The Waitress

Every time she came to our table
she would adjust our plates slightly
straightening to either
perpendicular or parallel
she would pause
as if inviting us to speak first
allowing us to show initiative
(which we didn't)
perhaps demonstrating her control
of the interaction
before she went through
the beats of the well worn script
there was something not
all-together welcoming about her
not to say unpleasant
but defiant, masked and hidden
defiant still
not to us or the artisan tacos she sold
but to the world
as if some time in the past
she had made a decision
not to be swept up in life
but a rock which parted its waters
a split in the current
rather than its prisoner
I think her name was Emily.

Her thin silver hoop noise ring
out of place in its predictability.

In The Mountains With A Friend

I'm in Denver the next couple days visiting one of my oldest friends Beanpole. He's lived here since shortly after college and this'll be my fourth visit. He's a teacher so his summer's are free but that time is typically pretty precious, doubly so now that he has a little boy. So I took a little time off, easy for me, and came to visit. Plan to make visits more frequent moving forward because we've known each other for close to twenty years at this point, there's not a whole lot of people I know better or have a more extensive history with. And now that he has a son I want to be a part of that kid's life, even if the most I can manage is every other year, that consistency adds up.

We went for a long hike today, something I always want to do when I visit because of all the wonderful options in the Denver area. Beanpole and I worked at a summer camp together for a number of years and even when we were just hanging out we'd typically trek around the various parks in Rockford so the activity has a bit more resonance for us above and beyond the obvious pleasantness.

We walked and talked and enjoyed the day. It's been a great visit so far, been able to spend some QT
with Beanpole's wife Jen and son Matthew and get a sense of his life here. Feels good to be here and be a part of it for a little bit. Much better than going through a catch-up check list on the phone.

The Incredible Perks of American Airlines

O' Xanadu
My own personal tablet
embedded securely
in the seat head in front of me
with all the latest
in cinema majesty
and catastrophe
at my disposal
through an easy-to-use
cutting-edge touch-screen
I can watch all the movies
I didn't bother to see
because of disinterest
but now, aided by confinement,
can indulge in
not to mention the games
and witless network TV shows
(American Ninja Warrior!)
that are available
I can even track the flight
on an "interactive" world map-
Mesmerizing.
Who knew flying could be so deliciously brainless!?

A Night of Jimmys

To celebrate Jimmy's birthday today all of Sight Unseen wore black t-shirts and blue jeans and drew fake tats on our arms for the show. The show went well and I think it's fun, especially for a team that has an open run, to mix it up every once in a while, to have a gimmick. It's playful and we celebrated Jimmy, win win.

Birthday's can be weird or maybe they just mean less as you get older but there still remains this expectation to make it a singular type day. Anyway, Jimmy has been a great friend for a long time so I was happy we did a little something for him, it's important to make a birthday special even in a small way. Life can be tedious or move fast or blur together so it's important to take a moment every now and again to let your friends know you love them, even if its just a reminder.

'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' A Review

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a science fiction adventure based on the french comic series Valérian and Laureline. The movie opens on the international space station and through montage progresses hundreds of years in the future and shows additional countries on Earth joining then eventually representatives from different alien cultures, eventually the station called Alpha becomes too big for Earth's orbit and sets off to travel space. In the 28th Century two special agents of the human police force are sent on a mission to recover the last surviving Replicator, a creature that can replicate any object, and are unwittingly tangled up in a conspiracy.

Dane DeHaan as the titular Valerian is terribly cast, he puts forth a singular effort but almost every aspect of his performance rings false. Cara Delevingne as his partner Laureline is significantly more believable but their chemistry is non-existent and their proto-sexist dynamic is disturbing, discordant, and horribly out of place in 2017. The supporting cast sports some big names(Ethan Hawk, Clive Owen) but fails to give them that much to do.

