So while the news is all doom and gloom and 'we're all poor blah blah blah blah blah,' I figured I would accentuate the positive and (hopefully) eliminate the negative.
Here are things that have made me happy in the last week:
-Today I had a really good job interview. Even if it doesn't land me a position, it's still a really good job interview, the kind where (gasp!) you actually enjoy talking to the people you could be potentially working for. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one.
-The love of a good woman. Alison has been a complete rock for me during this strange transitional phase I'm going through. Her love and support means the world to me and the fact that she not only puts up with my odd infatuations and eccentricities but somehow manages to encourage them says to me that I've found the right gal. Also, she's really pretty. And a good cook.
-Call of Duty 3: When you don't have a job, the most productive thing you can probably do with your time is travel back to the 1940s and shoot Nazi's in hopes of helping out the French. At one point, you fight with some mighty Canadian soldiers, and that makes me happy.... even if the game isn't nearly as VIOLENT as I'd hoped it would be. Could be that I'm just insane, however...
-The French Connection is on Blu-ray. We watched it the other night and while Friedkin has made some changes to the coloring in the film, it's otherwise a great package. I forgot how much I loved this movie. Hackman and Scheider are great in it and it remains as tense and exciting as it ever was. Some great footage of NYC in the early 70s caps it all off nicely.
If only I could get Bridgeport IPA served on tap in this neck of the woods....
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Job Interview A-Go-Go
So last week I had an interview, then a different phone interview and then a second different phone interview. Monday I have to go to Brooklyn for an in person interview, then Tuesday to Manhattan for a seperate in person interview (for a job I actually really, really want and am really, really qualified for - keep your fingers crossed).
We'll see how it goes. This week I just more or less hung out, wrote, and played video games. Call of Duty 3 is pretty good.
We'll see how it goes. This week I just more or less hung out, wrote, and played video games. Call of Duty 3 is pretty good.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Hooray!
Anyone wanting to see a couple of pictures from my soon to be starmaking appearance in Wicked Pixel Cinema's RATLINE can click here for a set report I wrote this morning. I've got other pictures I can post later, but for now that's it, the WP guys are being fairly tight lipped about things until the movie is done and distribution is locked and I can't say I blame them.
In other news, Valentine's Day was good fun. We went with some friends to see the Friday The 13th remake, which was one of the ugliest movies (in terms of cinematography) I've seen in some time. I didn't care for it very much, and generally all I need to be happy with a movie is boobs and blood and this one had them in spades. Maybe I'm getting picky in my old age. After the movie we went for BBQ. So seeing as we didn't get any alone time on V-day itself, I'm taking Alison out for dinner tonight. Outback here we come!
Wanna know what she got me? Check it out...
Ten discs of musical history all lovingly packaged in a great hardbound case with a big fat full color book detailing Hank's life and work. Great, great stuff. There's a reason this collection won two Grammy awards. Generally the Grammy's are a bit of a joke but this time they were spot on in their choice for best retrospective collection. It's a fantastic set and an amazing Valentines Day gift. I'm stoked!
What else is new... oh, as of today I am gainfully unemployed and genuinely pretty happy about that. The last position just wasn't working out though I was able to leave on very good terms thankfully. The economy sucks right now but there are other jobs out there and I'm confident that I'll find one that suits me better than the last one soon enough. My spirits are high, my resume is polished and I'm even trying to remain clean shaven for interviews (ok, maybe that last part is a lie). In the interim, as I look, I can get caught up on some reading, more writing, and a few other side projects I haven't had time for yet. Oh, and I can finally practice on that bass I got for Christmas.
Life is good. Really, really good.
In other news, Valentine's Day was good fun. We went with some friends to see the Friday The 13th remake, which was one of the ugliest movies (in terms of cinematography) I've seen in some time. I didn't care for it very much, and generally all I need to be happy with a movie is boobs and blood and this one had them in spades. Maybe I'm getting picky in my old age. After the movie we went for BBQ. So seeing as we didn't get any alone time on V-day itself, I'm taking Alison out for dinner tonight. Outback here we come!
Wanna know what she got me? Check it out...
Ten discs of musical history all lovingly packaged in a great hardbound case with a big fat full color book detailing Hank's life and work. Great, great stuff. There's a reason this collection won two Grammy awards. Generally the Grammy's are a bit of a joke but this time they were spot on in their choice for best retrospective collection. It's a fantastic set and an amazing Valentines Day gift. I'm stoked!
What else is new... oh, as of today I am gainfully unemployed and genuinely pretty happy about that. The last position just wasn't working out though I was able to leave on very good terms thankfully. The economy sucks right now but there are other jobs out there and I'm confident that I'll find one that suits me better than the last one soon enough. My spirits are high, my resume is polished and I'm even trying to remain clean shaven for interviews (ok, maybe that last part is a lie). In the interim, as I look, I can get caught up on some reading, more writing, and a few other side projects I haven't had time for yet. Oh, and I can finally practice on that bass I got for Christmas.
Life is good. Really, really good.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Lux Interior Has Left Us.
Known to those who 'didn't get it' as Erick Lee Purkhiser and born 10/21/46, the man we all know (or at least those of us who 'do get it' know) as Lux Interior passed away this morning from a pre-existing heart condition.
