Friday, January 30, 2004

Cell Phones (continued)

My sister Sherea had a great response to my cell phone rant yesterday:

"How about the time I was at Burger King in line during my very limited lunch break and this guy couldn't get off of his cell phone long enough to place his combo meal order! Or what gets me is the "hands free" set ups.....I'm working at St. Nicks and this lady comes up to check out, I say hello to her and ask how she's doing....she starts talking somewhat randomly and by the timing I think this is her response (very odd!) and then I realize she's on the cell phone talking to someone (her mother I think) and not even paying attention to the live people right in front of her. Then she asks a question, I didn't realize it was for me for a minute, so then she's trying to carry on two separate conversations at the same time! It was just awful! I so badly wanted to say why don't you call her back after the five minutes it will take for us to finish your transaction....she never got off the phone. My "thank you and have a nice day" was responded to with, "Uh huh, well I know, because that's how she is" or something to that effect.

I think that cell phones are just another contributor to the impersonal and rude behavior that is perpetuated by today's technology. People are more comfortable "chatting" with a stranger online than they are speaking to a family member or a friend face to face. It's ridiculous....convenient yes....but ridiculous!"

Thursday, January 29, 2004

Cell Phones

I'm sick of cell phones. Actually, cell phones are great. I'm sick of people who use cell phones, or rather people who have their cell phone permanently attached to the side of their heads 24/7. It's ridiculous. Who are they talking to?! I only know a handful of people that I would want to talk with on the phone at all, and yet there are apparently a lot of people who really need to keep in touch at all times.

The worst are people who try to drive and talk on the phone at the same time. That is chronic here in Los Angeles. What is so important that it can't wait until the person is safely at home or the office?

What are they talking about? "Ok, now I'm on Beverly Blvd. I'm about to make a left turn. There's a lot of traffic today. Yeah, even more than when I last talked with you, five minutes ago. OK, the light's just turned red. I'm going to speed up now."

I just don't get it.

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Cool Party

Had fun at a party last night. A former co-worker recently moved into my neighborhood and he called yesterday afternoon to invite me to a little get-together at the new digs.

It was designed to be a "pot luck" but I didn't know what to bring so I ordered a pizza and picked it up on the way. I felt kind of cheap doing that, but boy was it a good idea. Instantly I was everybody's friend!

Mark lives with two young ladies and they are very cute and charming. I was quite a bit older than most of the people there, but I didn't mind it. It was fun to joke and laugh with them and to watch them play and flirt with each other, and with me. I am not at all the partying type and I usually avoid gatherings of strangers, but last night I felt very much at ease.

The apartment is really cool, built a hundred years ago Mark said, and they have a roof-top patio with decent views of the Hollywood hills. The patio was definitely the cool place to hang out, and the weather cooperated beautifully. There are some times when it's really fun to live in Hollywood.

The party carried on for several hours, with much imbibing of various intoxicants. I find myself in a funny frame of mind in such circumstances when it becomes clear to me that everyone is speaking and acting from their subconscious. Physical barriers relax and our behavior reveals our inner thoughts. Luckily, everyone there was thinking happy, frisky things.

Eventually I reached my fill of frolicking and excused myself to walk home, pausing for several warm hugs on the way out. It was a lovely party and Mark told me his sweet roommates had made an executive decision that I needed to come over more often! Delightful.

Strolling home past Melrose I was flattered again by a black man in a small SUV who pulled up toward the curb and asked for "directions." In honor of dear Stennie, here is the Actual Conversation:

Guy: Hey, you know where's Santa Monica?
Me: Excuse me?
Guy: You know which way to Santa Monica? (meaning the Blvd - the gay pick up zone)
Me: (thinking for a moment, then pointing north) That way.
Guy: (disappointed) OK.

He turns his car around, then calls to me again.

Guy: Hey, you like to get high?
Me: (smiling) Uh, no thanks, man.
Guy: Oh, too bad. 'Cause you look GOOD!
Me: (chuckling) Thanks. You do too.

