This past summer we received the first in what I predict will be many 80's-based cartoons turned movies. Transformers came to us thanks to Steven Spielberg (producer) and Michael Bay (god awful director/producer). This movie satisfied the eight year old in me, but as a 30 year old I left with a lot of thoughts:
- I don't remember that much product placement in the cartoon.
- bumblebee is a mustang?
- was the storyline always this bad?
- I don't know about you, but if i am making out with my girlfriend it certainly won't be on top of a car that I would deem "alive", nor would we be out in plain view of four curious robots.
The other night I received an email from my friend Zac with a short message that read: I know you are into this... He provided a link to a website that had pictures for what I will now refer to as the movie of the year in 2009:
Ladies and Gentleman I present to you the cast of characters for this live action cinematic spectatcular:
Dennis Quaid as General Hawk. I would have liked to have seen a bearded George Clooney, but this will work for me. I loved Innerspace, and the Rookie makes me cry everytime when i watch the scene where Quaid's character calls his wife to bring his blue suit to the ballpark. That gets me every fucking time.
Channing Tatum as Duke. Thought maybe Owen Wilson might be a good fit for this, but then you have to try to deal with the fact that you are watching Owen Wilson pretend to be Duke, and I just want to be absorbed into the character.
Rachel Nichols as Scarlett. Yes this works. I know there are ten other actresses, but again these characters should be the characters, not Jessica Alba playing a character.
Marlon Wayans as Ripcord... Um... really? i mean... really? for some reason i am not sure about this casting...
I was unable to find a picture of Cobra Commander but he will be played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Again I am making plans already to camp outside of what ever movie theater I will be near. Now if someone could please get going on Voltron my childhood will be restored, which of course was robbed by the Kansas City Royals and Don Denkinger in the 1985 World Series...
Thanks to some heavy handed touring, meaning we toured with my minivan dragging a 3' X 5' trailer around the Eastern half of the United States, i have a day to day vehicle that is relegated to local-only travel. So in my haste in trying to find adequate transport to and from chicago, i looked at all of the deals possible:
this transport is ridiculously convenient, i walked from my house to the Wabash Bus Station and boarded a double decker bus lined with airline style seating. the bus made two stops, one in st. louis and one in normal, il. all told i spent 8 and a half hours on the bus.
on the way there they showed the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" (yes with the "y") featuring Will Smith and his son. honestly not a bad movie to watch on the Megabus.
the trick to the Megabus is getting your tickets early. supposedly you can get can get tickets for as low as $3 roundtrip, but you have to book it WAY WAY far in advance.
they have routes that are expanding across the midwest, and have additional routes on the east and west coast. so if you can handle the long rides, you can make it to any of these places in a pretty affordable fashion...
i have made my second booking for chicago for $45 roundtrip. now if they can figure out how to get me to the west coast, with all of my band equipment and my band members that would be great...
I spent the weekend in Columbia North also referred to as Chicago. I visited a friend who was battling pancreatitis, stayed with some friends i will be marrying in august, and had my perspective on art destroyed by one Gordon Matta-Clark...
Pancreatitis
Not familiar with this? I will give you a brief description: Its an inflammation of the Pancreas. Man, I should have been a doctor, look at me pullin' out them five cent words! On the serious, this is very very painful. The person dealing with this cannot digest anything. Fluids are given through an IV, and the pain medication dries your mouth. so you have to use a sponge to keep your mouth from drying out. Again pancreatitis is very difficult to get through.
My friend, was released from the hospital and was looking really good for a week long hospital stay, in fact i had seen her go through this several times. i stayed with her in the hospital the first time she had a bout with this. (This most recent fight was number four) But it amazes me what the body can endure and still progress. She has to make some big diet restrictions, but all in all, she is rebounding very nicely.
The Marrying Kind
So I am ordained. And I will performing my first wedding ceremony (most likely my last) for two of my friends in August. I stayed with them on this trip, and I have to say that I am a bit nervous about this ceremony. Not because of the bride and groom, but because of the sheer magnitude of this event. 200 people, Chicago, etc. etc. I want this to go as smoothly as possible. So i sat down with the bride-and-groom-to-be about how they wanted the ceremony to go.
Bottom line: short and sweet. so i won't be able to employ my signature four-hour mass that accompanies the nuptials. If anybody would like that version of my wedding ceremony let me know. But I have come a long way since my original stance of marriage being a forced component of society. But over the years i have matured (sort of) and came to understand that marriage doesn't have to be a state or religious sanctioned requirement. in the most basic of contexts it is two people publicly declaring their lifelong partnership with their loved ones. my friends in this case know they don't HAVE to be married, they want to, and i am honored that they would have me as their officiant.
not bad for a pathetically single thirtysomething.
