It Seems Like a Mighty Long Time

Oy. You know, it's been so long since I've posted that I had to jump the security hurdles of the Blogger sign up page - the ol' re-enter your password and decode the non-word the wavy jumbled-up picture displays. At least it's not case sensitive.

There were so many times I wanted to write, but didn't. I just started school again, the third of three years. I'll take the bar in summer '07 after I graduate. Spent this summer working, not attending classes.

My high school reunion was this summer. It was so bizarre to see some of my classmates (I say some, because most of the people with whom I was interested in reconnecting didn't bother to show). Strange, too, how ten years of absence can essentially be boiled down to this conversation:

"So, uh, what've you been doing? Married? Kids? Cool, see you around."

Though it seemed monumental at the time, high school now seems oddly rountine, and many of the friendships I thought I'd forged were ultimately based more on proximity than any shared affection or common interests. Fortunately, I did get to reconnect with a handful of really good souls, and that alone made the trip worthwhile.

My first week back in school is also my first week back in Tulsa. What I intended to be a brief visit to Tahlequah post-reunion ended up morphing into a summer long stay, driven in part by my condo's ac unit malfunctioning and my ability to work from anyplace on my laptop.

So, I miss my family. I miss swimming late at night and looking up at the stars. I miss Molly's new dog Lois. I miss Tivo (and cluttering up enough random crap on it to drive others to the brink).

It was really nice to have a home again. I think the stories of my twenties have mostly been one of displacement. Now, don't get me wrong - I like living on my own, and I love living in Tulsa. It's just that I have very strong ties to family. I had to leave one family, and, until some woman delusional enough to have me comes along, I'll be drifting along somewhat. Those who don't live alone may have forgotten just how profound it is to have someone there when you come home. Some other voice, some other presence. So, it was nice to have a family again this summer.

I also got to catch up on some cool movie-watching. New in theatres, I saw:

Superman Returns (awesome, perfect blend of action and romance. I was stunned by Singer's growth, and willingness to go out on a limb);

X-Men 3 (one day, twenty years from now, some nerd will make the real follow-up to X2);

Clerks 2 (a sweet, low-key movie);

Nacho Libre (a brilliant follow-up to Napoleon Dynamite. I love Hess's style. Only slightly derailed by Jack Black being too "Jack Black" in some scenes);

Lady in the Water (I went into this wanting to hate it due to all the hype, and all the naysayers, but I was moved to tears. A great movie);

Little Miss Sunshine (for the first thirty minutes it felt a little too cookie-cutter indie, and I was thinking how many disfunctional family stereotypes can we handle in one movie, but as it wore on I grew to really love it. The little girl was precious, and the teenage kid moved me to tears. Steve Carrell was great too. Unlike JB in Nacho, he disappeared into the role);

Talladega Nights (not quite the laugh-fest that Anchorman was, but still priceless. Only Will Ferrell could make a bit out of preferring "the Baby Jesus" to "Teenage Jesus" or "Adult Jesus." Also, I was the only one in the theatre who died laughing at Sasha Cohen's French aesthete reading Camus while driving in NASCAR).

I think that was all. I also saw these movies for the first time all the way through: Forty Year Old Virgin, All That Jazz, Raging Bull, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, Garden State (cute, but awfully self indulgent), and, my favorite discovery of the summer: Forbidden Zone. I also saw A Woman Under the Influece, which I can appreciate in the abstract, but found really hard to sit through.

Some of you may be shocked at some of the titles in the above list. I am taking a stand though. In all honesty, I have still not seen some of the acknowledged film classics. I still have not seen Mean Streets or Taxi Driver. I'm OK with that. My philosophy is that I'll find each movie when I need them most. I'll get to them in time.

I spent a good deal of summer trying to track down some underground/midnight movies and now own El Topo, The Gong Show Movie, Sins of the Fleshapoids (KUCHAR BROS!!!), and most of Kenneth Anger's flicks (including Scorpio Rising).

A new Brian Wilson biography came out and I read it cover-to-cover in, like, 12 minutes. I'm still endlessly fascinated with The Beach Boys for some unknown reason.

My musical tastes continue to grow inward, not outward. I haven't been keeping up with all the latest, hot bands to invade the blog-o-sphere, but I did track down the original vinyl mixes of Frank Zappa's Hot Rats and Cruisin' With Ruben and the Jets, and the original mono mix of Piper at the Gates of Dawn, which was a little hard to listen to after hearing of Syd Barrett's death this summer. Every time I see some kid in a Pink Floyd shirt, or with a Pink Floyd sticker, I want to engage him (because it's rarely a her) about how great Syd is, but I know I'll only hear "Syd who?"

Arthur Lee also died, which cast a new dimension on Forever Changes and "Seven and Seven Is." I'm upset now that I didn't go see him in concert. You always assume you can catch them next time.

Finally, my most recent discovery is the disarmingly brilliant Wizard People, Dear Readers. You owe it to yourself to check it out. I want to spoil it for you (After Harry catches the Snitch, he screams, "I am a brilliant animal, I am a destroyer of worlds, I am Harry F'ing Potter), but I won't.

I love you all, and, though I apologize for the terrible lapses in communication, I can't promise they won't continue to occur. I'll do my best to keep in touch.