Graffiti 125

Something haunting or melancholy about this face. I've been trying to experiment more with light and shutter speed, it was night when I took this picture.

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do." -Eleanor Roosevelt

"The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible." -Oscar Wilde

Lucky #7

Went to Nearly New tonight to purchase my 7th Chicago bike. There's such an exciting and reassuring freedom about riding a bike. After this sedentary winter its nice to get on a bike and feel mobile again. It always shocks me when people in Chicago don't have a bike. The feeling is incomparable and the convenience cannot be understated. I'm looking forward to avoiding the 36 and the 22.

"I am a bike enthusiast; there's a certain amount of romance to bikes. They're both beautiful and utilitarian." -Dave Eggers

"On a bike, being just slightly above pedestrian and car eye level, one gets a perfect view of the goings-on in one's own town." -David Byrne

"The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets." -Christopher Morley

'The Unknown Known' A Review

The Unknown Known is the latest documentary from Errol Morris about Donald Rumsfeld, a companion piece to The Fog of War. Morris along with his Interrotron set his sights on the former Secretary of Defense focusing primarily on the lead up to Iraq War, its execution, and its fall out, with some cursory outlining of Rumsfeld's previous career.

The majority of the film is a straight on interview with Rumsfeld with him occasionally reading various memos he wrote dubbed "snowflakes". There are periodic cuts to archival footage, text juxtaposed with serene waters, and time-elapsed shots but mostly we just get a whole lot of leering, smug, self-satisfied Rummy.

Fans of the McNamara focused Fog Of War may need to reorient when watching this film because in conceit it is similar but in execution it is quite different. McNamara is intelligent with a mastery and grasp of many different things, he agreed to be interviewed because he had something to say. Rumsfeld is a rhetorician with an almost willful ignorance of the functions of government in which he so long worked. Rumsfeld reveals himself to be incapable of reflection, unable to draw any conclusions, similarities or lessons from not only his own history but history at large. He is unable to recognize irony, showing no reaction or awareness when he contradicts himself. When asked at the end of the film why he agreed to do it he responds "Why, I don't know." And you get the sense he actually doesn't.

There is no "gotcha" moment in The Unknown Known. Rumsfeld doesn't admit fault in anything he has ever done. What comes into focus is Donald Rumsfeld himself. What kind of a man he is and how he views himself and the world. He is not a dumb man but he is certainly not a smart man either. He has an obsessive mastery of rhetoric but seems to hold no other passion. He talks without saying anything and seems to genuinely believe his obfuscations are answers. He lives wholly in the present and gives the past and future absolutely no thought or consideration. This quality extends from years to seconds. Moment to moment Rumsfeld seems to be constantly refreshed, like a computer screen, bland and seemingly accommodating.

A film with no political catharsis but a brilliant and horrifying portrait of a man who is a passenger in his own life.

Rent It.

Ouroboros

In 2006 I graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Theatre. Following the instructions of my professors I moved up to Chicago to try and perform. During my first month I saw a show at iO and began a winding journey towards improv and sketch comedy.

At the Schwa show tonight during The Dream interview I discovered the volunteer, Nina, is finishing up her senior year at ISU and majoring in theatre. She has her senior showcase audition in a week and plans to move to the city after graduation.

It was a very odd feeling having this 22 year old woman describe, almost identically, my situation 8 years past. In the grand scheme of things 8 years is not that long but my life has changed dramatically since then. From Nina's description the ISU theater department hasn't changed much: Dr. Kim and Jack McG are still ridiculing/shaping those with fresh artistic ambitions, good parts are still hard to come by, and the department as a whole is still trying to funnel grads into Chicago painting, I'm sure, a somewhat inaccurate picture of the opportunity.

The experience felt very cyclical, felt like moving without movement, like I was stuck in a timewarp glitch, got a glimpse of something I wasn't meant to see. Made me feel like a pawn on some wider chess board. Most careers have paths, some clearer than others, and patterns emerge.

It was eerie looking at this young woman full of dreams and desires. Seeing the paths her life could take.

Smartphone

Today I finally made the switch and got a smartphone. I've already started feeling this senseless and cloying urge to check it when there is no reason to do so.

