You Didn't Have To Be There

Just found some quotes that I wrote down a couple weeks back.

Was at the Giants, Niners game, and my friends are hilarious, so it just took a few beers and, well...

"What does that monkey mean to you?"

"Just because you can tuck it in, doesn't make it okay."

"The last free ticket I had, I went to a Christina Aguilera concert."

"How does one purchase a gold weenie?"

All the above came out as standard conversation, from various people of course, but in deadpan delivery. That's how my folks roll.

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Tool - Schism

Ending Note: Hug your friends. It's a good thing to do.

Live Things and Letting Things Lie

Yesterday, headed over to Red's for a lobster dinner with some of our friends. Never cooked lobster before, so this was a nice learning experience. 

Me: "Let's name this one Charles."

The long weekend has been catching up with good friends, a lot of Netflix streaming, and satisfying lethargy. I attempted a go at doing some laundry, but a lack of quarters put a halt to things before they could even begin.

Red and me started in on a discussion before the others arrived, but wisely switched into more enjoyable conversation instead.

Me: "You know you're not supposed to be doing that."

Red: "I know. But can we not talk about that now? Can we talk about it another time?"

Me: "Yes."

It's alright to be lazy, at least, for a small amount of time; we could all do for more attention to respites. Life isn't Degrassi Junior High, or the latest Mandy Moore romantic comedy - we don't need the big talks or the screaming matches to communicate with one another.

90% of communication is what you choose to hear.

The words, the person speaking, that's a small percentage of things - most of the time, whoever you're talking with, already knows your words, and already knows where you're going with it. Going on a tirade is simply verbal masturbation. 

Look at it this way:

You like your friends, and being that they're your friends, you probably respect them and enjoy their company. If you're anything like me, you don't respect or enjoy the company of idiots. So, in poor philosophical analysis, you respect your friends, and they're not idiots. Ergo, whatever you have to say to them, they probably already know. You can add that 10%, but why bother?

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Radiohead - Motion Picture Soundtrack

Ending Note: Charles was damn tasty.

Finding Home: Part I

Spent this morning back in SF, taking a tour of a couple studios for rent. I wasn't expecting to find a place of interest, and that's exactly what I accomplished. Despite this fact, I still felt a bit deflated and disheartened at the start of my lackluster search for a new place of residence; so, I went to my cafe to find some solace.

You seen Garden State? There's a line that goes:

"Maybe it's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't ever have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I don't know, but I miss the idea of it, you know. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people that miss the same imaginary place."

So what does living on your own mean? If you've not anyone to share the imaginary place, then do you have family? This brings us to another point from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events:

"And remember one thing, my darlings, and never forget it: that no matter where we are, know that as long as you have each other, you have your family. And you are home."

This quote actually speaks to me a greater deal; it removes the requirement that a consensus be reached between a group about the same idea. Instead, all you need are your loved ones, and you have a home - geography, physical confines, mutual agreement, they're not needed as long as you share care and fondness with others.

Working backwards, went to brunch with Red yesterday at The Hobnob, where they tried to convince me that this is french toast:

Me: "That's not french toast."

Red: "That's french loaf."

It looks like three fillets of trout, I know, but they assured me that this was a plate of french toast. If you ever happen by the place, I suggest you try their Three Cheese Baked Mac 'n Cheese.

Lastly, during the trailers before watching The Trip, we caught one for a film was saw in Sundance. It's dark, powerful, and epic. Keep an eye out.

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Blind Pilot - Two Towns From Me
Ending Note: Trout is a funny word.

Rekindled Celluloid Love

The Boss is in L.A. right now. We needed to refresh our supply of some gear, and trade in a leased dolly.

The Boss: "So I picked up the nice shiny new Fisher."

Me: "Did you get the one with the flames and racing stripes?"

The Boss: "No. Went for the skulls instead."

Me: "Good choice. Keeps the operators on point."

Last night went to catch a showing of The Roundup at the Castro. Was able to catch it now, before a theatrical release, through the SFJFF that's still going on. Ever since hitting Sundance this past year, I've rekindled an appreciation for film that I had lost for a while.

As a student in college studying film making, it became a labor of writing papers, renting equipment, vying for position over rivals in class - work. Entering into the industry as crew, film sets became battlegrounds where you just wanted to make it out alive; the wounds were not just physical, but moral and mental - work. I had lost that wonder and appreciation - the love.

It wasn't until Park City that I remembered what it was about films that initially got me on such a simple, basic level. Being surrounded by hundreds of people that were all gathered in genial appreciation for the event, looking forward to each film, socializing with strangers that had traveled to that town for the same reasons, it energized you; you felt alive. 

It wasn't until after the festival that I reflected on this, and came to realize that that feeling wasn't just accessible via Sundance, but in watching movies in general. If you let them, they can take you elsewhere, and that sort of displacement brings new breath to your own life; you gain perspective and a respite for those ninety minutes.

So I try to make at least one showing to the festivals that roll through - get a little and give a little back.

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Gym Class Heroes - Cupid's Chokehold

Ending Note: The Roundup was a very well done, good movie. You should check it out.

Binary Differences

Read the news online during my lunch break. It's something I inherited when I took the nine to five world on.

Went over the details of the stuff that happened in Norway, and had a talk with The Boss about it.

The Boss: "Do you feel better now that you've read that?"

Me: "No."

The Boss: "That's why I stopped reading the news. Nothing good ever happens in the news."

He's got a point, albeit a pessimistic one; corruption sells, death sells, humiliation sells. Need more proof, check your local listing for some choice programing. 

But I'd rather see things from another angle. 

I read the news to stay informed, to stay connected to the humanity that's in a constant swirl of chaos and change. If anything, the world needs all the help it can get, even from lil 'ol me. In the grand scheme of the game, I'm not making much of a dent in the the scales of hope and love and joy, but +1 is better than 0, and a hell of a lot better than -1. 

Need some perspective?

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Only Son - Call Them Brothers (feat. Regina Spektor)

Ending Note: Maybe you don't need to measure progress. Maybe you just need to know which direction its headed.

Living The Dream

Nearly gave myself a hernia today.

Had to load a truck at work, and there wasn’t enough room, so I decided to store a 12K fresnel on a shelf.

This, folks, is one of the main reasons I gave up the freelance electrician life – after eight years, I’ve acquired a bum wrist, bum knee, bum back, and bum shoulder.

Only bums I’m interested in nowadays are directly connected to cute brunettes. Zing.

Opposite of this, is something I found attached on the front of one of our trucks that’s been out on a low budget feature for the past three weeks.

This (as scary as it seems) is one of the things I miss most about the set life; the silly, moral boosting, crew bonding shenanigans that goes on to just get through the show. That, I do miss, and wish I hadn’t given up.

Me: "What'd you do today?"

Wonger: "Went to work. You know, living the dream."

Me: "Yeah?"

Wonger: "Yeah. Wasn't my dream, but you know..."

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The xx - Heart Skipped A Beat

Ending Note: You should go watch Beginners. Yeah, you should.