Scene.

That was a nice capper to the evening. I enjoyed the attention I received all night, and as tempting as some of the prospects were, I felt completely comfortable leaving alone.

It's great to feel attractive (especially so soon after the "German Rejection"), but I was satisfied to spend a pleasant evening with some sweet and cute young people and I look forward to the next occasion.

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Frenzy

Dammit, I missed "Celebrity Mole"!! Oh well, I went to see Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy instead. It's one of Hitch's last movies and it's by far his most graphically violent and sexual, maybe the only Hitchcock film to feature exposed breasts. Sweet!

Hadn't seen the film in at least 10 or 15 years, so it felt like watching it for the first time. It's so disturbingly violent, and yet hilariously funny at the same time. The audience was rolling with laughter throughout. And the humor is quite morbid and dark, as well. This film shows Hitchcock's English sensibilities more than any other, I think. Not surprising, since he returned to London to film the story and he used an all English cast. Great actors, great writing. Really good movie.

Monday, January 19, 2004

Nostalgia

I've become obsessed with the past. Not just "the" past, but specifically my past. It's a strange thing. I don't quite understand it. I've been on an oldies kick the past few weeks since I started compiling a collection of favorite pop songs from the 1980s. I thought this wave of nostalgia had been inspired perhaps by Christmas, since that's usually a time when memories of old get stirred up. But now I realize this started earlier.

A couple of months ago, I went to see Rebel Without A Cause in Hollywood and it got me thinking about James Dean and what a huge fan I was as a teenager. I used to dress like him, talk like him; I wanted to emulate him as much as possible. I fancied myself as an actor in those days so who better to serve as an actor's role model? Well, Brando was the other choice!

Before both of them, my great adolescent hero was Cary Grant. I've been dreaming of him and those days this weekend since it is the 100th anniversary of his birth. What a great character he was. Again, I tried to copy his every move and expression into my personal vocabulary. I watched a couple Cary Grant movies this weekend to celebrate.

Of course my all-time best role model as a little kid was Mister Rogers, who passed away early last year. His death was so upsetting to me, surprisingly so. I really felt like part of me had died with him. He had a profound influence on my life, not just in the words of wisdom and self-esteem that he is so famously revered for, but also for his persona and his tastes. Listening to some piano jazz this evening made me realize that the music on Mister Rogers was perhaps the first jazz music I had heard. No wonder I love cheesy cocktail music so much! I received a little Mister Rogers quote book in my stocking this year. It's been quite fun and meaningful to browse through it.

When I was at the movie store deciding which Cary Grant movie to buy, I came across a couple of my favorites as a kid that I thought had gone out of print since 9/11. First was The Towering Inferno, which features a whole slew of megastars. At the time I was morbidly fascinated by the death and destruction portrayed in that film. It doesn't intrigue me much now, having seen the real thing on TV, but I did feel pangs of nostalgia holding that movie in my hands. I didn't buy it though.

The other one I wanted to buy, but resisted, was the 1976 remake of King Kong, or "the Jessica Lange version" as I've come to call it. I loved that film when I was a kid. I was fascinated by the story, especially the violent ending atop the World Trade Center towers. Those towers were so mysterious and mesmerizing to me. Ironically, that film is now an historical document. I'll probably add it to the collection eventually just for that reason.

Another movie from my youth that I've wanted to see was Frank Langella's version of Dracula from 1979. I loved horror movies back then, obviously, and this one was a favorite. I've been eager to see it again ever since I started reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. I haven't finished the book yet, though it's been a lot of fun to read, and I hope to watch the Langella film again as soon as I finish. I loved Laurence Olivier's Van Helsing in that film. I picture him a lot as I'm reading the original story.

I saw Ridley Scott's Alien a month or two ago and that was another revisit to the past. Also Randy and Heather kindly rented me All Creatures Great and Small a few weeks ago from Netflix. I adored that show as a teenager.

