Busy moving, you see. Trix and I found a lovely 2-bedroom in a neighborhood NOT blighted by crazy Russians with the night-terrors and homeless people living in abandoned furniture and the weird-ass middle-eastern hairdresser who says "Shave? Haircut? You need it!" every time I walk by his combination home/hovel/shop. In fact, its quite a lovely neighborhood. There are trees. There's a cafe. Lovely shops within walking distance. I can't wait.
I have an awesome travelblog about our trip to Palm Springs with our friends Becky and Jeremy, complete with photos AND video, so I promise promise PROMISE to put it up within the next day or so!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
PS: Sighted!
At my neighborhood dive bar, the Snake Pit, last night:
Paris Hilton and Benjy Madden!
Which is weird as they are the LAST people I'd expect to see in there. But no matter.
Paris Hilton and Benjy Madden!
Which is weird as they are the LAST people I'd expect to see in there. But no matter.
I am still hot for Olivia Newton-John.
This clip is my way of promoting Diablo's film festival at the New Beverly Cinema, Mondo Diablo. One of the films she's showing is, of course, the fantastically awful XANADU, for which I've proclaimed my love in these very pages many, many times. Part of the reason I love XANADU is that I love ELO (who doesn't? If you don't, then we have a problem, and I'll have to make you a mix tape). Part of it is my love for 70s Silver Screen Musicals as a genre. And part of it?
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, one of my very first crushes as a kid. Oh, how my heart swooned for her.
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, one of my very first crushes as a kid. Oh, how my heart swooned for her.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Hey! Music! Old music!!
So in the Year of Our Lord 199..8? 9? 2000? I was in this band called Medication. It featured myself on guitar and mouth organ, Chris Hill and Brandon Dalida from Mercurial Rage on bass and lead guitar, respectively; Marc Iwanin on drums; Jesse Peterson on rhythm guitar; and Allison Hill on backing vocals.
And boy howdy did we sound like Oasis. No kidding. I mean, okay, sometimes we sounded like the Verve, and sometimes we sounded like Doves and sometimes we sounded like Travis, but those bands all kind of sound like Oasis anyhow and really, in the final analysis, we sounded like Oasis. A lot.
It didn't stay that way, though -- at some point about halfway through the band's run I went insane and told everybody hey, guess what, we're going country now. And I wrote a whole bunch of country songs and brought 'em to the band, and we did them and baffled the crowd and everybody said "Jon, we're not doing this fucking country stuff anymore, okay?" And so then I wrote a whole bunch of psychedelic dark shit that sounded like Brian Jonestown Massacre and it was pretty effing cool and then we broke up the band. As usual.
But this song is an artifact from when we sounded, y'know, like Oasis. Except the thing is, you can totally hear where Chris Hill and I were listening to "Echoes" by Pink Floyd a lot in the early 90s and smoking too much dope because in the middle of the song it suddenly flips into "Echoes" mode and turns into Pink Floyd before I start Liam Gallaghering it up again at the end. "Nya nya nya nya" indeed. Lordy.
But anyway, its kind of a nifty track, even though it does totally sound like Oasis. Download it here. It's from Radio K's "Off The Record" program, live in the studio.
(Oh, PS: I never wrote lyrics in those days. I just didn't. I wasn't in a terribly confessional mode -- not like now, anyway -- and anyway, all I'd have to write about was my miserable failing marriage, and at the time I didn't feel like letting anybody know I was in a miserable, failing marriage and so I just wrote gibberish, and frequently sang the same verse twice. You'd think if you were going on the radio you'd at least try to FLUFF some lyrics, and write SOMETHING to sing, but I didn't even. I sang gibberish. The same gibberish. Twice. Brilliant.)
(PSS: Going back and relistening, I was at least trying to cry for help. "I feel my life passing by, I watch my soul hit the sky, but there's nothing left to do but try, and don't look back." Even when I sing gibberish, I can't help but wear my heart on my sleeve. Sheesh.)
And boy howdy did we sound like Oasis. No kidding. I mean, okay, sometimes we sounded like the Verve, and sometimes we sounded like Doves and sometimes we sounded like Travis, but those bands all kind of sound like Oasis anyhow and really, in the final analysis, we sounded like Oasis. A lot.
It didn't stay that way, though -- at some point about halfway through the band's run I went insane and told everybody hey, guess what, we're going country now. And I wrote a whole bunch of country songs and brought 'em to the band, and we did them and baffled the crowd and everybody said "Jon, we're not doing this fucking country stuff anymore, okay?" And so then I wrote a whole bunch of psychedelic dark shit that sounded like Brian Jonestown Massacre and it was pretty effing cool and then we broke up the band. As usual.
