Sunday, October 30, 2005

it used to be Gershwin

i used to be all about George Gershwin. I loved the idiosyncratic piano stylings of George and IRA and now i am all about rogers and Hart

i listened to John Platt pitch for $$ on the sunday morning breakfast and he played
trios today.. all about the THREE

We're about 9 followed by Girlyman
doing covers but none the less WA9 and Girlyman on FUV

have you seen Sir Jones ????

Capricorn Horoscope for week of October 27, 2005

Capricorn Horoscope for week of October 27, 2005

Verticle Oracle card Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
"Happy the person who can endure both the highest and the lowest fortune," said the Roman writer and orator Seneca. "He who weathers such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power." According to my analysis of the astrological omens, Capricorn, you are currently having an encounter with the first thing mentioned in Seneca's formula--the highest fortune. May you navigate your way through this phase of lucky abundance without falling victim to arrogance, carelessness, or insensitivity. Halloween costume suggestion: a lottery winner doling out gifts.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

third according to the NY TIMES

As Feminism Ages, Uncertainty Still Wins

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By BEN BRANTLEY
Published: October 25, 2005

An urgent bulletin for baby boomers who regard the work of Wendy Wasserstein as their own personal timeline: Heidi is having hot flashes.

O.K., so the name of the brow-mopping heroine of "Third," the thoughtful and imbalanced new comedy by Ms. Wasserstein that opened last night at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center, is not the same as the title character of "The Heidi Chronicles," Ms. Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize winner from 1988. But it's easy to see Laurie Jameson, the lovably perplexed 54-year-old college professor portrayed by Dianne Wiest in "Third," as a reassuringly familiar cousin to Heidi, the lovably perplexed 40-ish college professor first played by Joan Allen 17 years ago.


Like Heidi, Laurie is a strong and vulnerable, independent and emotionally needy woman. She is, in other words, a feminine feminist of the stripe that has endeared Ms. Wasserstein to many theatergoers over the years, starting in 1977 with her "Uncommon Women and Others," a portrait of bright college chums contemplating their place in a world where fixed gender roles are coming unglued.

Since then Ms. Wasserstein has shepherded her fearful brave new women (who have usually been roughly the ages of their creator when she conceived them) through single motherhood (with "Heidi"), lonely peaks of success ("The Sisters Rosensweig") and the fishbowl of national politics ("An American Daughter"). Now this cozy alter ego to the generation of women who came of age amid the tumult of the late 1960's is hitting menopause. And she's still having problems figuring out who she is.

It's the certainty of uncertainty in life that makes "Third," directed by Daniel Sullivan, so affecting despite itself. Using the hot button of academic plagiarism to trigger the plot, "Third" suffers from problems common to Ms. Wasserstein's plays: an overly schematic structure, a sometimes artificial-feeling topicality and a reliance on famous names and titles as a shorthand for establishing character. Less typically, this play's central figure is its least believable, both as written and as acted by the wonderful but miscast Ms. Wiest.

Yet "Third" exhales a gentle breath of autumn, a rueful awareness of death and of seasons past, that makes it impossible to dismiss it as a quick-sketch comedy of political manners. A gracious air of both apology and forgiveness pervades its attitude to its characters, as Ms. Wasserstein, who has described herself as a typical "New York playwright liberal," dares to wonder if liberals now require a few lessons in tolerance.

Like "Heidi," "Third" begins with a teacher putting forward views with a corrective feminist slant. "Rest assured this classroom is a hegemonic-free zone," Laurie announces to her English literature class. In introducing "King Lear," she states that the play is less the tragedy of its title monarch ("the ultimate privileged paternal white male") than that of Goneril and Regan, the "girls with guts." Cordelia is just a girly wimp.

"Lear" hovers over "Third" the way Chekhov's "Three Sisters" haunted "The Sisters Rosensweig." Laurie has an aged, senile father, Jack (a bracingly humble Charles Durning), given to Lear-like rantings (including a scene set during a rainstorm). And since the role she plays to Jack's Lear is basically that of Cordelia, she would seem to suffer from a Lear-like lack of self-knowledge.

