RandomCha

Yesterday, andystardust was hired for a job at the Newberry Library! This completes (for the moment) a job search which has been going on for about 3 months now. He starts the job on January 5th (they basically decided it would be easier for him to start after the holidays). He’ll be working in the microfilm department, using special cameras to transfer books onto microfilm. It all has something to do with geneology, a subject that Andy is very interested in (he’s traced his own family tree back to the 15th century).

The main drawbacks are that (1) it doesn’t pay very well and (2) it’s only 21 hours a week. But Andy has pretty much decided that he is going to start school in the spring or summer however, so the hours in that case will be perfect. Three days a week, whatever hours work best for him says the Newberry. He’s caught in a toss-up between library school at Dominican and grad writing courses at DePaul. He figures he’ll apply for both programs and see who accepts him. That’s a good strategy I think.

Seeing as how he doesn’t start working until January, he’s going to quietly continue accepting unemployment checks until then. So basically the rest of the month will be one happy holiday for him. Umm yeah, I’m a bit jealous. I guess that’s stupid of me. Work this month here at the office is going to be EASY anyway, so I’m just being piggy.

He visited zephsright yesterday afternoon because, of course, the poor guy caught that flu and Andy thought he’d bring over some soup and kleenex. And aparently the two had long discussions about Final Fantasy X and the new “Battlestar Galactica.”

I don’t have many plans this weekend thus far except having lunch tomorrow with amnewsboy, which should be intriguing. I’m tempted to ask him to chauffeur me around for errands in his rental car, hehe. I hafta use some tact.

I guess right now I’m not feeling too inspired to write much. Maybe I’ll continue later.

Last night we watched “The Intruder,” a film from 1961 starring William Shatner and directed by Roger Corman. I was really unprepared for how amazing it was. I figured with that combo (Shatner/Corman) it would be offbeat but a bit tawdy. I was wrong.

Shatner plays Adam Cramer, a man from Los Angeles who arrives in the small Southern town of Caxton. The town is about to comply with the court-ordered intigration of the local high school. Cramer is a member of a shadowy organization called The Patrick Henry Society, and he’s in Caxton to stir up racial hatred, inciting the whites in the town to fight the intigration.

This is a film that dared to go where NO other films of that era did. “In The Heat of the Night” is a fine film, but even though it it was made 5 years after “The Intruder” it seems tame by comparision. “The Intruder” unflinchingly shows mob violence, a cross burning, a church bombing, even a black man accused of raping a white woman. It’s everything that “Mississippi Burning” tried to be but wasn’t. You couldn’t even make this film TODAY. The film industry is far too timid about offending people and wouldn’t want to show this ugly truth.

The film was shot in a mere 3 weeks on location in the South under reccurring threats of violence, and that tension ends up on screen. Most of the cast were local non-professionals and that realism is dynamic. Shatner turns in the best performance by him that I’ve ever seen. And the script is very tightly written. This was obviously a labor of love for Roger Corman, who financed the film himself (with help from his brother) and even took out a second mortagage on his house to get it made. In an interview he said, “This was the first film of mine that ever lost money … but it didn’t lose too much money.”

It’s an important film which deserves to be much more widely seen.

I’m so happy I don’t have the flu! That’s all anyone is writing about these days. I feel a certain empathy. But don’t get too close to me in person.

On Friday Andy & I got to meet up with Phil and Brandon. It was umm an interesting evening. Phil was acting very goofy all night, and Brandon was trying his best to be low-key and casual about everything. Andy was in ‘host mode’ all night long and perhaps didn’t have as much fun as he could have. It had been so long since we’d actually socialized like that with a group of guys.

Paul Auster’s new novel “Oracle Night” is brilliant; have I mentioned that yet? It’s vintage Auster, except this time around he’s even more blunt with his sleight-of-hand, first tricking you and then make a point of showing you EXACTLY how he tricked you. No doubt it’s off-putting to some but I really enjoyed it. It has some melancholy observations about aging (and some very interesting parallels to his wife’s recent novel, “What I Loved”) but some great funny bits too.

“21 Grams” was a fine film with some of the best performances you’re going to see anywhere for quite awhile. Naomi Watts was radiaant in a very tricky, somewhat unsympathetic part. Same goes for Sean Penn. And they tried their best to make him look very sickly (he’s dying for most of the film) but he was still handsome. The film is told in this mixed up, random-seeming chronology, and for the first half you’re not quite sure whether what you’re seeing is the “present” or a flashback maybe. Rather than being gimmicky though, it’s integral to the storytelling of the film. I think that when you see something out of context like that it forces you to pay attention to everything more, and as result you see and notice all sorts of things that you wouldn’t otherwise. The visual style of the film is every bit as arresting as “Amores Perros.” Highly recommended.

