Archive for August 2007
Lunar Eclipse
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Early this morning brought a Lunar Eclipse over the west coast. I have never seen an eclipse before until last night, it was amazing. I had to stay up pretty late; about 1:45 am I wandered out onto my patio and set up a cafe chair so I could sit and watch the moon change. At first, it kind of looked like the moon was just going through its normal wane, but the transition was taking place in an hour instead of a month. Still, it looked like it was happening so slowly.
Towards the end of the moon disappearing, instead of the crescent getting smaller and finally fading out, like normal, the shadow of the sun obscured the moon like a manhole cover, until the final bit of moonlight seeping out glared like a side view of a blazing white cornea out of a disembodied eye.
When the last bit of light finally crept behind the giant disc of shadow in the sky, and the moon was a deep orange glowing ball, I found myself a tiny bit fearful of this weird change that was happening to the moon. What if it never came out from behind that shadow? Would tides be affected? Would our gravity somehow be changed? I wonder what people thought of lunar eclipses in times before we were able to scientifically explain them.
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Well, today, August 28th, marks one year since I left Boston. This time last year, Maggie and I were cruising through New York and Pennsylvania on our way to Pittsburgh. Although it’s not hard to believe I’ve been out of Boston for a year, it is hard to believe that I’ve been in Las Vegas so long.
I’ve got a new job now. I work for a magazine called Casino Connection as a graphic designer. The job is pretty good and I like the work. After being out of work for a month, I was ready to get back into a normal job and a normal routine. Once again, my life is settling down into comfort. It’s a nice feeling.
This weekend, Logan is coming to visit. He’s never been to Las Vegas before, or at least that he can remember, so I’m going to have a great time playing tour guide to Sin City and beyond. We’re going to go camping and I’m gonna take him to Valley of Fire. I’m really excited to head back there, it’s so lovely. Hopefully it will be cool enough to sleep, and hopefully there will be spaces open to camp.
Although the summer heat seems to be retracting, it’s still so hot that I can’t drive around comfortably without the AC on. I tried to sit in my car in a parking lot today and read my new issue of National Geographic , but it was so hot that I couldn’t sit for more than 10 minutes before I had to come back inside.
Nights are a little better, though. It’s getting so where I am almost able to sleep without the AC on in our house. A couple of weeks more, and it will be fall. I have almost made it through my first Las Vegas summer.
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Currently listening to Enter the Peppermint Lounge by Psyched Up Janis
Fiiiinally
after a long, long hiatus between conception and study and, after a sufficient period of incubation, i have finally started drawing the comic. i’ve been really scared about drawing it, cause i have this fear that i can’t really draw. that i’ll never measure up to crumb or claus or ware or speigleman, so why even try. and then, i realized, that was stupid. no one but me may ever see it anyhow. i’m just going to put the ink on the paper, and if there are places where the art sucks, i just have to trust in the integrity of the story to carry it along. and it’s going to be a good story; of that, i am sure.
it’s about donkeys. it’s about the desert. and, best of all, it’s about good, evil and a big, big secret that is taking place, right now, in red rock canyon, just outside of las vegas. me and my buddy chops came up with the concept. i’m drawing, he’s writing. stay tuned.
ps: chops: it’s go time.
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Currently listening to: Queens of the Stone Age. Thanks to Joshua Homme for helping me to get off my ass and just do this.
Environs
How often do I get to say that Dangerous Boys are on my bed? Not very.
Got a new green cowboy lamp today. ‘Cowboy’ cause it has hide and whip stitch.
Blue friends
Toys at Colour Magic Street
Gumby with Hindu Jazz Hands
Man’s best friend, Moony
Mini-Helper with Ganesh, the Handy Hindu finger puppet
The Elephant Man, or Bigfoot, the Danish-American
Looky with Bugs and books
Danny’s Deer Flask with books and other necessities.
What lives in my room
My little art station. A creature comfort straight from first grade.
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Currently listening to Before the Dawn Heals us by M83
Dios Malos at the Beauty Bar
Band photo..I didn’t take it, I’m just stealing it for my blog.
I went to see Dios Malos last night at the Beauty Bar with Mistress Gita. Compliments of Aaron, so thank you, thank you.
I spent a couple of hours chatting up Edwin, second in from the left, whom I think is cute. I told him so. He blushed a little. Hey plays the keys, and told me he’d been playing piano since the age of four. Aw. He was unfailing polite and kind. He later came to sit on the couches outside with me an’ Gita right up until he had to go set up the stage for his performance. We had beers and listened to some crazy Vulcan band. There were Star Trek images being projected on the white wash brick wall across the way and some whale noises happening on stage, just behind us.