Shakespeare's bleakest tragedy is also the subject that jump-starts the play's pivotal confrontation - between Laurie and Woodson Bull III (Jason Ritter), nicknamed Third, a Groton graduate on a wrestling scholarship whom Laurie instantly classifies as a child of patrician privilege and a distasteful emblem of the age of George W. Bush.

As Third says, he is in her eyes "a living dead white man." He would seem to threaten every victory Laurie has won as a pioneering female professor at the small New England college she had joined three decades earlier. And when Third turns in a well-written, intelligently argued paper on "King Lear," Laurie is quick to accuse him of plagiarizing.

This face-off never gathers much dramatic tension. First of all, it taxes credibility that an academic standards committee would pursue such charges without evidence. More important, though, Ms. Wiest is simply too much of a sweetheart to convey the requisite hostility.

Hers is, by nature, a melting presence. (Think of her delicious studies in crinkly-eyed insecurity in Woody Allen's movies.) And she is truly touching in the scenes that show Laurie's inner anxieties about her place in a world in flux, especially in a bravura monologue on a psychiatrist's couch. But it is essential that the outer Laurie be a woman of steel and of a willful shallowness, evident in her exaggerated obsession with intellectual brand names. ("How could you have a problem with Rena? She's a Guggenheim poet.")

The supporting characters feel more convincingly drawn. Amy Aquino is terrific as Laurie's sardonic, cancer-plagued best friend and fellow academic, a finely gauged portrait of wryness as the best defense in the shadow of death. Mr. Durning movingly underplays geriatric dementia.

Ms. Wasserstein's younger characters also register with impressive restraint and credibility. Mr. Ritter's scenes with the disarmingly dry Gaby Hoffmann (as Laurie's younger daughter, a student at Swarthmore, natch) and Ms. Aquino are the play's sharpest and most subtle.

Indeed, such an appealing case is made from the beginning for Third's not being the "walking red state" Laurie mistakes him for that she seems grotesquely deluded. And while "Third" would seem to be striving for the he-said, she-said ambiguity of John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt," the easygoing direction of Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Wasserstein's frequent collaborator, lacks the tautness to sustain any suspense.

Yet "Third" ultimately registers as more than the fractured sum of flawed parts. And on one level, its defects - Ms. Wiest's palpable soft-heartedness, Mr. Sullivan's contemplative pace - work to its advantage. For Ms. Wasserstein is politely asking audiences who have grown older with her to acknowledge their fears, their limitations and the possibility that they might be wrong on subjects they were once sure about. In taking her uncommon women through the decades, she sweetly but shrewdly suggests that life is an unending identity crisis.

Third

By Wendy Wasserstein; directed by Daniel Sullivan; sets by Thomas Lynch; costumes by Jennifer von Mayrhauser; lighting by Pat Collins; original music by Robert Waldman; sound by Scott Stauffer; stage manager, Roy Harris; director of development, Hattie K. Jutagir; director of marketing, Linda Mason Ross; general manager, Adam Siegel; production manager, Jeff Hamlin. Presented by Lincoln Center Theater, under the direction of André Bishop and Bernard Gersten. At the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center; (212) 239-6200. Through Dec. 11. Running time: 2 hours.

WITH: Dianne Wiest (Laurie Jameson), Jason Ritter (Woodson Bull III), Gaby Hoffmann (Emily Imbrie), Charles Durning (Jack Jameson) and Amy Aquino (Nancy Gordon).

Thursday, October 20, 2005

when its great to be a teacher

i returned to my class last night after a two week absences ( we had a jewish holiday break) and i was surprised to find almost all the students there. I began with a discussion of Capote as a study of Narcissism and other students piped up with Movies they have seen and could explain how they fit in the field of social work. They are able to apply the theory to practice. I remarked, "look how far you have come in a few weeks?" " when we started this class, you scoffed at me when i applied social work to popular culture, now you are bringing me instances where social work is found."
"congratulations, you are seeing the world differently and i must have done my job"

i then pulled out some articles from the two weeks- One on the child welfare system in NJ, a few on medicaid cuts, some on the custody battle over the 4 year old left on the streets of Queens, only known as VALERY, and other assorted related articles. One student brought her own in to share. " again, i said when we started this class, you scoffed at me when i applied social work to the news paper, now you are bringing me articles where social work is found."
"congratulations, you are seeing the world differently and i must have done my job."