Gordon Matta-Clark
I did manage to get a couple of hours in at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) on Saturday. My original intention was to go around and take in a number of different installations as the MCA has a very well put together building and history. After making my way into the first installation, i was locked in. i spent the next two hours in the works of Gordon Matta-Clark.
I am the first to admit that I know very little when it comes to the art world, but i don't let that lack of knowledge keep me from discovering artists. i don't have the background to walk in and go, "oh i see they are influenced by this, this, and this." however i know what peeks my interest. and Matta-Clark did in a big way.
In the 70's he was known for his series of "building cuts" where he challenged the modernist architectural approach. he would cut up houses and buildings and provide new perspective on space and light. some of you may already be familiar with his work, but i never took an art or architecture class, so i found all of this fascinating.
i picked up a book at the museum and have read through his history as an artist. now of course i want to dig through the rest of his work and his influences. I found his perspective and approach to be mindblowing, and honestly it is making me look differently at how i perceive and create my own art.
unfortunately matta-clark died in 1978 from pancreatic cancer, so we will never know the where the extent of his work could have reached, but we know that the work he did leave us has influenced many artists and architects over the years.
i don't mix words when it comes for my love of baseball.
i'm a total nerd about
"your honor, the prosecution would like to enter State's evidence A and B:"
- State's Evidence exhibit A: one fantasy baseball team at yahoo.com - State's Evidence exhibit B: one fantasy baseball team at espn.com
"if the defense has no objections i will allow"
now just because i have these two fantasy baseball teams doesn't mean i'm up to par with every stat of every second or third year player in the league, but i am getting myself back into the mode of watching a nine-inning game on television. tough stuff to do when my mind is overanalyzing every part of my life. here are some examples of my thoughts during my participation of a televised baseball game:
- man i really love this Grillers Prime veggie burger. i might like it more than Boca burgers. - i wish i could find two socks that match, not that there isn't a charm to having one grey sock and one beige sock, but c'mon i should keep at least one thing in my life consistent. - do you think she like-likes me or just likes me? man i hope its that first one, because i am tired of that second one, not that i mind being just friends, but man can i get something to fall my way a bit?! oh i'm such a loser... - where did the remote go? - when is heroes going to start up again? i felt cheated last season, but my love for the show is unconditional. - i miss apple fruit rollups - i really hate purse dogs
so again, when given the opportunity my mind will wander around in some of the farthest regions of my head. (yes that does make sense)
this year my team, the st. louis cardinals have exceeded expectations. honestly this year is still considered to be a building year, but the team that is taking the field has gelled nicely. rick ankiel continues to make one of the greatest comebacks in major league history, pujols is continuing to look like his elbow is healthy, and the starting pitching is performing well.
the problems are in the late inning action. the middle relief staff is struggling and it is making the games a little more exciting than they need to be. additionally they don't have a whole lot of depth on the bench. the cardinals need some more consistency to protect leads late in the game.
as you can see i have some idea of what is going on in baseball. and this has been a constant in my life. when i was eight i used to tape myself doing play by play of the cardinals broadcasts. i would turn down the volume on the television set and do the entire play-by-play. i realized later that my voice never changed its pitch after age nine. so instead, i sing and get mistaken for a woman when i order food at the drive through... go figure.
so as april wraps up i look forward to torturing myself with the up and down season the cardinals will provide for me for the rest of the summer.
so not only was sunday "4/20" day, "dudes", but it was the annual earth day celebration in down town columbia. part of elm, eighth, and seventh street are closed off for the crowds this events attracts.
i saw some predatory birds at the raptor rehab booth, i ran into my friend zac at the prism booth, and was embarrassed by friend barb at the MU Extension Office booth (she asked a colleague of hers if she had any single friends who would be interested in me. could i not appear more desperate?)
after that exchange i moved on to look around at the rest of the festival. i really like walking through this event solo, it grounds me with columbia again. it reminds me that there is a really great community outside of the three-headed university system that calls this town their home as well...
with the day being picture perfect, another round of Home Run Derby had to happen, and well... the following statistics are completely accurate:
so i was in the zone the entire game averaging just under 7 home runs per inning, and pretty much clinching the win by the fifth inning. McCrady kept it real close until the third inning, he had about three consecutive innings of one or two home runs early. there wasn't much trash talking here, especially not when i'm doubling up the score... Buffaloe (5/8 Dr. Buffaloe) was our first purebred southpaw, and got somewhat of a slow start, but towards the last few innings he found his rhythm and made us rethink how we are going to set up the ball park. as it stands the the fence and what not faces the righty who pulls the ball. jason mccrady, had to leave early, but his at bats were quality ones, you could project that he would out hit his brother justin had he stayed in the game. okay i don't know that for sure, but he would have been contending for that second spot. just nardy enjoyed tying his season high of two. well i don't know if he enjoyed it, but i enjoyed it atleast.