I've been a staunch detractor of computer phones and people being buried in them. People pouring time and attention into a device as opposed to actual humans. There is also something to be said for isolation and silence almost impossible to obtain when you have one of these itchy gadgets. But the digital chickys have come home to roost and my hypocrisy is in plain sight.

I'm feeling the phones quietly seductive grasp around my throat even as I type this. So convenient, so accessible, so functional!

I may have sold out. My life may plummet to a previously undiscovered level of meaninglessness. I may be on a never-ending path to fill the now unbearable void inside with a limitless supply of selfies and food pics and memes.

The upshot is I finally joined Instagram.

Mortality

From a young age I thought I was invulnerable. Not like Superman, not invincible, I simply thought I was immune from death. After reading Tuck Everlasting and watching Last Crusade I came to the conclusion I was one of those select few who never die. Through fate or some series of serendipitously orchestrated events I would never be hurt, never be injured, never be seriously ill. The movie Unbreakable seemed to authenticate this possibility.

When I was 7 I fell down a ravine, probably about 15-20 feet straight down onto a rock, I hit back first. I got up unharmed. I was stunned. As the years passed I got myself into many similar instances emerging with only bumps or scraps. Dog bites, bicycle accidents, sports altercations, fist fights. Other than a couple bruises I was never the worse for wear. No broken bones, no concussions, I never even got the flu.

In high school I went through a phase where I'd have my friends hit me with their cars at varying speeds. The fastest was 45mph.

I totaled four cars and got in over a dozen crashes. Each one I came away unscathed.

At 17 I had walking pneumonia for about two weeks. When I was 25 I had a slipped disk due to a motorcycle accident, I limped for acopule months. Those were the only times I felt any real physical weakness.

I imagine most people feel this way to varying degrees. What they call the confidence of youth. As I got older that certainty started to erode and risky behavior held more consequence. I began to drink tremendous amounts, quickly depleting my physical and mental resilience. It came to a point where, desperate and alone, I was close to the end. A place I never figured I'd be. Depending on your circumstance death can look very ugly indeed.

I recovered, or am recovering, but you never forget a brush with death however glancing. It is no longer an abstract concept, it is a certainty. But I've become accepting of this ever-present inevitability. I'm no longer attracted to danger or peacock my unbroken bones. With a healthy understanding of death you can fully engage in life.

My dad said to me recently "If I went tomorrow, I'd have no regrets." Something I'd like to say someday.

'Only Lovers Left Alive' A Review

Only Lovers Left Alive is a romantic vampire tale from Jim Jarmusch. The film begins with immortal lovers Adam(Tom Hiddleston) and Eve(Tilda Swinton) in their respective cities of Tangier and Detroit. Due to a sentimental suicidal spell by Adam, Eve makes a series of exhaustive night flights to meet him. What follows appears dark and brooding but reveals itself to be patient and wryly pleasant. The film simply observes Hiddleston and Swinton interacting- playing chess, discussing art, listening to music, driving around the seedily picturesque neighborhoods of Detroit. Their vampireness is secondary, what love looks like after centuries is. Expectations rise a bit with the appearance of unstable sister Eva but what could turn into a classic vampiric blood bath hardly registers to its lead who react to this, the only "event" in the "plot", with placid resignation.

In description the film comes across genre-high-concept, in actuality it is a hang-out movie with two vampires deeply engaged with the arts and very much in love. Eerie cityscapes, a haunting score, and references galore create the most relatable and magnetic vampires seen on film in years. The chemistry between the leads and the limited supporting cast enhance this sense of cultivated isolation which we have the privilege of being invited into.

A slow, deliberate, and languidly cool film more about weathering the test of time with good books, dynamic music and a great companion than the minutia of vampire mythos or the flush of blood-driven sexual passion.

See It.

Bubble Boys: The Hitler You Know Is Better Than The Hitler You Don't

Season 2 comes to a close with a collision of insanities. Tisher and I figured we had to have an episode with Hitler and the germ of it came from the Tom Cruise flop Valkyrie. Brunlieb and Andel were our first thoughts when it came to Hitler and Eva and they had instant chemistry in the studio. We had been trying unsuccessfully for a while to get Conner on the show and finally were able to by having him call in. The whole episode was a real sick and twisted joy.

