Even Though

I'm exhausted, a little sick, and not very good company, I am severely craving any kind of human contact that's not work related...

James Fox is an A-hole

While I've moved away from negative blogging, I thought about this for a couple days, and this is really something that I would like to mention.

My dear friend Normandie Wilson and her band mate hired this 19 year old kid, James Fox, off of Craig's List to tour with them (drive them) from CA to NY where they would go their separate ways. Only a few days in, he abandoned them while they were in the middle of a gig in St. Louis, dumping all of their stuff on the lawn of the place they we staying at and rolling off with a bunch of CDs and food.

What an asshole, right?

If you would like to text or call Mr. Fox and tell him how much of an a-hole you think he is, feel free to ring or text him at 845-551-6901.

Again, this is not something I would normally do, but this is a very loved friend of mine and that's a really crappy thing to do.

Better Than Kinkade

Perhaps lacking in form, but also lacking in obnoxiousness.

Getting Ready For HorrorFest

Working on props...

So Tired....

Looking at my emails RE: school, Horror-Fest, camp, and social events I would like to attend... I cringe.... and I kinda smile. Certainly living life to its fullest and doing everything I can. Things are....

Sorry, I feel asleep there, things are good.

Grace f-ing Jones

Even though I was falling asleep through most of today, I was exhausted, at the last minute... after making some incredible blueberry bread french toast..

I decided to try and attend the Grace Jones concert happening at the Hollywood Bowl. They'd been talking about it non-stop on KCRW all weekend long, and after recently watching "Vamp" and hearing her music on KCRW, I had become intrigued.

I thought about it for a little while then said, "screw sleep," and drove to the subway. Shortly thereafter, I was walking up to the bowl, past the soulless scalpers, and up to the box office where I got a decent ticket for $22.

Dengue Fever and Of Montreal opened for Grace and they were both okay... I think Of Montreal ran a little long which ultimately led to Grace being cut off and that was kind of a bummer, but they were decent enough opening acts. I guess.

I did go to the show, partially to take myself out and away from people... this turned out to be a problem when I was, in short time, surrounded and crowded by strangers... one of which was initially particularly obnoxious... but I got over my growing misanthropy and warmed up to my neighbor. Turned out to be a nice enough guy.

But the show... oh shit, the SHOW. Grace Jones blew my mind. She had many costume changes, every one more ridiculous and outlandish than the next, her singing was outstanding... but the point is, during the show, I found myself utterly inspired as an artist. Here was this woman, this 61 YEAR OLD woman who was damn sexy, working it, and being such an amazing showman -- and it affected me so deeply. She didn't give a fuck about what anyone thought, she just did her thing... just as she did back in the day at Studio 54 with Warhol and that crew.... hmmm... so very nice to see that and be reminded of the power of individuality.

Anyway, it's late... I should have been in bed hours ago... but I have to tell you, if Ms. Jones comes to your town, go see her. She will blow your mind and rock your world.

As an after thought... I used to think I was unworthy of the phrase, "work hard, play hard," but over the past few weeks, I've come to really appreciate the work that I do -- camp, shoots, fire, painting, writing, ZJU... all that shit takes a lot of work and so I no longer see myself as a "work a little, play harder" kind of guy, I now see myself as the real thing. And tonight was a night of playing hard... as was last night... because the week ahead is full of work. *sigh*

Quite Possibly The Greatest Saturday Ever, Pt. 2

Crazy story: I had almost the exact same day two years on almost the exact same date.

On July 29th, 2007, I worked on an Elder's shoot, went to Dockweiler for the Planet Bravo bbq, and then rocked to Roller Disco where Riley played "Don't Stop the Rock" and "Double Dutch Bus."

Today, July 25th, 2009, I worked on a new Elder's shoot (sort of, it's Dirk, so I'll consider it an Elder's thing), went to Dockweiler for the PB bbq, and then rocked Roller Disco with Caroline and a bunch of her friends where Riley played "Don't Stop the Rock," "Double Dutch Bus," and "When I Hear Music."

Awesome. Truly, an epic day. And now it's 3:16, I have to be up again at 8 to work on a second day of the shoot, and I am exhausted. I am considering trying to hit the Grace Jones concert at the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow night if I'm still awake... perhaps.

Two

Week two is done. I'm fucking tired. I've got a shoot both days this weekend -up early, rehearsal, a company picnic, and roller disco. Man. Two more weeks. Next weekend will be better. I just have a fire show ... and Caroline's show... I imagine I will sleep a lot. Maybe I'll sleep a lot this week... get to bed earlier. I should do that.

