| Writer's Block: Live from New York |
[Oct. 11th, 2008|02:45 pm] |
Dana Carvey was great on SNL, then never as good ever again, so I say Dana Carvey. Oh wait, motherfuckin' Gilda Radner.
The best host was Steve Martin. |
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| Mom's Glamour Shot. |
[Aug. 22nd, 2008|03:32 am] |
My mom took the day off work today so that she could go to Glamour Shots and get her casket photo taken. She went with her best friend Debbie, who also wanted a coffin-topper portrait in soft lighting.
As Mom explained to me, she and Debbie had discussed doing this photo shoot for nine years, but the plan moved from discussion to action a couple weeks ago when Mom found a two-for-one Glamour Shots coupon in the newspaper. They redeemed it today.
Debbie and Mom didn't just want updated, good photos of themselves. They wanted their going-away portraits. Mom wanted the photo that we're going to put on her casket during her wake.
Debbie and Mom devised this plan, as I said, nine years ago after Debbie's sister died. Debbie's sister - who was fine-looking but not a knockout - had a framed, filtered-lighting Glamour Shots photo of herself in heavy makeup looking her most "fashion model beautiful" atop her casket during the viewing of the body, and Debbie's family loved the photo so much that there was an actual fight over who got to keep it after the burial. And Debbie's sister's lying, cheating ex-husband apparently stole it off the coffin during the service when it looked like the photo was going to go to some other relative.
My mom said she and Debbie made a pact after that white-trash funeral photo theft incident that they should have pretty pictures taken of themselves for their coffins before, as she suggested, they became craggy, ugly, fat old women. She didn't want us to use a photo of her that was from the 1980s, and she didn't want a more recent photo that was unflattering. So she went to Glamour Shots today.
(My mom's pretty. But my mom doesn't think she's pretty. Just like I'm cute. But I don't think I'm cute.)
She told this to my stepfather and me, and our reactions were different.
My stepfather Jerry, with his Southern twang and his idea that funerals should be all about weeping, wailing, snake-handling and histrionic, down-on-your-knees begging for mercy from an almighty God (even though he doesn't go to church), was vehement in his disapproval of my mom's funeral photo shoot.
"THERE AIN'T NO MATERIAL THINGS LEFT AT THAT POINT! YOU AIN'T SUPPOSED TO FOCUS ON WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE! IT'S SINFUL!" Jerry roused to my mother, and she actually would laugh and argue her point, rather than just stay quiet like she usually does with Jerry, who prefers to proclaim his conclusions rather than listen to other people's points-of-view.
"We've been talking about it for years, Jerry," she explained. "And Debbie and I want to do this before we get any uglier. Have you seen some of the photos they run on the obits page?"
Jerry scoffed and said he'd just have her cremated. (I scoffed at that, for I'm betting he dies first.)
My mom's whole perspective on this photo shoot for the past couple weeks has been refreshing, actually. She's been very matter-of-fact about all the deeper ramifications of this, like that she's openly acknowledging that she's going to die eventually. She knows that the photo shoot is shrouded in this morbidity, and she's tackled it with a certain admirable, sick sense of humor.
As a result of this, my main objection to the photo shoot was not that I didn't want Mom to plan her funeral. (She's been carrying around sheet music for it in her briefcase for years. I know that. She's just being zealous about preparation.) No, my main objection was her choice of photography studios.
"Seriously, Mom, I know photographers who could do this for you," I said to her today while she ironed three outfits that she wanted to wear. "Why Glamour Shots?"
"Well, we have a coupon," Mom said. "And Debbie and I want to do this together. You know how we'll probably get there and just start laughing about it. We've wanted to do this for years."
I understood what she wanted. I understood why she wanted it. So I tried to work with that by telling her what my fears about the whole thing were.
I said, "I don't want you to wear a hat. I don't want you to wear a boa. Don't clinch your collar. I don't want you to do any shots where you rest your hand on your chin. I don't want them to light the shot so much that it looks like you've been glazed. I don't want the photo on your casket to make it look like you were the madam at some New Orleans brothel."
It was wrong of me to concern myself over how potentially tacky this whole thing might be. It's not my funeral.
My mom explained to me that Glamour Shots has changed.
