So, y'know, I guess I'm another victim of this blogosphere posting malaise that has struck. A week or more between posts. No real urge or desire to blather on about this and that. Just a big ol' "whatever." But here I am. Figure I'll just type for a while and see what happens.
Anyway.
Busy Busy Busy
This Summer seems to have been unusually busy for us. I had figured it would be really laid back, since my in-laws are around and have their own place for the duration. We have built-in babysitters that the kids fall over themselves to spend time with, which would seem to suggest that a lot of spare time would magically appear, enabling us to read or watch films or just hang out at will.
For some reason, though, this doesn't seem to be the case at all.
I mean, we're doing some cool stuff. The occasional visit to the bookstore to sip coffee and browse (I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's "Haunted" a few chapters at a time. I don't like it enough to buy the thing, but I'm intrigued enough to steal it, intellectually, piece by piece, during our infrequent bookstore visits). We've NetFlixed a bunch of films, many of which have sat, unwatched for a week or more at a time (this list currently includes "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," "Throne of Blood," and "Gods and Monsters"). We've instituted Monday Night Family Movie Night (kid-friendly fare with lots of snacks and no set bedtime) and have watched a few classic kids things that were not nearly as good as we remembered, really ("Benji," "The Love Bug," "Honey I Shrunk the Kids," and "Beethoven" were all diverting and more or less entertaining but not particularly good) and one terrific movie ("Holes" was fantastic). Hit Sea World for a day. Lots of swimming crammed in between all of this. And then there's the usual occasional BBQ type stuff. But it's all very distributed, and tends to make things feel very, very busy.
Odd. All this time on our hands, taking away all the time on our hands.
Other Things
Haven't played World of Warcraft in almost a month, which is kinda silly since I pay $16 a month to be able to play whenever I want. Might need to rethink that.
Did have a few friends over the other night for an evening of drinkin' and horror movies. I've been thinking of getting a horror movie viewing crew together for a while, and I finally pulled the trigger. I set the theme for the evening at Classic Giallo and we watched Lucio Fulci's "The Beyond" (not good) and Dario Argento's "Suspiria" (beyond brilliant), and drank far, far, far too much.
This is going to become a monthly occurence, I think (the movies, if not the "drinking far too much" -- I mean, drinking will occur, but I can do without the hangover, thanks a bunch), with the next movie night being devoted to Basic Monster Movies. I define these as "movies in which a group of not terribly famous celebrities encounter a monster that proceeds to pick them off one by one."
Examples of this genre are nearly limitless, but I think I'll be going with my all-time favorite bad movie, "Anaconda." So, so awful, and it's knows it, as does every single actor in it, including a pre-superstar J Lo, pre-fame Owen Wilson, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz, and Jon Voight giving the most eccentric and ridiculous performance this side of Eric Roberts or Gary Busey. Second feature will probably be one of the crop of late-90's /early 00's semi-star driven monster movie vehicles. Perhaps underappreciated, lobotomy-required fare like "The Relic" -- starring celebrity meth fiend Tom Sizemore! Or maybe the incredibly gory, incredibly silly "Deep Rising." Or the bizarre horror movie in space riff on Solaris "Event Horizon" with Lawrence Fishburne. So many to choose from....
Finally caught "Batman Begins" last night, and it was fantastic, if uneven. As talented as he is, Christopher Nolan needs to learn how to film and edit an action or fight sequence. When things were slowed down and dramatic the film was amazing, but the minute the pace picked up and the punches started to fly it was a chaotic mess. But the look of the film, the story, the acting (aside from Katie Holmes, who was pretty damn lame), and the overall effect was great.
I mean, aside from that ridiculous polot hole with the microwave transmission thing boiling all the water in the sewer from hundreds of feet away, but not boiling the water in the bodies of anyone else nearby it. Dumb dumb dumb. But otherwise, terrific.
Well, I think I've babbled long enough. It is pretty much a certainty that I will have interesting news to disclose about my professional life in the near future. Sadly, I don't know how long it will be before I can do so. Not that it's so interesting, really, but it's just that I know that these un-disclosable events are taking up a huge amount of my thoughts and are almost certainly contributing to my dearth of postings lately, and I'd like to clear the pipes already.
But it'll have to wait.
Sigh.
Mood: Drowsy
Now Playing: The Avalanches, "Since I Left You"
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Friday, July 08, 2005
Behold My Power / Archival Photos
Heh. So, a few hours after I completed yesterday's paean to my genetic predisposition to pine for rainfall, last evening around dinnertime the skies opened up and we got ourselves a nice little downpour. Actually, up in my neck of the woods it was only raining with any urgency for about 5 minutes, followed by 15-20 minutes of drizzle, distant lightning, and low, grumbly thunder. According to Ray, however, central Austin got deluged.
