M's Place

Chateau Les Buzzy

Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jig.

Home now (at least what suffices for "home" these days) hanging at M's and plundering her Itunes.

I'm playing Modest Mouse's "Polar Opposites" for the umpteenth time:

I'm trying
I'm trying to
drink away the part o' the day
I cannot sleep awayee!

Gives you that warm happy, glad to be alive feeling. Witness: http://darkcorner.net/concerts/mm/mp3/03-Polar%20Opposites.mp3

Eskimo Art

This is a photo taken by M's friend, Makoto.

Okay, its been somewhat enhanced, but the raw materials are his.

The eskimos say that you can look at a piece of rock or wood and, if you look closely enough, you can see the inner essence waiting to be freed.

This is kind of like that.

I am the Eskimo and his photos, the wood.

Texas Hold 'Em & the Long Island Blues

Played cards last night at a friend's place and, while it was mildly fun, it wasn't way big fun.

Why? Well, first of all, everone's gotta play tournament style now-a-days. Its gotta be Texas and its gotta be tournament style. This means you're in it for the long haul, and, depending on the company, it can be kinda tedious.

Plus the house rules for this particular game were a little funky. Money paid to 1st thru 4th place, which takes away a lot of incentive -and- the blinds went up every round, which is fine in the early goings on, but in heads-up play becomes quickly cumbersome. Blah blah blah.

Yes, I realize this may be somewhat tedious for you non-cardplayers but one of the lovely things about having a blog is the ability to whine or pontificate upon any given topic, ad nauseum.

Don't like it?

Send your moneyback requests to:

Bite Me
1234 Up Yours Lane
Phoenix, AZ 123456

So there I was sitting on a commanding chip lead in heads-up play -but- due to an extremely progressive blind was knocked out after only two hands. So I finished 2nd place and won a whopping $20. Whoopee. Plus I had to witness the amateur version of "Sports Talk" for the duration.

Yes, the progressive blinds are there to speed up play, but then... aw, skip it!

You want to know the real reason I'm bitching? The real reason I'm bitching is because it was boring. BO-O-O-O RI-I-I-ING!

Sure, we're all there to hang out and shoot the breeze, but how long can you sit around and hash over the same mundane crap?

- I thought he came around on the pitch.

- Yeah, but did he break his wrists?

- Guys, there are actually two criteria. The wrists is one. Whether or not the bat went past the front of the plate is the other.

- But the picture clearly shows...

- But is it a picture of the same play?!

Apparently, you can do this for hours. Fascinating stuff.

I never thought I'd pine away for any part of Long Island, but. Those guys knew how to have fun. We'd drink beer, smoke cigarettes and talk about whatever random stuff came up (okay, yeah, we talked about more than our fair shair of acting junk - go figure, a bunch of actors! - but still).

We'd mix it up, play into the wee hours -and- lo and behold, it was... FUN! Sometimes, we'd even go out to breakfast after. Here's to you, all my homeys back on Cell Block C!*

*All apologies to Kid Rock, and, no, it wasn't really prison but L.I. does have a certain, closed-in, impending violence kind of charm. : )

To my former brothers-in-arms:

The impeccable Antoine Jones! The creepy-but-endearing Tim Gillespie! And last, but certainly not least, the lovable man-child, Josh!

I love you guys and hope you are doing well. Or, at the very least, surviving.

(sigh).

So where was I? Oh yeah, cards.

Who the "F" pays out to 4th place with 8 guys playing!

The Beginning of a Great Adventure.

Worked hard today. Or got worked. Not sure which, really. Felt like the veritable Dutch boy with his fingers in the dyke.

there's an entendre there but I'll leave it alone for now

And now I feel... what? Sleepy? Numb, perhaps? Not sure.

I do know I don't sit up straight as I should.

Don't want to become the human question mark, after all. And breathing is easier and deeper when upright. More connected. Shockras and such.

Or is it Mothras? (godzilla reference).

Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my sould to keep.

And speaking of Mothers (mother, mothra, whatever) I've just returned from rescuing mine.

Okay, I didn't exactly rescue her but she did break down - her car, at least. And I didn't fix her car but I did go to meet her at the mechanics. And I didn't give her the money to fix it but I did lend it to her.

Yes, I know, a good son would've just given the money. Unfortunately, I am not that son. Currently, I am broke (a fact which I did not reveal) and, in fact, will have to go into overdraft to cover the payment. Alack.