i left school knowing that i have changed the way they see things, how they view the world and will have a greater impact on their seeing things than before they took my class. They may not learn a whole lot about Children and Adolescents, though i think they will, they have begun to learn how to view the world as a social worker. I guess, i have taught them some thing.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Capricorn Horoscope for week of October 20, 2005

Capricorn Horoscope for week of October 20, 2005


To be completely aligned with cosmic rhythms in the coming weeks, you'd arrange for rose petals to be thrown at you each time you opened a door. A gourmet cook would provide a steady stream of tastes you've never experienced before. A great band or chamber orchestra would come to your home to play for the best party you've ever thrown. A friend would read you stories that deepened your appreciation for how courageous you've been in dealing with your own struggles. And you would enlist the services of your own royal fool, who'd be responsible for telling you jokes, identifying incongruities, and keeping you flexible.

dreams

my dreams have been all over the place in the last few weeks. There are themes of moving, dreams of moving, Dreams that contain steak vs Boca burgers. i have had dreams about packing my belongings and moving. There was a dream with two cats, one being mine and a jet black pug. i dreamed of having one jewel earring and one gold earring. More than once i am moving in the dreams

Last night, i had a dream that i was driving a car not my own and i was with william ferebee- the building manager that i work with who is an ex vietnam vet and junkie and a chronic liar who robs peter to pay paul - william was in a different car on the left with an older woman. I was in another car, a beat up light blue car. we both went forward going about 40 and rammed our front ends into a post office. but the building was protected by cardboard. I knew i did some damage to the car in the dream but i kept going. I was dragging cardboard but rode on. i knew i would look at it later. it was not my car. I saw william on his cell phone making a cocaine deal. or was it the next scene

i also dreamed that i got a call about two jobs that i applied for. One located in a library and the other as a senior analyst. I tried to explain to the man on the phone that i had no experience as a libarian or paralegal as the clerical job was law related. I kept telling him,"as you can see from my resume" he was trying to make it fit.

i told him to submit my resume for both jobs and if i needed to send him another i would and i took down the name and address. as i was writing it down in the dream, my alarm clock rang. i knew in the dream that if i didnt have a job that this job would be great but i have a job therefore i need to take care in taking a new job

Sunday, October 16, 2005

a positive review of Capote

Reviewed by Lexi Feinberg: 2005-09-28



The thin line between right and wrong is examined in Capote, a compelling biopic about the famous author during the time he wrote “In Cold Blood.” Truman Capote, played to perfection by Philip Seymour Hoffman, was a fascinating figure with equal layers of talent and flaw. He could own the spotlight and make anyone laugh with his effeminate nature and clever jokes, but underneath he was a truly tortured and dependent soul. The world loved him after “Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and he became an accomplished writer that yearned for a change of pace. After reading an article about a slain family of four in Kansas, his life and the face of American literature were forever altered.

“In Cold Blood” is a non-fiction novel about 2 scumbags that murdered a family in their own home in 1959. The killers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) and Dick Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) committed the crimes for thousands of dollars, which they never actually found. They ended up leaving with $50 in their pockets, not quite the big lottery they were looking for. Capote goes to research the case, and along with him is his childhood friend Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), author of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. He’s drawn to and bewildered by the violent murders, noticing in the crime scene photos that the young boy’s head was tucked nicely onto a pillow, before being blasted off by a shotgun. Why would someone care enough to make someone comfortable before sending them to an early resting place?

Perry Smith is not your average criminal, and that is part of the horror of the whole thing. He likes to read, keeps personal diaries, and has the soulful eyes of Robert Downey Jr. Capote (a gay man), in his own way falls in love with Perry, but his desire to spend time with him is at constant odds with the need for him to be executed so he can finish his book. He finds the killers a lawyer, delaying their death sentences, and he visits regularly, even feeding Perry baby food when he is starving. They have an extraordinarily moving and confusing bond, leaving Capote torn between caring for Perry and wanting to exploit him for a story.

