« July 2006 | Main | September 2006 »
August 23, 2006
taking advantage
discarded luggage in Golden Gate Park
So i stopped drinking about 4 months ago. at first it was weird, cause i had to get used to not hanging out with my friends at the bar, which i had been doing a lot. but lately i've been really pleased with it, because since i don't really go to bars anymore, i've started to really take advantage of all the other stuff there is to do in the city. I've been going to art openings, which there are a ton of every weekend. it's nice in a way for me, because i've never taken a proper art class in my life, so i don't find myself doing any heavy-duty comparision or analysis of the art like my friends who'd been to art school do, i just try and appreciate it. if a piece of art elicits and emotional response from me, makes me think or makes me inspired, then it's great, otherwise i go look at the next piece. i'm the happy neophite.
I've also been seeing shows again. On monday of this week i saw A Silver Mount Zion, and it had to have been the best show i've seen in years. They had this amazing mass of sound rising into the upper reaches of the Great American Music Hall, and at times i would just close my eyes and feel it reverberating off of the ceiling and everyone. They played these 20 + minute songs, and it's hard, because so much tension builds up with all the intricate swells of instruments, that when a song ends everyone visibly deflates, shakes their legs out, and then braces for the next sonic wall i guess i could call it.
Then last night i saw the Mountain Goats at Amoeba for free. I like that he calls his band the Mountain Goats, plural, even though it's just him on guitar.
And tonight I saw Don Caballero, which i wasn't too crazy about, but afterwords i rode over to the Edinburgh Castle and saw Irvine Welsh read from his latest book. if you don't know who he is, he's the author of Trainspotting, as well as a bunch of other books. I've read all of his books, at first because of Trainspotting the film, but then because i was so taken with the manner in which he writes. he manages to put the words down as they sound in thick scottish accents, and at first it's very confusing and difficult to read, but once you get it, it's really fun. I think reading all his books and definitely helped me in communicating with Scots and Irish folks i've met on my travels.
The last news, i started my internship today at On The Fly Films. They're a small production house, and if the first day is exemplary of what my internship will entail, then i anticipate learning a ton of new programs and skills. today i did a rough cut of a voice over using their ProTools editing suite. I'd never played with ProTools, but after today i felt like i was starting to understand the interface alright. Plus i watched as Dylan, the principle editor, went through and "sweetened" my rough cut, using all kinds of audio filters that i hadn't understood before, but that i have a better idea about now. I'm pretty pleased, even though my eyes hurt after staring at a computer screen for 6 hours.
Tomorrow i might go see the Mathew Barney film at the MOMA, or i might go climbing at the gym, since i just got a new membership. Then Friday is an early morning Marin Headlands ride with my ex-roomate and friend Simon and Raphael from Brooklyn, then more internship, then my first Critical Mass in ages. After that, more art galleries, then maybe house parties.
Life is really good right now. Hope it's the same for you.
Posted by bendan at 11:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 14, 2006
roots
What i've been up to: well, i'm working 2 days a week as a courier again. Jetset Couriers, the company i work for, is amazing and pretty much lets me say what days i can and cannot work. I've been trying to find an internship so that i can learn a lot more about video post production. i had an interview at this place called on the fly films last week, and i was very impressed with their equipment and technologies. i felt that the interview went well, and i'm hoping to hear back from them this week.
other then that, i'm trying to stay in the City more. It feels like i've really distanced myself from the friends i do have left here, and i need to stick around more or i'll be a stranger in my own city. I'm also trying to save money more, so keeping a low profile and not bouncing around so much is in order.
aside from messengering, i've been riding my road bike a bit. last saturday i went for a 4.5 hour ride. i rode across the golden gate bridge, all the way up to fairfax, then i went over the sir francis drake blvd to highway 1. i dropped back down highway one, past stinson beach, over the shoulder of mt Tam, and back across the bridge home. i estimate i went at least 50 miles, and hopefully more like 65. when i got home i was ravenous, so i ate a ton of food, got food coma, and fell blissfully asleep.
as mentioned earlier in this post, seems like i'm deciding to try and spend the winter here in order to learn a new skillset, instead of jetting of to s.e. asia. my friend jacob, who i was going to go with, actually encouraged me to consider staying. he sent me some wise words about how important roots are. the problem is i don't feel that rooted to this city anymore, since i've left it so much. i'm also infatuated with new york so much, in the same way i was in love with here when i first moved here.
anyways, i'll try and post on here more often.
Posted by bendan at 09:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 06, 2006
check out this video i made
i've been reading the news about lebanon and israel, maybe reading it too much. i was feeling frustrated about all the violence and suffering and crap in the middle east, so i made this video. megan, rob, and kara helped me out.
Posted by bendan at 04:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack