RandomCha

pijeanf sent me a mix CD! It has Rickie Lee Jones covering “Rebel Rebel” by David Bowie! Bless her heart. I hafta delve into the CD a little deeper, when I have suitable listening space (i.e. not here at work) … the accent seems to be on rootsy Americana, with some Monty Python thrown in for shock effect. Thanks!

Wouldn’t more of you out there (the ones with good musical taste that is) like to trade mix CD’s with me? Well, let’s hear from you then.

Another below-freezing day. And another day where I seem to be stuck in buildings that are inadequately-heated. At least the apartment is always toasty warm. Is it wrong to get into your pyjamas at 5 o’clock? (Rhetorical question. Of course it isn’t).

This morning on the bus to work I started reading the Theodore Roosevelt biography by Edmund Morris, “Theodore Rex.” It’s really excellent so far. He’s still my favorite president. I’m going to enjoy this book … except … Andy bought me the hardcover edition, which weighs SEVEN POUNDS. So as long as I’m reading it, I hafta lug it around everywhere. O well. That’s the weight of excellence.

Dinner last night with svenny was quite nice. We splurged and shared a Chocolate Diva cake for dessert. Before bed I was able to chat with quadlex for awhile on yahoo. Sweet kid.

Andy and I will have a quiet evening at home tonight. More snow expected tomorrow. Uh oh … it’s after lunch and I’m getting sleepy.

Andy told me last night that he doesn’t want to have any sort of an Oscar Party this year. Hrmph. I know the whole thing is cheesy, but it’s still fun. It looks like his dad will be visiting us from Indianapolis that weekend, but provided that he goes back to Indiana on that Sunday there shouldn’t be any kind of scheduling conflict. Maybe Andy is grumbling about it now but will change his mind later. We had Steven and Leah over for the Oscars last year, and we all got completely smashed on Manhattans. Good times.

Saw a program of films by Tom Palozzo on Saturday at Chicago Filmmakers. Brilliant. Artless artfulness–“home movies for the city of Chicago,” as he calls them. He’s been shooting this stuff since the early 60’s. Picture Cassavetes making a documentary and you’re halfway there. Ragged but right, and he was just as cool and self-depricatingly funny introducing the films as he was when I first saw him as a freshman at the Art Institute. He just retired from teaching last year. The first film was a short called “Rita On The Rocks.” He introduced the film by saying, “This was taken from my daughter’s life, but Lisa made me change her name so that no one would know it was about her.” Heheh. Another film was called “I Was A Zero in City 2000,” which was about the City 2000 project, a massively well-funded Chicago documentary project that Palozzo tried out for. His work was ultimately rejected; the program directors told him, “This stuff is too sloppy and shaky. Why don’t you go out and buy yourself a tripod?” How insulting! The footage ranges from an amateur magician at the St. Bart’s neighborhood festival to some white trash kids harrasing a drunken drag queen at Taste of Chicago. His footage is so earthy and evocative.

Ugh, I hafta work today until 5 instead of 3. Once a month I switch shifts with a co-worker so that he can go to a doctor’s appointment. I’m happy to do it for him, but it throws everything off. I don’t like leaving work when it’s dark already. But tonight Andy & I are meeting svenny for dinner at Stella’s Diner, so I’m looking forward to that.
It seems like every voter in the primary is trying to second-guess every other voter, i.e. “who is electable? who would other people vote for?” I can see the rationale in that, but it smacks of mainstreamism. I think Kerry is fine, but Dean would make an exciting, passionate president. Remember: ABBA (“Anyone But Bush Again”).

420? Shhh …

http://www.nbc5.com/news/2791394/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=2265994&dppid=65192

Ah, the snow is falling thick & beautiful. And here I was going to be all productive and go to the grocery store with Andy. Guess I’ll just sit at home and burn CDs all day …

For Christmas, I bought my parents “Spring Forward” on DVD. Here is a plot summary from http://www.imdb.com: “As the seasons change in a Connecticut town, two men of different age and backgrounds who work together outdoors for the local park system share thoughts and feelings that gradually deepen into a relationship approaching father and son. Paul is just out of prison for armed robbery, assigned to work with Murph, a middle-aged vet whose grown son Bobby is dying. Paul is trying to control his temper and build a spiritual side based on reading. Murph is a down-to-earth Sancho Panza to Paul’s more ethereal ideas. And Murphy seems to need forgiveness for mistakes as a dad.”

Well, they finally watched it and yesterday when I called my mom, I asked her what they thought of it. She said about four or five times in different ways, “Well, it sure was different.” She said they thought it was kind of slow.

Then she asked me why I had bought them that particular movie. I said that I just thought it was a nice, thoughtful movie that was well-acted. I really liked Ned Beatty (who plays Murphy).