I have officially hit the age where i notice a pretty large age gap when i attend some rock and/or roll shows. not that i feel weird about it, but it is now a spot-on observation. this was the case when i attended the minus the bear show at the blue note. my friend daryle slid me into the show as his plus one, and from the get go, i felt out of place. there sidewalk was littered with kids who looked like first-time smokers. they had experimented with it long enough and were now ready to move on to a public venue for their new found vice.
inside i was surprised to see how packed the show was. not that i didn't think minus the bear could draw anyone in, but i guess i didn't expect to see such an energetic crowd, again most of them probably had a parent picking them up after the show. okay so after being mildly drawn into the big sleep set (they had some nice material, though i am curious to hear the recorded version, the atmosphere of the show and the live set were not enough to draw me in completely).
i have to admit by the time minus the bear hits the stage i want nothing to do with a live show. i'm tired, i am music-ed out(sometimes it is possible for me to take in an overload of music), and in sensory overload with the crowd. so honestly they never had a chance to grab my attention. but i did stay for the first few songs, and i can see that they play their instruments well, they know how to put a song together, yet they weren't my cup of tea. furthermore i don't know how people could be so into this band. i mean the floor was packed with folks who knew words to all of the songs, where the big dramatic chorus, but i wasn't engaged. so after song three, i high-fived (yes hi-fived) a few folks and departed.
after spending a pleasant ride to st. louis with my pals david and zac, we took in the sale an at vintage vinyl, grabbed a quick bite at delmar lounge, and then headed to the pageant for one of them rock and/or roll shows featuring... the new pornographers and okkervil river...
as mentioned in earlier postings i finally came around to okkervil river with the album the stage names. so i was ready for this show. and the gentleman did not disappoint. though i have a couple of points i would like to pick on...
1) the suits - look my band was guilty of the whole suit thing as well, but have we moved past this presentation yet. maybe its charming, but i'm just past it personally, so isn't it just like me to feel like its over for everyone else? yes, of course. i'm a jerk 2) will sheff's movements - okay he is tall (check), he is lanky (check), and he is the lead singer for a very good band (check). so does this give him full merit to contort his body around the stage as if he is drunk? (he might be) he uses the mic stand to show the dramatic stage pose just as much to use for support. but again i am looking at this from a jerk's perspective. the show as a whole works, i'm just not sure if i like all of the gesturing...
other than that they were a band of tambourines. i spotted four at one time used on one song. they also had other perucussive devices that helped the audience clap along to. but this was a show after all, not a cd listening party, so for all of the points i complained about, it was just me trying to find points to critique, overall it was a great set and for that alone was worth my time and money.
the new pornographers moved their set along with the energy of a train.
my friends had two different perspectives on the show:
for this i will have to lean towards Zac's perspective (minus the Yao Ming reference, i am not a rockets fan, in fact i'm much more partial to college basketball. but for the sake of the NBA i will say that their comeback in set was reminiscent of Willis Reed and the New York Knicks), but i will give it to annie, with the Mac/Keyboardist reference. he did look bored to pieces, especially when he played bass on a song. look if you hate playing live shows move along... plus he got double minus points for just playing the macintosh on a couple of songs.
other than that the team pulled ahead and hit a set worthy of okkervil river's opening set. i was worried there would be a lull but A.C. Neuman and crew hit it right with My Rights versus Yours (this song's vocal melodies are owning me right now) and Myriad Harbour. Overall i was really happy with how the show went, but i have to admit, my tiredness set in and i was ready for the trip back to columbia.
many moons ago most consumers were able to purchase albums at locally owned shops. these shops would have a wonderful system of cataloging not only national and regional releases, but the local releases as well. the independent record store has been and still is an important piece to the puzzle for the emerging artist. often viewed as a bastion for the most pretentious of music listener, the store acts as an informational guide for music that is not forced down the throat of listeners via top 40 or AAA format radio.
with the rise of electronic store chains, the mom and pop stores were being undersold. best buy is infamous for this tactic. the store will undersell the cd price. meaning the company will lose a profit to distributors for selling cheap cds in an effort to lure younger consumers to buy other overpriced items in their store. the problem here is that it puts the independents out of business.
so for one day out of the year all independents stores unite to bring attention to their neck of the woods. with the increase of a digital music market, we are seeing a slow extinction of this familiar shop. the ones that survive are finding new niches to fill, whether it providing an exclusive line of import vinyl (god bless vinyl) or providing vintage clothing or even an art installation .
for columbia, we saw the end of some dear friends:
Salt of the Earth: this store closed in 2001 after being open for 23 years. former owner eddie boster can still be seen at shows and still in the very fabric of the columbia music scene that he help establish many years ago. the shop also boasted a large selection of skateboards. but after a recession and an increase in rent, the store closed its doors permanently. i remember picking up elliott smith's "either/or" album there. it is still missed almost a decade later.