Then, Dios started playing and were good. The band’s got talent. I saw them once before a year and a half ago in Boston at The Paradise Rock Club. I wrote about it here. I have to be honest and say that I haven’t been up with Dios much lately and wasn’t aware that they had a new album. However, I did like the new stuff they played and, from what I’ve heard on their MySpace page (click here to see), the new songs are great. I’d dare to say even better than the last album.
Too bad I had a problem holding my liquor, so Gita and I left, so sadly, before the end of the set. I didn’t get to say goodbye to Edwin. She and I ended up eating burritos in a 24 hour taco shop a few miles and a taxi cab ride away, an hour later. Time passed, I was a little out of it, but I was chatting to some Mexicans in Spanish. My Spanish is always better when I’m a little drunk. Or a lot drunk.
Anyway, Ed, I am sorry to have never said goodbye. How rude, please accept my apology. You were amazingly sweet and adorable.
Well, it’s 12:45 and I’m not the least bit sleepy. I probably should go to bed, tho. Cause I may have to work a temp job tomorrow. I am not sure, but I’ve got to be prepared. Perhaps that liter of Dr. Pepper an hour ago wasn’t the wisest decision considering the caffeine.
At least something good came of it: I gessoed a new canvas I bought today in preparation for the first painting I’ve attempted in over a year. Also, I took the first tentative, somewhat frightening steps toward a final drawing on my comic, page one. I am crossing my fingers I’m not going to flub it up.
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Currently listening to Dios Malos, tracks from the rainbow money monkey album.
Me, At The Grand Canyon
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You know that turning point scene in movies, where the alcoholic/addict is having a bad day, then reaches for that bottle of Jack Daniels, that Pall Mall, that 3rd croissant, then, slowly puts it down, staring at the object of their obsession with a visage full of revelation? Some part of them closes a door to that way of life and they are able to resolve their addiction. Lately I’ve had this feeling that I’m in the long, slow process of doing just that. But for me, it’s not JD or cigarettes or pastries that I’m battling. Which substance or addiction that I’m giving up, remains a mystery, even to me.
It’s a strange, new feeling, one that takes an effort to wrap my mind around every day. I don’t know if this is a feeling of growth or of closure, but I’m wondering if it’s the end or the beginning of something. Some part of it feels like the movie Groundhog Day, like I’m living the same day over and over until I get it right.
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Currently listening to TV on the Radio
Of Donkeys, Flamingos and Temp Jobs
The Old West–a photo I took in Red Rock Canyon
As those of you who’ve been reading my blog know, I’m out of a steady job these days. So, while I’m looking, I’ve decided to work a temp job to help pay some bills. I started one today for a nice company called the Morgans Hotel Group, which is located on the 15th floor of the Wells Fargo tower on Howard Hughes Parkway, right next to the quaint and cuddly Las Vegas Boulevard.
I like the job, it’s so super easy and the people are quite friendly. I am a receptionist, and basically I just answer phones and make coffee. I heard rumors of maybe having to do a spreadsheet as well. It’s one of those perfect tide-you-over jobs, because they don’t care if I’m surfing the Internet all day looking for new jobs or if I’m just answering email or typing blogs, like I’m doing right now. It’s a perfect opportunity for me to catch up on my online life, which often gets neglected, especially during the summer.
Plus, they offer free Perrier, other bottled water, and basic soups, nuts and other stuff free of charge. Morgans Hotel Group owns the Hard Rock Hotel, and it is currently under expansion, so that is an interesting undertaking; it’s a cool hotel. I have two to three weeks here before I am finished, and I can honestly say that, after the atmosphere of today, what with the tons of free time and the kind people, I am looking forward to every day I come here.
However, the best part is, they don’t care if I read. So, I’m going to try to wisely use this mini-employment term to a)look for other jobs and b)read as many books as I can, because I put off reading when I’m at home in favor of the Internet. Well, I’m getting my total fill of both books and the Internet during the work day, because answering phones is cake. And hopefully, I’ll be able to better focus on the donkey comic at night.
Chops and I met yesterday to hang out and talked a little bit about it over coffee. I think we’re getting somewhere, albeit slowly. I met a comic book artist at First Friday this past weekend and he was inspiring. I need to get going on the donkey comic. It never really leaves my mind; I think about it every day, it’s just that, without a routine in my life, I so rarely make time for drawing. I know it’s an excuse, but there it is.