At the video store, I held in my hands so many DVDs of movies I loved as a kid. It took me forever to choose a Cary Grant movie to buy since I knew all of them well, but I had a limited budget to work with. I resisted the temptation to overspend and I put back more than I ended up buying. It was nice to feel that connection with my younger self, if only for a few moments, but I knew repeating something would never be as special as experiencing it the first time.

When I started writing this, I felt a little worried about my recent obsessions over the past. Now I'm not so concerned. I'm not sure if this is just me going through a stage (early midlife crisis?!) or if it's something in the air. In a sense I'm trying to recreate my youth. I guess my life, and the world, is so uncertain these days that one naturally longs for the familiar episodes of the past.

It's nice to relive the glory days every now and again. Then we must put away childish things and keep moving forward. Those "childish things" are symbols, artifacts. They are not memories. They serve as a security blanket to keep us warm in a cold, cold world.

Sunday, January 18, 2004

Happy 100th Birthday!

Today, January 18, 2004 we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Archibald Alec Leach. “Who?!” you may ask. Young Mr. Leach or “Archie” as he was known was the only child born to lower-middle class parents in Bristol, England. Though his family’s resources were meager, young Archie’s mother treated him like a prince, always dressing him in the finest clothes and sending him to piano lessons and a private preparatory school. Archie soon learned to be independent, however, when his parents’ strained marriage hit its breaking point and Archie’s mother abandoned the family. Although Archie was told that his mother had gone away to a seaside resort to rest, in fact she had been institutionalized and Archie would neither know the truth nor see his mother again for the next twenty years.

Archie’s morose, alcoholic father withdrew from the boy and Archie was left to fend for himself, making his own meals and getting himself to school on time, though he was often sent to the headmaster’s office for his relentless prankishness. A kindhearted school mentor helped Archie land a job as an assistant at a local theater and Archie immediately fell in love with the stage. The homeless boy had now found a home and because of his good looks and athletic build the 13-year-old soon joined Bob Pender’s Troupe of acrobatic boys as a tumbler, stilt-walker, and mime. When the Pender troupe toured America in the early 1920s, Archie Leach became fascinated by the land of opportunity and stayed behind in New York instead of returning home to England.

Archie found work in the vaudeville circuit as a juggler, a unicycle rider, and as a straight man for comedians. He tried to be a singer and auditioned for the new operetta being produced by Broadway’s legendary Hammerstein family. This success led to more work on Broadway and after several years, Archie had a promising career in theater, earning between $300 and $450 per week! However, the allure of Hollywood soon caught the attention of the young actor and he decided to take his chances in the land of sunny beaches and blue skies.

A few screen tests later, with mixed results, and Archie Leach had a contract with Paramount Pictures. There was only one problem: his name. “Archie Leach” was fine for a comic or best-friend type, but the producers at Paramount saw leading man material in the handsome 27-year-old. Archie chose his new first name from a character he had played on Broadway, and his new last name came from a list provided by the studio.

The former Archie Leach made seven films in 1932, his first year under contract, but it was a year later in the film She Done Him Wrong that co-star Mae West uttered to him that famous line “Why don’t you come up sometime and see me,” and Cary Grant had his first taste of stardom.

And now you know the rest of the story…!

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Celebrity Mole

I gotta admit it: I love this show! It really makes me laugh. I have NEVER enjoyed "reality" shows. For the most part they sicken me. Then last fall I saw the first Celebrity Mole and I was hooked.

First of all, it's a pretty cool game. The players must work together to earn money for the pot, but one of the players is a mole who is being paid to sabotage the other players. Great concept -- add entertaining celebrities as the contestants and you've got a hit show!

The first series was great because of Kathy Griffin. She's an hilarious comedienne and she kept me watching that show because of her humor. She also hosted Average Joe which was the only other reality show that I've watched. I loved that show's originality and the dorky guys they found to play the game. There's a new season of Average Joe but it doesn't appeal to me as much as the first one. The novelty has worn off. In fact, NBC hasn't even updated the Average Joe website!