Whizz Records: After being considered the top of the record store food chain in the 90's, this retired shop called itself home on north 10th st. where the old rag tag cinemacafe used to be. easily the best selection in town, and had access to all of the best imports, exports, reports, portports, etc. the owners moved to north carolina selling the leftover stock and name to a different owner. whizz remained opened in columbia, but it was not the same. some said the old owners took the good half of the selection, and left the rest for columbia.
Kevin's World: we all knew that kevin walsh's store had a short life span, but he was able to extend it well past its lease. kevin's goal was to have a place that would help people usher in the new digital world by providing customers to bring in vinyl and cd and he would help make the digital transfers to a source of their choice. additionally he had a great collection of albums from new and emerging artists.
columbia really doesn't have a consistent record store. slacker's has a really good selection of newer vinyl selections, but their main fair is the video game selection.
for those visiting other cities, or living there, i recommend some of my favorites: APOP (St. Louis - former Columbia residents) Vintage Vinyl (St. Louis) Euclid Records (St. Louis) Permanent Records (Chicago - former Columbia residents) Sonic Boom (Seattle - big ol' KEXP party)
speaking of records, PCWZ's pal In-Misery had an interesting post on break up records today, and it got me thinking about a conversation i had with a former girlfriend of mine a long time ago regarding what kind of music you listen to when you are down. angela was the girlfriend that taught me about music, women, and life in general. i still hold her in the highest regards to this day. so up until this conversation i was in the boat of "when you're sad you listen to happy music". angela was in the "when you're sad you listen to music you can relate to." she couldn't have been more right. listening to upbeat tempo pop does not help ease the pain of a heart break. the album i turn to in my darkest of times is Cat Power's Moon Pix. If Metal Heart doesn't hit the right chord with your broken heart strings then you are more machine than human...
okay i'm going to use this short post to geek out a bit on technology and google. well i guess i geek out on other topics on here as well, BUT this will definitely cause me to push up my nerd glasses.
my job is set dead center in the middle of web development. recently i have taken it upon myself to learn some of the finer features that blogs have to offer. so in an effort to keep an eye on traffic statistics i have applied Google Analytics to my site. don't worry you don't get any thing if you visit the site. but i am blown away by how specific the statistics are. GA shows you not only how many people visit your site, but where exactly they are coming from, meaning from what sites they are referred from and in what country they are located.
and to learn how to apply it to your Blogger site go here
it can be a slightly complicated process, but once you get everything set you have a great, free way to keep an eye on your traffic. though i have to say the reality of PCWZ's statistics are pretty sad.
i know there might be some grumbling that this is another way for google to keep tabs on us, and that they have a top secret lair near the arctic circle where they are planning to implant google chips in our brains, that will allow them to collect and categorize our deepest darkest secrets. but let me assure you, they are not there yet, so you won't be giving up too much by adding this feature.
if this post wasn't exciting enough, this should make you feel better.
With a clear sky and a temp in the 60s, another round of Home Run Derby had to happen. This time our match grew from three to five people, and eventually a sixth (person) and seventh (dog) joined in the later innings of the game.
This was a rather exciting game, and even though McCrady dropped his season record to me to 0-2, he actually put on the better performance. In that he hit five homeruns from the left side of the plate, and kept a lead until the bottom of the ninth. This is where my poise and experience came into play. My early rounds were marred by a strained upper back (which i did by simply swinging the bat. i know, i know pathetic). In the first inning I got zero home runs, by the second inning i had one, and then after that i found my stroke again and launched several over the fence. i can blame the back as to why i didn't launch more, but the entire field had to deal with a swirling wind that was keeping a number of would-be home runs from making their destination over the fence. Stegall was a first time player to our game and immediately launched into six home runs. the thing about daniel is that he loves the game. not as in baseball, but as in fun-oriented competition. and the reason why... he wins. all of the time, every time. whether its video, card, or other he wins. and the other thing here, is that daniel is an absolute saint. in all of the years we played music together, not ONCE did he raise his voice or did we even disagree on anything. so for him this competition is completely recreational. as for me, i take it to heart and i play for keeps!
so as the game progressed, nardy improved his home run season total to two, he would have had atleast five more if the wind hadn't knocked a couple back. despite her self-deprecating humor regarding her ability to play, marita made solid contact with the ball. it wasn't like she was swinging and missing, she was making solid bat on the ball contact that usually resulted in line drives. unfortunately for her, this is a game of home run, so consistent and steady contact only got her as far as 10 outs per inning.