Lots of gratitude and thanks to all those who guested on season 2 and all those who listened. It's been an extremely gratifying labor of love.


The Bubble Boys take on the most important mission of their lives: the demise of Adolf Hitler.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Michael Brunlieb as Adolf Hitler
Andel Sudik as Eva Braun
and Conner O'Malley as General Daytona

Defeat

Preparation is neglected
indecision soon detected

time squandered in procrastination
failure pronounced with condemnation

nerves begin to blitz and bubble
ambition lies a bombed-out rubble

every lesson has its price
and illuminates inherent vice.

Graffiti 124

From Richmond. There were a lot of variations on this symbol usually with the words "Undisturbed Conscience". Matt thinks it has something to do with or is associated with the Occupy movement. The Grateful Dead skull is an interesting image to co-op, not necessarily a symbol of progress and transformation in 2014. Something more associated with aging pot-heads or hipster irony.

Beanpole did a great rendition of the Dead Head on our apartment door in college, then did another one after it was painted over.

"Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy." -Franz Kafka

"In a time not distant, it will be possible to flash any image formed in thought on a screen and render it visible at any place desired. The perfection of this means of reading thought will create a revolution for the better in all our social relations." -Nikola Tesla

Repetition

From teachers and coaches you are often cautioned not to invent or get the note after a show or scene "that was too inventy". Invariably by way of explanation the coach or teacher advises that inspiration and ideas are already present within the scene or piece. Invention weakens by creating a broader and broader world where connections become forced, repetition strengthens by solidifying the already established world creating an environment where connections and discoveries happen organically almost independent of the performers deliberate intent.

Both my shows tonight were good reminders of this idea. During the opening for Schwa we repeated a couple things then told the audience "but you already knew that didn't you" and ended it with the proverbial "you'll find out something later" type of line. We didn't really capitalize on this idea or use it to augment moments of confusion/discovery and the show would definitely have felt more like a singular piece had we done so. We did find success in repeating the set up, staging, and initiation of one of the first beat scenes with Karisa. It was an end-of-date scene using food innuendo culminating in a black out with Robert Frost played by Joe. By simply reiterating then repeating something that we had already done we gained traction and depth.

With Prime its a bit easier to implement this idea because there are less of us and the form is much more fluid. Our suggestions tonight was robots and we started with a scene of Nelson, a scientist, working on us, robots. During the course of the show during moments of pause or indecision one of us would peal off and enter as a robot. We created this device initially and simply kept returning to it to propel us forward, which in turn provided a more distinctive quality to the show.

More often than not the mechanisms to gain momentum are found internally with patterns, scenes, or lines already established rather than in reaching externally for pop-cultural facts or preconceived narrative set-ups deemed invention.

'Joe' A Review

Joe is a southern drama directed by David Gordon Green. The film follows Nicolas Cage as the titular Joe and his burgeoning relationship with young drifter with an alcoholic father Gary played by Tye Sheridan. The film's opening shot brings the audience in on the quietly seething violent world it's men inhabit- Gary is reprimanding his father(played by the mesmerizing non-processional Gary Poulter in his first and final role) after he has said his piece his father strikes him. begins to walk away from his son, then is mercilessly beaten by two unidentifiable men. After, Gary meets Joe running his crew who poison trees for the lumber company, and asks for work. What follows is a tangled web of restrained aggression plodding to an inevitable confrontation.

Nicolas Cage shoulders the major responsibility of the film with his most grounded performance in years. But of course "grounded" is a relative term when it comes to Cage. As a heavy drinking ex-convict with a savageness barely held in check- he shines. What is most apparent about Cage's Joe is his restraint. The constant vigilance needed to withhold the destruction bubbling within. Cage is given opportunities periodically to flash his characters(and his own) ferocious wildness like a boiler letting off steam to prevent explosion- Joe handles a poisonous snake, confronts state troopers, and in a deliciously eerie sequence sets two dogs fighting while he visits a prostitute. Cage is complimented well by Tye Sheridan's honest, tough, and wounded man-child, with darkness juxtaposed well with scenes of Cage and Sheridan driving around cracking jokes and Cage's work crew doing an honest days labor.

