay less than what I intended to pay. After I closed the transaction, I called the credit union, and the teller confirmed that I had a zero balance. YEAH!!
I had a nice visit with my daughter yesterday. When I came over to do laundry, she offered to buy me a sandwich and drink. I walked with her to the sandwich shop. Along the way we had a nice chat, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. It’s how I want my relationship with my daughter to be.
I have 7 new movies for my collection. A co-worker had offered to record some full length classics for me. All I needed to do was provide the blanks. Yesterday, I got a phone call, and was told I could pick up the movies that night. Yeah! I have waiting for me: Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” & “The Magnificent Ambersons”, “Gilda” with Glenn Ford and Rita Heyworth, “The Guns of Navarone” with Anthony Quinn and Gregory Peck; James Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, another HItchcock classic “Notorious” with Ingrid Bergman, and …ooops, I forgot the last movie. Forgive me.
To My Love: How are you? Have you been able to find the balance that’s been difficult to find? Please be gentle with yourself. I hope that you have been out and about, enjoying the summer and all there is to do. I think of you often. I still love you truly, madly, deeply.
It’s another mixed bag of movies for the week. I’ve made it to Season 3 of Little Britain. In the comedy vein, there’s “Waiting For Guffman” (the only picture I haven’t seen from Chris Guest and Co.). Also, a little film noir, “Double Indemnity” with Fred McMurray and Barbara Stanwick. Finally, “Like Water For Chocolate”. It was one of those movies I always wanted to see, but The Ex- didn’t. Hurray for me!
I am on my new schedule at work. Since my move to the warehouse, I’ll now have Monday and Tuesday off. I worked on Sunday and that went alright. The work is not hard and they stream music, so that’ll make the day go faster.
New movies this week: “Being There” with Peter Sellers, “Barton Fink” with John Goodman and John Turturro, and the second season of Little Britain. I have discovered with Little Britain, you need to start with the first season and get familiar with their core characters. I would like to move from there to “The League of Gentlemen”, which is SNL-style sketches with a British twist. I appreciate the British style of humour. With Monty Python, there is alot of stuff American don’t get because of the culture references. If I knew who some some the people they refer to, I know it would be much funnier.
The weather here has turned cooler over the past few days. It feels like fall, which is my favorite time of year. I am not fond of the season which follows, but I enjoy September and October to the max.
Today, I am rambling because I really don’t have much to discuss. From looking at my stats, I see that most people are interested in the trainwreck that is my personal life. I was online at the library yesterday, checking on Facebook. I happened to find TWWBMH’s housemate online, so we chatted. Everyone at the house is fine. I tried not to inquire about TWWBMH, because I respect her privacy, but I knew the housemate wouldn’t know anything. TWWBMH really didn’t confide in her housemates.
I have become more and more convinced that TWWBMH is not interested in reconciling. Not that I had any illusions that she would. If she did, I don’t know about them. I imagine her in her space after work. She’s finishing a cup of yogurt for supper while surfing the internet. She’s curous about what I’m doing, so she Googles my email. There she finds one of my posts.
I do have an active fantasy life, don’t I?
But I doubt it. Maybe she was curious one night and did find my blog not to her liking. Maybe she’s just spying on me. I do know one thing for certain: I have discovered that whenever I think about her, I find myself getting fidgety. I’m not sure if it’s the subject or the thoughts that make my stomach jumble.
My guess it’s the subject.
I do my best to manage this little bouts of anxiety. I discovered that when these episodes would pop up, they usually came when I would experience feelings of loneliness. This period of rebuilding is tough on the emotions. I would love to move past this, get all the emotional junk out for good. But I have to endure this and learn from it. There is a process to this madness.
Lately, the Dollar Menu at McDonald’s has been my best friend. For less than five bucks, I can stuff my face. I’ll get a couple McChicken sandwiches, some fries and a sweet tea. I love the french fries at Mickey D’s. I’ll head home, slect the movie of the night, pull the coffe table close to the couch, and away we go. I guess you can compare it to eating in front of the TV, which I know this is. I know, it’s a bad habit to develop and a hard one to break.
