Tag Archives: Oil

Excellent Birds

Back to work today. No big deal, though last night there was some of that ‘I don’t wanna go to school, I didn’t do my homework, and I think I’m getting sick, my throat is sore’ mindset. It was pointless since I don’t go to school anymore, I certainly don’t have homework and I’m not sick. Last night was ok. It was quite a heady weekend, intellect wise. The Samuel Beckett play, Happy Days was so great and it’s still sinking in. I would love to see it once again, but it ends next weekend. I am glad I saw it though, and seeing it by myself worked out just fine.

Unfortunately I work with a bunch of people that don’t know anything about Samuel Beckett, except for maybe hearing his name mentioned in the past. I did try to explain the play but whomever I was explaining it to, got swept up in my enthusiasm and didn’t quite hear what I was actually saying. I mentioned Beckett’s most well known play, Waiting for Godot, but it was more unknown than well known with this crowd. On top of Happy Days, I saw There Will Be Blood which was amazing. There were moments in There Will Be Blood that reminded me of Citizen Kane, and also Giant. I’d recommend it to Annemarie, but it does get a touch violent, hence the title that it lives up to.

Two powerful pieces in one weekend gave me a fresh outlook. Life can be absurd and life can be cruel. And it can also be enjoyable. I guess it all depends on how well you handle it. With that perspective I was able to fall asleep not worried about what today would hold for me. Well of course I worried, but not too much. The Wire was on last night and that too was intense. It’s winding down to it’s finale in a few weeks, things are tightening up, crooks are getting killed, shit is going down now that Omar is back in Baltimore. Omar is a hard ass gay thug and now he has a personal vendetta. And yes, there will be more blood.

Bill was here last night, not as rambunctious as usual. He was taking the day off to check out the Veterans Administration nursing home in St. Albans, Queens today. We watched TV together before he paddled off to bed and I soon joined him. Even though he was out cold last night, he was affectionate which he hadn’t been in quite a while. That was nice to fall asleep to. Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. Had some coffee and made it to the bus.

I was listening to Laurie Anderson, Mister Heartbreak. I met Laurie a few times, she was quite nice and charming and one time complimented me on a shirt. Won me over. Mister Heartbreak was her second album after Big Science. Not as minimal as Big Science, lot’s of percussion from David Van Tiegham, guitars by Adrian Belew and occasional vocals by Peter Gabriel and William S. Burroughs. Jet and I played Mister Heartbreak to death, in fact most of my friends loved the record. I remember going to see an exhibit of hers at the Queens Museum which was a trip. So many fun interactive pieces, they should do a retrospective sometime, it’s only been over twenty years.

I last crossed paths with Laurie Anderson at Skyline Studios where I worked. She was making a new record, produced by Brian Eno. Meeting him was quite a thrill and a half. They were so nice that I asked my roommate William if he would make dinner for them. He said yes and the next day I invited them to Weehawken to dinner which they politely declined. So no dinner, but I still think fondly of the two of them, though I scratch my head and wonder why is Laurie Anderson with Lou Reed? I mean, really Laurie, WTF?