I recently got the documentary Dark Days from InternetFlicks, and I wanted to share it with you. It tells the story of a few of the people who live in the abandoned train tunnels underneath New York City, and it’s absolutely one of the most gripping, heartfelt and memorable documentaries I’ve ever seen. I recommend it whole-heartedly.
Here’s a clip of the first ten minutes of the film.
You’re probably lucky that I wasn’t able to find a link to the complete movie online, because otherwise you’d have sat here and watched the entire movie, because it’s so compelling and unusual.
As a bonus, the music (composed by DJ Shadow) is particularly excellent. In fact, some of it may even sound familiar to you if you’re a regular listener to the radio show This American Life.
I just got tagged by Carolina to reveal six random things about myself. You may be surprised to find out that I’ve never been tagged in one of these things before, so I’m rapidly trying to think of what I can write about, since I usually have something in mind before I ever start writing.
Okay, here goes.
NUMBER ONE:
I love Bach’s organ music. I mean LOVE IT love it. If I could marry it, I would. I love it so much that if it’s playing, I can’t do anything else because I get absolutely sucked in by its perfect structure and beauty. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. E. Power Biggs playing “The Jig.”
One of my favorite memories of my dad (How many times do you hear me say THAT?) is when the two of us were attempting to play this particular piece on a beautiful pipe organ in Ellensburg, Washington. I was sitting on the bench, playing the manuals (that’s organ terminology for keyboards) and my dad was on his hands and knees underneath the bench, playing the pedals with his fists. It was hilarious and touching, even moreso when I think about it now. I’ll never forget that moment.
NUMBER TWO:
Speaking of Number Two, I find it absolutely repulsive to have to listen to someone go Number Two in the bathroom (I’m thinking of the bathroom at work, by the way), especially since most guys are notoriously disgusting and loud when it comes to this particular activity. I’m so disgusted by it that if there’s someone else already in the bathroom when I walk in, I’ve been known to go downstairs so that I don’t have to listen to that happening. I mean, really. The sound, the smell, everything. Ewww. And if they’re sitting there tapping away on their cell phones, that grosses me out even more, because I imagine them wiping their asses and then grabbing their phones before they get the chance to wash their hands again. NASTY. I hope no one ever has to borrow their phones for any reason.
NUMBER THREE:
I used to have two mullets. No, not at the same time, but consecutively. I liked them so much that I grew one out until it got all scraggly, and then I cut it off and grew another one, which was only a slight improvement over the previous one. Here’s a picture of the first one, in progress, in 1988. . .
. . .and here’s a picture of the second one, in full effect, not long before it got cut (THANK GOD) in 1995:
I know; I was hot.
NUMBER FOUR:
The longest time that I’ve ever dated someone was five years (on again/off again). The shortest time was three days. Does that count as two things? I don’t know, but I’m counting it as one two-part answer to one two-part question.
NUMBER FIVE:
I have no tattoos or piercings of any kind. I used to have my left ear pierced, around the time of Mullet Number One, but I only wore an earring in it for about a year, and I haven’t worn one since then, so the hole has long since closed up. No, I don’t have any pictures of that.
NUMBER SIX:
I’ve made more money playing the accordion than any of the other instruments I play. It’s paid for itself many times over. The cello is in second place, then probably the electric guitar.
NUMBER SEVEN:
There is NO Number Seven. Thank you.
So, which six people would I like to tag and to see respond to this in kind on their own blogs?
Thank you to Carolina for including me in this, thank you to YOU for reading, and thank you six participants (or anyone else who wishes to) for lending your metaphorical voices to this endeavor.
I came across this song in my iTunes this morning. The only title is “Track 03”, with no artist name, so it looks as if someone gave it to me directly, or it’s from a compilation CD or something.
It’s a cool blend of swirly piano, trashy drum machine, accordion, and guitars, both acoustic and electric. Guy singer. I have a feeling that it could very well be a Portland band. Once you hear it, you’ll see why I like it so much. It sounds a bit like a cross between Guster and really early Jellyfish (I was gonna say Beatnik Beatch, but hardly anyone knows who they are), with a dash of the Shins for good measure. Seriously. It’s really good. Have a listen:
Back in the early 1990’s, maybe it was even 1990, there was a show on TV called Get a Life. It was hilarious and dumb and strange and puerile (I sense a new blog coming on. . .!), but most of all it was brilliant, or at least I thought it was at the time. It was actually rather hit-and-miss, but the ‘hit’ moments were priceless. Here are two of them, “Zoo Animals on Wheels”. . .
. . .and “The Handsome Boy Modeling School.” This is part one of three, by the way. If you’re interested, you can search for the next two.
You may or may not recognize HBMS as the name of a hip hop project put together by Dan the Automator. Here’s one of the best songs. . .no video, unfortunately, but at least you can hear the song.
It was nice to finally track down “Get a Life” again. I think my friend Dave and I were the only people in the United States who watched that show, let alone enjoyed it. So may I propose a toast to the show’s creator, Chris Elliott, who was (and presumably still is) a slightly odd comic genius, and whose show was very much ahead of its time.
Given the title of this entry, you might think that paranormal forces have been making their presence known to me, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Sorry for my busy-ness and un-bloggishness lately. Between DoctorLove being in town and Mom ‘n’ Stepdad staying with me, I’ve had precious little time for anything writing-related. Suffice it to say that the weekend went well in every respect.
DoctorLove and I met on Thursday and walked around all the little shops on Hawthorne, talking and looking for gifts for her family and for her guy, after which we came back here for dinner. J came over as well, and I cooked dinner for the three of us. . .tomato and avocado salad, with a main course of those mushrooms cooked in garlic and red wine that are absolutely to die for. And some good bread on the side. Nice. We talked and laughed and caught up.
Mom ‘n’ Stepdad were good. As you know, my mom occasionally reads my blog, but the visit was really nice. Once they were settled in, and getting ready for bed and everything, I grabbed my cello and drove over to the party in DoctorLove’s honor. A handful of the partygoers were musicians, one of whom is an excellent flamenco guitarist, so we had fun playing tricky flamenco songs (tricky for me, anyway!) until a second acoustic guitarist arrived, and then we bashed our way through a bunch of old Metallica songs, which sounded hilarious and incredibly good simultaneously, particularly the song Welcome Home (Sanitarium). Here are some pictures from the night. If only there were recordings too. Le Sigh.
A good time was had by all, and I didn’t go home until around 1:30 a.m.
The next day was spent in pretty much constant motion, from making breakfast, to driving my parents around, to shopping at multiple places, to cleaning up and fixing some broken or leaky or clogged things in my apartment (extra super ultra-mega-thanks to them for that!). . .it was just completely exhausting. I think I went to bed at 9:30 or something ridiculous like that.
Sunday came bright and early, and my mom had some specific presents she wanted to buy, so we headed to Hawthorne (my second time in three days) and got what we needed. Came back, ate lunch, and then they hit the road. I collapsed on my bed for a while, and was supposed to meet RockShowGirl, but I was beat and she was sick, so we talked on the phone instead, and planned to have dinner the next day, which, incidentally, we did. That was yesterday.
Tonight Breanna and I are starting the recording process for her second CD. This is very exciting, because I’m actually producing this one, instead of just playing on it like I did on her first one.
I need to get back to work now, but I did want to let you know that I’m alive, and well. Just super busy, that’s all. I know, I know. . .the thing about having one’s own blog is that one needs to write in it more than once every five days. Heh. Thanks for sticking around.
