Saturday, April 15, 2006
Who Knew?
Find your own pose!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
That Stock I Bought Finally Pays Off
This just in...another cow has sacrificed his life so that you all can have a few more hamburgers and I can pay the bill for that wireless mic I bought recently. The proceeds from the bovine sale arrived in the mail today, and to congratulate myself on weathering another year in the cattle business, I immediately ordered a copy of Forty Guns, one of my all-time favorite westerns. I first saw this movie at the Pacific Film Archive a few years ago on what I will probably always remember as THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER.
At the time of THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER, the film wasn’t available on DVD or even VHS, so seeing it on the big screen was a highly anticipated treat for me, one that I figured few others could really appreciate or, at the very least, would be willing to endure. I was surprised, though, by how easy it was to convince several of my friends to attend (despite being huge freaks, they’re all pretty good-hearted). They didn’t care so much that Forty Guns stars Barbara Stanwyck, but they all seemed pretty agreeable once I told them it was originally given the salacious title “Woman with a Whip” and features men in bathtubs singing “woman with a whip” as part of the opening sequence. After that I barely had to heap on any “but it’s my birthday” guilt at all.
Once we had absorbed every glorious second of the movie from the front row, I immediately felt panicked that I might not ever see it again (just like before VHS!). This undoubtedly fed my determination to savor THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER even more, so I hope that when the DVD arrives it’s as good as I remember. I don’t think, though, that it was just me who loved it so much. Dick, who happened to be visiting from Sweden at the time, has never been the same since.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Evany's Book is Here!
I used to think Evany Thomas was the funniest, cleverest cream puff I’d ever met, but that was before she forced me--one hot summer day a couple years ago-- to march over a hill that was so steep I swear it looked just like a big humped-up brontosaurus crapping in silhouette against the day’s cartoon-blue sky (and it just so happened we were approaching turd side). Our legs and lungs were already burning from the first few hours of the hike, and it would have been pretty easy to walk around this hill, but it turns out that Evany Thomas (and I use her full name here because that’s the way she leaves it on my answering machine, I guess in fear that I might confuse her with some other Evany) is the type of person who has to climb the mountain just because it is there. Late last year, she wrote her first book, The Secret Language of Sleep: A Couple’s Guide to the Thirty-Nine Positions, which is both clever AND funny, and arriving in stores as I type this! I’ll let you decide if it’s creamy and/or puffy, but I am certain you’ll want one. I don’t need to threaten you or anything, right?
Monday, April 10, 2006
How to Recognize a Celtic King
I bought a new HDV camera last month and have been spending most of my free time learning how to use it. My big problem, though, is that every few days it seems I discover I need to order an additional piece of equipment, or an adapter, or some new cable if I’m going “to get the most” out of my new picture takin’ machine. It turns out this film-making thing is a lot more expensive than last year’s firearms hobby, but still cheaper than high fashion. Anyway, once our friendly UPS man delivers a new package, I run experiments to make sure I understand how my new stuff works with the camera. But doing science by yourself is hard, so I occasionally must roust Pat to help me. In this Quicktime 7 clip, I was testing the wireless lavalier. I still have much to learn, but I"m happy with the way things are looking and sounding.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Blocksburg Book Featured in Quarterly
It’s not like any decent person would ever write a bad review of a poor lil’ ol’ local history book, but everyone who worked on Children from Our One-Room Schools was pleased with the nice write-up the Humboldt Historical Society gave the book in the recent edition of its quarterly magazine. It looks like the folks up there have put the review on their website, so I thought I’d share.
Oh, Wichita! Oh, Internet!
Look out, everyone: I am currently experiencing warm feelings about the Internet again (somebody help me). A few days ago I discovered 5 Minutes with Wichita, a bite-size podcast by Wichita Rutherford. He interviews bluegrass stars and, for some reason, occasionally NASCAR driver Jr. Johnson. Now, despite what you may think you know about me, I am not that familiar with bluegrass or NASCAR, but here I sit, downloading and listening to file after file. It’s kind of hard to describe the show, but it’s sort of like Space Ghost Coast to Coast meets Hee-Haw meets Groucho Marks’ You Bet Your Life. If you’re going to sample just one episode of 5 Minutes with Wichita, may I suggest the interview with Rob McCoury of the Del McCoury Band? I swear it’s worth it.
