Love - Art - Disease - Pain - Life-Humanness - "Otherness"
In our desensitised society,
the artists,
the bohemians, poor, discarded,
"others", recovering addicts -
all are more in touch
with their human-ness
than the so called
mainstream.
Despite everything -
HUMANNESS, LOVE, LIFE, ART survives.
-Jonathan Larson
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
This is where you stick random tidbits of information about yourself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Friday, April 18, 2003
TGIGF THANK GOD IT'S GOOD FRIDAY...
I saw a pretty decent movie last night...totally different execution than I'm used to. It has a "Sliding Doors" premise...'ya know... how will my life be different if I do or don't make the choice to end my relationship? The premise is interesting, and given a small budget, the film is passable. I applaud anyone that can get an Indie film made. I recommend that you check this one out:
DRIFT
2001
Editorial Review:
A deft exploration of what might happen if someone's life took different paths. Ryan (R.T. Lee) is an aspiring screenwriter who's been seeing Joel (Greyson Dayne) for almost three years--and then he meets Leo (Jonathon Roessler) at a party and thinks he may have found his soulmate, a lover who will understand him fully. Drift then follows what would happen if Ryan and Leo fell madly in love, if they just had a fling, and if Leo didn't share Ryan's feelings at all. What makes the movie work is how well realized the characters are; as the different scenarios mark out each turn of fate, their behavior changes but is completely compelling as the actions of the same person. The movie is tightly edited, so that just when it threatens to wallow in relationship drama, it moves forward. Plus, the steamy sex scenes have more heft because of the reality of the emotions portrayed.
--Bret Fetzer
My music genre seems to be going back to the alternative rock vibe. This is totally cool...and I enjoy discovering new music. Alternative aside, Madonna's AMERICAN LIFE, Jewel's INTUITION, Lucy Woodward's DUMB GIRLS and Celine Dion's I DROVE ALL NIGHT are all varied and powerful. Rock on with y'all Diva-ness. The video for Creed's ONE LAST BREATH is stunning. The animation is brilliant and the words are moving. It's like a Salvidor Dali painting come to life. Check it out here:
http://play.rbn.com/play.asx?url=windup/windup/wmdemand/creed/weathered/video/olbwinstrm.wmv&proto=mms?mswmext=.asx
Creed
One Last Breath
Please come now I think I’m falling
I’m holding on to all I think is safe
It seems I found the road to nowhere
And I’m trying to escape
I yelled back when I heard thunder
But I’m down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say
Hold me now
I’m six feet from the edge and I’m thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain’t so far down
I’m looking down now that it’s over
Reflecting on all of my mistakes
I thought I found the road to somewhere
Somewhere in His grace
I cried out heaven save me
But I’m down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say
Hold me now
I’m six feet from the edge and I’m thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain’t so far down
Sad eyes follow me
But I still believe there’s something left for me
So please come stay with me
‘Cause I still believe there’s something left for you and me
For you and me
For you and me
Hold me now
I’m six feet from the edge and I’m thinking
-------------------------------------------------------------
I just saw a season 5 episode of Buffy that I thought was really well-written. Here are a few of my favorite lines:
Buffy (about Riley): I'm doin' all right. These things happen. People break up, and they move on. For a while it feels like the end of the world, you know, but big picture—
Giles: Not so huge?
Buffy: Not so huge?! I just said it felt like the end of the world, don't you listen?
(Giles looks startled.)
Buffy: I'm teasing.
TRIANGLE Season 5 Episode 11
Willow: You're the fish!
Anya: What?
Willow: Th-the fish in the bowl, in The Cat in the Hat. He was always saying that the cat shouldn't be there while the mother was out.
Anya: What are you talking about?
Tara: It's a book. This cat does all this mischief.
Willow: It's so cute! He balances a bunch of stuff, including that fish in the bowl! A-and— but don't try it for real when you're six, because then you're not allowed to have fish for five years.
Anya: You're referencing literature I have no way to be familiar with. You're trying to make me feel left out, and you're stealing!
Willow: I'm not stealing. I-I'm just taking things without paying for them. In what twisted dictionary is that stealing?
Tara: Willow, maybe we should just pay.
Willow: Anya, Giles would be totally fine with this. Come on, it'll be fun. We could show you how to do some stuff! You could be floatin' pencils by the end of the day.
Anya: Sometimes I miss having powers... Oh. Oh! I know what this is! This is peer pressure! Any second now you're gonna make me smoke tobacco and-and have drugs!
TRIANGLE Season 5 Episode 11
Anyway, Happy Easter, everyone! I've glutted myself on Reece's Peanut Butter Eggs...so, no more for a year. My one week of splurging has come to an end...and I've got 8 more pounds to drop by May 1.
Ciao,
J
Willow: I wish Buffy was here!
(Buffy runs in.)
Buffy: I'm here!
Willow: I wish I had a million dollars!
TRIANGLE Season 5 Episode 11
Willow: Hello? Gay, now?