This after the day from Hell and I am feeling even more pep in my step! Yeah!

I was going to write about the Fam the next time I signed on, but since that time is now and since I am feeling a bit wistful... I think I'll just skip it for now.

"Lou, Lou, Lou - it's the beginning of a great adventure."
- Lou Reed

Strange Days Indeed...

Sitting at home now - around 8 o'clock on a Saturday night - listening to Whitey Ford and waiting for the call from Longhair. Me, him and MJ are supposed to meet after dinner to do the town. Swingin' single stuff.

Okay, I'm not exactly single, but then I'm not married, either. Just let me keep my illusions for now, okay?

Anyway, I just got off the phone with M, who I've been spending quite a bit of time with lately. More on that in a bit. In the meantime...

As we were talking I was scrolling through my email and was disturbed to find one of my teachers had passed away - John Peck of the American Academy in Los Angeles - a true gentleman and excellent vocal teacher. I didn't know him all that well but true teachers are rare and he was a good one. Peace to you, Mr. Peck, wherever you are now.

So, yeah, I apologize for my lack of activity on the blog but I've been gone the last few weekends (my best time to write) and then I had some technical problems with the site. Anywho...

Update: Crazy Naked Man is back on the scene. I am of course referring to M's neighbor, J, who took a naked stroll 'round the neighborhood and was carted off for his troubles.

Supposedly, he was committed, but we couldn't help but notice his recent presence again at the apartment complex. That and a highlighted bible passage left on M's doorstep. So we got that goin' for us. Which is nice.

I'd go into greater detail but I think I'll wait until the situation is better resolved. In the meantime, you may want to call ahead before just "stopping by". Word to your mother.

So yeah, Cinco de Chicago was quite nice. Got to see the Fam, hang with the Kid (my sister), the Kid II (her daughter - oh, and did I mention I am an uncle? Yes I am! Strange days indeed), D.O.D. (a.k.a. Dear Old Dad) and "Mommy" (dad's pet name for his girlfriend of 25 years).

No this is not a sitcom.

And, yes, "Mommy" sounds kinda creepy. But, it's supposed to be done for humorous effect, and, as with other of D.O.D.'s eccentricities, we just smile and nod.

Smoked and drank way too much, but when in Rome, right? Also got to see an art opening by one of Dad's coworkers, Al*

* I should mention the hardware store Dad manages is somewhat atypical. They seem to hire more than their fair shair of musicians, artists, punks or anyone ever-so-slightly out of the norm. Picture the guys working for John Cusack in High Fidelity, only they work in a hardware store. Blah blah blah.

Al, for instance, is a soft-spoken, slightly neurotic, and very talented artist. (Although, now that I think of it, neurosis and Art are pretty much inclusive). His show included several different wood block prints done in the japanese style - on kites no less - and one piece included several little card-sized kites, all in rows and columns, with a cicadas imprinted on each. This looked really cool but must've been a bitch to hang with all of the little kite strings trailing behind, looking like a comet's tail .

There was also a nice three-tone piece done of his significant other, E (whom he should not marry unless he is completely without any doubts! Any whatsover! Ahem. Moving right along...).

There's plenty more to say about the Fam, but its about time to head out for tonight.

Until later, dudes.

Clothing Optional - Part 1

Just got back from Ten Thousand Waves, all you dudes and dudettes out there, and while the drive was a killer (about 8 or 9 hours from Phoenix to Santa Fe) it was sofa king cool!

For those who are unaware (or simply to lazy to click on the link above) Ten Thousand Waves is an all inclusive, japanese style spa. They offer all kinds of treatments, massages, etc. and also feature several hot tubs, saunas and cold dunks - all in the the open air.

Our first night, shortly after check in to Silver Moon, M and I enjoyed a private tub under the stars:

To be honest, at this point I was thinking to myself, "self - this is quite nice with the stars and all, but did we need to drive for a day and pay several hundreds of dollars to to sit in this particular hot tub?" I received my answer on the very next day.

Before continuing, I should mention that a part of the spa is.... (dramatic pause) clothing optional.

Now, of course the whole thing is very proper, with a specified area and certain rules... but, well, naked in front of strangers is still naked, regardless of how genteel your surroundings may be.

More later.