My powers are formidable, it would appear. I must remember to be careful in the future.
I had just finished eating my dinner when we heard the first rapid slapping of the large drops hitting the pavement of our patio. In a flash I was up and standing at the window, and seconds later I had stripped off my shirt and was standing in the rain, getting drenched, cool water running down my chest and dripping from my fingertips. Within seconds the temperature of the air dropped by what felt to be at least 15-20 degrees. It was heavenly.
The kids looked at me like I was crazy at first, but then they decided that a headlong rush to grab umbrellas and rain boots was in order. We caught raindrops on our tongues, pooled rainwater in our hands and threw it at each other, and spun our umbrellas as I taught Miranda the words to "Singing in the Rain."
Crazy? They think walking around in the rain without a shirt on was crazy? If the sun hadn't of been up, I doubt I would have stopped at stripping off the shirt. Alas, I live in the suburbs and I don't need to get shit from the neighbors. And besides, I have no doubt my kids would have told my in-laws....
So now the "Days Since It Rained" calendar has been re-set. It could be weeks, even months, until we see real rain again. But I feel renewed in the strangest way. I don't understand it, I can't explain it.
But man, that rain felt So. Damn. Good.
-=-
Today, my friend Lee posted links to two of the best sites I've had the pleasure of seeing recently. They are:
Ratt's Freak Show
and
Least Wanted's Photos
The freak show site is perhaps the less savory or "tasteful" of the two, but I've always found archival photos of circus and carnival freaks to be simply fascinating. Yes, these people were exploited, but in many cases the photos show so much humanity, even dignity, in their faces, their postures, their expressions. Perhaps it's the fact that typically the whole person is shown, portrait style, their face and hands and clothing as much a part of the image as their deformity. It's not clinical, doesn't dehumanize them in the way a black rectangle covering their eyes tends to, or dismember them with selective cropping, removing their identities and focusing attention on the result of some capricious genetic error or unfortunate viral infection.
And the archival mug shot photos are just terrific. I find myself paging through them, one after another. Who were these people? Where did they come from? What were their crimes? What ever happened to them? Questions and suppositions cascading through my mind. Lack of context coupled with the burnishing effects of time creating layers of meaning. If you've ever spent some time in an antique store, going through old photos or other people's diaries, the effect is similarly fascinating. It's an odd form of voyeurism, I'd say: Intellectually titillating, simultaneously sad (why have these memories been discarded and sold?) and sweet (the act of perusing discarded keepsakes is a way of remembering these people, even if it is without context).
Thanks, Lee! Wonderful Stuff.
Mood: Kinda giddy
Now Playing: Brian Eno & David Lanois, "Apollo"
My powers are formidable, it would appear. I must remember to be careful in the future.
I had just finished eating my dinner when we heard the first rapid slapping of the large drops hitting the pavement of our patio. In a flash I was up and standing at the window, and seconds later I had stripped off my shirt and was standing in the rain, getting drenched, cool water running down my chest and dripping from my fingertips. Within seconds the temperature of the air dropped by what felt to be at least 15-20 degrees. It was heavenly.
The kids looked at me like I was crazy at first, but then they decided that a headlong rush to grab umbrellas and rain boots was in order. We caught raindrops on our tongues, pooled rainwater in our hands and threw it at each other, and spun our umbrellas as I taught Miranda the words to "Singing in the Rain."
Crazy? They think walking around in the rain without a shirt on was crazy? If the sun hadn't of been up, I doubt I would have stopped at stripping off the shirt. Alas, I live in the suburbs and I don't need to get shit from the neighbors. And besides, I have no doubt my kids would have told my in-laws....
So now the "Days Since It Rained" calendar has been re-set. It could be weeks, even months, until we see real rain again. But I feel renewed in the strangest way. I don't understand it, I can't explain it.
But man, that rain felt So. Damn. Good.
-=-
Today, my friend Lee posted links to two of the best sites I've had the pleasure of seeing recently. They are:
Ratt's Freak Show
and
Least Wanted's Photos
The freak show site is perhaps the less savory or "tasteful" of the two, but I've always found archival photos of circus and carnival freaks to be simply fascinating. Yes, these people were exploited, but in many cases the photos show so much humanity, even dignity, in their faces, their postures, their expressions. Perhaps it's the fact that typically the whole person is shown, portrait style, their face and hands and clothing as much a part of the image as their deformity. It's not clinical, doesn't dehumanize them in the way a black rectangle covering their eyes tends to, or dismember them with selective cropping, removing their identities and focusing attention on the result of some capricious genetic error or unfortunate viral infection.