But this song is an artifact from when we sounded, y'know, like Oasis. Except the thing is, you can totally hear where Chris Hill and I were listening to "Echoes" by Pink Floyd a lot in the early 90s and smoking too much dope because in the middle of the song it suddenly flips into "Echoes" mode and turns into Pink Floyd before I start Liam Gallaghering it up again at the end. "Nya nya nya nya" indeed. Lordy.
But anyway, its kind of a nifty track, even though it does totally sound like Oasis. Download it here. It's from Radio K's "Off The Record" program, live in the studio.
(Oh, PS: I never wrote lyrics in those days. I just didn't. I wasn't in a terribly confessional mode -- not like now, anyway -- and anyway, all I'd have to write about was my miserable failing marriage, and at the time I didn't feel like letting anybody know I was in a miserable, failing marriage and so I just wrote gibberish, and frequently sang the same verse twice. You'd think if you were going on the radio you'd at least try to FLUFF some lyrics, and write SOMETHING to sing, but I didn't even. I sang gibberish. The same gibberish. Twice. Brilliant.)
(PSS: Going back and relistening, I was at least trying to cry for help. "I feel my life passing by, I watch my soul hit the sky, but there's nothing left to do but try, and don't look back." Even when I sing gibberish, I can't help but wear my heart on my sleeve. Sheesh.)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Hey, Jealousy!
(Jesus, that title -- I'm so sorry for evoking the drab days of the early 90s for everybody, but of all the stupid jealousy-related titles I could think of, somehow this one seemed the jauntiest. Again -- please. I'm sorry.)
So, I recently found myself jealous.
I had absolutely, positively no reason to be. Trix is as solid as the earth and I know for a fact that she's crazy about me for some damn reason, even if I can't always quite fathom it (okay, okay -- it's the eyes). No, this jealousy was completely and utterly irrational, based entirely (or, well, mostly) on paranoia and fear. Seems I have some "trust issues." Seems they manifest themselves in the form of pure, unbridled jealousy.
Oh, I ain't talking about yr. normal jealousy, where you kind of pout a little until your girlfriend/boyfriend/fiancee/small furry creature from Alpha Centauri mollifies you and assures you everything's okay at which point you all go out for frosty chocolate milkshakes. Oh, no. This was the kind of jealousy where you're up for three days straight with no sleep whatsoever, smoking packs of Camels and drinking 40-ouncers to try to calm your jangled nerves because you are absolutely, positively sure that your relationship is about to come to a screaming end and there's nothing you can do about it.
Like I said: turns out I was imagining the whole thing. Which, if you know me, is typical of me (Allison Hill: NOT A WORD about the goddamn UFO's, okay? NOT A WORD!). But it, like other emotions (happy, sad, underwater), got me thinking about jealousy in general. Like: what's the fucking point?
Someone once told me that jealousy is essential to a relationship. Keeps it interesting, you see. Prevents people from taking each other for granted. If you're always on your toes and worried about whether the other person might up and leave at any minute, then yeah, I imagine it gets you working a little harder with the romance and the flowers and the hott sexx and the flaven, right?
I would like, if I may, to respectfully disagree with that notion, however, for two reasons.
1. It seems to me that jealousy has to do with trust. It seems to me that if the jealousy has gone out of your relationship it probably -- or at least possibly -- has to do with the fact that you implicitly trust the other person to such an extent that the very notion of them cheating on you or ditching you cold makes you chortle, mm HEY HEY. Conversely, it seems to me that if you're jealous of your SO, that might mean, y'know, that you don't completely trust them. Which could be totally unfounded 'cause you've got issues you gotta work through (in my case, trust issues, but I bet self esteem issues would work just as well), but it strikes me that trust is important. Isn't it?
and
2. Maybe jealousy keeps you on your toes, and maybe jealousy prevents you from taking the other person for granted, and maybe that makes your relationship exciting, but it's the wrong reason for those things. Its like having a baby to try to save a marriage -- bad idea jeans. That ain't real excitement, or real respect, or real non-granted-taking. All it means is that you're living in a constant state of paranoia and fear, and that's no fucking way to live, especially if it means not sleeping for days at a time and smoking too much, which, with me, it inevitably does.
I dunno -- that's not the way I wanna live, y'know? I wanna have a relationship based on trust and mutual respect and hot sex and friendship, not on jealousy. Maybe that's not exciting (y'know, the hot sex sure is!) but to me it sounds like heaven. 'Cause I have enough stress in my life day to day that I don't need the additional stress of having to worry about my relationship, which is hopefully, the one thing I can trust isn't going to go anywhere.
