Whitmarsh Island Gazette – note about Immortality

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

Borgia was kind enough to make a big Italian dinner at the Zookster house in honor of Gene’s birthday (a week late). He made antipasti, salad, manicotti with meatballs (and veggie balls) and tiramisu. The whole spread was delectable. First, we annoyed the neighbors with a Journey sing-along. Then we put on the movie that Gene brought the film Disco Godfather. It was basically the Reefer Madness of crack starring Dolemite. And, of course, it was awesome.

After the movie, Dom put in Clash of the Titans (one of the greatest movies…ever), and several people who would have otherwise left, were sucked in. We were all falling asleep near the end, but we couldn’t stop it before the Kraken was defeated!

Once the constellations were named, everyone sleepily filed out and we went to bed.

SATURDAY

Dom and I decided to go to Crossroads to sell some clothes. We brought one trash bag full each. As we waited for them to pick through our goods, we looked for warm clothes to bring to Park City. They called us each up and informed us that our crap wasn’t good enough for them. It’s odd, because in my perusal, I saw several items that looked like what I was selling. I’m sure it’s just that the selling “guidelines” are at the whim of whoever is rifling through your goods. In this case, they weren’t impressed with Dom’s Ralph Loren shirts or my Old Navy or Bon stuff. Of course we each bough something so they made money off rejecting us. Then we brought our bags to Value Village. We paid to trade two large bags of clothes for two small bags of clothes. What a deal!

Next, we needed snacks and I needed caffeine. We brought our goodies back to the apartment and watched Predator 2 on TV until it was time to meet Faye.

Faye, Dom and I met Ben and his girlfriend at the Dragonfish for happy hour and Harry Potter pre-funk. The waitress was nice enough, but our server, who looked like Fiona Apple, had a little bug up her butt. She yelled at me for lighting up a clove, which I can understand because a lot of places allow cigarettes but no cloves, but it was the WAY in which she yelled, which was startling, embarrassing and angering all at once. Faye said I sound like that sometimes when I’m stressed so that will keep me thinking about my tone of voice from now on. (By the way, smoking ban aside, why IS it that cloves aren’t allowed a lot of places that cigarettes are? They smell so lovely! I think most people would agree they are more pleasant that Marlboros. None of that will matter soon anyway, but it’s something that’s always bugged me). While we gorged ourselves on deliciousness, we played a few old drinking games (the actor-movie-actor game and the word association game) and two new games I made up: The McG game and the Poor Man’s Actor game. The McG game can be played two ways. You either name a song and pick which movie or TV show McG would most likely use it for were he the executive producer, or else, you pick a movie and TV show and try and pick the most likely song. For those of you not aware, McG is the new Jerry Bruckheimer. He produces TV shows like The O.C. and movies like Charlie’s Angels, and he picks the music. In every case, he picks a song that is the most LITERAL translation of the plot. For example, the theme to the O.C., set in California is “California” by Phantom Planet. If he had been the executive producer of, say, Kung Fu starring David Carradine, the theme song would have been “Kung Fu Fighting”.

The Poor Man’s Actor is simple. You name an A or B-list actor and try and think of who the B or C list actor who is on a similar career path. For example, Monica Potter is the poor man’s Julia Roberts (or at least, old, Romantic Comedy Julia Roberts). It is also expectable to make joke comparisons, provided they are like the following one that Dom came up with: Joaquin Phoenix is the poor man’s River Phoenix.

When happy hour ended, we headed over to Pacific Place to get in line for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. There was already a line, but it wasn’t so bad that we wouldn’t get a decent seat all together. Unfortunately, the place was CRAWLING with 12-year old girls, several of whom sat directly behind us and were shocked by EVERYTHING. Despite that annoyance, the film was extremely enjoyable. It seems like every male extra was plucked fresh from the Hottie tree. And of course, David Tennant, the new Dr. Who, is also easy on the eyes. The Hogwarts lads are all growing up quite nicely. Even Ron’s older twin brothers aren’t looking too shabby, despite the fact that twins make me extremely uncomfortable. Perhaps the best surprise was that the Hogwarts prom band was fronted by the god of sex himself, Jarvis Cocker. I am desperate to get my hands on a copy of the song they sang in which they rhymed “dawn” with “unicorn”. It is regrettably lacking from the soundtrack.

Eye candy aside, the film was great too. The ending confrontation was really quite intense and since I haven’t read the books, I didn’t know what was going to happen. The kids are turning into fine actors (though Emma Watson is treading on melodramatic ice).

After the movie, Ben and his g/f took their leave, and the Troika contemplated our options. We had two separate invitations to karaoke, but no one was feeling it so we ended up in bed fairly early.

SUNDAY

And thus begins my most productive Sunday in ages. The Troika met out-of-town friends David, Sarah, and their baby Mirabelle along with Erin and Rene at Charlie’s for brunch. Erin told us all about her and Rene’s upcoming wedding and Sarah and David passed around their unconscious baby. Man, I wish I could sleep as hard as that kid can. Sarah and David are cool parents with a good sense of humor. Mirabelle is lucky. Especially since Sarah seems to have pretty good baby-fashion sense. There won’t be many outfits that Mirabelle will grow up to be embarrassed of.

The Troika walked Sarah, David and the kid back to their car, at which point, Mirabelle saw the swings in the refurbished hobo park. Apparently, she jonses for swings and will not let us until she gets her fix. We left them to it.

Next, Dom took me and Faye with him to the Gadzook office so we could sneak in some time in the gym. The office is in the first floor of a condo complex. Faye and I abused ourselves for a little over an hour and then we got out of there.

We went home, showered, and then rendezvoused with Sherrard at Than Brothers for some steamy and delicious Pho. Sherrard then left us to go to HIS gym, and we stopped at the grocery store before ending up at the Zookster pad.

Sherrard and Borgia later joined us to finally watch my VHS copy of Star Crash, which is a Star Wars rip off from 1979, starring some dudes you’ve never heard of, David Hasslehoff and Christopher Plummer. It is just as scattered, campy and hilarious as you would imagine. It was love at first sight for Sherrard. I’m gonna have to transfer this puppy onto DVD because the VHS isn’t looking so hot.

It was nice to not be a pajama hermit for once on a Sunday.

November 21, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

Give the awesome goodie of time!

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY
After a rather trying day at work, I was SO ready to kick the evening off at Ohana Happy Hour with Elyse. Despite discovering a disagreement about the recent state-wide smoking ban initiative (I was against it), we Blue Hawaiianed our differences away. Before long, B. arrived and our conversation turned from politics to sexual fetishes and awkward sexual encounters. We continued this conversation even as B’s boss sat down at a nearby table with her husband and baby. Borg and Gene also joined us after a while. God, I love Ohana. Amazing food and powerful drinks at a low price, provided you’re there during happy hour. Otherwise, the prices are fairly steep. The only real downer was at 8:00 when our waitress told us that there is a two hour limit on sitting at the booths which we had already well surpassed. Of course there were no other tables and so we’d have to corral ourselves into the bar area. I’m still not sure if this was even true or if they’d simply gown tired of our borderline inappropriate public conversation. It’s kind of a strange policy they have. It seems like it would drive customers away, not make more people happy, because we certainly weren’t going to stay standing in the bar. But they did buy us off with a round of free shots (another reason that I’m suspicious about said “policy”). After we took our shots (Yeager for the fellows, Washington Apples for the ladies), we moved the party to Shorty’s. Well, MOST of us did. B. decided to go catch a booty call. At Shorty’s, we made fun of the ladies in a free fetish magazine. Then Elyse and Gene had to take off to meet some other folks. Borg and I stayed at Shorty’s waiting for Dom and Meep to finish at the office. (That’s right, the OFFICE! The Gadzook FILMS office, to be more specific. How awesome is that?!) When they finally called, we decided to take it back up the Hill to the Canterbury. We were then joined by Sherwood who was looking dapper, having just been out with his parents. The Canterbury was uneventful but pleasant nonetheless.