in the final inning mccrady was holding on to 14 to 12 lead over me, he popped one more over the fence for what he thought would be insurance. i quickly assured him that it wasn't going to be enough. so with the score 15-12-9-2-0, i stepped up to the plate, and launch the first two pitches for home runs. down by only one home run i smack a couple shy of the fence before i sent another over the fence for the tie. as mccrady was picking up my home runs, he asked if it was tied, nardy gave him the glorious news, and mccrady just said "fuck you, schuh". around that same time i launched number 16 over the fence for a home run. i couldn't have scripted that better.
i should note that during the final two innings our group was joined by our friend colin webb and his dog Aeros. colin took a couple of post game swats and launched one over the fence, while Aeros took turns gnawing on the wiffle balls and his rubber frisbee.
As I have been submerged in the world of the next Foundry record, i have been obsessing with the ideas of approach and structure in regards to song. however all of this could apply to a variety of crafts (painting, poetry, sculpting, etc.) since most of my friends are fellow songsmiths (yes, songsmiths) and artists it has been really helpful to bounce ideas off of each other without ego or pretension.
recently i talked with greg roberts and jamie levinson from white rabbits regarding pop structure. the interest of most people now a days seems to be a much darker path as far as feel of song and lyrics go, while trying to avoid the verse, verse, chorus structure. when greg gets time to sit down again to write, he wants to move that direction. eric enger from gentleman auction house seconded the motion when he and i talked about getting out of a certain comfort zone in writing. currently he has a batch of songs that are already recorded and will need to be played for the next year or so, but that hasn't stopped him from writing new material that may in fact be a departure from GAH.
typically my approach is to write by myself. acoustic guitar and vocals. create the structure and the parts, and bring in the troops to fill out the rest. so far the approach has worked fairly well, however with my current batch of songs finished, i would like to experiment more and start from a different point. perhaps collaborate and create something totally different. but i know that my time is limited and i need to focus on building up a road team, saving money, getting a van, creating tour merch, and finishing the album.
but this conversation has drifted to my friend caleb johnson, who is a filmmaker based in new york (well to be honest he lives in jersey, but i think he can claim nyc) anyway, we were recently discussing bon iver's album and the idea of environment effecting the art. the story goes that justin vernon spent four months in a cabin and came back with "For Emma, Forever Ago". this album sounds exactly like the feel and mood you would get from a cabin in wisconsin in the winter. strong vocal presentation over sparse whatever-was-available instrumentation, beautiful/haunting.
so what happens when you hit a creative block? for me the answer is change your environment. at every place i have lived over the past six years, i have found a writing spot. not a set up with a desk and computer. i mean like a physical spot where i play. typically its my bedroom, but there will actually be a specific spot that i will stand or sit and write. call it OCD, call it fucking weird, regardless its a place where i go to write. though it wasn't until recently that i started adding to my work. i was really stuck for awhile, with the transition of becky, daniel, and benjamin (my loves) moving on, it took me awhile to reset. i think i have found my spot again, but we'll see where the next batch goes.
I got my first introduction to this wonderful substance over the weekend as i portrayed a father wrongly accused(?) of murder in the Gentleman Auction House(GAH) video for the song "book of matches". before i move on here, i want to say that the fine folks at Living Nightmare make a substance that is both a disgusting and reliable adhesive. word to the wise: if you need to apply spirit gum to your face for... say a mustache. remove ALL hair before the application. i left some stubble and thought "oh it will be fine". after i took the mustache off the spirit gum was locked into the stubble, and washing was not enough. i had to shave it off. not fun, not fun...
A month ago, keyboardist, trumpeter, and off-the-market fiance Steve Kozel asked me to be in the video for his band. let me preface this by saying i love every member of GAH. I travelled down to SxSW with them in march and they are like family to me. they are nice, considerate, down to earth, dedicated to the craft of music making, and a have realistic understanding of how the cesspool of the music industry works. so when steve asked me i thought,"sure why not?"
my expectations were, well... low, as far as production went. nothing on steve for this, its just that in the past four video shoots, i have either been in or a part of there has been a couple of hand held camcorders and then some high level editing software involved. but when i arrived at 5207 Berthold in St. Louis Saturday morning, i was floored by the set up.
