"MY REALITY"

Got to spend some time with old buddies Benny P & CJRD last weekend when I dropped off the Chain & The Gang merch in PDX, OR.  We ate so much delicious food: taco party at Kendra Hemlock's house, Mee Sen happy hour (basil chicken wings, grasshoppers, fresh rolls, pad thai), & Santa Cruz Mexican Market (pastor tacos & asada burrito).

Cole & I enjoy a laugh together on Benny's front porch.  We even had a little jam session later that day.  What fun!

My morning reality in #9.

Bizarro Kimmswick.

Melba Jean waiting to eat some breakfast.  This is where she likes to meow and pace in circles until she gets her way. Love the lighting in this picture.  Living on the south side of the building is great, because you get all the light the PNW has to offer.

Smokey may be one of the most handsome fellas I've ever met.

Walter came to live with me when Ness moved to Kauai.  He's thoroughly enjoyed being w/ Melbers & Smackey again.  They fight, cuddle, eat, and sleep together... just like old times.

SHARK FUCKS

This tape was made after long nights of homework on 2 different days. I think this mix more than any other shows the bi-polar split of my mind. The first side is mostly mellow, blue, etc. & the B side is full of monster & jungle rockers, a couple of wild punk tunes, & some weirdo stuff at the end. I was excited to put 2 tracks from the first Go-Betweens record on Side A. Love this band! Hesitant to give Calvin his LP back!

SHERMAN'S MARCH

This film by Ross McElwee is actually titled Sherman's March: A Meditation on the Possibility of Romantic Love In the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation. This captures many of my favorite styles of documentary film making in the vein of Louis Malle (his docs), Chris Marker, & Jeremy Marre. The twist of this film being loosely based on General William Tecumseh Sherman's famed March to the Sea, gives it a very 80s sensibility of VA & SC that shows the perspective & reactions to the slightest mention of Sherman in the area. I'm constantly amazed at McElwee's ability to adapt to different circles, always filming, and always so very matter of fact (with a hint of playfulness). He kind of reminds me of my old buddy Jimmy.  At the moment I can really relate to where he is in his life, recently broken-hearted & curious about what is next.  Anyways, this is actually not a "trailer," but the first couple minutes of the film. It's streaming on Netflix.  I'm so happy my friend Kate told me about it.  Apparently my bud Adam (who's from VA) has some nerdy VHS tape copy of a movie that is all about a crazy character in this movie named Charlene.  What a quotable film!

HOW ARE YOU, MR. CRIMINAL?

This tape was finished last week, but I just got around to writing out the track list. Apparently on Wednesday, the most stressful day of the week, I dig deep & listen to many LPs to help peace me out.  This collection is a mixture of classic nostalgia, punk bummers, & country weirdos.  Luckily CJ showed me how to use his tape duplicator again & I'll make some copies for friends.

In other news, I've been watching a ton of Frasier???

ALICE N'EST PLUS ICI

Highly under-rated Scorsese film! Ellen Burstyn reminded me so much of my grandmother Ann Collie. This is such a beautiful story about independence & adventure.  Another one of those "how have I not seen this before" movies.

XMAS COLLAGES

A Sikh Discovers Steve Martin

Dance-Fight to the Beat

Iguana Woman

I turned being a broke young bloke into a positive thing this past XMAS 2011! Instead of buying a bunch of garbage, I opened up my mind & made these collages for ye ole family members. I made these in Olympia, and then I made the other three in Tejas (which I didn't get to scan). Anyways, I thought I share them with you electronic strangers (& Sarah Cass & Judy B).

PARENTS

PARENTS (1989)
I'll never forget seeing this film on television in North Richland Hills, Texas when I was a kid.  My Dad & I were mesmerized, but at the same time this movie scarred my adolescent brain.  I re-watched the first half the other day & was blown away by the cinematography and the dark humor.  Randy Quaid's best role.

LOVESICK

Posturing, posturing you cut yourself shaving
Bleeding too much, please give it a rest
If you're not careful I'll grow to dislike you
Sorry to moan but it's what I do best

Lovesick
My head is pounding
Lovesick
My mind is confused
Lovesick
I'm sorry to ask
What do I give to lose

FINGERBOBS

I had to get the FINGERBOBS soundtrack today.  Stephie has played it so many times that it really has just become a favorite for me.  Apparently, this guy got pretty sick of making the show (he also made the music) halfway through the series, and he starts becoming kinda aggro.  Either way, what a great kids show.

I DIDN'T MEAN IT

Totally killer Ricky Nelson-esque tune by Ricky Scott!  Who the hell was this guy?  Love that fill when he casually says he "didn't mean it."