Capote is the best movie I’ve seen so far this year, and there is not enough praise to shower upon it. It works on every possible level, with strong performances and believable dynamics that creatively bring a tragic story to life. Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of the most talented actors working today, and if his performance in the film doesn’t earn him an Oscar, then the voting committee has clearly undergone a lobotomy. Rather than doing a deadpan impersonation, Hoffman encompasses Capote’s every movement and emotion, from his flamboyant persona to the wounded, spoiled child inside of him.

Unlike most biopics that scan the course of a person’s life without ever allowing us to truly know them, Capote revolves around a few crucial years in the turning point of Truman’s life. Not since Dead Man Walking has a movie been able to delve as deeply into the lives associated with a horrific criminal act, and realistically show the impact it has on the people involved. Different angles are told, but there is not a clearly mapped out path of who to like or dislike. These are well-rounded, flawed, real people, without a caricature in sight. Nothing is black and white as Capote beautifully expresses the multiple shades of grey people try to ignore. It’s more than just a movie; it’s an experience, and one you won’t want to miss.

capote

i want to see the movies that will showcase the "oscar" award winning performances. Phillip Seymour Hoffman will be nominated for his portrayal of CAPOTE.

I went to the angelika to see this movie. I walked in at 150pm for a 2pm show and there was almost an empty theater.

The movie depicts Capote, after he wrote Breakfast at Tiffanys, but while he was writing for the NEW YORKER. Nellie Harper Lee has not completed To kill a mockingbird and then the movie covers the next 5 years.

Capote find a TIMES article about the killing of the Cuttler family in Kansas and goes to Holcolm Kansas to write about the impact on this small town. This article becomes a book and becomes an obsession. This movie is actually about a Narcisstic man who had tremendous demons and the other people around him. The two killer, one who he befriends and uses to get his book. HIS book, he is destined to write. The Book that he will be his downfall. the movie is a character study and a historical biopic of Capote taken from the Book of the same name.

the movie, interrepts capotes role in NYC literary community and how IN COLD BLOOD changes the way books are written and adds a new genre to Literature, Fictional nonfiction. or historical fiction. the book, the making of the book. Capotes relationship to his editor, his partner (though its not specific) to Harper Lee and to Perry Smith, the killer is explored in length leading the audience to interrept them for themselves..

Capote has some precious lines, like when he enters the police station in this small town and swing his scarf and annouces it is a Bergdorfs.. One policeman gets it and responds, tipping his hat- sears and robucks. Capote is always out of place or the center of his place.

In cold blood destroys him and watching this is as disturbing as watching the crime. The movie is disturbing but so isnt the book and movie. the crime is heineous and only Capote can write it without camp or scare. He reports the destruction and the violence. He makes its as disturbing as it was was.

the performances are excellent. It was hard to remember Phillip Seymour Hoffman was capote and his clothing is impeccible. the character is a liar and manipulative and Hoffman has captured his mannerisms to a tee. Hoffman nails it.

Capote is about capote as was Truman Capote.

third

I got a chance to see the newest offering by wendy wasserstein last week. Kol Nidre is hte best time to see the hardest ticket shows in NYC. Thanksgiving weekend, fridays in summertime,superbowl sunday and jewish new year.

i went to Lincoln center to see another Production that they put on. Dianne Wiest plays a college professor at an IVY league New England School. She is teaching Shakespeare from a feminist perspective and speaks some of Wasserstein's best and witty lines. The college professor meets a Midwest wrestler who went to Groton, who refers to himself as Third. As he is one. This young man challenges her sense of balance, even though he doesnt do anything directly. Except write a midterm. His midterm is on Lear and she questions whether he wrote it or plagerized it. She confronts him and he reports he is the author. She takes him up on charges and loses.
he believes she is discriminating against him because he is a jock and her steroetype that he is a rich kid from a private school who plays sports cant possibly write a publishable paper on LEAR.