- director - director of photography - audio personnel - video personnel - stage techs - make up artist - cast and crew of 25 - three days of setup, choreography, and filming - three projectors - two confetti air cannons - 100 sparklers - 13 25 X 5 projection screens - two smoke machines - staging on wheels
this is just a sample of all that went into the production of a three and a half minute video. it easily cost somewhere in the thousands. so again i was blown away.
my role as it stood was that i was being sought after for the murders of some unknown amount of people and children. as you can see in the picture above was sported with a fake mustache and a shirt covered in blood splatter. my character was arrested by a mob, broken out by my own "children" and then re-arrested by the same mob, put on the stand and then pulled the old switch-a-roo with lead singer eric enger. he got to go to the gallows, while i got to play and sing with the band. (this is how i became the lead singer of the foundry... poor poor Dennis)
Anyway, the last time I acted in anything was in high school. Back in those days i played the comedy relief of whatever play i was in. in this setting i had to keep up a tired and broken character but use oversized props like the handcuffs (which left some nice bruising, see pic below). after a few walk-throughs and several rehearsals, the stage was set for filming. oh i should mention that this video is one continuous shot, soooo... not only did all of the cast have to be marked and choreographed, but the cameraman, projectionist, and stage techs had to be marked and choreographed as well. OH AND i should mention that the song was sped up, so that when they play it back in normal time they can make the movements more herky and jerky a la silent film era production. needless to say everything was executed perfectly.
my only complaint is that i HATE being in front of the camera. i hate the way i look, and it makes me wonder how people can stand me in real life. i can think of four off the bat that actually hate my presence, which is fine that's their deal, however the majority of the lovely people in my life want to deal with me and i just can't understand their visual perspective of me. (okay enough self-deprecation here, but you understand where i'm coming from).
overall it was a really positive experience, and i can't wait to see the final product. though knowing how much went into the shooting, i can only imagine how long the editing will take. at this point i expect nothing less from the GAH video team...
I have discussed on this platform before regarding my involvement in resource groups that provide information and support to survivors of rape and sexual assault. The reasons for my involvement are simple, I have had too many friends who have been either raped, sexually assaulted, or abused. My involvement started in 1995 following a year in which both a friend and my girlfriend were raped. Nothing stops your adolescent world like information like this. Even though I wasn't the victim (or survivor) of these attacks, it effected me in ways I never thought possible. I became more angry than I have ever been in my life, and had to carry around this hatred for the final semester of my senior year in high school. I honestly didn't know what to do with the information I was given. I conceived of every possible way to get revenge on those responsible for those attacks. But I never stepped over that line. And I'm glad I didn't. I turned that horrible energy into a positive and worked at the Women's Center at the University of Missouri, where I gave programs to various men's groups, in the dorms, at fraternities and the MU football team.
After four years of working programs with the Women Center, I stepped away. Work like that is very difficult, because every time I would tell my story, I would be reliving that time period. Of course it got easier with every program, but nevertheless it was difficult. So after a few years of very little involvement I am happy to be back in the effort to help the community serving on the Men as Allies Committee, a satellite board of the Shelter. The Shelter provides resources, support, and facilities to women and children who are victims and survivors of domestic abuse or sexual assault. For years the Shelter has been trying to reach out to men in the community to help educate men's groups in hopes of ending violence against women.
This evening The Blue Note will be hosting a benefit concert for the Shelter featuring The Record Collector and Videology. This concert is one of the many events taking place in the community as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Both the Shelter and the MU Women's Center have programs and events to help raise awareness and educate the public on rape and sexual assault in our community. The statistics are staggering (1 in 4 women will report being sexually assaulted in their life time). 100% of the ticket sales will go to The Shelter and the many programs and services they provide our community.
The Record Collector is considered a "Soul Revue" band, meaning they cover songs in the key of soul from the 60's and 70's. The 12-piece puts on a spectacular show with spot on covers and very high energy, with the additional visuals from Videology this show is easily worth the price of admission.
So as of late I have been dedicating my body to running two miles in the morning. I have been on this health kick for a little over nine months now, and I wanted to continue this trend by adding some safe early morning cardio.
For awhile I tried: - chasing squirrels in my back yard, but apparently the cats in my neighborhood own the rights to chasing and eating them. - running perpendicular to the the traffic lanes on old 63, or what I refer to as "survival sprints". but apparently there are laws against running through traffic. - sparring with the crossing guard at benton elementary. apparently she was one of the first female boxers in boone county, so i wanted to move away from early morning beat downs. i mean i could still run, but running with two swollen eyes and a nostril full of blood becomes more challenging than necessary.
so after all of those failed i am attempting this version of work out. so far i have to say i like it. i dread it five minutes before i run, but once i get a half mile into it, i get this feeling like i could run five more miles, how ever my legs and back tell me otherwise, and for now two miles will do.