SATURDAY

Dom, Meep, Borg and I headed up to Bellingham to support “Snow Day” in a film festival. We went up last year for “Love and 145 Watts” and “Terry”. We brought Sherwood with us last year and have, perhaps, permanently warped him as a result of us all having sat through a 45 minute long movie about a magical hobo and two very annoying guys. The festival has been advertised a lot more this year (in the Stranger, no less) and seems to be much better organized so we were still pretty optimistic about the outcome. We got up to B-Ham around 4:00 and checked into the Travelodge. We rested up for a few minutes and then headed into town to pick up our pass (split betwixt the 4 of us), wander around and get some dinner before the show. When we got our pass, we ran into the festival director who was very nice. He told us that he was asking attending filmmakers to share a fun fact when we were introduced. He also mentioned that the previous night, our movie was very well received. He said all the shows have been selling out and that there were about 100 people in the audience. This gave us even more hope for the evening.

We started to wander around town a bit, but it was too cold, so, at Borg’s suggestion, we decided to get a beer inside the “Ranch Room”. The Ranch Room was what Linda’s would be if it were frequented by actual cowboys and small town locals, instead of hipsters. The wall décor was similar, but there was no loud Franz Ferdinand or rude waiters. Just nice people wait staff and normal customers. While we drank, we discussed what our fun fact would be. We decided to make something up. In the end, we settled on telling everyone that the snow was made by putting bears and ice blocks on ladders and having the bears maul the ice blocks.

When we started to get tipsy, we decided to order food. Holy Heavenly Greasy Spoon! There was a happy hour appetizer menu, a couple of veggie sandwiches and…yam fries! I think Faye got some pictures of our dreamy spread. It was 100% satisfactory. They also had a state-of-the-art juke box with a touch screen and the ability to trump the song order with additional credits. Of course I would never USE this feature, but it’s interesting to note the advancement of the juke box.

After dinner and a few more rounds, we went to the theatre. The previous show had not yet let out, so we wandered up the street to kill 10 minutes, and found and role-playing store. It was closed, but we gawked into the windows for a little while.

We went back to the theatre, got our tickets and found our seats. While everyone was being seated, a woman announced that she was about to show a 12-year-old boy’s film on her lap top. She said that the film had ALMOST made it into the festival, but because she liked it so much, she wanted to show it. So a bunch of us gathered around the boy and the lap top to watch. The short was 5 minutes of people blowing up pyramids of Dixie cups in different ways. Obviously, watching cups blow up is pretty cool, but there were a number of jokes in the editing as well. This young man has a bright future and it BAFFLES me that his short didn’t make it in. Especially after seeing some of the films that did.

The categories in our program were: Animation, Experimental and Pure Schlock (us). The program started off well, with a funny and SHORT comedic piece. There seemed to be a LOT of experimental films which were annoying (as most indie experimental films seem to be), but nothing could have prepared us for the hell that was to befall our senses. The concept: a girl “dances” around in her bathroom to the length of an EP. The dancing: sometimes writhing, sometimes standing still for seemingly minutes, other times clutching the toilet, still other times, pretending to take a shower. The music: slow and lyrically challenged. The girl: droopy breasted and not nearly hot enough to make the short interesting. When it started, one got the sense that it was a music video…for ONE song. When the second song started, Meep said, she knew there was going to be a third song because of how slow it was. I didn’t know this. I mounted my hopes on the ending of each song, thinking “This has GOT to be almost over” or at least “Maybe she’ll kill herself or something. She can’t JUST be dancing in the goddamned bathroom.” 5 very long songs later, it turns out, she WAS just dancing in the goddamned bathroom. Near the end of it, 15 people walked out. We don’t blame them. We would have considered leaving too if our movie had already played. But it hadn’t. Thanks a lot, bathroom lady. Instead, I was just considering the upsides to a self-lobotomy.

When our movie played, the laughs were quiet and infrequent. My theory is that the people who decided to stay were so dumbfounded by the bathroom short that they were unable to enjoy anything after that. It’s certainly how we felt.

Galloo was also in the audience to see our film for the first time. He was in B-ham for the weekend to visit his new g/f. We kind of wish he’d seen it under more pleasant circumstances but hey, Galloo, that’s your penance for waiting so long. :P

Our movie was the last to play. On the way out the door, we ran into the festival director again and he asked if we were going to stay for the next night’s award’s ceremony. We told him (truthfully) that we had to leave Sunday morning for work. He kept asking if we were SURE we couldn’t stay or if we knew someone, ANYONE in Bellingham who could be there. Hmm…perhaps we won a prestigious Golden Hamster? Time will tell. But we couldn’t stay.

We briefly popped in on an after-show party which took place in a tiny tiny room. Then we decided that the best course of action would be to find a grocery store and get some beer and pie to take back to the room.

SUNDAY

We awoke after a typical restless motel night’s sleep. We breakfasted at I-Hop (because every other place in town seemed to have a wait) and headed back to Seattle. Despite two car accidents within a mile of one-another, it didn’t take too long to get home. Dom and Meep went to the office to work on “Wizards of the Toast” and I vegged out on the couch. Ah, the life of a kept woman.

Next weekend: Gene’s Birthday and Harry Potter

November 14, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary, I Made Movies . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

Virgil’s The Amazing story

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

After some last minute shopping for bits and bobs for Dom and Faye’s costume, the Troika finally had all the components we needed for our costumes. At this point, it’s no secret. Dom was to be John Constantine and Faye and I were to be our very appropriate alter egos, Patsy and Edina. I got ready, sprayed Dom’s hair with some “blonde” hairspray and then left for Faye’s to help her with her hair. On the way, I picked up Sherrard and totally freaked out his neighbor as I waited for him. In retrospect, she probably had no idea that I was in a costume. Sherrard descended the stairs in his wonderful Spaceman costume and we started for Faye’s. But Sherrard was in need of sustenance (space travel can really make a boy hungry), so he went to Pagliagi’s and I continued to Faye’s. She was already quite transformed by the time I got there. These were definitely our most accurate costumes to date and we’re pretty proud of them. We got into character by watching some AbFab and drinking a bottle of Cook’s. Sherrard helped us down the stuff. Around 8:00, Dom brought the car, and we headed downstairs to meet him. Borgia was already down there, dressed as a pretty lady, and he seemed to be soliciting my boyfriend. Cute. He really looked pretty good. Like a Bruce McCulloch in drag. And he said I could have his dress. I’m holding him to it. Dom was now fully dressed and looked fantastic. We ALL looked fantastic. And we were ready to party.

Sure, we arrived to Brugos’ Scareoke party a little unfashionably early, but who cares! Elyse and Gene were already there taking full advantage of the karaoke machine before the crowds happened, and I intended to do the same. Elyse was an adorable World War I fighter pilot. She actually looked very comfortable in her outfit. Brugos was a horrifying Courtney Love. Dom didn’t get any pictures, but hopefully Faye did, because you haven’t lived till you’ve seen Courtney Love with a hairy chest. Gene was a rocker dude. And rock, he did.

Throughout the night, we also met two Droogs, Duff Man, a cupcake, Dracula, Axel Rose, Angus Young and Freddie Mercury. The costumes were really amazing. I that we know so many people who are willing to go all out on Halloweeen. Faye and I, ever true to character, continued to pound the Cook’s and also snuck into the backyard for a quick spliff. Before we got too hammered, we sang our song, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship. I also got in some Firehouse and some Johnny Hates Jazz. The karaoke was very popular and the lines got a bit long so I’m definitely glad we got there early. The time went by pretty quickly. Before we knew it, it was 1:00, and poor, sober Dom was ready to vamoose. I didn’t want to leave, but once I got into the car, it was evident that I probably shouldn’t have stayed for much longer.

