I was speaking to someone yesterday who began our conversation with a scowl and then began giving a laundry list of all the reasons why he isn’t happy. My answer was – I could too give you a laundry list of reasons why I shouldn’t be happy, but I choose instead to focus on what does make me happy and when I think of that list, I feel like my cup runneth over. So then…
My birthday present extraordinaire was Criterion’s Janus collection of 50 classic films. We decided to go in alphabetical order of the films rather than chronological or even grouped by director. So the first film we watched was Sergei Eisenstein’s Alexander Nevsky, a semi historical Russian propaganda film. What is arresting in this film is how modern the scenes are, while how operatic the acting is. Nikolai Cherkasov fills the screen like a modern day actor…
I was raised in humid, hot, below sea level and you know what, I’m not a mountaineer. I’m sitting here in Denver itching all over from the dry air, my heart is pumping fast and hard in the altitude, and I’m thirsty as hell. Sorry but I prefer my fetid environment to this clean air one.
I woke at 5AM and from that time till this very moment have been traveling, meeting, and catching up with a contingent of people from all walks of life. Let me say that I’m exhausted, happy, but missing my family and so this is what I have to say about all that – yes, absence does make the heart grow fonder, but more importantly, getting away from the normal routine repositions your thoughts to where…
Someone said they saw T and I walking around the bayou the other day with the dogs and said we “looked so happy, it made me happy to see you both.” Happiness is fleeting isn’t it? There are always the best laid plans that go awry. I was speaking to the cab driver this morning on the way to the airport and he was talking about his retirement savings that pretty much were eclipsed by…
We went over to mom’s to cook her lunch – pumpkin ravioli, spicy crawfish sausage, and broccolini. It was yum-arama. There is a physical, occupational, and nurse therapist showing up daily to help her walk on a walker, exercise and basically trying to get her healthy. But she’s not. There is an inside switch I have when I see her lurching over the sink nauseous that tries to divorce the occasion from feelings of regret,…
I took our out of town guests for a bike ride to the lakefront this morning and then we cruised over and met friends at this little place by West End that makes the best egg and chorizo burritos. Yum. One of my friends who is a boat freak, was so taken by the lake, the marina, the boat culture here in New Orleans that he daydreamed of leaving California and moving here – apparently…
Yesterday, I invited 50 friends to come celebrate my 50th with me at the Country Club. Let me just say there is something stunningly wonderful about turning 50 and being surrounded by friends, a wonderful gf, and living in the best city in the world – oh and throw in a pool and wala – instant happiness. I was floating around the pool in a blue tube yesterday, and I told some friends hanging out…
I was listening to a sports therapist who helps people with their mental approach to their game. She said you have to step aside and get out of your way. The last few weeks, I’ve been having all sorts of amazing dreams – weird things where I feel like I am reliving in technicolor one of the million energies going through my mind. They get taken to the extreme so that when I wake up…
I think that might have been my header – TGIF – a bunch of times already, but this time I mean it. After French Quarter Fest, two weekends of Jazz Fest that included my birthday, I’m looking forward to the weekend. Not that there isn’t tons to do. For starters, old friends are arriving tonight, they came in for my fabulous fifty pool party – clothing optional – for 50 people. But once they get…