"You wear your own clothes now, so I won't be wearing a hat or a boa," she said, propping up the iron. "They do your makeup while you're there, but I'll still be in my own clothes. I've got the black-pinstripe suit, the red suit and this denim one that will, you know, look more casual. Don't worry about it."
My mom hasn't worn much facial makeup in years. She abandoned lipstick when she started dating my stepfather. She's never been a Glamour Shots type of woman before. I had mixed feelings about this whole thing because I couldn't quite grasp what she was out to prove about herself.
And then, while she was going over the clothes, I thought that maybe my problem with all of this is that, because I'm her son and because I love her, I see something in her that she doesn't. It's the same thing I can't see in myself.
And so I looked at my mother and said, "You know you're pretty, right?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Oh come on," I repeated, "you've always been pretty."
She kept ironing.
"Even when you were a kid, you were pretty. You're pretty now. You dress well. You're pretty, and you know that."
She thanked me, but, unfortunately, I don't think she quite bought it.
Still, this evening, she called me up and said, "I didn't wear a hat. I didn't wear a boa. There was one shot in close-up where they told me to rest my head on my arm, and I did that. But most of them came out really good. I got several 5x10s of one where I was wearing the denim, and you can have one of the wallet-sized ones."
My mother is not dying. My mother just allowed herself this fun, silly act of vanity to fly in the face of aging and death. And I just want her to like herself and have fun. I think she wants to like herself.
Today, at that photo shoot, she did.
When I put that photo on her casket one sad day, I hope I remember this. And I hope I laugh about it.
_________________
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The lovely woman in the above photo is not my mother, just some nice person who posted her photo on the Internet.) |
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| Writer's Block: Six-Word Story |
[Aug. 14th, 2008|06:51 pm] |
Still here, but should be working. |
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| In appreciation. |
[Aug. 8th, 2008|01:34 am] |
"Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare." - Dale Carnegie
My friend Zach Steele owns a bookstore in Decatur. It opened last June. Because I'd been out of touch with him, I found out about Zach's bookstore while I was hitting on this straight guy during the Armistead Maupin book signing at Outwrite Books. The heterosexual guy worked at Georgia Center for the Book, and he and I were doing this random chit-chat while I was trying to picture what he looked like naked. (I did not know he was straight at the time. I mean, jeez, it was an Armistead Maupin book signing at Outwrite. It's not my fault for jumping to the wrong conclusion. And he was cute.)
During the chit-chat, the straight guy and I were talking about self-published books, and I told him that the worst self-published book ever written was this Southern-fried, end-times novel called APOCALYPSE SOUTH by Kyle Watson. (The book has a scene that takes place in a traffic jam on I-285 during the Rapture. It's absolutely hilarious.)
And the straight guy told me that he'd seen APOCALYPSE SOUTH before and, in fact, had a friend with a marked-up copy of it with notes on the edges where an entire bookstore staff had commented on how bad it was. And I told the straight guy that I was familiar with that copy of the book, for I had once worked with the bookstore staff that created it. The straight guy told me that Zach, my one-time manager, had the copy and read it to the staff of his new bookstore at every meeting they had.
And, thus, the cute, straight guy and APOCALYPSE SOUTH led me to reacquaint myself with Zach. The day after the Maupin signing, I e-mail him and discovered Wordsmiths Books in Decatur. A few days later, I'd walked through the doors of their first location in Decatur, a pretty place with unfortunately low foot traffic. Zach wasn't there during my first trip to the store, which is why I was able to focus on the store and fall in love with its charms in my own way. It's a beautiful place with a warm vibe. It feels good to be there. It feels comfortable to read there. It was the sort of place where I wanted to know everyone's name.
I came up with my own dream for Wordsmiths that first day. I wanted to do a reading there. I wanted to sign copies of my own, as-yet-unwritten books there. I had this feeling stronger in Wordsmiths than I'd ever had in any location of the bookstore that had given me paychecks. In part, this was because it was independent. Mostly, I think I was just charmed to be standing in the middle of Zach's dream store. He had the idea. He wanted something. He went for it, and he achieved it. It made me want to tie my own ambitions to his. I envied his success, and I hoped that Wordsmiths was a place where fulfilled dreams were contagious. That was last year when I'd just begun discovering places like JaCKPie in the city, places built on optimism. I wanted a part of it.
