this y that

my daughters b-day was last week (happy birthday, sweetie). we all had a blast at her party saturday...read my wife's account (and leave her a comment!) for further evidence of how men truly never grow up (at least not this man)

read my friend gina's bio at the buzz gallery and dig her awesome work

did i just say, "dig"? yeah, you bet i did - i am one hepcat, still listening to the mjq - to paraphrase andre 3000 et al, Now what's cooler than bein' cool? Ice Cold!

i watched i heart huckabees and i am ammending my list of favorite movies to include it...where to start? great ensemble cast, very imaginative, substantive, without being didactic or pretentious, purposefully ambivalent. i will say, i don't think this movie is for everyone - but you know, i think i've been there and this movie rings true from beginning to end - and does so in a lighthearted, whisical way, that is not heavy handed - yet does not degenerate into silliness...i've watched it twice over the past few days. once regular, once w/director commentary, and will prob watch it again with cast commentary... i understand there is a special edition dvd with more stuff that i will seek out...the music is outstanding - by jon brion, who produced brad mehldau's largo (another favorite record by a favorite artist)

i half watched some of the oscars - was glad jamie foxx won - other than that - not really interested. i have often wondered why i don't *dig* most nominated movies. i mean, i am sure they are well crafted, but i have 0 desire to watch the aviator or million dollar baby. i have decided for me, movies serve the role that fairy tales do for children. i want magic and i want to be transported into another world. while most people say they want movies that are *realistic*, when i examine most of my favorite movies, they are totally *unrealistic* at least on a literal level. to use, what i believe to be gabriel garcia marquez's term, they have a sort of magic realism. too literal movies seem to be very preachy. engage my imagination and use the medium to create a world in which i can inhabit - distill experience and show me in an artful way new ways to see my world - be poetic as opposed to prosaic (my new fave word) . my 3 favorite movies of the past year - i heart huckabees, the life aquatic and the house of flying daggers - none are realistic, in one sense - yet they strike me as "real" - as the native american storyteller once said, i don't know if my stories really happened, but i know that they are true.

oh great...

i'm having a problem and here is the answer, um, translated from chinese

today...

i got a dorky (dorkier?!) haircut
i am listening to the mjq
alias rawked yesterday

wow, i just realized, apart from the mjq reference, this entry could have come from an 16 year old in america...

dave eggers...

great interview w/dave eggers

note to self: YOU"RE NOT ALLOWED TO READ IT UNTIL YOU GET SOME WORK DONE!!!

scraptacular

a local craft shop, apparently focused on scrapbooking, is named scraptacular...

i get a giggle everytime i pass it...

what does this prove?
a. someone ought to give the owner a quarter, in order to buy a clue
b. i am not very mature

this y that....

discovery channel and oln tv breathe a sigh of relief...

hey, stop by and tell my wife she shouldn't be *that* suprised when i do housework!!!

oh yeah, and thanks to sandra oh in sideways, i'm drinking pinot noir - she ought to get a commission...

kitchen stories has got to be the lowest key buddy movie in history - highly recommended...

stereolab and brad mehldau rule...

odds y ends

haven't posted much - just as well - been busy and in a foul mood - so social intereactions are best kept to a minimum...

anyhow - i stopeed at the local girl gallery to drop things off for an upcoming benefit for a children's hospital - i asked her if i had sold anything - she said yes, and asked hadn't i gotten the check - i hadn't - she remembered she got a letter returned...turns out i gever her the wrong address - current street number w/the street name of the previous house i lived at. oy vey - a mind is a terrible thing to be wasted...

anyhow i saw caffeinated beer in the store - who thought *that* was a good idea..."hmm, stay up later, si i can drink MORE beer..." "being drunk and obnoxious isn't enuff - i wanna be, drunk, obnoxious AND manic..."

i went to a peer critique SEAN art house - i brought this picture:



...which i realized is upside down - i have displayed this upside down several times...i think the photo is *telling* me it wants to be upside down - anyhow, got good comments - some good constructive criticism, but my poor self image refuses to believe it and thinks they were just being nice...

maybe a quote by bob dylan...

a person is successful is they wake up in the morning, go to bed at night and do what they want to in between

what do you think?

happy valentines day...

to all, but esp. my lovely wife and daughters. when one first gets married, one has an idealized version of what it will be like. needless to say, it is not necessarily realistic - and after 15+ years of marriage, the secret is that it is not all roses, fireworks and happy ever after; it's better than that. over time, i have realized that a love that lasts a lifetime (paraphrasing mr. big) is pretty much all one can hope for in this world. thank you my wife and lovely daughters. how i have been so lucky to have you in my life, i don't know...but you have made my life worth living!

the onion...

besides the previous post, any wonder why, for me, wednesday is "onion day" should be answered by this and this....

from the onion (remember folks, this is satire)

too funny

record of the week

jason moran's same mother

precisely the kind of jazz record i love - steeped in the tradition, but adventurous, honoring the jazz tradition of iconoclasm...

a record that is true to it's jazz roots without sounding like a museum piece or like a cheap, lifeless, imitation of traditional jazz that dominates mainstream jazz releases these days - which some feel are"homages" to the great tradition of jazz, but in reality do the tradition a disservice, as blindly imitating the masters of jazz sucks the life out of the music. honor the spirit, not the exact notes...

those who say, don't know. those who know, aren't saying.

sideways

i saw sideways today, and although i liked the movie (very good ensemble acting), i really don't get the fuss. i don't like seeing movies that get this much hype. regardless how i feel about them, i always end up a bit disappointed. oh, the albatross of expectations. wish this was one i stumbled onto late some night on cable...

darn. missed the cut again...

vote for the sexiest vegetarian

favorite record title

what is your favorite record title? (as opposed to the title of your favorite record)

mine very well might be lofty fake anagram, which is, btw, a great record...

independent people

i am 15 pages into independent people by halldor laxness and i am hooked. while i certainly don't claim to be an expert on iceland, its culture or myths, i think i've gotten a glimpse of laxness' genius: his ability to create a work that is both true to its culture and time, yet universal and timeless. being able to balance seemingly contradictory forces, i feel is a hallmark of great art. artists seem to embrace a worldview that is less dualistic than the rest of us - and their gift is sharing that with the rest of us...

new link

self-proclaimed "aspiring evil genius", don lee

what i've been reading, listening to, watching and talking about...

i zipped through wayne shorter's biography. i personally feel he is the greatest living musician, but though i've listened to his music for 25 years or so, prior to the book i knew very little about him. the book is wonderful and insightful. literally, one i couldn't put down. i am currently reading neal gershenfeld's, when machines start to think. he will be speaking at our college tomorrow.

over the past few days, i watched breakfast at tiffany's for the first time. last night i watched harold and kumar go to white castle. i also obtained on dvd, wonderfalls, a cancelled favorite. i had newver seen breakfast at tiffany's before. i liked it, but from what i read, the movie was watered down a bit - hollywood-ized - from capote's novel - and that rings true... harold and kumar was a new high in lows or something like that - very funny - and with a good heart, but sometimes they pressed the jokes a bit too far. but wonderfalls, ah, wonderfalls! it was on fox for four episodes before it was cancelled. the entire series is no available on dvd, including the nine or so episodes which didn't air. i watched the premiere again yesterday and it was as good as i remembered... can't wait to see the rest...


gary burton's generations has been dominating my listening. one of the most underrated musuicans in jazz, because, perhaps of his instrument (vibes). burton is known for giving a start to great young musicians. pat metheny and john scofield both played in his band early in their careers. this record features 16 year old prodigy, Julian Lage.

over the past two days, i have been intereviewed by 2 local papers about blogs for upcoming articles. if they, or anyone else needs a photo of me and fellow blogger, cindy zellers, here you go...
;-)