SATURDAY

Of course I was hungover. But not in a nausea/headache kind of way. I was just exhausted. So I decided not to move for most of the day, opting instead to watch terrible movies on TV (American Psycho, Queen of the Damned) and just veg. Sherrard stopped by briefly and I convinced him to come with us to West Seattle for Gevin’s party before going to the UPS Ex-pats party. I was supposed to call him at 8. At 3 I went down for a nap and didn’t wake up until 5:30. Then I called Faye and we were both so brain dead, that we couldn’t make any plans. Dom made some executive decisions involving Thai food and he called Faye back. I finally took a shower, we ordered the food, and I went to the grocery store for more Cook’s(!) Faye showed up and later Borgia (this time dressed as a lecherous Girl Scout leader). While we waited (an hour) for our food to arrive, we watched an AWESOMELY bad movie on TV called “Santa’s Slay” about Santa being evil. It didn’t really make a lot of sense, plot wise, but it had Emilie de Ravin in it and it was hilarious. Especially the overdubbing of the swearing.
Anyway, after a Thai food orgy, we were no less ready to party. All of us old persons were tired from the night before. But party on, we must. So Sherrard came over and Faye, Dom and I got ready again. We left around 9:00 and headed to West Seattle. Once again, we were one of the first folks to arrive. Gevin wasn’t even in his costume yet. Oh well. We marveled at the fabulous decorations and their awesome skull mural. Their house is like a museum of cool. Faye and I didn’t know anyone besides the folks we came with though, and Gevin was busy running around, so we kinda alienated ourselves to the couch for a little while. Their friends are really nice though. People actually came up to us and introduced themselves. Wow! Eventually, more people we knew arrived, like Kayobi (looking very Pirates of Penzance) and Jeff and his girlfriend (who were rockers. And his g/f was the spitting image of Lita Ford. She had no idea who Lita Ford was). Alesia also arrived and told me that I looked good enough to rape. Yikes. She also apparently hit on Dom. I doubt she’ll remember any of that.
Around 11:00, Gevin’s band played in the basement. They were really good! They played some covers and some original stuff and just generally rocked.
We decided to head back to the hill after that. Dom dropped us of at the Ex-pats and went home. We squeezed our way into the house, but it was wall-to-wall people and very uncomfortable. We hung out long enough to see Ahe’s Barbie costume (which was very good) and then Faye and I retreated to the basement to get some air. Since there wasn’t actually anyone else IN the basement, and we really didn’t want to squeeze ourselves back into the kitchen, we decided we should call it a night. Friday has just taken it all out of us. I guess next time someone asks me how I can attend 3 parties in one weekend, the answer is “I can’t.”

SUNDAY

I wasn’t at all hung over, but I was still pretty wrecked. I think I was still recovering from Friday. Jesus. Anyway, I had big plans for getting chores done but it didn’t really happen. Dom and I made it to the grocery store and then I got distracted by baking cookies, and “I Love the 80’s 3D”. Oh well. I also continued to watch “Queer as Folk” which is really addictive. The last episode I watched ended on quite the downer which is maybe why I had horrible stress nightmares all night.

Regardless of the fact that I am no longer able to “bounce back” from a rough night, it was a very fun weekend and very successful, costume wise, for everybody! I love my friends!

Dom’s pictures are here!

Hopefully Faye will upload hers soon cos she’s got more of Saturday and some definite gems from Friday. If anyone else has pictures, I’d love to see them!

Also, check out Dom’s new MySpace picture. I know we are nerds.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

October 31, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

Processing Judicial Judgments

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

Faye, Kayobi, Ahe and I watched Hellraiser for October’s Good Movie Friday. Kayobi brought a party tray and Faye make crack chip cookies. Is there any better movie to watch whilst stuffing your face with goodies? I think not. Hellraiser is actually quite a cool movie. Some of the special effects don’t necessarily stand the test of time, but there are a great many that do. You have to love a horror film from the old school of effects, before people got lazy and just used CG for everything. Some assistant effects person had to painstakingly dress bits of latex to look like flesh and hang them on hundreds of hooks. What an awesome job!

After the movie, I do believe we called it an early night. As the days get shorter, I have to resist the urge to hibernate.

SATURDAY

With so many awesomely bad movies on television, how does one bring oneself to leave the house? I began the day by watching “Sybil” (the 70’s TV movie about a woman with multiple personalities) on Lifetime. After that, I had to choose between Superman 3, The Other Sister and Young Guns. The Other Sister might possibly be the most offensive depiction of the mentally challenge ever committed to film. It’s just so WRONG. So wrong, it almost feels right. “I love you more than big band music and cookie making.” “Strange things are happening all over my body.” “I feel like we should be doing something more than kissing.” “I had to make all the decisions because you were DRINKING!” (The last line having been uttered by the NON-mentally challenged Diane Keaton. Hard to tell the difference, really.)
Anyway, when I finally WAS able to tear myself away, I met Faye and we went to Value Village to get a few more items with which to complete her Halloween costume.

Then we caught the bus down to the Dragonfish just in time for the start of their delectable happy hour where we gorged ourselves on vegetarian Asian Fusion and Lemongrass Lime Rikis. We were joined midway by Ben and later by Sherrard. This was all part of the plan, you see…the plan to have just the perfect buzz going when we saw DOOM.

DOOM!! Oh, Andrzej Bartkowiak, you have taken an unnecessary concept for a film and make it delightfully watch-able. Not in a Uwe Boll: why do they let this guy make movies kind of way, but more in a Jr. Verhoeven: This guy isn’t much for plot, but damn he knows how to kill things kind of way. Sure, the obvious parallels to our current U.S. government (as seen through the eyes of a European) were a bit heavy-handed, and it was rather distracting to hear so many otherwise talented English/Kiwi actors poorly attempt an American accent, but it wasn’t ABOUT that. It was about killing science experiments gone-wrong. And that was done well. Even the 10 minutes of first-person perspective were entertaining.
We left the theatre on a high that could only be sustained by more drinking. We went to the Six Arms because Andrew was with us and the boy was functioning on no sleep. So he intended to have one drink somewhere close to his car and then take off. Hopefully he got home OK.

At the Six Arms, I decided to finally try their very expensive ($5.75) home-brewed hard cider. You know what? Bleh. It certainly wasn’t superior to the $4 Strongbow and CERTAINLY not to the $3 Blackthorns. Screw you, hoity toity cider. No matter. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

The other half is leaving the Six Arms at 11 to go back to Faye’s house and listen to cheesy music, stopping first at QFC for reinforcements. I purchased a bottle of wine, as recommended to me by a spooky owl. I think it was the right decision, though the emus were making a pretty good case of their own.

At this point it was just Faye, Sherrard and me left. We put on a CD I made Faye which is full of songs that I want her to sing at the karaoke Halloween party next weekend. These songs (like The Carpenters, Spandau Ballet and Starship) are perfect for late night drinking and remising. And remise we did. Before long, Faye brought out the photo album and the Tickle Me Emo CD. Did you know that the three of us have known each other for nigh on 6 years? And Faye and I for longer. How we have changed since then. And yet, not at all. At our core, we’re still the same people. We’re just a little bit wiser. Not a LOT wiser, mind you. Just a little.

After all that memory lane shit, there was naught to do but start watching Alone in the Dark. It was then that I checked the time: 3am! We were fading and needed sleep. Sherrard and I got our shit together and left around 3:30 and he was gentlemanly enough to walk me home. I really like walking home (in the company of another) in the wee hours. It’s so quiet and peaceful in our neck of Capital Hill then.

I fumbled my way into bed in the dark and hopefully didn’t wake Dom too abruptly.