THird is not wealthy, his grandfather was and he is a wrestler and challenges the establishment in his vegan, bisexual, global issue, protesting college campus. he is white boy from the midwest that takes all the Transgendered, gender bending courses
to expand his horizons and for the love of learning. he works his way through school and eventually transfers to Ohio State.

THere are other plots. Her struggles with her daughter, her absent non accomplished professor husband. Her references to her Lesbian daughter who lives in Vermont making organic cheese with her rhodes scholar, fullbright partner ( who cheats on her). the tension with her family is around her father, Played brilliantly by charles durning who has alsheimers and her daughter who wants to leave swarthmore and run off with a bankteller from trenton.

then there is her peer professor played by Amy Acquino. i am not sure why this character is there. her cancer comes out of remission and after the Main character, calls her doctor to control her treatment, they part ways. they are reunited at the end of the play.

this is an overcomplicated play that tried to do too much. There are too many conflicts, too many topics. The main character is addicted to watching CNN and cursing out the current administration. Though it makes for some good lines, it will date the play and the whole scene is needless. There are other scenes that dont move the play forward.

the tension builds like a Mamet play in the first act and really tried to do too much.
I love wendy wasserstein but this play does quite meet her usual standards. AR Gurney was in the audience the night i was there and my seatmate and i wonder HOW different authors would handle the same characters and topics.

i wanted to love this wasserstein but liked it well enough....but couldnt like the main character.
____________
from Playbill

Third is a full-length expansion of a one-act that had its premiere at Theatre J in Washington, DC, in early 2004. At the time, it was paired with another one act, Welcome to My Rash. In the one-act version of Third, Laurie Jameson, a veteran professor at a private liberal arts college, and Woodson Bull III (as in "the Third"), her conservative, wrestling-jock of a student, face off in a series of confrontations over politics, Shakespeare, and campus culture. Meanwhile, Laurie fends off hot flashes as well a challenging relationship with her college-age daughter.

Saturday, October 15, 2005


maybe this one... hey thats jane too??? Posted by Picasa

or do you like this one better  Posted by Picasa

amy whipple, this one is for you  Posted by Picasa

Friday, October 14, 2005

Thursday, October 13, 2005

atlanta home by way of takoma park

i didnt sleep well again and got up and showered adn went for coffee. the breakfast buffet was worse than the day before. there was more more more food and more temptation. I ate scambled eggs, grits and fresh fruit and split about 930

i was so tired on my way that i stopped almost every hour to stretch my legs. I had been dreading the drive from atlanta to takoma park where i was staying with sally green..

it was a long ass ride and longer all alone as i heading home. i wanted to go home and see my cat.

i got to sallys after a subway sandwich on the way and was greeted with homemade oatmeal cookies.. they were great, laura and i ate two .. THANK YOU laura for the cookies

i generally dont even eat one.. they had to be good if i ate two

sally and laura are great and i love their home. its comfortable and reflects them.
we talked for a good while and i crashed.

i slept well at sallys, better than i slept all week... Thanks sally and laura i needed to be at your house, i need to sleep, and i needed hte cookies..well maybe not the cookies..Thank you again sally

i passed on sally's famous french toast.. see her live journal for the rocking recipe and drank coffee to get me started again

i got back after teh friggin staten island expressway was backed up.. i did my wash, unpacked and went to the grocery store and it was time to eat and get to bed.

my cat was skinny and fared better than i expected.

Bipolar cat girl didnt care for her, her mother did and she did a great job at caring for my kitty o'love

kitty o' love was glad to see me has been connected to my hip ever since. she watches me leave the house and is excited when i come home..

i ams still tired from my travels

this was a hard trip... lots of rain, lots of driving and lots of sleepless nights..

i did get to the post office in asheville and mailed some packages and i bought some cool stuff in asheville. there was little room for wandering because of the time i left one city for another and needing to get to the next stop...

asheville to atlanta

susan picked hotels with breakfast available for free. these are pretty dangerous for me but i negotiated that first one pretty well. I drank coffee and ate oatmeal, resisting the waffles, powdered eggs, and juice...