Joe is overshadowed however by the specter of Gary Poulter. Poulter as Wade an alcoholic drifter father paints a haunting, kinetic, poetic performance worthy of an Academy Award. He steals scenes from Cage, no small feat, with a heartbreaking credibility. He portrays a man in the throws of his addiction capable of almost any evil. 

The setting, shot composition, and the use of mostly non-professional actors in which to populate the film give it a dream-like authenticity with a significant amount of harmonic resonance. Dark and cruel and beautiful.

See It.

Sunsets #2

3/20/14 Chicago

4/8/14 Alexandria

4/12/14 Chicago

'Noah' & 'Finding Vivian Maier' Reviews

Noah is a biblical epic by Darren Aronofsky based on the Genesis tale. The film begins with a depiction of Adam and Eve, how they were cast out of paradise, and how their off spring inhabited the world. Some ten generations later Cain's descendants have used up the world's resources and rule each other with violence. Noah and his family(the only descendants of Seth) are the only ones still beholden to the Creator and the welfare of the planet. Noah receives a cryptic dream about the coming rains which will purge the Earth of man.

The film follows Noah(Russell Crowe) and his family across this desolate world and their construction of an arc to save the innocent animals. Overall the performances are compelling somewhat hamstrung by some underwritten roles, inapproriate casting(Logan Lerman as Noah's second son Ham is terribly out of his depth and unwatchable) and lengthy cliched monologues by Crow and Ray Winstone's villainous Tubal-cain. The most interesting and seemingly the most comfortable is Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah. The allegory of the film is blunt and unsophisticated so the point has little finesse but visually it is striking.

Noah seems to have undergone a lot of compromises. It is not wholly an Aronosky film and not a conventional biblical epic but some weird amalgamation of the two. The most interesting moments are those where the director seems to get his head- fallen angel-rockmonsters, a brief time lapsed sequence on the creation of the world melding the bible story with evolution, and Noah's disturbing violent dreams rich with imagery. The film falters when it relies more on conventional narrative devices and overwrought emotional outbursts.

An entertaining and interesting watch but ultimately too long and unfulfilling of its potential.

Rent It.

Finding Vivian Maier is a documentary about reclusive and previously undiscovered street photographer Vivian Maier. The film follows it's creator John Maloof who discovered Maier's work in an auction as he uncovers her striking photographs then delves into her past. The film paints an interesting and compelling portrait of an artist with a complicated relationship with her work. Through her photographs and interviews with her friends, former employers, and former wards(she was a nanny) we discover that Ms. Maier was very precious of her work and her personal life. She did not show anyone her photographs and for the most part took no steps to have them released. She was a hoarder, collecting so many newspapers her floor began to sag, she had a temper at times abusing the children she cared for in various ways.

What is revealed is a woman with an amazing eye and a perspective limited, almost cripplingly so, by various compulsions and a dark past. The interview subjects repeatedly voice their belief that Ms. Maier would not like, condone, or permit the way the film maker Maloof is releasing her work or delving into her past. Maloof however is on a mission to inject Maier's work into the photographic pantheon and uncover who this woman was.

The film raises interesting questions about the relationship between the artist and the art. The Maier that is revealed isn't particularly flattering but ultimately what does her personal life have to do with her work or its importance. It also raises interesting questions about the ownership of her work. Maloof is the sole owner of over 150,000 of Maier's photographs presumably reaping the entire financial benefit with no intention to set up a fund or charity. It is obvious that Maloof has taken it upon himself to make Maier known, he is obsessed, but there is a sense of opportunism about his actions. There is a telling scene where he signs one of her prints to authenticate it.

A mysterious portrait of a tortured and isolated artist. Some of the more intriguing questions however are hardly asked. The film feels, at points, like an extended ploy for Maloof to sell prints.

Rent It.

Bubble Boys: Gypsies

This episode features some of our most inspired casting. Carmen and Devin as a gypsy couple bring all the absurd insanity we knew they would. This episode is somewhat inspired by Chocolat, Snatch, and my more and more unfettered love of the supernatural and scrying. Only one more week till the startling conclusion of season 2.

