Sunday, June 25, 2006

New Things #101-103: various, random, things. (count all of the unnecessary commas!) (at least one!)

I am so annoyed at my computer and I so want to be asleep right now, but my annoyance at my computer is so much greater than even my desire to be asleep, which is really great, it’s a really great desire, it fucking is, I mean, really, truly; but, see, here’s the thing: I wrote about half of this blog entry already and then my computer froze and I lost everything I wrote and now I just want to go to bed, but I also don’t want to give up, so I’m writing this post again, but I’m going to write it entirely differently, yes, okay, yes, I’m going to embrace the fact that I lost the whole entry, I’m going to let it wash off of my back, or whatever that phrase is, and embrace the “new,” since that’s what this whole blog is about anyway, and while I’m at it, I’m going to lay claim to a new freaking attitude and hope I can keep it up.

Therefore, New Thing #101: I have accepted that my computer is a piece of shit and I’m never going to complain about it ever again. It is what it is. It does what I need it to do. Most of the time. Which is: it lets me type a whole bunch of words and it saves ‘em. And it does that really, really well most of the time. And most of the time is fine. Maybe if I start loving all of these technological gadgets that I’m always hating on because they’re always breaking on me—maybe if I really embrace them—then maybe they’ll embrace me back and they’ll stop breaking. It’s worth a shot.

Wow, okay. So: I love you, technology. And I will continue to love you through thick and thin in the hopes that maybe—just maybe—one of these days, you’ll love me back.

I’ve done several New Things this week, but I haven’t had time to blog about them so I’m going to try to play a little bit of catch up right now.

New Thing #102: I went to an Art Opening. Now, okay, yes, I have been to countless art shows and exhibits and everything, but until last weekend, I had never been to an actual, honest-to-goodness, Art Opening, with wine flowing and random celebrities gawking and gallery owners putting little red stickers next to pieces of art that have just been bought. It was my friend David’s show (okay, actually, a fourth of it was his show) (but it was his show, if you know what I mean) (and if you don’t, well, then I mean that his photos were the shit) (and if you’re not hep to the lingo, when I say that they were “the shit,” I mean that they were really fucking good) (and if you’re sitting there at your computer right now thinking, “is Erik on crack? who doesn’t know what ‘the shit’ means?” well, first of all, I’m not on crack, and second of all, I’m certain that SOMEONE doesn’t know what ‘the shit’ means, and I’m tired right now, so give me a break) (a fourth of the show was Viggo Mortenson’s, and his photos were really striking, but David’s photos were, like I said, “the shit”) and even though I had previously seen all of David’s photos in his book Skip, which is where the photos in the exhibit were from, they were even better in person, mounted, large, both haunting and inviting at the same time, which is a kind of weird combo, but I think it’s a good way to describe them. Part of me wanted to crawl inside the photos and live there, while another part of me was very happy to be standing in an art gallery, sipping on free wine and pretending to ignore Viggo Mortenson to my left and Helen Hunt to my right. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ignore Anya from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I know that her real name is Emma Caulfield—because when I get obsessive about a TV show, I know enough to know everyone’s real names—but I also get obsessive to the point that, even though I intellectually know that she’s Emma Caulfield and she just wants to look at David’s photos in peace—there’s another part of my brain where she is so totally and completely Anya, and I want to go up to her and tell her that I’m really fucking mad at Xander for being all we-just-saved-the-world happy in the last episode of the series instead of (AND MAJOR SPOILER ALERT, IF YOU’RE COMPLETELY BEHIND THE TIMES AND YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, WHICH I KEEP ACCIDENTALLY TYPING AS “BUGGY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER,” WHICH SHOULD TOTALLY BE A SPIN-OFF, BUT I’M DIGRESSING AND IT’S NO GOOD WHEN I DIGRESS IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I THINK IT STARTS TO HURT READERS’ EYES AND I DON’T WANT TO DO THAT BUT I FORGET WHAT I WAS SAYING, AND, UM, OH RIGHT, IF YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN ON BOARD THE BUFFY BANDWAGON YET, THEN SERIOUSLY, WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU, AND I’M ABOUT TO SPOIL SOMETHING FROM THE LAST EPISODE AND YOU’VE BEEN SO FULLY WARNED IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY) being totally devastated, which is what Xander should have been after Anya so abruptly got her head chopped off—which is actually the one thing that I am really mad at Joss Whedon about—because I understand that he was trying to have this moment that was really quick in the last few minutes of the series where one of our favorite characters suddenly gets killed in the middle of battle and it was supposed to be a statement about how shit like that happens in war and you don’t even have time to mourn necessarily because you’re in the middle of it and it’s awful, but how fucking dare you kill my favorite character and then not let the guy who was supposedly in love with her have even one second of being sad about her death? Wow, I totally didn’t mean to go off on this right here, but I am really glad that I didn’t approach Emma Caulfield at David’s opening because I’m sure she wouldn’t have wanted to hear my diatribe. Even though it sums up as “I loved your character! Sucks that she died!” I should probably break this paragraph up into multiple paragraphs right now, but at this point, I think I’ll just leave it. Speaking of fictional characters who I have an unhealthy attachment to, at one point during David’s art opening, my friend Ingrid (not fictional) came up to me and said that Graham Chase (fictional) was inside the gallery. I was like, “no fucking way.” And she was like, “way.” Except we didn’t really actually say that, but I like to think that we did. (And that reminds me of my favorite moment from the third season premiere of The 4400—there’s this moment when the NTAC agents, Tom and Diana, are talking about this potential terrorist who they’re trying to track down and while they’re talking about him, he calls their office, and Tom’s like, “it’s our guy on the phone,” and it’s a supremely coincidental moment, and Diana’s next line of dialogue is “no way,” and I was watching this with Jessica and we both burst out laughing because we started to imagine the one of the writers being like, “it’s kind of coincidental that the suspect calls them while they’re talking about him,” and then one of the other writers being like, “let’s have Diana mention how coincidental it is and then the audience won’t be able to fault us for this moment of great coincidence because we’ll have acknowledged it,” and then the other writer was like, “yeah—she can say ‘no way!’” I love The 4400. Even when it has really cheesy moments like Diana exclaiming “no way!”) Anyway, if you don’t know who Graham Chase is, well, he’s only Angela Chase’s dad, and if you don’t know who Angela Chase is, well, she’s only the most fascinating and real character ever to grace a television set, but whatever. So Ingrid was like, “Graham Chase is here!” And I was like, “Tom Irwin?!!? Really?!?!” (Because I’m good with the real names like that.) And she was like, “really.” And I got really excited and the thought of seeing him at the opening was even more exciting than the thought of seeing Anya at the opening because, in all honesty, I see Anya all the time, and I’ve never seen Graham Chase. But somehow I missed him at the gallery. I believe Ingrid—I believe that he was there—but our paths never crossed.