Good Movie
after my cool down, i grabbed a quick bite to eat and some water and stretched out while watching some TV. Encore always plays the strangest selection of movie at 7:30 am. Today I was treated to what I will refer to as a good movie, also known as Remo Williams: The Adverture Begins. This was a movie that was supposed to be made into a franchise. A couple of sequels perhaps a prequel, but after one movie they were done. Though there was an attempt at a TV series a couple years after its release. But this begs the question: Why don't I own this movie?! This has to be one of the most spectacular action flicks of the 80's. it has martial arts, guns, revenge, random explosions, and stereotypes galore!
Bad Beer
moving along... before arriving to work i stopped off at the gas station to get some coffee. sometimes gas station coffee works better than just about anything. as i was in line i noticed a sale on Leininkugel Sunset Wheat. (sigh) this beer is terrible, and towards the end of my drinking days i came across this monstrosity of a beer. imagine if a brewer made a beer and crammed a box of smarties, sweet tarts, and nerds candy with the hops, yeast, etc. i'm not big on fruit-flavored beers, and this is exactly why. the reason it is on sale is to get it off the shelves and keep it off. rumor has it that if you let it sit long enough the beer will eat through the bottle. okay that's not true, but it sure tastes like an agent that would.
Justin Vernon addresses the audience in a low baritone of a voice. Not too low, but it remains at a level that is in stark contrast to his high rising vocal melody lines he thrusts above a bed of minimal instrumentation. though the presentation is spare in its parts the whole is a beautiful summation that is not only full but completely engaging. vernon's project bon iver (pronounced bohn eevair), has been hailed in the highest regards among critics and fans. his show did not disappoint, accompanied by a drummer and a second guitar player, vernon played through songs from his latest release, on the JagJaguwar label, "For Emma, Forever Ago".
My worry for this show was that no one would show up and the entire room would be talking. but columbia showed its softer side and attended with a force unseen on a dreary monday night. the crowd was more than half capacity and they were quiet. a friend of mine came up to me and commented on the fact that you really could have heard a pin drop as vernon and crew hit the quietest of points in song.
Bon Iver will be making a bigger mark soon enough as they head out on tour with Black Mountain.
As is customary with friends who cannot decide what to do on a BEAUTIFUL sunday afternoon the options flew around and fell flat on the floor.
me: You wanna play basketball?
them: um i don't know... who else are we going to get? plus we don't have a basketball.
me: wanna go running?
them: ha! next
me: wanna play catch?
them: oh i don't have my glove. dude its just going to be a lazy sunday afternoon.
me: okay wanna have a home run derby?
them: oh yeah i will do that!
why wouldn't you do that? it is the best of the lazy sports. three people minimum required, six wiffleballs, a wiffleball bat, a chair and a fence to hit the ball over. little movement, fresh air, and ego boosts galore. it is perhaps the best handcrafted lazy sport out there.
so here is the set up: three people rotate from pitcher to batter to shagger (somebody has to go collect all of the home runs i hit). 9 innings, 10 outs per inning. any swing of the bat that is not a home run is an out. if the pitch hits the chair it is also an out. so with the rules being known here were the final results
Billy - 38 Home Runs
Justin McCrady - 18 Home Runs
Justin Nardy - 0 Home Runs
I should point out that I am very, very good, and that my competition was not. well i guess i don't need to point that out as the results speak for themselves.
i didn't have one no committee chairperson for the "re-elect billy for another year of life" party i wrote my own script. so here is what i did:
april 5, 2008
It is no secret that I love baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals. So after getting a last minute rescue ride from a friend to st. louis friday night, i was ready to go roll with my opening birthday activity a Cardinals vs. Nationals game at Busch Stadium. After getting a quick breakfast in, I made it to the stadium a good 45 minutes before the first pitch. I am completely OCD about catching the first pitch. my sweetheart friends got to the stadium a minute before the first pitch, they opted for the environmentally friendly Metro train, and that stop at Busch is infamous for its traffic volume overload during the baseball season. well during my wait in line for my now standard jumbo hot dog and lemonade, the first pitch made its way for a strike across the plate. unphased by missing the first pitch and the first batter, i triumphed by enjoying a very solid outing from Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and some key hitting by Yadier Molina. In the end i was rewarded with a Cardinals' 5-4 victory, along with a masterful eating performance by me: - Hot Dog - Lemonade - Pretzel - 1/2 of a Snocone - Ice Cream in a baseball helmet All in all, a great day at the ball park.
Afterwards, i made my way over to the delmar loop and picked up tickets for the New Pornographers and Okkervil River show at The Pageant. Thanks to the likes of Ticketmaster these tickets could have been loaded with various fees (Convenience, Shipping, Marinating, Printing, Friendship, etc.) BUT because i chose to actually drive to the box office AND pay in cash i was able to receive the privilege of purchasing the tickets at face value. WOW! face value ticket prices, what a concept!! I am looking forward to that show, i totally fell in love with okkervil river's "stage names" album.