Sven and Henry fall in with a band of Roma and get a glimpse into the Other World.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Carmen Christopher as Edward Mirgál and Madame Petitfeet
and Devin Bockrath as Celine de Beauvoir Petitfeet

Hostage House 2

There is a house. On a hill.
Tucked around with trees.
Its energy is dark and wet,
the feeling of some ailed pet.
A trap for beauty and ambition.

The house itself has a third eye-
dead and open and magnified.
With the arrangement of certain stones
a bird is caught in the spiders flow.

A house alone can be a comfort
but time and change must touch the culprit
of the one removed from life
fate exacts a heavy price.

Influence

It was good to get back to iO last night. I missed it. I was very excited and juiced to be back after a week away. Vince's team had gone up first so he was in the audience watching. I love watching Vince perform, one of the things he does best is huge emotional reactions. There is nothing like seeing him bubble and simmer into some kinetic psychological upheaval. For my first scene for Schwa, whether because Vince was there and ethereally impacting my play or part of me was deliberately doing his move, I started off slow and quiet and built quickly to this big emotional outburst. It got a good response and I felt great doing it. It got me thinking about a couple things.

When I first started improvising I was trying to copy Craig(energy and physicality) and Rush(persona and verbal dexterity). As I performed more, learned and grew, I started to more simply incorporate the things, moves, and ideas about them that I liked into my own burgeoning style. As more time passed the people I was influenced by increased. I became more and more alert for moves, voices, characters, and premises that I liked that I could then recycle with my own personal spin. Tisher's put upon pretension, the sharp fluidity of Scott Nelson, the quiet desperate perversion of Brunlieb, the confidence and brass of Donley, the societal awareness and authenticity of Julia, the stage presence and patience of Shotts, the recalcitrance and petulance of Reynolds, the absurdity of Joey, the dramatics of Devin, the characters of Katie Klein, the vulgarity of Carmen, the casual ease of Worsley, and on and on. This amalgamation is used to enhance and diversify what is inherently me. I collect influences and inspirations, as do we all.

Coming back from Richmond I was very much aware and grateful for the vast amount of talent there is in Chicago. On any given night I can go see some friends, acquaintances or strangers do some really incredible work. Richmond does not have that. Not that their improv scene is deficient in any way but just from the nature of being small the people can only be influenced by each other, there isn't the same breadth to draw from, because of its size the individuals creativity and potential growth is limited in certain ways.

Without the guts to straight-up copy you don't necessarily get to the subtleties of influence and inspiration. Without being able to see others do things you would never do your boundaries never change. No artist or performer comes out of the gates fully formed. It takes time to develop a voice and style. You temper your ideas with others. You experiment. You find what works, what feels good. You progress and gain complexity.

Don't be reluctant to lift bits.

Graffiti 123: Richmond

"Art is parasitic on life, just as criticism is parasitic on art." -Harry S. Truman

"When you see me smash somebody's skull, you enjoy it." -Tyson

"Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof." -Khalil Gibran

"I usually start writing a novel that I then abandon. When I say abandon, I don't think any writer ever abandons anything that they regard as even a half-good sentence. So you recycle. I mean, I can hang on to a sentence for several years and then put it into a book that's completely different from the one it started in." -Kate Atkinson

"Fantasy has had some problems with being too repetitive, in my opinion. I try to read what other people are doing - and say, 'How can I add to this rather than just recycle it? How can I stand on Tolkien's shoulders rather than stand tied to his kneecaps?'" -Brandon Sanderson

'Captain America 2' & 'Dom Hemingway' Reviews

Captain America: Winter Soldier is the latest installment of the Marvel cannon and the second Captain America movie. Steve Rogers(Chris Evans) now in present day is a S.H.E.I.L.D. hatchet man cleaning up messes he does not fully understand. Rogers becomes aware of corruption within S.H.E.I.L.D. when a wounded Nick Fury(Sam Jackson) shows up in his apartment and both are almost killed by the mysterious Winter Soldier. Rogers joined by the Black Widow(Scarlett Johansson) strike out on their own to discover the identity of the Winter Soldier and who is behind him.

The action is captivating, the machinations of the mystery are satisfying, and the performances have significantly more depth than earlier incarnations of the characters. Most notably Evans and Johansson are given a lot more to actually act with and develop. But.