It's probably a miracle he lasted as long as he did but that doesn't numb the sting. Those who know me well know well my dedication to The Cramps. I've almost gotten into fist fights defending their merits and would gladly take a punch or two even now that I'm into my 30s should someone trash talk the titans of trash (there's some irony there, you figure it out). They were one of those few bands that spoke to me, and if that's a black spot on my record, so be it, I really don't care.
Anyone who had the privelage, and I use that term literally, knows that Lux was THE best front man to have ever walked the face of the earth. Whether he wore a leather cat suit, a mini skirt, a funeral suit or nothing at all (his natural hair color was not black) the man had presence and a voice that could rock your ass into the ground and leave it there for dead. The one two punch of his sleazy, swampy vocals and the fuzzed out guitar sludge of his wife, one Poison Ivy, taught this boy at the age of 20 what real rock and roll was all about one cold and substance abused night in Toronto, first year of college. Later that night Jim Zubkavich would get his ass kicked by security, Mark Tolch would let Lux wipe his groin sweat off with his mesh shirt (long story) and I'd sing a duet with Lux to their cover of Hasil Adkins (RIP) SHE SAID. A moment I will NEVER forget. What did she say, Lux? No one ever did answer my question.
I saw them three more times after that. Once more in Toronto and then twice in Portland (once on my birthday where I got into a fight with a dirty hippy... and won). And now I have to content myself with the fact that I got to see them four times and won't get a fifth. This hits me hard. Some people are supposed to be immortal, untouchable if you will. Lux was one of them. And now he's gone, victim to a heart condition, not even something as 'rock n roll' as choking on your own vomit or OD'ing. Not that that would have made him more impressive - the man did what he did better than anyone - but c'mon.... he was tough. A heart condition?
I prefer to think he got killed by a trio of tough talking race car driving big busted women, or maybe a chef bent on paying cannibalistic tribute to his Egytian gods, or better yet, he simply wandered into a swamp somewhere and sunk to the bottom. Any of those would be more appropriate than a f*cking heart condition.
At any rate, I have to go to work in the morning. This has hit me harder than it should have. Alison is asleep while I'm sitting here, drinking (what else?) red wine straight out of the bottle and watching the Cramps play a show in NYC from 1981. I'll sleep when I'm tired. Right now I'm paying tribute to the man whose music introduced me to the films of Russ Meyer, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Marilyn Chambers (I still wanna know what's behind the green door, Lux!) and how made me realize just what a treasure bikini girls with machine guns really are.
R.I.P., Lux. You really were the hottest thing from the north to come out of the south and there are definitely some of us who will always remember you.
I haven't been hit this hard by a 'celebrity' passing since Johnny died.
It's probably a miracle he lasted as long as he did but that doesn't numb the sting. Those who know me well know well my dedication to The Cramps. I've almost gotten into fist fights defending their merits and would gladly take a punch or two even now that I'm into my 30s should someone trash talk the titans of trash (there's some irony there, you figure it out). They were one of those few bands that spoke to me, and if that's a black spot on my record, so be it, I really don't care.
Anyone who had the privelage, and I use that term literally, knows that Lux was THE best front man to have ever walked the face of the earth. Whether he wore a leather cat suit, a mini skirt, a funeral suit or nothing at all (his natural hair color was not black) the man had presence and a voice that could rock your ass into the ground and leave it there for dead. The one two punch of his sleazy, swampy vocals and the fuzzed out guitar sludge of his wife, one Poison Ivy, taught this boy at the age of 20 what real rock and roll was all about one cold and substance abused night in Toronto, first year of college. Later that night Jim Zubkavich would get his ass kicked by security, Mark Tolch would let Lux wipe his groin sweat off with his mesh shirt (long story) and I'd sing a duet with Lux to their cover of Hasil Adkins (RIP) SHE SAID. A moment I will NEVER forget. What did she say, Lux? No one ever did answer my question.
I saw them three more times after that. Once more in Toronto and then twice in Portland (once on my birthday where I got into a fight with a dirty hippy... and won). And now I have to content myself with the fact that I got to see them four times and won't get a fifth. This hits me hard. Some people are supposed to be immortal, untouchable if you will. Lux was one of them. And now he's gone, victim to a heart condition, not even something as 'rock n roll' as choking on your own vomit or OD'ing. Not that that would have made him more impressive - the man did what he did better than anyone - but c'mon.... he was tough. A heart condition?
I prefer to think he got killed by a trio of tough talking race car driving big busted women, or maybe a chef bent on paying cannibalistic tribute to his Egytian gods, or better yet, he simply wandered into a swamp somewhere and sunk to the bottom. Any of those would be more appropriate than a f*cking heart condition.
At any rate, I have to go to work in the morning. This has hit me harder than it should have. Alison is asleep while I'm sitting here, drinking (what else?) red wine straight out of the bottle and watching the Cramps play a show in NYC from 1981. I'll sleep when I'm tired. Right now I'm paying tribute to the man whose music introduced me to the films of Russ Meyer, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Marilyn Chambers (I still wanna know what's behind the green door, Lux!) and how made me realize just what a treasure bikini girls with machine guns really are.
R.I.P., Lux. You really were the hottest thing from the north to come out of the south and there are definitely some of us who will always remember you.
I haven't been hit this hard by a 'celebrity' passing since Johnny died.
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