Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving! Here's what I'm thankful for this year:

-Family, friends, and people I can trust.
-A job, even though it drives me nuts, that allows me to pay my bills and leave a little bit left over.
-A car that's paid for and that is a reliable mode of transporation.
-My writing gigs and the interesting side projects that they've opened up for me over the last year.
-Living somewhere interesting despite insansity that NYC brings with it.
-Good health.
-Brooklyn Lager (cause I can't get Bridgeport IPA here and everyone needs a vice).
-A girlfriend who I love beyond words and who loves me just as much in return and who, for the first time ever, really and truly understands why I am the way I am and why I do the things I do and not only accepts me despite those qualities but genuinely appreciates them and encourages them allowing me to finally feel comfortable in my own skin.
-Genuine happiness.

The years not over, but it's been an eventful one and a good one so far. Here's hoping the trend continues.

Mystery Vacation Round Up!

So last Friday we drove to Salem and hung out there for the morning. It was a neat town with a weird creepy history to it. It's also a bit of a tourist trap. The old burial ground is eerie enough to be interesting and wandering around there in the fall rain added a certain atmosphere and ambience to the whole weird vibe that was there to begin with. I'm glad I went and got to check the place out for myself, particularly because that wasn't our final destination, simply a neat stopping point along the way.

Saturday afternoon, after Salem-ing ourselves out, we got back into the Adventure-Mobile and drove further north to New Hampshire, stopping in the White Mountains area in a small town called North Conway, which lead to my making many a Conway Twitty joke. Alison loves Conway Twitty jokes. She just can't get enough of them. At any rate, she got us a room at this rad hotel that was more or less attached to an outlet mall (which was odd but also rather convenient as there were bargains on Judas Priest CDs and Midnight Movie DVDs to be had!). We had a huge room with a jacuzzi in it and the staff there were all really nice. The first night we were there we met up with some friends who had driven up from Maine to have dinner with us. We wound up at a local steakhouse for a really nice meal before heading back to the hotel bar and befriending a waiter named Bamtu from South Africa who decided that rather than bring me the bourbon and lemonade I'd ordered he'd bring me a bourbon and ginger ale - that tasted weird. It was promptly replaced. Anyway, good times.

Sunday morning we woke up and checked out the town for an hour or so before getting on this neat old train that wound its way up through the mountains before stopping at a cider house on the way back. A great way to kill two hours and enjoy some gorgeous scenery, it was well worth the price of the ticket and I got some neat pictures and some good footage. We drove around the mountains for a while that after noon and then did a bit of shopping before heading back to the hotel for dinner. Our waiter? Good ol' South African Bamtu again.

That night I also went swimming outside. There was a heated outdoor pool that I took advantage of - had the place to myself - and it was neat swimming around in nice, warm water while snow fell around me. Monday morning we took our time driving home bringing an all to prompt ending to one of the most relaxing weekends of my life. I think I want to move up there, it was so pretty and peaceful but not so far removed from civilization that it was dull. It reminded me of a cross between Oregon and the Muskoka region in Ontario.

At any rate, a few random pictures...

Recent Excitement!

So with the election out of the way, what else is there to talk about? Financial turmoil is no fun. Howzabout what I've been up to? So last weekend I got together with a pair of friends who work for a DVD company and recorded a pair of commentaries in a slightly drunken state for two c-list films, The Killer Likes Candy and Run Like Hell (the later of which was directed by Eric 'Slain Wayne' Brummer and stars Robert Z'dar but appears on neither of their filmographies on the imdb - it's just that good!). The commentaries rarely stayed on topic but they were fun to participate in. Hopefully the finished product is marginally entertaining to listen to, at least in a 'hey listen to those kinda sloshed dudes talking about bad movies' kind of way.

I also bought an HD camcorder. Best Buy had 18 months, 0 interest on them last weekend and because Alison and I are going away on a 'mystery vacation' this weekend it made sense to buy one. The downside is that in order to edit anything, I need more ram and maybe a faster processor. Blah. The camera is a neat toy though and I'm looking forward to playing with it. Earlier this week I recorded our dog sitting on the floor. I used some editing software to loop Prince's 'Pussy Control' over top of it and the results are pretty amazing in a 'wow look at that potentially kinda sloshed guy making stupid home movies' kind of way. We'll see how things go once the ram we ordered from Dell shows up.

Today on the way home I got on the F train at the 35th St. stop I always leave from. I walked in to the train and notice a scruff looking man, possibly of Jewish origin, reading the paper. Hmmm... says I, he looks familiar. It was Handsome Dick Manitoba from the Dictators, sitting there reading the paper. I thanked him for the Dictators contributions to rock n roll and he told me that he was going to mention 'Ian from Queens' on his Sirius radio show tonight. Rad if he does, if not, still rad to run into a member of one of the city's greatest bands on the subway.

Friday night we leave for Salem, MA. Creepy! Should be neat though. We spend the night there and Saturday we head to... wherever it is we're heading to. Alison won't tell me. I guess I'll find out soon enough. Mystery vacation.... neat!

Get Out And Vote.... Because I Can't.

If I were an American citizen (and I'm seriously toying with the idea because there ARE very definitely reasons I want to stay in this country even if I gripe a lot) I'd have voted today. We all know this has been an odd election. The influence of the media, from late night comedy shows to the internet, has been insane as has the back and forth between the two major parties. Right now it looks like Obama is going to take it and I'm happy about that. While in many ways I see him as a 'lesser of two evils' candidate and in other ways I actually think John McCain seems like a genuinely decent guy (unlike the current Asshole In Chief) I do want to see the Democrats take this one, much like I did in 2004.

The results aren't in and until they are, it's anyone's game (as Gore and Kerry found out the hard way) but things look good for Obama. Hopefully those pesky Neo-Nazi's will stay out of the way and let what's left of democracy happen. Scary that stuff like that still happens in America, that someone can be made a target for assassination based purely on skin color. That said, in a free country you can't force people to think logically and by the very nature of the beast I suppose you have to accept the ignorent as well as the intelligent.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to change I can believe in. Always a sucker for a good slogan (speaking of good Slogan's check out the French film Slogan starring the late, great Serge Gainsberg out now on DVD from our friends at Cult Epics - it's pretty rad) I think it's time that Washington started to care again. The last eight years... it hasn't felt that way. Having been in DC just last week for work I was reminded how great a city it is. It's a beautiful town with a rich history and a lot of good people living in it who really do want to do the good thing. It's also the epicenter of political corruption. A mixed bag to be sure, but I was there on the company dime and the food was good, so whatever.