Okay so i stayed in st. louis and after being incredibly cranky with my family. i was just tired and full from crappy (yet delicious) ballpark food, we settled on a sushi bar for an early dinner, and they drove me back in time to catch Bald Eagle's set opening for Cursive.
In years past, I would get, as the kids call it, "ripped" on my birthday. I mean terrificly drunk. To put it in context on my 30th birthday, i had to sleep in a closet in the hallway of my apartment building, because i gave my car keys to a friend for safe keeping but did not have them with me when i arrived to my apartment door. tired, cold and stupid, i slept off my birthday in the hallway closet. i know, i know... stupid.
so this year with sobriety being my centerpiece, i found my friends to be at a loss as to what to get me for my birthday. "uh i would get you a bar tab, but you're not drinking. so um yeah." that's fair, and i'm not looking for presents by any means. but there are several alternatives of acknowledgement besides alcohol. but here was my score for my birthday:
- money. always good - the sweetest of lunches at cafe berlin - case of smart water - case of clif bars - breakfast at ernie's - twenty text messages - ten phone calls - five myspace messages - two email messages - several hugs - several gropes
the only thing missing from my day of days was a late night round of baseball catch, but i was given a rain check on that.
Me born: April 5, 1977 location: New York, NY hospital: The New York Hospital
I share a birthday wtih Pharrell Williams (35), Pat Green (36), Paula Cole (40), Mike McCready (42), Agnetha Faltskog (58), Jane Asher (62), and Gale Storm (86)...
My 31st Year of life Outlook:
"For every action, there is a reaction. Your life this year could be a study in this very theory. You could make waves. Claim your power, alloing many more opportunities to head in your direction. Realize when you have had enough of a siutuain, and walk away from it gracefully. If you are single, your magntetism remains high, creating quite a portfolio of admirers. If you are attached, be slightly less me-oriented. A fellow Aries reads you cold."
My horoscope for today:
"You are a power among your immediate friends right now. Act like one, and you might be amazed at what you can bypass. Tonight: As you like."
I got my outlook and horoscope from today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I have to say I'm feeling my "power" growing, but I have some problems with my outlook. For example what the fuck does "a fellow Aries reads you cold" mean? Will a fellow Aries be coming after me? If that's the case I better get ready for whoever you are!
So a long time ago, I played the role of evil oldest brother. Mind you I was never one to punch or hit my brothers or sister (they were all taller than me by the time i reached the six year old mark) . In fact we didn't do much punching of any kind, we all had this unwritten rule of no punches to the face. So I would like to drop psychological "punches" on them.
One of these involved going into my brother's room around bed time the day before his birthday and telling him "Well. Say good bye to be 8 years old. That's right you will never be 8 again. Yep that's real sad." When my brother realized that he would be turning 9 and losing that title of 8 years old, it made him cry. I would return to my room with a chuckle, and part of his birthday was ruined because I decided to bring reality to his day of days. Yes I was (and most still consider me to be) an asshole.
Now the tables have turned. I'm 30 heading into the 31, and I am going through these thoughts of holy shit! i'm not going to be 30 anymore. I really want to be that person who ages with grace and confidence, but right now i'm in this mode where i look back and say what the fuck have i done? i know that all of my work over the past seven years has been a building process for long term sustainability. so at this point i have all of this "potential" but nothing concrete. and now i can hear my brothers and sister collectively saying:
"well billy, say goodbye to 30! you will never be 30 again! yep, that's real sad!"
so i'm going to try and make this next year of my life a lot more productive and positive. i have had enough change in my life for the past two years to last me a decade. so now its time to dig in. (isn't that the same thought process that someone just getting out of college goes through? i'm a really late bloomer i guess.)
oh well for my birthday, i have no clue what i'm doing. there is no chairperson of the "billy is getting old" committee, so i'm sort of writing my own script.
ideally i want to go see the cardinals tomorrow at 12:15 pm and then return to columbia for the bald eagle show at mojo's. and then just take it easy. this will also be my first sober b-day in "well over" a decade... (twelve years)
other than that, i had my first post-foundry foundry show. i think it went rather well considering two practices and a different presentation of material. joe schaefer on drums and jenn johanning on cello were the perfect accompaniment for this style of presentation. they are both incredibly talented and above all nice! that is a dynamic that i will miss dearly with becky, daniel, and benjamin. those three are like family to me, and it is so hard to replace the chemistry we had. but i feel that they have also given me the template of requirements for people i work with in the future.
Channing Tatum as Duke. Thought maybe Owen Wilson might be a good fit for this, but then you have to try to deal with the fact that you are watching Owen Wilson pretend to be Duke, and I just want to be absorbed into the character.