So I e-mailed Zach the next day and told him that I'd enjoyed going to his store and was tempted to jump up on the microphone and read one of my essays. And, even though at that point he'd never read an essay of mine and had never heard me perform anything, he told me at the time that I was more than welcome to jump up on the mic whenever I was in his store. And within a month, Wordsmiths had its first Open Mic Night, and I brought "Prayer for the Waffle House Faithful" to read. When I stepped up on that stage, I'm fairly certain that Zach and his staff didn't know what to expect from me. During the reading, I noticed that I was getting a lot of laughs, particularly from Zach and his wife Alice. By the time I was done, Zach came onstage and said that I was more than welcome to perform at every Open Mic Night. It was one of the best compliments I've ever gotten in my life.
Since then, Russ Marshalek, the events coordinator for Wordsmiths, has proven to be just as supportive of my work as Zach. He's asked me to read at other events at Wordsmiths and said that my Phi Kappa brother Will Young and I are the store's favorite homegrown performers. Russ even helped me film a scene of THE AMBER NASH SHOW video in his apartment complex elevator.
I love these guys. I love Wordsmiths Books. It has shown me nothing but love, and it has supported my efforts as a writer and performer.
And now it's in trouble. Because of debt incurred at the location it has since moved from, Wordsmiths is in danger of closing, and I want to keep the place open forever. Fundraising efforts are ongoing, and I would like it very much if you could help out a place that's becoming an important part of the Decatur and Atlanta communities.
View it anyway you like. Go to their website, and read about what's going on from the owner himself. Just help them out if you can. Pick your reasons. Please help.
Do it because good people need your help. Do it because you want another place where you can buy books. Because people who've helped me out now need help. Because a local, small business needs help. Because it's a cool place. Because you remember what the cool, small bookstore in your town used to be like. Because I've not written a book yet, and I want Wordsmiths to still be there for when I do or for when any of my friends do. Because the continued existence of mom-and-pop stores suggest the basic American dream can still survive. Do it because places built on optimism are places that need to stick around.
And thank you for your attention and help.
http://www.wordsmithsbooks.com |
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| Saying hello. |
[Aug. 6th, 2008|10:13 pm] |
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| How to win friends and influence people. |
[Jul. 26th, 2008|04:49 pm] |
Hey all,
I'm trying a different sort of project with my main blog, and I will not be reposting the same things here on LiveJournal.
Please, please, please check it out when you can.
Thanks,
Benj |
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| Things to do with a freeze ray. |
[Jul. 20th, 2008|05:50 pm] |
- Last night after my improv show, someone told me that there was a new Joss Whedon musical, which I thought incorrectly was some kind of stage show. No, instead it's a three-part video called DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG, that's available at the website until the end of the day and thereafter only available through iTunes, according to the "master plan" on the website. It's a comic-book plot with fun music starring Neil Patrick Harris as an evil genius and Nathan Fillion as a superhero in a really tight shirt, and I recommend it (and not just because of Fillion's nipples).
- Saw THE DARK KNIGHT. Absolutely amazing.
- A couple days ago, I was watching the trailer for WATCHMEN, a movie coming in March that's based upon the best graphic novel ever written. (TIME called the Alan Moore book one of the greatest novels ever written, a friend of mine called it "the CITIZEN KANE of comic books." Both assertations are correct.)
- Lupo tells me that I have to see MAMMA MIA! because it's just that awful, featuring the worst choreography he's ever seen in a musical. He compared it unfavorably to GREASE 2. Who wants to go with me???
- Emily just e-mailed me to ask if I knew about six-word stories, which paint a picture in spite of their lack of length. After finding this website, I wrote this one: Mother wept as the soldier knocked. THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENT: Write a six-word story in the comment section.
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| Movie Quiz (thank you, businesscasual) |
[Jul. 19th, 2008|04:47 pm] |
1. What movie have you seen the most times in the theater? How many times?
I believe I saw THE TRUMAN SHOW four or five times in the theater.
2. What was the last movie you walked out of in the theater?
RENT. Right after Idina Menzel mooned the camera.
3. What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
PINOCCHIO. I cried.
4. What is your favorite movie soundtrack?
MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING - which has the cool Ani DiFranco version of that Burt Bacharach song, "Wishin' and Hopin'."