Anyway, in preparation for this comic, I recently purchased a book called Donkey: The Mystique of Equus Asinus which is both a book of its natural history as well as its more-than-common presence in culture and literature, and a comment on the nature and personality of the beast of burden. The people who wrote it, Michael Tobias and Jane Morrison, really love donkeys. Really love them. The book is endearing because of the apparent love of the animal by the authors.
Donkeys really do leave a large footprint in world history, in part because they have been able to adapt to so many climates, and also because they are such strong and sociable creatures. I love donkeys myself but, through reading this book (and I’m only a third of the way through) have come to really love donkeys as well.
As suspected and hoped, the book is a wealth of literary and artistic references for my greedy comic book. I’m finding names of donkeys from all kinds of books and movies. It’s very exciting. Hopefully there’s a similar book for foxes, because they play an equally important role in Chop’s and my comic.
Well, I still have two hours left to fill on this Monday, so I’m going to get back to reading and drinking Perrier. That’s the life!
PS: I saw last night, for the first time, Pink Flamingos over at the Chops House, with Chops and The Beave. I watched every scene with some flinching, up until the very last scene, which I refused to watch, and I feel better for it. Gross, and not very likeable, but I’m glad to have seen it. Chops brought up an interesting point, because, after I told him that I didn’t like it, he said to me “But would you have liked it if you saw it when you were 17?” To which I had to admit that yes, I would have liked it then. Haha, it is shocking, I’ll give it that.
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Currently listening to: the loud clicking sound of this keyboard.
For Posterity
A few self-portraits.
And here’s one more that Mikkel took of me, while I was sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon, just this past Monday.
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Currently listening to Sun, Sun, Sun by The Elected
Sunny Days Should Leave a Message on My Phone
Rarely have I seen rain in Las Vegas. However, over the past 10 days or so, we’ve gotten an unusual amount of it. Must be monsoon season. Well, my dear friend Mikkel just visited from Denmark for 9 days. I’m sad he’s gone already–the trip went so fast. Here are some photos from his visit:
Sunset on the Strip
Flowers at Fun City Hotel
Mikkel at the UNLV Coffee Bean
Me & Mikkel in my car
Cruiser Cafe 66 in Williams, Arizona
Goldie’s Route 66 Diner in Williams, Arizona
The Grand Canyon (South Rim)
Squirrel at the South Rim, Grand Canyon
Pretty Grand Canyon and Dead Tree
Me, sitting on the rim of the Grand Canyon
Mikkel, sitting on the rim of the Grand Canyon
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, 3 am
Good ‘Ol Bonanza
Beaver Tail Cactus, Turtle Head Rock
The lovely Flamingo
Although my job situation has been less than perfect over the last year, I can’t say that my life hasn’t been filled with adventure. Decades from now, I hope to look back on this period in my life and remember the excitement, not the pain.
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Currently listening to Up by Peter Gabriel
Trying To Get It Right
I got fired from my job last Monday. I don’t quite understand why. I have this letter of termination sitting on my desk, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to read it yet. I suppose I could type up a list of reasons why I was a good employee and shouldn’t have been fired, but doing that only makes me feel frustrated.
On Tuesday of last week, my friend Mikkel flew in from Denmark to visit me for a week in Las Vegas. I suppose that my firing came at good time, as far as Mikkel’s visit is concerned. Instead of him hanging out at my house waiting for me to get off work, I was able to spend every moment with him while was here. Which was nice. I was able to put the unemployment out of my mind and play tour guide, which is fun in this town.
The week went really fast and I was really enjoying having a constant companion. We went all over the Vegas Strip, to Red Rock Canyon, the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. Not to mention the partying and eating out and general fun conversation and company.
The night before he left, we spent the evening taking pictures of the Las Vegas sign and then traveling down to Fremont street in Old Downtown Vegas to see what was happening there. Not much at two am. But we walked into a couple of casinos and saw some good neon.
Three am we were sitting at an IHOP next to the Stratosphere and four am we were walking through the airport. Five am I said goodbye to Mikkel and six am I was home in bed. Not only did I need the sleep, I wasn’t quite ready to face reality again. I slept until four, but kind of wish I could have slept longer. I got up and cleaned up my room and made a pork tenderloin for dinner.
I woke up this morning, the sunlight not my friend today. I’m alone now, and all I have is the Internet, which I rely on to help me somehow find a job. I miss Mikkel now, and am finding it hard to send my resume out to prospective employers.
I sat in my desk chair for 15 minutes thinking about how I needed to go to the store for 1/2 gallon of milk. I finally did it. Now what?
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Currently listening to Transfiguration of Vincent by M. Ward