After the opening, several of us went to a restaurant that might have been named Hal’s or it might have been named Harold’s or it might have been named Hell’s, but I can’t really remember, and really, does it make any difference? No. While we were waiting for our food, we started to play a game that we invented (New Thing #103) (I should actually give “invented by” credit to my friend Thyra) (but I’m still claiming it as a New Thing because I’m really behind on New Things and I certainly had never played the game before, whether I invented it or not) called “What are you miming?” The game is fairly basic. Basically (that’s really lazy writing of me to end a sentence with the word “basic” and then begin the next sentence with the word “basically,” but by talking about the fact that I was being lazy just now—by highlighting it and therefore entering it into the discussion as a point of debate—am I actually being not-lazy?) (Or am I being just ridiculously too-tired-to-backspace lazy?) someone starts to randomly mime an action. They shouldn’t announce the fact that they’re miming anything. Part of the game is getting other people to realize that you’re miming something, at which point they say “what are you miming?” (Hence the name of the game.) And then you continue miming that action until they get it. Oh, and even though we never explicitly said this, I would say now that one of the main rules of “what are you miming?” is that you mime something very detailed and specific and elaborate.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can't believe I'm first--where are the insomniacs?!

Love the new thing thing. It really works, and even though you are a bit behind, I have total confidence that you will reach 365 by December 31.

You rock.

PAM

Erik said...

You're up early, PAM. Thanks for your vote of confidence. We'll see...

Kyle said...

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS.

Anonymous said...

Y'know, that slippery shirt you had on almost caused me to drop you when I swept you off your feet...

L.

Kyle said...

Okay, so I've been re-watching season 3 of Buffy and I completely forgot about Anya, so when you said Anya I immediately thought Tara, which I always do, and I was going to tell you that my friend Debra kinda knows Tara and she's really nice, and then I remembered who Anya was and I wished that Joss had picked less similar names for those characters because I always get them mixed up in my head.

BUT, I still love season 3 and especially Faith and it's so funny to me how I can just put that show in and it's like some kind of pleasant demon-fighting salve for whatever anxiety I'm dealing with. How is it so soothing? I can watch like four episodes in a row without getting tired of it! I think Band Candy is my new favorite episode -- for now, anyway -- I love Giles and Buffy's mom getting all trashy and making out. And I love the "Juice Newton" coat and the fact that Giles goes Cockney when he turns young and reckless.

Kyle said...

Oh, and Tom Irwin is in the new show at the Kirk Douglas with Frances Conroy.

Erik said...

Lance, I'm trying to remember what shirt I was wearing that night that was so slippery.

Or was I just really sweaty (the gallery was muggy hot!) and that's what made me slippery?

Oooo I want to start using the word "muggy" like them kids in Boston use the word "wicked" and them kids in NorCal use the word "hella" or "hecka" or "hell of" or "heck of."

Like, "hey friend, your new haircut is muggy cool."

Or, "dude, Jake Gyllenhaal is muggy hot."

