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Stories & SNippets : 2007
…and observations, journals, & musings on music, film, books, art, and pretty things. and life in general.
January 2007
January 11 : a Thursday, 10.43pm
Snow. A lot. Took Becca to work, picked up pharmacy stuff at a pharmacy. Coffee. Site map. Chat with Paul the Screenwriter. Dinner goodbye for K—- at Thai Lotus with Sam and crew.
February 2007
February 6, To do priority list on a Tuesday
Send out client thank you cards
Transfer $ around to pay bills
Prep gear for Wed shoot with Becca’s grandparents
Rough out layout for client sites
Prep bathroom for painting, caulk downstairs
Probably 642 other things
March 2007
March 04, To do priority list
Red room - Cut one piece of trim, caulk, paint, shelf
Daughter’s room - Cut trim, caulk/paint trim, nail closet trim back up, closet storage, check out bed
April 2007
April 01
Blackalicious.
April 02
The Beta Band - Hot Shots II.
April 11
Randy Newman, the Proclaimers.
April 12
David Byrne.
April 13
Dixie Chicks, Broadcast, Boards of Canada.
April 16
SOTD: Born Slippy - Underworld. I still remember Autumn 1997, Borders Books & Music in Honolulu, listening to the sampler CDs, and falling in love with this track from Trainspotting.
April 18
Dixie Chicks, Bloc Party.
April 22
Starship, Spoon, Enigma.
April 23
Sparklehorse, the Dears.
April 24
Chicks on Speed.
April 25
Antipop Consortium, 2Pac.
Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly.
SOTD: Fallin’ - Alicia Keys.
April 26
New York Dolls, Madness, Public Enemy, Pixies.
SOTD: Brothers Gonna Work It Out - Public Enemy.
April 27
Jesus & Mary Chain on repeat (Honey’s Dead, Munki, Barbed Wire Kisses).
Also: ABC.
May 2007
May 1 : To do on a Tuesday
Pay bills and mortgage.
Go on a walk.
Burn pile.
Finish naming 2006/07 photographs.
Paint 2nd color on cabinet.
Finish mudding sheetrock.
Put Cavitron on eBay.
Cancel recycling.
Paint with Vicki - LR/office.
Send office handbook to printer.
One page of VLM site.
May 02
Apples in Stereo, Elbow, Supergrass.
May 03
Manic Street Preachers, Guided by Voices.
May 04
Scooter, Roni Size/Reprazent, Chemical Brothers, Asian Dub Foundation, Primal Scream.
May 06
Tindersticks, Dinosaur Jr, Teenage Fanclub.
May 07
Björk, Suede, Jesus & Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, Interpol, Joggers, Black Heart Procession, Liz Phair, Pulp.
May 08
Pixies, TV On the Radio, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Belle & Sebastian.
May 09
Neutral Milk Hotel, Kate Bush, Eels, Teenage Fanclub, Pixies.
May 11
The Donnas, the Controls.
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
September 21
Listening to Last of the Mohicans soundtrack
October 2007
October 24
Watching Design on a Dime. Love it. Listening to Air and Pavement. Still trying to like the latter.
October 29
Reading Domino magazine. Watching Home and Garden TV - addictive. Listening to Cocteau Twins and Blackalicious.
November 2007
November 02
Listening to NPR. Reading Domino magazine. Watching the Danielson family documentary.
November 24, a Shabbat
Mike G is doing the children’s story. One of the best I’ve heard.
“I’m going to pull a flute out of the bag…it’s going to make a sound.”
Saxophone and Native American flute. The shire is far away,
menacing, lurking,
“…and SHAME on you parents who went shopping on Thanksgiving!” he thunders.
Kept my attention.
December 2007
Our daughter’s first December playlist includes:
Bing Crosby, Sinatra, various indie rock collections,
Maybe It’s Christmas compilations, and Jack Johnson’s Rudolph.
Other non-Christmas listening: Old 97s, Prince’s Free, and Uncle Matt’s sampler CD
December 24, a Monday : our daughter’s first Christmas Eve!
Five months old, she is surrounded by her 15-year old Uncle Jeremy - a figure she already is enraptured with - and one of his bandmates, T——. Somehow she manages to keep both a Santa hat and a stoic expression as she makes her way around a radius of floor and people, occasionally pushing a volleyball - or soccer ball? - around. Her Aunty Lanessa tries to engage her in conversation - or rather, does engage her in conversation, in a form unintelligible or undecipherable to the rest of us. I suspect there will be a lifetime of that and a very special connection for time infinite. Grandma Susie comes to play with the ball. For an instant, I imagine her ripping it away from her granddaughter. Instead, she takes a higher road and tests out a smile and a gentle presence. Strange, Mom, strange.
I step back. She is a nucleus, the nucleus of this gathering right now; a singular spot in the middle of this ecosystem’s universe, and you learn as you grow that everybody has their own universe where they’re The Star, and we are supporting actors on others’ stages. But right now, she is so fortunate to be surrounded by a group of affirming and kind people who let her have the spotlight. She bears it with taciturn calm, occasionally granting prolonged eye contact, but rarely paired with a smile.
