Monday, November 15, 2004

Requiem for O.D.B...

Well, they say when the going gets strange, the weird get lost! Nothing like tuning in to CNN and see the anchor say completely deadpan "In other news today, Ol' Dirty Bastard of the rap group WuTang Clan died of a heart attack. Ol' Dirty Bastard was 35"...I can't say I've ever heard those three words put together on a TV news program. It was a bit like hearing Barbawa Wawa saying "skanky slut"...Now we have "serious" cable news shows doing parodies of SNL's weekend update or Jon Stewart's show? Is "bastard" even a word they can actually say on TV? I think they just okayed "breast" and "throbbing member" last year. I say if we have to endure shots of Dennis Franz's posterior on NYPD Blue, anything is fair game at this point! (Or was this just a rumor? I'm pleased to say I didn't witness it.) This just in, camels have invaded the Las Vegas city limits and have taken Celine Dion hostage. They are demanding Joe Camel be reinstated as the cigarettes mascot and Wednesdays officially renamed "Hump Day"...

Monday, November 08, 2004

The Hunt for the Elusive E/A

In case you're wondering-"E/A" would be your electric/acoustic guitar. In a rare completely devil-may-care excursion into impulsiveness, I found myself on ebay hunting for a decent guitar. I had one in mind, but realized it wasn't even a single cutaway (for better access to the higher frets for you non-guitarists). The story behind me needing an acoustic goes back to a really lean time between gigs right before I quit drinking. I pawned my beautiful Guild D-50 that I'd had for over 20 years. Alot of songs had been written on it and I was very attached to it. I would say in retrospect that it's not good to be joined at the hip with things, the loss one feels is substantial. So due to some bad management I ended up losing the gorgeous guitar. It was pretty devastating...So back to ebay, I managed to find one auction at a low enough price to entertain notions of bidding. On top of this, the seller lives in the same town here in Alaska that I do! In more intuition oriented times I would take this as a "sign" that this instrument was to be mine. The slight detail is that I really had no business buying an acoustic-I'm buying another vehicle and there isn't really room in ye olde budget for one. I did bid on it, fully expecting to be sniped at the end, I wasn't disappointed. The point of the story? We haven't been able to sift out a point, tune in next week for the "Have Axe, Will Travel". Or is that "Was an A$$, will Grovel"?

Moving right along with the theme of loss, went to the impound yard to pick up my car and it had been sold at auction. Imagine my surprise!(fill in 16 paragraphs of seething ranting here) I'll spare you the details and my visions of lofting a hundred molotov cocktails over the fences in wee hours...ha ha! (now if only they didn't have those pesky survelliance cameras...) I'm buying a minivan from a friend at work. We're still working on getting it started. It sat for six months and her own trickle charger didn't work, so I brought the damn battery over to my house to put it on my charger. After 6 weeks of all of this bs (yes, started because yours truly's stupidity) I'm extremely frustrated with this transportation scenario. I'm now trying to locate any good luck charms, baubles, four leaf clovers, and crossing fingers and toes to get this thing on the the road.
There's something about kissing a wolverine three times on a Sunday that is supposed to help as well...or was that a moose? Hmmm, time to look it up in the "Alaskan Critters for Luck" manual.

I managed to watch "Good Will Hunting" for the first time all the way through last night. I've always thought the world of Minnie Driver, she's a good actress-or plays herself well! (ha ha) Must be the accent...and so much more. So being the last person in the Western Hemisphere to see it, I thought it was quite good. I was pleased that the hero Will finally came to his senses and decided to go west, young man. Fulfill that potential in both love and life. I think Robin Williams did an excellent job of not going over the top, as he's inclined at times. I suppose it's always good to have that reminder that I'm not the only one struggling with these things. I'm currently trying to jettision as much bitterness and anger as I can. The past few weeks were absolutely miserable to the point that I was not only battling my moods but physical ailments as well. I have my little weekend window of opportunity to see life in a better perspective. But I can't say that I haven't wasted and squandered many opportunities. And there have been far too many. I'm now seeing all of the catchphrases and cliches that my elders always used come careening around the corner so quickly. Life IS short. Love is not something to be taken lightly, it's something to be cherished and nurtured.

I saw another movie recently that was quite touching-"Matchstick Men" with Nicholas Cage. For those of you who haven't seen it, read no further, I don't want to give the ending away. It's worth seeing. I found the dynamic between him and his "daughter" very compelling. I have alot of issues with my teenage son, one of which is that I haven't spent very much time with him. So I was very taken by his apparent success at bonding with her after just meeting her for the first time. Imagine my shock at finding out that she was part of the con being run on him-I thought what an evil wrinkle to throw into this "warm and fuzzy" film. How dare those screenwriters toy with my emotions-ha ha! The scene in the store was great, when she comes in looking a bit older and completely astonished to see him. Her boyfriend is none the wiser about their former association. Pleasantries and an apology from her are exchanged and a carpet is purchased. Now where is the blockbuster sequel? It could happen-they made 4 Lethal Weapons...and we WERE too old for that sh*t! I do like Cage as an actor, he does take chances and was brilliant in "Leaving Las Vegas". What worries me is what Lisa Marie Presley said about his Elvis obsession.
I don't stay awake nights, however... Well, we all have our peccadillos, eh?





Wednesday, November 03, 2004

More Quotes from the Masters

"The reign in spayne falls mainly on the playin' "--J Dubble U Farnsworth lll, Wurld Champeen Spelllllerrrrr

"Frankly, my dear, I won't give my dam!" -Herbert Hoover to Scarlett

"preposterous, how many blemishes on thouest's posterior are possible in one lifetime?"
-lillypad to frog

"Well now, little lady, step right over here and watch me catch my machete with a blindfold on!"
-One Hand Luke, brother of Cool Hand