5. Have you ever dressed up as a movie character for Halloween? If so, who?
Fred Astaire in TOP HAT.
6. What was the first R-rated movie you ever saw? Were you allowed or did you sneak?
SHARKY'S MACHINE. My parents took me.
7. Star Wars (orig. trilogy) or Lord of the Rings?
STAR WARS.
8. Pacino or De Niro?
De Niro.
9. Titanic...did it suck or was it great?
I really liked it.
10. What's your take on Cassavetes?
Have only seen him act, never seen his films.
11. Favorite John Hughes character?
Sam in SIXTEEN CANDLES.
12. What movie gives you a boner (or makes you tingle)?
Patrick Wilson in LITTLE CHILDREN. Billy Crudup in INVENTING THE ABBOTTS. Christian Bale in AMERICAN PSYCHO. Benno Furmann in THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR.
13. What movie always makes you cry like the big puss you are?
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY.
14. What's the furthest you've ever gotten in a movie theater? (i.e, second base...)
Kiss.
15. Speaking of sports metaphors, what's your favorite sports movie?
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN.
16. Favorite
(a)... teen movie?
DAZED AND CONFUSED.
(b)...Quentin Tarantino movie?
PULP FICTION.
(c)...Bill Murray movie?
RUSHMORE.
(d)...romantic comedy?
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY.
(e)...gangster movie?
THE GODFATHER
(f)...horror movie?
THE DESCENT or NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS
(g)...made for TV movie?
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, if miniseries count. If they don't, then THE POSITIVELY TRUE ADVENTURES OF THE ALLEGED TEXAS CHEERLEADER MURDERING MOM.
(h)...director?
Billy Wilder.
(i)...drug movie?
REEFER MADNESS: THE MOVIE MUSICAL.
17. What movie have you seen already but will never, ever, ever watch again?
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.
18. What movie are you embarrassed to really like?
SOAPDISH. I've memorized it.
19. What movie should be remade asap?
SPIDER-MAN 3. So that they can do it correctly.
20. What the F happened to (insert answer)? He used to be so damn funny!
Eddie Murphy.
21. For the love of everything that's sacred, please someone stop (insert answer) from making another movie!
Jason Biggs.
22. What movie do all your friends love but you think is whatevs?
I can't fucking stand NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.
23. What movie do you love but all your friends think is whatevs?
THE BEST OF YOUTH.
24. If you could hump/date/marry any movie character, who would it be?
Benno Furmann in THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR.
25. Best movie ever?
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY.
26. Book you wish would be made into a movie, and who would direct it?
THE SECRET HISTORY. Todd Field. |
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| Things to do in someone else's dreams. |
[Jul. 13th, 2008|06:25 pm] |
- My friend and improv cohort Jeremiah Prescott is the only person onstage in PushPush Theater's work-in-progress movieplay, INTERSECTION OF DREAMS, and I saw it on Tuesday. Good stuff. It's romantic, contains much dream logic but tells a clear, somewhat creepy story. It's very experimental, but I recommend it.
- I already have my tickets to THE DARK KNIGHT: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE. I'm going at the end of my shift on Friday to the Mall of Georgia IMAX theater. I can't tell you how excited I am to see this movie. I just hope that my expectations for it aren't too high. But I love Christopher Nolan, and I love BATMAN BEGINS.
- I started listening to Tom Perrotta's THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER audiobook at work. Its narrator is Campbell Scott, an actor that I've had a crush on since I saw DYING YOUNG in 1991. His voice is so smooth. Everyday at work, listening to him talk about a sex-ed teacher's difficulties in a right-wing, religious suburban community, Campbell's voice makes it all so soothing and right.
- The French trailer for TRANSPORTER 3 has been posted on YouTube, and Kacoon and I have already made plans to see it when it's released in November. (My first reaction to the trailer was, for the record, "Sweet Jesus, he's in his underwear!") Kacoon said that this one looks better than TRANSPORTER 2, and I agreed because it looks like it has more Jason Statham shirtlessness, a fight scene that requires the bad guys to strip a suit off the Transporter and a girl that looks like she's had at least one meal in the last two weeks.
- Lately, I've been listening to some Rilo Kiley, and I realize I'm late to the party on this one. But UNDER THE BLACKLIGHT is a good album.