At one point, Jeremy’s friend T—— picks her up and she graces him with a wondering stare and out-of-nowhere smile. I like this fellow and you can tell a little about people’s character by how they hold little ones. Eventually, her Grandfather swoops in with his majestic ability to do accidental things in the most blatantly purposeful way, such as snatching babies from the arms of others under the guise of…helping. But to see him laugh and get caught in the tidal wave of Christmas cheer manifested through a tiny one is…worth it. Infectious. Later, she wrestles with Uncle Josh and informs him she’s ready to do something else. Perhaps eat? Perhaps sleep? Perhaps snuggle under a blanket with her Mom and Jonny, who are doing so together on the other side of the room?
Uncle Ron and Shelly arrive mid-morning and mugs of hot coffee are poured and consumed in unending waves. Uncle Jamey arises and, shirtless, dangles a gargantuan mug in front of her in the kitchen as she reaches again and again, a little Prometheus, working working working for it, never to attain. Or will she? Eventually she’s back in my arms, and she sips on the rim of my mug together and it feels like a beautiful Christmas Eve moment.
However, What she really wants is a Who. Her mum. At last, she rides her mum’s hip, watching, observing, chewing bravely on an orange.
But it’s not all about her. There’s so many, so many to love. My grandparents arrive, Grandma in her perpetually I’m ready to share a secret observation vibe. Grandpa with his perpetually quietly jaunty, quietly cheerful, quietly mysterious presence. Uncle Jim, wasting no time on greetings to dive right into monologuing on topics of import, as defined by him, with various; beginning with Josh. Leanna and Jonny, working hard to get a giggle from their niece. Me, roaming around to take selfies with everyone.
Later, our daughter plays the piano with Lanessa. One of them plays well. The other has little talent yet. Jamey and Jonny, shirtless much of the day, perform various dances, poses, and wrestling activities together. They are a duo, a rare duo, an amazing duo and they make me laugh the best kinds of laughs.
I catch Grandma and Grandpa leaving for somewhere, not sure where, and they’re holding hands in the driveway as they walk to the car. 83 and 78, I believe. Still holding hands. I love that and may that be witness, testament, and model.
Our daughter is passed from piano playing to face-making (Jonny), squirming (Grandma S), snuggle (Mum). Later, she helps her Grandpa and Aunty Leanna do some baking and fights hard for the sticks of butter.
Things she’s had in her mouth today: all fingers at various points, spatula, orange, wrapping paper
In the evening, her great-grandparents hold her. She mostly ignores them, choosing to focus on a spatula and discovering how many different ways she can stick it in her mouth. Lanessa patiently, attentively looks through the black journal book Uncle Jim is showing. Leanna and Jonny snuggle affectionately and pose for pictures.
Eventually, we eat. A feast. So many people in a small space, and I have long seen my parents, our parents, always making room for more. One more. One more. One more. Always room. What a model.
She camps out in Uncle Jim’s lap while he discusses Middle East politics with someone across the table, or the origins of something or another. They’re a good pair, because they’re mostly tuning each other out. Now she’s got a silver spoon in her mouth. May that not be a metaphor.
Bread, soup, little tiny pizzas, cranberry sparkling…what a spread.
What a family, what a year, what a gift.
——
Essential Films of 2007
Favorites
Hot Fuzz
Hot Rod
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
Son of Rambow
Honorable mention
The Bourne Ultimatum
Charlie Wilson’s War
Mr. Brooks (Costner doing Dexter before it was around)
The Number 23
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Zodiac
All ages
Ratatouille
The Waterhorse: Legend of the Deep
Guilty pleasures
Blades of Glory
Holiday
coming sometime
Want to see
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Eagle Vs. Shark (Taika Waititi / Jemaine Clement)
The Great Debaters
Grindhouse (Tarantino / Rodriguez)
I’m Not There
My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar Wai / Norah Jones!)
Stardust
Sunshine (Danny Boyle)
There Will Be Blood
Not worth the time
coming soon
——
Back to Film Index by Year
Essential music of 2007
Albums
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder
Honorable mention
coming soon
The greatest songs of 2007
2080 - Yeasayer
Bamboo Banga - M.I.A.
Kids by MGMT
Have You Ever - Brandi Carlile
Magic Position - Patrick Wolf
Please Come Home by J.M. Long
Pretty Voice by Cloud Cult
The Story - Brandi Carlile
Unless It’s Kicks by Okkervil River
When Your Mind’s Made Up by Glen Hansard
2007 Playlists by Month
January
Kids - MGMT
February
When Your Mind’s Made Up - Glen Hansard
The Story - Brandi Carlile
March
Have You Ever - Brandi Carlile
April
Pretty Voice - Cloud Cult
May
Magic Position - Patrick Wolf
July
Bamboo Banga - M.I.A.
August
Unless It’s Kicks - Okkervil River
September
2080 - Yeasayer
November
Please Come Home - Jeremy M. Long
——