Saturday, February 24, 2007

the whole movie thing

I am very finicky when I go to the movies. When I go, I do not want to be disturbed. I want to be totally absorbed in the cinema experience. Suspend disbelief? Nay, I throw it out the window before I even take my seat. That's how seriously I take it.

Why don't I ever learn? Well... maybe this time I did. I think the enjoyment is gone for me.

Me and the Eclectic Wife rarely go to the movies, but when we do, it is always because of my infantile badgering. I had to see the latest Hannibal Lector installment, being a huge Hannibal fan. Well, it's almost a psychosis really. I should be medicated and counseled immediately, but that will never happen because people only get glimpses, never the full picture. But I digress....

I could say that the whole world has to the doghouse, that manners have disappeared, that no one is remotely concerned about anyone or anything...blah blah blah, but you know that already. The downfall of civilization is everywhere and mooks coming to the movies is so commonplace.

We usually get there early enough to purchase the large popcorn, large sodas and candy-we are a health food nation, yes? Then after finding seats, we watch the ten minutes of trailers and then without fail: the mooks show up.

Mooks are people who talk, chatter, comment, laugh or generally make disruptive noise throughout a movie as if they are at home or at the local bar. Usually, mooks are of the teenage variety. Two or more guys or two guys and one girl mean the whole cinema experience is down the toilet. And always-they sit behind us. Arrrgh!

This time, a 50ish pony tailed dude and his mother, I am assuming, sit only one seat away from us. People, let's count the patrons now. The total is five. The entire theater had only three occupied and these mooks want to snuggle with us. The woman keep leaning forward then back so many times, I thought she was having a medical emergency. That was weird and a tad bit annoying, but Sir Ingest-A-Lot was worse.

Mook Ingest-A-Lot was not a teenager, but an adult. The dude must have brought his own food because as SOON as the film started, he began to dig into his bag 'o goodies. Nothing wrong with that, but the plastic he had the goodies in was like continuous static. Even the E-Wife turned to look at him.

"What is that jerk doing?"

"Wrestling a plastic bag?"

Crunch, crackle, crackle, crunch.

"Is HE eating peanuts?" She had a wee bit of exasperation in her voice.

Crunch, crackle, crackle, crunch.

The mook had to be aware of the noise he was generating because when the film got soft, so did the crackle and the crunch of the peanuts.

Crunch, crackle, crackle, crunch.

All the while, the Hannibal story is unfolding at a slow pace, Captain Crunch over there is driving me nuts. But then!

Suddenly, as if the sky opened up, Captain Crunch gets up and is gone. Hurrah!

Hannibal Rising trodes along with some good scenes and finally winds down to an okay ending. Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal remain at the top of the franchise.

It is near sundown when we leave Le Cinema Plex. The Eclectic Wife has this way of summarizing with total acumen:

"As far I'm concerned, I'd rather just rent a movie and watch it at home."

She's right. The whole cinema thing is just a reflection of how far civilization has fallen. Everyone thinks it's their right to make as much noise as possible and totally disregard the people around them. Just drive on the interstate or go grocery shopping. Or go to a movie.

Rock on, old girl. I'm with ya. I'm a homebody for good reasons.

Let the mooks ruin it for others. I'm finished with the movie thing.

That is

until the next movie I want to see comes out.

Then, only then, well....

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Bobby in black

People age. No way around it. Some things don't change-like Robert Fripp's aversion to any light on stage. Fripp, for the uninitiated, is the barely visible guitar player on the right.
Again, when all are taking bows, Count Dracula still hides quite ghostly. Fripp is now 60. Can you believe it? Gasp.

Adrian Belew has gone gray and some hair hath departed.

If I ever interview the Fripp master, I will ask about the whole "guitarist needs darkness" thing.
The answer will no doubt be swift.
Like a swift kick in the pants.

quote of the week


"I can turn invisible if I really try hard."


Neil Diamond

as Will Ferrell

as Captain Jack

Sunday, February 18, 2007

random shots, random thoughts

If you have to do an errand, then you might as well have as much fun doing it. Snow covered roads? New camera? Unlimited ability to annoy blog readers? Let's go. None of these shots were planned, just aim and shoot.
The drive through at the pharmacy offers plenty of reflections more interestingly confused by a camera lens.

Two suspicious characters become art. Windshield art?

It's ironic. The people who live near to these hills probably do not give them a second thought. Because these hills lead up to a set of rocks known as "the Devil's Tea Table" and they are so immutablely bound with my youth, I regard these hills as a sacred place. I need to hike my old ass up this ridge and photo those rocks.
More pharmacy. Why do all drive through speakers assault the eardrums?
Two truly close companions: my coffee and Eno's Thursday Afternoon. Great music to float away to while taking in the winterscape.

The spiritual home of the Velvet Brothers. That house still has a cheesy electronic organ complete with boss nova beat. Gotta get that thing out and play, play, play.


People who came from here and left for bigger cities or people who come from out of town always like to rag on Charleston. I can not count the times I hear" "What is there to do here?" It's as if the people who choose to live in small towns are somehow "less than." I lived in Baltimore for four years, so back off bitch. I know my city life. This type of comment used to ruffle my feathers and even hurt the old fee fees (thx Raging Red), but now that just runs off my back. I like big cities, like to visit, but I can not live in them.

Hold camera, drink coffee and steer. It's as suburban as Apple Pie.


We are lying. Just kidding.... Not the defensive body language. He is running for President. They are Mormon. Unfortunately, most of America is unwilling to accept this in a President. He ain't got a chance.


From where all journeys begin.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

they have the words






ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXIY85yNF9E



"i wish i had words"



"i should have been a pair of ragged claws

scuttling across the floors of silent seas"


Saturday, February 03, 2007

impressions of a day











being young, being dumb

“Ah, my friend, you do not know, you do not know
What life is, you who hold it in your hands”;
(Slowly twisting the lilac stalks)
“You let it flow from you, you let it flow,
And youth is cruel, and has no remorse
And smiles at situations which it cannot see.”
I smile, of course,
And go on drinking tea."



i was out in the hallway at the college, when I heard someone ask,
"Where do they teach guitar?"
A faculty member pointed the student to room 113.
I kept on walking to my destination (hoping to avoid).

Returning, said faculty informed: "Someone is looking for you."
That never bodes well.

The young gentleman had the uniform of the well-dressed metal-grunge-rock musician, complete with very long hair that calculatingly covered one eye.
The dude explained that he was in a band (big surprise there) and that he had been playing only a few months, but he wanted to learn....
With an appropriate level of courtesy, inserting the proper acknowledgements, my ears were tuned in as I handed him a syllabus.
"You learn to read music in this class."
"Yeah." This always seems to slow their course of enthusiasm. I condense the course of his discourse:
"Playing well ......but reading music, now that's hard...can I play your guitar?"

My dear fellow-he does not know what he asks. It would be better for you if you had asked my wife to dance with you-right in front of me. To ask to play my guitar? Only someone with no civility or someone very young would ask such a thing.

I avoid saying what I am thinking and tell him that I would love to hear him play, but there is a lesson to teach right now. Could he come back later? No, that isn't possible.

I smile. We exchange civilities, talk about next semester and he asks again. As if to say, once I hear him play, then what? There is a person waiting for their lesson. it is rude to keep him waiting. This is not a tense situation nor uncomfortable. This guy is just clueless-he doesn't mean harm. He's just young and dumb. He left and the day went on without a hitch.

I told my wife the story. "You were like that once. He just wanted to play for you to impress you." True.

But I was probably worse.