- A couple weeks ago, I wanted to ride on the Ferris wheel that was at a roadside carnival on Jimmy Carter Boulevard, but friends of mine refused to join me at a roadside carnival for what would only be a 20-minute stay. I was just in the mood for some Tilt-a-Whirl action, you know, maybe some cotton candy or something like that. I was in the mood to put myself in danger. I wanted some thrills, twists and turns, something like a roller coaster. On Wednesday, though, I finally found someone who was willing to go on an amusement park ride with me: my two-year-old nephew DJ. He and I hopped on the Merry-Go-Round at the Mall of Georgia, and he had fun, even though I wouldn't let him have the black horse that he wanted because I was afraid he was going to fall off it and break his head open. Heck, even the horse I put him on managed to freak the hell out of me. DJ is this little, fragile kid I adore, and I was deathly afraid that something would go wrong. Even though he was strapped in safely, and nothing bad did happen. I can't believe people are ever able to relax about taking care of their own children. I was freaked out that my sister-in-law Samantha trusted me to put her child on such a ride, which went from being cute, quaint and fun - at a distance - to looking to me like a giant death trap while I put DJ on the horse. Parenthood must be like one long, sustained, paranoid panic attack. High praise to those of you who manage it. Once the ride ended and DJ was back safely on the ground, I felt better and realized that it was all fun. But, geez, that ride was scary. THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Do any carnival rides scare you? Have you ever had a bad experience on one?
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| Card in a drawer. |
[Jul. 7th, 2008|03:21 pm] |
A couple days ago, going through an old drawer of cards and Valentines, I think I found a holiday card sent to my mother from her Aunt Averial. (I always thought she had an "Aunt Averille" or "Aunt Avril," but, to trust the card, it's "Aunt Averial.")
My mom can't talk about her aunt without tearing up, but I always try asking about her. My mom's aunt, you see, was sent to an institution and lobotomized during the 1970s - I think - after having a nervous breakdown. But, to hear the stories from my mother, Averial wasn't crazy. She was smart, strong and a battered wife. Apparently, for speaking out against her husband or defying her husband or something like that, she was institutionalized. When she wouldn't comply with being locked away, her husband had the authorities there treat her "madness" by cutting off a portion of her brain so that her personality would subside, so that she would lose the supposed crazy defiance she had for being a strong, smart and independent woman trapped in a bad marriage.
I found out about this in an odd way. There were occasional mentions of Averial's lobotomy, none with too much explanation, but I got the most detailed descriptions of the story after I watched ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST and asked my mom if she's seen the movie in the theater. My mom tells me that she had to walk out of the theater while seeing it with my dad in 1975 because the ending - which, sorry to spoil it, features a creepy, creepy lobotomy - reminded her too much of what Averial had gone through.
While driving through Paulding on a trip there while my grandfather was in better shape than he is now, we drove past the "county institution," though it wasn't the one where Averial stayed. It was an earlier one, maybe from the 1920s. It was a dark, renovated shack - practically falling down. My grandfather pointed out the graveyard with no marked graves. He pointed out to me that, in the '20s, that's where parents were encouraged to send their children if they were retarded or disabled or such, for that was how mental health was treated in those days. It was horrifying, particularly for someone born disabled, for I often wonder how my life would've gone if I'd been born at a time when disabilities like mine - even ones as mild as mine - were treated with "care" that was a good deal more harsh.
Her name was spelled "Averial." As it happens in the family, her handwriting was almost exactly like my mother's. |
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| Things to do while I'm in suburbia for the summer. |
[Jul. 6th, 2008|04:26 pm] |
- Last night, I saw WANTED, the hilariously violent Angelina Jolie-James McAvoy assassin comic-book movie. Every friend of mine who'd already seen it (and, in some cases, seen it twice) said that it was the most crazy and satisfying "summer movie" they'd seen this summer. And it didn't disappoint. It was, in fact, a hell of a lot of fun, and the combination of seeing people getting shot in the head and getting to hear Morgan Freeman's crisp diction as he says "kill this motherfucker!" was worth the price of admission. Best action movie since IRON MAN.
- Granted, WANTED is no WALL-E, which is a masterpiece that's equal parts romance and sci-fi. I'm assuming that you've already been to the theater to see it. If you haven't, nothing should keep you from it.