Which, in my case, it isn't. And for that I couldn't be happier.
So, I recently found myself jealous.
I had absolutely, positively no reason to be. Trix is as solid as the earth and I know for a fact that she's crazy about me for some damn reason, even if I can't always quite fathom it (okay, okay -- it's the eyes). No, this jealousy was completely and utterly irrational, based entirely (or, well, mostly) on paranoia and fear. Seems I have some "trust issues." Seems they manifest themselves in the form of pure, unbridled jealousy.
Oh, I ain't talking about yr. normal jealousy, where you kind of pout a little until your girlfriend/boyfriend/fiancee/small furry creature from Alpha Centauri mollifies you and assures you everything's okay at which point you all go out for frosty chocolate milkshakes. Oh, no. This was the kind of jealousy where you're up for three days straight with no sleep whatsoever, smoking packs of Camels and drinking 40-ouncers to try to calm your jangled nerves because you are absolutely, positively sure that your relationship is about to come to a screaming end and there's nothing you can do about it.
Like I said: turns out I was imagining the whole thing. Which, if you know me, is typical of me (Allison Hill: NOT A WORD about the goddamn UFO's, okay? NOT A WORD!). But it, like other emotions (happy, sad, underwater), got me thinking about jealousy in general. Like: what's the fucking point?
Someone once told me that jealousy is essential to a relationship. Keeps it interesting, you see. Prevents people from taking each other for granted. If you're always on your toes and worried about whether the other person might up and leave at any minute, then yeah, I imagine it gets you working a little harder with the romance and the flowers and the hott sexx and the flaven, right?
I would like, if I may, to respectfully disagree with that notion, however, for two reasons.
1. It seems to me that jealousy has to do with trust. It seems to me that if the jealousy has gone out of your relationship it probably -- or at least possibly -- has to do with the fact that you implicitly trust the other person to such an extent that the very notion of them cheating on you or ditching you cold makes you chortle, mm HEY HEY. Conversely, it seems to me that if you're jealous of your SO, that might mean, y'know, that you don't completely trust them. Which could be totally unfounded 'cause you've got issues you gotta work through (in my case, trust issues, but I bet self esteem issues would work just as well), but it strikes me that trust is important. Isn't it?
and
2. Maybe jealousy keeps you on your toes, and maybe jealousy prevents you from taking the other person for granted, and maybe that makes your relationship exciting, but it's the wrong reason for those things. Its like having a baby to try to save a marriage -- bad idea jeans. That ain't real excitement, or real respect, or real non-granted-taking. All it means is that you're living in a constant state of paranoia and fear, and that's no fucking way to live, especially if it means not sleeping for days at a time and smoking too much, which, with me, it inevitably does.
I dunno -- that's not the way I wanna live, y'know? I wanna have a relationship based on trust and mutual respect and hot sex and friendship, not on jealousy. Maybe that's not exciting (y'know, the hot sex sure is!) but to me it sounds like heaven. 'Cause I have enough stress in my life day to day that I don't need the additional stress of having to worry about my relationship, which is hopefully, the one thing I can trust isn't going to go anywhere.
Which, in my case, it isn't. And for that I couldn't be happier.
Chicken Sandwich Rounds 2 and 3
Okay, just to be sure, I tried the new Southern Style Chicken Sandwich TWICE while in Minneapolis -- once for breakfast on a biscuit, and once again for dinner.
I'm still not feelin' it. Maybe my expectations are too high.
I want gravy. Next time I'll bring my own. Maybe that'll help.
I'm still not feelin' it. Maybe my expectations are too high.
I want gravy. Next time I'll bring my own. Maybe that'll help.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Like James Brown, I'm Back!
Hatesexy folks!
Back finally after a delightful and mostly internet-free trip to Minneapolis. Spent some A-1 quality time with the kiddo, which after like a month and a half was much necessary. Drove up to Trix' folks' cabin and frolicked amongst the trees. Saw a bear. Swam -- or, well, in my case, since I *hate cold water*, floated on a floaty thing. Drank some beer. Got fat. Watched fireworks from the campus of my old college. Delightful. The only thing that sucked is that I didn't get to see -- well, anybody, really. I was so into spending every possible moment with the young 'un, I ended up blowing off far too many folks, and that sucked. I'm comin' back next month, though, I swear!
