Happy (Belated) New Year!

I realized that I posted absolutely nothing for the month of January, so although it's a little late, here's a photo of the Space Needle on New Year's Eve, taken by P. shortly after we had watched the Sonics actually win a game for a change. (the pointy object at the top is the Christmas tree made of lights that adorns the top of the Needle every year during the holiday season.). I don't know where they stand currently-apparently they just suffered their worst defeat of the season in Las Vegas (102-71), and they've lost a good majority of the games they've played this year, but the funny thing is; every time that P. goes to a game, they win. That's a lot of pressure to put on one person, so I've come up with the theory that it isn't really him, it's that other guy who always goes to the game when he does.

Just One Of The Reasons I Love Sarah Vowell- Make That Two Reasons

I was thinking I'd like to write something about how much I love the way that Sarah Vowell writes, and tomorrow I hope I will. In the meantime, this was too good to leave lying around this evening. I can't tell you when or where she said it, but it's attributed to her on some website, and darn it, that's good enough for me. Besides- she was also the voice of Violet, in the movie 'The Incredibles'. She has her very own action figure!

"My simmering rage against the current president scares me. I am a more or less peaceful, happy person whose lone act of violence as an adult was shoving a guy who spilled beer on me at a Sleater-Kinney concert. Not that I want the current president killed. I will, for the record and for the FBI agent assigned to read this and make sure I mean no harm, clearly state that while I am obsessed with death, I am against it."

Warning! Writer's Block Ahead

I have been stuck for a very long time. Stuck behind this huge obstacle which has silenced my writing voice for months now. The connections between myself and the world around me that I've always attempted to create, simply would not reveal themselves to me in any form. Trying to make art of any kind was an excruciatingly unfulfilling experience and the process continually led me to the same dead end where I would stand, surrounded by either my books and papers, or my pieces of wood and plaster until it was time to gather everything up and return it to its home; unchanged, untransformed and almost completely untouched, for that matter.

When you are used to living within the creative process, when everything around you only serves as more and more inspiration to keep going- finding yourself without a voice, without any inspiration, feeling as if you have nothing to say- it all comes as a shock at first. Gradually the shock subsides, and a feeling of uneasiness and guilt begin to set in. For the last few months I have been floating aimlessly around in this tepid, flavorless broth of ennui. I would usually tell myself each morning that when I came home that night, things would be different. Something would surely happen during the day; I would hear a song or meet a person and my slumbering creativity would be inspired to wake up and get going again! Didn't happen. Through it all, I would have several different types of internal monologues going simultaneously and they would typically fall into one of two categories; both equally self-delusional and based on nothing more than 1. sheer denial or 2. an elaborately constructed rationale for why it was perfectly ok that I was going through this dry spell. Now that I think of it- at least if I had tried writing them down, it would have probably felt more productive than did the act of force-feeding myself the repetitive diet of b.s. I was using to sustain myself. At least at the end of the day I'd have had something tangible, albeit unreadable, to hold in my hands. I'll remember that for the future.......hmmm. And so now, for whatever reason, my voice seems to have returned today, and I am actually thinking about what subject I'd like to tackle tomorrow. So far, so good, I guess.

A Site For Sore Eyes

I'm really shocked to see how much traffic I've had on my site, in spite of the fact that it's been sitting here in this dormant state for so long. I decided to do a little digging around through my site meter statistics to see where these hundreds of hits originated and I'm thrilled to discover they're mostly from a site that I feel is one of the best around. It's the work of another 'unknown' friend here in Seattle who I met when she happened upon my page, left a really nice compliment about my writing and put a link to my site on her much-visited page. Her name is Kim and her site is called Seattle Daily Photo. It's part of a web ring from around the world, all comprised of pages which feature images exclusively from one city or region. If you go to Kim's page, you will get an exhilarating 'visual whiff' of what makes Seattle such a great place to live. Her choice of images, as well as her composition, evoke such a beautifully considered, painterly aesthetic, that I insist you visit her site right now. So scoot on over there and see for yourself!