TRIANGLE Season 5 Episode 11
3:37 PM
Thursday, April 17, 2003
"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
--Margery Williams THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
"I realize every Slayer comes with an expiration mark on the package, but I want mine to be a long time from now, like a Cheeto."
--Sarah Michellle Gellar Buffy The Vampire Slayer
"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy,
the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese,
the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of
arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most
powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon'. Need I
say more?"
-Chris Rock
"My mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general; if you become a monk, you'll end up as the pope.' Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso."
--Pablo Picasso
"No artist is ahead of his time. He is his time. It is just that the others are behind the time."
--Martha Graham
"Look at this stuff.
Isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the girl,
The girl who has ev'rything.
Look at this trove,
Treasures untold.
How many wonders can one cavern hold?
Looking around here you'd think,
Sure, she's got ev'rything.
I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty.
I've got whozits and whatzits galore.
You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty.
But who cares?
No big deal.
I want more."
-Ariel THE LITTLE MERMAID
Overheard Great Disney Quotes
Here are some funny things that were overheard (mostly) at Walt Disney World. Most were originally posted on the great newsgroup rec.arts.disney.parks (otherwise known as RADP!) Others are from alt.disney.disneyland (or a.d.d.)
A father told his son, "Go stand over there by Tony the Tiger."
A woman at Splash Mountain said, "Look, it's Peter Rabbit."
Two elderly ladies were watching the ducks swimming at the castle. One said, "It's amazing what they do here. You'd almost think they were real."
At The Disney Store a cast member was told, "I think if Walt Disney were alive today he'd be spinning in his grave."
A young woman at Splash Mountain asked, "What's that?" Her friend replied, "I don't know. Let's find the Magic Kingdom."
At Chef Mickey's Character Breakfast a young voice was heard saying, "But Minnie, you already signed my book, remember?"
A mother overheard her 4-year-old tell his siblings that he "had so much fun at Ariel's Brothel!!!" Of course, Mom and son had a quick lesson on how to pronounce "grotto."
Some snippets overheard on the bus back to the All-Stars from Epcot (all from the same group of people):
"Did you go in that big ball thing?! I thought it was shops. It was a ride!"
"Did you do that Muppetvision thing? It was so adorable!"
"I went on that Tower of Fear."
After that last comment a daughter turned to her mother and rolled her eyes. Mom said, "Amateurs!"
A mother was overheard telling her laughing daughter as she carried her away, "I told you, no more laughing on this vacation."
Various parents were heard telling their exicted children, "If you don't start behaving I'm going to leave you here." Gee, what a punishment!
A tire-looking foreign tourist returning from a long day in the parks asked, "How come you cement is so hard here?"
A teenage girl sitting in a Pirates of the Caribbean boat in the "bay" scene remarked, "Look at the sky. It must have stopped raining while we were in line."
While walking across the parking lot at Downtown Disney, a car pulled up to a couple of visitors and a foreign gentleman asked, "Please, how you get to Disney World?"
A guest on the ramp that overlooks the Mexico pavilion's Plaza de los Amigos was heard to say, "Oh, we're back outside again."
A 5-year-old boy was reading the tombstones outside the Haunted Mansion: "Here lies good old Fred, a great big rock fell on his head!"
His father, apparently named Fred, scolded him by saying, "Don't talk to your father that way!"
Boy: "But Dad, Disney said it first."
Dad: "I don't care. It's not appropriate!"
Overheard on El Rio del Tiempo while going through the mist, "I'm so sick of getting wet."
In the Wizard of Oz scene of the Great Movie Ride the wicked witch says, "I'll get you...and you little dog, too." A 4-year-old turned to her dad and said, "We don't have a dog."
At Epcot: "Italy was so bad I had to wash it down with China."
A family trying to find the right trail to take at Animal Kingdom: "We can't get lost. This is Disney. It's like an island."
When a guest mentioned that key lime pie is expensive at home her sister answered, "Well, key limes are pretty rare. It's not like they grow on trees."
A man on his first trip to WDW (during EVERY scene in Carousel of Progress): "Wow! This is just great. Wow!"
In Adventureland on a hot, crowded, summer day, "Next ride I wanna go on is the Porcelain Throne!"
And of course, the ever popular question, "When is the 3 O'Clock parade?"
4:26 PM
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Is This Hollywood?
John's Movie/DVD of the month:
SPIRITED AWAY
Editorial Review:
The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch) plunges into an alternate reality. On the way to their new home, the petulant adolescent and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the greedy witch who rules the spa. As she works, Chihiro's untapped qualities keep her from being corrupted by the greed that pervades Yubaba's mini-empire. In a series of fantastic adventures, she purges a river god suffering from human pollution, rescues the mysterious No-Face, and befriends Yubaba's kindly twin, Zeniba (Pleshette again). The resolve, bravery, and love Chihiro discovers within herself enable her to aid Haku and save her parents. The result is a moving and magical journey, told with consummate skill by one of the masters of contemporary animation.