SUNDAY

I wasn’t hung over, as I expected to be. However, I was feeling pretty hermity. This is yet another side effect to the changing weather. Since Dom was absent on account of another 48-hour film challenge, I used the opportunity that an empty apartment affords, to stay holed up and not talk to anyone. Fantastic. I briefly excursioned to the grocery store to get some baking supplies and spent the day making cookies and scones and watching the telly. I also, inspired by the previous night’s events, looked through my old photo albums to find pictured to upload for today’s entry. Here is what I found:

1) Jessica and Sherrard during their brief stint as a couple. Look at our rosy cheeks. Look at Sherrard’s hair! Look at MY hair, for that matter. I kept it short and black for years. And Christ, I’m wearing YELLOW.
2) Faye with a microphone in the Posse House basement singing an improvised song about our ill-advised friend Jeff and tryst with one Red Jeans Katie.
3) Young Jacob sporting a nerdy t-shirt and a sprightly expression. You won’t catch him like that anymore. Well…occasionally the sprightly expression…Also, check out the obligatory stolen traffic cone.
4) Slightly older Jacob in more adult clothing, but still a boyish haircut, and Erin (who still looks the same) at El Toro! Oh, El Toro…before you were consumed by flames, you were worth the long, dangerous drive to Tacoma for karaoke.
5) Another one of a Jacob of yesteryear. This is Halloween 2000. Check out his shiny shirt. He used have a closet full of shiny shirts that he would wear on special occasions. I don’t think he has a single one anymore.
6) Young Daniel and Baxter. Back then he was known as DJ. I’d never met him before that night. Before this picture was taken, he hit on me. I resisted. After this picture was taken, he passed out in my bed. Needless to say, we later dated. Having dated is inconsequential (if not beneficial…and certainly anecdotal) to our current friendship.
7) Faye and I used to live together. For a few years, actually. In our last apartment on Queen Anne, we happily prepared for the Buffy episode wherein Anya and Xander were to be married. We made cupcakes and everything. Faye’s got flowers. Look at our happy, optimistic faces. Those of you who are familiar with the show know what happened next.
8) This picture of me was taken shortly after the above-mentioned Buffy episode concluded. Nerds? Why, yes. But weren’t we cute?
9) This picture of Dom was taken by Faye at our first joint birthday party, shortly after we started dating and shortly before I started feeding him.

NEXT WEEKENDHalloween parties galore!

October 24, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary, Filmpinions, Picture Pages . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

Constant sandwichboard

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

After work, I caught the bus to the U to meet Dom and off we went to Woodinville to attend the wedding of his former co-worker. It was a mercifully short ceremony and we were entertained by the pleasant company of one Ms. Rountree. Lovely. Dinner was AMAZING and the drinks particularly potent. I only had two, however, on account of me being on antibiotics. They also had one of those wonderful Wonka-esque chocolate fountains flowing. So of course, I ate way too much. After dancing to YMCA and watching a photo-slideshow (at the behest of the bride’s mother), Dom and I took our leave.

SATURDAY

Dom and I had to take Tobe to the vet in the morning. He has some scabs around his head and one on his tummy so we wanted to get them checked out. The vet said that it could be either fleas (one could have hitched a ride into the house on me or Dom) or a food allergy. She said that cats can be allergic to certain proteins and since Dom and I pretty much give the cats fish exclusively, it seems likely. So he’s being treated for both and Marilyn is now being treated for fleas as well, just in case. Tobe has to take an antibiotic twice a day for 7 days. He loooooves that. Tobe is really turning out to be a special needs cat. Poor little guy.

After we dropped Tobe off, I had to run to the store to buy a pumpkin and an appetizer to bring to Kayobi’s pumpkin carving party. It was just for girls, so Dom dropped me off. I attempted a design that I downloaded from the internet which is supposed to be Otis Firefly’s head. It turned out decent, but only when there’s a candle inside. I will upload pictures soon. (Probably along with all the pictures from the upcoming Halloween Party Weekend!)

After Kayobi’s thing, Dom and I had to go BACK to the store to get food for krk’s birthday BBQ. Around this time, my cold started to kick my ass. I thought perhaps I could rest for a minute when I got home and feel ok, but it didn’t turn out that way at all. Once I sat down on the couch, I was unable to move. So, unfortunately, Dom had to go to krk’s party without me. Sorry, krk!

I did, however, have a lovely evening by myself doped up on Nyquil. I watched “Superstar” (which I LOVE, in spite of it being an SNL movie based on a rather weak character. It’s just so fucked up. And Harlan Williams is amazing in it.) and a bunch of “Strangers With Candy” episodes which are even more hilarious and surreal when medicated. I passed out at 10 and have no idea when Dom got home.

SUNDAY

Sherrard, Dom, Dusty and I set out for a day hike on Tiger Mountain. This was my first hike in a very long time and so, compounded with my general gimpyness, we opted for a fairly flat trail. We started to climb the Tiger Mountain 3 trail, which, in elevation, is similar to that of Denny Way. I am perfectly capable of climbing Denny Way on foot. Of course, Denny Way is concrete, and Tiger Mountain 3 is mud, leaves, rocks and roots. It is decidedly more difficult. Sorry, guys. I love nature, but I’m just not that extreme. We walked all around “Tradition Lake” and took “The Bus Trail” past an old, rusty overturned hippie bus. It was entirely riddled with bullet holes and really cool (albeit dangerous) to stomp around in. We ate lunch by the lake and then Sherrard and I smoked half a doob down by the marsh. Good times.

We returned to Seattle around 2:30. I had the sudden urge to visit Uwajimaya, so after we were dropped off, Dom and I got in his car and drove to the I.D. We stocked up on delicious packaged Asian foods and returned home to eat them.

As we ate, I caved and watched the two “Lost” episodes that Dom has TiVo’d. They were…ok. Not as shitty as previous episodes. But that’s only because they didn’t feature Kate or Jack. A guest starring role by D.J. Qualls (for once not acting slightly retarded) helped. I love that guy.

Then Dom and I watched the first two Eccleston Doctor Who episodes (because I caved and finally bought them from Amazon.co.uk) and enjoyed them immensely before retiring for the evening.

Not a very wild weekend, but busy nonetheless. I’m still feeling fluey so who knows what I’ll be able to do next weekend. I need to rest up for Halloween. One thing is for sure…There will be a matinee of DOOM in there somewhere.

October 17, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

Accelerates recovery from athletic injury

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

I began my Friday by meeting Elyse at Ohana for happy hour. Their regular food menu is a little pricier than I care to pay, but for $3 each during happy hour, you can get some delicious veggie appetizers that rival that of the Dragonfish! You can also get $3.95 Blue Hawaiians, which are basically Polynesian Long-Islands. And damn, do they fuck you up.
Elyse and I gorged ourselves and gabbed. It was a lot of fun. I feel like I haven’t hung out with Elyse in ages. In actuality, I saw her at my birthday, but I guess one just can’t get enough of Elyse. Especially when the next thing she does is take you behind a dumpster, next to a pee-soaked mattress and smoke you out. Now THAT’S friendship.
While we were waiting outside Ohana for Gene to show up, Andrew and Brugos called from the Cyclops. There was still time for me to get in a drink or two before I was supposed to head back up the hill for a screening of “Snow Day” at the Film Forum. I called Faye to see if she wanted to come down, but of course she didn’t. I probably wouldn’t have either. Coming down the hill and back up again in a matter of hours is not a fun bus activity for a Friday night. So I stayed for only one drink. It took ages to get that drink, however, because the waiter was a snob. When we hesitated on our order, he actually turned away from us and waited on the table next to us. Then he didn’t come back to us for half an hour. When he finally did come back, I ordered something called The Pink Eye. The others had ordered fries a long time ago and those still hadn’t come out either. This combined with the general snootiness of our waiter, prompted Brugos to suggest that we dine and dash. He suggested it several times, so I think he might have been serious. Perhaps it’s due to that Silver Spoons episode, but I’ve never been able to do that. Luckily, I was leaving before bill time anyway. Elyse will have to fill me in on the ultimate outcome of that situation. I left around 9:00, but not before Brugos cracked us all up with the most hilarious and not inaccurate impression of his loquacious cat, Lucy. This impression basically involves him emitting a high-pitched, continuous scream that is almost too obnoxious to carry out in a public place. Instant classic.
I had a (thankfully) uneventful bus ride back up the hill and met Faye, Borgia and Gafzilla at the Satellite for another quickie. Of course, a quickie drink at the Satellite takes no less than an hour. By then I was on the road to Drunky Town. I decided to stop drinking at that point so that, if there was a Q & A following the screening, I wouldn’t embarrass myself (and Faye) completely.
At the theatre, I bought some popcorn (which is deliciously popped in coconut oil!) and a water to soak up some of the Blue Hawaiian mess in my stomach. Luckily, there was already plenty of Agadashi Tofu in there. That’s the wonderful thing about Happy Hours with good food. You never overdo the drinking too much because you’re constantly stuffing your face.
ANYWAY, we sat through some good shorts and some okay shorts and one pretty impressive Evil Dead remake (sort of) as done by some 15-year-olds who had obviously been doing their homework. Our one under-21 actor was finally able to attend a screening with his friends and Faye suggested that we plant him in the audience at all our screenings. The boy loves to laugh. It makes us feel, well, hilarious.
After the movies, they called all the filmmakers up to introduce themselves and even though the alcohol had pretty much left me at that point (and sleepiness was starting to take over) I still fucked up a simple introduction by introducing myself and the movie without Faye. She was standing right next to me, and in my messed-up brain, I assumed that she would just introduce herself. But I’d already said the name of the film. Sorry, Faye. I still feel like a right-asshole about that.
As we gathered our wits outside, we were approached by the guy who’d done the voiceover in our trailer. We’d never met him before but, of course, we recognized his voice. Really nice guy!
And then it was time for beddy-bye.