Still On The Job

Thank God, at least BEK didn't slack off, and stayed at the helm while I slipped away for awhile.......

Additionally About The Oscars

This actually looks like fun. Warning- don't click the link if you believe the show still has the potential to surprise. Another bit of good news- Carrie Fisher has returned as one of the principal writers for the show. All may not be lost, after all. Except for the part about Tom Cruise.....

The Oscars As Entertainment; I Remember Sacheen

A quick review of this site shows that quite a bit has gone on over the last few months that I've completely failed to make mention of. (See, I said you'd need to bear with me- I'm already ending my sentences with prepositions). Groundhog's Day, Valentine's Day, even Mardi Gras, and yes, I did check and the Bourbon Street cam is still fully functional....but what about the Oscars! We haven't missed those and they're happening a bit earlier this year, I see. To tell you the truth, my film-awareness has diminished over the past few months, but I do have to feel it is through no particular fault of my own. To paraphrase; "It's the movies that got smaller- not us!". Directly in front of me is the annual Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair and I confess, it's been sitting here unopened for a couple of weeks. There's Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson on the cover. Did they even make any movies in the past year? (Don't get me wrong- I love 'em both). Ever since they did that hilarious bit a few years back, with Wilson dressed as Harry Potter and Stiller as a Hobbity-looking creature, I think they've come to represent the finest entertainment we can expect to see at the Academy Awards; the endearing, self-effacing behavior of those actors who realize that it IS all about entertainment and not the advancement of some very worthy, albeit tedious cause. Think Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and, let us not forget Sacheen Littlefeather! A word about Sacheen, for those of you who might not remember the 1973 ceremony as clearly as I still do. Sacheen's real name was Maria Cruz, and until she stood in for Marlon Brando who won for The Godfather that year, her biggest claim to fame was as holder of the title of Miss American Vampire 1970. In a speech which ran to 15 pages in it's entirety, and of which only 45 seconds worth was allowed on the broadcast, Marlon, through Sacheen, declined to accept his Oscar in the name of the siege at Wounded Knee and the denigration of all Indians through their mostly unfavorable portrayal in films. The event provided a stunning moment when the majority of the audience (Hollywood Royalty! As Joan Crawford had always called them) booed Sacheen-Maria off the stage. Wow. Now that was some entertainment, and like Ben and Owen's performance, a moment certainly enhanced by the donning of a "costume", for Sacheen was no Indian, truly. In the insuing years, we've been treated to similar heartfelt speeches on behalf of various causes and there are certain 'issue-laden' performers who by the very mention of their name as possible attendees at the awards ceremony, increase the wince factor ten times over. I have read various reports that a show of protest against the war is planned for this year's Oscar event, including the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Michael Moore and Kirsten Dunst (???) While I definitely applaud their willingness to state their position publicly, don't we all occasionally deserve something as mindless as the Oscar event potentially can, and usually is shown to be, to ever-so-briefly get our minds off the troubling mess that our government has gotten us into? On Monday we can all go back to being the conscientious, upright citizens we know ourselves to be. OK? Granted, at this point it might take the resurrection of Ann Miller, with that mind-boggling creepy black pompadour of hers, in some gawd-awful, bombastic tribute to Busby Berekley, to even begin to temporarily, if only for a few seconds, eradicate the images of the destruction and destitution that have befallen Iraq since our arrival. In order to continue our efforts against this travesty, we need to unburden ourselves every once-in-awhile, in order to come back stronger and more dedicated to the purpose at hand. I hope you're with me on this one. Let the Oscars be a celebration of the craft that does bring all humanity to a greater level of understanding through the magic of storytelling on film.

I've Been Away......

Well, not really away; Actually, I've been here all the time, but my life seems to keep getting in the way of my writing. Or so I keep telling myself. I want to come back, have been trying to come back, I NEED to come back; because the writing is the one thing I require above all else in order to be me. And so, here I am. Did ya miss me? I did. Just bear with me as I find my way to you again.