So the “big boss” is out of the office on vacation all week. That could be good, or it could be bad. Lots of freedom, but Joe and I will pretty much be running things by ourselves. So if it’s quiet (which we are thinking it will be) then everything will be hunky dory. If it’s frantic … then ugh.

After work today I’m heading to the Mag Mile to do the rest of my Xmas shopping, hopefully. The shops should be less packed today. I wouldn’t have wanted to go out to the stores yesterday, but that’s exactly what Andy did last night with some friends. They drove to Target. I’ll have to ask him how it was when I see him tonight. Hooray for online shopping, which I did on Saturday.

Quimby’s stocked up on more copies of 100SP yesterday! I dropped off 7. Logan (store manager) asked for 2 signed copies. I guess this crusty old guy came in yesterday and demanded 2 copies. When Logan found they were sold out, he told the guy he could get 2 copies for him in a few days and the guy said that was okay as long as they were signed. I don’t think I know any crusty old men. That’s one thing worth sharing: when random strangers start getting excited about your book, that’s when as a writer things start getting very satisfying. So I was really happy about that.

O my gosh. I’m pretty excited. Why?

http://outinamerica.com/store/giftguide.asp

Although to be fair, I must inject this bit of advice: PLEASE don’t buy my book from amazon. They won’t even get it to you until after Christmas. And plus, I won’t make any money off of it (amazon charges publishers a 55% commission on all sales). If you order direct from me, your order will ship 1st Class USPS within 48 hrs. and I’ll actually end up with some cash in my jeans! Go to http://www.randomcha.net

I wish I didn’t get so sleepy at night. But I have to get up each morning at 5.45, and that means that if I want a decent amount of sleep then I’d better go to bed at 10 or 10.30. Last night Andy made a wonderful dinner (stuffed pork loins and pilaf) and I had a beer. And then we sat around for awhile talking about our Christmas baking plans. And I started yawning. Amd then we turned out the lights and started watching “Russian Ark.” And I yawned even more. And my eyelids were getting so heavy …

The film is a technical tour de force, shot on HD video in a single 90-minute long take (no cuts). This renders the film very dreamlike. Which is difficult if you’re already sleepy to begin with. I wish I had enjoyed the film more. I really did like the final 25 minutes or so a great deal. But it was just very hard to stay awake. (Aside from that, I thought the film fell into that Russian Film Trap of having lots of talky asides that are sort of superfluous: the writer liking the sound of his own words too much; and there just wasn’t quite enough substance to sustain the entire length of the film).

I excused myself to go to bed while Andy was still watching the special features after the movie, and I could tell he was annoyed. Earlier in the evening he complained, “We always have to do everything on YOUR schedule.” I can’t disagree with that. But I AM the one who has a job, and who has to get up at a certain time each morning, and who is trying to promote a book as well (stopped by Unabridged Books yesterday and dropped off a reader’s copy for the store owner, Ed). So yeah, I do have a schedule. What can I do about that? Rhetorical question.

Tonight I have plans to go see “21 Grams” with Clayton, a friendster friend who I’ve been chatting with for awhile. Hit the gym after work on the way home. I’ve pretty much decided to cancel my Sweat Shop membership next week and then transfer somewhere cheaper. $67 a month is just outrageous, even if it IS three blocks away.

Work is placid so far this morning.

Today has been quite busy at work, which is just as well. The workday is almost over. I’m meeting Andy at Cook Bros. after work to stock up on Xmas trimmings. Cook Bros. = cheap holiday goods. We need some lights and candles and maybe some tinsel garlands. Nothing too far out.

Yesterday I played hooky from work, partly because I got no sleep the night before (plane was in late and had to wait 20 minutes for the bus home) and partly because I wanted to spend time with Andy. We had coffee, relaxed a bit, ran some errands, and then in the lot at Nettlehorst School we bought a Christmas tree. One of those tabletop trees. Nice! This is our first tree together. Got home and stuck it in a brand-new trees stand. Had to wriggle it around a little to get it straight. It looks great though and there’s an honest-to-goodness pine smell in the front room now.

Made a mix CD for the new LJ community I’m in (Mix CDs) and then we watched the DVD of “Day of the Dead.” We were both a bit squeamish. It was better than I remembered but still fell far short of the first 2 films in the trilogy. It’s got interesting ideas though.

In “Night of The Living Dead,” the characters struggle to preserve the status quo. In “Dawn of the Dead,” they struggle to insulate themselves from the zombies, find a refuge in the midst of the plague. And in “Day of the Dead,” they finally realize that they have to abandon the old world all together, that the only solution is to flee ‘civilzation’ and start over completely.