MPAA Rated: PG ("Some scary moments")
--Charles Solomon
Okay, I admit that I had never heard of Spirited Away until Oscar night. When it opened here in Columbia that following weekend, we were first in line to see it...and I was BLOWN AWAY. Sure, Charles Solomon relates the heroine to the likes of Baum's Dorothy and Carroll's Alice (and of course I recognized the similarities), but it is so much more. The vision's are simply stunning, and the story line is segmented and broken up like a bad nighmare...and it's translated beautifully. I couldn't have come up with a more brilliant, fucked up movie in my dreams...and that's a feat unto itself.
John's CD of the Month:
Lucy Woodward WHILE YOU CAN
Editorial Reviews:
Lucy Woodward isn't just a blonde pop princess trying to jump onto the tale end of a dying medium. Oh no, this 26-year-old chanteuse has grit in her honeyed voice and scores to settle on her debut album. All 11 tracks were written or co-written by Woodward, who also had the foresight to brings in a bevy of studio ringers like Who bassist Pino Pallindo and Bob Dylan drummer Kenny Aronoff to give her fierce songs of love and willfulness the proper send-off. But Woodward ably holds her own in such elevated company: "Dumb Girls," is a self-deprecating, no holes barred look at about getting hoodwinked in the romantic wars. With lines like, "You bring out the blonde in me," you just know this man isn't ever getting a second chance. On "Trouble With Me," Woodward ponders why she's alone, while on "What's Good For Me" she knows, deciding to quit picking on herself and trust her own intuition. The daughter of an opera singer and a BBC musicologist, Woodward is bristling with talent and canny rhythmic timing, but stylistically she's still all over the map, veering between the ire of Missy Elliot and the sweet soulfulness of Sheryl Crow. Once she hones in on her own voice, she's going to be unstoppable.
--Jaan Uhelszki
It's official now! A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD has a great website that I urge everyone to check out:
http://www.frogandtoadonbroadway.com/
Jay Goede and I have been friends for years now...and he's my true "slipper" buddy through and through! I don't get to see him nearly as much as I would like to, but we stay in touch almost every day. Being friends with Jay has always come first...but I have always recognized his amazing talent and drive! Jay's currently starring in A Year With Frog And Toad on Broadway at The Cort Theatre. With his recent role as an Alzheimer's victim on LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT and now starring in Frog and Toad...Jay's on a major upswing in his career. Most people can't imagine what it's like to wake up in the morning all groggy eyed and flipping on the television...only to find one of your friends, ON THE TODAY SHOW! Jay and his co-star Mark Linn-Baker (Cousin Larry of PERFECT STRANGERS fame) performed a number from the show...and it was so cute. The show is geared so that families can enjoy it together and, in fact, they even have special performance times so that the kiddies can get to bed at a decent hour! I am SO proud to know Jay that I had to brag about him here....so check out the official A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD web site...and while you're there, be sure to check out the hottest frog in Manhattan!
Whether you're questioning the fine line between fantasy and reality, or you just need a good laugh, here are a few good sites to get you started. Thanks to my good bud Dave for sharing these sites...they really are a riot!
http://www.mulletsgalore.com/
http://cameltoe.org/
http://www.pixyland.org/peterpan/
11:01 AM
Monday, April 14, 2003
Welcome to the new and improved Inner John.
Spring has sprung and cleaning has commenced at the Henson household...partly because I have to get my stuff out of there and partly because I have WAY to much stuff to ever move. We all know that I'm happier now than I have been in years...but is this all about to change? Change is good, right? Simplifying is good, right? RIGHT!! What will ever become of the 54" television? What will ever become of LOT 54..."studio 54"?! How will we ever get the 36" TV down the stairs again?! LOL. I'll worry about those things when the time comes. B is heading home this afternoon from VA...and I'm looking forward to it. We haven't seen each other since last weekend. It's a gym night, though, which means it's gonna be a long, drawn out day.
I talked to Ant the other night. He blew out his voice again during rehearsals, so he took the weekend off. For everyone who doesn't know, Anthony's starring in the regional premiere of 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' at City Theatre in Pittsburgh. I don't know how the fanthony's are taking this, but I do have a mental image of the Renthead's and Hedhead's brawling at the stage door. Wigs flying. Blue and white striped scarfs being used as neuse's. It's a beautiful show with some kick-ass messages. I'll have to find time in my busy schedule to get to PA...
For more information on Hedwig at City Theatre: http://www.citytheatrecompany.org/season/7_hedwig.shtml
Rob Rossi did a pretty keen interview with Anthony and you can read it here: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/entertainment/s_113820.html
"Last time I saw you
We had just split in two.
You were looking at me.
I was looking at you.
You had a way so familiar,
But I could not recognize,
Cause you had blood on your face;
I had blood in my eyes.
But I could swear by your expression
That the pain down in your soul
Was the same as the one down in mine."
-Hedwig HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
Aight...I'm off. I hope everyone is doing good out there...and I'm sorry that there' s been such a delay in posting to The Inner John! As always, feel free to drop me an email and I'll write back as soon as I can!
Ciao,
John
2:04 PM
|
|
| |
|
|
|