Brief summary of movies I saw this week:
Wall-E -- kind of a masterpiece. A gorgeous, cute, slightly surreal and disturbing but utterly heartwarming little film. Proof positive that dialogue isn't the be-all end-all -- the two main characters, whom, if you have any heart at all you'll fall in love with by the end of the film, basically just say their names over and over, and yet by the end of the movie their characters are enormously well-drawn and sympathetic and, well, cute. My thing now: I kind of want Pixar to make a bad film, because I just wanna see what a bad Pixar film would look like, as they haven't even remotely approached one yet.
Get Smart -- Disclaimer: I watched them film part of this on a set visit a year or so ago. Also, I ineptly flirted with Anne Hathaway, which was one of the stupidest things I've ever done -- like she'd care, right? But never mind my foolheartiness, back to the review -- Being a huge fan of the TV show, I kinda went into this one expecting a butchery. And I kinda came out of it not hating it. I mean, laugh-a-minute-wise, it ain't the funniest movie I've ever seen. But, okay, Steve Carell in anything = great, and trust me -- Alan Arkin steals the show. Having just watched the original In-Laws this last week, I gotta say I'm in an Arkin mood. I'd watch him read the phonebook. There's a lotta stupid shit, but there are moments of awesome, and I kinda like the controversial decision to make Max not a complete bumbling idiot. Final analysis: not great, doesn't suck.
The Incredible Hulk -- well, come the fuck on, you know I loved this one. I mean, I'm a well-known comic book movie apologist anyway, being one of the only people in the world that will cop to having enjoyed Fantastic Four on some level. But honestly -- this is a tremendous movie. Unlike the last Hulk, which got mired in metaphor and darkness and weird child-abuse stuff, we get plenty of HULK SMASHING SHIT which is kinda what you want out of a Hulk movie, and plenty of Bruce Banner on the run like in the TV show, and plenty of General Ross and Betty Ross and even a Tony Stark cameo. Ed Norton's great, 'nuff said. Can't wait for the Avengers movie.
I'll blog more later, but -- hello! I'm back.
Back finally after a delightful and mostly internet-free trip to Minneapolis. Spent some A-1 quality time with the kiddo, which after like a month and a half was much necessary. Drove up to Trix' folks' cabin and frolicked amongst the trees. Saw a bear. Swam -- or, well, in my case, since I *hate cold water*, floated on a floaty thing. Drank some beer. Got fat. Watched fireworks from the campus of my old college. Delightful. The only thing that sucked is that I didn't get to see -- well, anybody, really. I was so into spending every possible moment with the young 'un, I ended up blowing off far too many folks, and that sucked. I'm comin' back next month, though, I swear!
Brief summary of movies I saw this week:
Wall-E -- kind of a masterpiece. A gorgeous, cute, slightly surreal and disturbing but utterly heartwarming little film. Proof positive that dialogue isn't the be-all end-all -- the two main characters, whom, if you have any heart at all you'll fall in love with by the end of the film, basically just say their names over and over, and yet by the end of the movie their characters are enormously well-drawn and sympathetic and, well, cute. My thing now: I kind of want Pixar to make a bad film, because I just wanna see what a bad Pixar film would look like, as they haven't even remotely approached one yet.
Get Smart -- Disclaimer: I watched them film part of this on a set visit a year or so ago. Also, I ineptly flirted with Anne Hathaway, which was one of the stupidest things I've ever done -- like she'd care, right? But never mind my foolheartiness, back to the review -- Being a huge fan of the TV show, I kinda went into this one expecting a butchery. And I kinda came out of it not hating it. I mean, laugh-a-minute-wise, it ain't the funniest movie I've ever seen. But, okay, Steve Carell in anything = great, and trust me -- Alan Arkin steals the show. Having just watched the original In-Laws this last week, I gotta say I'm in an Arkin mood. I'd watch him read the phonebook. There's a lotta stupid shit, but there are moments of awesome, and I kinda like the controversial decision to make Max not a complete bumbling idiot. Final analysis: not great, doesn't suck.
The Incredible Hulk -- well, come the fuck on, you know I loved this one. I mean, I'm a well-known comic book movie apologist anyway, being one of the only people in the world that will cop to having enjoyed Fantastic Four on some level. But honestly -- this is a tremendous movie. Unlike the last Hulk, which got mired in metaphor and darkness and weird child-abuse stuff, we get plenty of HULK SMASHING SHIT which is kinda what you want out of a Hulk movie, and plenty of Bruce Banner on the run like in the TV show, and plenty of General Ross and Betty Ross and even a Tony Stark cameo. Ed Norton's great, 'nuff said. Can't wait for the Avengers movie.
I'll blog more later, but -- hello! I'm back.
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