- Meanwhile, at the Center for Puppetry Arts (Oh, come on, you knew I had to mention it ...), this nice couple I met at a party are staging this show called THE DRAGON KING, a Chinese fable about an old woman who travels to the bottom of the sea to find out why it's stopped raining in her country. The show's touring the country, and I always recommend stuff at the Center for Puppetry Arts. It runs through July 13.
- Dad's Garage has extended the run of the great SONG OF THE LIVING DEAD until July 19, so there's still a chance to catch musical numbers like "Why Are You Cornholing Me, Jesus?" at the theater. Highly recommended.
- Or, if you're me, you can go to the library to check your e-mail and find out that all sorts of interesting people have moved into your hometown since you graduated high school.
- I've been watching all sorts of TV on DVD lately. My copy of the first season of MAD MEN should, UPS-willing, arrive at my house tomorrow. Meanwhile, Netflix has allowed me the chance to become obsessed with this show called BURN NOTICE. SLINGS & ARROWS, before that, was fantastic. And I'm really enjoying the 1976-set trading-spouses drama SWINGTOWN on CBS.com. And, above everything else, did you see that mid-season ending of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA? Good Lord.
- As for books, I've now completed JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL after trying to read it for years. (Thank you, downloadable library audiobook!) I've also read my friend Emily Giffin's latest bestseller, LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH, and now I'm debating what to read next.
- I'm in Level Five of the improv classes at JaCKPie now, and my experience there has changed my life for the better. I highly recommend taking part in the new JaCKPie Level One class if you want to add some fun to your life and some positivity to your existence. The new Level One will be on Thursday nights, beginning within two weeks. You can sign up for it at JaCKPie.com, and I strongly suggest that you do so.
- As for this list coming back, I thought it would be a way to get me writing regularly and paying attention to what's new in art again. Plus, I thought it might drum up some readership. (I'm a whore.) Actually, I thought it'd be nice to drum up topics of conversation again. THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: So what's the most fun thing you've done this summer? What movies, books, TV, stage shows and music have you enjoyed lately?
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| Odd encounter. |
[Jun. 13th, 2008|05:18 pm] |
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At 3 a.m. last night, I walked the Buford town circle. A homeless prostitute approached and propositioned me. We were once in school together. I did not get a "favor." I did not buy her food. She left me at the circle, and I finished my walk and went home. |
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| From the library. |
[Jun. 2nd, 2008|05:29 pm] |
I was gonna head to the garage to get my oil changed since it's my day off, but a call to the bank to check on my balance tells me that maybe it'd be better to do that sort of thing on Friday, when I get paid and have money. I was also gonna avoid hanging out at my mom's house tonight - since I finished the cheesy, underwhelming ending of TWILIGHT, that teen vampire romance novel that I was reading - but it looks like I'd be better off staying in and saving some funds. I've got a DVD of THE SEARCHERS to watch on my computer, and I've already picked up the vampire romance's sequel.
But now I'm at the Buford Library, which is now more like a Buford community computer lab that just happens to still have some books, and I figured I could spend some time outside the house here without spending money. To my surprise, they have comics here now, so I picked up BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Also, since I've been watching SLINGS AND ARROWS on Netflix, I assume that I should get around to reading KING LEAR before they start performing KING LEAR in Season Three, for enjoyment of that show deepens so much when you know about the plays the Canadian troupe is performing. (Don't gasp. I've never read KING LEAR, even though my copy of it is in storage.)
So I grabbed one of the computers here, checked my e-mail and have 13 minutes left on my time before the vultures start circling. So I figured I would post a blog from the library, for it's always usually interesting to do that when I'm in Buford.
Except now, until at least July 15, it looks like I'm going to live in Buford again.
Even though the circumstances aren't nearly as bad as I suppose they could be, Buford still sucks. |
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| Don't change your plans. |
[Jun. 1st, 2008|10:30 pm] |
So last night, a friend of mine told me to meet him at the bookstore so that we could go see IRON MAN. He knew I'd seen it already, but he wanted me there because he thought it'd be more entertaining to spend the evening with me than to be alone.
At 9:15, I showed up at the bookstore as discussed, and he wasn't there. By 10:15, he still was not there.