SATURDAY

I took care of a few errands straight away when I woke up so that I couldn’t procrastinate them off the schedule. One of them included cleaning up the bathroom where Tobe had decided to pee on the bathmat. The little fella has been peeing in all manner of places that aren’t his litter box as of late (including my suitcase). I know he knows HOW to use the litter box because he uses it for everything else. I’ve also seen him pee in it. But not lately. I think he might be trying to tell us something, either about his health or about his mental state. He has a vet appointment next Saturday. Hopefully, he won’t ruin anymore of my stuff before then.
After the errands, and a brief moment of being sucked into watching the trainwreck that is “The Other Sister” on TV, I headed over to meet Faye so that we could shop for our Halloween costumes (which are going to be VERY awesome). We spent way more time at Value Village than a person should, and then topped it off with a trip to Crossroads (where I completed my costume). Faye is still working on hers but I’m confident that it will come together brilliantly. Possibly our best costumes since we’ve been costuming together…to wear to what may be the best Halloween Party in recent years. Can’t wait!
Sherrard, we didn’t see anything for your costume, but we will be on the lookout!

After Crossroads, I went to buy a new bathmat, and Faye and I wandered around the Uber QFC wondering if we should cook or go to a restaurant. We finally decided to go to the Wok and Grill, and I’m certain that it was the best decision. We highly recommend the string beans in garlic sauce which are undoubtedly cooked using the rare crack variety of string bean.

After our bean and appetizer feast, we ambled back to Faye’s to digest before watching this week’s horror film. Faye and I had been craving cigars, so I bought a pack of Blackwoods and we smoked them on her porch while listening to the CD of 70’s and 80’s love ballads that Elyse made for me. FANtastic.

After Borgia arrived, and we put in “The Hills Have Eyes”. This is one of those movies that everyone and their dog seem to put on their top ten horror movies list. And, you know, it wasn’t that bad…until the end where it just…ENDS with no warning or dénouement. It was entirely abrupt and frustrating. Borgia checked IMDB to see if, maybe, they were shooting IN sequence and ran out of money at precisely that point, but he could find no such evidence. It just ends right in the middle of a scene. Weird. Ok.

And then it was time to pick up Dom from the airport! We foolishly didn’t check arrival times before leaving so we didn’t know that the flight was delayed, apparently due to quite a bit of turbulence. Fun for Dom! When we finally picked him up, Faye and I at least, were pretty beat, so she dropped me and Dom off at home.

Sunday

Spent most of the day watching TV on account of a UTI. Lovely. At least I’m all caught up on my Smallville (two seconds of screen time does not, a James Marsters guest appearance make) and as caught up as once can be on Battlestar Galactica (which, I realized while watching Lost recently, may have its problems, but it’s definitely the best scripted drama on TV right now). Faye, I have some VCD’s for you to borrow.

October 10, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary, I Made Movies . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

so fly by sport works

WEEKEND RECAP

I realize this is very late indeed, but, to be honest, last weekend wasn’t terribly interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed most of my escapades, but they just weren’t really blog-worthy (whatever that means). However, my southern upbringing compels me to uphold tradition. And, as such, I will recap an uninteresting weekend with my usual verbosity.

FRIDAY

Faye and I begun our evening at the Six Arms. She drank beer and I, overpriced wine. Not to worry, though. I had a water bottle full of the stuff on my bag, so I didn’t need to buy more than two glasses. After we left the Six Arms, we decided to stop at Faye’s old local shopping establishment “The Ghetto Mart” to buy a quickie cheapie to drink in Hobo Park. Unfortunately, Hobo Park was closed, so we instead found a nice set of stairs at the top of a “Local Access” walkway. We two adult women walk by with sleeping bags, apparently on their way to a slumber party? We saw a guy trying to jump a fence from the inside (an escaped patient from a hospital?), and we “met” two fellows from the suburbs who were HAMMERED and also on their way to see Tom Lycus (sp?) at the Paramount. We gave them directions and then they invited us to join them at the Salmon Days festival the next day. “We don’t get girls like you in [wherever they said they were from]”. We took this to mean that not many girls in their particular suburb sit on stairs drinking on Friday nights. And sure that they are correct about that.

After we finished our drinks, we headed to the Meridian. We were 2 hours early. There was a line, but it was pretty short. Faye and I sat down to wait and were joined later by Dusty, Ben and a fellow called Ian (hey! I remembered someone’s name) who I learned was training to be a cop. I learned this after making a slightly disparaging comment about cops. Go me! Ben and Ian decided that we could hold their place in line while they went to get a drink.

Around 9:50, the line had grown exponentially. The theatre staff, not having any idea how to handle the type of opening-night fanaticism usually reserved for the Cinerama or Pacific Place, decided that the best course of action for dealing with an orderly line would be to instruct everyone to bunch forward and form and orderly blob. Nice work, guys. The geeks were the picture of politeness, however, and everyone found their seats in pretty much the order of their arrival.

We found our seats and awaited the start of the film. I, for one, was nervous. I have faith in the Whedon, but I’ve also been burned on plenty an occasion.
SPOILER ALERT
I have to say that the second Mal mercy killed a man who was about to be eaten by Reavers, I knew Joss wasn’t going to let me down. By the third act, I couldn’t close my mouth. Now, that asshole on the bus had indicated to me that someone was going to die. When Book bit it, I thought that was it. Of course I was sad about Book. But I did NOT see what happened to Wash coming. Never in a million years. When Wash was impaled, I earnestly placed my hand to my mouth in shock, which is something I never thought I would do. I was incapable of removing it for quite some time after that. I also grabbed for Faye’s hand as Kaylee and Simon were shot within seconds of each other. At that point, I had NO IDEA what was going to happen and I was terrified. I know Faye was feeling it too. After the movie there was naught to do but go home. On our way up the hill, Faye and I talked about the genius of Whedon. And his tendency to kill the characters who are the most pure of heart RIGHT when you least expect it. We hearkened back to Tara and how shocking THAT had been. And Xander leaving Anya? Good lord. Faye and I were messed up for weeks about that. We’d even made CUPCAKES for the goddamned wedding. He must have some sort of Faustian deal going because that kind of talent doesn’t seem natural.
END SPOILERS

SATURDAY

It’s office moving day! No human being should be required to wake up on Saturday morning to move their office, but I was. It was 7:30 and the copious CHEAP wine from the night before was taking its toll. I decided to take an experimental puff or two to quell the nausea, lest I begin the day by vomiting all over my co-workers. Granted, I have the urge to do that even when I’m not hung over.
We met at Starbucks at 8 for breakfast on the company. An eggs Florentine sandwich and coffee was just the thing to help me through the next few hours of…watching dudes move our stuff. We’d hired movers and, since we’d already packed everything, there really wasn’t anything for any of us to do till they were done. I definitely appreciated everyone coming out though. They could have easily just said “you handle it”. In fact, I’m surprised they didn’t. So I spent my Saturday hanging out with my co-workers while movers hauled things away around us. Actually, let me clarify that. Boss Man ended up conveniently out of town that weekend. Lil’ D “had to leave” at 11. So it was me, the nice intern and The Other One. Our tech guy was also there because he thought he would be able to get a jump start on setting up our server. But of course the data people hadn’t actually finished their job, so there was nothing for any of us to do. At 1:00, we went to get lunch at Fado. We came back at 2 and they were almost done. I got home around 3.