Though Romero’s ideas in “Day of the Dead” were obviously compromised by budgetary limitations, there’s still enough food for thought (forgive the pun) to make the film worth seeing.

Andy is still suffereing from a cough, but he’s almost better. I’m crossing my fingers that he’ll be recovered completely by the weekend so that we can have some fun.

Chatted with Troy and Rob last night and that was pretty cool.

I’m in Estes Park, Colorado (population 5,000) at my parent’s house. It’s the first time I’ve seen the house. They built it this autumn. It’s wonderful, huge, looks like a ski lodge from the outside. 2 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a whole basement that isn’t even finished yet. They want to turn it into a bed & breakfast eventually, just like that one prescription drug commercial.

I lucked out yesterday, wandering around ‘in the town’ (where every other store seems to be named Gramma’s or Grandpa’s) and into a bookstore & there on a table was a NEW novel from PAUL AUSTER! My fave writer in the WHOLE WORLD and I didn’t even know he had a new book out! ‘Oracle night.’ I bought it at once and went down the street to the Starbucks, grabbed a table (it was a zoo in there) and sat for about 3 hours and read. Forcing myself to pause now and then to write something in my notebooks so that I wouldn’t finish the whole book at once. I have about 75 pages to go now. It’s vintage Auster; this is the Paul Auster that I know and love.

I’ve been lucky: I’ve had a pretty good Thanksgiving I hafta say. Seems from reading everyone else’s LJ entries that it’s mostly been a heavy/melacholy/down-in-the-dumps weekend. You all have my sympathy. I’ve been there. And in a perfect world, we’d all rent a ski lodge together and have a weekend all to ourselves, melancholy be damned.

And usually holidays with my family can be dull at the least. But somehow this year I’ve been able to let go and just relax, for the most part. I’ve been able to quit thinking about ‘all the stuff I’m missing out on by being here’. Played Scrabble with my mom (she’s one once and I’ve won once). Last night we went to the only theater in town and saw “Master And Commander.” And it’s damn good! It makes me happy to see that someone can still make a David Lean-type adventure and really get it right. The performances were all superb, and there were lots of hunky blonde sailors. The action stuff was really gripping.

Today we’re going out for lunch at some chophouse and then rent some movies and then go for some coffee. My parents love coffee just like I do. It’s certainly been a bonding device for us all.

I wish Andy could be here & enjoying it too. But my folks still have a ways to go on the acceptance scale. My mom has been asking about him pretty regularly this weekend though. So maybe next year …

Tomorrow I will get to see a friend or two in Denver before I catch my plane. I was hoping there would be a way to get down To Denver this afternoon so that I could go out for a drink tonight, but I can’t get a ride. O well. My folks are going to church tonight so I’ll have the house to myself this eveniung for a bit. Not that there’s much to do with it, hehe.

Thanks to everyone who wished Andy well yesterday. Last night his fever broke and he ended up having a good night’s sleep. He seemed much better this morning. He’ll be out of the woods soon. So I don’t feel so bad about leaving him alone all weekend. He can hopefuly enjoy his solitude without too much discomfort.

Last night I chatted briefly with my friend Phil, and he said that he and his boyfriend Adam might just be able to come visit us some weekend in December! That would really be great. I hope it pans out. It’s too bad that Andy and I don’t know of any cool young gay couples here in Chicago that we can relate to. We’re more or less on our own. Which isn’t all bad, considering the uneasy relationship we both usually have with gay social life. But still. It’s nice to be able to share the stuff you’re going through with other guys in the same spot. I don’t want to sound exclusionary, but as open and kind as my straight friends can be, they still can’t quite understand what it’s like for us. If Andy and I were a STRAIGHT couple, after having been together for nearly 4 years people would be asking us why we aren’t married yet. But that’s a topic for another time …

The office is ordering some party platters from Subway for everyone for lunch today. Woohoo. Yesterday at the gym I weighed myself and officially came in at my lowest weight since I started working out last November. And it’s a good thing too, considering I’ll be consuming a few thousand calories each day all weekend. But anyways, it was nice to see those numbers on the scale (176 with all my clothes on, so maybe 172 in reality).

My folks had me to go Intelligentsia so that I could bring home some coffee for the weekend. I have 8 POUNDS of beans in my suitcase. Hey, they love their coffee. But I’m going to gently remind them that it’s available to order online as well … (www.intelligentsiacoffee.com)

Poor Andy has the flu. He dragged himself to the doctor this afternoon. Now he’s home and resting. He’s got Sprite and chicken noodle soup. Looks like I’ll be in pamper mode tonight. It’s one of the nicest things about being with someone: getting to take care of your sweetie.