the moss van hadnt really seen asheville so i went along to shop in the same stores that i was in the day before. the group also shopped in the indian clothes stores that didnt interest me. i thought htey were overpriced indian goods that were too hippy like so i wandered down to CVS to get a soda and i took peggy to mast to look at sweaters..

i had been in mast the day before and bought a hat like Chris Chin's patagonia sun hat..it was on sale.. i bought a columbia sweater on sale and some karen neuberger socks like lynn got for me in oregon. I love those socks..

finally when they were all done getting coffee and pastry and shopping, we got on the road

we then headed toward atlanta.. I didnt sleep well the night before and was squirmy all night, so i asked susan's friend susan to drive my car. I bought apples at a road side stand and kept away from teh fritos and chips.

we checked in to our hotel and got lost lost lost getting to the venue.. I found the trail mix in teh van and ate the M&Ms out of the mix and ate peanuts, and almonds..and
didnt go for mexican food and headed to the venue to count in ..

i got a greek salad and pita from the place next door and at the merch table, gettin oil on my new OM shirt..

the show was great. we stood right up front and i had to move around, sit down and stand when i wanted to..

Jelesa crawford merched and she was great. she carried hte weight and helped me count out..

i got a soda and headed back to the van. we went for an old night diner and i ate grits and poached eggs. I had 1/2 a piece of toast and tasted nancy's pancakes.

a day in asheville

i got up and check out of my hotel. I packed the car and headed downtown. Asheville reminded me of Eugene oregon.. there were more junkies on teh street. there were methodone maintenance junkies and Crystal meth junkies with their silver pin point pupils.

i wandered the street shopping. I went to two or three cd stores and found and American apparel store and bought some shirts. I went to TOPS the shoe store to look around and ended up with leather Keens. I was happy walking around asheville in the drizzle with no where to be til later.

I couldnt access my messages so i couldnt get susan moss's message. I didnt wnat to take my car outta the garage where i was parked because the meters were 30 minute meters that are monitored, so about 3pm i was hungry so i went to a salad bar and had black bean soup and two plates of salad.. i was stuffed on greens and beans..
even though it looked like a chain place.. souper salad, the food was fresh and tasty and i had a soda all for 9.00.. i was overstuffed and continued to walk around town.

i headed towards the venue and shopped my way down to the venue....

i met up with dar who asked me to take her nanny back to the hotel for her. I agreed as long as i could park. Megan sheridan who merched for me the night before took over the reigns when i was getting my car and getting the cargo back to the hotel...

the show was a benefit with christine kane and then girly man. Girlyman was heading over to atlanta after their set so i had to move my car to let em out.

christine had a great set. susan dedicated "woman of steel" to me as i got my plate out and i missed most of Girly man.

Dar was on and she played to the house. Jules shear was in the house and there were owls brought by the WILD FOR LIFE people. I bid on the silent auction and was gald that i didnt win. I would have spent too much money for the artisan items.

the shows stared to be a blur and without a setlist i cant really remember what was played. I have setlist for all teh venues except asheville. there were slots for dar's solo without a song filled in..

after the show, i followed susan moss to the hotel and i snacked on yogurt and went to sleep

raleigh to Asheville

the rain poured down as i left raleigh and headed down the same long long long highway to asheville, i stopped along the way many time. Once for gas, once for get my brother a blue ridge harley shirt, once for shopping for a toy for stephen, once to a bank to get 5.00 bills.

it was raining so hard it was a strain to drive so i took it slow and steady...

i checked into my hotel and headed to asheville to me up with steven Holley who asked me to dinner. I made no definate plans because i didnt know what time i would be around. I ran into dar a few times, but not Steve so after trying to walk to downtown asheville, i got in my car and parked downtown and went to look for food.

i found a noodle shoppe that had a special of stir fry tofu, broccoli and brown rice..
all for 7.95.. I sat down and the waitress brought me an appetizer of marinated cabbage
and then split a spring roll with me..
My body absorbed the veggies and i ate too much food. I should have saved some for later because i wanted it again late. The restaurant reminded me of Zen Palate and the food was awfully good.