At this juncture Marvel Studios is a well oiled machine. They can churn out satisfying narratives consistently, they have enough source material to continue mass producing these movies for a hundred years. But we are reaching a point of saturation. We are reaching a point where all the magic and artistry and excitement towards these characters and these stories is completely lost. Captain America: Winter Soldier is not a bad movie but it is not an original movie. It is shackled by the well-trodden Marvel Universe which we already know intimately. It is entertaining but no longer enthralling on the way to becoming monotonous.

Watchable but for how much longer?

Rent It.

Dom Hemingway is a so-called dark comedy about an unlikable and egotistical gangster released from prison after a twelve year stint. The titular character is portrayed with too much relish and not enough artifice by the overly smug Jude Law. Dom gets out of prison, goes on a coke, booze, and prostitute binge, gets on a train to France to meet his former gangster boss, does more coke, booze, and prostitutes, loses his big payday, and after he's done more coke and booze tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

The movie seems to be channeling the same kind of thoughtless machismo evident in Wolf Of Wall Street: an equally tragic unfunny movie about excess. Tonally Dom Hemingway is profoundly inconsistent, it feels like some kind of manic thriller with terrible jokes shoehorned into moments of emotional fervor. The script comes across like some film school bro's A Clockwork Orange fan-fiction. Jude Law as Dom delivers a number of ill-advised self-indulgent soliloquies that come off tasteless and flat rather than funny or roguishly charming(presumably the intention).

Jude Law's performance as Dom Hemingway in Dom Hemingway is confusing to say the least and utterly self-satisfying to say the most. It is supremely clear Jude Law is taking an exorbitant amount of pleasure in acting out Dom's deviant and despicable behaviors. What is not apparent is any real acting or portrayal of a believable and three dimensional character. Jude Law may be having a lot of fun but unfortunately it is in no way transferable.

A sophomoric and chauvinistic man-child's fantasy. Thin and unpleasant.

Don't See It.

Gratitude 8

I've known Matt since 2007. We went through classes together at iO and performed together for the better part of two years. He moved to Richmond in 2009 with his then-girlfriend now-wife Katie to start an improv theater. I stood up in his wedding in 2010. We see each other about twice a year- when he rolls through Chicago around the holidays and when I make my yearly trip to Richmond. This trip Matt and Katie have been particularly kind and accommodating. Driving Nicole and I places, going out of their way to make sure we do and see what we want to do and see. Over the years it feels like our friendship has matured, its very easy and comforting. Separated by miles Matt and I still have a lot in common and are progressing in divergent yet parallel ways as artists and as adults. Spending time with Matt I realize that, even though we may not talk often, we are very much a part of each others lives. And for that I am grateful.

Taking this trip together, we got back today, Nicole and I put our relationship to the test for the first time. Outside of our Chicago lives and routines things had the potential to become a bit more emotional or combative, travel can be stressful in any circumstance and with a significant other doubly so. Nicole met one of my best friends, I met her's and some of her family, we traveled by bus, train, plane, and car across half the country and around a good portion of the state of Virginia. Through it all we got along. We were a unit. The whole experience felt rich. There were emotional moments and exhausted/exhausting moments but we always talked and all in all it was an incredibly wonderful experience. We grew a lot. I've never been with someone where I felt that or had a desire for that kind of intimacy. Nicole is kind and sensitive and sharp and loyal and courageous and she brings out those qualities in me. I am unspeakably grateful to have such an amazing woman in my life. This trip affirmed what I already knew. I am a lucky little ducky.

Recently I've been in a position to be open, present, and involved in my friendships and my relationship. Unlike I have been in years. It's gratifying to be engaged with such lovely and loving people to a depth I was previously too self-centered to reach. I am grateful for a clear head and the fulfilling connections a healthy state of mind makes available.

Murals 2

One of my favorite things about visiting Richmond is seeing all the new murals that pop up. In 2012 there was some city wide mural initiative and because of the success and positive response from it they just kept making them.

Matt took us to an abandoned bus depot which they rehabed and covered with art, turned it into an urban playground. Unfortunately it was closed because the security guard got mugged a couple months ago but we could see pretty well from the fence.

A lot of the images are somewhat challenging or aggressive. It certainly speaks to the open mindedness of the city and its appreciation for art.

Killer panda. Evidently there's a series of them around town but this is the only one we saw.

