separated by light...

I got an email today from Chris Simpson, director of photography for Separated By Light, *speaking directly into the mic* a short film by Sai Selvarajan. This image is on the cover of UTA Magazine, which until receipt of this email, I was unaware existed. You know it's funny, because we filmed this short last spring '04 (I think!?) and it was on KERA's Frame of Mind, and in the Deep Ellum Film Festival and the Dallas Film Festival, but ever since then, I keep forgetting that we did this. *Props to Annie for letting me know about the audition!*

figure 2.1

Remebrance is usually accompanied by the intermittent emails Chris and Sai send about various festivals SBL has gotten into. Pretty cool, actually. There was a little blurb in the magazine about the film, as well as a picture that served as the DVD cover picture. See: figure 2.1

I'm glad that I was able to be a part of this production, and I'm glad I got to know everyone involved. It's nice to be proud of something. SBL RULES!!

slap bracelets and cassette tapes....

Yes, that's right folks. I went to see the Walkmen last night. They were playing at Gypsy Tea Room, and this was my second concert on a weeknight, and it's only Tuesday. That's right......I'm throwing caution to the wind. I'll not heed the call of an early morning and the subsequent necessity of sleep, no sir!!

Anyhoot, the Walkmen opened up for Built to Spill in the ballroom, which I guess surprised me, though I'm not sure why. I guess BTS (as I'll now refer to them) has been around longer, but I guess I kind of thought the Walkmen (as I'll now refer to THEM) would be considered the better known act? I don't know. After the show, their lead singer was just outside talking on his cell phone in front of their not tour bus, but two vans. Way to keep it real guys. *nodding in approval with eyes closed* Way to keep it.



The concert was awesome....I rode with Levi, and Daniel, Jon, Erin (most recent roomie), Kevin, and some "see in Deep Ellum all the time" friends were out there, namely Ryan, Beau, and Chris the bartender, who I know from the "East Dallas Acoustic All Stars shows Radiant used to do at the Barley House. Oh, and I met a guy named Dave who was there because he evacuated Houston, and he reported that his house was fine, save a broken tree branch in his yard that caused minimal damage.

I have such great friends. Thanks, great friends, for making an evening enjoyable yet again. Salud!

katrita...

All these hurricanes. Each day I'm realizing that I know more and more people from Houston or with families in Houston or surrounding areas, not to mention all the people that fled to Houston from NOLA. I've been trying to call people to make sure they and their families are okay. This whole thing is so sad. What's happening, I wonder.

Nearly Famous...

A recently acquired friend of mine, Airen, painted this picture of me playing the violin....and I'm a little fuzzy on the details, as I didn't know her when she painted it. She was friends with another violinist at UTA, so she would go to the concerts and what not, and I think she may have either taken a picture or had a picture at her disposal, I'm not sure.

Anyway, she wrote me an email to let me know "my" status.

Currently, I'm hanging in the Panther City Coffee House Gallery in Ft. Worth, and apparently the gallery director told Airen that some guy in New York (hopefully, said guy is Julie Whitaker) wants to buy me for a large sum of money. Whoa!

Who'd have thought that I might be moving to NY with Julie sooner than I thought! :)

Boot Attacks Cat for Profit...

Michael Katz, one of the graphic designers at my work made this. It's awesome. We all have intra-work IM (called Rendezvous) and each day we give ourselves different IM icons and IM subheadings, generally funny, but two of the art department computers aren't used specifically by anyone. One is the music comp with which we blast our ITunes uploads.....right now, Devendra Banhart is playing over the speakers, and if you haven't heard of him, I suggest you step up to the plate and check it out. He's coming to Dallas soon, you know.

Anyway, that computer is usually called the GrooveBot 3500 and it's picture is a cute cartoon robot. Well, as of yesterday, it's been renamed "Boot Attacks Cat for Profit," and it's subheading reads "something has gone awry."

The art archives computer is called "Barry Manilow," and it's subheading reads "Manilow the Incapacitator." It's been "Manilow the Destroyer," and my personal favorite, "I write the songs......well, co-write."

Oh, creatives! You slay me!



Oh, and this is a picture of the Gogol Bordello bumper sticker that I found online. They are a gypsy band from the Ukraine that describes its music as gypsy punk, and a lot of punks like them, but I wouldn't classify their music as punk, per se. When I was with The Servo (or as its called on the streets of baltimore, Deservo) we played a show with them at GYPSY (appropriately enough) Tea Room, and they are one of the best bands I've ever seen live! Just ask Julie and Rebecca, my fellow attendants. They have an awesome violinist (because europeans practice their instruments more than me) an accordian player, and three dancing Ukrainian maids! Does it get better than this!?!

http://www.gogolbordello.com

Willesha Willesha, little star...

