Excellent Birds

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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?

Real by Reel

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It’s Sunday night, and I just got back from the movies. I went to see There Will Be Blood. Daniel Day Lewis is of course, phenomenal. Paul Thomas Anderson is truly one of the best American filmmakers around today. I wonder if he is still with Maya Rudolph? It’s another recommended movie. Chaz and I have been planning to see this for a few weeks and finally both of us had our schedules in sync. Crowded theater too for a Sunday afternoon.

Last night I had a good time writing the blog which I hope shows. Spoke to Harpy, who was telling me about how Lois, a co-owner of Farfetched just got her first computer. So much to learn. Of course there is the initial paranoia about strangers having access to your information, but they would only have access if you put it out there. I don’t put anything out there and though I’m still wary, the Internet works out just fine, for me at least.

Harpy wanted to know about why I call this blog, johnozed instead of my real name. Well that’s because there are things that I write under my blog de plume, that I am not too keen on coming back and biting me on the arse. A lawyer friend hipped me to the fact of changing the names of some executives and companies I work for both in the past and the present, and he commended me on the pen name. So even though my real name is music to some peoples ears, I don’t need the real name to sound like a cash register to lawyers ears.

On the way home from Brooklyn last night I had stopped off at Mision Burrito for what turned out to be a very mediocre burrito. On the way through Church Square Park I passed a couple of people, one of whom I though was my other friend named Lois. I called out ‘Lois’ and the woman turned and as she turned I realized it wasn’t the Lois (or the other Lois) that I knew. I apologized and she laughed saying that I wasn’t who she thought I was either. That made us both laugh and I walked away wishing the two of them a good night.

It reminded me of how I was DJ’ing at McSwells years ago and in my clouded mind I thought I saw Raul Menares walk through the back room door. I waved frantically and as the figure approached it wasn’t Raul at all, but rather some other guy named Michael Vasquez. Michael Vasquez turned out to be a good acquaintance along with his girlfriend, who’s name escapes me at this moment. So the moral is, sometimes friendships can sprout from mistaken identities. Sometimes, not all the time of course.

There really wasn’t anything on TV last night, so as I surfed I stumbled upon Graffiti Bridge, the sequel to Purple Rain. Looking back Purple Rain is good, if only for the concert sequences, especially the sequences involving The Time. Graffiti Bridge makes Purple Rain look like a masterpiece. Even The Time couldn’t save it. I lasted about 20 minutes until the first commercial, then I bailed. Even the soundtrack is spotty. Two songs from it made it to my iPod.

I remember when Graffiti Bridge came out, I was either out of work, or off from work so I went to the first showing on the first day at the multiplex. But I wandered into the wrong theater and sat as the movie, Soap Dish was starting and it took me a while to realize I was in the wrong theater. After seeing Graffiti Bridge I wasn’t sure if I saw the correct film, and 17 years later, I’m still not sure.

And Robert Plant was in Farfetched buying wrapping paper and cards on Friday.