I left a couple texts, placed a couple more phone calls and then headed to Relapse Theatre, where I'd intended to go before my friend suggested that I change my plans to hang out with him.
The Relapse gang, who had seen me earlier in the week when I'd been forced to vacate my apartment and move in with my mom temporarily, asked me if my week had gotten any better.
I told the gang that, on Tuesday, I was supposed to have wine with someone, but that person forgot. And I told them that a different friend asked me to a movie but didn't show up.
Most of the people said, "Oh, sorry," then looked sideways - trying to find someone to change the subject.
At one point, they tried to suggest that maybe something had happened to my absentee friend.
"Yeah," I said brightly, "maybe he's dead or something."
"Um," a Relapse friend said.
"No, it's OK," I said. "If he's dead, it's probably from a drug overdose, so he probably died happy. You know, one of those moments of pure bliss where it's great up until the moment you realize that you're not breathing."
The Relapse friend was still optimistic.
"I bet death is like that for everyone, not just drug addicts," he said. "You know, like, you get the moment of pure bliss right before you go ..."
"You think so?" I asked. "I always thought my death would be kinda horribly painful."
"Really?"
"Yeah," I said, "I think I'd be screaming right up until I hit the pavement."
Only one person laughed.
The absentee friend sent me a text at 3:30 in the morning, saying that he'd fallen asleep when we were supposed to meet at 9:15. |
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| If you don't like the weather in Atlanta, wait five minutes. |
[May. 30th, 2008|11:23 pm] |
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Where did all that earned hope and self-esteem I have go? I swear to you, it was just here, like, a minute ago. |
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| SATC. |
[May. 30th, 2008|04:04 pm] |
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The best part of the SEX AND THE CITY movie is when Charlotte's little Asian daughter gets eaten by a bear at the Bronx zoo. And Charlotte starts screaming, like cursing the heavens, and it's too late. And blood splashes and hits Carrie in the face. I was NOT expecting that. |
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| I heart Sami. |
[May. 28th, 2008|09:30 pm] |
Is it horrible that I want to go to the Rite Aid Health and Beauty Expo at Cobb Galleria next week ONLY because Alison Sweeney from DAYS OF OUR LIVES is supposed to be there?
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| Opening night. |
[May. 14th, 2008|11:07 pm] |
This has been the most amazing experience. It was great to see and experience not just THE AMBER NASH SHOW, but several of the pieces that I wrote for the parking lot come alive.
People laughed in all the right places.
And, hilariously, this also happened.
Thank you, Matt. I didn't know it was possible for my night to be any better, but you just made my night better.
And, in college, I liked you, too.
Oh wait, my night just got even better. |
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| BOYS BEWARE. |
[May. 7th, 2008|03:35 am] |
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| Please come to XPT. May 15-18. |
[May. 2nd, 2008|07:00 am] |
Hello friend/acquaintance/family member/former boyfriend/co-worker/person too nice to delete this without reading it:
I wrote a script. I've been talking about writing a script since I was 8, and I wrote one. It's become a 10-minute puppet show.
It's called "The Fourth Season Premiere of THE AMBER NASH SHOW." Amber Nash is in it. Amber Nash is cool.
It also has a wicked awesome theme song and costumes and puppets. It's part of every night of 2008's XPT: XPERIMENTAL PUPPETRY THEATER. XPT is a whole night's program of puppet shows. It's going on from May 15-18. It's at the Center for Puppetry Arts. XPT is fun. In fact, XPT is a lot of fun. (Seriously, if you who read about puppet shows on my blog, it shouldn't surprise you that I love XPT. I'm thrilled to be a contributor to it this year.)
I recommend it to people who like me, like my writing, like wicked cool theme songs, like sitcoms, like parodies, like puppets, like art, like Amber Nash, like costumes, like 10-minute skits, like theater, like XPT or like the Center for Puppetry Arts. Heck, come see it if you live in the Atlanta area or are willing to travel.
I'm treating this like it's a big deal because I want this to be a big deal, which I've found is the best way to make something a big deal. So bring some friends. Come say hi.
Come early to XPT, and enjoy some puppet shows in your car in the parking lot. I wrote some of those, too, and really, really talented people are involved in all the shows.
Tickets are available here: http://puppet.org/perform/xpt08.shtml
Thanks,
Benj |
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rileymccarthy's journal