However, the second season of Celebrity Mole is very entertaining. Kathy Griffin is not there, but Stephen Baldwin and Corbin Bernsen have returned and they are very funny. It's a good show.

Can you tell I don't have cable??!!

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

What day is it?

All evening I've thought it was Wednesday, when in fact it is only Tuesday!!

That explains why no students appeared in either of my online classes tonight. I sat there with the classroom browser open for two hours waiting for students to appear, but none came. I was dumbfounded.

The next disappointment happened after my (non-) teaching was finished. I turned on the TV hoping to tune into Celebrity Mole but it wasn't showing. They had a crime drama playing instead. I was really irritated by that. Then I checked the ABC website to confirm the schedule. It was then I realized I had the wrong day!

Yee gods....

Monday, January 12, 2004

The Known Universe

Came across a cool blog today on Blogger. Written by a New York writer/artist type. He's very funny and descriptive and takes lots of interesting pictures.

Wish I could (would) write like that.
The '80s Are History

OK, '80s music project is finished. Well, I've stopped anyway. Currently there's 355 songs on the list, equalling one day of music, and 1.5 GB of data.

I realize it would take roughly a decade to listen to all of that music, which seems appropriate since it took about a decade to create all of it. But since I can't go on living in that time, I'll do my best to live in this one. Fun music, though.

Friday, January 09, 2004

'80s Music

My God this project has become huge! I've already accumulated over 700 MB of mp3 files -- all '80s music!! And there's still lots more I haven't added yet...argh!

Wednesday, January 07, 2004

Happy New Year

Haven't blogged in ages. Out of the habit I guess. Xmas was OK. A little depressing after the death of my aunt, but my family was all together (Mom, Dad and Stepmom) for the first time since my parents' divorce.

My Dad was so nice to my Mom and very considerate about Aunt Martha. Not long after we arrived at my sister's (for Xmas dinner), he proposed a toast to the memory of my aunt -- everyone ended up in tears -- and at the end of the evening as we said our goodbyes he gave the warmest hug to my Mom. It was nice to see them bond again after a long time. I know my Dad liked my aunt a lot and he's sorry to lose her just like the rest of us.

The drive to Denver was a bit stressful as there was a big snowstorm on the passes in western Utah that I had to traverse in the dead of night. Not fun. I took the southern route on the way back, through New Mexico and Arizona and had a lovely time. No problems at all. Had sweet Chukes with me the whole trip and she was a dream. Never known a dog as nice and sweet and smart as she is. She's almost like a person; she really understands what you say to her.

Been having fun this week compiling a collection of my favorite songs from the 1980s. This started out as just a lark to make a CD of a dozen or more songs from the era. But as I began downloading and listening to these old tunes, I kept remembering other ones from the era. Then I sent an email to potentially interested parties and asked for their favorite tracks from the era. Then I had all these great ideas for songs that I had forgotten, so I've been downloading and searching ever since. So far there are over 100 songs on my list!! There's no way I can make "a" CD to cover all of those, unless I burn an MP3 CD, which I probably will for me and anyone else who wants one and can play them. If only my car would play MP3 CDs....ach!

Well, it has been tremendously fun to hear those old songs again. So many memories came back! It was also very funny at times to hear what was popular 20 years ago. I was expecting a lot of cheesiness and schmaltz, but I've been suprised at the quality of some of the music. A lot of it holds up pretty well. The "cringe factor" has been minimal. Can't wait to get the project finished.

UCLA Extension is in terrible straits -- the lowest enrollment I've ever seen. A lot of teachers are out of work. Tough times for workers who deal with the international community. The government is making more difficult for international visitors to come here; therefore, no students. I've been looking earnestly for degree programs I can get into fast to advance my education. Need to find more sources of income.

Well off to work now....