And the archival mug shot photos are just terrific. I find myself paging through them, one after another. Who were these people? Where did they come from? What were their crimes? What ever happened to them? Questions and suppositions cascading through my mind. Lack of context coupled with the burnishing effects of time creating layers of meaning. If you've ever spent some time in an antique store, going through old photos or other people's diaries, the effect is similarly fascinating. It's an odd form of voyeurism, I'd say: Intellectually titillating, simultaneously sad (why have these memories been discarded and sold?) and sweet (the act of perusing discarded keepsakes is a way of remembering these people, even if it is without context).
Thanks, Lee! Wonderful Stuff.
Mood: Kinda giddy
Now Playing: Brian Eno & David Lanois, "Apollo"
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Floating Along, Dreaming of Rain
Well, my previously described inability to muster a decent blog entry continues. Not that I don't have a lot to talk about, but either a) I can't discuss the issues of interest in this particular forum, for lots of different reasons or b) I just can't muster the energy and focus to really dig in and write about things.
Maybe it's the heat and lack of rain. One thing I've noticed, since moving to Texas nearly 5 years ago, is that I have an odd psychological reaction to extended periods of dry weather. My first summer here we went for nearly 7 weeks without a drop of rainfall. I remember when a small thunderstorm finally rolled in, on a humid August afternoon, I immediately felt the uncontrollable compulsion to strip off my shirt and just go walking in the rain. I told my wife I was going for a walk, she looked at me like I was nuts. I came back about 20 minutes later, soaked to the skin and feeling an indescribable mixture of vague pleasure and highly specific relief.
June was the sixth driest June on record. We haven't had any meaningful rainfall in over a month (and the rainfall we did have, about a week ago, was really just a brief mist that evaporated moments after it touched the ground). I've noticed that if I let my mind wander when I'm laying by the pool or sitting in traffic I tend to look to the horizon, searching for clouds or signs of overcast.
If there's anything to the Jungian idea of the collective unconscious, or of genetic memory carrying experiences forward across generations, then I think it's safe to assume that my ancestors didn't spend a lot of time in deserts.
-=-
So, some general issues that are worrying me:
Money. Money money money. The latter third of this year is looking to be outlandishly expensive, for a lot of different reasons -- some moreso than others. I'm so tired of being paid damn good money but continually feeling unsuccessful because, regardless of income, I just never seem to have anything left when the bills are paid.
Absent friends. One in particular. I've lost touch with one of my best friends, and can't seem to get back in touch with him. I've e-mailed, left phone mail, etc. No response. I haven't even seen him pop up on AIM in months. I'm becoming sincerely concerned. Thom, if you're reading this, get in touch willya?
Meh. I'm boring myself, here. Maybe I should just let this creative lull pull me along for a while.
Mood: Distracted
Now Playing: The Avalanches, "Since I Left You"
Maybe it's the heat and lack of rain. One thing I've noticed, since moving to Texas nearly 5 years ago, is that I have an odd psychological reaction to extended periods of dry weather. My first summer here we went for nearly 7 weeks without a drop of rainfall. I remember when a small thunderstorm finally rolled in, on a humid August afternoon, I immediately felt the uncontrollable compulsion to strip off my shirt and just go walking in the rain. I told my wife I was going for a walk, she looked at me like I was nuts. I came back about 20 minutes later, soaked to the skin and feeling an indescribable mixture of vague pleasure and highly specific relief.
June was the sixth driest June on record. We haven't had any meaningful rainfall in over a month (and the rainfall we did have, about a week ago, was really just a brief mist that evaporated moments after it touched the ground). I've noticed that if I let my mind wander when I'm laying by the pool or sitting in traffic I tend to look to the horizon, searching for clouds or signs of overcast.
If there's anything to the Jungian idea of the collective unconscious, or of genetic memory carrying experiences forward across generations, then I think it's safe to assume that my ancestors didn't spend a lot of time in deserts.
-=-
So, some general issues that are worrying me:
Money. Money money money. The latter third of this year is looking to be outlandishly expensive, for a lot of different reasons -- some moreso than others. I'm so tired of being paid damn good money but continually feeling unsuccessful because, regardless of income, I just never seem to have anything left when the bills are paid.
Absent friends. One in particular. I've lost touch with one of my best friends, and can't seem to get back in touch with him. I've e-mailed, left phone mail, etc. No response. I haven't even seen him pop up on AIM in months. I'm becoming sincerely concerned. Thom, if you're reading this, get in touch willya?
Meh. I'm boring myself, here. Maybe I should just let this creative lull pull me along for a while.
Mood: Distracted
Now Playing: The Avalanches, "Since I Left You"
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