This is probably my favorite one from this go around. Weird bear worship/sacrifice by skull masked druids.

Robot snakes.

Rain paint.

Sad vampire.

The artist who did this wizard also did the mural in the Coalition Theatre.

This is an old mural from before the cities big push for them. Murals and building art can really bring a city to life. Make it more welcoming and warm. Create another dimension. With all the blank walls in Chicago it is my dream that we will one day wise up and follow suit. Slap some paint on all those gray buildings. Breathe some new life into the windy city.

Hostage House

Fulcrums of energy
perverted and bent.

A cage of crystals
and silent whispers
contort a budding spirit.

Out of town
in isolation
there is a house
made for domination
with pretty things to pass the time.

The woods will hide
that precious tree
choking on a mass of weeds.

Small Town Living

Yesterday and today we've been in Northern Virginia where Nicole grew up staying with her best friend Amanda. We ate at local spot Frost Diner. Best country cooking I've ever had.

And we engaged in another local tradition. Driving around.

View from Amanda's cabin. It's nice to be out in the country away from things. Quiet and calm. 

Nicole has been talking about Amanda for a long time so it was a real treat to spend some time with her. For lunch she took us to the restaurant she manages. It was closed but they opened things up for us and made us a special meal. I've never had such royal treatment.

Yesterday it was raining but today it was crisp and clear and sunny. Out in the woods there's a very visceral sense of things coming alive. Spring as something active. A tangible process. You can almost hear the growth.

We paid a visit to Nicole's grandmother and uncle. 

On Tuesdays Amanda takes swing dancing classes in Alexandria. Nicole sat in on the class and I walked around for a bit. I stumbled upon the George Washington Masonic Monument. Very bizarre. I couldn't go in because it was after hours but I walked around the grounds while the sun was setting.

The rhythm here is considerably slower than what I'm use to. Plans don't seem to be very important. People just float along. It's nice to slow down but I found it, at times, a bit of a struggle. You get use to the pace of life in Chicago and almost anywhere else it seems to crawl. It's like that feeling you get after driving on the highway for a long time and then having to slow down to 30 once your in the city. Beanpole calls it "caterpillars". I felt a bit chaffed at times, eager to get up and do something, go some where, get moving. But I had to remind myself I'm on vacation, there is no where I need to be, to just relax.

We've been eating out a lot. I noticed they don't bring you water automatically here, you have to ask for it. Regional differences.

Nostalgia

In a worn out diner
the high school haunt
a table-sized jukebox
and plates filled with comfort.

The past lies in wait
memories crystallized
surface for examination
the tea brings back those hours spent
in youthful gossip and rebellion
this section smoking that one not
watered down coffee and pies all made with creme.
Friendships forged over scratched up tables
worn out benches and short order specials.

Recognition comes when least expected
the cook from Madrid has you detected
and the connection you assumed was lost
comes rushing back with no forethought

Crab Cakes And Maymont

Matt took us to brunch at "The Boathouse" a nice restaurant situated right on the river with glass walls. No bad view. Nicole and I both had the crab cake Benedict which was delicious. Whenever I'm visiting Matt I order crab cakes in whatever incarnation. Matt got the biscuits and gravy, he was shorted a biscuit and a ladle full of gravy. Nicole and I walked away very satisfied, Matt did not. 

Matt had a rehearsal to coach so Nicole and I walked around Maymont park. I had been there the first time I visited Matt back in 2009 but didn't remember much.

It's substantially more romantic when you go with your lovely girlfriend as opposed to alone.

The growth and the sun put us both in a fantastic mood. I never thought the winter bothered me much, but just seeing green things and feeling such a jolt of happiness it made me realize how stark the past months have been.

More blossoms.

There's this scene from Last Samurai where Ken Watanabe is contemplating the beauty of all the blossoming trees and searching for the perfect one.

Towards the end when he's dying he says "They're all perfect."

It's wonderful being here with Nicole: her meeting Matt and Katie and her showing me stuff from her time at VCU. It's our first vacation together, our first real challenge, and so far it's been easy and fun and relaxing. We're sharing this experience and that feels very cool. The next leg of the trip were heading to Warrenton where Nicole grew up to stay with her best friend Amanda.