I intended to take a nap, but I just couldn’t fall asleep. So I just watched some TV and putzed around the apartment until 7:30 when Faye and Dusty came over to watch House of 1000 Corpses. Halloween being our favorite holiday, Faye and I have developed an annual October tradition of watching one good horror movie every weekend in October. Since most people we know actually HATE House of 1000 Corpses, it was just the three of us die-hard Zombie-ites. And it was every bit as entertaining as we remember it to be. Sure, it has its flaws. But it’s funny and gory and Mosely and Haig are AWESOME. After the movie, Dusty left and Borgia came over, but by that time I was pretty much ready for bed.

SUNDAY

I did pretty much nothing. Just went to the grocery store, and looked around the apartment for stuff I could sell for cash. If we’re going to be taking impromptu trips to L.A. (at least I hope we’re going to) I needs tha cash. Anybody know what the requirements are for selling your eggs?

October 6, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary, Filmpinions . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

appetite for specials impelled

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

Kayobi kindly picked us (The Troika) up at 6:00 and we sped off to the airport, going by the adage that you should arrive two hours early for a flight. I guess not many people fly on Fridays because we were checked in and through security in 10 minutes. That left us with quite a lot of time to kill. Ben found us after a while. Dom stayed put at the gate. I had a few drinks at the airport bar. Meep wasn’t feeling well, but eventually she got a beer which she couldn’t finish.

The flight was uneventful, unless you count Meep coming up with new nicknames for us. Danish, Spine and Chupacabra. I’ll leave you to guess who’s who.

Jacob picked us up and we crammed into his BMW. We got a little lost on the way to Inglewood where we were staying with Beth, an old friend of Dom’s. Beth was going out for the evening. We were too tired so we decided to tuck in for the night. Ben took the small couch, Meep, the large (not sure why) and Dom and I padded the hardwood floor with blankets. We met Beth’s sweet pit bull, Lizzie. She was uneasy at first (she’s not fond of guys), but eventually, she warmed up to all of us. We watched a little TV on Beth’s ridiculously huge wide screen HD and then tried to get some sleep. It wasn’t easy. There was a loud party going on till about 4 in the morning. On top of that, both Ben and Lizzie snore. It doesn’t help that Meep, Dom and I are 3 of the lightest sleepers in the world. In the middle of the night, Ben went upstairs to sleep in Beth’s empty bed (she invited us too), and I took Ben’s place on the couch. It was too late though. My back was already well and truly fucked from the hardwood floor. I don’t know how Dom did it.

SATURDAY

We woke up around 8 because the rest of the apartment complex was also awake. We were meant to meet Mark at his house at 10, but Jacob was late picking us up and we also stopped to get breakfast. We got there at 10:30. Mark lives right around the corner from The Viper Room and the Whiskey A-Go-Go in a nice little two-story bungalow that was once inhabited by Tom Sizemore. It’s a very cute place, tastefully decorated and comes complete with a breakfast nook. We briefly met Mark’s wife who wasn’t feeling well and seemed a bit unhappy having 6 strangers in her house on a Saturday morning. Sorry! Mark took us on a pleasant walk around West Hollywood, showing us where Sal Mineo died, where Marilyn Monroe once lived with Sally Winters, where Betty Davis once lived, among others. I find it ridiculous how NOT conducive to walking L.A. is when everyone there is supposedly into health and fitness. We got so many weird looks walking around. Furthermore, the sidewalks barely fit two people across. This is reason number 6 why I’m not in a hurry to move to L.A. I hate spending all my time riding around in cars. It feels counterproductive. I don’t know why riding the bus doesn’t. I’m just more suited to public transport, I guess.

Anyway, after our walk, we went to a veggie friendly place called the Newsroom, where I had possible the BEST vegetarian chicken yet. They were little “chicken” drumsticks smothered in BBQ sauce, laying on a pile of creamy mashed potatoes. They even went so far as to put wooden sticks in the drumsticks for authenticity’s sake. Wonderful. Now if only they can make vegetarian southern-style fried chicken, and veggie battered shrimp, I’ll want for nothing in the meat world.

Next we went to Ralph’s to get a box of band-aids for Meep, who was suffering from blisters. Ben and Dom went back in to get a bottle of water, and the rest of us were treated to some A-Class people-watching. It’s AMAZING what people in L.A. wear to the grocery store. “This is my casual, domestic errand coteur”.

We still had a couple hours before we had to be anywhere, so we went to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to check out the graves of the rich of famous. I was surprised how many plots were marked for people who hadn’t died yet. There were also a few tributes to people who weren’t actually buried there. One such tribute was to Joey Ramone. The statue’s base sported quotes from Eddie Vedder, Rob Zombie, Joey’s wife, Vincent Gallo and John Frusciante.

Mark took his leave of us, and we went to Raleigh Studios where they were holding the festival. It was kind of exciting having to sign in and get a pass to enter a studio lot. We walked past several trailers, and a miniature horse before finding the theatre where we saw a feature called “Death By Engagement”. It was produced by a friend of Dom’s. The theatre itself was VERY nice. Cushy seats with high backs, and a big, beautiful screen. I imagine this is where many an important director watches dailies.

After the movie, we met Heidi Martinuzzi, a prominent figure in the horror world. We had been in correspondence for some time but had never met. (She was responsible for setting up our first ever interview!) She gave Snow Day a good review and has been very helpful with promoting our film. She’s also honest and fun. I haven’t met that many “L.A. Types” yet, but something tells me. She’s atypical. She also reminded all of us a little of Ahe. We all went to get dinner at a Mexican place called Lucy’s after the movie. It was overpriced and mediocre. Also, when I ordered a Margarita, the waiter thought I wanted a plate of guacamole. What? We did spot Eva Mendes though. Why any self-respecting Latina would eat that crappy food, I have no idea.

Heidi and her friend Zach took their leave of us after dinner. Mark made several suggestions for bars to visit. We settled on a place called The Three of Clubs. He said it was quiet and had nice booths. He hadn’t been there in several years, however. When we arrived, we walked into a silent room that was also freezing cold. We make an awkward exit about 5 minutes later, and headed to The Abbey, back by Mark’s place. The Abbey is a HUUUUUUUUGE gay bar. The place is like a maze. It was really cool when we first got there. Plenty of seating, fun music, and heat lamps outside. As it started to fill up, however, it became unpleasant. It was impossible to get a drink if you didn’t have a penis. Meep and I were blatantly ignored at the bar. We were also cock-blocked by an inconsiderate couple who decided to stay at the bar and have their drinks after they ordered them. Hello! This is where people order. There weren’t even SEATS. Mark took his leave of us early and we were joined by The Brunswicks and Beth. Because it was so difficult to get served, it was about an hour between drinks for me. That kept me awake but also very sober.

Eventually, Roxy, Meep and I had to go to the bathroom. This is the first time I’ve ever been somewhere that the line for the men’s room was longer than the line for the women’s. However, BOTH lines were RIDICULOUSLY long. There were only two stalls and the line was barely moving. It took us about 45 minutes to get in there.

Meanwhile, Meep gave up and she and Ben took a cab back to Inglewood. The rest of us drove off in search of food, apart from Jacob who stayed on to wait for friends. I had barely touched my crappy Mexican food so I was pretty hungry. As we got into the Brunswick’s car, some meatheads who had just parked asked us where we’d been hanging out. I told them “The Abbey”. “The Abbey?,” they said. “Were there a lot of GAY people there?” Rocko, quick on his feet, responded “No, it’s great. You’ll love it.”

We attempted to eat at Pink’s, but the line was long. I guess it’s an L.A. tradition to wait in that line, but we weren’t in the mood, and Dom and I erroneously thought they didn’t have veggie dogs. Instead we went to Astro Burger which DID have veggie dogs. We stuffed our faces and then called it a night.

