fits and starts

trailblazers lost last night - 2nd time in as many games - in what was most certainly a winnable game. (poor shooting and questionable officiating work are subjects for another time). there is something about watching an emerging team, a becoming, or - to borrow from their local marketing campaign - (up)rising. in any case, they have stumbled the past couple games. but then they are young. the youngest rotation in the nba. this could be an instance of manufacturing narrative where there is none but mm and i have both encountered similar stumbles creatively in the past couple days. i won't get into all the nitty-gritty of it but if you take the focus off the micro level and move to macro (in all cases, blazers included), the long-term, see the setbacks as instructive tools, part of the growth not an inhibitor to the growth, things seem much better, more possible...

in the past

went to coast a couple wknds ago to beach house to celebrate my parents' 40 yrs of marriage. the previous time i had visited this particular house was 4 yrs prior, just me and margaret and max, just after my first brain surgery. it was there i spoke w/ neurosurgeon as i weighed the good/bad of a craniotomy, it was there i made the decision to have craniotomy. and suddenly in a finger-snap 4 yrs tock by and i am well and max has died and our new dog is alive and effervescent

playoffs

Went to the last game of the regular season last night. Got to sit on the floor (courtesy of my dad who sprung for the tix) which was a much different vantage and experience from sitting in our season tickets in the 300 level (courtesy of my dad who springs for the tix). You could see the nugget thuggery up close, including (unfortunately) chris anderson who is a sort of ridiculous creature. We were giddy and fired up and sadly this caused me - prompted by my dad's funny joke - to spray the beer in my mouth onto the hair and shoulder of the woman sitting in front of me. She, and her husband and daughter, was not really that impressed with me as I muttered 'sorry, so sorry' and handed them tissues with which to wipe themselves off. If you're reading this peeps - and why wouldn't you be? - that's my bad.

My dad's season tix allow him to buy playoff tix so we'll be there sat night, Game 1 of Round 1 vs Houston.

sentence of the day 4.8.09

"I'm drowning my sorrows in chili dogs"

mm at dinner last night.
(note: veggie chili naturally)

from 'phases and stages'

some days require willie

portland by bicycle

from the Escapes section of this morning's new york times.

man push cart etc.

inspired by ao scott's article on neo neorealists a couple wks ago we watched man push cart last night [which was great. perfect pitch, simple story, etc. in particular as a first film]. i find myself much more aligned aesthetically w/ this 'movement' - provided it is an actual movement and not merely a few distinct films sandwiched under the umbrella of a critic's created construct - than the mumblecore thing. I admire the spirit of mumblecore but the movies can sometimes push the boundaries of patience. i absolutely loathed hannah takes the stairs. there i've said it. and putting bujalski in the same sentence as cassavettes seems dubious, though at least the former manages to shoot on film, unlike the the others, excepting aaron katz b/c danceparty usa looked amazing and so did, for that matter, quiet city. this is all by way of saying i'm much more down w/ the kelly reichardts and ramin bahranis of the world than the joe swanberg's and duplass brothers and andrew bujalskis. it's partially intent, partially execution, partially the implied presumption that if its 2 people in a room talking that it's then a movie. all easier said than done of course. i'm shouting from the peanut gallery. at least for now.

that said here's the trailer for man push cart.

sentence of the day 4.1.09

"I need to hang up; I have to go home and set-up our taco bar".

mm to bp