Thanks to Sam Nisson for addin' this to a tape for me.  Funniest part is, I just found out I have this tune on the Raging Teens: Wild New England Rock 'n' Roll LP from Norton!  The internet is always telling me what I already have.

LOOKING AT THE MOON, & WISHING ON A STAR

I've been eagerly awaiting the Charline Arthur Burn That Candle LP from Bear Family Records in Germany for the past few weeks now.  CJ lent me his copy a few months ago, & it absolutely blew my mind.  Her story is amazing, & she is such a rockin' innovator!  She was the first female country singer to wear pants & western shirts, and she didn't write sweet songs about missin' her man... hell no, she jumped off amplifiers & rolled around on the ground singin' "I'm having a party, all by myself!"  Plus, she has the crazy eye!  She was apparently a big inspiration for a little guy named Elvis, whose mother would play her records for him.  Somehow no one seems to know about her, even the biggest R'n'R & Country nerds I know... except Calvin of course.  I sure never had heard of her, & I was practically raised in her back yard!  Time sweeps aside some incredible stuff.





Just can't get enough of her songs.  She had undoubtedly shot straight to the top of the charts, the charts of my mind.

TEACH ME TO FORGET

I started this tape at the beginning of September 2011 because I had already gone months without making a fun mix tape, but at that point I was not comfortable with making tapes around any other people so I waited... and waited even longer.  On November 1st songs were removed and added and removed again until I had enough wine that I just went with it.  Most of these songs are a bunch of favorites, which is quite unusual for me.  This tape has some funky transitions and I wouldn't expect anyone else to like this, especially for the random songs of deep heartbreak, but that's OK because I made this tape for me. I'm funky, heartbroken, & I've always been a fan of bad transitions in music.

I DJ-ed the Olympia Record Show last night and found Juju by Siouxsie & the Banshees, as well as the SON OF DRACULA soundtrack by Harry Nilsson (even came with the iron on!  BITE ME!) which has my favorite song by him, "Daybreak."  I was happy to add these songs to the B Side.  I was supposed to get a lot of reading done on my GYPSIES OF EASTERN EUROPE book that I have to write a paper about, but instead I just distracted myself with something that's far more important to my well being.  Making tapes is an important therapeutic event in my life.  I hope I never stop.

I just got the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook in the mail!  So many pastas, soups, salads, stews, stir-fries, etc!

Tonight I made my 3rd batch of pico de gallo in 2 weeks.  I'm obsessed, ritualistic, and rather healthy living this way.  I feel my body beating all the sickness I see in Olympia.  This is the cure, the answer, and the future.  Maybe I should make pico de gallo commercially?  What else am I going to do with my life?  Professional cat-petter?

This Sunday makes two weeks of zero social networking in my life & I already feel a lot better, more curious, and more optimistic.  Now I just need to get back into running, stretching, & doing my push-ups and stuff again.  I went swimming at TESC and that was pretty nice.  Routines!  The ROUTINES!

Prepare for: Presentation on COMMUNIST ALBANIA!

It's nice to find an article about lovely owls in the news a midst dozens of articles about various occupy movements and seemingly constant police brutality against free speech.  Elderly women, college students, & a young woman in Portland all caught on film getting a blast (from what looks like a fire extinguisher) of pepper spray in the face.  Who knows what kinds of things photographers aren't capturing that cops are allowed to get away with.  Even when the cops are handed consequences, it's usually something like losing vacation days.  Vacation days!

These are 2 scenes from the 1960 documentary film JAZZ ON A SUMMERS DAY, filmed in at the Newport, Rhode Island Annual Jazz Fest.  There are lots of greats in this movie that were nice to see perform, particularly Big Maybelle, but I  was most excited to learn about the Chico Hamilton Quintet by this one scene below.  Chico is the drummer & that's Eric Dolphy on the flute.  At the 2:00 minute mark the guitar section makes this some really interesting jazz, especially in 1960.  The precision and delicacy all the musicians create envoke a quiet power that builds and builds on the circular and constant rhythm section.  I was completely moved & my cats were licking each other.  It's also humorous that this scene is right after a pretty rockin' and off-key Chuck Berry tune.  This movie is so relaxing. I've been watching it over the course of weeks now, bit by bit.



I was surprised to find that someone had uploaded this Nathan Gershman clip from the film as well, a really nice interlude in the movie that is away from the bop & rag jazz, in the neighborhoods of Newport, & just really beautiful at the end.  This style of film-making must have really inspired people like Les Blank & D. A. Pennebaker.
  

Something amazing is happening in Ghanaian cinema.