Visually the film is stunning, like hot neon cotton candy, a smorgasbord of alien CGI. But without competent actors or a coherent story to inhabit the interesting landscape it doesn't amount to much. The narrative is promising but is bloated and drags at parts, taking extended scenes for unnecessary exposition and meaningless diversions.

Eye-candy but not much else.

Don't See It.

'The Little Hours' A Review

The Little Hours is a period comedy set in a medieval Italian convent which loosely follows three nuns Alessandra(Alison Brie),  Fernanda(Aubrey Plaza), and Ginerva(Kate Micucci) as they engage in various levels of debauchery. Tensions run high when Father Tommasso(John C. Riley) brings young hunk Massetto(Dave Franco) in as a handyman.

Out of the three leads Plaza is the stand out, her onscreen presence is always magnetic and she seems to especially relish the foul-mouthed witch-nun she is playing. Micucci also puts in a great turn in her first truly meaty screen role, goofy and unhinged she enlivens scenes and gags which would be rote with another actor. Brie is decent but has to play the most straight laced of the three and as such doesn't have as much play with. Franco is serviceable but as with most of his roles to date his dopey charm only goes so far and has a quality of sameness, he seems unable to reach any emotional or comedic heights. Riley and Molly Shannon(as the Mother Superior) are wonderful, no surprise, but underutilized.

The costumes and setting are all very faithful and contrast well the anachronistic language and humor. The film isn't altogether successful despite its production elements and gleefully manic cast because the story is somewhat rough and meandering. The screenplay could use another edit or two, a distillation. All the elements for a great comedy are there it's just too narratively bloated, despite its brief run time, to be all together successful.

Playful, fun, and delightfully irreverent but lacking needed focus.

Rent It.

Aftershocks

The past couple weeks I've been doing a sketch show at Second City, performing in the directors showcase for Craig, the prospective directors put up an hour long sketch show as their final project. It's been a fun experience, I haven't done a sketch show in almost five years so it's been fun to use those muscles again and the cast is people I hadn't known previously, mostly younger than me, so that has been invigorating in a way, working with people that, compared to me, have a relatively fresh perspective. The show itself I think is good, not groundbreaking but funny and well executed. Ultimately it's not really exactly my cup of tea anymore, I'm more interested in more personal emotional stories, more interested in narratives. Even so it's been a good experience.

Even though I told them it wasn't terribly important my parents were going to come to the show tonight and bring some other family members. They got a late start then got caught in traffic and ended up missing the show arriving shortly after it was done. Now running late is something that is typical in my family, you have to give most family events an additional hour leeway, its mostly understood. I know this but for whatever reason they're missing this show, something not out of character or much of a surprise, really upset me. There were other factors but basically I felt I was justified and was pretty prickly with them. We had dinner, they left, and the rest of evening I was still spinning about it, cycling through all the ways I felt I had been put in a position and not taken into consideration. But the reality is that all that anger, all that energy, had no purpose, no benefit, was only continuing to make me feel bad.

This past week was tough at work so I was pretty worn down and I think that contributed to my being more sensitive than usual but whether the feeling or the reaction was reasonable or not its immaterial. Perhaps if you're a boxer or talking to a Comcast customer service rep or slamming weights at the gym anger can be good but more often than not in actual day-to-day living its just poison.

Part of the issue in this instance was just lack of communication on both sides and that part of it can be worked on, clearer plans and expectations set. But things happen and for me I have to unpack why I reacted the way I did, honestly look at it, and do what I can to let go of whatever resentment I may still be carrying. I thought any issues I had with my family had been resolved and I thought I was pretty balanced in that department with healthy boundaries set but maybe that's not the case and it's my responsibility to look at my part. What unreasonable, unvoiced expectations have I put on them, what past perceived transgressions have I held on to. I need to figure that out and let go of whatever I find, move forward. Then in the moment that this kind of thing occurs I need to remember, no matter how tired or irritated I may be, to take a minute to breathe, be present, and let go of desired outcome. To remember that some situations although not ideal can be enjoyed if you allow yourself to do so.