i then went to the coop for coffee and drove around til i found Marapos, the best bookstore in asheville. for a few dollars, i could check my email and spend some time in this great store so i did

i then went back to my hotel and caught the news on CNN that NYC subway is on security alert. I tuned in for as much news as i could get and fell asleep with the Tv on..

i was missing my cat and worried about her and i called my mom to remind her i was in asheville.

farmville to raleigh

amy and i got up and i showered.. i wanted amy to take a picture of my with my teeshirt on and NO pants but i couldnt coax her into it. she was more concerned that i didnt have any pants on..
she called me to meet her friend walter and told me to put my pants on..i was playing with may camera and finally put on my pants.

in the mist, we toured Longwood and then met Mary for coffee. I really liked Amy's teacher and i think that she is a good role model for amy. she professes tough love and nurtures the students at the same time. She is as cool as i am .. she is alot like me.
we talked for about an hour and 1/2 over coffee with amy there.

i then went back to my car and started out for raleigh. I hit the back roads and saw some of hte most beautiful farm land. it looked alot like IOWA...

i stopped at a country store to go to the bathroom and the women behind the counter serving fish sandwiches where nice. I stopped to ask a guy with a spotty beard cuz he didnt have enough hair to fill in his beard for directions. he gave me some backwoods wise ass answer and I reminded him that because i was from out of town that i was not stupid and i left there with my hair standing up...so i followed my directions to route 85.

i stopped again at a gas station where the woman behind the counter was a love but in the parking lot, i felt myself put my menorah necklace in my shirt. I was heading into the Bible belt and i wasnt feeling safe.

My massachusetts plates and NY accent clearly were a liability on this trip.

i landed in raleigh with enough time to check into my hotel, unpack the car, change my clothes and head over the venue.

i found the band walking around town.. i met up with megan sheridan and we went to dinner. I wanted a salad because i was going to WW the next day and i couldnt get any protein on the salad... the salad was the salad in a bag with 1/2 lb of shredded cheese on it.

i took it to go and scraped off the cheese....

i ate it at the venue while we merched...

the venue was a rock club where there were stools and some bannister for drinks. it was a rainy night and no one expected the club to be full.

I met up with a woman who did body work in DC who knew Mary Chapin Carpenter and was orginally from the North hampton area. i sat with her and her partner for a while and wandered around. I was tired and the show was a blur. Dar was in great voice and this was the second of her rocking out shows...she was loving her new Huss and dalton and announced she played OLD MCDONALD for Stephen when she got it.
( amy and i witnessed it at Starr HIll)

after the show, i went for an ice cream cone and went shopping at an old night supercenter that i found in the same mall as the Weight watchers i needed to go to the next day.

I got up with time to spare to get to WWatchers for teh early meeting and i weighed in and stayed for the meeting. WWatchers are the same all over but this center had the points for the STate Fair that was happening the next week. WOW, State Fair food has Lots of points. The regional nature of the place, the women, the food they talked about was interesting for me...

i ended up with a Bad cup of coffee after the meeting and another bad one on the way to asheville.

leaving NY ro charlottesville.

last week, i split this city for the open road. i left NY on tuesday and headed towards charlottesville, va. As i headed down the NJ turnpike, i left the layers of stress start to be shed from my skin. I stopped for gas and the gas station attendant on the pike. In NJ, you cannot pump your own gas, the attendants do it for you. So the attendant looked in my car and asked if i found...Fiona.. it took a while for me to understand what he was saying..

he looked at My shrek and donkey key chain that hang from my rear view mirror. I then understood, he was asking for Fiona. i told him that i hadnt found fiona. he told me that he goes to the 99 cents store and paid a dollar for Donkey and Shrek for his daughter. I asked him the age of his daughter and he said 2. i took off my donkey and gave it to him to take home to his kids.

heading into charlottesville, i found a 7-11 where i got a crystal light mango passion slurpee. this is the sister to the Diet Pepsi slurpee that i had after i went to the goodwill with my clothes a few weeks ago... i drove happily through the farm land of virginia, drinking my slurpee in the summer sun beating down..