Yeah.

Swimming!

Tonight, I hit the pool in my complex for the first time. Steve came over and he and I visited, which had been a long time coming, and we swam. We found some weird foam ball and threw it around, did some flying catches and gossiped about our lives.

It was a really nice visit and break from the week of work.

Nearly Ready to Spin the Wheels

Got the mixer, now I just need some cables to hook up the tables to the mixer and then a really long RCA cable to hook it all up to my receiver. So close so close!!

Then, of course, I'll need headphones, some records, and maybe some needles. Heh.

One step at a time.

Double Staff: Initiated

I have no picture for this because Fire Groove didn't have staffs ready to buy - which also sucks because now I don't have staffs to practice with this week, BUT tonight was my first double staff class and I am THRILLED beyond words. I cannot wait to get the flow on this - the first night alone was so much fun.

More to come!

Weakness

Now, I'm not known for my sweet tooth, but this stuff is the shit. Entemann's Raspberry Strudel. If I could, I would eat one of these a day. Seriously. Love them.

In other news, Curtis peed on me tonight. It smelled really bad. I'm not sure that this relationship is going to work out.

Week Two of Camp

Begins tomorrow and I've already lost my voice. Here's hoping Ricola gets me through!

Farewell Normandie!

Tonight was the debut concert for Normandie's new album with her partner, Sebastian, "Music For Smart People." I mentioned it a while back and the album is good, but live, man, the music is a force... really great stuff.

After the show, I went over to Seb's place to hang with Norm a while before she left. They're leaving in four days - maybe for good! Who knows? We had a really nice time catching up and chatting about life... it's been some time since we've had the chance to visit, so I really appreciated the opportunity before they left.

In the meantime, I have inherited a stack of vintage chairs from Norm to hold onto while she's gone and I have added another creature to my menagerie.

Meet Curtis:

Adorable! Hopefully Otis won't get jealous, though I feel like he is that type of fish.

In other news, I'm back on the grid with a working phone. UPS was able to retrieve my phone, but the mixer is still locked up somewhere, so I'm going to have to hope to get that on Monday somehow. One step at a time.

Flow Temple Friday

Ah... so the first week of camp is done, I'm exhausted but pleased and my voice is pretty much dead. Hooray. I blame Jacob and Ryan.

And TODAY I was supposed to get my new phone and the mixer for my turntables... I got home, saw a UPS truck, chased it a block, found out it wasn't the right guy. When I got home, I found the dreaded slip... so I called the number and discovered that I it was still early enough to ask the UPS dudes to hold both of the packages at will call to be picked up after 7. Sweet!

So I plug in my old, broken phone to fully charge the battery, drive the 15 minutes to Van Nuys and get to the UPS station at around 7.

An hour and a half later, they finally discover that the truck that had my junk had broken down and been towed back to the depot and all packages within subsequently stowed away in the warehouse, unable to be retrieved. Hoo. Ray.

I don't really get angry about shit these days, but man, I was pissed. I kinda grilled the kid who delivered the news, but knew all the while he was just the messenger. All the same, I was really irritated at how they handled the sitch. The kid gave me a number to call tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.

Anyway, because of this incident, I almost didn't go to Flow Temple - this thing that happens in a church in Venice every once in a while where artists, musicians, and fire folks all get together, inspire each other and do their thing. I had invited Caroline... so I managed to call her on my broken phone and within a minute of us talking, I knew I had to go to shake my grumpy attitude.

We got down there around 10:30, she painted, I spun everything, ate some fire, and met some really brilliant and loving people. It was a bit of a struggle what with my voice dying, but I had such a great time. I really love the fire/art community here in LA and I am thrilled to be spending more time with those people.

I am smiling.

Courage To Rise Against

I watched a documentary on The Weathermen (The Weather Underground) tonight and I found it mesmerizing.

While I don't fully condone their actions, I do find their core anti-capitalist/-military police/-military industrial complex and pro-social justice philosophies refreshing after living through the last eight years of elite class-dominance, unjust war, and election rigging.

It's so great to see that at a similar time when our country was falling apart, a group of people sacrificed everything to take action against an unjust system.

Inspiring.

Horror-Fest '09!

We held auditions on Sunday for the first annual Zombie Joe's Underground Horror-Fest! - and the results were pretty good. I am so stoked for this project -- the info is there on the flyer and you will be hearing more and more about this.