Erik said...

Kyle, Band Candy is an amazing episode. I LOVE Giles and Buffy's mom in that episode. So freaking funny.

Erik said...

I cannot wait to see that play at the Douglas.

Because, come on: Graham Chase and Ruth Fisher on stage together? I might have a heart attack.

Heart attack not withstanding, it would be worth it to see them acting together.

So muggy exciting.

Erik said...

Should I have said "heart attack withstanding"?

Neither way sounds right now.

Sometimes the English language is so difficult.

Erik said...

I love Tara too, Kyle. I'm glad to hear that she's really nice. (Amber Benson, I mean--not Tara. I mean, I already KNOW that Tara is nice. So I'm glad to hear that Amber Benson is nice. She can sing like a mofo!)

Erik said...

Speaking of Faith, how great is Eliza Dushku in Bring It On?

This question isn't necessarily only for Kyle. Anyone may feel free to answer.

Erik said...

Kyle, have you seen seasons 1 through 7? Or are you only on season 3? I am assuming you've seen all the way through the end since you said you were "rewatching" season 3, but I just wanted to check. I don't want to say anything spoilery if you haven't seen all the way through the end.

I am such a geek for Buffy it's ridiculous. I want to sit in front of my TV and watch Buffy for 77 hours straight now.

Kyle said...

I kinda turned on it when it got all dark and morose and a certain character featured prominently in the "Band Candy" episode got killed off. I only watched a smattering of episodes after that. I did end up seeing the finale, though. One of these days I'll get through the whole series.

Don't worry about spoilers, though. I think I basically know all the big plot points, and I've never really been one to care about that kinda thing. Unless the whole thing hinges on a secret or something.

Erik said...

Well, Kyle, that character you're talking about died in season 5. So I'm assuming you've seen very little of season 6 and 7. Here's the thing:

Season 6 is one of my favorite seasons, episode for episode.

and Season 7 is totally my least favorite season. Actually, there's only one episode of season 7 that I think is good and it's BRILLIANT and it's Anya-centric. But otherwise there's no reason to ever watch season 7.

Joe Chandler said...

I wish you didn't get e-mailed comments because then I could sneak one in here. You have such an advantage in this game.

Erik said...

yea yea yea, advantage smantage.

Erik said...

joe, you're never going to find the comment i just left for you. because you don't get comments emailed to you and also because you're about to go to chuen's.

say hi to chuen for me!

Joe Chandler said...

where is it?

Erik said...

i wrote that comment while we were still going back and forth and then you found it (apparently you didn't find this taunting one, though). it was the comment on the first blog entry. but there are others you haven't replied to in, um, the audioblog entry.

Erik said...

Okay, so my statcounter is telling me that a whole slew of people are coming to my blog through a link to this specific post, and the link is posted on a message board that i'm not a member of and so it won't let me see what the messageboard is, and i'm a total neurotic freak nutbag and i so totally want to know what that message board is and what it is about this specific post that's being linked to?

anyone out there able to shed some light? bueller? bueller?

...bueller?

Anonymous said...

Don't worry erik, the hits are just coming from a bunch of art & Perceval Press admirers who stumbled on your blog. Sounds like it was a great event! (the "vfb" in my name stands for viggofanbase, does that give you a hint what the message board is about?)

Anonymous said...

Loved reading about the event from a different perspective and also a BUFFY fan and agree Anya was ROBBED in the final episode - she deserved so much more from Xander.

I really didn't like season six - the Slayer working in a fast-food restaurant? Please. But I loved the musical.

Don't worry about those of us who have tuned in from the Viggo Fan Base. You have nothing to fear from us. Just stand very still - don't make any sudden movements.

Erik said...

mystery solved! thank you janievfb and hermioneo!

janie, if i had known i was going to get readers from a viggo fan base messageboard, i would have said more about his photos!

do you have a copy of david's book? it's really quite something.

Erik said...

HermioneO, buffy didn't fall apart for me until the seventh season. i didn't believe that all of her friends would turn against her like they did. it just seemed SO out of character and it made me really mad, repeatedly.

i'll agree with you that the first five seasons are the best, but the reason i love the sixth season is i love buffy and spike together--finally she had heat with someone again, since Angel. (Even though I think that Angel is her Big and they ultimately deserved to be together, Spike was her Aiden, if you're a Sex and the City fan and that makes any sense to you.)

I am standing very still around the Viggo fans. I don't want to scare anyone away. I want y'all to stay and have fun and keep commenting. Should I write more posts about Viggo? Will that keep you???

Anonymous said...

Should I write more posts about Viggo? Will that keep you???

But of course!

Duly bookmarked ;-)

Anonymous said...

yes, erik, I have David's book, and I agree that it's a gem! He gives his photos a quality that makes you feel you could walk right into them. My favourite is actually the inside front cover.

I like your notion of 365 new things -- good luck! Having found you, I'll drop in now & then to see how you're getting along.