i got gas at about a 1/4 tank down all the way so i wasnt hit with a large gas bill. the whole trip must have cost me about 200.00 in gas for 2500+ miles..

in charlottesville, i went to Staples and whole foods and met up the dar tour at STarr hill. i met up with amy at starr hill and Amy and i had dinner, after we watched the delivery of the new Huss and dalton guitar...

amy and i walked for coffee and checked out the stores on the avenue til we had to get back to the show..

the show was great. the girlymen sounded great and Dar and band were in a tiny stage space and had to cramp together.

after the show i followed Amy to farmville, at one point i thought she took off down the road, knowing that i didnt have directions, and no cell phone service in the farmland of virginia on roads i didnt know , i just kept driving.. lucky for her, her
tail lights appeared and her license plate appeared in front of me..

soon enough we were in farmville and i curled up on the couch.

AMY's room has susan werner pix everywhere. She can see susan's face from any angle in her room...its all susan werner.
Amy's room is a recreation of her room in springfield only in farmville..

Capricorn Horoscope for week of October 13, 2005

Capricorn Horoscope for week of October 13, 2005

Verticle Oracle card Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
My friend Glenn suffered a thumb injury while playing softball a few years back. Though it eventually healed, the scar tissue made the thumb less mobile than it had been before. Three weeks ago, he got stung by a bee in the exact spot where the original wound occurred. It swelled up for a couple days, then receded. Since then, he has enjoyed a dramatic upgrade in the thumb's freedom of movement. I predict a comparable scenario for you in the coming days, Capricorn. A fresh booboo won't last long, and--wonder of wonders--it will ameliorate an old booboo.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005


sage advisor does weary mean wiser? Posted by Picasa

dar's new huss and dalton guitar Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Capricorn Horoscope for week of October 6, 2005

Capricorn Horoscope for week of October 6, 2005


In his poem "Jerusalem, Easter," Stanley Moss writes, "On this bright Easter morning / smelling of Arab bread, / what if God simply changed his mind / and called out into the city, / 'Thou shalt not kill,' and, like an angry father, 'I will not say it another time!' / They are praying too much in Jerusalem . . ." With this as your inspiration, Capricorn, I'd like you to meditate on two themes: 1) What crucial message do you keep getting from God or life but continue to ignore? 2) Is there a certain ideal you say you believe in but sometimes neglect to carry out in your day-to-day encounters?

Monday, October 03, 2005


what they hell did bobby do? take a picture of me??? me on my own blog...down at the twist and shout Posted by Picasa

chapin put on this Junk baseball cap.... too bad its not a red sox cap.... Posted by Picasa

dar at boston tower Posted by Picasa

dar tells boston a story Posted by Picasa

mary chapin carpenter rocks out central park Posted by Picasa

mary chapin carpenter in central park  Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 02, 2005

if i dream it, i must blog it

i was hella tired last night after the dar williams Town Hall show and getting to sleep after 2am and after coming in after 2am from the Keswick Dar williams show.. I woke up at 7am and went to Weight watchers and then rushed to central park to see Mary Chapin Carpenter..
i then had an overpriced dinner at Lori Schwabs... everyone paid 15 dollars. I ate salad and fruit for 15 dollars but i met some incredible people and spent time with others.

i took the train home and after an hour or so i was utterly exhausted- i went to sleep and found the dylan documentary and feel alseep promptly..

i woke up in the night for a drink and at 6am to go to the bathroom.. i had a dream where there was a woman like Julianne Moore or Marcia Cross who lived in the area where the dream took place and she had complained that she becomes impatient around me. Her complaint of becoming impatient about my behavior caused me to tell a guy who looked like TOM on the dar tour that i would leave. I had no permanent place and if she was uncomfortable and impatient, even though its her problem, i took take the hint and leave.

i woke up in the middle of this dream and went back to sleep and fell into the same dream.. i had a dream continuation that included the scene of my telling TOM that i was leaving. I was holding a piece of paper. the emotions in the dream were mild anxiety but really no connection to the feeling of the marcia cross woman who was uncomfortable. I reiterated that i would accommodate her but it was her problem that she become impatient wiht me and cannot tell me what specific behavior make her that way...