If you don't already know, this will feature a new, sparkling, fresher version of the one-act zombie play I wrote for "Hollyworms." Which Dana would have been perfect for. But she's busy doing other stuff. Dumb.

But it's stuff you should go see, too.

Exciting!

Pre-emptive Epitaph

I'm actually writing this Monday night, and the above may be the last thing I ever see.

My apartment became sweltering last night... of course, the first night of camp, and I could barely sleep through sweating fits. Even with the rickety ceiling fan turned on and the uber-loud wall cooler. Seriously, it was bad.

Getting ready for bed tonight, I happened past my furnace and noticed that even tough it's not active, the amount of heat emanating from it was ridiculous. The pilot's still on and I remember a couple years ago at Moorpark Manor turning it off to save money, but the Moorpark furnace was never this freaking hot on the pilot. I opened the steel flap and found a GIANT knob that said on/off on it. Seemed pretty logical to just turn it off, right?

I called the Gas Company, and of course they couldn't advise me over the phone, they offered an appointment, but their evening appointments could be at any time between 5 and 8 -- tonight, i got home from camp after 7.

I said thank you, hung up, did a little reading on line and figured what the hell, right? I turned the big knob to the OFF position and have not smelled any gas. Seems pretty reasonable to think everything is okay.

I'm going to bed now (Monday night), if I never speak to any of you again, please know that I love(d) you all very dearly.

[EDIT-7/15/09] I survived the night and Otis survived the day. I'm going to go ahead and call the all-clear. Sorry it took me a while to add this, I was going to blog today and I probably still will, I just got consumed with camp stuff and forgot to add the edit last night/yesterday. Sorry for any undue concern.

Everyone, turn off your pilot lights! It's safe!!!

(Now, that was perhaps irresponsible.)

Non-Stop

The name of this vodka is how I feel. The properties of this vodka are what I wish to imbibe.

It was a good first day at Summer Camp, but it certainly came with its share of difficulties. Large, technical difficulties. For reals. But we pulled through! We always do.

Concerning Trend

I have, at times, been asked by friends and sometimes even family members what my "type" of girl is, and I've never really been able to give an exact answer. I can always say things like "funny," "smart," "cute," but I haven't ever been able to really pinpoint a type.

Over the past several months, however, I have discovered a trend in the type of girl that I have become attracted to lately: emotionally unavailable. It's an odd thing, and something that does concern me. I haven't made this decision consciously, and it has nothing to do with what the women in question look like as they're all very different people, but for one reason or another, they are all decidedly unavailable.

I don't expect this trend to last forever, but currently, it is somewhat disappointing and a bit concerning.

Why I Can't Have Nice Things

Several months ago, I scratched my brand new 46" plasma TV and then last night, I dropped and broke my Sony Ericsson phone. This is why I cannot have nice things. I am incredibly clumsy.

Ah well, new phone on its way.

Jeffery Combs IN PERSON

Performing as Edgar Allan Poe, no less. Amazing. Jana alerted me of this little show happening at the Steve Allen Theater tonight... it's the preview of a new one-man show going up starring Mr. Combs and directed by Stuart Gordon. AND the preview was only $5!

The show was terrific if a little long, but it was great to see Jeffery do his thing. I was sitting front row, so I even got a little Combs spittle on me. Joy!

Return to Art Walk

It's been almost 2 years since Nic and I hit the Art Walk downtown and it was kind of awesome... conflicting schedules, mixed priorities, and the etc. have kept me from returning for almost 2 years, but I went down tonight with Caroline and her roommate, Heather. It was so freaking great!!! I am totally going to try and make this an every month thing now. Plus, I rode my bike down and it was hardly a hassle!

This is a great little hoodie/hat made by a very sweet lady named Monster Kat (I think) - she has her own joint online at www.handmadestoreonabike.com - and she makes this stuff by hand and carts it around on her bike. Naturally.

This was at the Museum of Neon which was charging admission(!) Dumb. But I liked this.

I just like this picture.

This sexy lady was just laying in that bed. Heather suggested that maybe we shoulda given her a hug since the name of the piece was "Hug", but the tape around the bed tells a different story, methinks.

Oh! And here you could make your own piece of art, hang it, and trade it for someone else's! Awesome.

So Tired

Day one of being back to work and I'm already exhausted. Awesome. Granted, I was up until 2 last night working on the puzzle, got up early today, decorated and prepared the room for camp, then came home and wrote for three hours -- "End of the Road", version 3 is done! I think if it's not where it needs to be for Horrorfest, it is very very close.