SUNDAY

Once again, Jacob was late picking us up and once again we got lost. Lost in Beverly Hills. Cue the Fresh Prince theme song. Sorry, Mark, for being late BOTH times we were to meet you. Eventually, we found our way to (a different) Astro Burger for lunch. This place has a HUGE vegetarian menu!!! I will welcome my next trip to L.A. just to eat there again. I got a “ham” and egg sammy. Meep got a “rib” sammy. Their fries were also super delicious. I know I’m talking a lot about food, but it’s very difficult to get good fake meat in Seattle so it’s very exciting for me.

Anywhosel, off to Raleigh Studios again for our screening! We were one of 4 shorts that played, and the ONLY comedy. I kind of feel like they should have played ours last because right after the laugh riot that is Snow Day, they played a very long serious and arty “short”. It was very exciting to see our movie on that screen. It was also exciting to hear so many laughs. And in all the right places. Horror audiences get it, man. Awesome.

After the movie, we schmoozed in the parking lot. After roasting in the hot sun for a little while, Mark said goodbye to us. Thanks Mark, for spending so much time with us. I’m sorry your wife couldn’t join us.

Eventually, the party broke up. Meep, Ben and I still had some time before our flight so we went shopping. Meep and I dropped some cash at Golden Apple Comics. Then we got some Thai food.

The flight home was uneventful as well, apart from the fact that Ben saw someone he knew on the plane. We can’t go anywhere without him running into someone he knows. The man is famous already.

And thus, our trip to L.A. was at an end. But Dom’s was just beginning. I’m sure we’ll have to be going back to L.A. soon and often, but it was great to come back home to Seattle. Please, god, don’t make us move to L.A.

Photos forthcoming.

September 27, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary, I Made Movies . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

Or organise do buck phonemic

WEEKEND RECAP

FRIDAY

Faye and I went to see a screening of “Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story” at the NW Film Forum. I was quite a fan of Mother Love Bone in high school, to the point of ridicule from my very metal/punk friends, but I haven’t listened to them in ages. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the documentary. Faye and I were a little disappointed by the Gits documentary at SIFF. If Seattle is going to be the next Hollywood, they’d better start making better documentaries about Seattle subjects. But “The Andrew Wood Story” was pretty good. At first, the psychedelic motion graphics reminded me a little too much of VH1 program, but after a while, I settled into it and enjoyed the ride. Despite having been a fan of the music, I didn’t really know that much about the man. Turns out he was a very funny, thoughtful fellow who liked to have a good time, look pretty and rock. His family kept referring to themselves as “screwed up”, but their love for one-another was so evident, that it really didn’t feel that dysfunctional. It was one of those stories that, even though you know it ends badly, still gives you a glimmer of hope. This guy left too soon, but he left behind some great music and left indelible marks on everyone who knew him. Even Chris Cornell, who is known for being kind of a dick, was clearly having trouble in the interview. He chain-smoked and choked back tears throughout. At the end, the director came up and answered questions. Actually, he answered one question with his life story. But it was ok. He seemed like a good guy. He explained that the documentary found him, and took 10 years of his life to make. He explained the structure of it and how he wanted to show Andrew Wood’s life from inside Andrew’s head. Once you know that, the style of the film is much easier to take. Also, Kim Thayil, AKA Zombie Santa, was in the audience of about 20 people. That made the whole thing seem that much more special. Even if this documentary doesn’t do well, it serves as a lovely tribute to the man, for the people he left behind. Sorry for the Hallmark sentiments. But I’m TOUCHED, Goddamnit!

After the movie, Faye and I went to the Canterbury for a quick drink and a plate of fries. It was the wrong night for the Canterbury, however. Our favorite waitress, the nice, small blonde girl, was off. And we were ignored. After waiting for about 10 minutes, I went to the bar to get our drinks, and asked if I could order food there. The bartender snippily replied that our waitress would take our food order. I said that I wasn’t sure if there was table service because we’d been waiting and hadn’t seen anyone. He said he’d “send her right over”. Faye and I were almost done with our drinks before we saw “our” waitress stroll through the room. She checked on the other table and then walked past us without even a glance. Faye and I downed the rest of our pints and went to QFC.

We spent the rest of the evening at my house watching Alan Partridge and drinking of the beer. Faye also printed out some pictures for her haircut the following day.

SATURDAY

Faye and I met at 12:30 to go downtown. Faye was on a quest for a new top and I was along to spend money I shouldn’t be spending. Glorious. We also went to Vain so Faye could get a haircut. A MAJOR haircut. From long to bob in an hour. And, I must say, Faye looks A-fucking-dorable. I know it must be a major adjustment for her to lose that much hair, but it definitely works.

After that, we still had some time to kill before meeting Dom for our dinner/casting meeting. We were quickly discouraged at The Rack, so we decided to give up on shopping and kick out the fun. We had a nacho and beer aperitif at Shorty’s followed by a quick game of Pinball. Then we met Dom at the Rendezvous and had out casting meeting. Right now, these meetings still feel a bit like make-believe. It’s hard to imagine that we are actually going to be contacting such and such’s agents and making offers!

After the meeting, I joined Dom in the Jewel Box for a show called “Verbatim Verboten”, wherein actors read the scripts from phone messages, interviews and other recordings, left by belligerent, intoxicated, or otherwise mentally unstable notables. Meanwhile, Faye hung with Borgia and Elyse. The show was pretty entertaining. The acting wasn’t stellar. And there was a very LOOOOONG-winded Woody Allen bit from his deposition about the Soon-Yi debacle. They kept coming back to it throughout the show and each time it was more insufferable. I very much pity the individuals who were forced to pour over the testimony. But, for the most part, the bits were amusing. Sherrard would have LOVED this show. My favorite bits were a belligerent message left by Ryan Adams on the answering machine of a man who gave him a bad review, and the ravings of Orson Wells as he attempted to record some advert voiceovers.

The show over, I resumed drinking with Elyse, Faye and Borgia while Dom had to do a reading really quick at a fundraiser in the Grotto. At 11:30, we were all exhausted and ready to go home. Elyse, especially, had an excuse, as she’d spent the day at the Puyallup Fair.

SUNDAY

I spent an ill-conceived morning watching “Dancer in the Dark”. Oh my god! I just don’t like Lars Von Trier. His “heroines” are helpless, borderline insane women who don’t help themselves. I’m all for tragedies, but only if the protagonist is willing to fight for self-preservation. I’m also all for stories about self-sacrifice, but not when it’s COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY. I guess the bottom line is that it’s hard for me to watch a 2 and a half hour movie about a character that I don’t like. It’s especially hard when that character is played by a singer with a grating, impish wail. After a while, I was fast forwarding through the musical numbers. I suppose Bjork’s acting wasn’t bad. I’m sure she was doing exactly what she was told. But the bottom line for me is thus: Lars, I don’t jive with your world view. Bjork, shut up.

To stop the bleeding in my eyes, Dom and I watched some more Battlestar Galactica (almost caught up!) and then went to the grocery store. This was followed by yoga and finishing Deadwood. Deadwood, by the way, is awesome. It’s very rare that a show is SO FULL of amazing actors that I actually like all the characters equally. Well, I kinda like the Doc a little more than everyone else.

NEXT WEEK: Hell-A!

September 19, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary, Filmpinions . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

made from Cactus, Russel?

WEEKEND RECAP

Friday

Around 6:30, my friends Ryan and The Kidd came over to get me ridiculously baked and drive my ass to Everett. The Kidd was just taking us up there and leaving. Ryan and I would have no ride home. At the time, we weren’t concerned. There HAD to be a bus that left Everett, right? Besides, it would be a rock n’ roll adventure. Little did we know, seeing Oasis at the Everett Events Center is about the LEAST rock and roll thing a person can do.

The ride up was promising. Ryan played DJ in the backseat by spinning the best Oasis b-sides (as every Oasis fan knows, are the best Oasis tunes). The Kidd dropped us off at the Events Center around 7:45. The show had started at 7, but we couldn’t be bothered with the openers, Kasabian & Jet. I didn’t expect much hassle from the bag checkers. Why should I? The guy looked inside my bag and was set to move me along when he noticed my patches.

“Are those safety pins on your bag, ma’am?”, he asked.

“Yes. They’re holding on the patches,” I said.

“Well, you’re going to have to remove them and throw them away,” he said sternly.

“Are you serious?” I asked. “What kind of damage can a person do with safety pins?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. It’s regulations.”

As I huffily removed all my safety pins, I muttered about how ridiculous it all was. Ryan concurred.

“Do you know how many times I’ve flown with these pins on this bag?” I asked. “They don’t even let nail clippers on airplanes but they don’t care about safety pins.”

“I’m sorry ma’am,” he said again. I know it’s not his fault but COME ON! Safety pins! They have the word “safety” in the name!

Anyway, even after that little annoying incident, we entered the building in high spirits. I wasn’t drinking that night on account of my stomach still feeling a bit weak, but Ryan purchased a double-fister and, this being an all-ages show, we had to stand along the wall by the concessions stand to drink them. We could hear the irritating strains of Jet as we scanned the crowd. After a while, we realized this was the WEIRDEST crowd we had seen at a show in a long time. There were Dockers everywhere. Girls in tube tops strolled along with ex-frat boys now in their early thirties. A middle-aged woman in what appeared to be a house-frock, stood along side some younger adults with beer-in-hand. A couple of guys who looked like they came right from the office strolled by. Ryan and I wondered if we had the wrong night and we were actually about to see Third Eye Blind or something. Or perhaps there is so little to do in Everett that the entire town turns up to a gig at the Events Center, no matter who’s playing. Even with the tame crowd, cops sauntered around like giant twats with moustaches, actually HASSLING the 30-somethings. One such group was asked to show their I.D.s for the beers they were holding. Another group was hassled for a good 10 minutes by two mustachioed cops. I couldn’t hear what the altercation about was about, but it was clear that these perfectly law-abiding people were being bothered for no reason. When it was obvious to the cops that they had nothing on these guys, they sauntered away, pausing to exchange smug glances with a nearby security guard. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN EVERETT! Ryan and I were definitely losing heart by this point. As Jet finished spewing their shitty Gap inspired “rock and roll”, we went in to the arena to find our seats. We were right above the floor and had thought it might be easy to sneak down TO the floor. That was before we knew there WAS no floor. What should have been a sea of people standing around waiting to be rocked, was actually row after row of folding chairs, filled with people sitting dutifully. Some people stopped in the aisles, talking to each other. A security guard came by and told them they had to sit in their seats. Are you kidding me? No one at this show was under 20 and we were all being treated like a fucking after-school day-care. The crowd continued to weird me out. To our left was a group of people who appeared to be dressed as the Kinks. They were hanging out with Mr. Kotter. A woman in a short-shirt and cowboy hat strolled by about a hundred times, stopping periodically to put her arms over her head and cheer. More people in work clothes scrambled to find their seats as the lights dimmed. The sense of normalcy came from a small gathering of English guys around my age who were excited as hell to see some boys from back home.

When Oasis came out on stage, I knew instantly that they were not going to give a good show. Their body language was heavy. They were tired. They didn’t know where they were and they didn’t care. They stared out at a half-empty arena and decided to plow through their set as quickly as possible so they could get the fuck out of there. “Where the fuck are we?” asked Noel. “Everett!”, someone shouted. “Everett? What the fuck is Everett? Is that Seattle?” he snarked. “No. I know. I went to Seattle today. It was forty-five fucking minutes away.” Later he introduced a song by saying “Ever have one of those days where everything comes together in a zenlike fashion? This is not one of those days.” He never addressed the audience again. Meanwhile, Liam was being a twat, which I love. During the guitar solos, he would come to the front of the stage and just stand there, arms crossed. At one point, he balanced his tambourine on his head. At another point, he hid behind a stack. It was all kind of funny. But I couldn’t help but feel his heart wasn’t in it. The played only two new songs. The rest of the time, they plowed through the hits like it was a Revue. The English guys didn’t care. They sang their hearts out. It was pretty cute and the only thing that really kept me entertained throughout. Oh well.

After the show, Ryan and I wandered around Everett looking for the bus station. We asked a few passers by for directions but…surprise surprise, no one was from there! In half an hour, the entire town seemed evacuated and Ryan and I were hopelessly lost. We found a Texaco station and asked for directions. The told us the bus station was 10 blocks away, but that he was pretty sure they weren’t running until morning. Everett. Finally, Ryan broke down and said he’d pay for a cab. Back to Seattle. I wasn’t going to argue. He was hoping we’d get a cool cabbie who would be interested in bartering with weed. We didn’t. $60 later, we were back in Seattle. Everett. Not going to do that again.

I was home (thanks to a kind Dom who picked me up from Ryan’s) at 1:00 and took solace a rerun of Star Trek TNG (the one with Hue!) before going to bed.

Saturday

I make no apologies for sleeping in till noon. It was fantastic. I’m pretty sure I needed the rest. Dom and I watched some TV and putted around the apartment until dinner time. Faye came over, we exchanged presents and then went to get some dinner at Toreros on Broadway. We got to the Nite Lite around 8:15. Cherry wasn’t there and we didn’t really know if we should ask about getting in the back room since she was the one who reserved it. Sherrard finally got up the courage to ask someone. We entered a fairly large room full of extremely random décor. None of the wallpaper matched. One wall was lined with shiny red and white cloth. Still, it was kinda cool. People began to stream in and the rest of the night is kind of a blur. Not because I was drunk (I only had 3 drinks!) but because people came and went constantly. Large parties like that are fun but also difficult because, if you’re hosting them, it’s impossible to talk to anyone for longer than 10 minutes at a time.

Matt bought me a drink I’d never had before called a Greyhound. I really liked it. I’m so picky about mixed drinks. A Greyhound is grapefruit juice and vodka and I think I like it more than vodka and orange. So that was cool.

Dom and I made out with some pretty cool gifts. Sherrard got me a great print of the “Rude Boy” one-sheet. The tagline for that movie is “Grab the future by its face”. I think that might be my favorite tagline of all time. Especially since it has NOTHING to do with the movie itself. Faye and I were very excited to give Sherrard his “Alone in the Dark” theme gift which included the movie, the t-shirt and a copy of “I Wish I Had An Angel”. He seemed pleased. Erin got me and Dom and copy of the Suicide Girls book, which I had bought for Ryan and was coveting. I actually knew what it was before I opened it just based on the size of the book. Kayobi got me some delicious, booze-filled chocolates. Faye got me the DVD of “Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge”. I’m VERY excited about that. Love the Steve Coogan. Sherrard got Dom a book on Paul Verhoeven which is full of fantastic pictures and inspirational quotes from the man himself. Love the Verhoeven. Faye also got Dom a game that looks pretty cool called “Darkwatch”. Birthdays are nice.

For some reason, me, Dom, Borgia and Faye all pooped out around 12:30 and cabbed it back to the Hill. This turned out to be a highlight of the evening. The cabby had the radio on and we heard “She’s Got a Way” followed by “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips. For some reason, we were in a singing mood and we sang along to both, Faye throwing some sweet harmonies in to the latter number. The cabby said we sounded better than Wilson Phillips. Awesome. And all this fun was had sober. Who knew?

Sunday

I put together a book shelf while I watched “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2”. Then I went to yoga. After yoga, Dom and I watched the last episode of Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston. I was very very sad at the end because SPOILER he turned into some other dude. Granted, it was a very clever way of dealing with Christopher Eccleston leaving the show without killing him off. And the new Doctor is pretty damned hot. But I doubt the new guy will be able to exude the same dangerous, sexy, creepy and charming British James-Spader-ness of Christopher Eccleston. Plus, I’m going to miss that charming Northern accent. Damnit. End Spoiler

Then I tried to finish the Jenna Jameson book before bed so I could return it to the library. I couldn’t do it. Despite being filled with (sexy) pictures, it’s also chock full of words and is taking me a long time to get through. I highly recommend it though, if you’re a fan (maybe even if you aren’t). She’s very well-spoken and has had a difficult and interesting life. The book is engaging and honest. And overdue. Doh!

September 13, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary, The Printernet, The Soundtrack . Tags: . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

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