She said, yes, he was good, but he hardly seems to do any WORK in the movie. “Like the scene where they’re painting the fence,” she said. “He picks up the paintbrush and then puts it back down and he never does get around to doing anything. Dad said that that’s what those government jobs are like, though”

In addition to finding it directly at http://www.randomcha.net, you can now also find 100SP at these fine stores in NYC:

Community Bookstore & Cafe of Park Slope
143 7TH Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215-2202
Phone: (718) 783-3075

St. Marks Bookshop
31 3RD Avenue
New York, NY 10003-5536
Phone: (212) 260-7853

Mondo Kim’s
6 St Marks Place
New York, NY 10003
Cross Street: Between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue
Phone: (212) 598-9985

Be sure to let them know that you appreciate it!

Here are the Nine Best Films Of 2003 (That Rob Saw, Because There Were Tons That He Didn’t See):

The Son
Spider
A Decade Under the Influence
28 Days Later
Swimming Pool
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
21 Grams
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

William Eggleston black & white photo exhibit in a gallery on 25th … Rosenquist at the Guggenheim … the paint is peeling off the outside of the Guggenheim & the place needs some restoration work … Big Cup is the Caribou of Chelsea … “The Fog of War” is good stuff, much better than “Mr. Death,” more complex … I unloaded ALL EIGHT COPIES of the book that I brought … great dinner at Bascilica that was $21 and included three courses, dessert, and three glasses of wine … Post-modern adaptation of “Oresteia” that I kept jokingly referring to as “Olestra” … Cold, slushy snow, slippery black ice, clogged drains … the fucking theatre at the Angelika was UNHEATED and the ticket was $10 … my old flame Brit is very tall and I forget that each time I see him … it’s wonderfully strange to still be friends with someone that you’ve had a deep crush on since you were 12 … Dim Sum Go Go was very fun … I found my way around the city very easily and as much as I felt that I fit in, I still wouldn’t want to live here at this point … every New Yorker complains about much they are paying for rent … bagels DO taste better here … Broadway is still loaded up with sucky shows, and aside from the Richard Foreman play here, there’s probably stuff every bit as good playing in Chicago … I’m still happy that I don’t have a cell phone … Zach told me that seeing that Andy Rooney around CBS he reminded him of Grandpa Simpson, says he commutes every day in from Connecticut … I can’t believe Kerry won … David’s taste in culture is more similar to mine than Nick’s is … I miss Andy and sleeping in the same bed as Andy … it’s the right time to go back home.

Yesterday afternoon, I call up Catherine, the owner of Community Bookstore in Park Slope, Brooklyn:

“Hello.”
“Hi. My name is Rob Christopher. I don’t know if you know who I am, but I sent you a copy of my book ‘100 Spinning Plates.’ I was wondering if you got to look at it yet.”
“Oh yeah, I did. The one in the cardboard box. (to someone else in the bookstore): Hey, did someone see that cardboard box around here?”
“That’s great. What did you think?”
“Well, I thought it was really cool.”
“Great! I’d really like to stock it in your bookstore.”
“Okay. Can I get three copies? How do you usually–?”
“Well, I’ve sold on consignment before, also at a wholesale rate.”
“Why don’t you just send me three copies and an invoice. It’s easier for us to just buy them.”
“Wow, okay. I usually sell them wholesale for $8.99. Does that sound okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“And you know you can use the copy I sent you as a browsing copy so people can see what’s it like.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, great! I’ll get those out right away. Let me know what people think!”
“You bet.”
“Bye!”
“Bye.”

It was all so easy! Rumor has it that Paul Auster frequents this bookstore. Best case scenario: copy #037 ends up in his hands and then …

So why is that a complete stranger in Brooklyn will buy three copies outright for her bookstore but the owner of Unabridged Books, which is 4 blocks from my apartment and who I’ve spoken with twice, can’t even bring himself to read it, let alone accept the three copies I offered him FOR FREE to stock at his bookstore?

Rhetorical question.

So little time before I leave for NYC on Thursday. I don’t even completely know what I want to do once I get there. Well, as always I want to play a lot of my time by ear and just see what happens. I mentioned going to the Guggenheim to Nick, and his boyfriend David has gotten us some cheap cheap theatre tickets to a show which combines three versions of Greek tragedies.

Andy was all morose last night because we went to Reckless Records for their 25% off everything over 3 months old inventory sale and he found absolutely nothing he wanted. They really didn’t have much. But I did find a 2-CD, 60-track Sun Records compilation for $10 that I snapped up. I’ll never need another Sun collection.

I’m anxious about the Iowa primaries. I wish it was the eve of the first Bush/Dean debate already. I look forward to savoring each of Bush’s stupid, inarticulate answers.