Then I worked on the puzzle for another two hours.

And now it's almost 1:30.

But I am DONE incubating! I had to bang out "EotR" so's I could hit artwalk tomorrow night with some friends and then a show Friday night with a new friend.... going away party on Saturday, and auditions/filming with Off Chance on Sunday. Ha.

My life is pretty sweet... hopefully it won't kill me.

Incubation

Like this little egg here between the legs of this Macaroni Penguin, the past 6-7 months for me have been a time of periodic incubation. I've been really serious about hiding out, about being kind of selfish with my time and energy. I think the new job, new home, new singledom, DK breaking up, Nose Tales for four months... all of those things were big transitions/happenings all going on at once, and it was how I handled the situation.

Most recently, I've gotton on board with ZJU for our first Horror-Fest going up in August. I was going to direct, but stepped back at the last minute. This caused some consternation between me and ZJ, but we had a long heart to heart tonight as I apologized and we just talked about life and stuff going on.

After the phone call, I got to thinking about my lengthy incubation process, this period I've been kind of stingy with my energy. I do this when I'm stressed out, I pull in like a snail into its shell... but what if I were to explode outwards instead?

I've spent the rest of the night considering this (while working on the jigsaw)... and I feel like maybe I've wasted some time here by not being totally present and holding back. It is time to burst forth! Time to spread my energetic wealth!

Art Bomb

I saw this art bomb today and it's totally how I feel. People are big enough to see, additional yellow signs warning people to not hit them are unnecessary.

Squirrels and other animals, however, seem to be expected collateral as our big-ass Amurrcan Hummers and sports cars roar down city streets. Every time I see roadkill, it infuriates me because I truly believe that it could have been avoided if people just showed a little bit of care and respect for animal life.

Yes, animals do sometimes dart out into traffic, but if the driver is paying attention, he or she should see the animal deciding whether or not darting is a good idea, and thusly, should slow down.

Anyway, this wasn't going to be a soap box moment, I just appreciated the sign.

Pool Party!!

Aw yeah! Today, Miss Jenn Weaver had a pool party to belatedly celebrate her birthday. It was awesome. I rode my bike there, thinking going over the hill from the Valley wouldn't be so bad... and it was awful. I nearly puked. But I made it!!

We were there late, swimming, drinking, talking, putting Carmen's swimsuit in the freezer. It was a good day.

The Third and the Fourth

Last night, I went down to the OC to celebrate my man Mark's big 3-0. It was stupid fun. We played flip cup, had a ping pong tournament, and I spun fire. Hooray.

And tonight, I went over to Echo Park to see long-time friend Jason House, stand on his roof and watch fireworks. Awesome. Good people. Except for that weird girl who was probably an actress or a model, but she would refuse to engage in conversation about what she did. Weird.

Wasted Time...?

Listening to the incredible Jazzanova song, "Wasted Time," and it's got me thinking about that.

The lyrics are:

For the rest of my Life
There will be... No Wasted Time
Too much to do and to much to see
Can't waste my time

Don't know what tomorrow brings, oooh oooh
But I'm not going to miss anything, oooh oooh
(No Wasted Time) Gonna rise in the mornin' with the sun, oooh oooh
And live each day like it's my last one
Can't waste my time (vaa daaa daa da)

And it's got me thinking about wasting time... I love the idea of too much to do and see, but I'm also thinking about how the things that we all want to see and do are different for each of us. We all have different priorities. So what's wasting time to one is not the same for another.

So what does it all come down to? Seizing the day?

I think I take this shit too literally, because I feel like I need to live every single day as it was my last, but that gets to be so tiring sometimes. Ha... but maybe that's the point - to look beyond being worn out and just doing it. No? But then I'm so tired I can't enjoy anything.

And isn't staying at home, writing, painting, reading, listening to music... playing games, isn't that still making good use of your time? My time?

Oh, it's all so heady.

I will say that the past couple days, I've been spending some good time writing again... and I have resumed my Pimsleur Japanese lessons. Maybe I'll eventually just up and move to Japan. I liked that place. I'll have my own little Shinto shrines and everything.... maybe.

Feelin' It

Yeah, just like this guy. I spent the first several hours of today working on a new horror story. Yes! It's actually an idea I've had for a very long time, but I've just now figured out how to tell it.

It's good to be feelin' it again.

Reminder

I was reminded today that being alone can be a good thing as I resumed writing "Bookshop" and came up with 2 other good story ideas. Hollyworms 2 is on its way.