Okay, so since the Friday after the hurricane, I've been volunteering at Elzie Odom, a local rec center in Arlington where some of the New Orleans folks came on the buses. I guess this Friday will make that two weeks ago. Crazy. Anyway, going up there consistenly lends itself to getting to know some of these people/families pretty well. One of the families consists of William (dad), Shawn (mom), William (son), Courtney (daughter), and Willesha (daughter, see: title of this post). They have another older son that I've never seen, and who's name I don't know, unfortunately.

Well, I go up there to say hi to my peeps this Monday evening, and after a while and as I'm on my way out, I find Willesha playing on the computer. I go up to give her a hug - being careful not to poke my eyes out on her dice ponytail holders - and she promptly greets me and asks me if I can take her for a drive. I told her that I really didn't have anywhere to drive her, and she proceeded to beg me while pulling on my arm to take her somewhere, ANYWHERE, just to "get away for a while." Now, mind you, she's 11, but as I soon discovered, she is wise beyond her 6 grades of formal education. So, of course, I consent, we go ask mom and dad, sign her out, and we're on our way to nowhere in particular.

--I'm going to have to scrounge up a picture of her and edit it in here when I find someone who has one, because she is sooo freaking cute!--

Their whole family knows everybody volunteering up there but can't remember anyone's names to save their lives. She didn't remember my name, and I was trying to see if she remembered my friend Jennifer, who's been up at the rec center EVERY day after she get's off school at 12:00 and I was describing what she looked like, and Willesha was just sitting there with a very "thinking hard" look on her face, then all of a sudden she goes, "Oh, she's the one who's 22, she was going to get married, but then they felt like God told them to wait, but she still wants to get married, and she looks like a party girl." But no name?

Anybuns, I decide to drive her to the house I just moved into with Candiss and Levi. She went to their church, Shady Grove, the Wednesday after they all got here, so I was explaining to her that Levi was the guy singing and playing guitar during the youth service. Then as I was calling to let them know I was bringing over this little bundle of joy, she kept asking me, "Was that the rock star? Is he gonna be there when we get there? 'Cause I'm gonna ask for his autograph!!" Then when she asked if we lived in a nice neighborhood, I told her that it was nice, but that we weren't rich or anything.... (because I had anything to do with their getting approved for a home loan?) and she said "Oooooh, he sure seems rich the way he all singing up on that stage!"




So we're driving and there's a ridiculous amount of traffic on 360, and to make a long discovery short, the police and firemen had both sides of the highway completely stopped because this girl had climbed up onto one of the huge exit signs and was threatening to jump. People were standing out on the highway and people had come out of their houses to watch. Willesha and I were both experiencing our surprise and hoping that she wouldn't jump when she brought this little gem to the conversation.

"Oh, she just wants attention, she ain't gonna jump. If she wants attention, she just needs to get herself a man, he'll give her plenty of attention."

You know what Willesha? You're right. She does need to get herself a man.

Oh, and she didn't jump - the girl on the exit sign. On the way back from my house, we saw that she had come down via the fire ladder. Maybe she found a man instead. *shrug*

"In silence....

...man can most readily preserve his integrity." So sayeth my fortune cookie. Thank you Hunan Express, for both feeding and advising me.

It's good advice, but not quite as good as the fortune cookie my friend jon got when we were in high school, and if I'm correct, the one he still carries in his wallet today. Jon? It went a little something like this:

"Oh God give me a reason, I'm down on bended knee."

Recognize this? Anyone? I'll give you a hint. Think Boys II Men circa middle school. Ah yes, it's all coming back......it's all...

Fortune cookies are, in general, really awesome. I got one last week from said Hunan Express that told me to "seek advice from an octogenarian." I know (all through my own life experience of course, and certainly not after asking my esteemed colleagues) that this means a person between the ages of 80 and 90. Those guys sure have lived. Yes they have.

I don't know if I posted about this already, but they are interviewing people to fill the front desk portion of my job. That's great because then I can focus on doing the AE (acct. executive) stuff that I'm doing now minus the answering phones, faxing, distributing mail, making coffee, grocery shopping part. *shwew!*

I can't wait! Anyhoot.....I have to call newspaper ad sales people and tell them (AGAIN) to fax us what they're supposed to fax us.

OH!!! And my dear friend Jillian Michaelree who used to by my first apartment roommate just got engaged to my other friend Brian Payton Stimson, III. A joyous occasion is sure to ensue!! Well played, Jillian....well played!