Yeah, but a couple McChicken sandwiches never left me a Dear John letter on my couch.
I had neglected to mention this weeks films, courtesy of the local library. I seem to be gravitating back and forth, to and from Alfred Hitchcock. I pulled “North By Northwest” with Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh, “This Is Spinal Tap”, and the first season of Little Britain.
I love this show. It is so over the top, as are most British comedies. They don’t really have skits, per se, but rather vignettes. Some of them last anywhere from 30 seconds to 7 minutes. But the characters are great.
One of my co-workers agreed to record some movies from Turner Classics. He gave me the first, “Spellbound” with Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman. See, it’s the Hitchcock movies.
The humidity has returned. It’s the kind that resembles a grey haze. It’s the kind that you could reach out, grab a handful and wring out a gallon of fluid. It’s the kind that’s gets worse after it rains.
Along with the heat, this is what is most dislike about summer.
I don’t like hate. Hate is a strong word. It’s the word Red Sox fans use when talking about the Yankees. That word should be used frequently this weekend, because the Red Sox host New York at Fenway.
I would prefer “strongly dislike”.
Today is the perfect day to hang out and write. I could’ve walked out the door at 3, but I recided to remain at The Big City Hospital, steal a little internet, and write to my hearts content. The reason why it’s perfect is because I don’t want to walk home in this humidity. By the time I reach my apartment, I will feel like a walking dish rag, my shirt soaked with sweat and hanging limp on my body. Instead, I’ll write and wait for the shuttle bus, complete with air conditioning, and ride home in comfort. The driver looks out for me. If the traffic is too slow on his regular route, he’ll drive down my street and leave me off in front of my building.
Now, that’s service.
Another reason I strongly dislike the humidity is because it saps your energy. Walking, standing, sitting, doing anything would make you listless and drowsy. Forget getting a good night sleep. You can’t get comfortable unless you have air conditioning, which I don’t.
Enough of this brouhaha…..
That word, brouhaha, isn’t really a word but it has a great sound. It also reminds me of Nick Danger, Third Eye, that wonderful piece of parody from Firesign Theater. It’s a style of comedy that’s an acquired taste. Firesgn Theater spoofed popular culture and it really can’t be described. You have to experience it. It’s like watching TV without a picture. The scenes change when you hear the clicker, sort of a simulated changing of channels. You need to use your imagination to create the images.
For those of you hopelessly stranded in the digital age, you would use a rotary dial to change stations. There were no remotes, no 158 channels.
Nick Danger is a spoof on all those film noir private eyes. The language is right out of the earlier 40’s. Think: “The Maltese Falcon” or “Casablanca”. Mix in Raymond Chandler and you get a tough but funny flatfoot.
But words like brouhaha are fun to hear and say.
Tonight’s agenda will include a large bowl of buttered popcorn and A Movie To Be Named Later. Not sure if I want to sample something from the archives or to schlep across the bridge and find some new movies from the library. I love the library. You can take out as many movies as you’d like, and you can keep them for a week. I can even find TV shows in boxed sets. That could keep me busy for awhile.
Last night, My Son came over for dinner. I had taken “Superbad” out, just to try to understand his generations tastes in movies. This was like a long-running fart joke. Maybe I’m too old, but the jokes were stupid, the writing was horrible and it could have been 35 minutes shorter. At one point, I looked over at my son and asked, “is this how you and your friends talk when you’re not around adults?” He looked at me, smiled a sheepish grin and nodded. I can swear with the best of them (VERY rarely), but this was a continuous F-bomb. I liked most of the characters and found them sympathetic. The two policemen (Bill Hader and Seth Rogen) weren’t funny. It was like watching bad SNL skits.
Oh, I just looked at what I’ve written and I sound like my father. That’s scary.
I hope you have a good night. If you’ve had a tough week, lay low and give yourself a break. Take care of yourself and be kind to yourself.
See ya in the funny papers!
