NYPL

I wish I had found this room weeks ago. There exist collections of books. There exist small buildings that small children trudge toward, the weight of a book report on their shoulders. There exist comfortable internet cafes and majestic courtrooms. And then there is the magnificent New York Public Library. Architecturally stunning, housing over 6 million books and free public internet access, this structure is a combination of every kind of “library” that exists.

I am sitting in the Reading Room… At one of the many twenty-foot long wooden tables illuminated by rows of golden lamps, I find space to think. And an outlet nearby that will let me type for hours. Gentle coughs and quietly squeaking chairs echo upward into the ceiling of this palace of imagination. Notably, the ceiling is not just a roof- even it is painted with images of clouds amidst blue skies. Even it does not dare to contain the thoughts in this hall.

No Sleep Til...

Take the Q line East.
More friends of friends met through phone calls and emails.
I'm tired. Feeling broken but disregard.
Painting on a happy face, springing my step.
Swinging in with a six-pack and weeks of stress and distress, I find...
a late night of sushi and smiles.
Debating theories.
Discussing films.
Thinking outloud.
Talking too loud?
Laughter
Animated and Wanting.
And Friends of Friends became Friends.
And after days of not being able to sleep...
Brooklyn

Where the Nights never end...

Last night: SalonTea Premiere for TLC's 'Dinner Takes All'... Directors workshop with DNA... evening gathering with the Broadway acting/singing/dancing crew... most of it with Guy, a film director who I met at Moondance and whose directing style and thoughtful script interpretation I respect.

Tonight: Hoping the train off the island to: Summerscreen... avant music and old-school films in Brooklyn. A Blurb: The music, by local hip-hoppers the Cold Hands Collective and avant-classical musician Miya Masaoka, begins at 7pm; the movie starts at sunset. We're screening Do the Right Thing, in honor of that time last week when it was so hot we all started throwing garbage cans through pizzeria windows.



... you don't want to know how boring my days have been...

Coming Soon!

Pics from: Coney Island music festival, Ava rooftop, NY nightlife

Flip Flop Phenomenon

No, we're not talking about John Kerry's presidential election strategy... but something nearly as strange...

It's been hitting 100 degrees in New York the past week. Hot Hot Hot. And the miles of concrete and lack of shade, save from miles of concrete that extend upwards as well, only exacerbate the heat. How does one survive?

Flip Flops.

The more I walked around, the more I began to notice the red, purple, and orange toes roaming around Manhattan. It makes sense that having two wardrobes to cope with the weather would include having several sets of shoes as well. Girls with jeweled flip flops, boys with rugged ones. Black, tan, heeled, strappy, studded, bright, thick, paper-thin. Limitless options for the summertime. Flip Flops are a reflection of oneself here as much as purses and man-bags are. But seriously this city is filthy! Between the dogs urinating on the sidewalk, the rush of contaminated water running towards the sewars, and all the other shoes that have no problem walking on your feet... why flip flops? Why expose yourself to the worst elements of city life?

...and then I walked twenty blocks "for fun"... in heels.

Flip Flops it is.

Good things that come out of Atlanta!

This is for those of us who are magnets to people who can't take a hint or can't take "no" for an answer (and many who apparently can't take showers, can't brush their teeth, or can't seem to go out in social settings without awkwardly embarrassing themselves)... a phone number you can give out if you just don't want to give out your real number. Callers hear a humorous Rejection Hotline recording and are not-so-subtly informed of your non-interest... and it all started in Atlanta.

Comments from a satisfied rejectee:

"So I guess I'm one of the 'rejectees' mentioned in the L.A. Times article, because I had a girl give me the Rejection Hotline number at a bar a few weeks ago. But I'm not writing to complain about it at all. Just the opposite, I'm writing to say THANKS! Not only do I think it's hilarious, but I love that I could go on letting my buddies think I had gotten her number that night and none of them were around to give me $h*t when I made the call a few days later and heard the Rejection Hotline message... [and I] realized I've still got a lot to learn when it comes to knowing if a girl's interested or not. Thanks for the laugh and the reality-check!"
-- Curt, Los Angeles

http://rejectionhotline.com/

**note: even though I now have the NYC Rejection Line number locked into my cellphone, I have no problem telling someone that they AREN'T getting my number... however, that being said, there are those scary ones that won't let you get away without grabbing your arm and when you're by yourself, this could be a saving grace!

Herr Producer and Herr Director

Eric came to be one of my favorite people in Los Angeles... producer/writer/genius of BYSTANDER... he's a gentle but fierce creature who knows how to balance expectations, speak diplomatically, argue persuasively, and laugh loudly... and he's probably the only person I know who works harder than I do (and more consistantly!)

This just IN!

Cast and Crew at the premiere of "Bystander" at Moondance International Film Festival, July 2006. We are in the building that was Charlie Chaplin's old studio...

L to R:
Eliah (Commander Jessup), Steph (director), Ken, Eric (writer, producer, editor), and Eric's friend.

The Internet, as explained by those who want to have control over it...

Hey, I may live in a state that elected a Senator who wasn't even a resident to represent them, but as far as not knowing what you're talking about, this transcript from Alaska's Senator Stevens, who wants to defunct net neutrality in favor of phone and cable companies, (http://internetweek.cmp.com/news/189601945), takes it! Check out his astute description of what the internet is...

I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why?

Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the internet commercially...

They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck.

It's a series of tubes.

And if you don't understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/07/02/sen_stevens_hilariou.html

Almost Suicide

It might be cliche to say that committing suicide is hurting other people as much as yourself, but this picture is why we have cliches in the first place:

A multi-billion dollar building destroyed and several people hurt because one man would rather kill himself and take down the building than let his estranged wife get her hands on it...

Man 1, Building 0

now, guess who gets to spend their life wishing they were dead.... not the building.

Big Smile for the Big Apple

An old picture, but the smile is still as big...

New York, I have arrived!
BRING IT ON!